Exercise pt XIX (final)

“How long has it been since you last saw me?”

He sighed, his shoulders dropping. Suddenly he looked older, tired. “About four days, as far as I can tell.”

“That explains why the black eye hasn't quite healed up.” It was the one thing that had surprised me when he reappeared. His left eye wasn't swollen shut anymore, but the skin around it was still dark purple. “Does it still hurt?”

“Only when I wink.”

I couldn't help smiling. I was about to go on, ask more, but the watch beeped again. “Time to go,” he said.

“Oh, say goodbye to – ”

He was gone.

“ – Robert for me.”

I sighed, and went to turn the light off again. I was going to sleep late tomorrow, maybe take a day off. I deserved it, didn't I?

When I had gotten back into bed I realized that I hadn't really said goodbye to Sebastian either. I supposed there was always a chance I might see them both again. After all, I hadn't expected to see them today either. And I remembered them still this time; I remembered everything that had happened. There was always a chance. I lay back and closed my eyes. Probably some day when I wasn't expecting it . . .

The bedroom light flicked on. “I'm sorry; didn't I give you enough time to get dressed?”

I sat up, fast. “What?!?”

“You're not dressed,” Sebastian repeated. “You can't go like that – not when we'll be in public, anyway.”

I stared at him for a long moment. He couldn't have been away very long; no more than a day, judging by the bruises around his eye.

“Well, we have some time,” he said, not seeming to notice my confusion. “Pack a bag if you want – not more than you can easily carry, though. We can always come back when you need to.”

I blinked a few times. It seemed like I always had far more questions than I could ever ask, with him. Finally I said, “I didn't expect you so soon.”

“Didn't I tell you – ?” He shook his head. “Sorry about that. It's my lousy memory. And sometimes I just don't have the time.” He looked at me for a moment, studying my face. “You do want to come, right? You can get some of those questions answered, at least.”

I thought about my deadlines, about bills that had to be paid. Things that had to be done. Responsibilities. And about those two men in the restaurant. They had ignored me because I wasn't part of whatever Sebastian and Robert were doing. If I went with Sebastian now, I would be part of it.

I thought about the pictures now on my computer: pictures of me, my friends, and these two men I barely knew. And one picture in particular.

I got out of bed. “Where are we going – or should I say, when?”

This is how rumors get started...

on Twitter:

palinode: I'm thinking of becoming a professional flabbergaster.

hrtsmom: Instead of an amateur one like you are now?

palinode: Exactly. I'm seeking to monetize my flabbergastery.

hrtsmom: I hope a dearth of schools for professional flabbergastery does not problematize your ambitions.

palinode: No way. The flabbergastery academy dearth only opens up new venues for credentialing. As in, I can design my own curriculum.

hrtsmom: So will you then turn to instructioning others in the flabbergastery arts? Or do you intend to keep the secrets to yourself?

palinode: As I said to @sparksfley, just send me an SASE and a blank VHS tape, and the Secrets of Flabbergastery can be yours.

hrtsmom: I'm now pondering the usefulness of flabbergastery as a parenting tool.

palinode: Flabbergastery is not only a good parenting tool, it's good tool for any situation. It's the Leatherman of obnoxious behaviour.

hrtsmom: You do realize I may have to blog this, right?

palinode: Blog it at your leisure. Repent in haste.

hrtsmom: Whenever I repent, I always do so hastefully.

But here's the kicker:

therealgod: FORGIVEN RT: @hrtsmom Blog it at your leisure. Repent in haste.

The amount of work I want to do at the moment is approximately none.

Suddenly I have scads of time to write in my journal and nothing to say. When I have a lot to say, I don't have any time to write it down and then I end up forgetting most of it. Or else I tweet it and it's equally gone.

So what HAVE I gotten done lately? um. I finished the Sebastian & Robert story segment, except for the typing. And I did some more work on the new story. I still haven't decided whether I should attempt to restrain that one or let it spin out and see what it does. I would say it's easier to cut things out later than to add things in. For the most part that's true, but not always. Still . . . I suppose I might as well see where it goes. No point in restraining something that may end up at a standstill anyway.

The garden is doing all right as far as I can tell. No blossoms on the peas or beans yet though. I realize I'm probably being too impatient, but it's hard to wait, especially after the disappointment of the radishes. Next year I'm going to start some things indoors if I can find the space for them – which means space where the cats can't get into them.

