Wednesday, May 9, 2001

After arriving home last night, I was completely unproductive. I managed to answer my e-mails and do my devotions, but I neither sketched a sketch nor wrote any writings. I’ve determined to follow my schedule tonight, even though I’ll be getting home late. I will have time. I’ll make time.

Went to the hospital at 9:00 this morning for an echocardiogram, which was surprisingly quick and easy. This was not my first echocardiogram; when I was a child, I was diagnosed with a mitral valve prolapse (along with half of the rest of the country, apparently) and an echo was done to confirm its existence.

The assistant who performed the echo on me today told me he honestly couldn’t see any mitral valve prolapse. He believes that my childhood doctor was a bit overzealous in his diagnosis. The doctor will look at the results and hand them to the nurse, who’ll call me later on today or tomorrow with his final word on the matter. Maybe I don’t have a mitral valve prolapse at all.

Since I’d arranged to come in to work closer to noon and I had the rest of the morning to myself, I made an aborted attempt to work out at the gym (I forgot to bring tennis shoes), returned an overdue library tape and borrowed a tape of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Heinlein and a large-print copy of Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone to read while I run on the running machines at the gym.

I also stopped by the hardware store and bought some dark blue paint so I can spray-paint Pendragon. I’ve done it before, with Tramp. Should be fun. I briefly considered using metallic paint, so the case would look like chrome, but figured it’d look too tacky.

I’m still thinking about those two Anime Barn cels that I want to buy. Because I’m trying to lower my VISA bill, I’m trying to make as few “large” purchases as possible (“large” meaning more than $20 or so). I don’t think I should buy the cels until the end of next week (e.g. the 18th of May), but I don’t want to lose the cels. Perhaps I should just e-mail the proprietor and express interest, asking if they can be put on some sort of reserve, or at least be contacted if someone else expresses interest.

And, Houston, we’re registering another complete shift in attention. Wandering around Keenspace has its rewards. I’m enjoying Life on Forbez, a gorgeous sci-fi comic in the tradition of Calvin and Hobbes, and Not Gonna Take It, a furry strip that’s just plain nice. Random Access is a good furry strip as well, and I think it’s made by the “Class Menagerie” guy.

Writing Thoughts

Wed

I woke up this morning with the bleary realization that I should set some immedate and specific writing goals for myself, on a day-by-day basis. I’ve decided that I’m going to try to devote an hour to writing every weeknight, and that I’ll aim to write at least two pages or 500 words each night. Whether that’s fiction or non-fiction, that’s what I’m going to aim at. Wish me luck.

Nothing yet from Writer’s Digest about my article on writing advice. I know they warn of a 6–8 week delay, and it’s only been two weeks, but I’m getting somewhat frustrated.

And, Saalon! Send me your full comments on “Anime Explained,” will ya? ;-)