I'm rather sad that I didn't take pictures at that party last night, but then I still don't know where my camera cord is and my new one won't be coming until next week, so I wouldn't be able to put them up yesterday.
But there was a party yesterday, even if I have no pictures of it. (No, wait, I have maybe two pictures. And then there was that time I let Siri use my camera...)
This was probably our least boisterous party to date. Goober/Sexy Paper Snowflake and I arrived in remarkably high spirits, but sleep-deprived Fred did a good job of getting us all down and the party was past over by 10:00.
Don't worry, Fred, love you anyway. ; )
I also wasn't my favorite party because Siri was being a complete brat half of the time (at one point she was an extremely embarrassing brat...) and I rammed my pinkie toe into a chair at one point and, as such, have been hobbling around all day.
Final final tomorrow; hopefully my toe will feel better. And hopefully I'll get some studying done.
Bedtime!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
AHHHHHHHH!
So, today was the day I had set aside to get my Music 201 test done. It's a test that takes several hours for me, since I don't do the reading, often don't go to class, and often don't take notes when I do go to class; but it's an online test and open book, so I don't flunk.
So, I pretty much spent the whole day on it, with breaks for interneting, taking care of siblings, and eating. At 7 PM I finally hit "submit."
And then an error happened.
I freaked out and hurried back to look at the test. My grades showed that I was still taking it. I opened the test again.
Questions 1-15 were the only ones done.
I freaked out again. I groaned and carried my sister in to the living room (somehow it was my job to hold her most of the day, despite the fact that I was taking a final) and grumped at my mother, who was properly sorry. I sat back down and unhappily told my siblings, also sitting at the dinner table, that I had to do most of the test over again.
And then Random burst into song.
"When the news is all bad
When you're sour and blue
When you start to get mad
You should do what I do:
Tell yourself how lucky you are!
When your life's going wrong
When the fates are unkind
When you're limping along
And get kicked from behind
Tell yourself how lucky you are!
Why decry a cloudy sky
An empty purse
A crazy universe
My philosophy is simply:
Things could be worse!
So be happy you're here
Think of life as a thrill!
And when worst comes to worst
As we all know it will
Thank your lucky stars you've gotten this far
And tell yourself how lucky you are."
It's from Suessical, a song called "How Lucky You Are." The Cat in the Hat sings it to the Whos as they're falling through the air toward almost certain doom.
In another half hour, I had finished the test for a second time, and submitted my score. 84%. Not bad.
Hi, Random. This one's for you.
So, I pretty much spent the whole day on it, with breaks for interneting, taking care of siblings, and eating. At 7 PM I finally hit "submit."
And then an error happened.
I freaked out and hurried back to look at the test. My grades showed that I was still taking it. I opened the test again.
Questions 1-15 were the only ones done.
I freaked out again. I groaned and carried my sister in to the living room (somehow it was my job to hold her most of the day, despite the fact that I was taking a final) and grumped at my mother, who was properly sorry. I sat back down and unhappily told my siblings, also sitting at the dinner table, that I had to do most of the test over again.
And then Random burst into song.
"When the news is all bad
When you're sour and blue
When you start to get mad
You should do what I do:
Tell yourself how lucky you are!
When your life's going wrong
When the fates are unkind
When you're limping along
And get kicked from behind
Tell yourself how lucky you are!
Why decry a cloudy sky
An empty purse
A crazy universe
My philosophy is simply:
Things could be worse!
So be happy you're here
Think of life as a thrill!
And when worst comes to worst
As we all know it will
Thank your lucky stars you've gotten this far
And tell yourself how lucky you are."
It's from Suessical, a song called "How Lucky You Are." The Cat in the Hat sings it to the Whos as they're falling through the air toward almost certain doom.
In another half hour, I had finished the test for a second time, and submitted my score. 84%. Not bad.
Hi, Random. This one's for you.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Good To Know
I think I'll be a good mother.
Today was a hard day. I was trying to get homework done, homework that was actually due on Thursday and that will fail me if I don't turn it in. And my mother was gone, so I was the primary caretaker (dad needs direct orders most of the time in order to be of much help ; D). And Boo was so rrrg. And Siri was desperate for more attention, desperate to get in the way, and possessing more energy than she knew what to do with.
