Happy New Year!

About to ring in the new year with friends, games, and champagne - hope you have a fun night, too!

Mmm... food...

Went shopping with Zoe at the Fresh Market today. WOW. The food there was just beautiful! There was so much there... it all looked and smelled wonderful. There was so much variety, and there were so many specialty items.

We ended up getting some vanilla tart filling and brown sugar whipped cream for dessert tomorrow (I've got pastry shells already), and we're going to have vanilla cream tartlettes. Yum! We also got some caramel machiatto coffee - freshly ground! I'm not a big coffee drinker, but I had a cup tonight with some of the brown sugar whipped cream on top, and it was delicious. I may end up becoming a coffee girl.

Now I'm totally up for food preparation - also picked up some phyllo shells to make chicken salad appetizers for tomorrow, and Zoe is baking up a storm as I type (puppy chow and haystacks, I believe). There is much fooding. It is good.

Maybe yay?

My luggage has been located! CommAir in Charleston called me today - my bag was there! The woman said she'd send it to ATL on the 11:30 flight, and that she'd call them to let them know it was on the way so it could be delivered to me. Unfortunately, I haven't heard from anyone else yet... and the luggage should have arrived about 8 hours ago. I'll keep you posted. *sigh*

At least it's not in Peru, right?

Back to real life

I'm back to normal. And it kinda sucks.

I had to go back to work this morning. After having a full week away, I REALLY didn't want to go back to work. It wasn't a bad day, as far as work days go, really, but I was AT work, which just isn't as much fun as not being at work.

I also got to go back to the theatre in a stage-managerial capacity, which was nice. I haven't done that since Showtime in September. It'll be nice. The director, Chuck, seems like a no-nonsense sort of guy, and it looks like this should be a good time. I've got a copy of the script, and I'll read through it tonight and tomorrow. The second night of auditions is tomorrow night, and they'll be cast by the end of the night. First rehearsal will probably be Wednesday, to do a read-through, then really getting down to it next week. Things will be busy, but I think it'll be fun!

So I guess normal doesn't suck that much after all. :) Plus I've got Zoe and Mia.

Flying's a bitch

Well, some people get what they deserve.

Because of that idiot who tried to blow up a plane in Detroit, everyone flying into the US had to endure all sorts of extra regulations this post-holiday weekend. I flew from Winnipeg to Minneapolis on Saturday, and we were advised to arrive at the airport three hours prior to the departure time. So I showed up nice and early.

When I checked in, I was informed that carry-on luggage was not permitted. I had to check both my main bag AND my backpack. At least they let me take out my iPod, cell phone, and computer. If I'd had a purse, I could have taken that, but my purse was in my first suitcase. The one that ended up in Peru. The one that is still MIA.

Customs was quick and painless, and the security checkpoint seemed to go fairly well. I then sat upstairs in the teeny, tiny international terminal. Did I mention that it's teeeeeensy? And full of people. I bought a $3 bottle of root beer and a $17 book, and sat down to entertain myself. For four hours. Because not only did I get through the check points much faster than expected, my flight was delayed.

Once the plane actually arrived, it took over an hour to get everyone on board. They separated the men and women, and everyone had to have a secondary security inspection. This time, though, they physically removed everything from your purse/pockets/computer case and examined it, and gave you a full-body pat-down. Whee.

Finally on the plane, I was informed that I could not have my computer case stowed under the seat. EVERYTHING was to be placed in the overhead bins. We could not have anything under the seats, we could not have blankets or pillows, and, because the flight time was only 54 minutes, we were not allowed to move around the cabin at all.

When we finally arrived in Minneapolis (2 hours late), I had missed my connection. I was given a number to call to get a discounted hotel rate. Not a free hotel, which I would have had if the delay had been mechanical or weather-related. I didn't get my luggage back because it would have been a 3-4 hour wait to get it onto a carousel. At this point, I was only going to have about six hours to sleep, once I got to the hotel and hunted down food (which ended up being a $13 salad), so I decided to sleep in my clothes and get a toothbrush and comb from the front desk. If it hadn't been such a swank hotel, I would have been REAAAAALLY pissed off. As it was, I was kind of irritable.

So what is the moral of this? The idiot who covered his crotch in explosive crap deserves whatever he gets. If you're going to be that stupid, you deserve third-degree burns on those sensitive spots. Plus, you've ruined the days of many, MANY people. Jerk.

Let's NOT make this a tradition

Two years in a row, my luggage has been 'misplaced' by the airlines. Last year, United had my stuff to me within three days. It wasn't optimal, but it was acceptable. This year, I'm at seven days and counting from Delta. I spent every penny allowed to replace clothes - my little sister's wardrobe had moved with her when she left my parents' place, so I couldn't just steal her clothes out of the closet.

This is not cool.

I've been assured that my luggage will arrive in Atlanta at the same time that I do. If it doesn't, I think I'm just going to sit down in the airport and refuse to move until it shows. Maybe I'll hold my breath, too.

Delta is getting a very unhappy letter from me, and they're going to be paying for more than just the replacement cost of clothes. Did I mention that my luggage hadn't arrived by the time I left to go back home? Which means I needed a new suitcase, since I had a bunch of clothes but nothing to put them in!

Can you tell that I'm a little bit irritable about this?

Next year, maybe I'll fly Air Canada. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Right, like I'm EVER flying through Toronto again if I can avoid it!

Well then!

It would appear that the posts I've been posting from my phone never made it to my blog... hmmm... It looks like I'll spend today searching my phone to re-post those. Sorry, folks! Although I'm guessing that, with all of the holiday fun, there haven't been too many people looking out for my posts!

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone out there! I hope your holiday season has been fun, regardless of which holidays you do or don't celebrate.

'Twas the night before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas

Didn't know what to do

My gifts were all somewhere

Near Lima, Peru.

Yes, that's right. My luggage did not follow me home for Christmas. It doesn't look like it will be here before I leave again. Woot! On the bright side, Delta/NWA bought me a new wardrobe.

It's really getting close now!

I'm super-excited about Christmas! I'm almost done my shopping - just five more things to pick up tomorrow, four of them from the same aisle of the same store. Hooray for shopping! Hope you're all having fun shopping, too!

I like not working

There's nothing better than having the week before Christmas off. Seriously. It's wonderful. I'm soooo happy that I saved up my vacation time for this! Thanks, boss!

Getting things done

I've completely finished one part of my sister's Christmas present, part two needs ends woven in and buttons attached, and part three is about 2/3 finished, but I need to buy another ball of yarn to get it done. Whew.

I've started on something for Gleep (whee!), and it should be done shortly after Christmas, so I can give it to her the next time I see her.

I've got stuff finished for Zoe's mom, grandma, and my mom.

I've picked out one of the things I'm going to get for Zoe.

I've picked out one of the things I'm going to get for my dad.

I may get something for Mia, but we'll see. She's a pretty spoiled brat all year round. ;)

But I'm starting to feel like I'm getting things done! Which is good, because Christmas is just around the corner. Eep!

Ever have one of those

Ever have one of those days that was a mixture of really crappy and really good? Today was one of those days...

AVATAR!!!

I just saw Avatar!!!!!!!!! It was awesome!!!!11!!1!!!1!!!

Seriously! You should go see it!!!

Oops.

Okay, so the idea of taking photos of the gifts before I gave them away was a great one. However, I've realized that I also should have finished taking photos BEFORE I got into a wrapping frenzy.

I now have a pile of neatly wrapped gifts under the tree... and no photos of the contents. *sigh* How about this? If I give you a handmade present, will you please take a photo of it for me? Thanks!

Christmas time = craft time!

So I've spent the last two evenings making Christmas presents... my fingers ache, my left thumbnail is all torn up, and I've got random cuts and scratches all over my hands. But the end result looks awesome!

Unfortunately, since several of the gift recipients read my blog, I won't be posting photos of them just yet. But no worries - I've taken some photos, and I plan to take more. They'll just be posted AFTER the gifts are all given out. Some of them are very similar in style, so I don't want to give anything away.

I'm VERY excited, though! And I hope you all don't mind that I haven't blogged too much... Actually, I hope anyone is reading at all...

I have stayed up far

I have stayed up far too late watching 'Sing-Off' and 'Goat Slap'. Or is that 'Ghost Lab'? I can't tell from the way they say the title...

I <3 princesses

I went to see "The Princess and the Frog" this afternoon with Zoe, and it was great!

I'm a sucker for Disney movies in general, but there have been many that just didn't appeal to me. That weird barnyard thing, for example, was one that I just skipped. The princesses, though, have always appealed to me. I don't own too many of them - just "Sleeping Beauty," my favourite. However, I think that I'll be picking this one up!

