![\"\"](\"http:\/\/doycetesterman.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/hulk-sleep.jpg\" "\\"hulk")
<\/a>Let’s review what’s on the to-do list.<\/p>\n There’s a new kid on the way to the Casa, so there are more than a few home projects going on. The kid’s room is actually pretty much ready to go, but in the meantime we’ve been working on other rooms in the house.<\/p>\n We’ve painted our bedroom and the front greatroom, and of course Kaylee’s new bedroom needs to be framed in and painted and carpeted and all that cool stuff, but we’re letting some professionals handle that, even though I’m pretty sure I could nail (heh) the framing part.<\/p>\n Then there’s painting the house itself. The outside. We must — absolutely must — paint the whole thing before winter, or we’ll need to replace all the siding next summer, and if I’ve got some time before the next gig, I’ll probably be doing that myself and saving us mumble-hundreds of dollars.<\/p>\n By the way: if you’re in the market for a house, or planning to build one? Fuck chimneys. I don’t care how much you want a fireplace; don’t do it. Embed a firepit in your deck or something. Chimneys are to houses what a bad smoking habit is to an otherwise healthy person.<\/p>\n Anyway. I<\/em> am pretty much ready to go with the painting thing, but we’re going to have to wait until we can get these sections fixed by someone NaNoWriMo is on the horizon, and the prepatory murmurs are audible even at this great distance. Some folks have asked if I’m ‘doing’ it again this year which… c’mon. Of course.<\/p>\n But I’ve got a lot of other stuff to do first. A publisher handed me some revision requests which — damn them — are actually really good, so I want to get those done and handed back to my awesome agent before October is dead and gone.<\/p>\n What will I be writing?<\/p>\n Actually, I have a story to finish that needs at least another 50k (well, two, actually, but I’m picking one over the other), so I’ll be getting it down. Yes, I know you’re not supposed to do that with NaNoWriMo, but at this point, I think I’ve done it legit often enough to pfff<\/em> those kinds of restrictions.<\/p>\n But that’s just me; if you’re trying to finish NaNoWriMo for the first time, BY ALL MEANS OBSERVE THE RULES. Doing it my way (picking up an unfinished story) is actually making the whole thing harder; I’m just What would I write if I weren’t working on something extant? I dunno.<\/p>\n I’ll tell you what I wouldn’t suggest, though: steampunk.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>The main problem with this cunning plan is that there are three spots where the siding needs to be replaced, and of course the problem spots aren’t anywhere a mook like me could handle it — they’re complicated places like where the chimney meets the house, right under the eaves.<\/p>\ncompetent<\/s> experienced.<\/p>\n<\/a>stupid<\/s> self-challenging that way.<\/p>\n