BH: 315, Chapters 10 and 11 edited

Well, we’ve been hashing out more plans for our trip, so I guess it’s as close to definite as it’s going to get, and I might as well ramble about it here.

Ken (or, I should say, Meese Consulting) has a job in Portland next week. We’ve sorted everything out so we can ride up on the bike. We’ll be leaving this Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, arriving in the Portland area on Saturday or Sunday. He’ll work Monday through Thursday, and we’ll leave Thursday to head back home, arriving on Friday. (That’ll be a couple of long days, lemme tell you.) The company he’ll be working for is paying travel expenses, and gas and motels are cheaper than a flight and a rental car.

The current plan is to get near Sacramento on Day 1. On Day 2, we’ll go up to Redding and revisit old haunts (we both lived there, but at different times and before we knew each other), then cut across to the coast and go up as far as we want before we crash. Day 3 will be the rest of the way up the coast (possibly stopping to have lunch with Kris & Dean) and into Portland. If we leave on Thursday of this week, we’ll have a little more leeway to play around, of course.

Ken doesn’t think he’ll need the laptop during the day, so I’ll be able to write. (I wouldn’t’ve been able to justify going otherwise.) I’m trying to decide what to work on. ALNM is the best bet in terms of it being the next thing on my Writing To Do List. But Sarah and I are both working on it, and it’s easier to do so when I’ve got a cable modem through which I can contact her and discuss things. My other idea is to focus on short stories—perhaps with a goal of a story a day Monday-Thursday. There are a number of anthologies I’d like to shoot for. This could also include stories I’ve written but need to heavily revise. I’m leaning towards this plan right now.

I’m in a bit of a panic, with so much I want to do beforehand, and so much to organise re: what to bring. There’s not a lot of room on the bike. I want to bring books and magazines to read, my workout clothes, writing files, etc. OTOH, during the ride it’s just jeans and shirts. Hopefully we’ll be able to do laundry at the hotel.

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It’s been an uneventful day so far. Had my body adjusted at the chiropractor; he couldn’t get my mid back to budge and confirmed that my shoulder muscles are again rocks. He’s comped me this adjustment and the last, and I can’t afford the therapy/massage to go along with them. I do have a promissory for a half-hour massage from an SCA friend, and I ought to call that one in.

Had a long talk about the trip and other stuff we need to get done and that sort of thing. Made lunch, did dishes (actually, Ken did), etc. Like I said, uneventful. I’m finally now getting to look at Chapter 10. I really have to bustle to get these last three chapters edited before we leave.

Finished Chapters 10 and 11! Let the happy dance commence! Chapter 12 (the last chapter) needs about 1K added to it—it’s rushed and sketchy—so I think I’ll leave that for tomorrow.

Also dealt with Great Western War stuff; of course, I’m leaving during a crucial time when I need to oversee the website, but I’ll have a little Internet access, and I’m warning everyone well ahead of time. I finished proofreading the Society Rapier Manual. Phew! I watched the second half of the History Channel show about Russia, and finished the outlining of embroidery I was doing (which means the rest will be easy to do whilst on vacation).

Tomorrow’s plans are to run some errands, edit Chapter 12, start packing, and start gathering writing stuff (antho guidelines, etc.). And eat all of the perishable food in the fridge. [g] I’m much less panicked now. As in, not at all, really. That may be in part due to a glass of wine, though…