If you read about my post-project burnout, you might have seen a list of things I was going to do to circumvent the issue. I started this weekend by organizing the mess of my bead components, going to the gym, and getting/spoiling self rotten. As it turns out, I’ll probably have to do monthly bead organization as opposed to whenever it gets out of control. Will post pictures soon (I promise) but I think I may be heading over to the dark side of falling for “the sparklies.”

On the writing front, I knocked out 1,500 words yesterday. Not great, but it’s more than zero and they were fun words to write. To be honest with you, I feel like emphasizing word count isn’t as important as focusing on what I’m working on. What posting word count does for me, is account for the discipline of writing as opposed to the quality of it. Two, very different things. I could write 4,000 crap words in a couple of hours (Which I have done) and be miserable revising them OR I could pen 2,000 words in the same amount of time that I’m somewhat happy with. Oh, if only there was some way to capture my words by filtering them through a direct-to-screen cybernetic connection.

In other news, apparently I have a disorder. This is the sad, sad conversation I had with my SO.

ME: I have a disorder!
SO: Oh? *eyebrow raise* <--Note the typical response. ME: Yep, it's Schizotypal Personality. SO: What's it mean? ME: I’m eccentric!
SO: Lame.

Yes, apparently there was a study reported on Scientific American to once and for all prove that eccentric people are, indeed, eccentric. I find great humor in this.

Before I leave you to attack another pile on my desk, I’d like to share two important pieces of news. The first, is that you can win a copy of Strange, Dead Love by reading my article. Lori Devoti is running a 30 Days of Vampires series and there’s some great stuff on her site. Check it out! The second, is that FR Press announced Slices of Fate: the collected works of Eddy Webb. This is the first collection for FR Press which was edited by yours truly.

Mood: Focused with elements of sarcasm
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: More than I’d care to admit
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Twenty-Five on a Monster of a Machine
Word Count Logged Yesterday (not including day job): 1,500
In My Ears: Nothing
Game Last Played: Picross 3-D for Nintendo DS
Movie Last Viewed: Red
Book Last Read: Organizing Your Life for Dummies
Latest Artistic Project: Byzantium chainmail bracelet with soft pink and black rings
Upcoming Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

Yesterday I spent my afternoon planning for 2012 and listened to the SOPA hearings. Right now, it looks like SOPA will pass, regardless of the evidence to the contrary. It bothers me that the narrative “if you’re against SOPA, you’re against IP/copyright protection” has been twisted to make everyone who doesn’t agree with SOPA a pirate who needs to be criminally prosecuted.

Anyway, before I turn that into a rant… (See Fizzgig above.)

Today’s thoughtful post comes from author L.A. Gilman who talks about the crash after writing a novel. I really liked her article and found it was relevant even when you’re working on big projects. Basically, Gilman addresses burnout and what to do about it.

Funny, but I didn’t even realize I had hit burnout until I read this article. Yeah, that was pretty sobering. Well, acknowledging you have a problem is the first step to resolving it. It seems that’s what I’ve been trying to do, but I need to kick it up a notch. So, here’s what I’m doing to get back in my groove.

1 ) Hold self accountable to self by logging word count and exercise minutes from the previous day.
2 ) Get back to using a timer. When I used one, I was highly productive!
3 ) Get back to daily to-do lists
4 ) Recognize accomplishments!
5 ) Clean on a schedule, too, and realize it will never be as clean as I want it to be.
6 ) Balance work and play by scheduling free nights!
7 ) Outlines, outlines, outlines.
8 ) Holidays decrease productivity by a factor of egg nog and Christmas cookies. Oy.
9 ) Schedule PR time like I would anything else.
10 ) I’m human. Things are going to happen that will screw up my plans for world domination. The trick is to get back on the horse and not mope about what I haven’t done.

Mood: Sneezy!
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Three
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Short walk
Word Count Logged Yesterday (not including day job): FAH!
In My Ears: Don’t Hold Your Breath Remix by Nicole Scherzinger
Game Last Played: Fauxcabulary
Movie Last Viewed: Conan
Book Last Read: Last Call by Tim Powers
Latest Artistic Project: Byzantium chainmail bracelet with pink/iris green/black rings
Upcoming Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

SOPA is a controversial act that would prevent users from visiting a website accused of piracy. There are many reasons why I’m against this act, but there are three things I find dangerous. First? This is the type of law that can be abused for reasons other than piracy. Second? This will not stop piracy. And third? When combined with other net neutrality laws, where emphasis is placed on higher-trafficked sites as opposed to lower ones, citing SOPA could affect less-trafficked sites especially if and when a mistake is made. Mistakes on site take downs? Yes, they do happen and they can be widespread.