And yet, aside from one outburst, I was able to deal with everything calmly, even getting Boo to clean the living room, the rest of the children to do their chores, dinner made, Boo and Siri bathed in record time and off to bed, and Caiti fed, dressed, and in bed. I may not have gotten all my homework done, but I do feel somewhat accomplished all the same.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
Lying
My mother has been having a problem with my sister. She (my sister, not my mother) is going through a lying phase. You know, the kind where the parent starts referencing "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Yesterday mother really got upset; my sister insisted she hadn't been the one to take the new hat loom ("I'm serious!"), but after a quick search of the living room I looked on my sister's bed and there it was. She got a long talking to and was rather subdued for a while.
This got me thinking about the lying phase I went through. I don't remember when mine started, but I do know I hit the top when I broke a downstairs window by twirling around in the front yard with a can on a rope and then releasing the rope. My parents weren't home at the time, and when they did come home I tried to blame it on a boy who lived across the street.
They, of course, didn't believe me; I don't think they even mentioned it to the boy's parents. A few days later I sneaked some microwave popcorn while they were out and denied it when they came home, despite the fact that they could smell the popcorn. I eventually admitted yes, I did sneak the popcorn, and they said, basically, that they had known that and it was things like this that really made them wonder if I was telling the truth about the window. And, I don't know, sometime after that I confessed to the window too.
The point is that parents know things. All the time. Kids think they're being sneaky, that their parents have no idea, when in fact their parents are two steps in front of them shaking their heads. I, as the oldest, have been endowed with some of these powers too, and I can tell you I don't know why my parents let me think I was ahead of them for so long. I can tell, from the way a sibling hesitates or changes the tone of voice or something, that they are lying, and yet they think they're being all sneaky. NOT SO, MY GOOD SIBLINGS. We can tell when you haven't really cleaned your room. We can tell when you hurriedly put away the Wii as we pulled into the driveway. We can tell when you've been on the computer half the night. We know who woke up Caiti, who played with my laptop without permission, and who stole the last of mother's poptarts.
And yet they keep trying, and we keep letting them.
This got me thinking about the lying phase I went through. I don't remember when mine started, but I do know I hit the top when I broke a downstairs window by twirling around in the front yard with a can on a rope and then releasing the rope. My parents weren't home at the time, and when they did come home I tried to blame it on a boy who lived across the street.
They, of course, didn't believe me; I don't think they even mentioned it to the boy's parents. A few days later I sneaked some microwave popcorn while they were out and denied it when they came home, despite the fact that they could smell the popcorn. I eventually admitted yes, I did sneak the popcorn, and they said, basically, that they had known that and it was things like this that really made them wonder if I was telling the truth about the window. And, I don't know, sometime after that I confessed to the window too.
The point is that parents know things. All the time. Kids think they're being sneaky, that their parents have no idea, when in fact their parents are two steps in front of them shaking their heads. I, as the oldest, have been endowed with some of these powers too, and I can tell you I don't know why my parents let me think I was ahead of them for so long. I can tell, from the way a sibling hesitates or changes the tone of voice or something, that they are lying, and yet they think they're being all sneaky. NOT SO, MY GOOD SIBLINGS. We can tell when you haven't really cleaned your room. We can tell when you hurriedly put away the Wii as we pulled into the driveway. We can tell when you've been on the computer half the night. We know who woke up Caiti, who played with my laptop without permission, and who stole the last of mother's poptarts.
And yet they keep trying, and we keep letting them.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Winner!!!
I've heard that the second year of NaNo is the hardest. That this is the year when everything combines against you and you find your wordcount lagging and you motivation lagging too.That certainly didn't apply to me.
As most of my readers know, I hit the 50,000 mark on the 19th - not too shabby for what was supposed to be my hardest year. And this was despite many struggles I had - frequent burnout for no reason, needing to help take care of my siblings, school, being deathly ill, and temporary blindness come to mind. But I did it! And I close this day with 90,286 words.
It's been fun. It's been great! Last year I did it more or less alone, and this year I had several friends and some family, which is probably why I did so well and so quickly. Convincing Fred to join, and getting in a word war with him, was probably the best thing for my word count.