I love the old-school hand-drawn animation. Don't get me wrong - CGI is awesome, and movies like "Toy Story" were very nice to watch. There's just something about real animation (as opposed to computer animation) that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Maybe it's because that's what I grew up watching. In any case, this was a very visually appealing film. There was even a section of animation that looked more like the style seen in some of the sections of "Fantasia." It was very 2D, rather than attempting to look 3D; there was no shading, none of the usual attempts to give depth. It was well-done, though, and I think it was well-integrated into the storyline.

The storyline itself was a wonderful twist on "The Frog Prince." If you've seen the trailers or any reviews, you know that Tiana is not a princess. She's a waitress in New Orleans, saving up to buy her own restaurant. The visiting Prince Naveen gets mixed up in some voodoo and is transformed into a frog. He sees Tiana all dressed up, and mistakes her for a princess. He kisses her, hoping that he'll change back to a human. Instead, she becomes a frog. The two of them then get into all sorts of fun as they try to find a way to become human again.

The supporting characters are awesome. My favourite has to be Raymond ('but everybody calls me 'Ray'), the firefly. The inbred, Creole firefly. And his extended family. I think they had maybe a dozen teeth between the hundreds of fireflies that appeared... John Goodman plays the voice of "Big Daddy," the father of Charlotte, Tiana's childhood friend. Charlotte has Big Daddy wrapped around her little finger, and Goodman's portrayal is spot-on. Charlotte herself reminds me of the stereotypical southern-belle-sorority-girls I've met, complete with squealing. She verges on irritating at times, but is generally a good character.

The bad guy is creepy. REALLY creepy. And he looks a little bit like Prince. His shadow is equally creepy, but I love that it is a character in and of itself. Unlike Gaston from "Beauty and the Beast," I don't think I'll run into any little kids that idolize Facilier.

Like all Disney fairy tales, this one has a moral, and it's a pretty good one. The secondary message is also a good one... but don't worry, I won't spoil them for you!

I really recommend that everyone check it out.

Geek time!

I was a geek today, and it was awesome.

We planned games, we talked games, we talked MMOs (well, they talked MMOs and I listened and learned). We ate pizza and drank coke. We nommed on snack platters.

All in all, it was a good day.

The only things I didn't do? Finish Karen's present and wash clothes for tomorrow. But the night is young! As long as I don't get swept tooooo deeply into gaming fun, I can totally do at least one of those things.

Miserable weather today resulted in

Miserable weather today resulted in a night in - watching movies, drinking hot chocolate, and working out future plotlines. It was a good night.

Office Christmas party. Open bar.

Office Christmas party. Open bar. Yeah. I'm fine, but the rest of the co-workers are, well, blitzed. Love.

Grrr...

"You'll be gone by 8:30!"

Yeah, right. It was almost ten by the time I managed to get away from my volunteering tonight. And I still had to go shopping for the gift for my secret Santa thing at work tomorrow. And I couldn't find anything because the only place open after 6 pm is frickin' WalMart.

So I must shop tomorrow. At lunch. Woot.

*le sigh*

Go brain!

So I was helping out at the theatre tonight, and got called upon to help a few of the teenagers with their English essays. We chatted for a few minutes and I mentioned that I'm all up on the slashing of excessive words because I'm in the middle of writing and editing a novel. They wanted to know what it was about, so I gave them my 30-second pitch for "Happily Ever After."

They loved the idea! All three of them want to read it and sounded genuinely excited. Hooray! My target audience would actually pick the book up and consider reading/buying it!

Now, off to edit! Well... sleep, go to work, finish the ending, then edit. But still.

No helpful dreams

Well, I tried the 'let it come in my sleep' way of getting a story idea, and it failed. I had some crazy dreams, but nothing story-worthy. Well, nothing publishable or usable... some really crazy stuff, though. And remarkably realistic. Have you ever had one of those dreams where you actually dream part of your day? That happened to me last night, and I started my day off irritated at the doctor, despite the fact that I didn't even have to work with him today! He showed up REALLY late for work in my dream, and that was enough to get me pissed off.

Tonight, instead of trying to let the dream come to me as I sleep, I'm going to try thinking about it as I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep. That weird, not-quite-ready-for-sleep-but-not-awake-enough-to-do-anything-else time seems to be good for developing ideas.

Watch. Instead of coming up with solutions/ideas for this play, I'm going to write half of my red-hot fairy tale. At least it's writing!

I want to write!

But I can't manage to actually get started. I know what I want to write, but I can't quite get a grasp on the specific storyline. I've got a few possible conflicts to choose from, but none of them are really jumping up and down trying to star in the story.

This is frustrating. I'm going to bed, and hopefully my subconscious will come up with something awesome while I sleep.

Perhaps I've been writing too much lately.

I just watched an expositional play.

I just finished working through NaNoWriMo. I've had a piece of writing critiqued by a group of writers. I've got one completed second draft in editing. I've got one complete first draft which will not be taken any farther (although I learned a lot from writing it). I've got a nearly-complete first draft that is going to be finished very shortly. I've got the beginnings of a novella due in February.

I've read about 35 novels this year. I've read 6 in the past month. I keep up with about four writerly blogs on a regular basis, and about a dozen others intermittently. I love to read.

So why is it important that I'm a reader and a writer, and how does all of this relate to my opening statement? When you are a reader and a writer, you learn very quickly that a good story shows you things. It doesn't just tell you. A good story will let you use your mind. "Dora was excited about her news" and "Dora's eyes shone and her grin widened as she leaned forward, the words tumbling from her lips in a rush" both let the reader know that Dora was excited. The first way of saying it, though, is kinda boring.

Exposition can be useful in a story, but it can also kill a reader's interest. Have you ever read "Les Miserables"? There are several hundred pages of exposition. I don't recall anything from those pages. I basically ignored them until I got back to the real story. In my critique group, we're very careful about watching for what we call "info dumps" - large sections of exposition that lose a reader's attention. We all try to avoid them, because info dumps are boring.

I watched a play full of exposition. 'Nuff said.

Another year over.

Okay, so it's not an official year that's over, just a NaNo year. But tonight, we had our TGIO party, the official wrap-up of NaNoWriMo.

It was a good time, for the most part. We hung out, we ate pizza, we asked ridiculous questions and had equally ridiculous answers - much fun!

There's always a bit of a sense of disappointment, though, when the last person leaves and you finally realize that you probably won't see many of these people again until next year. *sigh*

Thanks, November. It's been a blast. See you next time around.

Cards, check!

I finished writing out and addressing my last Christmas card tonight, and I should have them all in the mail tomorrow. Yay! I'm all proud of myself - usually it's much later in the season before I even start making the cards.

I also took Mia to get her nails trimmed today... that's always fun. Richard came along to help, but ended up getting a bit banged around by the overly-anxious dog. She did much better in the car when sitting in his lap, though. Usually, she spends the entire ride whining. Today, she talked a little, but didn't cry. I think she's forgiven us, though, because she got a pile of new treats when we got back home. There's a reason I try to avoid PetSmart...

In other news, I'm heading downstairs to clean up, since the Mooselings are heading over to party tomorrow - should be much fun!

Also, on row 28 of part two of Karen's present, still on ball 2 of AH's present.

I like surprises!

Okay, let's reword that - I like good surprises.

And I got a good surprise today! Cookies! Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies. I only discovered these things a few months ago - I had heard of them, of course, but never tasted one. Once I tried them, I fell in love. Well, as much as one can fall in love with a cookie.

And today, when I got home, there was a package of them waiting on my desk!! Yay!

Also on the desk was another good surprise - a package of Lindt Lindor Truffles! Yay!! Hooray for chocolate and sugar!

Thank you, baby!

Emotionally drained

I spent most of my day worrying. Low-grade to mid-grade background-level worrying, but worrying nonetheless. R was in a car accident today, just before lunch. Truck was totaled, but R ended up with a mild concussion and a sprain or hairline fracture of his wrist. It could have been much worse. Still, until I got to see him tonight, I worried. He is, relatively speaking, fine. However, I don't ever want to have a week like he's had this past week!

And yes, Mom, you can call me to chat about this. I know that you'll worry, too, until you hear the whole story from me. I'll be up for a little while longer.

A new look

What? Where'd the pink go?

I decided that the pink had done its job. I'm done with it for now, although I will keep it in mind for future bloggy pursuits.

Enjoy the new colour palette... I'm going to go to bed, because I have caught a cold. G'night.

