The Missus Is Going Away

Another detail from the missus's garden. Click on the image -- it's kinda sweet at full size.

Well, the missus's mother, printmaker and teacher Ruth Leaf, is in the hospital. At first we were scared, then things seemed okay, but now we're worried again. Not to go into the details but it seems she's got a blood infection. So the missus is going down to Venice to take care of her for a while. She'll be gone at least twelve days.

I'm pleased and proud that she's doing the right thing, but I ain't looking forward to it. And since my new school schedule is throwing off band night, I'll be a little extra isolated.

Since Karen's gonna have a lot on her mind anyway, I'll avoid resorting to liquid companionship while she's away. (For those unfamiliar with my peccadillos, this is Oaf Latin for, "I won't get disgustingly shit-faced drunk.") Allison is splitting for a month to go to another writer's retreat; I think I might hang out a bit with her old man. Social drinking will still be allowed.

On the other hand, I'll be back in school. And I like school. Had my first photography class yesterday. It's taught by my Illustrator instructor from last year, so I know it's gonna be good. Turns out that photography is her real interest.

I found out that I'll have to get Adobe CS4, and it looks as if it'll be cheaper for me to buy the student version than to get an upgrade. I'll need an SLR camera and a macro lens to do the kind of work I want to do. I'll need to get Lightroom. I'll find out what I'm gonna need for my 3D class this afternoon. It looks like somewhere in the neighborhood of 2k for expenses this semester, which right now seems like a nightmare. A delicious, wonderful nightmare in which the purchase of toys has been mandated.

On the other hand, I think I'm starting to develop some marketable skills. Every investment is a gamble...

And while I'll miss Karen badly while she's away, having some time for really focused creative work is going to be good at this juncture. I'll be able to devote the weekend to Anomalocaris, then devote the week to the novel. With any luck I should be able to finish the first round of line edits by the end of the week; then it'll just be a matter of keeping up with the critiques as they come in.

At that point, my focus will shift to polishing the synopsis for the entire work, all three volumes. I have a fairly-well structured outline for volume three and I know all the main dramatic arcs for volume two. I suspect that the writing on them will go fairly quickly -- it's not knowing where I'm going that slows me down.

It'll work out. I'm just worried about Ruth.