Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: excited
  • Music: Outkast, "Hey Ya!"

Appearances and administration! Plus, NEW SHINIES.

Item the first: I have updated my website appearances. Go, view, and learn where I'm going to be. I have confirmed appearances in Australia, New York, California, and Oregon. Which brings me to...

Item the second: I am delighted and honored to announce that I have been selected as the Friends of Filk Guest for OryCon 32. This year's theme is "the Darker Side of Fantasy," which is something I feel I can work with quite well. I'll be appearing with Vixy and Tony, which always makes me happy, and maybe I'll even have a brand new album by then! The convention will be held in Portland, Oregon, from November 12th through the 14th. I hope you can make it, if it's even remotely local to you.

Item the third: If you ever feel the need to quit your job, this is pretty much the way to do it. Style, a sense of humor, and a great way of making your point. (I do wonder what kind of reference she's going to get, but...) Just don't read the comments. The sexism can get a little scary at certain points. But the facial expressions are twenty miles beyond awesome.

Item the fourth: This is what you've all been waiting for, which is a large part of why I've been keeping you in suspense. I'd say that I was sorry, but you'd all know that I was lying through my teeth. So instead, I shall say LOOK! SHINY! Much more effective.

Icons and Wallpapers for An Artificial Night have been posted on my site.

Tara has really outdone herself with this latest batch, and I am absolutely enthralled by her graphic awesome. Some will make more sense after you've read the book, but they're all fantastic now. Go, look, take, have, and join the flailing excitement as you realize...book three is ALMOST HERE.

Gleh.
Tags: an artificial night, appearances, australia makes you die, conventions, filk, good things, i make music, icons, in the wild, silliness, tara, toby daye, where's seanan
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  • 41 comments
...go 1 level up... Expand

seanan_mcguire

August 10 2010, 16:21:16 UTC 6 years ago

Sadly, I am right there with you.

aliciaaudrey

August 10 2010, 16:39:01 UTC 6 years ago

The part that gets me is that from what I understand of how productivity and brain function tend to work, a few minutes of "down time" isn't usually unproductive. I pace when I'm thinking. Nobody seems to much mind this, except for the one boss I had during one of my internships who decided literally EVERYTHING ABOUT ME was obnoxious (he actually once called me into his office and screamed at me for twenty minutes because my general disposition is cheerful and my habitual good spirits were grating on him. I assure you, my general amiability was no longer a problem at that particular internship. It actually took me two jobs to get my general good mood back and I still clam up when I see that particular boss at functions.)

Anyway, I don't see why me getting up to walk around for a moment--which only one boss of mine ever found at ALL objectionable--is that different than playing solitaire for a moment. I'm usually thinking about work when I do it, but for all they know I could be thinking about what color I want to repaint the bathroom or something. Whereas feeling like you're under a microscope and your every sneeze will subject you to analysis and criticism (Did you ENJOY the sneeze?...Was the sneeze productive for the company?) WILL negatively affect office performance.

keristor

August 10 2010, 18:12:04 UTC 6 years ago

Definitely is the way a lot of people's brains (braaaiiinnnsss!!) work. Every so often I get stuck, and if I try to force myself on I'll end up spending five minutes repeating "2 plus 2 is..." with no answer (and no energy to even recode it into binary). Whereas if I take 5 minutes and read LJ or The Register or browse wikipedia I'll free the jam and be able to continue. Heck, a lot of people have that long for smoking breaks or tea/coffee breaks every hour. Especially managers.

Plus I don't charge them for my times at oh-dark-hundred when I actually realise what the problem is and recode half the software in my head before getting back to sleep...

aliciaaudrey

August 10 2010, 22:51:13 UTC 6 years ago

I have a friend of mine (a solo practitioner attorney, and no snickering, the single most honest woman I've ever known) who grumbles that if she could just figure out how to successfully bill for the bouts of inspiration she gets while killing time in court waiting for a hearing on another case or while driving her kids around, she'd be more honest about her billing than she is when she's supposed to be thinking about client matters and is instead going "Yep. Drawing a blank. Hey. That guy out the window looks kind of like the dude who plays Norman Osborne. I shall now engage in a five minute mental meditation on the failings and triumphs of the Spider Man movies."

I totally understand that someone whose work is slipping because he goofs around on company time ALL THE TIME needs to be disciplined. I just don't get why professionals who totally understand the fifteen minutes they need now and then to clear their heads is not unproductive time don't realize that their support staff feel the same way and for the same reasons.

seanan_mcguire

August 13 2010, 19:24:34 UTC 6 years ago

I don't get it either.