A time for less literary pursuits

As I'm sure you gathered from yesterday's post, as we move into December (and yes, I realize it's still technically November... after someone pointed it out to me), I'm moving from a 'literary' phase into a more physically productive phase. This means that, rather than the random crap that spews from my brain in the midst of NaNo, you'll be seeing lots and lots (and lots) of project updates.

Why? There are three main reasons for this.

1. That's what's on my mind. I'm making stuff. I make stuff on my lunch breaks. I make stuff when I get home. I make stuff when I'm a passenger in the car. I make stuff in bed. When I'm not making stuff, I'm thinking about the stuff I have to make.

2. Peer pressure. Even if it's only imaginary, I've got peer pressure now. You (whoever you may be) now know that I've got these things going. And if I don't tell you when I get done, you're going to think that I'm a lazy slacker who's not doing anything.

3. Fear of public failure. It's kind of like NaNo - everyone knew I was supposed to write 50k, and if I failed publicly... well... that would suck.

So without further ado, here's what I did today!

- 14 of approximately 74 rows are done on the second part of Karen's present

- one pair of maternity pants for AH are complete

- I blogged

I made stuff!

So in the last two days, I've finished 29 Christmas cards and two Christmas presents. Go me!

However, here's my list of things to finish:

- baby blanket for AH

- scrub pants for AH

- present part 2 for Karen

- necklace/earring set for gift exchange at work

- gift for Mom

- necklace for Grandma Baumler

- watch band for Colinda

And those are just the planned items... as Christmas approaches, and I realize just how broke I am, that list will probably grow! Handmade, last-minute gifts for everyone! Yay!

Christmas is coming!

Every year, the month of November just disappears for me. *poof* I know it's because of NaNo, and I go into November knowing that it will run away without a second glance. I'm okay with this. Still, somehow, every year, I'm surprised to notice that Christmas is just around the corner.

Luckily, I'm vaguely prepared this year! I made Christmas cards yesterday, and tomorrow I shall write them and address them, and then Monday I shall send them. Woot! And while I am at the post office sending my Christmas cards, I shall also send out some LATE birthday gifts. Of course, since the July and October gifts are just now going out, I give you fair warning that if I am mailing a Christmas present to you, it may not be sent until sometime between February and June. But it will be sent eventually!

I'm hoping to hear soon about whether or not I can borrow a tree, or if I need to go and actually purchase one. I haven't had a big tree since I moved out on my own, and in the last three years, I've actually only had a 2' little tree. This year, though, I have nice ornaments, and I want to hang them. I'm ordering some gift boxes for handmade gifts, and I'll also be using some of them to make a Martha-Stewart-inspired wreath for the door. Because, apparently, I'm all about wreaths. I'll have to get my Halloween wreath photographed before I take it down - it's all jingly and sparkly!

I'm debating what other decorations to put up. The bathroom will be decorated, of course. Even if the rest of the apartment is not decorated for any given holiday, the downstairs bathroom gets decorated. It's just a thing I do. Again, photos will be taken before Halloween stuff comes down, I promise!

Hmm... Looks like I've got a lot of pictures to take. Thank goodness for Picasa!

Everything but blogging!

I sat down at the computer about an hour ago to blog. And then I got distracted.

I checked my facebook page. I looked up the Nook. I became a fan of a friend. I checked out my Twitter feed. I checked my email and sent a message I've been meaning to send. I played that stupid Flood-It game that's got me addicted.

Then I stood up to go to bed and realized that I hadn't actually blogged.

Some days, I think my brain is much older than 30.

Mmm... Thanksgiving... must sleep now...

Mmm... Thanksgiving... must sleep now...

Pictures working!

Now if I could just figure out an easy way to upload them to my blog...

But here's a start! While in Las Vegas, Mom, Karen, Donna, May and I went to see "Love," the Cirque du Soleil show based on Beatles music.

Holy crap.

It was awesome.

We had considered getting drinks before the show, as the concession stand had a bunch of Beatles' lyric-themed beverages, but we ran out of time. It turns out, this was a GOOD THING. Think about it for a moment, if you will. Beatles music can get kinda trippy. Cirque du Soleil can get very trippy. Mix them together. Can you see why it was a very good thing to be completely sober during the show? As it was, there were definite moments of existential crisis as I watched the four little boys and the four men leading various parades of people around the stage.

And let's not forget the parachute! Do you remember playing with the parachute in gym class when you were a kid? You would all hold onto the edges, and reach up as high as you could, then pull it down and sit on the edges and everyone would be in this huge white tent until it finally deflated. "Love" had a parachute. A parachute on a MASSIVE scale. It came from the centre of the stage and covered the entire audience. Everyone had the same expression - that look of awe and excitement that you used to have when you played with the parachutes in gym class. The yellow submarine was projected onto the parachute, too. Yet another reason I was glad to be sober.

Our seats were incredible - Mom, Karen, and I were at one of the corners of the stage, literally five feet from the stage with no one in front of us. Donna and May were a bit to the side and back about four rows, but still had an awesome view.

I thought that I knew what to expect from Cirque du Soleil. I had seen them on TV and DVDs several times. I was wrong. There was so much going on, all of the time... I could have seen the show a dozen more times and caught something new each and every time.

Some day, when I'm rich, I'm going to go to Las Vegas for a Cirque tour. I'll go to every Cirque du Soleil show that's playing - there are enough to fill at least a week, I would think! "Love," "O," "Ka," "Zumanity," and "Mystere" are currently there, and once the newest casino complex opens, there is a new one, based on Elvis's music, scheduled to start. I'm already starting to save. :)

The best laid plans

Well, I had planned to upload some photos tonight, and put up a bunch of stuff from Vegas and other things that have been neglected. Unfortunately, Kodak Easy Share sucks, so I downloaded Picasa, which is rocking so far. Only problem is, it wants to go through all of my photos and compile them. And find and identify faces. So that means that I've spent the last... three hours? playing with the new program. And not actually getting anything uploaded yet, because I need to restart the computer to get my camera to talk to it nicely, but I can't restart because Picasa is still searching faces. *sigh* Perhaps tomorrow...

I did it!

50k! Done! Story! Done!

Ah, to be a writer...

Tonight, I was sitting with a group of friends, three of whom are writers, trying to explain to the fourth one what we meant when we talked about our characters doing things we didn't expect. And it makes sense that she looked at us oddly, because when you say it that way, it does sound strange. Her response, "But they're your characters. Why can't you make them do what you want?" was typical. I've heard it before from other people.

The thing is, even though they're my characters, and even though I had a plan for the story when I started, the characters develop as you're writing (if you're doing it properly). There will be things that occur to you in the middle of nowhere that would be perfect to include in a character's past, or opportunities to do things that you hadn't anticipated when you did your outline and planning. Once you start adding all of the other things, it doesn't always work for your character to do what you had wanted him/her to do. In fact, in some cases, it makes no sense at all.

I don't believe that my characters are real, they're realistic. I don't 'hear voices in my head.' I do, however, occasionally hear myself writing in my head. I imagine dialogue, I see scenes unfolding. I'm not crazy... I think. I'm just a writer.

Sawyer is a forest cat!

WalMart is bad

Went to Wal Mart tonight and saw the immediate aftermath of a car wreck - there were still no cops on the scene. By the time we left, however, we had to turn around and go back towards the store because the intersection we'd normally turn at was totally covered in cops and firetrucks and ambulances. And somehow, we ended up on the way to Atlanta. It turns out that 475 north just goes into 75 north. No way to get back to going south.

Next time there's an accident on the way to WalMart, we'll just turn around and go straight home.

Much writing!

I've spent the last four hours sitting in a coffee shop with a laptop and a group of people, working on my novel.

I feel like such a writer!

Poor time management skills

So.... I went out tonight. I went to Blake's for dinner, because it's Wednesday night, and that's what we do on Wednesday night. Then we headed to WalMart, to buy supplies, because tomorrow's the Thanksgiving lunch at work, and I'm bringing pumpkin cheesecake. Which is currently baking. However, it's 11:30, there's still and hour and a half of bake time left, and I haven't written a word for NaNo.

Eeep!

I'm off to write while cheesecake bakes, I guess, since I can't really go to bed while it's in the oven!

Plot twisting!

So last night I was lamenting how much I didn't want to write my NaNovel. And today, I've taken Ray's advice and thrown in a bomb. Well, not a real bomb. A tablet of Rohypnol. Boy, that's made things fun! And the one being drugged? An unattractive sixty-something man. Betcha wanna read my story now, dontcha??

In other news, I've been playing with Pandora, and I'm really enjoying it. I've got an 'Old School Boy Band' channel, full of NKOTB and their ilk. Love!

Other stories on my mind

There are days that November just pisses me off.