I probably would have done better if the weekly meetings I had with Fredji, m&m, Unit of Energy, and occasionally Goober and Sam had been more about serious writing than making fun of each other and goofing off together, but it was more fun this way. I hope everyone wants to do it again next year!
I also had great fun with my characters. Kristy and Ezekiel are like two friends of mine now, and the rest of the cast is hanging about, smiling and gently prodding me to make the story better so they actually have meaningful parts in it. I've had great fun creating their world and will enjoy improving it.
I'm also a little sad. NaNo has such a magic about it, the wonder of having a deadline, and of having the widgets and wars and the website to update on. And now it's over, over for another year. A year! That's a long, long time.
A long, long time that I should spend improving this year's (and last year's!) writing.
But it's time, for now, to say goodbye. And to start writing 'goodbye' as one word again, and put hyphens where they belong, and use contractions, and not add a 'very' and a 'really' wherever possible. Time to start worrying about quality as well as quantity. And time to not put writing first, time to rediscover a decent bedtime, exercise, cleaning my room, and timely homework. And studying. That would be good.
Everything Hates Me
There are twelve hours left of November.
I'm at just over 84,000 words.
Fredjikrang is ahead of me.
I can't keep my eyes open.
Yeah. We'll see how this goes.
I'm at just over 84,000 words.
Fredjikrang is ahead of me.
I can't keep my eyes open.
Yeah. We'll see how this goes.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Arrrg.
I am ashamed.
So very, very ashamed.
So ashamed that I hardly know how to keep my head up.
And so I am most definitely going to share the reason for my deep, deep shame, so you can all laugh at me.
You see, I went to see the Twilight movie to day, which, as I said earlier, I would be going to see, in deep shame and disguised. I ended up not going in disguse, but I was ashamed.
And when the movie had ended...
Oh heavens above, I liked it.
I LIKED IT.
I am so disgusted with myself that I can hardly stand it.
It was still rather bad, of course. There were some problems with the book itself that got transferred to the movie. The whole thing was rather rushed. That Kristen girl's voice was monotone most of the time - sometimes that worked, and other times not really. Also, there were many things that were too easy to make fun of, and I got yelled at for snarking too loudly. And there were lots of other things wrong with it.
But I liked it.
*sigh*
So very, very ashamed.
So ashamed that I hardly know how to keep my head up.
And so I am most definitely going to share the reason for my deep, deep shame, so you can all laugh at me.
You see, I went to see the Twilight movie to day, which, as I said earlier, I would be going to see, in deep shame and disguised. I ended up not going in disguse, but I was ashamed.
And when the movie had ended...
Oh heavens above, I liked it.
I LIKED IT.
I am so disgusted with myself that I can hardly stand it.
It was still rather bad, of course. There were some problems with the book itself that got transferred to the movie. The whole thing was rather rushed. That Kristen girl's voice was monotone most of the time - sometimes that worked, and other times not really. Also, there were many things that were too easy to make fun of, and I got yelled at for snarking too loudly. And there were lots of other things wrong with it.
But I liked it.
*sigh*
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Erp.
Ahhhhhhglglrup.
Blarrrrrg.
Ew.
I feel sick, and for once it's not due to the flu or eating something wrong or something.
I at a good thanksgiving dinner, during which my aunt mentioned this site. So I had to check it out. I even got some pie while reading the tribute site over here.
I only barely finished that pie, and only then because I wasn't thinking about it.
ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew
And now I will sit here, wait for my stomach to settle, and work on my novel. Have I mentioned I'm going for 100,000 words? I am. Right now I'm at 76,000 some-odd. That's like being at 26,000 words with only tonight and three more days to go.
I can totally do it.
As long as I don't start throwing up, or starve because I can't stand to think of food.
(I had determined today that I would start putting pictures on my posts, 'cause those are just so nice. But after writing this post, I decided that posting a relevant picture would be rather mean.)
Blarrrrrg.
Ew.
I feel sick, and for once it's not due to the flu or eating something wrong or something.
I at a good thanksgiving dinner, during which my aunt mentioned this site. So I had to check it out. I even got some pie while reading the tribute site over here.
