Bits and Pieces

So I spent the larger part of the last two (beautiful and sunny) days taking an online course to get my alcohol server's permit for my job at the golf course this summer.  Finishing the last module this morning, and of course now it's rather overcast and threatening rain.  However, it's not actually raining yet, so I might have to go for a walk when I'm finished anyway.  More on the golf course once work actually begins.


Said goodbye to my sister yesterday, as she's leaving for Flight Attendant Training in Salt Lake City.  I'm happy for her, but it's sad to see her go.  It's been great having her close by the last two years.  We really haven't spent so much time together since she was in college. Still, fun to see her off on another adventure.


I feel due for a new adventure myself, and I mean larger in scale than a new job at the golf course, though that might tide me over.  I'm thinking something big, like sailing around the world or ballooning to New Zealand, or something enlightening, like a pilgrimage to Byzantium or a trek across Tibet.


On the writing front, I've been thinking more about self-publishing again, mostly thanks to my friend Kathy, who's been considering it herself and has therefore been sending me information and links to a bunch of different sites.  Not to give up on regular publishing by any means, but it does seem like self-publishing is getting to be more respected.  I'm still querying agents, but I'm also considering my options.  I'm confident enough about my manuscript, after passing it around to a number of people (including a local book group) that I feel I could at least break even on whatever I put into it fairly easily, and then go from there.  After all, it shouldn't hurt my chances of getting a traditional publishing deal later if something came along.  In any case, I'm still doing my research.  I hear tipsy golfers generally tip fairly well, so perhaps by the end of the summer I'll have enough saved to float a mad scheme.  More on that later.

I think it just as well to mention that I do actually have a children's book available.  My mother and I self-published it a few years ago -- and learned a number of sticky things about self-publishing in the process.  As far as the book itself goes, I'm still rather fond of it, and my mom's illustrations are fantastic.  Here is the link, for anyone who might be interested:

https://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.aspx?bookid=34642

On a side note, I bought a magazine today in the grocery store on the way home from work, simply for the delightful reason that its recipe section was titled "Ambrosial Fare".