As a writer, one of the draws about being a panelist at a science fiction convention is the conversation you get with various people in the bar. I’ve gotten story ideas, prompted story ideas, laughed my ass off numerous times, been unexpectedly complimented (frex, today I was told that I was a badass knitter and my dollhouses were baller), and have gotten some damned good advice.

This weekend was no different. Not only did I have a number of fun conversations with various folks over the weekend, I also had a very, VERY useful discussion with bestselling romance author Sidney Bristol about promotion, organization, and how to turn my treadmill into a functional walking desk. She warned me that she absolutely hated writing at hers, but it was a good way to get in some movement and crank out wordage. It appears that I will be cutting wood tomorrow and creating a desk that can sit across the gripper bars while I trudge along. This will be interesting.

Also interesting was her awesome day planner and how it helped organize her life. I’ve tried using the calendar and To Do function in Outlook for that sort of thing, but I’ve also noticed that I’ll let things fall by the wayside, whereas if I have things written out on a physical calendar I’m much better about doing them. So I’ve ordered the amazing Day Designer Flagship 2016 Mini Edition, as the full-sized one was sold out, and when it arrives I’m going to start keeping track of all the things I’m supposed to be doing and work on being far more professional with my time. Because I’m getting old, you see, and I just can’t keep all of this stuff in my noggin anymore. Plus there’s the whole “write a buttload of things, get them out there, and make a living wage off them” thing that I’d really like to make a reality this year. Every year since 2012 I’ve been getting more and more successful with my writing — I’ve established my brand, you wonderful people like reading my stuff, and I’ve demonstrated that I can sell as a hybrid author. Now I really want to kick things into high gear and start turning the writing dodge into something that can support me (and ideally both myself and Ramón at some point in the future).

In other news, the sinus infection seems to be waning, knock wood. I still feel the sinus symptoms, but my mood has improved mightily and so has my energy levels. Remember, folks, neti pots with distilled or boiled and filtered water really do work.

Oy. You may remember that I wound up catching a cold while in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. Despite my best efforts it appears to have left a juicy little sinus infection in its wake.

Before I get besieged by remedies et al., I’ve gotten these often enough to know what to do. The mucus is yellow (it actually bears a noticeable resemblance to lemon curd), not green, which means it’s a viral infection rather than a bacterial one so antibiotics won’t do a blessed thing. I’m using antihistamines, Mucinex to thin the mucus, and aspirin to fight the sinus pain. I’m also using a neti pot to rinse out my sinuses, a steroid inhaler to help reduce swelling, and I’m sleeping with a humidifier next to the bed. Right now the only truly useful thing I can do is drink a boatload of water, rest, and wait it out.

Not like I have any other options, as this opportunistic infection is draining my energy like you would not believe. I went food shopping yesterday and felt like I was slogging through mud. Ramón sent me off to bed around 7:30 PM — I woke up 12 hours later and didn’t feel better at all. And I have all this lovely writing to do, if I could just kick my ass into gear instead of staring blearily at the screen and wishing mightily to take a nap.

But these books aren’t going to write themselves, so I may as well get cracking. If you hear pathetic coughing in the corner, be kind and send over a hot toddy, thanks.