The Metal Tiger's Last Hurrahs

This is the last week of the Chinese year of the Metal Tiger. That worthy animal has been something of a totem since it was born last Feb. 14th. Its time will be done on the 5th, but as one might expect from a tiger - an animal of action and strength, it is going out not quietly into that good night, but with many mighty roars to call the universe to action.

What the hell is this chick babbling about? you may be asking, and you'd be well within your rights to tell me to just spit out the facts. 

Since yesterday:

Fraser and I celebrated 1 year since we met, along with some early birthday cake, since we'll be out of town for Fraser's birthday on Friday.

We booked our trip up to Pennan, which is the fishing village on the North Sea where the movie Local Hero was filmed. That'll be this coming weekend, and we will definitely toast the Metal Tiger's passing with a pint of the Inn's reportedly-excellent ale.

I received notice yesterday that my short story Sick Weather will appear in the 100 Stories for Queensland anthology. This will be my first print publication in fiction. I'll post more information about the book, where and when you can order it, and how much it will cost when I know those things. Right now, I can only tell you that the proceeds from the sale will go to the Queensland Premier's Flood Relief appeal.

Today, I was notified by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services that our petition for Fraser's visa has been approved. This means that as far as the US government is concerned, he can emigrate. It's not quite finished yet, but we're getting there!