I only barely finished that pie, and only then because I wasn't thinking about it.
ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew
And now I will sit here, wait for my stomach to settle, and work on my novel. Have I mentioned I'm going for 100,000 words? I am. Right now I'm at 76,000 some-odd. That's like being at 26,000 words with only tonight and three more days to go.
I can totally do it.
As long as I don't start throwing up, or starve because I can't stand to think of food.
(I had determined today that I would start putting pictures on my posts, 'cause those are just so nice. But after writing this post, I decided that posting a relevant picture would be rather mean.)
Monday, November 24, 2008
The Curse of the Cold
Something I kinda knew already but now know even more:
I have trouble sleeping when I have a cold.
This is dramatic, mates. I'm the kind of person who starts getting sleepy around 9:30 at the latest, and doesn't like being in bed with the lights off past that time on a school night. I'm usually pretty early to bed, so I'm able to get up at six in the morning.
And yet here I am, on a school night, updating my blog before I go work on my NaNo (yes, Fred, I see that you're ahead; rejoice while you can) at 11:00 at night.
Yesterday was even worse. I went to bed and I tried EVERYTHING I could think of - iPod music, relaxation exercises, making up stories, praying, begging... nothing worked. Staying in bed, lying down, became torture. I eventually wandered upstairs (at a quarter to three), put on a movie, and crashed on the couch, which happens to be more comfortable than my futon. And even then I didn't get to sleep until after four in the morning, after the movie was over and my brother had turned off the computer and the lights and made his bed on a couple of couch cushions on the floor.
I HATE THIS. Even though it did lead to some quality time with my brother last night (this morning?) and upping of my word count tonight. I just want to sleep at normal times, please. And not having a stuffed up and/or runny nose, plus the headache and the sore throat, would be nice too.
Bleh.
I have trouble sleeping when I have a cold.
This is dramatic, mates. I'm the kind of person who starts getting sleepy around 9:30 at the latest, and doesn't like being in bed with the lights off past that time on a school night. I'm usually pretty early to bed, so I'm able to get up at six in the morning.
And yet here I am, on a school night, updating my blog before I go work on my NaNo (yes, Fred, I see that you're ahead; rejoice while you can) at 11:00 at night.
Yesterday was even worse. I went to bed and I tried EVERYTHING I could think of - iPod music, relaxation exercises, making up stories, praying, begging... nothing worked. Staying in bed, lying down, became torture. I eventually wandered upstairs (at a quarter to three), put on a movie, and crashed on the couch, which happens to be more comfortable than my futon. And even then I didn't get to sleep until after four in the morning, after the movie was over and my brother had turned off the computer and the lights and made his bed on a couple of couch cushions on the floor.
I HATE THIS. Even though it did lead to some quality time with my brother last night (this morning?) and upping of my word count tonight. I just want to sleep at normal times, please. And not having a stuffed up and/or runny nose, plus the headache and the sore throat, would be nice too.
Bleh.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
What a Special Day
Warning: NaNoWriMo novelist is in session. Trespassers will be reborn as the inspiration for an ugly and evil race of horrifically disfigured beings and/or the villain.
This is my 100th post, and today is the day that I got to 50,000 words (behind dear Fred, but still).
In the last 100 posts I have talked about:
Valentine's Day, what I see, suspicious persons, excuses, Script Frenzy, sisters, my room, singing (also here and here), Divine Comedy, the Essay of Doom, stupid pedestrians, sprinklers, my birthday (and party), UFOs, sisters again, stupid drivers, hiking, camping, frustration, my genius brother, sisters yet again, NaNoWriMo, magic, a secret mission, dying (also here), Goodsearch, anticipation, money, names, my new baby sister, getting up early, siblings, pi, working on the event staff, Eric Snyder, and failure.
Also, did I mention that I got to 50,000 words today?
This is my 100th post, and today is the day that I got to 50,000 words (behind dear Fred, but still).
