December 2007 Archives

If you are curious about what life's like when you're close to finishing a book, this is it:

Phone rings this morning. It's mom. I know it's her immediately because she is the only person out of the five who know my home number (I am not one of the five, which is why I never give it out - I can't remember it) who calls me at home before calling my cell. I don't even have caller ID, but given the time of day and lack of cell phone missed call, it's my mother, inquiring about New Year's Eve. I think I prepped for this phone call in my sleep.

"Hi."
"Goooooood morning!" [That's obviously mom.]
"Mom, I'm just trying to get to the store -"
"OK, I'm just calling to see what time you're coming over toni-"
"I DON'T KNOW IF I'M COMING TONIGHT!"
"...you sound so flustered toda-"
"I'm FLUSTERED TODAY!! TODAY, I AM FLUSTERED!"
"OK, OK."
"Can I call you back later? PLEASE? I gotta get out of here!"
"Okay! Okay! Okay. Bye."
"OK. Bye."

So yeah. She really does get the brunt of it. Sorry mom. Calling you now.

This award to the HP Alliance is the best thing to happen in recent weeks. I first heard of Andrew when he emailed me in 2005, full of excitement and vigor and a clear wish to channel HP activism; I read the email and just filed it away. Later, ex-staffer Julie happened to meet him out of "sheer, dumb luck," was taken with his mission, and interviewed him for our podcast. We had a good awareness of the HPA and willingness to post (most of) their news, but still where not even remotely near getting involved with them, and no one suggested otherwise, either (sometimes the opposite, actually). Leaky readers have a (charming:) habit of being actively opposed to activist posts, and in 2006, with the site in the middle of massive transformation, we weren't up to the headache of combatting that. So, he sorta fell off our radar and it could have easily stayed that way.

Then I met him. The Yule Ball in Boston, 2006 - about six months later - was the next time Andrew truly crossed my path. And I saw him speak. And before I even recognized that he was the same guy who had been on our site, I watched with my mouth open as he whipped the young crowd into a frenzy, as they were shouting about love and defiance, and seemed willing to run right out into the world at that moment to do good using Harry as a model. I caught his ear after the show, he and his girlfriend gave me a place to stay for the night, and we talked for hours about Potter and the power it had to do good. If there was one activist model to follow regarding Harry Potter, it was his. The very day after I met him we were exchanging fiery emails about plans for the future. And I happily signed on for whatever help he wanted. We've done a lot of good work with him this year, and we have a lot more to come.

What he's done is really beautiful; that December 2006 meeting was fated and would have had the same output if I'd never heard of him before, too. There's something about watching him talk about the HPA that spreads his message. He's caught the spirit of Potter and is helping people find their voices and live out the messages of the books they love, and it's pretty damn awesome. And twice as awesome to see JKR recognize it. Congrats, HP Alliance, I'm proud to serve on your board and can't wait to see what's next.

You do silly and pointless things when you've been in the house for a full week and your eyes hurt from computer glare. So:

This is my work area. And this is extremely clean.

Notice the:

(Open in original size to follow along)

-Page open to the Census data
-Pot pourri burner going on the right
-Crumpled remains of money from when I needed it from when I used to go outside... Ah, outside, I wonder what it's like these days.
-Water in a wine glass; even when not drinking wine I use the wine glasses as often as possible, because I think one should
-Many avenues for caffeine including the coffee cup, the diet coke and...ok only two types of caffeine.
-pitcher of water
-Stacks of research and books
-Microphone plugged in from this morning's interview with...someone, I forget who at this point
-Leaky mic flag
-A lot of candles, I burn them while I write and almost at no time else
-Jingle Spells CD
-Destroyed black chair, thanks to Moochka
-Purple blanket, fantastic for wrapping around myself while I work
-Long matches for lighting those candles when they get really down to the wick
-Jumble, tangle, unsalvagable pile of wires
-Lamp in corner that doesn't actually work because it broke in the move, so I stuck it together with glue and am hoping it doesn't fall apart because I looove it
-Interview transcripts
-Salman Rushdie book that's friggin' brilliant but which I have not had time to finish and I hope Paul's not looking for it any time soon
-Leaky awards up top, including Webby and the podcast statuette, which really ought to be in someone else's home, probaby John's, I just ended up with it that weekend
-Our special PotterCast box made for us by a listener
-A crystal ball that someone gave me from someplace special
-Glasses, which really are being held together with clear packing tape, because I wore them to sleep, then made my bed with them still inside and then sat on said bed
-TWO backup drives. Uh huh. I learned.
-USB connector, the equivalent of a power strip for this area
-iPhone that I bought only after my other one had a malfunction and I got the other one replaced for free, so voila, sold that one on craigslist and I get a big fat discount on iPhone via that money! Woo hoo!
-Computer bought when other one finally bit the dust, after 3 years of loyal service
-Empty bowl from midafternoon snack of snowpeas.
-Can you even see the printer?
-shirt balled up in corner because who needs to do laundry ever?

I have left this entry open on my desktop all day in the hopes I would actually fill it out. So, a few things about life right now:

1. I have discovered the glorious thing that is Time Machine on Mac OS X Leopard. It's not only the life-saving device it claims to be, it has the added bonus of inducing vertigo via a storm of white pixels that move around on a cosmos background like those little white flakes in a snowglobe. It actually does make you feel like you're going back in time. I've only done a couple of backups, so I could only rifle through one or two windows and not much has changed. I can't wait until I can look back on an endless horizon of my endeavors and think, "Wow, look how my desktop has changed!"

2. It is my first year in my new apartment and as such I had planned on a Christmas tree, setting up my Christmas village, and draping the place in such obnoxious, sparkly, mossy, cranberry...ey, Clause-ey goodness that my cat would be scared. Instead, I'm finishing a book. So, there's still a sheet over my living room window; I still haven't sold my futon or extra air conditioning unit, and I have dragged out a couple of lousy window hangings, a fiber optic Santa from the 26th century, and some candles that smell like mistletoe and pine. Christmas' best showing is in the 600 orders of Jingle Spells that have yet to be shipped out, which are ALL IN MY LIVING ROOM.

3. Sometimes the writing is good, sometimes it's very good, sometimes it's bad, and sometimes it's nonexistent. Sometimes the thing I'm writing intimidates me and I walk away instead of kicking it in the gut. I should kick it in the gut. I think I'll kick it in the gut tonight.

4. You should really watch all the videos on this account, especially this one. The channel belongs to the actor who plays Nathan Petrelli on Heroes, and is full of the kind of backstage tomfoolery you'd expect behind the curtains at a high school play. Except, these are professional actors who look like they are nothing more than completely surprised and thrilled to find themselves on set, in first class on an airplane, being chased by paparazzi in Paris, and at the Emmy awards. Awesome and fun stuff.

5. I reread His Dark Materials, on tubes and in cabs and on planes and more. And I can't wait for the movie. My favorite line about the movie comes from Philip Pullman: The movie isn't perfect, but then neither is the book: if you want perfection, go and read a haiku. He's right, his books aren't perfect - but they are marvelous. And don't even say it: I was a Christian before I read them, and am a Christian after I read them. The only way these books can shake your faith is if your faith is easily shaken. They are a marvelous telling of a very old story.

6. If you call and I don't call back you until January, please do not be offended.

7. I really enjoy working in sweatpants. It's a miracle.