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A Little Vacation

Up a Level

These last few months have not been pleasant for me. Too much work, too many obligations, and generally so many different tasks that ended up with me not taking care of myself. Fortunately, I had a two-week vacation planned and so I'm going to catch up on sleep, get some swimming done, and work on those “big ticket” items that need time to concentrate to move forward.

The Publisher Hat

I'm in the process of publishing someone's book. I had to throw some of it on the back burner until I got the bandwidth (e.g., sleep and motivation) but I've already started on that. It will probably be the only book Typewriter Press[1] publishes and I'm trying not to think about how out of date that website it. It will probably end up being the next site to convert to Nitride[2].

1: https://typewriter.press/

2: /tags/mfgames-nitride/

One of the more frustrating parts was bringing forward a theme. Even though NixOS[3] does a good job of giving me a “mostly” stable environment, having Python 2.7 deprecated meant I lost a day bringing one of the themes up to date. I'm also annoyed that I still have to have Python 2.7 to install a Node package, but that is a different topic[4].

3: /tags/nixos/

4: /blog/2023/02/12/package-management-identifiers/

Once I got through that, I have at least a shell of the ebook done and just need to get the rest of the supporting matter and a cover. Fortunately, producing an ebook and a print version is an old hat and I have that well-handled.

The Author Hat

Sadly, as much as I would like to play games, the biggest set of tasks is getting some writing done. Thankfully, Partner is taking the kids away for a day, so I have a little chance to get a writing sprint in.

In addition to my usual 10k word monthly obligation, I also have a commission that I've been pushing aside until I got to this week. That means I probably need to write a 60k word novel in the next two weeks. I'm not too worried about getting it done, it just takes a large hunk of time.

Yesterday, I did have someone do a read-through on Allegro[5] and said it was an enjoyable story. That gives me hope and maybe I'll have a chance of getting it done before ICON[6] this year (probably not unless I forgo a second editor). It doesn't matter as much, I'm really happy with the story. (I'm still sad I missed last year, but… hospital.)

5: /tags/allegro/

6: /tags/icon/

As a side note, Friday is Itch's Creator day so if you want to check out my novels, including latest one, Flight of the Scions[7], consider wandering over to my store[8] and picking up a copy. Even if you don't want/can't buy my book, reviews would help me greatly. (Thank you!)

7: /tags/flight-of-the-scions/

8: https://dmoonfire.itch.io/

The Handyman Hat

I got two home improvement projects. The simple one is replacing my office light so I can return the lamp I borrowed during the entanglement[9] (which is still going on, by the way, with the last rest being three days ago). I found out that I love lots of wire, just not any white wire which means I can easier put a red and black wire into the new light (no, I hate people who do that) or head over the store tomorrow and get it.

9: /tags/entanglement-2021/

But compared to the other one, which is to hopefully finish my in-laws bathroom tiling job, replacing a light is trivial. I'm not the greatest at tiling and this is a project that took a long time, was hampered by me doing daily hospital visits for a few months, and everything else that got in the way. Not to mention, my mother-in-law will not allow me to work in the house over summer (no AC in an upstairs room) and I can't work while it is freezing (because cleaning up grout and cement in the ice is a horrible experience).

I will probably bribe myself with a new Milwaukee Pack-Out toolbox when I finish that. I need more than they still are pretty.

The Parental Hat

The kids are off this week for spring break which means… I probably should also pay attention to them. Lately, that means alternating which kid I'm playing with since they are currently in the “I don't want to play with my sibling” phase which means I'm going from one set of games for a few hours to a different set of games for a few more hours. In the end, it's good.

Lots of Hats

I don't do well with idle time, but as much as I want to pack on another project, I'm going to stick with the ones above. Maybe I'll get most of it done. Find out in two weeks.