It seems according to this article, that GRRM is done with Dabel Brothers.

It’s probably well-deserved too, considering my own experience, which can’t have been that far off from what other people experienced too. Apparently the 2009 calendars were extremely late. Some of them were supposed to be signed, but a lot didn’t get shipped out in a timely fashion, and there were many annoyed customers, GRRM being one of them (probably because people flamed his blog about the lateness, etc).

I had read somewhere that part of the reason for the lateness was on DB’s end, but they also claimed they hadn’t received the artwork in time. As far as they were concerned, they were also allegedly handling shipping themselves, instead of outsourcing to a larger company that could have handled the large volume of orders. Not smart, guys.

My own experience reflected this; for Dunbar’s birthday, I had ordered him the 2009 calendar. Late, yes. I had about 10 days from when I ordered on the DB website to get the calendar and then ship it back to him.

10 days came and went, and my e-mail told me that I should have gotten it within 5-7 business days. So I e-mailed the company and asked for an update on the calendar. Just a nice, friendly, but firm message. They said sorry and expect it within another week.

Another week went by and still, nothing. So I messaged them again after a few days. This time I got no response. After yet another week, I sent another e-mail, this time threatening never to do business with them again, and to cancel the order and have them refund my credit card. Three weeks is really ridiculous. I got a reply to that then that said they’d had some shipping delays but that mine had been shipped that day. Yeah. Right.

About four days later I got the calendar, which was now so late for my friend’s birthday that I probably could have kept it for myself.

Considering the awesomeness of the ASoIaF drawings and the difficulty I had getting it, I should have.

I suppose the phone call I got from my friend, generously praising the calendar as the ‘best present ever’ was worth the agony of giving up such a cool artifact. I asked him to take pictures of the months’ drawings, but he probably won’t, so that’s okay. I’ll find the images on the internet eventually. It’s still a bit of a shame though, considering that there will be no 2010 calendar

What I also wanted to add was that while I appreciated the article… I wanted to smack those people who wrote in the comments that GRRM should stop worrying about this and instead focus on his book. Fuck all of you. It’s a 4000 page series so far. I’d like to see you do a better job of mapping the plot and writing a sequel that’s better than all of the previous books. That’s right. You probably can’t and never will. So shut the fuck up and let the man write.

That is all.

Today I went to go see “State of Play” at Atlantic Station.

Honestly, all I knew about the movie was that it was about reporters and a murder involving people in public office. That, and it had Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams, two actors whose performances I enjoy.

So I went, and enjoyed myself thoroughly. It was a solid movie, well written and with good performances from most everyone involved–Crowe, McAdams, Ben Affleck, and even Robin Wright-Penn. Generally, the characters had a good deal of personality and complexity, and (without giving too much away), the plot twists held my attention the entire time.

I think the details are what kept me involved, as well. For example… it was set entirely in DC, and I recognized or have been to nearly all of the places the characters went! Ben’s Chili Bowl was a blast from the past, dredging up a memory of a cold winter night during which a boy and I walked around DC, freezing, somehow ending up at Ben’s. It was during the time period that I was vegetarian, and I remember ordering a vegetarian chili bowl, the heat from the food and spices warming me considerably.  There was The Wharf, where an informant and Kal met to talk about what was happening, and this brought back another memory, of another boy and I. We probably skipped school and were walking around all day when we found this open air seafood market. There are pictures of me looking unhappy, and him as well, standing in this very square.

There were others as well, shots of the metro and the various neighborhoods. It made me ache to be back in DC badly for a visit, the kind of visit where I would have hours upon hours to walk around and explore again.

Anyway, I found Crowe’s weight amusing, Robin Wright Penn’s character human and sympathetic, and for a change, I didn’t think Ben Affleck completely intolerable.  The conspiracy theme was developed and made sense, even to someone who is terribly uneducated about the way things like defense contracts work.

See this movie… if not in the theaters, then definitely rent it when it comes out on DVD. Good stuff.

1. A Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin
2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J. K. Rowling
3. The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse – Robert Rankin

A skimpy list this month, but to my credit, both Harry Potter and A Game of Thrones are ridiculously long books. Frankly, I wanted to add A Clash of Kings to the list, but there’s just no way. I finished the first one yesterday, and will finish Harry Potter soon, I’m sure. So hopefully after that, I’ll be able to start and finish Chocolate Bunnies before the end of the month!

A Game of Thrones was amazing to read the second time around.  Now that I am familiar with the houses and the characters, everything makes so much sense from the set up. And it makes what happens to the characters all the more devastating.

Well, I can’t wait to start Order of the Phoenix. Off to bed!

It’s funny, but these days when I see your name now, all it stirs in me is a small note of recognition, like a dream I once had or a far off memory of something. In the grand scheme of things, it has not been that long, but a lot has happened since I last saw you to make it feel that way.

Today was a small victory for me, however, that the jolt of seeing your name popping up unexpectedly again did not make me angry or sad or anything else. Instead, I have come far enough along that I simply noted the occurrence and then deleted the request.

In truth, I surprised myself, after I’d hit the delete button.  Having this obnoxious tendency to hold onto things far beyond when I should, I would normally relish the small, false contact and then allow the anger and old feelings to flood back for a while. But today I only feel reflective and a mild curiosity.  In a few hours, I probably won’t think about it at all, but instead continue looking forward to the prospects of the weekend, the following week at work, the possibility of things to come.

