Last night when I got home, I found out that I'd received a package, but that I'd have to wait until today since the apartment complex office was closed by the time I got there. I went over on my lunch break this afternoon and picked up the package, which was from Gavin Grant (of Small Beer Press fame). I opened it when I got back to my desk at work and bounced up and down. The contents: the newest issues of Lady Churchill's and Say..., Foreigners, and Other Familiar Faces by Mark Rich, and the review copies of Trampoline edited by Kelly Link and Kalpa Imperial by Angelica Gorodischer and translated by Ursula K. Le Guin. Whee! The review copies are advanced uncorrected proofs that have no covers, at which I was a little disappointed, but Gavin sent along a cover flat for Trampoline, so I can pretend. It's funny, I was just bugging Gavin about when this stuff would come, and it got here yesterday. Yee haw!

I was excited to discover that Kelly Link, Richard Butner, and Dave Shaw are going to be doing a reading at Quail Ridge on August 5 to promote Trampoline. This will be directly after Trinoc*con, so I'm guessing Kelly and Gavin are going to make it again this year. And hey, hep cats! Don't forget that Jeffrey Ford is going to be at QRB tomorrow night at 7:00. Exciting times.

I've been enjoying reading the Clarion 2003 journals so far and reliving those hellacious and wonderful six weeks last summer. I like Cathy Morrison's in particular; her journaling style is a lot like Heather's and Jenn's. The first week of Clarion is over, and they're only one-sixth finished. It's really cool to be able to read these entries and see myself back in Owen Hall playing Mafia and eating bad food in the cafeteria and staying up until three in the morning to get a story finished so I could put it in the submission box the next day. I can kind of understand now why people go to the reunions.

You know, I find myself pulling my pants up a lot lately. They don't hang on my waist like they used to, and tend to slide down. I look better in the mirror, and feel better as well. My apetite is not nearly as ravenous as before, and I eat less. I had to take a "passport" photo yesterday to go with all the immigration paperwork, and I looked good (though I was right at the beginning of a smile when the guy clicked the camera, so I look like I'm about to kill him). I'm making a definite effort now. My high school reunion is in November, and my ultimate goal is to lose another 40 pounds. If I can keep up what I'm doing and get even half that far by the reunion, I'll be a happy boy.

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Now Reading:
Report to the Men's Club and Other Stories by Carol Emshwiller

Stories Out to Publishers:
12

Books Read This Year:
23

Novel Word Count:
9200