Okay, so obviously this week was a bit of a … change in all of the plans we’ve had. I was going through some emotions I didn’t even realize I could experience all at the same time. There was a lot of coffee, a lot of pacing, a lot of rearranging of my underwear drawer. There were also maybe a few tears shed, I won’t lie. Even now, I’m still pretty pissed off.
But, I’m getting over it.
First, I gotta keep working. What this has shown me was that I can’t just assume the future is going to happen the way I expected. I don’t know WHY the universe keeps sending me this lesson. Possibly, because I keep refusing to learn it. Meh. But it caused me to double down on many of the projects–work and home–that I have underway.
Is This Thing On?
First, when I wrote down my intentions for the new year, I included the fact that I wanted to do a podcast. And now…I am setting up for two. The first one is basically me talking about what I want to read, what I’m currently reading, what I’ve borrowed from the library, what I’ve purchased from authors a Cons, and to a small extent how my reading life influences the other parts of my life, including the writing. I also decided to interview authors who have new releases coming out the week each episode airs, because the younger reader in me thinks it is JUST SO COOL that not only can I host my own “radio” show, but I can also connect with and have conversations with the authors that I love reading.
Anyway, the first and second episodes are out now (the second one came out today), and you can find links to the various places you can listen on the On the Shelf Anchor site. My first guest is Nicole Givens Kurtz, who was a wonderful first author to talk to. She was very gentle and understanding as I worked through the technical glitches (the first method of recording was too glitchy, and then it took Zoom what felt like FOREVER to update so I could go with the second course of action…) But, the show is up, and I’ve got a few more interviews recorded and a bunch more scheduled.
I told my spouse that I have an excellent excuse for shirking household chores to read, as it was now part of my professional workload. I’m not sure he totally bought it, but my intention is to monetize my podcast efforts, so please click the link, listen, like, share, review–all those good things. You will be hearing about some awesome books, and I will get a couple of bucks so that I can go buy more books! It’s a win-win, my friends.
Am I In Denial?
Wow, Rachel, I imagine you saying. You seem to be doing pretty well after this week’s setbacks. Are you in denial?
Yeah, probably. Like I mentioned above, I’m still pretty upset. But you know what? There’s literally nothing to be done to change the past. So, I can sit and wallow, or I can sit with my spouse and come up with some plans of what to do next. (Kind of like when your first podcast recording technique glitches out and you go change over to another one…)
First, I looked up the website of where we’re going. There were a couple of things that made me feel much better about the move. We’re not TOO close to a bunch of things, but we are close enough that I can make a drive and have access to organizations such as the LA chapter of the Horror Writers Association. There’s a wolf sanctuary that you can visit (and I’m definitely planning to!) Living on post will be a great experience for the kids, especially. There is a sort of close-knit vibe that military posts develop, and that can be good or bad, but for my oldest child who never met a stranger only new friends, I think she is going to love that neighborhood environment. I even looked up the local community college to see if they have faculty positions open, so that might be an opportunity to pursue!
My spouse and I are incredibly lucky to have a good support structure. We were able to call our realtor for advice on what to do with the house, and then I had a good long chat with my mother-in-law, and then over in the family chat where my siblings had some jokes. Mostly at my expense. But they cheered me up. As I talked yesterday on the phone, I could feel so much stress and anger leaving. I left those phone calls with plans of what to do next as well as a sense of both acceptance and even, a little bit, eagerness. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t swing right back to Seattle in a heartbeat if the chance came up, but I’m feeling better about the move and getting back in the groove with my writing, editing, podcasting, and house cleaning/organizing ventures.
Anyway, that’s what’s happening this week. It’s been a little more nuts than usual, but hey, I guess that’s life. I’m sure sometime a few years (or months or weeks) from now, I’ll be posting again about learning my lesson about anticipating the future too closely. But until then, there’s words to write, content to share, and laundry to fold.
Peace!
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