Deep breath...

Crack knuckles...and write. 

I have the project for March finished in first draft form.  It's a collection of short stories (and I am planning on adding one more, when I can get it out).  I'm fairly happy with it. 

I've also started the next project.  It's one I started about five years ago, but stalled on.  I couldn't find the right music for it, and I didn't know why I couldn't move the plot forward.  I recently got a lot more music--like, four CDs, three of Avenged Sevenfold, and In This Moment's Rituals--and the latter proved to be perfect.  I pulled up the 10K words I had of the project, and read through it four times while listening to the music...and figured out that I'd not set things up right.  I've got to build the trust between the characters before I can set the plot rolling.  Duh.

I had 10K words.  I had to cut 2K words to get back to a point where it would move again.  And once I did, I added 3K words.  Yes, the project that stalled for five freakin' years is alive again.  And it's coming really easy, now.  

Last weekend, I discovered a couple things: thing the first, my headphones had died.  Again.  The wire had broken on the plug end.  Thing the second, I can't cheap out on fixing thing the first and expect it to last.  I'd spent $50 on three pairs of headphones, last year. 

So on Saturday, I spent $50 on a pair of headphones that are capable of Bluetooth connection or of using a wire...which was the fail point on ALL of my other headphones...and which fully detaches and is easily replaceable on this set. 

Hopefully, this pair lasts me for a good while longer. 

This morning, I finally felt good enough to move my work station back from my recliner (with heat pad and blankets and all sorts of comfort stuff) back to my desk.  And I went to plug my USB accessories back in to print my tax info and to get back to using a keyboard that's a lot easier on my hands.  And come to find out, the keyboard won't see the laptop, or vise versa. 

I panicked.  And went looking for a spare (which we don't have).  And then decided I was going to go get a new one.  Asked Odysseus if he could grab me one, or if I ought to go to a local overstock and return store that often has some really decent stuff marked a lot lower than it should be.  He suggested plugging it in and trying a hard restart.  So I did, and went to do the restart, accidentally put an elbow on a key...and the damn thing obeyed the input command, and shut down my browser. 

Yes, ladies and gents, that's right: I threatened to replace a piece of equipment that wouldn't work, and it started working again. 

We really ought to do things like this more often with cashiers that won't do their jobs and go on strike demanding a skilled worker's wage for unskilled work. 

Back to work.  I'll bang out this new project's first draft, then get to work revising March's project.