Mood:   Mellow

Now Reading:  Sharpe’s Prey by Bernard Cornwell

Swear Words Spoken Today:  3

I know, I’ve been neglecting this journal of late, but I promise there’s an almost valid reason.  It occurred to me early last week that all my creative effort has been flowing into this little blog, and that my personal site has been much-neglected and in desperate need of an upgrade to match the wonder that is “The Occasional.”  The layouts were outdated, the colors bland.  Not a lot of exciting things going on on my once-beloved home page.  So I’ve been systematically Photoshopping and upgrading the hell out of  Alec-Velyan.com, hoping to bring its glory up to par with the weblog.  I’m a little less than halfway through remodeling and, in my effort to upgrade an entire website from work, have accidentally deleted quite a few needed files, such as the header for my site (which has since been replaced by an exceptionally cheesy temp graphic), the directory for my novels (which was thankfully backed up) and quite a few artbooks (which I am working to get back online before anyone notices they’re gone).

It’s also been an exceptionally uneventful week, with the exception of this morning, which seemed laced with more stupidity than usual.  My grandfather broke one of the pipes on our bathroom sink and flooded the place.  Gran got the brilliant idea to put a ladder in the bathtub and got pissed when it slipped with her still on it and I’ve been drafted into painting ceilings this weekend.  All I can say is, God I’m glad I work nights and get to spend my days sleeping through this particular brand of madness.

Also, it came a downpour today as I was preparing to leave for work, which may seem uneventful until I mention the fact that neither my pets nor my grandparents have the sense to come in out of the wet stuff.  Mirage, my cat, just sat on the railing, getting his fur soaked, and meowed in futile effort to be let into the house, a place he has never been allowed since we got him.  Sadie sat in the rain looking miserable instead of seeking refuge on the porch.  Gramps went out and started planting tomatos.

So I’m now at work, where people are normal and life is a hell of a lot better than it used to be.  Our team has been having issues with one another and our manager, which has led to immense stress for all involved.  A few days ago, we were semi-disbanded and sent to new managers for the times when we’re not training new agents (which is what our team does).  I’ve been placed on a team with the fabulous Tara and all the other cool peple (Jay, Cooper, Shannon Marlana, Fudd and even Ted).  You’ll probably be hearing more about them.  My new semi-manager, Clinton, is an awesome man who seems to delight in letting me slack.  Presently I’m batting 3 for 4 on completely worthless days that I’ve gotten paid for this week.  Today starts the fourth and final day, and the outlook is fantastic as far as the eye can see.

I’ll eventually get back to writing (and get around to doing that Wednesday mind Hump), but for now I’m enjoying getting caught up on bad literature and basking in the rare glow of serenity.