Back at the face of the salt mine...

My work yesterday was not of a high-quality nature, as I found out today while comparing new text against what I had done yesterday. That almost pushes yesterday's funk into the category of a one-man pity party, but I'm not going to dwell on it. Clients came a-knockin' early (via cell and email).

I am three small documents translated and one more document edited further down the road now than I was this morning. There is still no specific news on whether the items for editing have stopped coming. I certainly hope so, as the deadline for completing the editing is a scant two hours away.

(Yikes! On a whim, I took a look at my inbox. There are two new documents there for editing!)

Hopefully, that'll be it. Looking at the one I have left from yesterday (1500) and the two just arrived (200 and 3200 words), though, I think the deadline needs revisiting.

's been revisited! (I've got two more hours!)

Will it be enough?

Cheers...

Done!

A baker's dozen of files have been edited and sent! Time enough to invoice it all tomorrow, though not enough time to go take a nap.

The kids were supposed to go out to dinner with Galina and me yesterday, sort of a before-leaving-for-Houston meal, but it didn't come off. Frankly, I didn't much feel like it and anyway, the kids ended up at Shannon's parents' place. Tonight, however, I plan to socialize a little.

It really does feel good to have those files out from under me.

Cheers...

The meme strikes! or: Ten Things I've Done That You Might Not Have

This is not the kind of exercise you do in the spur of the moment. Or perhaps that is exactly when you'd do it (to minimize self-censorship and find out jut what kind of unique things come first to mind).

Not included are a lot of really unique things, such as meeting and falling in love with Galina, bringing up Natalie and Andrew, and lots of family things, but without thinking too hard, and in no particular order (and with minimum explanation), here's my list.

1. I've seen hero-worship in the eyes of astronauts and cosmonauts as we sat chatting with John Glenn during an informal meeting in Sen. Glenn's office.
   
2. I've watched space rockets take off from Not Far Away™ from where I was, and worked on-console at the Mission Control Center during a Shuttle-Mir mission.
   
3. I sang The Marine Hymn in Baku, Azerbaidjan for a group of Canadian tourists on the Fourth of July.
   
4. I got married in Moscow, in the winter, at a place called the "Palace of Marriage No. 1."
   
5. I impersonated a military spook (by steadfastly denying I was anything of the kind) during routine questioning at a U.S. police station.
   
6. I played ex-world-champion Boris Spassky to a draw at a simultaneous chess exhibition.
   
7. I met my half brothers for the first time when I was nearly 30 years old.
   
8. I ate my first sushi with Jerry and Roberta Pournelle in Los Angeles.
   
9. I've written two books and numerous articles that have been published in magazines. My most memorable article was a short piece I wrote for National Review at the encouragement of Bill Buckley.
   
10. I appeared, um, under Broadway as a stage magician.
    

Cheers...