Author
Quick Note: GraphicAudio has a special deal going on through the end of April on a complete set of my Fallen Blade series in full cast audio with sound effects and music, like a radio play. I’ve been listening and these are really good productions. In particular, I adore what they’ve done with Faran. Use the 35% Off Code CDSET35 FALLEN BLADE CD SET
I have an eeeebil plan.
Step 1*
That trick never works.
We’ll never know if we don’t try it. Bwah-ha-ha!
Yeah, good luck with that.
I kind of liked it.
Oooh, just tried to do the math. Bored now.
Told yah. Group nap!
*Thanks to Matt Kuchta for the kitty art
I are a kitty!
The deuce you say. You’re clearly art of the pronounced ahht sort.
I never understand what going on around here…
What’s going around is ahhht, obviously.
Also Simon Smith and his amazing dancing bear!
Da hell?
I don’t know wake me up when this post starts making sense.
Or if we get to Pittsburgh. You always want to wake up for that.
Riiiiiight. They really don’t pay me enough for this shit.
Do you know what I want for Catmas?*
This?
Not bad, but no.
Do you know what I want?
A pterodactyl?
I’m guessing it’s more like FREEDOM!
From the monkey holding your paws, that is.
Yeah. Ahh, better.
Not a pterodactyl? Cats are super weird. I’m outta here.
*With thanks to Matt Kuchta for the art.
I am the ghost of lamppost future.
…the hell?
What part of lamppost future don’t you understand?
All of it?
Allow me to read to you from the book of lamppost…
Um, how about no?
The killer whale of non sequiturs agrees with you.
If there’s one thing Cthulhu knows it’s evil, and that whale? EEEvil!
I am dubious about this proposition. Also, too tired to hold head up.
Dubious snow ninja is agrees.
I am sooooo confused.
This thing isn’t giving off fumes, is it?
Knock knock!
Whose—Oh my god, it’s a pterodactyl!
A delicious delicious pterodactyl!
Are you crazy? That thing is big enough to eat US!
I promise I won’t let the big bad birdie eat you.
But what if we want to eats it, like dis!
Okay, maybe that’s a bit much.
Is it gone? I think it’s gone…
My eyes are feeling a little skrudgy.
Dude! Also, what are you doing in a cat blog?
Hey now, lets not be speciesist.
Can we be nappist? I like naps.
Can we talk about my eyes? They’re starting to feel really weird…
Weren’t you in an Indiana Jones movie?
Naps, man, we need to talk naps!
I’m kind of unimpressed with your focus here…
That’s beneath you, and so am I.
Every so often I am reminded that I am not like all the other children. By which, I mean that I do not suffer from the same set of confidence issues that many of my writer peers deal with. This is not to say that I don’t have my own personal set of writer neuroses, or that I have always believed my work is amazing, but simply that I am not and really have never been subject to imposter syndrome.
I suspect part of this comes out of my Open School background where I was taught to believe in my bones that I could do anything I wanted to do, if I was willing to work hard enough for it. It is worth noting that I was not taught that I would be good at something from the start, that I was inherently talented at everything, or that I wouldn’t experience a lot of failure along the way. In fact, I was taught and internalized that it would take hard work, that I would have to face a lot of failure, and that talent mattered much less than being willing to do the work. I was also taught methods for realistically assessing my progress toward my goals and the necessity of accepting responsibility when I fall short.
As I said, I’ve never had imposter syndrome. I have had any number of moments where I fell short and realized I needed to work harder to reach the next level with my writing. Then I went on to do that work and moved on and up. It’s been a hard slow climb—I’ve got five hundred rejection letters that speak to that—and there’s still a lot of room for me to grow and improve, but I think that it’s fair to say with twelve published novels and dozens of short stories under my belt at this point that I’m making my way up that wall. I’m just taking a different route than those of my peers whose issues include dealing with imposter syndrome.
There is no one right path to becoming a successful writer or artist. Don’t ever let anyone tell you different.
All is right with the world.
Perfect sunny afternoon.
Yeah, man, sniff the glove.
Uh, wait, what now?
Pretty sure she “said sniff the glove…”
The glove is magic! Do not defy the glove!
I so don’t understand cats.
Camper set up and take down instructions
1) Park on a level surface. Unhook safety chains and lift ball hitch lever. Lower front stand cranking shaft by flipping lever. Reset lever. Crank down front wheel until ball pops free. Move car. Crank front wheel until trailer is mostly level.
2) Open trailer door and pull the tubs out, and the bed shelf supports. Find the level in the buckets and finish leveling the trailer—note: roof of trailer is not flat and cannot be used to level the trailer.
3) Put all (four) trailer feet down by pulling them out horizontally and turning them down. To adjust heights, put your foot on the lever and the the trailer foot will release.
4) Walk around the trailer and unlatch all four corner latches.
5) Find the crank in the buckets and insert into the slot to the left of the trailer door. Start cranking clockwise(?)–it will require a bit of oomph to get it started moving. Keep cranking until it is all the way up.
6) The bed shelf supports slide into slots on the lower frame, then a right angle piece slots into the upper trailer frame.
7) Pull the beds out by the handle near the center of the bed edge. You may need to pull up a little bit to get them out. The bed supports will then slide into pressure slots under the bed. These are stiff and may require a tap with a mallet to get them in.
8) Set the trailer step by pulling up and out. Make sure it is properly seated before stepping on it!
We usually put the floor mats out too, to avoid getting too much dirt inside the trailer. Go inside the trailer and pull out the stove (skip this as stove is not currently in trailer).
9) Flip the kitchen counter upright.
10) Pull the cushions off the seats and remove the table (set it on one of the beds). Flip the seat backs up (if the beds aren’t all the way pushed out you can give them a little shove) and replace the cushions. Set the table on one of the seats or out of the way. Under the bed mattresses are the canvas over-the-bed supports.
11) The bed shelf tent support will slot onto the angled frame and you can use the support to push the angled frame up and away from you. The other side of the support fits into a circular slot on the ceiling with a button to keep it in place. You may need to push hard to get it to fit in. This should set up the frame for the beds. Repeat with the other bed.
11A) To set up the door, close the lower portion of the door. Reach up to the ceiling of the trailer and unlock (turn) the clips holding the door up.
11B) The door will swing down. Try not to hit yourself.
11C) Mate the lower and upper door halves. There is a hinged portion at the top of the door to give you some flexibility in inserting the top of the door into the lower portion.
11D) Once the two door sides are mated, push the door firmly towards the outside of the trailer until it snaps straight. Turn all the latches to hold the door in place.
11E )Lock the two halves of the door together with the steel latch.
11F) Connect the Velcro on the outside of the door to be snug all around the door frame.
12) On the outside of the trailer, go around and cover the four telescoping main supports with the canvas using the Velcro tabs.
13) Under each bed platform there are a series of buttons to hook elastic loops onto. Secure all buttons
14) Make sure all the zippers are down as far as they go. Plug any small gaps with a bit of cloth.
15) Double check footings, door connections, that bed shelves are locked in place.
16) You’re done.
To take camper down reverse the process, make sure to do ALL the steps.