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Note #65: Avalanche (2011.11.30)

It’s the last day of November; tomorrow is December, and with it comes the last leg of the mad dash to the end of the year. This time of year is always busy for me with the entrance exams in November and the usual bevy of exams in December, but this year I have more on my plate than usual. When I look at my to-do list, the string of deadlines reminds me of the line of passengers in Airplane all waiting to take their shot at the screaming lady—and I’m the screaming lady. (Sorry, that might have been a bit obscure, but if you’ve seen the film you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.)

Stress aside, being this busy is not really a bad thing. It’s better to be busy than bored, right? And one of the deadlines is actually rather exciting. I did a translation of a novel a number of years ago that I had hoped to have published, but due to contracts and market forces, this publication was delayed. Truth be told, I kind of wrote it off and figured it would never happen. Earlier this year, though, I got a call from the author’s agent saying that it had been selected for publication by a big publishing house in the United States. And just last week, the editor sent me an edited version of the manuscript with numerous queries for me to answer. It’s a humbling experience to have your translation picked apart, but I find myself far more excited at the prospect that this dream is finally going to become a reality. That reality is still some way off (sometime late next year), but the wheels are turning, and it’s comforting to know that the book is in good hands.

That’s just one of the many deadlines, though, and for as excited as I am about some of them, I sometimes feel like I am staring into the maw of an oncoming avalanche. And apparently I am not the only one feeling the stress—this morning I turned on my computer, and my primary monitor let out this horrible screeching sound. The screen went black, a light flickered on one side of the screen, and then it was gone. The smell of something burning came from the rear of the monitor. The weird thing is that it’s an LCD monitor, not a CRT. I didn’t think LCD monitors went out like that. Fortunately I have two monitors, so I switched the cables to make the remaining monitor my primary one. When you’re used to using two monitors, though, having only one feels like hopping around on one leg. We’ll have to remedy that soon.

So that’s it for now. Just a quick note to say that things are going to be a bit busy around here, but hopefully I will be able to keep my sense of direction and, when the time comes to start digging, dig toward the light.

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