Hello, Failure

Of all the enemies of literature, success is the most insidious

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Failure of the Day: Dentistry, Steven King, OTSI

The dentist chapter is going a little better after finally getting some very helpful input from Chris. I may yet put the chapter to bed in my lifetime. He suggested that I read Steven King, who apparently is very good at describing things. I was doubtful…but also desperate. I am happy to put aside my literary snobbery and just learn from somebody who knows what the hell they're talking about. I myself am not a huge fan of ole Steve; I've only ever read Firestarter, which I thought was y'know, fine, but almost all the people who I respect the most really, really dig him, so I know there's something going on there even if I don't get it. I read most of Season of the Werewolf last night, and I'll be damned if the reader doesn't have a precise picture of both the physical and mental state of the characters. A handy trick, that.

On the work front, my "employer" OTSI is going through another one of those periods in which everyone in the Redmond office is too busy to so much as answer my emails asking if there is anything for me to do. It's irritating. And stupid, and entirely indicative of the way the company is run. My boss, Joyce, knows everything there is to know about technical publishing, but sadly she is utterly clueless when it comes to running an office. How else to explain everyone else having to work both days this weekend to meet a deadline while I have nothing to do? All she needs to do is tell me what needs to be done and I'll do it, but for some reason, she prefers to make Employee A work 80 hours while Employee B works 0 hours instead of taking one minute to split the work. And meanwhile, my hours are slipping away…

Christ, I need a new job already.

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