More about last year, and this.

Taking care. I lost 13 pounds in ’09, and resumed the wearing of contact lenses. How did I manage the weight loss? Stopped eating sweets, stopped eating seconds, started walking more. Dancing with iPod-clone.  2010: Will continue to pay attention.

Oh, Boy. Yes, Boy George (O’Dowd) has had a profoundly bizarre life (IMO), and has in some way inspired the writing of Paulie Bingham. As it turns out, Paulie is a completely different character (so no worries, George.)  But after reading George’s bio TAKE IT LIKE A MAN (not recommended reading for haters or homophobes) and researching other so-called androgynous entertainers of the 80’s, I was compelled to write a story. It’s done, it’s sitting, and I’m on to something else for awhile.

Singapore.  Incredible trip to attend my son’s wedding. Monumental. What a beautiful city/country. I blogged about it earlier, so no repeat info here, except to admonish: don’t eat the durians.

New business. Wasn’t looking for it, but a new account dropped into my lap via a mutual banking acquaintance. Nice company in Bev Hills. Seems to be a good fit. Extra income is very helpful!

Coming up: Won’t call them resolutions. Goals, perhaps.

Get organized. As I mentioned earlier, I am drowning in paperwork. The amount of mail we get is staggering. Because I am involved in so much, I have multitudes of files for my charitable organizations, my accounting clients, my book marketing campaigns, my school work, and just the day-to-day garbajjjjhe that lingers because it doesn’t quite fit anywhere. This has got to stop, because it’s dragging me down emotionally!

Lightening the load. Speaking of those charitable orgs, I need to quietly step away from some. Not looking forward to doing that, it’s not easy, but something’s gotta give!

Tasting life…and wine. The 4^th annual Relay For Life Wine Tasting is coming to my backyard on May 8^th. Am putting together a committee to ramp this thing up a bit this year. Despite the less-than-stellar economy, it might be our best year yet.

There’s more, a lot more, but I tire of windy blogs.  Back later.

There is a lot to write about with regard to digitally formatted books. Right now, my focus is on how to sell more of them. I buy almost exclusively ebooks myself, most of them from on-line bookseller Fictionwise. And no, I don’t read them on my computer. I have a small PDA (”Personal Data Assistant”) device — you may recognize the pioneer name “Palm Pilot” — that I download books onto and read at night in bed. I love it, and now have difficulty changing back to paper books on occasion. Since I read in bed, paper books don’t work because they require light, space and they make noise. Not to mention that they take up space on the shelf when they should still be standing in the forest. But that’s another issue.

By now, you’ve probably heard of the Kindle, Amazon’s offering in the digital book arena. Two of my friends own them and I must say, they are pretty nice. Kindles, along with their nearest competitor, the Sony Reader Digital Book, work for a variety of different scenarios. However, as they both utilize the revolutionary “eInk”, they don’t light up at night, and they don’t display in color.

Nonetheless, either of these (and several other) ereaders work  just fine for the reading of any of my seven available ebooks. Fictionwise, in fact, makes my titles available in no less than thirteen different formats for different readers. Prices range from 85 cents to $5.95 for my latest, full-length romantic mystery, POINT SURRENDER. Is that a bargain, or what? The paperback sells for $12.95 plus shipping. The savings is about $8.50, and it wouldn’t take too long to make back the price of the ereader, would it?

I believe that once the price on the ereader comes down to under $100, we will start to see greater momentum on the ebook front. The fact that California, Texas and other states are experimenting with digital textbooks is a good sign.

I’d like to know what others think. Others who are still on the fence, or starting to think more about going green with ebooks. What would make you switch?

Why is health less important than, say, making sure I see every episode of LOST? Why does my knowledge and reason give way to cravings for sweets and pasta? Where is my willpower? And importantly, how do I allow this to continue when it makes me so unhappy?

Immediate gratification. Destructive self-talk*; irresponsible rationalization. Chocolate.

That rationale stuff is dangerous. When I am full, satiated, content, I can make all the promises in the world to myself about how I don’t need or want to eat another cookie. But just an hour later, I experience a craving so strong that all reason evaporates and that self-talk begins rattling in my head. *Self-talk is the catalog of statements your mind chooses from in order to make you feel better about something, usually something you already know is wrong. Akin to the “devil” on one shoulder that is bickering with the “angel” on the other.

Angel:  You know you don’t need that chocolate chip cookie. It will make you fatter.

Devil:  Aw, c’mon. You didn’t have breakfast (lunch, dinner). It’s only 150 calories. It’s your favorite. One cookie won’t matter.

Angel:  It’s time for the pilates class at the Y. Better get changed.

Devil:  There’s so much on the calendar today. It will stress you out if you try to squeeze in a trip to the Y. And anyway, parking is a bitch. Maybe next week is better. Have a cookie instead!

Do you recognize this talk? If only there was a way to swat that little devil right off my shoulder!

All I can do is try. I’m too vain to type in here what I weigh, but I’m making a new commitment to drop 12 pounds by my birthday, which is September 14th. Not particularly ambitious, and certainly doable. Do I hear a second?