(no subject)

Scott's parents have been trying for years to get us to go down to Florida with them. They have some sort of time share in Fort Myers Beach, and they want it to be a big family vacation. Scott's brother and his wife have gone, and Scott's sister and her family have gone. Scott thought it might not be a bad idea this year. I'm not much interested in visiting the beach, but we thought we might be able to trek down to the Keys to show my grandfather his first great-grandchild, and I thought I could survive most of a week with my in-laws in order to do that.

But logistical problems overwhelmed us. Scott's parents have two weeks, the week before and the week after Easter. Scott's vacation has to start on a Monday and end on a Sunday. The cheapest air fare we could find for a non-stop flight was $700 apiece. We could get it down to $400 if we accepted an hour and a half layover in Atlanta. That almost appealed because that's where my sister lives, and we thought about trying to get a longer layover.

In the end, we concluded that we'd rather wait and maybe visit my grandfather in May. Hopefully that will work out better. It'll save me and my in-laws from a lot of stress. I won't have to deal with them trying to make me have fun doing things I don't like to do (like swimming, going out in the sun, being on the beach...). The trip would have been dreadfully frustrating. I wouldn't have been able to take my laptop (too much to carry with the baby, and we wouldn't be buying her a ticket, so her stuff would need to fit with our stuff) and wouldn't have had internet access even if I brought my laptop. Generally frustrating all around.

Scheduling vacations this year is kind of crazy. Scott wants to visit his brother in San Francisco, but I'm a bit scared of such a long trip with a toddler in tow. Of course, I'd be scared even without Delia because I find travel very stressful. But I would like to see San Francisco and if we're out there at the right time, maybe try YaoiCon. Of course, that would be fairly terrifying, too...

And once we start visiting people, there's my father and half-sister. Or my mother and step-father. Or... We don't have enough vacation time to do it, and they're all long trips.

(no subject)

My writing hasn't progressed much in the last week. I've been pondering ways to make one character a bit more sympathetic or at least how to make sure that readers can see why he's being such a jerk so that they're not surprised when I rattle him a bit and have him start behaving better. It's a particular challenge because he's not honest with himself and tends to be nasty to people as a way of avoiding looking at truths that bother him.

I am still working on the commentary that chibimora asked for on chapter 1 of "Rheotaxis." I think I'm about 2/3 of the way through the chapter. It's a fascinating exercise and is giving me a way to think about the story while I'm too tired to write anything much new. I'd feel bad about taking so long to complete this, but the chapter really is very long. Besides, I've been e-mailing pieces of the commentary to chibimora as I complete them, so she's not being kept waiting unnecessarily.

Even the commentary's bogged down in the last few days, though. I'm in desperate need of a good night's sleep and can't seem to think clearly enough to write anything that isn't pretty much stream of consciousness (like this). And even here, I have a fear that I'm going to babble incoherently and embarrass myself.

Sigh... It's a very good thing I love my baby girl. Otherwise, I'd be even more frustrated. As it is... Well, I look at her, and it's all pretty much worthwhile.