Friday Musings....

It's a Friday morning and I'm very glad for that. It's been a good week but I'm ready for a weekend now. I could use a little sleeping in and relaxing. Weekends are good for that.

As far as an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest update goes, I'm not going to plug my excerpt again. You can find it if you follow my blog. I've still been checking out the forums because it's nice to keep in contact with the other writers. Now, as a rule, writers are a competitive bunch. Being rejected stinks. Yet now, because of an error on Amazon's part, the 'clique' and all of its cronies are now ruling the contest 'a farce'. They're slamming many of the entries that made the quarterfinals, naturally stating that theirs were better. Perhaps they were, in which case I'm sorry for those that didn't make it. But here's the thing: Those of us that did make it may feel like we deserved it. I've worked so hard to try and get somewhere with my writing and, finally, I have. It may not be a major accomplishment in the grand scheme of things but, for me, it is. It's a validation for me, it's a reward for the several years of fighting an uphill battle to get my name out there. So, again, while I'm sorry that those forum-posters are so bitter and truly feel like their works, collected, are far superior to many of those that made it through to the next round, have a little compassion, please.

I know it's easier to see things through rose-coloured glasses when you're on the winning side of the street but it really is the first time I've stood there; I know the bitterness that comes with rejection but, more than anything, I think it's doing little but making those naysayers look petty and sour-grapey.

I could go on but I won't. I'm staying away from the forums for a while until the wrath has died down again. Those people are mean. I'm not going to plug my work on those forums at the moment because I know whatever reviews I got would be jaded and shaded with a side of bitterness. Last year, I thought about reviewing some excerpts but I knew, as soon as I downloaded the first one, that it would be a bad idea. My own rejection from ABNA 2008 was still too fresh and I couldn't have written a fair review.

I'm going wine tasting with a friend this weekend. It's at Jungle Jim's, that lovely big grocery store that goes on for acres and has its very own 'Sherwood Forest' full of good British food. I usually go armed with at least one shopping list from my family, most likely two. Add that to my own purchases and I never leave the store without spending a small fortune. Yet, it's such a lovely, comforting feeling to go into my pantry and see all those British products there. It gives me a tiny piece of home when I look at it and, even more, when I eat it. Heinz beans on toast, Marmite on toast, packets of Walker's Smoky Bacon Crisps, Branston Pickle, Strongbow cider....the possibilities are endless.

For the rest of my weekend, I'm going to write. That new novel is burning its way into my mind and giving me happy butterflies when I think about it. That's always a good sign that it's meant to be; it means I have a character just waiting to have his say and tell me his story. I know most of it but it'll be interesting to hear his point of view.

The weather is supposed to be nice again this weekend. I'm hoping to see some daffodils start to bloom in people's gardens. I caught sight of a crocus or two last week and even a hyacinth. Yet the daffodils seem to be biding their time. Hopefully this weekend, since Spring will officially be here. I can't wait.

Happy Friday.

Grocery Stores, Queries and Bad Days at Work

How come weekdays seem to drag on forever and weekends fly by?

That's my question that I'm putting to the masses today. Last week seemed like the longest week ever at work. It may have been because we're all a little stressed in our office due to the inevitable buyout of our company. We think we should have jobs but no one knows for sure. Combine that with a temporary order that everyone has to dress in business casual for two weeks...and you get a pretty stressed out office.

Not that it's really such a hardship to dress in business casual. I used to have to do it every day. It's amazing how spoiled you get though when you find out you can wear a sweatshirt and jeans to work. Suddenly, it seems like a right, not a privilege. Normally, I enjoy dressing up a little but the minute someone says I have to, I no longer want to. I like being contrary sometimes.

Yet after such a long week, the weekend flew by in a blur. I had dinner with a friend on Friday, dinner with another friend on Saturday and a trip to one of my favourite grocery stores EVER in between. The store is Jungle Jim's International Market and is huge with a fantastic supply of wine, a bakery, the best produce section...ever and, best of all, areas dedicated to groceries from around the world. They have a great British section. It's so wonderful to see the jars of marmite, tins of Heinz beans, cans of Bisto gravy granules just sitting there like it's nothing special. Those things are a staple of any British ex-pat and you wouldn't believe how much you miss them when you can't find them. There are some things that just make life better because they're comforting and most of these things I can find at Jungle Jim's.

The only problem with Jungle Jim's is that I spend too much. I blame the produce section. I tend to get a little batty when surrounded by fresh produce; suddenly everything looks wonderful and I must have it. I tried to restrain myself on Saturday but still came home with a cartful of produce.

Yet it's not also the produce section; it's the bakery and the British section. Going to the grocery store on any given day is fun for me so Jungle Jim's is like going to Disneyland. Needless to say I spent three hours there.

The rest of my weekend was nice. I sent out more queries yesterday. I used the pitch from my Amazon.com entry. It's a good pitch but trying to find an agent even with a good pitch is like trying to catch a bird with a handful of breadcrumbs and a lasso of string: In theory, it's should work but, in reality, it's never as easy to lasso a bird with a piece of string.

Yet I live in hope. If not, I'll do what I normally do: Pound my head against a wall, have a day or two of self-pity in which my friends and mother, wonderful people that they are, tell me that it'll happen one day and not to give up. Then I start again. It's a vicious cycle but a necessary one.

So today begins a new week, hopefully a less stressful one. The snow has melted, the temperature is supposed to be near sixty degrees and it's supposed to be calmer in our office. I'll allow the warmer temperatures for a while but I hope for one more bout of snow before Spring truly arrives.

In the meantime, rejections or not, I'm determined to make this week better just by trying to enjoy life instead of trying to hide from the stress that surrounds me. I have tricks for doing this. I've discovered that the "Bale Out" remix of Christian Bale's on-set rant makes me giggle uncontrollably. Christian Bale is proof that we all have bad days at work, no matter what our job. I feel bad for him that his bad day was recorded. When my day is bad, all I can do is call my poor mother and vent to her. She's a great listener and usually, a good vent session is all I need to make going into the office bearable the next day.

Yet since it's a Monday and I'm trying to be positive, I'm hoping that there are no bad days this week. I'll keep you posted on that.

Happy Monday.