Dress You Up

Tuesday and we made it through Monday. Hurray for small victories!

I sent the book in last night. I would have done it yesterday on my lunch break, but unfortunately I hadn’t saved the final chapter, so when I tried to open it at work and load it into the main file of the entire manuscript I didn’t have the right version, so it had to wait until I got home. But that’s done, I have a few more things I need to get done right away, and then I can dig into the revision of Mississippi River Mischief, which is going to be more vexing and harder work. But I know how to fix it; the problem is going to be timing because there’s a lot to fix. But it should be okay. It’s not like I’m not used to producing quickly on a deadline or anything. I’d like to be finished before I leave for Malice, but I don’t think that’s going to happen; I know myself far too well.

We binged another three episodes of The Night Agent last night and I have to say, as bonkers as this show as, as little as the plot makes sense when you think about it, and as wooden as the male lead is (he is super hot, though), the show is very entertaining and keeps us curious to see what happens next. I won’t even attempt to explain the basics of the plot; just know that it all kicks off because the main character is assigned to work the night shift in a windowless room in the basement of the White House, and his only job is to answer the phone if it rings. It never does, and then one night it finally does and the “night agent” gets dragged into an incredibly complicated plot built around a national security threat and possible treason by an insider at the White House. Like I said, it’s entertaining enough and if you don’t think about the plot too much you can overlook the plot holes and everything else that is campy and silly about the show. We aren’t taking it terribly seriously; it’s just kind of addictively fun to watch but won’t be winning any awards any time soon.

I also stopped and made groceries on the way home from work yesterday–I’d forgotten a few things when I went over the weekend–and started the dishes and a load of laundry that I’ll need to finish both tonight; Paul came down to watch television while I was doing the dishes and so I didn’t finish. I also was dragging a little bit this morning; it was hard to get out of bed and get going this morning. I feel fine and not tired or sleepy or groggy at all, but I do believe I was in the grip of the “finished the draft malaise’ that always comes about when I turn in a manuscript. Tonight I need to run by the post office on my way home from work; and I also made a to-do list yesterday that hopefully I will consult and stick to…I am not sure when I stopped making the lists (or paying attention to them if I did make one), but one of the reasons I was always able to get so much done was–you guessed it–because I made to-do lists regularly and worked my way through them. At some point, probably around the start of the pandemic, I stopped making lists and started trying to rely on my memory, which doesn’t exactly work the way it should anymore. (The reason I started making lists in the first place was to prevent me forgetting to do something that needed doing.) I started this because my memory was getting bad and stopped when it got the worst its ever been.

I am, indeed, such a Greg.

Sigh.

But I have made just such a to-do list, and while it may not be as comprehensive as I would like–the other problem with making a to-do list is you have to remember what you have to do, or add things as it comes up; like the Constitution my to-do list need to be a living, breathing document–it is there, it is in place, and I need to, every time I sit down at a desk, at work or at him, pull out my spiral notebook and open it to that page and place it prominently in my sight-line. No point to having a to-do list if you aren’t going to be looking at it.

Ah, well.

And on that note I am going to bring this entry to a close and head into the spice mines because I’m boring myself. Have a lovely day, and I’ll check in with you again tomorrow.