In the last 100 posts I have talked about:
Valentine's Day, what I see, suspicious persons, excuses, Script Frenzy, sisters, my room, singing (also here and here), Divine Comedy, the Essay of Doom, stupid pedestrians, sprinklers, my birthday (and party), UFOs, sisters again, stupid drivers, hiking, camping, frustration, my genius brother, sisters yet again, NaNoWriMo, magic, a secret mission, dying (also here), Goodsearch, anticipation, money, names, my new baby sister, getting up early, siblings, pi, working on the event staff, Eric Snyder, and failure.
Also, did I mention that I got to 50,000 words today?
Sunday, November 16, 2008
I'm Vixen
Today wasn't the best day for writing. Yeah, I got about 4000 words and caught up with Fredji again (he hasn't passed me again, has he?), but I did most of that after midnight this morning, before I went to bed. Today when I sat down to write (I skipped church due to weird eye problems - calling the doctor tomorrow), I got sidetracked.
Boy did I ever get sidetracked.
It started out easily enough. I simply checked Pottersues, and somehow from there ended up on a very long biography on one of the most famous/infamous Big Name Fans in the Harry Potter fandom.
...yeah.
And then all the writing I did do was stuff that almost certainly will not end up in even the second draft, much less the actual finished project (assuming I get there). Somehow I don't think a detailed description of the characters playing card games and tag hide-and-go-seek will have much impact on the plot. Of course, you never know... me deciding to detail their laser tag games earlier this week gave me a few good moments. (Poor Willow. That's all I have to say.)
Still, could have done better; I'm only about 50 above Fred, and SLC is starting to beat we Elsewhere people in our word war. Blast it all!
Oh, yeah. The title of the post, for those of you who are wondering, has to do with this year's Christmas pajamas for my family. We eight children are being reindeer (brown long-sleeved shirts and dark pants and antlers) and my parents are Santa and Mrs. Claus. We were each assigned names which will eventually be on our shirts. I'm Vixen.
Also: check out the new banner at the photo counter in the Bookstore (they'll get it up eventually...) it should have pictures of my family on it, in our Christmas pajamas. Some we took tonight, and some from quite a few years ago. Quite a few. Really. Several. As in, my youngest two sisters are missing. A long time ago. And while you're there looking at the vaguely embarrassing photos, if you see guy who has brown hair, glasses, and a name tag reading "Jeff," say hi, and tell him you know his daughter bob. He may or may not know who you're referring to. : D
Boy did I ever get sidetracked.
It started out easily enough. I simply checked Pottersues, and somehow from there ended up on a very long biography on one of the most famous/infamous Big Name Fans in the Harry Potter fandom.
...yeah.
And then all the writing I did do was stuff that almost certainly will not end up in even the second draft, much less the actual finished project (assuming I get there). Somehow I don't think a detailed description of the characters playing card games and tag hide-and-go-seek will have much impact on the plot. Of course, you never know... me deciding to detail their laser tag games earlier this week gave me a few good moments. (Poor Willow. That's all I have to say.)
Still, could have done better; I'm only about 50 above Fred, and SLC is starting to beat we Elsewhere people in our word war. Blast it all!
Oh, yeah. The title of the post, for those of you who are wondering, has to do with this year's Christmas pajamas for my family. We eight children are being reindeer (brown long-sleeved shirts and dark pants and antlers) and my parents are Santa and Mrs. Claus. We were each assigned names which will eventually be on our shirts. I'm Vixen.
Also: check out the new banner at the photo counter in the Bookstore (they'll get it up eventually...) it should have pictures of my family on it, in our Christmas pajamas. Some we took tonight, and some from quite a few years ago. Quite a few. Really. Several. As in, my youngest two sisters are missing. A long time ago. And while you're there looking at the vaguely embarrassing photos, if you see guy who has brown hair, glasses, and a name tag reading "Jeff," say hi, and tell him you know his daughter bob. He may or may not know who you're referring to. : D
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I'm Dead, I'm Dead, I'm Dying
Warning: NaNoWriMo novelist is in session. Trespassers will be reborn as the inspiration for an ugly and evil race of horrifically disfigured beings and/or the villain.
So... being dead gives my creativity a boost and allows my fingers to type with blinding speed? Something like that. Or something. 'Cause, ah, I've jumped up by... 7000 words. I would say I'm sorry, Fredji, but I'm not really.
