Sometimes I forget how savvy I am with teh internets (haha) compared to a lot of people. I’m NOT an expert — LET ME REPEAT, NOT AN EXPERT — but I sure know a hell of a lot of things. Like HTML. Like what PHP is, like what a MySQL database is… how to edit CSS (not yet how to create it from scratch, though I’ve taught myself a lot — I’m just not that patient!)… I can do a hell of a lot. For instance, the thought of managing my own domain does not bother me at all. In fact, I enjoy the artistic and technical challenge of it. I just want to actually have the ability to do cool things with it — at the moment, I use Google Apps with it, which is free, but because I don’t have anything more exciting than email at the domain, a set of rather dead webpages, and about 100 MB of storage, it’s not too awesome. I’m looking to upgrade soon… just as soon as I can convince Bryan of it.

But back to my original point: I try to learn new things all the time, try to teach myself and stay abreast of issues and whatnot. I like being self-reliant, I like knowing things and not having to ask questions because when I pose the question to myself I can either give myself the answer to find the answer personally. I’m really stubborn, I suppose that’s what that indicates, but it’s also an interesting personality trait. Not very many people are like that, I’ve found. At CMU there were a lot of people like me because that’s the sort of person CMU attracts in a lot of cases (well, that, or just plain old passionate people who may or may not also be nerds). But out here in the Real World not too many people are like that. And that fascinates me. It’s one of those things most people do in the terribly, naively narcissistic way of children: believe everyone else is just like them. But I’m a grown up, now, and I have an absurd desire to know all things and have a Jeopardy-like brain, and that’s not normal. Apparently.

What else is new? Book writing: not going overly well. Mentally, a lot of stuff has happened in my books. On paper? Not even a respectable fraction of what’s happened in my head has been put to paper. I need to get on that. I really do. Maybe now that I’m planning to unhook the internet connection from 9am to 5pm on workdays — weekdays — will help. We’ll try that for a few days, see how that goes.

By the way: NaNoWriMo… I’ve officially stopped keeping track. I’ve been doing work and I have 4 novels going, but it’s not fair for me to count them and whatnot. I think I’ll just count the new-for-November writing as best I can and leave it at that.