Seems they've begun developing along 27 South. Some high-priced housing development, I think, from the looks of the sign. Will someone please tell me what is so wrong with farm land that people think they have to immediately tear it up, build on half of it and pave the other half? I happen to like seeing all that empy space on the drive to school every morning. There's so much pavement and buildings already. Why do we need more?

Atlanta is the goal of the plan right now but to be honest I wouldn't be sorry at all to get a job somewhere out west in the desert. Even the suburbs are making me claustrophobic now. Be better for my sinuses too. Wouldn't have to put up with the damned cold rain and wind. I like winter. It's cold rain I can't stand.

I've been watching these PBS documentaries that Mom taped off of GPTV for me. One is about the Mars rovers and JPL; the other about hypernovas. I've been watching them over and over while I do my math homework. It helps to remind me why I'm subjecting myself to math again. Plus Gentry Lee is on the one about JPL, so that's very cool. He wrote a couple of books with Dr. Clarke.

I'm a little bummed, I guess. I'm 35 years old. I've wasted a lot of time. I've dedicated my life to something that most of the world thinks is a waste of time and money, in a time of global economic hardship and turmoil that doesn't have the resources or inclination to look past its own nose much less beyond the horizon. I'm not a scientist myself. I don't have any contacts in the field. And here I want to go asking for a job from them.

Not to mention all this while trying to get my writing career started.

Not like anyone's going to do this for me. Just that I have no real idea what I'm doing. I've never been the most confident of people and the whole thing just seems hopeless. The fact that my current best story has been rejected three times so far doesn't help any either. I just keep telling myself that someone someday will want to publish it, so I keep sending it out.

Speaking of, Interzone has had "Public Assistance" for 78 days. I guess it's time to e-mail and see what the deal is, since they don't seem inclined to do so themselves.

I dunno. Maybe it's just incurable hubris to think I'm anything more than a postal worker and mediocre writer.