truepenny | taking stock

Monday. September twenty-second. Anno domini 2003.

Thanks to

oursin reminding me of its existence on my shelves, I'm reading through Gillian Bennett's "Alas, Poor Ghost!": Traditions of Belief in Story and Discourse. It is being really helpful, oddly enough, with issues of community that my pamphlet chapter has been wrestling with.

Emperor isn't exactly stuck at the moment, but I'm feeling very tentative about it.

DL (2) may finally be getting unstuck (insert choirs of angels here), largely thanks to

matociquala's enthusiasm. But, as Bertie Wooster says, the burned child fears the spilt milk, and I'm finding myself reluctant to commit to it again when I know I don't have the energy to spare if it goes sticky again.

I have three stories that need to go out this week; I have been dragging my feet unconscionably, I think because I'm afraid of new markets. Silly, huh? But the two 10k traditional horror novellas have been to all the places I'm used to sending things, so I'm going to have to send them somewhere untried and untested. I am filled with trepidation.

Also all kinds of stupid errands I need to run this week.

Two weeks from today, I give the dissertation to my committee.

I don't know. It's all just kind of there. Last night I was stressing; this morning I'm indifferent. (Although Alas, Poor Ghost! is really interesting.) I can't tell whether this is perspective or apathy.