I suppose that almost makes up for the fact that I didn't write at all for three days straight.
Honestly, I don't really know what happened. It was well documented that I was dying - I said so several times, and several people saw me, including my father who was rather concerned - and yet now I'm sitting here, perfectly fine, and only stopping the mad typing because I really need to get up early tomorrow. I do kinda want to pass Spanish.
Which reminds me that I haven't done that interview that's due tomorrow. Which reminds me that I need to get that letter to that one person. Urg.
Let me tell you, pretending I'd never written all that romance and giving the theater department a certain fondness for laser tag has done wonders to my word count.
Days left of NaNo: 17
Word count: 38294
Donations: $15
So... being dead gives my creativity a boost and allows my fingers to type with blinding speed? Something like that. Or something. 'Cause, ah, I've jumped up by... 7000 words. I would say I'm sorry, Fredji, but I'm not really.
I suppose that almost makes up for the fact that I didn't write at all for three days straight.
Honestly, I don't really know what happened. It was well documented that I was dying - I said so several times, and several people saw me, including my father who was rather concerned - and yet now I'm sitting here, perfectly fine, and only stopping the mad typing because I really need to get up early tomorrow. I do kinda want to pass Spanish.
Which reminds me that I haven't done that interview that's due tomorrow. Which reminds me that I need to get that letter to that one person. Urg.
Let me tell you, pretending I'd never written all that romance and giving the theater department a certain fondness for laser tag has done wonders to my word count.
Days left of NaNo: 17
Word count: 38294
Donations: $15
The Truth
"Hi! How are you?"
"Great."
A pause. "You don't look great."
"Sometimes I have to modify what I mean by 'great' in order to be telling the truth."
"Oh. Um. Well, you look kinda like you're dying, actually."
"I am. But it's a great kind of dying."
"Uh... right."
"Great."
A pause. "You don't look great."
"Sometimes I have to modify what I mean by 'great' in order to be telling the truth."
"Oh. Um. Well, you look kinda like you're dying, actually."
"I am. But it's a great kind of dying."
"Uh... right."
Monday, November 10, 2008
What Some People Will Do For $20
Warning: NaNoWriMo novelist is in session. Trespassers will be reborn as the inspiration for an ugly and evil race of horrifically disfigured beings and/or the villain.
Perhaps if I post now, I won't keep working on my novel. And I'll be able to get some Spanish homework done. *sigh* I'm so going to fail that class if I don't get my rear in gear...
Saturday was the last home football game. As usual, I worked, along with my good friend Goober. There are only two other people at our gate; a girl I'll call Sam and a guy I'll call Rhett.
It was the worst game in memory as far as me being sick; I ended up in the back room asleep for an hour or so. When I got back out they were just taking our ticket line poles away, leaving holes in the ground. Rhett, who is an interesting young man and is always up for a joke or argument, said that he'd give $20 to anyone who licked one of the holes.
Sam said she was up for it. She spent several minutes laughing nervously, examining the holes to find the cleanest one, laughing nervously, and insisting she really was going to do it. Then she spent several minutes on her knees laughing nervously, sweeping her hair up with one hand, laughing nervously, and insisting she really was going to do it.
And then all of a sudden she was standing up, and there was dirt on her tongue. She showed it to Rhett, then washed her tongue, then spit several times. She continued spitting until she had something to eat - a hot dog she bought with the $20, leaving $17 some-odd left. She proclaimed several times that it was the best thing she had ever done.
I think she's insane.
But! There is something I can learn for her: what would I be willing to do for $20? What could I do that people would be willing to give me $20 for?
Now, those of you who read my blog know that I've been asking, near begging, for donations to The Office of Letters and :Light, the non-profit that runs NaNoWriMo. And now I'm going to do something more. What could I do that would make you lot willing to donate? I'm asking for suggestions - though don't suggest if you don't mean it, 'cause once you suggest it I will hold you to it. Of course, I won't necessarily do everything you suggest...
But I mean it. DONATE. Even if you aren't willing to do so until I do some stunt or something.
Days left of NaNo: 20
Word count: 31316
Donations: $15
Perhaps if I post now, I won't keep working on my novel. And I'll be able to get some Spanish homework done. *sigh* I'm so going to fail that class if I don't get my rear in gear...
