the tumor becomes malign

I realized this morning, while working out with Alyssa for the first time in a week, that I'm starting to display the workaholic tendencies that previously kept me chained to my desk and locked away from the social world. Granted, I was social the past few days, and my rationale for not going to the gym was that Walter was in town, and then I had to prepare for the writing group and start working on my synopsis. Still, while I'm thrilled that I'm working hard on something that I care about, I need to be careful to not let it totally overwhelm my life (or to be happy that I've let it take over everything else - which could be where I end up).

Anyway, Alyssa tried to kill me, as is her wont, and then I did some cardio before showering and grabbing a salad from their cafe. I ate said salad in my kitchen while checking up on the online world. Then, I took a nap, because I'm so industrious. After the nap, though, I rallied, ran some errands, went to Starbucks and worked for an hour, went to an art supply store to get a big display board and some post-its, and then came home and worked until it was time to go to dinner. The project for today was to start placing the scenes I brainstormed into some semblance of a story structure, and that's what the display board was for - I may have just succeeded in making a v. pretty object with no substance, but right now I'm excited about it.

However, my plotting stalled when I realized that I really need to figure out what conflict/spying the hero was involved in before returning to England. So, I lost myself in Wikipedia, and was thankful that I'd set an alarm on my phone to remind me to go to dinner. I hied myself over to Sunnyvale for a Blood of Lincoln excursion to Taste Buds, which was both tasty and buddy-filled. Then, I came back home and researched on Wikipedia for another two hours, finally stopping to take care of some administrivia (I miss that word from the business world) related to the writing world.

I really want Nick (the hero) to have spent the last decade in India, since I heart India, but I'm not sure it works given the geopolitical realities of the time - if the English were going to spy someplace, they would probably devote their resources to Europe and Napoleon instead. But, since fighting during the Seven Years' War had erupted globally, perhaps they would have kept some men on the ground to watch out for belligerence abroad - and since the East India Company was massive and powerful, he could stumble across something there that would put him in danger later. I'll figure this all out tomorrow; right now I'm going to sleep on it and hope that the answer comes to me in the morning.

But now, I should go to bed - goodnight!