Well, I just voted online for the Hugo Awards' final shortlist, which was a fun first experience. I couldn't vote in nearly all the categories, but still, it was great to see some stories and books that I loved on the list. I'm getting really excited about WorldCon, although with every report I read, I'm also growing more determined NOT to keep our hotel reservation at the Moat House (also known as The Noisy Hotel where con events will be taking place after midnight!). We're looking into possibly co-renting a holiday apartment in Glasgow with friends, which would come out cheaper as well as (so much) quieter! (We ended up leaving Eastercon a day early this year just because the noise levels were so insane that we Could Not Sleep, and it was making us crazy! Parties going on in the next room until 5 a.m., no soundproofing whatsoever...bad, bad, bad! We will never be staying at the Hinckley Island Hotel for a con ever again.)

This morning was full of practical business-y writing stuff, like deciding which magazines to send which stories to, making print-outs, packaging up manuscripts and cover letters, etc. This afternoon I'll go out to the post office to mail it all off. I find the whole submission process unnerving and full of prickly discomfort--I hate trying to figure out which magazines might be best for trying out each different story. It feels like such a crazy, hopeless gamble every time. I'm much happier once the stories are actually off, out of my hands, and I don't have to worry about them for...oh...months, sometimes, before the next round!

The trees outside are shaking wildly, against a dull gray sky. Looks like it'll be a rainy afternoon. Oh, how I wish I hadn't left my raincoat in Michigan....sigh, sigh, sigh.

Now back to work, and no more worrying!