Two favorite songs of the moment: "Baby Blue Sedan" by Modest Mouse and "Troubadors" by Rilo Kiley. Go get 'em! Though not at iTunes, because iTunes has neither. Fire up your p2p engines! Or go to a record store. Or come over to my house sometime when I'm singing in the shower, and I'll give you a rendition of either one. Your choice. It'll be great. I'll do an encore of Liz Phair's "Fuck and Run." It seems to amuse Heather when I sing the bit about wanting a boyfriend, but what can I do? It's how the song goes.

I finished Devil in the White City, and liked it a lot. Not sure what to read next. Perhaps Kiernan's SF book, The Dry Salvages, which I will probably review. I should see if there are spare advance copies of Stephen King's The Dark Tower at work... I'm eager to read that one, though better reviewers than I will cover it for the magazine, I'm sure. I'm also going to pick up a copy of the new Year's Best Fantasy and Horror sometime this week. I read the summations at work today, and both Little Gods and Flytrap received kind mentions, which I appreciated.

I had a dream that I won the Campbell award, but only because I did well in the physical challenge portion of the contest, so I suppose it wasn't prophetic. There was an obstacle course involved, ropes and tires and cargo nets set up on the stage. None of the other contestants were actually writers, but were instead your standard reality-show cross-section (frat boy, buff Christian girl, slightly-awkward-guy-with-protruding-teeth, etc.) Ah, well. I suppose it wasn't very realistic.

I'm working on a new story. It's about secrets, so call it the Secret story.

I'd tell you more, but then it wouldn't be a secret.

Work was fine today. I'm behind on my work because of being gone for a week, but that just means I'm busy, and the day went quickly. Tonight Heather and I had a nice dinner of grilled chicken smeared with dijon mustard and apricot jam (trust me, it's good), and a salad of cherry tomatoes, spinach, lettuce and avocado. Heather and I each had a pint of Guinness in a frosty glass. We took a longish walk through the neighborhood after dark. We played with the cats. Now I'm going to write a bit.

A good day. It's all about balance.