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For whatever that's worth. I guess I can do a round-up post of 2021.
I went to several cons and a couple conferences online (Boskone, Balticon, the Nebulas (where a friend won best short story), LingComm, and GLAC). I started a YouTube channel for videos about SFF linguistics, which I've been terrible about keeping up the last few months, but the upload speed here is TERRIBLE.
I moved to Berlin and got a 3-year residence permit to work as a freelance writer/editor. I made a new friend here, who's another American in the city, and I've been going to a meetup group for queer women (which is how I met my new friend), though since the weather turned, I haven't been going as much. Even with a vaccine mandate in place, I'm not very keen on indoors, low ventilation, and crowds. Plus, a LOT of the gals are young, in their 20s, so it's not quite my scene.
I got to hang out with kriski and dirtyzucchini one time in September or October. We took their dog for a walk in one of the local parks. Someday we'll be able to hang out again, probably when the weather turns again and being outside isn't quite as miserable.
I made it to 3 Christmas markets this year, all on the same day. None of them was particularly busy, but it was midafternoon on a weekday. Alexanderplatz was fine; they had a bunch of little huts with food, cookies, carved things, paper stars, and Glühwein. Potsdamer Platz was very small and a bit pathetic, although they had a sledding hill you could pay to go down. The best of the three was at Breitscheidplatz/Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche. If you remember the news from a few years ago, that's the one where a guy drove a stolen truck into the crowd. But there are bollers in place (they're called something like "Truck Stop") even outside festival season. Anyway, that one had a lot of stands, lots of lights, and felt very festive.
I submitted my novel to an open call (rejection) and another one (closes in a couple weeks). I submitted a proposal for my nonfic project to 2 agents and my indulgent novel to a handful of agents.
My mom died suddenly in March, and there's been a lot of drama about that (resolved, I hope), and now I guess I wait for my uncle to file her taxes/the estate's taxes and get my half eventually. Her brother was admitted to the hospital a few days before Christmas with abdominal pain, and he's got a mass on his pancreas (biopsy to follow). So my grandma is having a hard time with that.
UPDATE: I just talked to my sister, and she got a call from our other uncle that he collapsed last night and died. The other uncle is taking the news to grandma personally.
My dad was apparently in the hospital for two weeks with covid and according to my cousin was touch and go there for a bit. It was his idea not to tell me or my sister until he was out of the hospital. :eyeroll: He isn't vaccinated; he's in the loony conspiracy land of horse dewormer and malaria pills.
I don't have big plans or goals for this year. I have a list of writing targets (submit nonfic to 10 more agents, draft a novel, write and submit at least one short story, that sort of thing).
Happy new year, etc.
I went to several cons and a couple conferences online (Boskone, Balticon, the Nebulas (where a friend won best short story), LingComm, and GLAC). I started a YouTube channel for videos about SFF linguistics, which I've been terrible about keeping up the last few months, but the upload speed here is TERRIBLE.
I moved to Berlin and got a 3-year residence permit to work as a freelance writer/editor. I made a new friend here, who's another American in the city, and I've been going to a meetup group for queer women (which is how I met my new friend), though since the weather turned, I haven't been going as much. Even with a vaccine mandate in place, I'm not very keen on indoors, low ventilation, and crowds. Plus, a LOT of the gals are young, in their 20s, so it's not quite my scene.
I got to hang out with kriski and dirtyzucchini one time in September or October. We took their dog for a walk in one of the local parks. Someday we'll be able to hang out again, probably when the weather turns again and being outside isn't quite as miserable.
I made it to 3 Christmas markets this year, all on the same day. None of them was particularly busy, but it was midafternoon on a weekday. Alexanderplatz was fine; they had a bunch of little huts with food, cookies, carved things, paper stars, and Glühwein. Potsdamer Platz was very small and a bit pathetic, although they had a sledding hill you could pay to go down. The best of the three was at Breitscheidplatz/Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche. If you remember the news from a few years ago, that's the one where a guy drove a stolen truck into the crowd. But there are bollers in place (they're called something like "Truck Stop") even outside festival season. Anyway, that one had a lot of stands, lots of lights, and felt very festive.
I submitted my novel to an open call (rejection) and another one (closes in a couple weeks). I submitted a proposal for my nonfic project to 2 agents and my indulgent novel to a handful of agents.
My mom died suddenly in March, and there's been a lot of drama about that (resolved, I hope), and now I guess I wait for my uncle to file her taxes/the estate's taxes and get my half eventually. Her brother was admitted to the hospital a few days before Christmas with abdominal pain, and he's got a mass on his pancreas (biopsy to follow). So my grandma is having a hard time with that.
UPDATE: I just talked to my sister, and she got a call from our other uncle that he collapsed last night and died. The other uncle is taking the news to grandma personally.
My dad was apparently in the hospital for two weeks with covid and according to my cousin was touch and go there for a bit. It was his idea not to tell me or my sister until he was out of the hospital. :eyeroll: He isn't vaccinated; he's in the loony conspiracy land of horse dewormer and malaria pills.
I don't have big plans or goals for this year. I have a list of writing targets (submit nonfic to 10 more agents, draft a novel, write and submit at least one short story, that sort of thing).
Happy new year, etc.
no subject
Date: 2022-01-01 11:22 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2022-01-02 12:55 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2022-01-02 06:02 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2022-01-03 12:09 am (UTC)From:I'm sorry to hear about your family health issues. I lost my mom 6 1/2 years ago. Still have some issues with that, but we bear up, don't we.
Best to you in 2022!