As I mentioned yesterday, we went to see tigers in Pittsboro. The Carolina Tiger Rescue (fka Carnivore Preservation Trust) had a bunch of tigers, but also a lot of ocelots and binturongs and caracals and another spotted cat I can't recall. They're mostly from people who thought it was a good idea to have wild animals as pets, then discovered, oshi, this 6-month-old tiger is bigger than me.
Seriously, folks, what the hell?
After that we went to S&T's Soda Shoppe, which has OK food, but it's mostly for the ambience: it's an old pharmacy/soda shoppe, and there's a bunch of old pharmacy stuff there (including a pharmacist's license from the original owner. The board of pharmacy still uses the same font/calligraphy.) The ice cream is pretty darn good, though.
I didn't want to stop hanging out with people (I don't get enough social time!), so we called Nolan, who called Mo, and we all went to Tyler's Taproom. They had dinner, and Ben & I had beers & chips. I tried a Duvel Green (verdict: nice, but not as good as regular Duvel) and a Kasteel Rouge (verdict: cherry juice flavored beer; I like cherry lambics better, but it's worth a try.)
Today we're doing another glucose curve on Isis, who still hates it very much thank you. It's not as bad as last week, so far.
A couple cons have come to my attention: MidSouthCon, just over the TN/MS border from Memphis, my birthday weekend, and RavenCon, in Richmond a month later. MSC is a bit further (and could involve flying, since I-40 is still closed in the mountains after a rockslide in ... October, was it?) and the hotel is pricier, but there's a writers' conference thing, which appeals. RavenCon is closer (Richmond is about 2.5 hours) and the hotel is cheaper, but it appeals to me less. Financial constraints mean that I shouldn't really do both, especially if I want to apply to VP this year (assuming I get in, which I certainly don't.)
On the VP tip, thanks to my recent employment, I haven't made progress on this damned novel worth a damn, which means I have less time to get my application packet together (8000 words, including synopsis, so 6000-ish words of story + synopsis; cover letter iirc) before I go to Germany for a month. If I can do it, I do it; if not, I'll count it a learning experience and get it together for next year. When my finances might look a little better to begin with, since I'm not spending a ton on German school tuition, food, and 2 weeks' vacation in Vienna & Budapest.
So, blah. Now to focus on this writing thing the rest of the day (in between laundry and cat-poking.)
Seriously, folks, what the hell?
After that we went to S&T's Soda Shoppe, which has OK food, but it's mostly for the ambience: it's an old pharmacy/soda shoppe, and there's a bunch of old pharmacy stuff there (including a pharmacist's license from the original owner. The board of pharmacy still uses the same font/calligraphy.) The ice cream is pretty darn good, though.
I didn't want to stop hanging out with people (I don't get enough social time!), so we called Nolan, who called Mo, and we all went to Tyler's Taproom. They had dinner, and Ben & I had beers & chips. I tried a Duvel Green (verdict: nice, but not as good as regular Duvel) and a Kasteel Rouge (verdict: cherry juice flavored beer; I like cherry lambics better, but it's worth a try.)
Today we're doing another glucose curve on Isis, who still hates it very much thank you. It's not as bad as last week, so far.
A couple cons have come to my attention: MidSouthCon, just over the TN/MS border from Memphis, my birthday weekend, and RavenCon, in Richmond a month later. MSC is a bit further (and could involve flying, since I-40 is still closed in the mountains after a rockslide in ... October, was it?) and the hotel is pricier, but there's a writers' conference thing, which appeals. RavenCon is closer (Richmond is about 2.5 hours) and the hotel is cheaper, but it appeals to me less. Financial constraints mean that I shouldn't really do both, especially if I want to apply to VP this year (assuming I get in, which I certainly don't.)
On the VP tip, thanks to my recent employment, I haven't made progress on this damned novel worth a damn, which means I have less time to get my application packet together (8000 words, including synopsis, so 6000-ish words of story + synopsis; cover letter iirc) before I go to Germany for a month. If I can do it, I do it; if not, I'll count it a learning experience and get it together for next year. When my finances might look a little better to begin with, since I'm not spending a ton on German school tuition, food, and 2 weeks' vacation in Vienna & Budapest.
So, blah. Now to focus on this writing thing the rest of the day (in between laundry and cat-poking.)