The city skyline today is beautiful, crisp and clear. It’s springtime without a doubt now.

I have a new job. I wake up around 6 in order to get to the office by 8. It’s going to be an adjustment, but I like the earlier hours, the prospect of spending evenings free or in the gym wonderful.

During the morning, I suppose I will be sorting faxes and answering the firm’s email. The rest of the day is spent answering phones, gathering resources and files to fax to the various Departments of Family and Child Services around the state.  I spend most of the day asking questions, questions about everything, from what to say to people to what paperwork gets filed where. I feel irritating, and right now I spend my leisurely hour-long lunches in the parking lot, poring over A Game of Thrones and eating sandwiches.

When I leave, I glide down the interstate. I can go to the gym every night of the week if I want, and although I won’t get paid for another month (while the payroll period catches up), I feel full of hope and plans.

I can only continue to hope that I can begin to save again. I have ideas for new accounts, how to budget for what I want and what I will need, and can’t wait to start.

Over the last week or so:

• Late night dancing at a place where they play house music in the basement. Even my roommate, who refuses to dance as a matter of principle, breaks this notion and dances anyway, beer in hand.
• Crawfish, two weekends in a row. One time at a friend’s birthday get-together, and another time at the local bar, where a basket of them is free with purchase of PBR.
• Somewhere in there, I am now supposed to take one for the team so that we can freeload one weekend at some guy’s house in Morocco. Or some such. Personally, I’d rather take one for the team so that we can go visit his mother’s house in Paris, but whatever. To each their own.
• Long runs, although they’re harder than normal. This may be because…
• The doctor informs me I weigh more than I have for a while. I’m  healthy though. Just slightly heavier. But even slightly is a lot for me, being small in nature. This only half surprises me, as I haven’t been as active as I normally am, while recovering. Really I am sickly this year, which is a sharp contrast to last year, where I was hardly sick at all. And so now will start a regimen of fitness and good eating again, so that when I run it doesn’t hurt like I’m eighty pounds overweight. This will probably make Julie’s class easier again, if I shed this winter weight.
• The drive back home is solitary, as usual. I make it  501 miles before needing to fill up again. It’s an old car, so this is something significant.
• Brunch with a friend. I get to share my current favorite obsession, A Game of Thrones. This book is not just something one picks up in a bookstore. Rather, it must be passed from person to person. So I did this for my friend, and I am hoping she grows to love it like I do.
• Met a woman with the most extraordinary life and who says if I ever want to write her story, just let her know and she’ll fly me out to LA to live with her and her daughters for a while so I can do my research. My heart stops at this offer and the skeptical part of me wonders if it’s actually possible.
• My face weeps pollen for a few days. If yours has never done that, don’t worry. You’re not missing anything fun.  Hopefully the stint in MD will clear the shit out of my system.
• Finally, and most importantly, my new job starts on Tuesday at 9 AM. You’d better believe I’m happy.

Nothing like a family dinner and some wine flowing to loosen tongues enough to tell you that the ethnicity you thought you were all your life isn’t right.

Before any more people in my life either disappear, disappoint me in a big, earth-shattering kind of way, or otherwise reveal themselves as something they’re not, I have to ask. Does anyone else have any jaw-dropping secrets they care to share? You know, because I wouldn’t want to go on believing stupid things. Wasting time, and such.

Anyone?

Night before last, I dream that cousin and I are going to class. We drive for a while in the dark and arrive on the top  of a hillside, buildings luminous at dusk. The tallest building is where our class is, and we begin to wind up the parking garage to park.

We come to a ledge. This is not it, I tell him. You’ve parked in the wrong garage. I point a few buildings over, where we want to be.

“Shit!” he says, pressing the accelerator.

But we are not on the ground. We’re ten or fifteen stories up. The car plummets over the edge of the garage. I feel the familiar swooping in my stomach as we start to fall. At least it’ll be over fast, I console myself, thinking that the force of impact combined with the fact that we’re in a car that will certainly crumple in on itself may spare us long and grueling deaths.

But I live, bouncing out of the wreckage and simply breaking both legs.  Somehow.  I get up and stagger away, throwing up in the grass.

Last night, I don’t remember much from my dreams. I had vivid ones though, and have repressed most of them, as they featured a certain person I’d like to obliterate from my thoughts entirely.  But the dream progresses and I’m inside an elevator. The ground floor is 3, and instead of going down, I accidentally press 7. Embarrassed when the rest of the people complain (for they too, wanted to go to floor 3), I just get out at floor 7 and run down the stairs.

When I run outside, I realize I’ve been wearing my glasses. But things are blurry, and so I take them off. I’m standing in an open square, the nearest building very distant. There are no trees to clutter the skyline, as though we’re on top of a mountain. We may be. And as I remove my glasses and clear my vision, I realize for the first time I can see clearly, sharply, intently. The sky is open above me and stars burst into view, spinning galaxies and nebula and all manner of beautiful things.

They were interesting dreams. The first one was especially odd because I’ve never thrown up in a dream before. I wonder what it means.