A So-Called SoCal Escape

Some of you know how Jim and I have been hemming and hawing the past year about moving away from San Diego. Yes, it's beautiful here. Yes, it's sunny. Yes, it's warm year-round. Yes, it's crowded and expensive. Then you heard us complaining about how we bought this house (so expensive) just before the housing market started to slide downhill, and about how we'd gotten ourselves stuck in a place we're not that enamored with anymore.

Well, the tides have turned. As the saying goes, we're going to cut our losses and run. We will sell our house this summer (hopefully) and move to Denver for a bit until Jim gets accepted into a grad school.

We've got a #1 choice right now: University of Oregon. Not only does the school and PhD program seem great, but the town (Eugene) does, too. They even have a Japanese Language Immersion elementary school there, so all the Japanese I've been teaching Elizabeth won't be for naught. (No, she can't speak Japanese yet. She can't really speak English yet, except the cat's name. Oh, wait. The cat has a Japanese name. Hmm...) We've also got some other grad schools on the list that he'll apply for this winter (like University of New Hampshire, University of Washington, and others). He just needs to study a lot and take the GREs. Good for him. I'm glad I don't have to do it!

The best part of leaving San Diego is that we'll be finding a place that will allow us both to pursue our dreams. He can work towards his Physics goals, and I write. Some day, we will have the cute little house of our dreams, and he'll bike to the University to do research while I sip tea in my office and dream up fantastic characters with challenging storylines. And Elizabeth will go to school. :-)

We're both excited, but have heaps of work to do to get the house ready. Fortunately, he has another 3-day weekend coming up. He told me last night that his Command (his temp job until August) gives a day off for every 40 days they don't have an alcohol-related incident. Unfortunately, a ship is coming back soon, and that usually makes them start from scratch. Drunken sailors - cliche, yes, but true.

Copyeditor's Handbook

I got my copy of the handbook yesterday and have already read the first section - amazing, since the Queen is teething hard-core. The book has prompted me to take some grammar quizzes online. I didn't know how fun grammar could be until today! (I did know about punctuation being fun, though - from Eats, Shoots and Leaves.)

My editing website has been updated, but I'm still working on the wording. It's not quite right, just yet. I'm taking a copyediting course, which should help me figure out more of what to say.

Oh, yes. One more thing. We took Elizabeth to see her first movie today - though it was more for us than for her. Which movie? Shrek, of course. Who wouldn't want to see a green ogre on screen the first time they go to the movies? She did very well for a nine month-old... meaning, she lasted about thirty minutes. We walked around, nursed, played with the tracking lights on the floor, and stood in the back by the door. I missed the last fifteen minutes or so, but we enjoyed it none-the-less. The best part: in one scene, the princesses are clapping while Fiona opens a Baby Shower gift. Elizabeth saw them clapping - and she clapped with them. It was too cute!

How much writing have I been getting on? Sadly, not much, but I do have a date with the coffee shop tomorrow. When my husband gets home, we're trading off so I can get some much-needed storymaking done. I just can't let Rohana and the others sit in place for too long, or they'll invade my dreams with fists shaking and fingers wagging.

I got my hair cut today, too. A week of clouds, no car, and a fussy baby made me feel sorely deflated, so I took off all alone to get my hair changed. It didn't come out quite like I had wanted, but I like it.

Modest Mouse and a Modest Day

Yesterday, Jim and I dropped the babe off at a friend's house and went to the Modest Mouse concert. It was great for a few key reasons, the first being that we got out of the house without the Queen and the second being we got to see a great band. The only downside was that they played in a basketball stadium, and with the metal rafters, the acoustic resonance was a bit painful (i.e., screechy metallic sounds bouncing from the ceiling). They did play some great songs, though.

While there, I actually thought about what I would say in this blog. Now, however, it all seems silly - that which I can remember, anyway.

Today, I went to the doc for pain meds. I've been unsuccessfully "dealing with it" and Jim got tired of my whining. The culprit for the pain? Carrying around an infant. Apparently, even an infant in the 3rd percentile in weight (yes, THIRD) is heavy. She weighs in at 15lb 9oz. Her doctor said I need to try feeding her more. She, who cannot bother to sit still long enough to eat! At any rate, I came home armed with a wrist brace that looks like a gauntlet, motrin, and muscle relaxant.

She's teething (I think). I felt really bad for her because most of the day passed with pitiful cries. I tried to soothe her, but nothing much worked. She is usually all-action, but today she just wanted me to hold her while she turned in circles on my lap and cried. For me, it wasn't much fun. I don't think she enjoyed it much either. At the moment, she's fitfully asleep with her warm daddy. I should go join them - it's late!

I apologize about the tone in this post - the computer is slowing down, my fingers are cold, and I am exhausted. Time for those muscle relaxants...

Freelancin'

Yes, that is a lance, being held by a Native American, on a horse. And yes, they are galloping freely across the countryside. Not towards an Englishman in Armor, I hope.

So, in other words, I am going freelance. I've started my own business as a Freelance Editor. Sounds big, but fun! As cheesy as this sounds, my website address is: amberedits.com. (I wanted greenpenediting.com, but it was already taken.)

Now I get to make business cards, market myself, and all those other things I didn't think would be fun but are turning out to be exciting. Here's to a successful business helping people get their words (and facts) straight!

Oh, and yes, I will continue to write my book. As a matter of fact, I went to the coffee shop this evening in the midst of business planning and wrote 1,000 intense words. I just had to find a way to bring in money so that I can eat and raise my child while I'm writing my book.

The Great Outdoors

We went on a picnic yesterday. :-) If you ever want to distract a baby, offer up a water bottle. It's amazing what plastic and liquid can provide for entertainment. That, and twigs and bits of grass.

And what else goes with the Great Outdoors?? Outdoor clothing and gear! I applied for a job as a copywriter in an outdoor clothing catalogue... in Wyoming. We'll see how that goes. Not having spent much time in the State of Wyoming, I don't have much to judge it by, but it's certainly cheaper than San Diego. Probably less traffic, too. More horses and cows, I'd imagine. Wasn't it Wyoming that first allowed women to vote? (I'll have to look that up...)

Well, the child has turned into a Screaming Banshee, so I must quit for now. Cheers!

Warriors of Peace

The Moriori may not have been warriors in the traditional sense, considering they were peaceful people, but they hunted prolifically and held on to their pre-peaceful legends and songs, carving them into the trees. These wooden planks decorated a spirit house in the Chathams --- aren't they beautiful? It's disconcerting that the rest of the world is having a very difficult time metamorphosing their warrior spirit into one of patience and love like the Moriori did, but it's a Truth in humanity, I guess.

Sadly, the Moriori are no more.

And that is what the book is about. (Well, that and an adventurous young woman with really good spear-throwing skills.)