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What to do to celebrate finishing, Swallowing Darkness? (Okay, finished except for the next round of edits and the research that’s still pending, but that can all wait for a few days. No, really it can. My sanity says it can.) So, what to do to celebrate?

I thought about getting a tatoo. Does that let you guys know how really drained I am. I’ve never even pierced my ears, and I’m thinking of getting a tattoo this weekend. No, Laurell, don’t do it. Actually, a good friend of ours, Pili, who was once a tattoo artist, drew on us with markers and pens some designs. Her rule is that you have someone draw it on you, so you can wear it for awhile. Then if you don’t like it, no harm, no foul, but if you do like . . . You get it drawn on one more time. Then if you still like it. You wait for a few weeks. Then, if you STILL like the design, you can find a really good tattoo artist (we’re going to take Pili’s recommendation on that), then you get your tatoo. Jon and I’ve found an image we like, but we need one more drawing and to think it over. I was all set to do it this weekend. Jon said, no. Cooler heads have prevailed, and we’ll wait. I’ll see if Pili can draw it again this weekend, then we’ll wait until after DragonCon, I think. It’s only two weeks, or so. If we don’t change our minds sometime in September we’ll decorate ourselves permenantly. Said, that way, it makes me wonder, but . . . We’ll see.

So, if we can’t tattoo ourselves to celebrate, what can we do? Well, what we did do, was go gun shopping. I haven’t been happy with the Kahr since I bought it. The size is right, and feels okay in my hand, and it’s okay to shoot, but it’s not fun to shoot, and it’s damn stiff. Also, it just doesn’t fill me with the same emotion that the Browning BDM does. I bought the guns at the same time and I’m happy with the BDM, but still unhappy with the Kahr, so we went shopping for it’s replacement. Something small, concealable, but not with so much kick I’m going to be fighting the gun while fighting bad guys.

Charles and Shawn all gave us the same list of guns. When two ex-military, one ex-cop, and one current policeman; give you the same list, then you pay attention. We ended up with the Smith and Wesson M&P 9c. It’s sitting beside me on the desk, as I type this. I find that when I buy a new gun, I like to keep it close by for a few days. It’s unloaded, and even though Jon brought it to me from the gun safe and I trust him implicitly, I still popped the magazine, put the slide back, and rechecked. Safety, safety, safety; if you can’t be safe then you should not own a gun. It’s not a toy, no matter how fun I think they are; it’s a tool.

I look at the compact, black shape between my arms, with it’s barrel pointed at my keyboard, and find it . . . elegant. Elegant in the way of a good tool. Others might find the S&W a little blocky, but not me. I like it. Though, let me just say that low rise pants with an inner pants holster are not a good idea. Hard to draw the gun, and I suspect, if you wore the holster long enough you’d chaff. Unless you’re willing to have your underwear show above the pant’s line, which I hate. So, what to do? Get different pants, or a different holster. I always learn something new when I try some of the equipment that Anita will be using. It’s one of the reasons I try to do my research, because it adds. If I can hold it in my hand, try to wear it on my body, then when I next sit down to write, that bit of knowledge will be on paper, and you guys will get a more realistic world to play in.