August’s Aqueous Sausage

This post went to Patronizers at the beginning of August, and to the public at the beginning of September. Not a Patronizer? You could be! The apartment complex opened the pool. It’s right beneath my balcony. Now that my smaller desktop works, I can roll out and work while sneering at the people in the pool doing weird things like “relaxing” and “having fun” and “not melting in the heat,” all activities I have never tried and can thus authoritatively declare lack merit. I attended a writers’ gathering at the end of July. Why a gathering? Conference is too strong a word. There were no scheduled events. Party isn’t right, either. Two colleagues invited a few dozen writers, artists, and publishing professionals into the mountains of Washington State to one, discuss the state of the industry, and two, allow the locals to sneer at those of us who thought we were in the mountains. There was barbeque. I learned some things. I reinforced old contacts. I reminded myself of why I do things this…