I realized yesterday, as I was reading my old journal books, that Baxter arrived 6 years ago this month and Sam arrived 3 years ago. I can't help spotting a pattern and it means we're due again. Three cats three years apart? It seems nicely symmetrical. But it doesn't mean I'm going looking for a new kitten. I'm quite content to wait for one to come to me.

Speaking of anniversaries, I went through my IMVU pictures the other day and discovered that I apparently met both Troi and Ian some time between the 5th and the 12th of July last year. Yesterday I sent them both gifts in honor of the occasion, though I feel Ian's was rather undeserved. I suppose it was a not-so-subtle hint on my part, but so far he's ignored it as he's ignored me for nearly three weeks now. I haven't heard from Troi whether he's seen his or not yet, but then I never heard from him about the last one I sent either . . . What's the matter with these guys? I swear it's nearly enough to send me slinking back to my imaginary friends.

The kids are starting their art class today. Of course they won't be gone nearly as long as I would like, but at least it keeps them usefully occupied for a while. Only for three weeks though; I was thinking it was four. So I'll be going back to morning walks sooner than I thought.

I got a notice in the mail that Heather needs to get some immunizations before she starts school this year. oh that should be fun. I can hear the crying and screaming now. I can't remember getting shots for school when I was that age – but of course that was in the last century when things were much more primitive and medical science had not advanced so far. I do vaguely remember getting shots while in grade school though; I seem to remember there was something nearly every year and the school nurse did them.

No exciting celebrity sightings lately, though I haven't been looking as hard. The odd glimpse here and there. It's not that I'm “so over that,” but first of all I've been trying to restrain myself and secondly I've been in a rather lumpish state of mind lately, what with the heat and humidity and not getting enough sleep and certain people being selfish bastards. If I'm going to pester Particular People I want to at least sound semi-intelligent when I do it. At least I don't have to worry that I'll be missed while I'm away recharging my brain.

Exercise pt. XVIII (nearly the end)

I finally tracked the beeping noise to my purse. When I opened it I nearly dropped it: there was something flashing inside. “Stupid,” I muttered at myself, and reached for the flashing thing.

It was Sebastian's pocket watch; the flashing was coming from inside the case, just visible through the seam between the two halves. I pushed the button to release the catch. The watch face stopped flashing and settled to a cool blue glow, with a small dot of orange light where the 12 should have been. The inside of the cover was silver, polished as smooth as a mirror. That seemed odd, considering that the outside of the case was grubby, scratched, ancient-looking brass.

Turning it over in my hand, I remembered Sebastian giving his watch to the man in the restaurant. That watch had been shiny-gold on the outside, with a fancy scrollwork pattern etched on the side I saw. “Neat trick,” I said aloud.

“Simple, really – but the best tricks usually are.”

I didn't jump this time; already I was getting better at this. “I hope you tipped the busboy for me,” Sebastian went on as he came to take his watch. “I was a little short of cash when I saw him.”

“I did,” I said. “Let me guess: you knew where to find me because you've already been here too.”

He laughed. “No, I haven't – that I remember. I used Robert's watch to track this one.”

“His real watch?”

Sebastian nodded. “It's a pain sometimes remembering when we need to have duplicates on us. So far we've managed to stay ahead.

“Did the alarm wake you up?” he went on. I realized he was looking at my pajamas, which tonight consisted of a bright yellow T-shirt with black letters reading, “Writing is real work.” It wasn't quite long enough. “Sorry about that.”

I sat down in my desk chair, trying not to be too obvious about putting my hands in my lap. “No big. How did you get away from those guys – and where's Robert?”

He slid his watch back into his vest pocket. “Getting away was easy enough, though it would have been easier if we'd had both watches.”

“So why leave yours with me?”

“Just on the off chance that they'd decide to search me – and I wanted to be able to get back to you easily.” He grinned. “After all, I didn't really know where you would go after the restaurant. I only remembered part of what happened.”

“Okay. Oh, by the way . . .” I picked up the iPod from the desk and handed it to him. “I recharged it for you.”

“Thanks!” He put that away in another vest pocket, then glanced at the clock on the desk. “Oops, almost midnight. Robert's waiting; it was easier for me to come here by myself.”

“Okay,” I said again. I felt a bit deflated, and not just because I was still sleepy. Of course he'd come to get the watch and the iPod. That was all. Now he had to move on. I would have liked a chance to say goodbye to Robert too.

“Can you tell me something first?” I asked.

“Possibly,” he said, smiling a little.

Then!

So it's July and some time this month is the anniversary of meeting two particular people. One of whom I'm chatting with at the moment as he waits for a plane in Chicago, and the other of whom has been visibly avoiding me for the past 16 days (but who's counting). Up to him, though. And up to me if I decide I don't know him next time he decides he wants to talk to me.

