Odds & Ends

I know I haven't posted in awhile, but I have GREAT excuses.

1) We have a new puppy named Blitzy" (Blitz for short) and there is a lot of pee and poop. 

2) Our furniture, boxes, books, toys, washer/dryer, etc. arrives here on Tuesday, courtesy of my awesome in-laws who are driving it up to us in a trailer and very uncomfortable truck. I intend to feed them well while they're here visiting. Total labor of love. 

3) FM Archive project - you Taffers who follow this blog know what this means, but for everyone else: I help moderate a website called TTLG (Through The Looking Glass) that is dedicated to preserving the legacy of the now defunct Looking Glass Studios (the creators of games like Thief, System Shock, Ultima Underworld, etc.). Imagine something like a Beatles tribute site. So people make their own little game maps and missions (fan missions = FM's) using the tools from some of these games. This has been going on for 12 years and it's one of the most robust communities like this on the web - there are literally hundred's of these fan made missions, custom tweaks, contests, and reviews. Unfortunately, the database has been in neglect for about 5 years, so it's time to get it cleaned up, organized, repair links, etc. I'm only helping with it but getting all the tools running on my Win7 laptop again, and the research has been a bit of a time suck. (Yes, this is the same game and community I spent 5+ years working on a large fan made project with in the early 00's. The insanity never stops)

4) NaNoWriMo - I'm trying to be more serious about writing every day and sending out samples and queries to agents. With that in mind, I have been working feverishly to complete a draft of a book I've been working on since 2005, so that now in the month of November I can begin a rough draft on a project that's been circling my brain for a few years. The boys are also participating in NaNoWriMo this year so we're spending a chunk of the day, faces buried in laptops, checking each other's work and keeping word counts. So much fun, but also time consuming. 

5) I've started singing in the studio with a local band and have been tasked with writing lyrics/vocals to 11-12 pre-existing songs. Lots of time caterwauling here at home and most of my Saturday afternoons are spent collaborating with the band. Lots of fun to be back in a casual, creative atmosphere. I have a lot of pent up lyrics and ideas. 

6) School - the boys are moving really quickly in math and I'm spending quite a bit of time on Kahn academy trying to stay ahead of Rich. He's due to start algebra in a few weeks and I needed a major refresher. Brennan is about half-way through second grade math and will be finished with it before the end of the school year. At this rate, he'll be almost 2 years ahead by the time we start back next fall. Whew!

So I know I keep saying this, but we should be back to some semblance of normal life after we're completely settled in here and sink into our schedule a bit more. My goal is to post at least once a week if not twice. 

In the meantime, you might enjoy THIS POST over at Sushi & Pizza, the blog of our great friends the Foley's. It's their angle on our trip to NYC this summer and it's a really fun read. We have so much fun with them anywhere we go, so it was awesome to do the Big Apple together, a trip we'll never forget.