A mostly wasted day

[ellen_datlow]

I got up very late because I stupidly stayed up till almost three am last night picking cat fur out of my keyboard (hey, it's kind of satisfying once you get into it)...finally dragged myself over the USPO to mail xmas gifts that were piling up and was stuck on line for 1 1/2 hours--no exaggeration. There was only one person working most of the verrryy long line. The only other open window had one guy mailing/doing something for the whole 1 1/2 hours I was waiting. One person was out sick. The poor clerk hadn't even had time to get lunch. She was very gracious, and everyone online was pretty good, except for a couple of loud curses when people came in through the gates of hell to see what awaited them. By the time I was done, I was so fed up and it was so cold outside that I went across the street to the English store in the Chelsea Flower market, bought some xmas gifts, and went straight home. Never went to the bank (I had zero cash and charged everything) and didn't make it to my PO Box across town. It can all wait till tomorrow.

Finishing up going over the galleys of The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy which are due tomorrow. It's going to be a very weird book, so that cover that I posted last month actually does seem appropriate, after all.

I happily discovered that the contributor copies of Black Thorn, White Rose were sent out ten days ago and are in the hands of most of the authors, even if I haven't yet received mine. The copies of Inferno that were given away last week to the first five readers who promised to blog the book have been mailed out. Hey, if you don't have time enough to read the book over the Xmas vacation, don't sweat it! But when BETTER to read it :-).

Comments

[lagilman]

I stupidly stayed up till almost three am last night picking cat fur out of my keyboard

Oh good, it's not just me that finds it a necessary and soothing occupation...

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Whew! I'm glad I'm not the only person who does this regularly (when I get really bored or have a cat recently sitting on my lap by the keyboard)

[lagilman]

Pandora likes to sleep ON the interloper and rival for mom's lap-space. I use fine-edged tweezers and a mini keyboard vac, every week or so, just to keep the laptop running.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I use a small crochet hook and fine-edged tweezers, but every so often, I plug in the backup keyboard and take this one apart to clean it. Same with the trackball.

[sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling about the cat fur. I spent all of Saturday using my mother-in-law's water vacuum to clean the house, and discovered a full cat's worth of cat fur in the tank every time I stopped. I have one little grey kitten who expends his entire metabolic budget on producing cat fur, and the Czarina and I regularly joke about how we really can't tell if he's still running around or whether he drowned in the tank. (Tumbleweeds of cat fur I can understand if I hadn't vacuumed in months, but in hours?)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

I actually have a miniature dust devil specifically for "vacuuming" my keyboard, but I have to charge it up and it's just not as much fun as using a bent paperclip :-)

[sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com]

The FreakBeast dumps so much fur in the keyboard that the Dust Devil doesn't work. I had to take my keyboard apart on Sunday, because somehow he managed to get cat fur underneath two of the keys.

[dustyskinandall.livejournal.com]

I bought my copy of Black Thorn, White Rose last night and am looking forward to getting into it over Christmas break!

Thank you for helping put such a fantastic collection out into the world. I read the first in the series when I was in high school and it seriously influenced my desire to study Folklore.

[charlesatan.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the mail and the upcoming anthologies (looking forward to the latter). Now if only fur-repelling keyboards were invented...

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

But the cleaning thereof does seem to give some of use great pleasure...would you begrudge us that?

[charlesatan.livejournal.com]

We'd sell you keyboards that come with regenerating cat fur. =)

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

great invention!

[charlesatan.livejournal.com]

The corporate tag-line would go something like "experiencing living with a cat without ever owning one!"

Re: Inferno

[timcasewalker.livejournal.com]

Ellen -- I received my review copy of INFERNO at 9am this morning from Tor via FedEx (!).

I'm thrilled with how it looks and can't wait to review it.

Thanks!
Tim Walker

Re: Inferno

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Well, I hope you look as excited after you read it as you do in your icon ;-)

[foresthouse.livejournal.com]

Ah, that sounds like my recent days. I've had a bout of insomnia and can't seem to get much done. *sigh*

But at least you bought some Christmas gifts!! I'm still behind on that.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Just finished the galleys.

Not sure I've actually finished by xmas shopping.. but soon. And at least I did get some more done.