It’s been a somewhat discombobulated week, dear readers. I spent part of it completing TaxFest 2009 (actually TaxFest 2008 running very late). TaxFest is now done for a couple months, and all of the paperwork is headed to the respective authorities.  On Tuesday I killed my beautiful Etymotic 6i earphones. I was in my fave coffee place, Epic, and they fell out of my pocket. Crunched by the foot of a passing barrista. I was sufficiently distracted by TaxFest and other things that I didn’t stress out, as I might otherwise have done. Instead, I went online, did some review surfing and a new pair are winging their way to me from Earphone Solutions and should be here on Tuesday. I was feeling a little down about things, so I upgraded.  These are the things we do.

During the week I did some reading. I have new stories for Eclipse Three from Ellen Kushner and Daniel Abraham, and am very happy with how the book is proceeding. I also chased up stuff for Engineering Infinity and Life on Mars,  and did some year’s best reading. Makes me sound productive, doesn’t it? Well, not so much. I also continued through Cherie Priest’s fine steampunk novel, Boneshaker. The book is seriously fun and well worth checking out when it shows up later this year. Great cover, terrific story.  I’ve not read Priest before and will be following her new stuff with great interest.

I fell pretty hard for Steve Earle’s new cd, Townes. I’m not that familiar with the music of Townes Van Zandt, and really only knew Earle’s single “Copperhead Road”, so the cd was a pleasant surprise. Gravelly country rock based around Van Zandt’s terrific songs.  I downloaded it Wednesday, then picked up the Deluxe Edition yesterday. Sounds wonderful. It took a good New York Times piece to get me interested, but I’m happy to have it on the iPod. Unlike the Flying Burrito Brothers (shudder, don’t ask).

This is also the weekend where Marianne was headed off for the weekend for Kalparrin’s carers’ camp. It’s a rest and relaxation weekend for carers of kids with disabilities. Marianne’s on the Kalparrin board and is a carer too (though we don’t usually think of it in those terms), so it was a great idea for her to go. She headed off Friday afternoon and gets back tonight. She’s been missed, but hopefully is having a great time.

Friday night the girls were perfect. We had dinner, then they had showers and were off to bed by 8pm. I watched Hellboy 2 and chatted online with girliejones. Saturday was a bit busier. Up early to vote against daylight savings, off for breakfast with the girls at a favorite Noranda spot, then home.  The girls spent the afternoon at nan’s house, while I ferried my brother on some shopping expeditions.  Last night was a little less idyllic, as usually happens when M is away.  It was supposed to be Family Movie Night, bed for the girls, then Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for me. Dinner, however, was not well received, which got us off to a bumpy start. The movie was almost a complete hit. It was a cute kids film called Roxy Simpson and the Mystery of the Moody Ghost. Both girls were in love with it, until the scary ending. That led to kids being up for a while and eventually killed movie plans for me. Meh. Such is life.

And, against all of this, was my ‘Mild Case of Paranoia’. I finally got the go ahead for a ‘Long Scheduled Medical Test’, which is on Monday. It has been on the cards for ages, but only became reality this past week or so. Anyhow, it’s one of those tests (colonoscopy) that usually finds nothing, but sometimes doesn’t. When I’m logical and rational I’m not worried. At other times, I am. Schrodinger’s Test and all that.  While I’ve not been blogging much, I have been endless driving my mother, my wife and my friends (esp. poor girliejones) mad about this. It’ll all be over by 5pm Monday, so I’ll know and be able to let it go. In the meantime, there are some unpleasant prepations to do. Such is life.

I also am aware that I have been a poor correspondent, thanks to that vile Twitter. I owe you ‘Books I’m Looking Forward To” stuff, updates on projects, and short stories reviews for Locus.  I’ll do what I can, as soon as I can. Tell then, wish me luck!