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I found myself in a place so dark, I could see the Milky Way. I know enough about astronomy to know that if you look at Sagittarius, you're looking at the heart of the galaxy. And you could see it. A band of stars, with black trails where the dust clouds obscure streams of stars from the galaxy. It's kind of mind boggling, looking at the heart of the galaxy/

I wish I had a camera that could have taken a good long exposure so I could get pics. The phone wasn't up for it, my point and shoot camera, which might have gotten SOME stars was out of power. I need to get my tripod back from Mom in order to get a REALLY long two or three minute exposure of the sky from the middle of nowhere with Crystal's camera.

If you're in the Hill Country and looking for a good spot to see the milky way before summer ends, you can head out to http://goo.gl/maps/ri6tb

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So, the few folks who have read Girl in the Mirror have said it's pretty darned good and I have some decent writing chops. And the few folks who have read "Letters for my Sisters" have said it's one of the best in the book. Riding that ego trip, I have a question...if I was to write a novel based on one of my stories, what would you like to read?

1) The Long Road Home - AWFW prequel story about how Han'a's tribe got lost in the wilderness and where they ended up.
2) Voices of Authority - Soldier is captured and forced to protect a town on her enemy's frontier.
3) Manpower - Man is forced to fight a war on an alien world, only to find out that war may not have any basis for being fought.
4) Untitled Prison Ship Story - An alien prison transport crashes on earth in prehistory and is found in the mostly-modern-but future day, where the inhabitants, including the guard-pilot, are revived.
5) The Book of Xand - A man discovers the secret of immortality, and lives through 2000 years, two planets, an alternate timeline and two sexes. Massive story that would likely cover multiple novels.
6) Untitled Robot Story - Guardian robot gains sentience, but doesn't realize it till it's pointed out to her. Comes with built in sequel.
7) Any other story I've talked to you about, but can't remember because it's 5AM and all the stories are all jumbled in my head and oh god I'm tired.

Examples of my prose writing are here: www.dolari.net/ww
No promises on actually doing any of these.

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The reviews for Deep Breath are in. I'm glad I'm not the only one who walked away from that worryingly scratching my head. Still, first episodes are kind of wierd. Just ask Colin Baker.

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Already dreading going into work...and my weekend isn't even over, yet....

Posted via LjBeetle

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Wow. I do love that new opening. Very different.

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Yesterday's Road Trip was brought to you by "Full Sized Spare in the Trunk!" Worried your tiny donut tire won't handle the 100+ year old rut road you want to take? "Full Sized Spare in the Trunk" will make sure you're not stuck to the highways!

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Just saw an online ad blatantly aimed at everyone watching Dr Who for a major, but non-Dr Who related in anyway, fabric softener.

I do believe American fandom has finally gone mainstream. #fansince1982

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Yesterday's roadtrip was a much needed stress reliever. I've had a lot of it this week. Including a mandatory re-promotion looming for a job I've learned to hate, a friend coming down from PA for a week(which, in all the other stress, I forgot about), and learning that a friend, who had worked for Nintendo since it's very beginnings was laid off (which means it's not nearly as forever as I hoped it would be). While I enjoy the sightseeing on roadtrips, they also give me time to decompress and relax. And time to think.

I visited Castell, the only surviving original Adelsverein colony left in the Hill Country. I walked into the General Store, a transwoman in rural Texas, and talked with the owner and his son, as well as the locals taking a break from swimming in the Llano River. I visited the sites of the failed colonies. Driving home, I got hungry and instincively knew to go to Laird's for dinner. Best BBQ in Llano (don't let Cooper's tell you otherwise). While there, I had a long talk with the owner's and a few of the locals about how different Austin is from the Hill Country, and how much we actually do have in common. When it got dark, I pulled over and stargazed, seeing the Milky Way and pointing it out to a passing patrol car who worried about why I was on the side of a dark rural road.

A return to the Pacific Northwest has been on my mind lately. Especially as the job and economic situation has been bad here, and continues to spiral down. But I would only go back for two reasons - (1) Going back to Nintendo and (2) living with Crystal and Lissa. If I have to stay in tech support, at least Nintendo was a place I very much enjoyed working, and Crystal and Lissa were amazingly compassionate and understanding roomies.

But then a mutual friend of ours lost her job there, after being employed for 20-some years. And then, I applied that thinking to myself. What if I had the same rug pulled out from under me. Would I want to stay in Washington? Work somewhere else? The answer was...no.

And after yesterday, I realize a return to Nintendo, however much I miss it, and enjoyed it there, should not happen. I am a child of the Hill Country. I KNOW this place. I AM this place I know where to go, what to see, the history of the area, the people of the area. I enjoy their company, and, for the most part, they enjoy mine.

I don't know how I can STAY here. But I know I BELONG here.

It's time to move forward, in the Hill Country, rather than return to the Pacific Northwest to recapture lightning.