Saturday was the last home football game. As usual, I worked, along with my good friend Goober. There are only two other people at our gate; a girl I'll call Sam and a guy I'll call Rhett.
It was the worst game in memory as far as me being sick; I ended up in the back room asleep for an hour or so. When I got back out they were just taking our ticket line poles away, leaving holes in the ground. Rhett, who is an interesting young man and is always up for a joke or argument, said that he'd give $20 to anyone who licked one of the holes.
Sam said she was up for it. She spent several minutes laughing nervously, examining the holes to find the cleanest one, laughing nervously, and insisting she really was going to do it. Then she spent several minutes on her knees laughing nervously, sweeping her hair up with one hand, laughing nervously, and insisting she really was going to do it.
And then all of a sudden she was standing up, and there was dirt on her tongue. She showed it to Rhett, then washed her tongue, then spit several times. She continued spitting until she had something to eat - a hot dog she bought with the $20, leaving $17 some-odd left. She proclaimed several times that it was the best thing she had ever done.
I think she's insane.
But! There is something I can learn for her: what would I be willing to do for $20? What could I do that people would be willing to give me $20 for?
Now, those of you who read my blog know that I've been asking, near begging, for donations to The Office of Letters and :Light, the non-profit that runs NaNoWriMo. And now I'm going to do something more. What could I do that would make you lot willing to donate? I'm asking for suggestions - though don't suggest if you don't mean it, 'cause once you suggest it I will hold you to it. Of course, I won't necessarily do everything you suggest...
But I mean it. DONATE. Even if you aren't willing to do so until I do some stunt or something.
Days left of NaNo: 20
Word count: 31316
Donations: $15
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Up Far Too Late
Warning: NaNoWriMo novelist is in session. Trespassers will be reborn as the inspiration for an ugly and evil race of horrifically disfigured beings and/or the villain.
Want to know something I find funny? I have gotten at least one comment on ever single NaNo post, but before then I received very few comments, and the one post I've written since the start of NaNo that wasn't about NaNo didn't get any comments. NaNo is, indeed, a magical thing. : D
Today was an exceptionally annoying day all around. I couldn't stop writing. I had to lead choir practice and was almost 20 minutes late for the half-hour practice. I wrote in a notebook all through church. I stayed home from another choir I'm in to finish the homework I'd neglected this weekend, but wrote instead. And the characters laughed at my distress.
I'm not going to do best line and worst line, because that would mean I'd have to go back and find them, and if I did that I'm afraid I'd write some more. And I don't want that. I really need to get to bed, especially if I don't want to fail Spanish.
BLAST IT ALL.
Days left of NaNo: 21
Word count: 27,699 (weird... not that big of a jump for writing all day...)
Donations: $15
Want to know something I find funny? I have gotten at least one comment on ever single NaNo post, but before then I received very few comments, and the one post I've written since the start of NaNo that wasn't about NaNo didn't get any comments. NaNo is, indeed, a magical thing. : D
Today was an exceptionally annoying day all around. I couldn't stop writing. I had to lead choir practice and was almost 20 minutes late for the half-hour practice. I wrote in a notebook all through church. I stayed home from another choir I'm in to finish the homework I'd neglected this weekend, but wrote instead. And the characters laughed at my distress.
I'm not going to do best line and worst line, because that would mean I'd have to go back and find them, and if I did that I'm afraid I'd write some more. And I don't want that. I really need to get to bed, especially if I don't want to fail Spanish.
BLAST IT ALL.
Days left of NaNo: 21
Word count: 27,699 (weird... not that big of a jump for writing all day...)
Donations: $15
Annoyed
Warning: NaNoWriMo novelist is in session. Trespassers will be reborn as the inspiration for an ugly and evil race of horrifically disfigured beings and/or the villain.
Today we learn that bob is actually writing a romance. A FREAKIN' ROMANCE. How did this happen? How?? Oh, the shame and embarrassment! Oh the shame!
Okay, I mean, it's still a fantasy and all, but unlike last year's novel where I had this exciting plot and then, oh yeah, romance too, this one seems to be twining the romance with the plot. They are almost becoming one and the same.