I have other story ideas in my head right now, but I can't really justify stopping my NaNo story to start on these. *sigh* I want to write about princesses. I want to finish "Happily Ever After." But I also want to finish "Thurman G. Woodfin and the Case of the Missing Toothbrush."

So I'll keep slogging with Thurman. My goal this year is not to reach 50,000. Well, that's not entirely accurate. My goal is not JUST to reach 50,000 words, but also to FINISH the story. That's my downfall. I don't finish things. So I'm going to finish Thurman. And when he's done, I'll finish Happily Ever After.

And then I'll live Happily Ever After. At least until I start editing. *sigh*

Huh? The weekend just started, I swear

NaNo steals my days. Seriously. I'll try to get some excerpts up tomorrow... for now, go visit everyone who's being this crazy at NaNoWriMo.

Party Time!

Had the NaNo MidMonth Gathering tonight, and it went quite well, if I do say so myself! Plus, got some news that will help with pre-planning for next year, so that's good.

However, it's FREAKING LATE, and I'm going to bed. This is the first day that I've written NOTHING for NaNo, and it feels weird... but I'm exhausted, and I am sufficiently far ahead that I'll be okay.

Adorable!

My friend Heather brought this present for Mia today - I have a gingerbread dog! She wore it amazingly well, too. Very little squirming or chewing.

So I'm not a Mystery writer.

It turns out, you need to do a lot more planning than I currently do if you want to write a decent mystery novel. If you just fly by the seat of your pants (as I am attempting to do for NaNo), you end up with thought processes like the following:

OOoo! Thurman totally needs to find a clue now! This would be a really great time for him to get a new bit of information on the dude with amnesia! Except, well, I don't know who the dude with amnesia actually is... So I guess I can put some sort of clue there? And maybe make dude end up doing/being something that fits with the clue? Or something...?


Yeah. So. The mystery novel remains a mystery, even to me!

NaNooooooooooo

Broke 30k. Sleep now.

An unexpected twist

“You said he woke up on the steps of the church this morning?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Thurman replied.

“Did he say when?”

“Between eight-thirty and nine o’clock,” the investigator replied. “He came to my office almost immediately following that.”

“Odd...” she said.

“What’s odd?” Thurman pressed.

“Well,” she said, “I always come in to work at eight o’clock, and there was no one on the front steps of the church at that time. Unless he fell asleep on the steps very briefly around eight-thirty, that doesn't make any sense.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Thurman agreed, frowning. “None at all. Hmmm... Well, thank you, ma’am, for your assistance. You’ve been helpful. If you can think of anything else, please, don’t hesitate to call me.” He passed her a business card.

“I will, Mr. Woodfin,” she replied, tucking the card into her desk drawer as the investigator left.


**I wrote it, but I totally didn't see it coming!**

There is something
about yarn...
it's so natural, so available,
yet so uniquely able to become
anything and everything you
can dream of...
I've seen
food made of
yarn...
a car cover...
a tea cozy...
a house cozy...
a toddler's sweater...
ladies' negligee...

It can be soft and
delicate, like baby alpaca...
it can be rough and
tough, like pure wool...
it can be
fake and acrylic...
or all-natural and
eco-friendly...
it can inspire
creativity...
or lust...
just look at your
stash - you can see both...

and you can see more...

you can see

possibility...

what will I make next?

A story to be told

*This is from the IME*

Once upon a time, there was a story that wanted to be told. It was a picky story, though, and it didn't want to be told by just anyone. It wanted a good story-teller. It wanted someone who would make it sound fun and exciting! It wanted someone who would be able to share it with the whole world! So the story floated around, watching for that special someone, the someone to bring it to life. It found adventure writers who might make it sound fun and exciting. It found popular writers who might be able to share it with the whole world. Still, the story wasn't happy with any of these choices...

So the story kept on looking, until one day, if cound a special someone. She wasn't a famous novelist. She wasn't a journalist. She had never taken an English course after high school. None of that mattered, though, because the story knew she would be the perfect one to tell it. So the story stopped floating around, and climbed into the special someone's head. Her eyes lit up. Picking up her needles and a new ball of yarn, the special someone began knitting the story. It was now a very happy story.

Oh, the political incorrectness of it...

“I woke up this morning outside of St. Joseph’s Church. I didn’t remember much of anything... I still don’t think I remember yesterday at all,” he said, frowning.

“Mmm-hmm,” Thurman said, writing something down. “Veryy interesting. Tell me, do you remember anything from the day before yesterday?”

“No. I don't remember anything before waking up this morning,” Mr. Smith told him.

“Did you remember St. Joseph’s Church, or did you have to read it on the sign?” Thurman asked.

“Why does that matter?” Mr. Smith asked.

“Please, just answer the question," Thurman said.

The man sighed and thought about it for a minute. “I remembered it. I don’t think I even looked at the sign. I just recognized the church.”

“Good!” Thurman replied, sounding excited as he made a note on his pad.

“Why is that good?” the man asked.

“It means that you're familiar with the area,” Thurman explained. “You’re either from around Macon, or you spend a lot of time here... Or you’re Catholic. Do you feel Catholic?”

“I don’t know,” Mr. Smith said. “What does a Catholic feel like?”

“Umm... Probably pretty guilty,” Thurman said, “But not as guilty as a Jew listening to his mother.”

That's news to me

Still, there must have been something in young Sara Aebli that caught Madame Treabhar’s attention, because she offered the girl a job. Nothing glamorous - just a janitorial job. But it gave Aebli something to do, someplace to be, and a source of income, small though it might be. Aebli had been suspicious - no one did things for nothing, at least not in her experience - but she needed the money, so she accepted. After all, who else would give a job to a girl who hadn’t finished high school and lived on the streets?

**Huh. Didn't expect that background for the character!**

NaNo Update

Because I'm too mentally exhausted to do anything else...

I've been struggling with a headache for four days, and it's not quite sure about whether or not it's a real migraine. I've had moments of visual disturbances, nausea, dizziness, but they don't stay long. That's good, I guess, but the pain is staying around, although it does ease up from time to time.

But despite that, I've still managed at least 2k/day, which is my minimum goal for myself. And I'm even going a little past that most days. I'd hoped to be able to go to bed with a higher word count than Miri and Nancy every night, but that's not always working. *sigh* But I'm sitting comfortably ahead of my goal, which is important, because I've got this feeling that the end of the month is going to just explode, and I'll have no time for anything. As long as I've got momentum, I'll keep going.

A little preview...

Once the client was gone, Thurman picked up the photo again and walked over to his assistant’s desk. “So, Aebli, what do you think?”

Sara Aebli studied the photo for a moment. “She’s cheating on him.”

“You sound certain about that,” Thurman said, sounding a bit surprised.

“I am,” she replied.

“Are you psychic?” he asked.

“No,” Aebli said, rolling her eyes.

“Well, what makes you say that?” he asked, leaning over to look at the photo again. “Something about what she’s wearing? Or the look in her eyes?”

“No,” she replied.

Thurman stifled a sigh. “So why do you say that?”

“Because I’ve seen it.”

“You’ve seen it?”

“Yes. Every Friday night for the last month, she’s been over to my neighbour’s apartment.”

“Well, just because she’s going to someone’s apartment, it doesn’t mean she’s cheating, Aebli,” Thurman told her, shaking his head.

“No, but my neighbour is a twenty-something young guy, and about ten minutes after they show up, I can hear them.”

“Hear them?” Thurman repeated.

“I have thin walls.”

“And?”

“There are very few situations where people scream ‘Oh, God’ so much outside of church,” Aebli said, a smirk on her face.

“Oh.” Thurman sat on the edge of Aebli’s desk. “Well, that was the easiest hundred bucks I’ve ever made,” he said. “Huh.”

“Yup.”

Brain. Tired.

So many words... it's only day 3 of NaNo, and I'm over 10k into the story. I'm not sure I actually LIKE the story at this point, and I don't think it'll ever be suitable for anything BUT NaNo, but that's okay. I'm having fun with it, and that's the important thing. Also, I'm getting inspired to write more in general, and specifically to finish "Happily Ever After."

I have another goal this NaNo - after I reach 50k, I'm going to finish the story. I'm really bad about just stopping. This year, I'll give it an ending.

So many words!

There's just something about November. I don't know if it's just a good time of year for my creativity, or if it's just because I've done NaNo since 2004, but I always seem to get a LOT of writing done. For example, I've written nearly 9000 words in the last two days. Not all of them are good words, and not all of them work together to form pretty sentences, but still... it's a lot.

And I feel good. The writing makes me happy. And the group insanity also feels pretty nifty. The lead-up to November makes me nervous - trying to think of an idea, trying to organize all of the events and supply goodies without spending any money, etc - but once it hits, all is good.

