Janet and I are driving down to the sprawling metropolis of Charlotte tomorrow so that she can get her biometrics (whatever that is) taken. Most likely this means she won't yet get her work permit or green card, so we'll be back there at least once more, if not more times. Her appointment's at 11:00, which means we'll have to roll out of bed around 6:30 a.m., which will very much be a challenge. At least she'll get to sleep in the car so she's fresh for her interactions with the government-type folks. I'm making sure to bring a book, since I anticipate hours of waiting.

The opening ceremonies for the 2004 summer olympics in Athens are Friday night, and my parents are coming over for dinner and to watch a bit of it. I'm not sure what we're fixing yet, since they're both on low-carb detail, and can't have anything too spicy, but we'll think of something good. Probably not curry, since in reponse to my comment yesterday that it could maybe be toned down, Janet told me, "What's the point, then?" Don't worry, Mom and Dad, we'll fix something yummy.

And to get y'all in a Greek mood, hie you hence to Lenox Avenue for Nick Mamatas's "Skatouioannis" and find out about the Greek god they didn't teach you about in school.

A phone call yesterday from my favorite local indie bookstore, Quail Ridge Books, asking if I'd come in for a job interview on Saturday. Nancy Olson, the owner, to whom I've talked many times, made sure my name was at the top of the list when they were next looking to hire someone, which is awesome. The job would be really cool, since they treat their employees really well, and there are some excellent book perks. I'm sure it would only be part-time, but that works out since classes start again a week from today.

Wilton Barnhardt also called yesterday and asked (since I'm in his short story workshop this semester) if I had anything ready for the first day of class. I guess he's starting out right off the bat, and luckily I finished "Stuck" last week. So I'll be making fifteen copies of it and bringing it to class Thursday next. He wanted three volunteers to bring stories right away, and he remembered me being fairly prolific (which, next to the other graduate students, I guess I might be). I was flattered.

I've been studying for the foreign language proficiency exam lately, and giving myself a refresher course in the French language; therefore, the rest of this paragraph will be en français. J'ai emprunté le manuel à la bibliothèque d'université et je l'ai lu chapitre par chapitre, et j'ai fait les exercices. C'a été une expérience intéressante, au reacquaint moi-même avec la langue après une absence de dix ans. À mon suprise, je comprends toujours beaucoup de la langue écrite, et je pense que je serai prêt pour l'examen. J'aurai aussi un dictionnaire français-anglais avec moi, ainsi l'examen ne devrait pas poser un problème.

Revisions on "Last Fare" are coming along. At this point, I think I'm either going to a) make minor changes to fix it up and send it off or b) rewrite the entire thing. I've been getting the idea of doing the story as a bunch of short-shorts, kinda like my latest mythologisms, but that may end up turning into a different story altogether. I do have the feeling that the current story will need to be toned down a bit, and the themes I want to talk about brought more to the surface. I have the feeling it wants to be a quieter story than it is now, more introspective, less crazy action. I'm having lots of ideas with this setting, which may turn into more stories or possibly a novel. I'm currently re-reading the title story from Jhumpa Lahiri's collection Interpreter of Maladies for tone and the thoughts of a tour guide ferrying around spoiled tourists.

Now Reading:
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Stories Out to Publishers:
6

Books Read This Year:
43

Zines/Graphic Novels/Fiction Mags Read This Year:
24