I so did not feel like coming to work this morning. I haven't been sleeping well lately ... lots of weird dreams and stuff. Anyway, I've pretty much accomplished everything I set out to do this week. There's still one more box to ship, and I'll do that this afternoon when I get off work. I also got a haircut yesterday which was long overdue. My trip to the post office yesterday was painless, fortunately. The printer also did a good job with my thesis, and it ended up being a lot cheaper than I had expected. I also got a quote on the hardback binding, which will also cost me a lot less than I had imagined.

But ... ::drum roll:: ... when I went to turn my thesis in at the Chinese department office, they told me I needed five copies ... even though they told me three copies two weeks ago. Needless to say, I was not pleased. Normally, my reaction probably would have been to threaten to drop kick the office girl and then screw her boyfriend, but she's always been nice to me, so I was nice and gave her the three copies I had, and now will have to go back again on Monday with the two additional copies. The test could come at any time after that.

I took Shadow back to the vet and the doc said that his skin infection is healing very nicely. He gave him another shot and some more ointment, and that should do it. He also told me that I can skip one of those horrid, pointless steps for getting the cats out of the country (or so he says ... we'll have to wait and see). So, apparently, they now only need two check-ups instead of three. Anyway, they all get their immunization boosters, rabies shots, and microchips implanted next month. I'll also need to get Simba neutered before I leave.

The plan for this weekend is to get one more box of stuff packed up and ready to ship on Monday, and then do some clothes sorting and washing. I'm gonna need to go clothes shopping as soon as I get back to the States, cause a lot of my clothes are too small or too old, so I will probably end up donating a lot of stuff to charity here. But I have lots to go through, and I want to wash all of my winter clothes before I ship them back. Sounds fun, eh?

As for writing, I've been really slow lately. It's not exactly writer's block, because I know what I want to write, but I'm just feeling lazy. Kitty is now going through the second edit of Ch. 13 of SOOTB, and I'm working (slowly) on Ch. 16. One thing I'd like to point out is Connor's reaction to the rape. One person pointed out that he didn't like the fact that Connor seemed "fine" with everything too quickly. I think it's important to remember that everyone's reaction to that kind of experience is different, and those things tend to fester for a while and then suddenly, when least expected, the victim will often have a reaction. Also, remember that Connor is heavily sedated while he is at the hospital. Were his reactions to his sponge bath and the twins "appropriate" or "realistic"? For him, they were. Obviously, his experience in Ch. 11 has changed his life in many ways, and there will be much more on how he deals with it, over a period of time, sometimes in small ways, and sometimes in more dramatic ways. Just keep that in mind as you're reading.

I've also discussed ideas for future stories with Kitty, and may start outlining something at some point. I've also got a story planned for the Summer Anthology that would fit with either the "vacation" or "summer fling" themes, which seem to be the two leaders in the poll. And if the theme turns out to be something different, then I'll still post it anyway as a short story ... probably!