:)

Spent all day on the computer writing, then forgot to update my blog. *facepalm* So tonight's a mobile update, 'cause I'm already in bed. NaNo count: 6460.

Ready, set...

Almost time! It's almost time! It's almost November!

I'm itching to start on my novel... Aebli is ready to have her story told!

*twitches and bounces*

One hour, forty-seven minutes to wait.

*goes to clean a bit more*

Moose!

I made a moose cake! Unfortunately, I did not take a photo with my phone, so you'll have to wait until I find the right cords to hook up my camera and download pictures. But I made a moose cake!

Why a moose cake? Well, I'll tell you!

Tonight was the official kick-off party in the Georgia::Macon region for National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo (you know, that thing you keep hearing me talk about). I'm one of the co-municipal liasons for the area, and I went to the party. With a cake.

"But that still doesn't explain the moose!" you say. Patience, grasshoppers!

Years ago, the WriMos in Macon needed a mascot and a name. I still don't quite know how they got a moose, but that's what they chose. And they voted to name him Mickey. Please note that I say "they" rather than "we" - this was all before my time in Macon. In any case, the moose is our mascot, and this year, I carved a cake in the shape of Mickey, and decorated him all moose-like.

I've got to say, for a last-minute job, he turned out pretty spiffy. Spiffy enough that no one really wanted to cut him up.

I think, however, that I've been watching too much "Ace of Cakes," because when I first thought about doing it, I started to wonder if I would have the time to learn to use fondant, because it would be much smoother and more moose-like. Perhaps I should try to watch less of the Food Network... of course, my other option is to take a cake-decorating course!

Less productive than I'd hoped

I baked the cake. That's a start, right?

*sigh*

I'm a dumbass who was sucked in by the internet again.

*wanders off to try to clean a bit more*

Feeling lazy

I'm feeling very lazy. I'm not in the mood to blog. I think it's because I know that, starting at midnight on Nov 1, I'll be writing my ass off for a month. My brain is sort of going into a hibernation mode right now, preparing itself. The last thing I want to do in November is run out of ideas!

But I have been making myself useful! As co-ML, I've been assembling goody containers for the group. This year, I'm using mini Chinese take-out style containers, filled with mini pens, little Post-it pads, marbles (for when we all lose ours!), candy, and a few other things. I spent the evening filling them. Tomorrow, I'll bake and crumb-coat a cake, and print out NaNo bingo cards and Hipster PDAs. And I'll probably try to knit a bit, since that's not going to happen much during November!

NaNo time

It's that time of year again... it's the end of October, and I'm getting ready to do NaNoWriMo. I'm plotting and planning. I'm carrying a little orange notebook and pen around with me. I'm constantly thinking about what I can put in my novel. I've got this character that I'm absolutely in love with - and she was going to just be the sidekick. I think she'll end up being the MC.

I'm trying to get the herd of cats organized, too, with the help of another ML. Unfortunately, we suck at getting in touch, so it's a bit scattered. Hopefully, we'll be able to connect properly, and get things going. But if not, we do have our events divided up, so we can each take care of our own events without too much trouble.

I'm getting excited! In just 99 hours, I'll get to start writing! Squee!

Mmm, fall...

Today it feels like fall. The air is crisp, and scents are sharper. Things seem more intense. There's a bit of a chill outside, but just enough to need a sweater, not a jacket. The colours are bright and festive, a mix of greens and yellows and reds. There's a crunch underfoot as you walk.

And, of course, there's the smell of burning. It's not fall unless somewhere, someone is burning the stubble in their fields.

Falling apart

It's T-6 days to NaNoWriMo 2009, and I thought I was doing well. I have a plot. I have one very fleshed-out character and one reasonably-thought-out character. I have a notebook and matching pen. I have a flash drive. I have my office sorta clean, but not so clean I can't think.

But now my computer desk is falling apart. Literally. The keyboard tray is held by those little twisty things that you have to turn a quarter turn with a screwdriver to secure them onto the peg bits. Do you know what I mean? Anyways, one of them has decided not to work any more. It unscrews itself after approximately 20 keystrokes. With 50000 words to write, I can't stop to fix it every 20 keystrokes. And sometimes it falls off before that.

So I'm not sure what to do. I may spend NaNo with my keyboard in my lap... maybe I'll go out and invest in a wireless keyboard and write from my rocking chair... or something. Suggestions are welcome!

Five Hundred!

Wow... this is the five hundredth post in this blog! Not the five hundredth this year, of course, since I only post once a day, and, well, even in a good year, there aren't five hundred days...

It seems momentous, and at the same time... not all that impressive. I mean, I've had this blog for almost two years, and while I've been really good about posting this year, the previous year was not so special. I had planned to use this blog for fiction as much as anything else, and I've ended up being far more personal than I had intended. At the same time, I've done a good job of keeping myself satisfied with the level of privacy - I didn't go blabbing about my vacation plans until I got home (unlike the idiots out there who get themselves robbed).

If I had realized earlier today that this was #500, I might have planned something a little more special, but since it's three minutes until tomorrow, I think I'll just smile to myself, and plan a bit more of what I'm going to do on December 31 - after all, if I make it that far, I'll have made my goal!

So... much... food...

Went out for dinner with friends tonight, and the food was awesome! Nathan made steak... lots of steak... I think, between the four of us, we ate three cows. I have been digesting for several hours, and I am still painfully full. But I'd totally do it again. Mmmm...

I'm going to go digest some more now.

Character study in five minutes or less!

A small, furry hand reached out from under the bed.

"Don't even think about it, Beeper." Aebli didn't even open her eyes, much less roll over. The mouse lemur gave a soft squeak. "Don't try that on me. It won't work. You know that you're not allowed to touch my toothbrush.

Beeper gave a few more squeaks.

"I know it's in the bathroom down the hall. I also know that you were going to sneak out, one little limb at a time, and try to take it. No toothbrushes, Beeper."

The critter made a pitiful little noise, and Aebli rolled over in her bed, finally opening her eyes. "Don't try to guilt me into it. I know what a mess you made of my last toothbrush. Look, how's this? If you leave my toothbrush alone tonight, I'll go out and buy you a princess toothbrush tomorrow morning. It'll be just for you. Okay?"

Beeper blinked slowly, looking up at Aebli with her wide, brown eyes. Aebli shook her head. "I can't believe I'm bargaining with you. Fine. Two toothbrushes."

Beeper made a much happier-sounding noise and leaped onto the bed, crouching beside Aebli's head. She nuzzled against Aebli, who smiled, before closing her eyes to go back to sleep.

Look at what I made!

Isn't it nifty?

Thirty so far

I've been thirty for a couple of days now, and it has been less horrible than feared, so that's a good thing. I rang in the decade at a show in Vegas, which was pretty cool, and spent the first day of my thirties hanging with dolphins, lions, tigers, leopards, sisters, and cirque folks.

Unfortunately, on my third day of thirty, I started getting a sore throat. Today, on my fourth day of thirty, I've got a cold. Runny nose, watery eyes, sore throat, general ick - the works. Blah. And I've been stuck seeing patients at work instead of working on the computers. Double blah. However, all of these blahs are no worse than the blahs of twenty-nine, so I'm still willing to work with thirty. For now. *glares menacingly*

And on that note, I've got some chicken and stars soup (homemade!) calling my name, and 'The Princess Bride' ready and waiting in the DVD player in my bedroom (because it makes me get better sooner!). Good night, folks, and let's hope that my fifth day of thirty brings about some healing!

(Does anyone else feel like breaking into "The Twelve Days of Christmas"?)

Where the hell were you??

No, I didn't die or drop off of the face of the earth! I just didn't want the whole world to know that I was on vacation!

Go check out the backdated blogs from the 16-18 to read all about my adventures! But now, I'm off to bed, because a three-hour time difference sucks.

And now, the end is near...

So late yesterday afternoon, Mum and Karen and I went to see Bodies at the Luxor. If you haven’t heard of plastination, go and Google it now! It’s amazing! It was sooo cool! I wish that I could have made all of my anatomy students go to see it – it really puts things in context, and it’s way less smelly than the corpse lab. We spent a ton of time there, and both Mum and Karen enjoyed themselves, too.

Last night, we went to see Love at the Mirage, the Beatles-based Cirque du Soleil show. Holy crap. I’m glad I was sober for that trippiness! I wish I could think of more to say about it, but it’s such an encompassing experience that you just have to see it on your own. I thought I understood what a Cirque show was like from watching so many of their specials, but I wasn’t even close. It was amazing.

