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Instead of talking about the weather I thought I’d complain about some aches and pains from running. The current diagnosis for the pain in both my lower legs is something called Exertional Compartment Syndrome which means the muscle bundles are swelling/expanding more than the fascia (the tough, thin membrane that keeps the bundles together) can handle. This increased pressure creates pain, numbness, and a really pissed off demeanor which comes and goes with rest, ice, anti-inflammatories, and chocolate ice cream. I’ll be starting more physical therapy which I really hope works because if it doesn’t the next stop is surgery.

It’s very frustrating. All I want to do is run. I have a feeling Konowa is about to take the heads off a few rakkes tonight. Possibly using only his teeth.

For me, my new year starts with the first leaves falling. I enjoy summer, but it’s really just the opening act for the season that has it all. It is going to hit the mid 90s today here in New York City, but I don’t care, I can feel autumn approaching. Despite the heat, the humidity level is much lower than earlier in the summer, but even if it was a sauna here I wouldn’t care because we’re about to say goodbye to August and usher in cold winds, gray skies, sweaters and hot chocolate and squirrels scampering like mad collecting their nuts. Add to that Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the build up to the holidays (fill in your belief system here) culminating in the “official” celebration of new year and it’s just about perfect.

I just tried coconut milk for the first time and based on that if I’m ever stranded on the proverbial desert island I’ll swim for it. You can keep my top five books and CDs and definitely the pile of coconuts, but if I make it to civilization I’ll be back for the super model.

I only worked a couple of hours today, wrote for a few more, and met a friend for lunch by Columbus Circle followed by a leisurely stroll through Central Park in beautiful weather and then back home where tonight I finally watched The Wrestler. I even managed to not compulsively check my Blackberry every few minutes though it wasn’t easy. I’m going to try going a half hour at a time without checking tomorrow.

I don’t think I’m a workaholic, I fear I am. The really frustrating thing about it is I’m not proud of the fact or writing about it with a sense of false modesty. I genuinely have come to realize I need to recalibrate my approach to life. Actually, I need to get one. A life that is. Something with social activities that don’t involve publishing 24/7. I love publishing. I love being an editor and a writer, but both are very consuming and isolating. It’s time I started seeing other people after hours. Some sort of open relationship.

So I’m on vacation this week, but only from one of my jobs. It’s a halfcation. I got up the same time I always do, checked work email like I always do, wrote work emails like I always do, spoke with one author and two agents, and realized I’m not really getting into the swing of things of being on vacation. And it’s not even 10am yet. My Blackberry is always on and always at my side. The first thing I do when I wake up is check email, and it’s the last thing I do at night before I go to bed. Work has become my life. Work is life, life is work.

If anyone has any ideas on how to unplug, unwind, tune out, and otherwise relax I’m all ears…unless I’m working.