It's been a while since I've been able to spend some time here. Work has been keeping me busy during the days and I'm still getting used to the big move. That and the anthology I'm editing will probably keep me mostly busy until the end of the year, but I'm hoping to steal a little more time for journaling as well.

Since last we spoke:

The good stuff:

As noted in my previous entry, I sold my story "Ten with a Flag," to Interzone. For those of you who don't know, Interzone is a very well respected Science Fiction magazine from the UK. This is a great market and I'll be thrilled to see my story in the pages of that particular magazine. It also marks my first honest-to-goodness no caveats professional sale. My Campbell clock is finally ticking. (The Campbell Award for new writers. You've two years of elligibility from the time you make your first "professional," sale. Not that I've got a snowballs chance in hell of even being considered for that award, but starting the clock is a milestone for me.) The were seriously considering two stories of mine, but in the end took only the one. Hell, one sale to Interzone is good enough for me anyday. I'll just have to send them something else soon.

Our little family has increased in size by one. Lillith is her name, and she's the most adorable little six-month old kitten I've ever seen. She's black, like Gryffyn, and she has this cute little scrunched up face. It's so small. I've never seen a cat with such a tiny little head and face. To top it off, she's a little lover. Loves to be held and will crawl up into your chest whenever the mood strikes her, which is often. I'll take pics and post them here this week. We've fallen in love with her, and Gryffyn has as well. I was worried about bringing another cat into the house as Gryffyn has been an only child since he was four months old, but he's taken to her well. The two of them really haven't stopped playing since Lillith arrived except to sleep and cuddle.


The weird stuff:

I had the most "I can't believe this shit," moment since I arrived here. My princess and I attended the Tourrette's Syndrome Association of Ohio's annual conference in Columbus a couple weekends back. My princess has never been around others with Tourrette's syndrome and when we found out that Ohio had an active group we were very excited. She'd been in contact with the local representative via email and was excited to meet her at the conference.

Well.

We met. Her son has Tourrette's syndrome. That's why she's active in the organization. My princess struck up a conversation with her and told this person that we'd moved to Lakewood.

Silence.

And then, "Oh, in time you can do better than Lakewood."

Huh? Lakewood is a wonderful little town. Beautiful houses, great shops, a good ethnic mix. You know, the kind of place my princess and I love.


"At one time," she said, "Lakewood had the second highest gay population in the country, right behind San Fransisco. Like I said, in time you can do better."

Excuse the fuck out of me? Her son has Tourrette's Syndrome for crying out loud. She had to watch the agony of someone who is ostracised and mocked and belittled simply because of the way he is. It's not a choice for him to have Tourrette's.

Yet she stood right there in the middle of the TSA conference and told us the town was bad because of the gay population.

Un-fucking-believable. We didn't speak with her again and won't speak with her again. Clueless is simply too gentle a word.

But I'm glad she told me about Lakewood. I like this town a lot more now. I was worried for a moment when she said we could do better. I thought she was going to tell me the town was filled with Republicans.

That really would have scared the shit out of me.

See you all soon.

Joseph Haines, signing off from The Edge of the Abyss.