Today is my last day in Vegas. We’re heading out for breakfast, and then pretty much straight to the airport. I’ll miss this place…

What happens in Vegas...

So I’m now officially thirty. It’s not too bad… at least, not yet! We rang in my birthday at a show, and got a good group photo. :) There was much drinking done, but I woke up without a hangover – whee! We weaved our way back from the Excalibur without incident, although there were several times when we thought Donna would fall over – not from drinking (she was the designated walker), but from the new shoes she wore. They were gorgeous, and about five inches high! Karen’s great at walking in heels like that, but it was pretty new for Donna. I think what threw her off was the teeny-tiny pencil heel, which was very likely to get stuck in cracks in the sidewalk. She really had to watch where she stepped.

I think I might wear my own clothes today – yesterday, Karen played dress-up with me, and most of what I wore was hers. I didn’t mind, though! My sister has great taste, and I like going through her stuff. Of course, I really like it when her stuff actually fits me, too!

Forgot to mention Freemont Street on Friday! We headed down there on the bus, which wasn’t nearly as bad as I had feared it might be. The double-decker Deuce buses are really nice, and we had no trouble finding the stops. We played at La Bayou and got free beads (always fun). I didn’t win much, but that’s fine. There’s so much shiny stuff to look at in Vegas that I don’t always think about gambling…

Donna and May and I went to Sigfried and Roy’s Secret Garden this morning, and it was pretty cool. I got a crapload of animal photos, and I got splashed by a dolphin. I also managed to get some pictures of Beeper with the animals (sort of). Who’s Beeper? I’m glad you asked! Beeper is my travelling lemur. I found him at the outlet mall, and he was too adorable to pass up. I’ll add a photo of him to a later blog, but suffice to say, he’s just cute. Karen has Tutu the travelling elephant, who goes with her on all of her vacations, and gets photographed… I guess it’s kind of like the Travelocity gnome. Anyways, you’ll see lots of Beeper in the future!

Guess what?

Today’s blog is intentionally back-dated… that is, I am writing it now, and will be posting it later. Why? Because, dear readers, I feel the need to protect my privacy and my home, and because I’m an idiot who didn’t pre-blog. Today, friends, I am in LAS VEGAS!!!

Why Vegas, you ask? I’ll tell you! In a few short hours, I’ll be turning thirty. Despite the fact that ‘age is just a number,’ I’ve been freaking out about it. Part of me is worried that my friends and co-workers will make a huge deal out of it and embarrass me, and part of me is equally worried that it will just go by as another day and people will ignore it. So, in order to avoid both of those scenarios, I decided that I would turn thirty on my own terms, with people I trusted, so that I would have a good day.

I’ve come to Las Vegas with my mum, my sister, and my pseudo-sister and her sister. (Donna spent so much time at my place when we were younger that my parents called her their third daughter, so we’re pseudosisters. It works for us.) I arrived yesterday afternoon (after blogging about being up early!), and all four of them were waiting for me at the airport to take a limousine to the hotel! It was unexpected and sweet. :) We’re staying at the Mirage, which is a fairly nice place. We got an upgrade in our rooms because my mum told the front desk that we were celebrating my birthday, which was awesome! And the hotel delivered a complimentary bottle of champagne! I think we’ll crack it open tomorrow.

Mum and Karen and I had a nice, long breakfast this morning, and spent the afternoon shopping with Donna and May at the outlet mall. I hadn’t planned to spend quite so much time shopping, but we got some great deals. I’ve played a couple of dollars in slots so far, but not much. Perhaps tomorrow!

Mornings, blargh.

I'm up early. I'm up far too early for a day off.

But I get to see Mum today, so I'll try to let it slide.

*wanders off, grumbling sleepily*

Getting old

I swear, the older I get, the worse my memory gets. And it doesn't have to be a year older... just a day!

I've got this reader downloaded on my Palm (old-school tech!), and I know that I download books to read. But I can't remember the website. And I can't figure out where I put the bookmark.

*sigh*

I'd forget my head if it weren't firmly attached.

Mmmm...

...Schwann's...

I got ice cream today - Rocky Road (which is for guests only), Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Vanilla, Ice Cream Sandwiches, and Classic Schwann's Bars. Mmm... that's what happens when Daddy and Peter have a couple of beers with dinner and start thinking about dessert and forget that we still have pumpkin pie AND apple pie in the fridge! But I'm not complaining! I love the stuff, and the Schwann's guy will be back in two weeks to sell me more frozen goodies - yay!

Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving (in Canada), and I've spent the day with good people. I had a good meal, and a lot of fun. I'm a very lucky person. I just want to say thank you to all of the wonderful people in my life - you all know who you are, I hope, and I love each and every one of you. Thank you for making my life better, and I hope that I can do the same for you.

Ow, my legs...

I got new shoes: check them out.

I wore them shopping today.

My legs say, "Ouch, bitch!"

Stupid people shouldn't make signs

It hurts, it hurts! Quotation marks are NOT for emphasis!! This is at the baggage service counter for Delta at Hartfield. *sigh* And because Peter's baggage is missing, I have to keep looking at this sign... I hope they find it soon - I can't take much more of this!

Daddy!

Not that you've been expecting great things from my blog lately, but I may be even less creative than usual in my posting - not for lack of creativity, but because my dad's in town! I haven't seen him since I went home in June, and December before that, so I'll be squeezing in every moment of daddy-time that I can. He's only here for a week, so things should return to normal after that.

In the meantime, you can expect to see a little blogging, and probably a lot of pictures of the kick-ass Montreal stuff that he brought for me!!

Bruise update

It's slowly improving... The colours are rather spectacular, like the leaves on the trees outside. They're even changing like the leaves! But at least it doesn't hurt quite as much. It's weird that the middle part never turned purple,though. It went from white to yellow. Ick.

Story prompt?

Because sometimes, things just need to be shared with the world...

"She was looking at him intently, but went back to humping the bag. "

I'm not entirely sure what to do with this, because it's fresh in my mind and I know the original context. Perhaps after a few days or weeks, the context will fade and I can do something cool with it!

U2!

Just got home from seeing U2 live in concert! I can't hear and my throat is killing me from all the yelling and screaming, but I feel great! It was awesome - and they played two of my songs! That was the best early birthday present I've ever given myself!

I love making stuff.

I LOVE making stuff! Cards, scrapbooks, socks, sweaters, water bottle covers, plot bunnies... I just like making things. Tonight was a physically productive night (somewhat). It was not so productive in the story department...

I made cards tonight. Birthday cards. There's nothing quite as entertaining as pulling out the bazillion tons of Stampin' Up stuff I have and trying to figure out what to make. Well, no, I knew I was going to make a card, and I even knew which stamps I was going to use (because I bought the stamp set to go with a specific gift! But I won't tell you what it was just yet, because the recipient reads my blog!). All I had to do was figure out what the end product was going to look like. I think I'm pretty happy with the result. I must have been, because I stuck in an envelope and sealed it before I remembered that I wanted to take photos of it. *sigh* Taking photos of my cards was a really good idea in theory. It doesn't actually happen much in practice. I'll work on that.

Ahem.

Now that I have your attention, I would like you to know that I have nothing interesting to say.

Are you surprised?

Honestly, I haven't been doing much actual writing lately, although I have been doing a lot of plotting.

I'm very much a 'pantser' when it comes to my writing, in that I have no formal outline written down most of the time. I'm getting better about keeping a little notebook full of character info, though, and that's handy. I like to spend a lot of time thinking about my characters and getting to know them before I start writing. I think that's because my favourite novels and stories are very character-oriented. I love reading about someone who just jumps to life on the page. I just finished reading a novel from the book basket at work (I have no idea where the books come from, but there's a basket full of books in the lunchroom, and everyone can take from it as desired), and the characters sucked. The MC didn't grab my interest at all, his soon-to-be-ex-wife had no motivation for any of her actions, his girlfriend was one-dimensional, and his two partners were, well, boring. The only character with any grab was one who got himself killed halfway through the book. I didn't like the novel at all.

So I've been thinking about my characters for my NaNo idea this year. There are two MCs, and they both play important, though unequal, roles. They're floating around my head, and I keep putting them into different situations to see what they'll do. The female, SA, started out as a 21-year-old, fresh from college, but as I played around, I realized that she needs to be almost 30, and she's got all sorts of crazy-ass life experience, because she knows all kinds of random shit. The male, TW, is a bumbling sort of guy, but not in a really bad way. He started out as an idiot, but I've come to the conclusion that he's just not particularly good at what he wants to do for a living. He should just go get a job in advertising, but he's decided that he wants to be a PI. This is going to make a big difference in how he's written. I think I like him better as just inept, rather than an idiot. He's got to be lovable, after all.

