Sit Down and Shut Up (At Least for Awhile)

I am so tired. The magic pills from yesterday worked just fine - I took two right before bed and after awhile the sneezing and runny nose eased and I was able to get to sleep. For exactly two hours. At 2:36am my eyes popped open, random tetchy little thoughts running through my head about our camping trip in August, PTA whatever, trying to find the kitty-pig a home with someone I know...you know the drill. This lasted for a little more than two hours - the last time I looked at the clock it was 4:42. Now I remember why you're not supposed to take anything with pseudoephedrine in it right before bed. They make meth out of it.

Kristin Nelson over at PubRants had a funny post about the guy who stood up at a crowded conference to ask a question only to put the room on hold when his cell phone rang. Twice. This reminded me of a conference I went to a couple of years ago with a panel of authors, editors and agents. The room was packed and they were doing Q&A when an older woman stood up to tell the panel that she had written a cute story about her son learning to tie his shoes. Someone on the panel politely directed her to plotting and uniqueness in a story while the rest of us winced. Then the poor dear stood up again with a follow up question about how when her story was published, she would send the artist pictures of her son when he was a boy and she would make sure that he'd captured him correctly. The editor again politely told her that if her story was purchased, the publisher would pick an artist who would interpret the words for her. "But he's my son," she insisted. "I know what he looks like. How is some artist going to know what he looks like?" The longer she insisted, the more the majority of the room cringed. Until you learn the ropes of publishing children's books (and there are a lot of ropes), it's often best to sit, listen and absorb. And turn all cell phones off.

On this date: In 1994, Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson were murdered.