Cynthia Barnes

September 2006

Administrator — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 13:00:27 +0000

Moves to Thailand: 1
Military coups in same: 1
Number of “Coup, schmoo” utterances: 40-11
Spam name o’ the month: Deaden K. Meatiest

July 2006

Administrator — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 20:49:06 +0000

Average daily highs: 98° F
Preachy movies about global warming seen in air-conditioned theaters: 1
Family beach vacations: 1
Ice cream cones with The World’s Greatest Nephew™: 4
Birthdays celebrated: 1
The answer to The Meaning of Life, The Universe, and Everything: 42

Friends who didn’t make it this month: 1
RIP Lin Dyer

June 2006

Administrator — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 20:45:59 +0000

Connecting flights from Lhasa to Bangkok missed: 1
Amount Northwest charged to reticket: US$380
Number of falls resulting in a black eye: 1
Number of calls trying to locate leeches: 17
Leeches procured: 0

Update: Friends who died while I was out of touch: 2
RIP Kinga Freespirit & Philip Butler Smith

May 2006

Administrator — Tue, 30 May 2006 15:26:35 +0000

Number of months since last news update: 4
New passport stamps: 1 (Vietnam)
New favorite city: Tie between Hanoi and Lhasa
Number of days in Tibet: 7
Number of arrests in same: 1

January 2006

Administrator — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 15:37:47 +0000

Refreshing adult beverages consumed: 0
Days until next adult beverage: 1
Slate assignments scored: 2

December 2005

Administrator — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 01:12:18 +0000

German cities visited: 6
Sausages consumed: 11
Holiday Party attendees: 70(ish)
Date cat died: December 14
Age of cat: 22
Number of tears shed: Countless

November 2005

Administrator — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 13:00:15 +0000

People fed at Thanksgiving: 14
Weight of turkey, in pounds: 22
Proper temperature for Chocolate Pecan Tart,
in degrees fahrenheit: 350
Temperature at which I baked it: 450
Other culinary disasters: 0

October 2005

Administrator — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 18:54:28 +0000

Major remodeling projects started: 1
New assignments: 3
Manuscripts procrastinated: 1
Halloween parties attended: 2
Slick gadgets succumbed to: 1
Young wannabe writers mentored: 2
Number of above who said “Thanks”: 1
(a well-raised Mizzou student, naturally)
Bush administration members indicted: 1
Bush cronies scared away from Supreme Court: 1
Spam name of the month:
Tie between “Vindictiveness P. Sundries” and “Savoy J. Hamsters”

September 2005

Administrator — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 17:43:01 +0000

Days in September: 30
Nights in own bed: 2
Chivas Regal consumed: Lots
Snakes encountered: 3 (2 cobra, 1 Malayan pit viper)
New passport stamps: 2 (Laos, Cambodia)
Miles flown: 22,448
Bush henchmen indicted: 1

August 2005

Administrator — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 14:06:46 +0000

The Slate stories appeared on August 1, the day after my birthday, and the hoopla began. Hooplah? We’ll go with ‘hoopla.’ No, we’re obsessive-compulsive so we’ll look it up. Hoopla it is.

On the whole, the series was well-received. My editors were happy, I got some lovely emails from readers, and an agent with one of the hottest literary agencies in the country wants to see the manuscript. Not too shabby for a girl who flunked Timbuktu 101.

This week, I’m partying like a rock star with my friend Diana, whom I met in Thailand a few years ago. Between the alcohol, the bands, and the 3:00 a.m. dinner parties, I’m behinder than behind on preparations for Cambodia. Summer is almost over, and when I’m back it will be full-on autumn. Ay-yi-yi-yi