Update and book sale
Jul. 1st, 2018 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catherineldfI went and volunteered at a work thing on Thursday, helping recycle a bunch of day job office supplies with a group of students from one of the international high schools. It was okay (the schools that send students get a bunch of office supplies), if a tad disorganized. I gather it was a first run on this. I do have to agree with my colleague who completely freaked at the number of hanging and regular folders we were putting in recycling - it does seem like a missed opportunity for reuse. But we did pull out a bunch of stuff; the teachers took some, I grabbed a couple of usable books to donate/give to various places (my mother's nursing home was pleased at getting a couple of medical dictionaries that staff could use for studying for certificates and such, for example), the schools got a bunch of stuff. And it didn't go to the landfill, so that was good. But yeah. So many file folders....
Thursday evening, I went to a PFund Foundation reception for the grantees that we selected for awards back in February and March. I've been on the Community Review Board for the last couple of years. It's a fascinating process: the applications for trans and genderqueer folks who are people of color and/or immigrants get special attention because of the various social obstacles and lack of support they often face. Then there's criteria for community leadership, contributions to their communities, what their plans are, whether they are in North or South Dakota (because there's not a lot of support there) and some other criteria. After we do our review, which includes an online review process, online evaluations, then several hours in which we thoroughly discuss our favs at a meeting at the Foundation, the Board adds some additional folks based on targeted funds. All told, 32 people got funding this year for a bunch of amazing work, everything from researching femme-centered spaces, to traveling to international conferences to going back to school to organizing events for LGBTQ+ POC folks in different areas. So good stuff all around and I'm happy that I bumped my twice a year donation to a monthly sustainer schedule. And it's great to work on something that is majority-run by POC folks and mostly funds POC and immigrant queer folks.
Friday was the new Print Matters show, formerly known as the Twin Cities Antiquarian Book Fair. It takes place at the MN Fairgrounds in an building without air conditioning during what is often one of the hottest weeks in summer and I think they're going to have to evaluate that. But we went, we bought a few books and I bought a signed Edward Gorey poster from a delightful older gay couple who were celebrating their 46th anniversary. We also walked a lot on concrete, which becomes pertinent shortly.
Saturday, I was really hoping to go to the Save Our Future (No Baby Jails) March, so inevitably, I woke up with a migraine and my bad leg acting up (every now and again it has enough of my shenanigans, which in this case was all the Thursday and Friday running around) so we had to cancel. Instead, it was a day of slow moving productivity and redecorating the bedroom (around the new Gorey). The bedroom looks much better, and other than having to take a hot bath to be functional at all, I was doing somewhat better at the end of the day. And there was news! I am applying to do a gaming-related thing and have moved up in the process! Next up, actual proposals. More on that when/if there's more on that. Did a few other Press-related things, did some writing, did some reading. Progress!
Book sale! Lest I forget, all Queen of Swords Press titles are on sale at Smashwords for July! Smashwords pays a higher percentage of royalties than Amazon does and well, they're not Amazon, so you should go check them out and pick up a few ebooks, preferably including ours.
Thursday evening, I went to a PFund Foundation reception for the grantees that we selected for awards back in February and March. I've been on the Community Review Board for the last couple of years. It's a fascinating process: the applications for trans and genderqueer folks who are people of color and/or immigrants get special attention because of the various social obstacles and lack of support they often face. Then there's criteria for community leadership, contributions to their communities, what their plans are, whether they are in North or South Dakota (because there's not a lot of support there) and some other criteria. After we do our review, which includes an online review process, online evaluations, then several hours in which we thoroughly discuss our favs at a meeting at the Foundation, the Board adds some additional folks based on targeted funds. All told, 32 people got funding this year for a bunch of amazing work, everything from researching femme-centered spaces, to traveling to international conferences to going back to school to organizing events for LGBTQ+ POC folks in different areas. So good stuff all around and I'm happy that I bumped my twice a year donation to a monthly sustainer schedule. And it's great to work on something that is majority-run by POC folks and mostly funds POC and immigrant queer folks.
Friday was the new Print Matters show, formerly known as the Twin Cities Antiquarian Book Fair. It takes place at the MN Fairgrounds in an building without air conditioning during what is often one of the hottest weeks in summer and I think they're going to have to evaluate that. But we went, we bought a few books and I bought a signed Edward Gorey poster from a delightful older gay couple who were celebrating their 46th anniversary. We also walked a lot on concrete, which becomes pertinent shortly.
Saturday, I was really hoping to go to the Save Our Future (No Baby Jails) March, so inevitably, I woke up with a migraine and my bad leg acting up (every now and again it has enough of my shenanigans, which in this case was all the Thursday and Friday running around) so we had to cancel. Instead, it was a day of slow moving productivity and redecorating the bedroom (around the new Gorey). The bedroom looks much better, and other than having to take a hot bath to be functional at all, I was doing somewhat better at the end of the day. And there was news! I am applying to do a gaming-related thing and have moved up in the process! Next up, actual proposals. More on that when/if there's more on that. Did a few other Press-related things, did some writing, did some reading. Progress!
Book sale! Lest I forget, all Queen of Swords Press titles are on sale at Smashwords for July! Smashwords pays a higher percentage of royalties than Amazon does and well, they're not Amazon, so you should go check them out and pick up a few ebooks, preferably including ours.