So Busy...

I have been so busy the past few weeks. I am doing my job and that of my boss who is out on maternity leave. I have also been out on jury duty. I haven't had time to read any of my favorite blogs and as you well know post anything on my own blog.

I have been trying to at least squeeze in some writing...as little as that has been.

I hope everyone is doing okay. Until next time...

Anika

Returning Home . . .

Hi all. I'm back from Jamaica and it's good to be home. We left Jamaica just in time to miss the new Tropical Storm. Gustav was on its way there, and it might also be headed to South Florida, no telling yet though. According to the forecasters, this storm will strengthen to a Category 3 Hurricane by the end of the week.

Everything went as best as could be expected with the funeral and all my family members have made it home in one piece. There were a few ups and downs along the way, but life isn't perfect and the unexpected always happens. It was good seeing everyone and sad that this was the occasion to bring everyone together.

Anyway, that is all for now. I'm going to go get some sleep.

Busy . . . Yeah Right . . .

I wish I could say that I have been too busy to post because of writing. But since I always try to be honest, let's try out the truth. My mind right now is such a jumble I can't even figure out what to write on my blog.

I have tons of works in progress and I'm excited about all of them, but I just can't seem to focus on any one long enough to get it done. I wouldn't say I have writers block per se I'm just anxious. I want to get so much done so quickly that I make myself nauseous.

Additionally, I had a mini-melt-down last week, I'm over it now. So I know that a lot of people do not read F/F so I have been trying to do research on the best places to market my work. I have noticed that even when the public forums/yahoogroups that I am a member of advertise GLBT days they really only mean the G and B. Thank goodness I write other genres or I would not even get a nibble for my work.

I'm also very tired from the day job. The workload has been increasing since the success of our last major project, add to that my boss will be going away on maternity leave soon. And I'm trying to catch up on a whole missed month of work.

Lately, I've been telling a friend of mine that I want a job where I don't have to think anymore, some kind of mindless work, something automatic. She doesn't think I would last long in one of those. But really if I earn the same amount as I do now, I would satisfied at least for now.

Amarinda Jones did a blog post about being a pleb, click her name to check it out. I think I need to go lower on the totem pole, because even though I'm not a manager, too many people depend on me for too many things. Oh and since I don't consider writing work or a hardship I would love to dedicate more time to that than the day job.

Anyway, that's enough whining for one day. Until I think of something else to say . . .

Yahoo! Groups

Since starting this process, I have been joining more and more chat groups to give myself some exposure, since I am a new author. And also to see what others are doing. Right now I am the proud member of 32 groups related to my writing and I feel alone in the crowd.

I was about to press the Join button again to participate in an organized chat, and I just couldn't do it. I am tired of going around to all these groups. How do people do this on a daily basis? Do authors really need to join all these groups?

I also find that for the most part I don't enjoy these chats. I do like doing the blogging and reading some of my favorite blogs (Amarinda Jones, Lyn Taylor, Barbara Huffert). But trying to do the Yahoo! chats are draining. I find I forget that I'm even doing it because I'm writing or doing something else.

Yes, I know I'm antisocial. But who really cares. I have come to realize not everyone gets me, or even understands when I say things. It is much harder to express yourself in these chats, because people do not have enough time to get your quirkiness. Also, my genre is not interesting to a lot of people and I refuse to force it down anyone's throat. I also know some people might take exception to this blog entry, but as I tell my friends all the time. People will hate for the act of breathing. You really don't have to do anything to inspire hate in a person's heart. Sad but true.

Am I bashing Yahoo! Groups? Of course not. I think it can be a wonderful tool. I first became aware of it during the hurricane season some years ago. Our family from all over the world were freaked out because Florida was hit and they didn't know what was happening. Trying to call everyone was becoming too difficult so we created a group for our family. We were able to get information to everyone at the same time and that was how it was born.

So will I press the Join button? I don't really know. Only time will tell. But be aware, this button for this particular group has presented itself to me a number of times over the past couple of months and I have resisted the urge. Hopefully, I can hold out for the rest of the day. Cross your fingers, and wish me luck.