This video is from a researcher who talks about why SOPA is a bad idea. The bill goes to the House floor shortly. The full text, minus whatever revisions are being proposed, is available here. Ironically, it’s described as a way “to promote prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation by combating the theft of U.S. property, and for other purposes.”

If you agree that this is a terrible idea, then I encourage you to read up on SOPA and call or write your representatives today. I did.

Mood: Patriotic
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Three.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Short walk
Word Count Logged Yesterday (not including day job): 1,000. Fair, but definitely not enough for me.
In My Ears: Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett audiobook
Game Last Played: Word on the Street
Movie Last Viewed: Horrible Bosses
Book Last Read: Last Call by Tim Powers
Latest Artistic Project: Byzantium chainmail bracelet with pink/iris green/black rings
Upcoming Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

Yep, I need help figuring out what phone to get. Before I get to that? A link appetizer!

• Surprise Gift from Warehouse 23 – If you like Munchkin or Zombie Dice from Steve Jackson Games, I strongly encourage you to consider placing an order from December 13th through the 17th. We’re randomly giving away five pre-release copies of four different games months ahead of schedule. If you’re one of the lucky ones, you’ll get the games even before distributors and retailers will.
• The Ten Happiest Jobs – Apparently writers are happy but broke. Same with artists. So we get job satisfaction but we struggle to make a living. See: the reasons why we’re often miserable. Oy. (HT Greg Stolze)
• Introductory E-Mail Doesn’t Have To LOL – In my latest installment of Adventure to Dice Castle, I talk about e-mails to game publishers. I had fun with this one!
• Holiday Gift Guide: a Very Cthulhu Christmas – Tor.com continues their annual Cthulhu Gift Guide series. I wonder how many people recognize octopi are short for “Cthulhu?”
• Nerds and Male Privilege – Yes, it’s 2011 but we’re still dealing with issues of sexism. No, I’m not a whiner because this behavior is precisely why women are afraid to embrace their geek side. Yes, it’s frustrating, even for a professional in the industry, but it has gotten better over the past ten years. The internet has helped highlight that men are not the only geeks out there. (HT Charles Tan)

On With The Phone

So, if you’ve been following me on Twitter, you probably know I’ve been lamenting nay agonizing over which phone to get. I’ve since narrowed it down to a micro-tablet phone in the form of a Droid or an iPhone. I have an iPod Nano (LOVE!) but the rest of my equipment is all PC-based. I’ve tried out the Blackberry and I don’t like it. Prefer the touch screen and will probably get a stylus for it, too.

I’d say I’d have moderate-to-heavy usage. Here’s what I need a new phone for:

• To work when I’m traveling
• Texting
• Internet and Google Docs
• Photos
• E-mail
• App testing
• Sync my iTunes account
• eCommerce testing
• GPS
• Angry Birds
• Twitter
• Actual telephone calls

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

Mood: Calm yet twitchy.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Well, it started out good. Then quickly devolved into three pots of coffee and the stars-know-what-else.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Short walk
Word Count Logged Yesterday (not including day job): 500 and no home for [redacted]. Sucks. I feel a weekend writing marathon coming on…
In My Ears: Kingdom Hearts opening refrain
Game Last Played: Word on the Street
Movie Last Viewed: Harry Potter on Blu-Ray
Book Last Read: Last Call by Tim Powers
Latest Artistic Project: Byzantium chainmail bracelet with pink/iris green/black rings
Upcoming Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem

Many of us joke about having first world problems. Hell, I’ve whined about not hitting my goals or getting hit by other people’s angst or the Curse of Well, Actually! So today, my message to you can be summed up by the video below. This blew me away.

Mood: Yeah, I’m tearing up.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Two. Damn proud!
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Half an hour walk
Word Count Logged Yesterday (not including day job): Mostly outlines, but managed to knock out a 1,000.
In My Ears: This video. *sobs*
Game Last Played: Word on the Street
Movie Last Viewed: Harry Potter on Blu-Ray
Book Last Read: Dark Faith anthology
Latest Artistic Project: Byzantium chainmail bracelet with pink/iris green/black rings
Upcoming Release: Strange, Dead Love for Vampire: the Requiem