Dogs and Afternoons

 I'm thinking of getting a puppy. A little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I'm working at home, and I really need to get out of the house every day and walk.  But, the thing is that a puppy requires thinking through the logistics. I just got a vet recommendation from my neighbor because my cat's vets only see felines. 

 So far, I can't get Harry, my Maine Coon, to comment about having a canine sibling. But since this dog breed is known for being cat-friendly and his breed tends to get along with cats, I think he would be okay with her. Especially since he would get to help train her about the rules of the house. So I'm

pondering the puppy, and thinking oddly enough about Dog Day Afternoon.  Al Pacino is pacing around, shouting "Attica!" in my head. That adds nothing to my decision-making about the puppy, for whom I would also need to fence my backyard. But it does remind me that I'm not a morning person. And it reminds me that I want to check with the curators at New York State Museum to see if the planned commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the prison rebellion is going forward next year.

But I'm rambling. It's been one of those weeks. One of those months. One of those years. We'll all be happy to see the last of 2020. I did realize this year that working at home and not being able to go into my office at school isn't any fun. I need structure, or, at least, to be able to leave home and go some place else for a while. I would be happy to go to a coffee shop or the library or a bookstore and write. As it is, I'm trying to move back and forth mentally between teaching online, working on my academic book, and finding time to work on my 1939 historical thriller (my November NaNoWriMo project). 

I didn't realize how much my ability to focus depended on my ability to move physically between office at school and home. I do academic work at school. I write crime fiction at home. In the summer, when I find myself watching soap operas and old movies, I hop in my car and go into school in the afternoon. The last time I was in my campus office, all of my plants had died of thirst. Now, the campus is closed down at the end of semester, and I would have to pick up my COVID-19 test kit if I set foot on campus. So I'm waiting until I'd ready to return all the books I brought home back in March. And I'm trying to remind myself that I need to swing by and pick up my 2020/2021 parking sticker that I ordered online during the summer, but never picked up. I'm trying to gear up to go back into a familiar building that feels creepy now not only because the elevator is ancient and creaks, but because anyone who is in the building is told to avoid anyone else who is there. We are keeping safe, but we are only seeing each other on Zoom meetings.

The other side of this whole pandemic thing -- and hardly compensation, but at least something that is a lesson learned about technology -- is that writers are able to interact more and in really interesting ways. At our last upstate NY Sisters in Crime chapter meeting, we had guests from a chapter in Ohio. The meeting before that we had guests from Northern California. I have been attending online writing workshops, meetings, readings, and webinars. 

Of course, this is no substitute for bookstore gatherings and the ability to interact with our readers in person. We are all trying to think that through. How do you launch a book during a pandemic?

However, I am going to take advantage of the technology to do something I've been wanting to do wearing my academic hat. In 2021, I'm finally going to have the opportunity to host a symposium of Crime Writers of Color (now an official group). I've been wanting to do this for years, but I didn't have the funding to bring so many writers in. But this March, I can do it virtually, and I will have the capacity to invite thousands of people to attend. I'm excited about that. 

But I'm still sitting here in my chair -- or standing up by my virtual desk -- and getting stiff and out of shape. I need a dog to play in the yard with and to get me out and moving. I need a canine with a leash in her mouth. Harry, my cat, refuses to wear the harness I bought him. He licked his paw and gave me his, "Could you possibly even think I would do that?" look. But, who knows? If the dog and I go for a walks, he may want to come along. I'm his person, and he may not want the puppy to get too much of my time.

 If I should get the puppy, we'll have all next spring and possibly summer to become a happy family. 

Anyway, that's the news from here in my house. Take care and stay well.