So what's new and/or improved? Not the weather. It's warmer but of course it has to be humid now as well. When I went out walking this morning it was only 60° but the humidity was almost too much for me. However I'm still going to do the walking-to-school thing with the kids starting on Monday. Easier not to make an excuse for not walking that way, plus I can sleep in a bit later in the mornings for a few weeks.

I planted a few more peas and beans in the garden, to fill in some space where things either didn't sprout or were dug up before the fence was put up. The weeds are down now that the plants are getting bigger and no more seeds are falling from the trees. I still miss the big garden we had back when, though. It's weird having a garden so small you can water the whole thing while standing in one spot.

I tried out my new food dehydrator, what I got for my birthday, this week. Apples and bananas. The apples turned out nicely; the bananas less so. But the thing was a solid-gold A+ pain in the ass to clean up. There was sticky, hardened juice all over the bottom, which of course I couldn't put in to soak because you can't submerge the heating element. The trays weren't as bad but even harder to clean because of the grid. I think I'm going to look for some cheesecloth to line the trays with before I use it again. Either that or I'll only use it when I'm feeling particularly masochistic.

The new story is coming along nicely. I've written four pages (which of course is only about two typed pages) and I'm already half-afraid it wants to turn into a novel. I knew it was going to be longer than a standard short story before I started, but as usual my ideas are spinning well ahead of me. Right now I don't think I have enough story to make a novel, but as I go on there's likely to be more. I've already altered the ending and I think it may no longer BE the ending. I did want to write a Callizania story eventually. I wasn't planning to start it before I finished the Kayli stories though, and certainly not before I even get ONE of the Calli stories finished. Seems my muse only gets busy at the worst possible moments.

The current segment of the Sebastian story is almost finished too. I think when I'm done with it I'll give some attention to Michael and/or Robert. I want to keep the Island stories going even though they're never going to be formally published. For now, though, Owen is right out of it.

There are little bits of sticky dried fruit juice on my shirt.

One year ago today I was dealing with a stupid computer and some stupid people.

Where rose the mountains, there to him were friends;
Where rolled the ocean, thereon was his home;
Where a blue sky, and glowing clime, extends,
He had the passion and the power to roam;
The desert, forest, cavern, breaker's foam,
Were unto him companionship; they spake
A mutual language, clearer than the tome
Of his land's tongue, which he would oft forsake
For Nature's pages glossed by sunbeams on the lake.
– Lord Byron, “Childe Harold's Pilgrimage”


The really great thing about cats is their endless variety. One can pick a cat to fit almost any kind of decor, color scheme, income, personality, mood. But under the fur, whatever color it may be, there still lies, essentially unchanged, one of the world's free souls.
– Eric Gurney

Exercise pt. XVII

The young man turned to the woman at the cashier's desk nearby, and said something to her in Chinese. She replied in the same language, then listened as he spoke again at greater length.

I waited until the woman turned back to me. “He says your friend, the man with the beard, was here last week. Your friend told him, look under his napkin after he leaves the table and give these things to you.”

I took the iPod and the watch. “My friend told him this – last week?”

She said something to the busboy, and he nodded. That explained why Sebastian had thought the restaurant looked familiar. But if he had known he should leave these things for me – I remembered him carefully laying his napkin down on the table – he must have gone to last week from some time in my future. No wonder he could hardly give me a straight answer to a question, when he lived his life constantly turning back on himself.

I put the iPod and the watch into my purse, then fished out a $10 bill and gave it to the busboy. “Thank you very much,” I told him. “I'll tell my friend you did what he asked.”

Because I still didn't know what else to do, I went home. I left the new clothes I'd bought earlier – it seemed like days ago now – in my bedroom and went to sit at my desk. I didn't turn on the computer, though. Instead I sat there scrolling through the pictures on the iPod, remembering how I'd seen them before.

Then I found one I hadn't seen before, three or four slots after the one of me with Lee. It looked like the photographer had caught Sebastian and me unawares, so to speak. But then, we both had our eyes closed and seemed to be concentrating on each other, as people tend to do when thye're kissing. So it was hardly surprising that we didn't seem to have noticed someone taking our picture.

I stared at that one for a long time. Then I turned on the computer and found the USB cord from my own iPod. It took a while, but I soon had all the pictures from Sebastian's iPod copied to my computer. I left the iPod charging while I went to fix myself some more supper.

