JOY!!!!

"The Last Argument of Kings", the third novel by Joe Abercrombie, is now in my greedy, grubby hands.

This just bumped "Magic Burns" and everything else to the back-burner.

YAY!!!

Something good came out of the crap that is today!

and rambling

Since I'm on a tear, I may as well get the rest of my brain dumped here.

- Last Friday's season four "Battlestar Galactica" opener was better than I'd expected. Not fantastic, mind you, but it had a great space battle that whittled down the number of those pesky colonials.

I'm still irritated about Starbuck, still hating Baltar (which is good... we're supposed to hate him), still hating Apollo, and still pissed about the "Final Five Cylons". At least the opener was promising that they won't frak this up.

- Finally got my trade paperback of "Death Hawk: The Soulworm Saga". I think I'm one of twelve people in the country who read this comic and enjoyed it. It was "Firefly" before Whedon did it.

- I've got a little over a week to get my stuff done for my next writer-group meeting. Crap. I forgot what my items were for the next meeting.

I have to say I've felt incredibly unmotivated to write anything. I've got three stories that I'll probably never finish. Two set in the fantasy world my fellow GURPS nerds and I game in (which raises all sorts of fun copyright issues) and the sci-fi story that I'm having trouble cementing.

At least I outlined one of the fantasy stories. If I could figure out how to beef up the villains to make 'em interesting, I'd probably do okay. It won't be a great story, but it would at least be different by virtue of being done. That would be a first.

- I need a vacation. Where to go? What to do?

Do I try a fourth Japan trip? It's pretty expensive now that Tim's returned and I can't crash on his floor. It's not like I've studied any Japanese in the last year or two.

Do I aim for a return to Ireland? That has an appeal. Mmm... Guinness... but I've been there already.

Scotland? That has even more appeal. I could look up family roots! I could paint my face blue and scream "freedom"! I'd look awful in a kilt, though.

Germany? That would rock, but I should aim for a time closer to Oktoberfest. And the exchange rate for Europe blows now.

Maybe somewhere in the U.S.? Hmph.

AAAAHHH!!!! (redux)

The Internet gods are angry with me.

So I'm a bit unfair with my credit card company. It sounds to me like the problem with my Amazon transaction is with Amazon.

Interesting that my interactions with both my credit card company and Amazon have me corresponding with the same distant realm across the vast ocean.

Amazon assures me they'll try this again. If it doesn't work out... fuck 'em. I can buy stuff from other companies.

So I get back to work, editing my internal documentation in "vi" (if you don't use UNIX, you have no idea what a pain in the arse that is). I try not to dig into the massive bag of rejected fortune cookies at my desk (obtained from a Friday afternoon jaunt to Oakland's scenic Chinatown... mmm... fortune cookies... but I digress).

I get mail from the good folks at yet another online vendor. And the fun continues.

So, backstory: I ordered a compliation book for one of the webcomics I enjoy.

The site sent me a compilation, but it was the wrong volume. I sent email explaining the problem. At their request, I mailed back the incorrect volume with the assurance I'd be reimbursed for my postage and get the correct volume.

Yesterday, I got something completely different from that company. So, being a tad confused, I shot them off an email asking why they sent it to me.

I get a response this morning from the customer service rep I dealt with last time who seemed as confused as I am.

Good. Times.

I'd cancel the order altogether and demand reimbursement, but the order was made on the now-defunct credit card. I have no idea how a reimbursement works if the credit card number changed.

So, I politely summarized the entire situation from the day of the order to present and asked for status as to when I will get my order.

My manager has taught me the virtues of "killing with kindness". I'll give that a try.

Why did I give up taking martial arts? I really, really, really want to kick the crap out of something right now.

AAAAHHH!!!

Credit card companies (cretin card companies?) exist to drive people insane.

So I got a new one after the last one's number got compromised by someone who enjoys flights to Malaysia and expensive computer hardware. I activated the replacement and then tested it with a small-ish order at a reliable vendor (Amazon).

Amazon claims it's declined.

Being the level-headed, calm, unruffled soul that I'm not, I got on the phone with my credit card company and had a chat with them.

"No, it's not declined," they assured me. "We show the charge as approved on your account."

So I sent mail to Amazon's customer service.

Amazon replied this morning.

"Your card was declined."

So I called my credit card company again.

"No, no," the charming credit card company representative from a distant land over the sea assured me. "Your card is in good standing. We show the charge as approved on your account. The merchant must have network connection issues on their end."

And then she spent ten more minutes trying to sell me services I don't care about (that sounds vaguely dirty...).

So I ask myself, do I really need to do this online purchase? It's a test of the card, more than anything, but now I'm finding I want what I bought.

I already woke up irritated from a dream a half-remember and allergies are hosing me. This is icing.

And I have edits on my desk. Whee!

Jesus knows kung-fu!

Okay, technically he learned "jew-do" (Moore's pun, not mine). Either way, I finished "Lamb" last night. Great book. Rushed ending, but it was biblical, so... Still, I love that there's a disciple out there who knew kung-fu. The author's story rocked my world.

Now on to "Magic Burns" as I count down to Abercrombie's book three coming from the UK. So much reading material, so little time.

Small Favors - a Dresden Files Novel

I finished it this morning.

Oh.

My.

God.

Butcher rules. The crap he puts his characters through boggles the mind. While George R.R. Martin is probably more sadistic to his characters (bordering on child abuse in a creepy kind of way), Butcher keeps his characters thrashed about while still seeming badass.

So unbelievably cool.

Now I have to decide: do I finish "Lamb" (already half through and paused for "Small Favors") or rip through "Magic Burns".

Hmmm... Jesus is learning kung fu in "Lamb", so I guess I finish that.

So many cool books.

Best day of 2008 so far

After the trauma of the credit card nastiness, I found April 1 to be surprisingly awesome.

- got "Small Favors" (Dresden Files). I'm already on p. 194. Butcher rules!
- got a rather cool, multi-pocket jacket I ordered from Amazon and it's both comfy and has more pockets than I thought! (w00t!)
- had a surprisingly good lunch with some folks from work and it's walking distance from home (for future dining fun). Added bonus: fun lunch company (albeit "chicky-er" than I was prepared for)
- successfully purchased another Atwood tool (if you don't know, you don't wanna know)
- Did I mention "Small Favors"?
- actually got a couple of online sellers who I've been having trouble contacting to both reply to my email... on the same day! Yay!
- Credit report looks clean (although the recent craziness may not show yet, but I'm hopeful)
- Did I mention "Small Favors"? 'Cause I'm really excited about this book.

Now, today, I added "Magic Burns" (Ilona Andrews's second book) to my literary pile. Ye gods.

Current reading list:

"Small Favor" (I bet you didn't realize that)
"Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" (incredibly funny)
"Dead Man Rising" (Dante Valentine book 2)
"Coyote Blue" (another Moore book... I'll give it a try)
"Bloodsucking Fiends" (I'm less enthusiastic about this one. Not a vampire fan.)
"Magic Burns" (this might get bumped up in the list)