I'm definitely liking the characters, though, and this pair has the potential to become stars of a series, which is exciting. I've never written anything with a sequel before... the thought makes me giggle.

And once more...

SingStar rocks my face!

@!#^@!

This is what my desk did to my leg. It's about 2.5" across and hurts like a bitch!

Impending doom

It's October.

How in the world did that manage to happen already?

I've been trying really hard to deal with my upcoming birthday, but the closer it gets, the less well I seem to be handling it. I don't know why I'm all freaked out about it. I've got plans to be with my friends and family, doing fun stuff. That's going to be a big load of awesome.

It's the number that bothers me.

Somehow, I feel like I should have done more with my life by now. I should have a career, not just a job. You know? Or maybe you don't know.

It's like an early mid-life crisis, but not quite as bad.

Man. I don't want to be around me as I approach 50!

Creative, but not story-like

I was more productively and somewhat less interactively creative tonight! But I did not write. Instead, I spent a crapload of time playing with my Crikut and making a birthday card for my little sister (hi, Karen!).

However, I did spend a lot of time thinking about my NaNo plot for this year. I've got my main character, and a secondary character who is really more of a second MC than a truly secondary character. The secondary one has part of a name - Aebli. I can't decide though, if she's going to be Sara Aebli or Aebli Morgan. I need to work on her a bit more before I can tell. In either case, the MC will call her Aebli. It's going to be a pseudo-mystery, with much comedy thrown in. We'll see how it goes - totally outside of my usual genre!

But I'm getting all pumped about it, so yay!

SingStar!

I played SingStar until WAAAAAY past my bedtime tonight, and the blogging must suffer for it... but it was an awesome alternative outlet for my creativity in an interactive setting! (I played with someone else) And we totally rocked! We played from, like, five different discs, and we only had three or four songs that were rated less than 'Hit Artist.' Yeah, that's right. We rocked.

Perhaps tomorrow the creativity shall be indulged in a less interactive environment. And you might see a short story that sucks less than the last one!

A list?

I've been asked several times now if I have a list of things to do before I'm thirty. The answer is simple, if confusing. No.

I'm a list person. I've got lists of things to do, things I've done, things I have, lists, lists, lists. If there's a project that I'm working on, I break it down into a list of parts. There's something very satisfying about crossing off an item from a list.

So it's odd that I don't have a list of things to do before I turn thirty. I've considered it. There are still things I want to do in my life. The thing is, I don't want to rush it. I don't want to hop on a plane and spend a weekend in Paris just because it's on the list of things to do. I want to wait until the time is right, and then spend a month in Paris. Or a week in Paris, and a week in Rome, and a week wandering through Greece. I want a book published, but I want to take my time and make it as good as I can. NaNo is great for getting me started, but it's a process, and you can't rush creativity - at least, I can't. When the story is ready, when I've had enough time to subconsciously work out all the plot twists and everything that needs to happen, it flows, and it's good. When I force it... well, let's just say that none of my NaNovels have been published yet, and probably won't ever get published. I'd like to catch a fish, but I think that will wait until I have both the time and the patience to go fishing (it may be a few years!).

There are a lot of things on most people's lists that I have no interest in. I don't want to learn to SCUBA dive. I have no desire to jump out of a plane. Climbing Mt. Everest just doesn't do it for me. I've technically swum with sharks, and I don't really want to do it again. (It wasn't a bad experience, but it wasn't all that interesting, either.) I'm happy with the food I'm familiar with and I don't feel the need to eat all sorts of crazy stuff. Let's face it: I'm not all that adventurous. And I'm okay with that!

Also, my thirtieth birthday is in, like, three weeks, so I don't have a lot of time to get things done. ;)

The list

Melinda stared at the piece of paper in her hand. The paper stared back at her, almost taunting her.

"Things to do." Such a simple title for the list she held. One would think that a title like that wouldn't be so overwhelming. After all, everyone has things to do.

Unfortunately, this was more than just a regular 'to do' list. It wasn't full of things like, 'wash socks,' 'take out garbage,' or 'buy more detergent.' This was the list of things that Melinda planned to do before she turned thirty.

Of the ten items, two had been crossed off.

"Get a tattoo." She looked down at her ankle and smiled. She had done that almost ten years ago, just after she started college. It had been a spur of the moment decision. Melinda and Jackie, her roommate and best friend at the time, had gotten matching butterflies. True, it wasn't particularly original, but it was a tattoo. At the time, it had seemed like the best idea in the world. Today, it was still pretty, so Melinda didn't regret it. In fact, she was rather pleased with the decision - their other choice had been a cartoon character, and Melinda was quite sure that she would regret that one today.

"Write a book." Melinda grinned at that one. She had written a novel about three years ago, with the help of a group she had found online. National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, had a group in her area, and she had signed on. For thirty panic- and caffeine-filled days and nights, Melinda had written like a madman. At the end of it all, she had a first draft of a manuscript. She hadn't gone any further with it, but really, she didn't need to. All that Melinda wanted to do was to prove to herself that she could indeed write a book.

The rest of the list, however...

"Go skinny dipping." Melinda wasn't quite sure why this one had never happened. She'd certainly been at her share of pool parties with alcohol present, but the opportunity had never arisen. She had lost her bikini top in the ocean once, but that didn't really count. Definitely one to work on.

"Go horseback riding." A true city girl, Melinda had always wanted to ride a horse. But horses weren't in great supply in the middle of such an urban landscape, and Melinda rarely left the city. Even when she did leave, it was generally to go to another city, so again, she never really had the chance. Melinda looked at it again, then set down the list and reached for the phone book.

With just a few minutes of searching, Melinda had found a ranch just outside of the city limits. She reached for her phone and dialed the number. Moments later, Melinda grinned happily as she penciled in a horseback riding session on her calendar. "One more down," she said to herself.

The next item, though, would be more difficult to tackle. "Get married."

With just six months until her thirtieth birthday, Melinda was quite sure that this goal would not be met. She had no fiance, no boyfriend, and no prospects. She sighed. Her mother would be shaking her head if she were there. After all, Melinda's younger sisters had all been married for at least two years, and none of them were even close to thirty.

Frustrated, Melinda crumpled up the list and tossed it across the room. "Stupid list," she muttered, crawling into bed.

Operatic goodness

Tonight, I saw my very first opera. And actually, I saw my very first performance at MLT! Yes, despite having been involved in a whole crapload of shows there, this was the first time I'd actually seen something from the audience. It was an odd feeling.

But the opera was fun! The Peach State Opera performed two short operas (operettas, I suppose) - 'La Serva Padronna' and 'The Old Maid and the Thief'. Both were done in English, as this was MLT's first foray into opera and they didn't want to scare anyone off. I preferred the first - it was more what I expected from an opera - but I enjoyed both! And I think that, next year, when they come back, I'll go again.

Yay, opera!

Sick computer

I am tired of computers getting sick. Well, I'm tired of things being sick in general. At least computers don't vomit in my bed...

But my poor desktop has been unhappy for quite some time. Recently, it confessed - it had a 'dirty volume!' Horror of horrors! Does that mean that my computer has been secretly downloading things and hiding them? No, it just means I need to get her fixed. *sigh*

And my poor laptop... I killed her battery, apparently. I left her plugged in so she could charge, but she won't hold it. Wouldn't even turn on! Poor gal... But that should be an easy fix, I think. Of course, every time David goes to open a video, she shuts down, so that's problematic, too...

I'm waiting for my iPod and my phone to gang up on me. If I'm not careful, I'll be stuck trying to blog on the Wii... until that explodes.

Please, technology, don't give up on me! I promise, I'll treat you right!

Internet is down
Feel lost without my access
Guess I'll write haiku

Let there be sleep!

That medication was totally worth the $60! I slept all night long! I've coughed a little, but nothing like the tears-streaming-down-my-face-can't-catch-my-breath coughing fits that I've been having.

The only problem? It makes me a bit drowsy about two hours after I take it, and I've fallen asleep mid

Warning: Do not read the warnings!

Have you ever taken the time to sit down and read all of that paperwork that comes with a new medication? It's a good thing (for the drug companies!) that most people don't - no one would EVER take ANYTHING! They pretty much tell you that, regardless of what the medication is, there's a chance that it might kill you, but it hasn't killed many people, so you'll probably be okay. Well, you'll be okay as long as you don't have asthma or heart disease or lung disease or diabetes or blindness or a pinky finger as long as your ring finger or an uncle who's balding or a cat or bunions. Oh, and don't even think about driving, because driving while taking medication will result in you falling asleep at the wheel and dying.

