A little tense.

I don't mean tense like "stressed out" (I live at a spa, remember?). I mean tense, like verb tense in grammar. You remember: present, past, future, future perfect, past perfect, present perfect progressive...

Yeah, that.

I am writing. I started a story five years ago, and after six months of furious progress, I made the mistake of rereading what I had written. I know this is necessary in the writing process, but it was a mistake because even though while I was writing, I knew it wasn't perfect, I wasn't quite prepared to confront my less than perfect prose. I decided that the whole thing was crap and stopped working on it. Apparently I'm ready now, because I've dusted off the story and instead of being bothered by the roughness of the draft, I am enjoying the process of revising and improving. I'm writing again.

But I am having that little problem with tense. I'm not sure what tense to write in, and when I pick one, I find that within two or three paragraphs, I've shifted to something else. I'm trying not to worry about it, but I feel like I need to get it set so that I am thinking in the right tense while I'm working on this draft.

Is it supposed to be this complicated?

Civic Duty

Even though I'm a semi-expat, I'm doing my civic duty in spades this month. I sent away for my absentee ballot, which arrived this week. It was very different from the last absentee ballot I used in 2004. (That year I was in Boston on election day.)

The packet included instructions in English and Spanish, a list of candidates, and an "official blank ballot" that had lines for me to write in my choices:

For the office of ______________________ I vote for______________________.

Kind of weird, but at least it seemed more official than the photocopy I filled out in 2004.

I also got my mail that's not being forwarded from the US, which included a Jury Duty summons for November 4th. Isn't that election day? Kind of strange that I got my first jury summons dated for election day right after I requested my absentee ballot. Coincidence? I called to postpone, so I'm off the hook until May.

Aye aye, Captain!

A few pics from my Sunday cruise on Rick's 38' Catalina. What a gorgeous day. I had fun behind the wheel, but I don't know if I'm ready to give up the luxuries of power yachting. I'm definitely going to go sailing again, the next chance I get.

Tonala Market Day

An artisan's table at the market in Tonala.

Fall in New York City

The pumpkin display at Manhattan Fruit Exchange in Chelsea Market. Gorgeous. Perfectly fall.

Looking for Miss Muffet...

Required Drinking for Project Managers

Okay, I'm not working as a project manager at the moment, but I'm still a project manager. What's that saying...you can take the girl out of project management, but you can't take....

Well anyway.

I found some wine the other day that should be required drinking for project mangers: it's called Herding Cats.