Seven Days Down, Five to Go

It is one thing to intellectually acknowledge you may be overscheduling yourself a bit (work, second job, six hour cycling class, CLS application auuuuugh, dinner plans, pride parade safety volunteer training, negotiating three meals a day when you're out of the house for 12 hours a day). It is entirely another to snap the arm off your glasses Sunday evening and break into "cannot cope, off to Mordor" emergency chocolate on the spot. Maybe R. has a soldering iron. It's that sort of house.

In other news, am still reading Joan Vinge. Snow Queen is trying so hard! There are many female characters of diverse backgrounds! And yet so many of them have limited or no agency! If this is supposed to be a reflection of the Snow Queen's power to rob everyone of free will, it would be more compelling if the foils were better arranged or designed by the author (Arienrhod and Moon, Sparks and Herne, BZ and Herne, Jerusha and... does Jerusha have a foil? She really ought to). I am compelled to read the sequels through the power of Michael Whelan's covers and the promise of psychotic breaks with reality with bonus FTL shenanigans. It's possible this will be the "Dancing to Ganam" meets Stargate distraction I am hoping for, but I suspect that isn't what I'll get.