Did I mention I've been sick? I've barely slept in three days because I've been coughing so much, so I finally broke down and got a prescription for a cough medicine (the OTC stuff was not doing anything for me). And please note - I did NOT ask for antibiotics. Antibiotics work if you have a bacterial infection. There is a 99% chance that what I have is a virus. Antibiotics will not work. In most cases, antibiotics do NOTHING for a cold except breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria. DON'T DEMAND ANTIBIOTICS! *ahem* Sorry.

In any case, I asked for an antitussitive (anti-cough medication, for all of you non-medical types) because I just want to sleep. Just one night. So I picked up the prescription, and like a good little medical assistant, I read the product information. And now I'm really wary of taking this stuff for the first time while home alone... Because, apparently, I'm gonna die! Okay, it's not that bad, but it makes it sound like someone with asthma should not be using it unsupervised. *sigh* I wonder if I can teach my dog to dial 911 before I go to bed tonight...

Tonight's blog is brought to you via text, thanks to crazy, computer-turning-off thunderstorms! Hopefully, Mother Nature will cooperate tomorrow so I can post.

Still sick!

Why can't I get better?? Being this sick is frustrating, because I actually have some free time, and I REALLY want to sit down and finish some projects, but every time I sit down, I go to sleep. I know, my body needs the rest, but still! It's frustrating!

I'm going to bed. Again.

Fever dreams

I dreamt that I went to a wedding. No, not a wedding - a wedding reception. I went with C2, D and E. We were invited because one of C2's friends was playing at the reception. It was a last minute thing, and I was irritated that no one had warned me, because I didn't even have a card made for them.

We showed up just as the friend was leaving, but sat down at a table anyways. Only problem was that the table with our five names on it was a teeny-tiny wicker end table, so we had to move all of our plates and cutlery to a real table with chairs. The appetizer was brought out, but it wasn't so much an appetizer as it was a sampler of all the dishes that were going to be brought out. There was something green, there was salmon mousse (and it was a dessert), and three other things that I don't recall. After we each took a bite of each sample, servers hurried in and took them away. A parfait glass stacked with caviar, sugar cookies, and whipped cream was brought out. I picked up the top layer of all three and took a bite, then turned to the others and said, "If I'd have known caviar was this good, I would have tried it years ago!" I distinctly remember the taste, too. It was like tapioca in whipped cream, on a sugar cookie. Nothing at all what caviar ACTUALLY tastes like.

And then I woke up.

Ass still getting kicked

You know how sometimes you get sick, and then you get better? And then other times, you get sick, and you think you're better, and then it turns out that you're not?

That second one? Yeah, that's me. I got cocky. I thought I was getting better. My 102 F fever went away. I took some Tylenol and my headache went away. I got my ass out of bed and went to work! I thought I was doing fine!

Then the medications all wore off. It turns out that I am still sick. Sicky McSickerson. Sick. Blargh. And I was going to write all about my crazy, fever-induced dreams, but it turns out that, once I'm not feverish anymore, I can't remember much about them. That's probably a good thing, though, because I do recall waking up yelling a couple of times...

Tonight, I shall sleep again, and if any more crazy dreams show up, I'll try to write them down right away. And if that doesn't work, well, I can always borrow someone else's dreams to write about!

Still not well... but fever's down, so that's a good sign! Working on feeling better, and ready to write down some of these crazy dreams...

Sick

Fever up to 101.6. Going to bed. Sorry.

You mean all we have to do...

... is create this intricate, 6-foot-tall sculpture of a sand dragon? Nothing else? And we can take all day? Sweet! What a relaxing day this will be! (and that WASN'T sarcastic, which is the scary part...)

Brilliant plan!

I had a brilliant plan - since I'll be inhabiting my current residence for at least another six months, I decided to unpack all of my crap (which had been packed in case the government didn't renew my visa). I started unpacking books yesterday. I did not finish, because I have a lot of books. I discovered that I will need at LEAST one more bookshelf, and because of the mild OCD, I need to save up money for a trip to IKEA to get one that matches the others. In the meantime, though, I also decided to organize my books by genre and author. This has resulted in books EVERYWHERE!

On the bright side, I feel very inspired to write. I can't write when my office is clean. Expect good things in the next week!

Free time?

What is this thing, free time?

Somehow, I thought I might have some. Silly girl! Just because the two shows are over, that doesn't mean I have free time! I've still got boxes to unpack, crap to sort through, books to put away, blankets to knit, sweaters to crochet... Oh, and I've started writing another play.

*goes off to do stuff*

Now with 80% less creepy!

The creepy red glowy cross isn't creepy and red anymore! It's now blue.

Less creepy, still glowy, still a cross.

Just thought you might want to know!

Drowning Part A, B, and C

I'll preface this post by pointing out the obvious - I am not dead. However, that is not due to any lack of trying on the part of the ocean.

As you may recall, I spent last weekend out in St. Augustine. We spent Saturday on the beach. There were five of us - Colby, me, and our three gigantically tall friends. Please note, they are gigantically tall, at least relative to the 5'1" and 5'2" lives that Colby and I lead. The five of us decided to go play in the water, which is a reasonable thing to do whilst on a beach.

Unfortunately, the three gigantically tall friends have long legs, and were able to get further out into the ocean. Colby and I tried, but we were somewhat limited by the fact that we're short. As we were attempting to get out to where the other three were, the ocean decided that it no longer wanted to play nicely. Instead, as we were talking to each other, the ocean snuck up from behind and smacked both Colby and me upside the heads. In the mayhem, both of us lost our sunglasses. This part of the incident was Drowning, Part A.

As we regained our footing and tried to figure out why we were suddenly blinded (oh yeah! The ocean ate our sunglasses!), the ocean took another potshot and knocked us over again. I got a rather large mouthful of water, and I think Colby did, too. This was Drowning, Part B.

Before I could even get fully upright, the ocean struck once more! It came from behind, well above our heads. I must not have been close to dying, because my life did not flash before my eyes. In fact, all that was going through my head was, "Where the FUCK is the air??" As it turns out, my lungs don't function well when I inhale water rather than air. Somehow, beneath the waves, Colby and I managed to crash into each other, and we clung together as we finally found the ground again. Have you figured it out? This was Drowning, Part C.

As we coughed and sputtered and swore, we caught sight of our three gigantically tall friends smiling and laughing at us. As one of them would later say, it was like a bad Lifetime movie - "Oh, look. They're screaming, they must be having fun." Needless to say, we bade the ocean goodbye and headed back to the sand.

That night, we bought new sunglasses and named them Jack (mine) and Rose (hers) - "I'll never let go, Jack!"

Tired

Have you ever noticed that when you're emotionally drained, you can be more creative than ever? I spent the evening writing, so the blog is, well, neglected. Sorry folks. But maybe tomorrow I'll be perkier and I'll blog instead of writing other stuff!

Crazy weather

It seems appropriate that it stormed like crazy today. My mood is still... cloudy.

Coming home, the sky opened up. The rain started lightly, but with large drops. The thunder and lightning, though, were quite impressive. The whole sky lit up so brightly that it was hard to see in the dark once it faded. My car shook every time the thunder followed.

Suddenly, it was as if someone had turned on a shower. The large but light drops suddenly came down all at once, heavy and hard. The road in front of me was a river, and the heat trapped beneath the asphalt created a swirling fog across the surface. The rain got harder still, and suddenly I couldn't see the road, much less the centre line. If I hadn't driven that stretch of road hundreds of times, I would have driven off the side of it. As it was, it was as much instinct as anything else that got me home.

Once there, I couldn't manage to do anything but sit inside my car and stare at the rain for a few minutes, thanking God for getting me home.

Grandma Blanche

My grandma passed away this afternoon, peacefully, without pain, in her sleep.

Sometimes, when I get asked what I'll remember most about someone, it takes a while to figure out. Not with Grandma Blanche. She taught me to knit. She gave me this skill... but it's more than a skill. It was something that we shared. We could just sit there in rocking chairs, or on the couch, and knit and chit-chat. It didn't matter that I lived far away and rarely got to see her. We could always talk knitting. When I got to visit her this summer, I even got to teach her a new technique - toe-up socks. Even when there was nothing else to say, the clicking of needles was a conversation in and of itself. She gave me a way to find peace in the midst of this crazy life that I have. I will always think of her when I pick up a set of knitting needles. I'll remember the smile she had when I gave her a white scarf with teal snowflakes embroidered on the ends - my very first knitting project. Sure, it wasn't the most beautiful thing ever, but she loved it. I think, even then, she knew that I would stick with this, and love it.

I love you, Grandma, and I'm going to miss you. A lot. But I promise, I won't forget.