I ate in front of the TV, as I tend to do far too often, but couldn't find anything worth watching. I glared at one reality show for a good fifteen minutes, wondering why I was watching it, before realizing it was the same thing Robert had been watching at the bar when we first met. Then I turned the TV off.

Back at the computer, I tried to do some more writing, but it was hopeless. I killed some more time wandering through my social network sites – Facebook, Twitter, IMVU – but couldn't find much to occupy me there either. Finally I decided to make an early night of it and got ready for bed. I sat up reading for a while, and that relaxed me enough thtat I was able to get to sleep.

I woke up to a strange beeping noise. It wasn't my alarm clock; when I looked at that, the display read 11:45 PM. I'd been asleep less than an hour. The beeping went on, getting louder, so I groaned my way out of bed and went looking for whatever offensive gadget was doing its business at such a stupid hour.

My little garden seems to have turned into a disappointment. Radishes – pfft. We got six that were just barely worth eating. I pulled the rest to make room for the peas and tomatoes, which may not really need it. There is one jalapeno sprout and four or five bean plants. With more space and deeper soil it might have been worth the effort. And I know there's still plenty of summer left, but I'm not hopeful. Try again next year, maybe.

The weather's turned chilly again too. Well, chilly being a relative term of course. Compared to the 80+ average we had last week, 68 with a heavy breeze feels chilly. I did get out walking this morning anyway. I was tempted not to, but I want to get a few more days in before the kids start their art classes next week.

Eight full weeks of summer vacation left, counting this one. I think a long drawn-out sigh expresses the sentiment without anything else being necessary.

There is some good news anyway: I finally started the new story yesterday. It took me about an hour to get through two pages, but a good portion of that time was spent just figuring out how to start. I was pretty sure of where and when I was starting; I just couldn't quite get the how. I've already made a problem for myself though. The catalyst for the story beginning depended on my female lead being separated from her escort and forced to depend on the male lead. Easy enough to incapacitate the escort, but if the female is Callizania, she ought to be able to heal him easily enough too. I don't want to kill him because I may be making use of him in a future piece. On the other hand, it was going to be a bit tricky getting him to allow the female lead to go off alone with the male lead. Maybe the separation can come later, after they've come to trust the man. Hmm, I think I just solved my problem. This is why I do this muttering to myself. And iTunes rewards me with an Abney Park song! It's a sign.

John and I took the kids to the zoo last night. There have been some new babies born there recently, but the only one we got to see was the camel. There were three red pandas born on the 11th, and there was a video set-up outside the enclosure so we could see them, though I don't think it was a live feed. They probably won't be on view for a couple of months at least. We saw the wolves of course, but apparently they'd had a busy day and were sleeping it off. Sirius was the only one who was active; he had a nice big bone he was chewing on and the others were just ignoring him.

The guys set up the pool for the kids late last week. R has spent pretty much every minute she could in there, but now it's too cold again.

R's also been keeping in practice at being a total pain in the ass lately. I think it's lack of sleep really. I've been cutting them some slack in going to sleep “on time” since vacation started, but some nights I think she's been awake past eleven and it's really not helping her temper. I'll probably have to get stricter about it. Of course I can't make her go to sleep; I suppose I could start waking her up earlier. It's just harder to police them when they're downstairs.

I may have to start getting up earlier myself, or something. My mornings are still going by in a blink and I can't figure out what else to do about it. Even on the days when I don't chat with anybody, I still can't get to doing any cleaning before lunch. True, I lack motivation. But I can't figure out what's taking up so much time.

Today I had to do a repair job on my latest necklace. The bigger crimp beads I bought last time just don't hold as well if I don't give them enough attention, I guess. I also did a bit of a rebuild on a necklace I bought through Etsy. It's a pendant, silver-backed epoxy with a picture of an airship on it. The chain was too short, but luckily I had some silver chain that I'd been waiting to find a use for. I don't know why I feel more clever when I repair or rebuild something than I do when I make something in the first place. It seems a bit backward.

Nerys had another day at the vet on Thursday. The latest report is that her blood sugar is getting too high again. The vet said it's likely due to her metabolism being a bit abnormal, so he's going to have a different test run at the end of next month. It's aggravating, is what it is. For the moment I'm supposed to keep her diet and insulin regimen the same, since she isn't really showing any symptoms. She's a bit wobbly from time to time but nothing like the way she was before we started her treatment. Just have to continue to keep an eye on her for now.

Kids these days

Well actually it was 5 years ago, but they haven't changed that much.

New pics

From the zoo! I will attempt to add descriptions tomorrow but it's very very late right now...