This scares me.
All right! Now that I have confessed my soul and am throughly embarrassed, let's move on, shall we?
Best line today: "What on earth have I done?" My thoughts exactly, Ez. My thoughts exactly.
Worst line today: "'You’ve done very well, as I’ve said, keeping it under control.'" Ezekiel is nothing if not verbose. Also, when he's unsure, he loves to repeat himself.
Days left of NaNo: 22
Word count: 23,319
Donations: $15
Today we learn that bob is actually writing a romance. A FREAKIN' ROMANCE. How did this happen? How?? Oh, the shame and embarrassment! Oh the shame!
Okay, I mean, it's still a fantasy and all, but unlike last year's novel where I had this exciting plot and then, oh yeah, romance too, this one seems to be twining the romance with the plot. They are almost becoming one and the same.
This scares me.
All right! Now that I have confessed my soul and am throughly embarrassed, let's move on, shall we?
Best line today: "What on earth have I done?" My thoughts exactly, Ez. My thoughts exactly.
Worst line today: "'You’ve done very well, as I’ve said, keeping it under control.'" Ezekiel is nothing if not verbose. Also, when he's unsure, he loves to repeat himself.
Days left of NaNo: 22
Word count: 23,319
Donations: $15
Saturday, November 08, 2008
I'm Not a Cheater, I Swear
Warning: NaNoWriMo novelist is in session. Trespassers will be reborn as the inspiration for an ugly and evil race of horrifically disfigured beings and/or the villain.
I have decided to deal, once and for all, with the accusations of cheating that have been leveled against me.
"Even during anything-goes Week One, you'll write a few things that you recognize right away just don't fit in the book... when you write these things, whether they constitute a sentence, a paragraph, or an entire chapter, do not cut them. All words you write on your novel, no matter how misshapen or ill-advised, still represent crucial steps toward the 50,000 word finish line. Rather than deleting these passages, put them in italics." -Chris Baty, No Plot? No Problem! pg. 114-115. (italics mine)
Also, see these two Q&A features from the NaNo website, about two extremely high achievers in the NaNo world.
And I'm not even doing any of these:
"The stutter: Afflict one of your characters with a stutter, and it doubles the girth of their dialogue. Temporary deafness: Everything from loud rock concerts to small deposits of earwax can temporarily render your character deaf, necessitating that everything said to him or her be repeated. The dream sequence: Our dreams might as well come with a sign that says, 'Free words: Help yourself.' The dream sequence... go[es] on for as long as you like and don't have to make any sense whatsoever. It's the motherlode! The citation: If your character can read, you can cite. Give your protagonist a copy of Beowulf and an annoying habit of reading poetry out loud on their long commute to work, and you've suddenly added thousands of words to your count." -Chris Baty, No Plot? No Problem! pg. 127
SO THERE.
I have decided to deal, once and for all, with the accusations of cheating that have been leveled against me.
"Even during anything-goes Week One, you'll write a few things that you recognize right away just don't fit in the book... when you write these things, whether they constitute a sentence, a paragraph, or an entire chapter, do not cut them. All words you write on your novel, no matter how misshapen or ill-advised, still represent crucial steps toward the 50,000 word finish line. Rather than deleting these passages, put them in italics." -Chris Baty, No Plot? No Problem! pg. 114-115. (italics mine)
Also, see these two Q&A features from the NaNo website, about two extremely high achievers in the NaNo world.
And I'm not even doing any of these:
"The stutter: Afflict one of your characters with a stutter, and it doubles the girth of their dialogue. Temporary deafness: Everything from loud rock concerts to small deposits of earwax can temporarily render your character deaf, necessitating that everything said to him or her be repeated. The dream sequence: Our dreams might as well come with a sign that says, 'Free words: Help yourself.' The dream sequence... go[es] on for as long as you like and don't have to make any sense whatsoever. It's the motherlode! The citation: If your character can read, you can cite. Give your protagonist a copy of Beowulf and an annoying habit of reading poetry out loud on their long commute to work, and you've suddenly added thousands of words to your count." -Chris Baty, No Plot? No Problem! pg. 127
SO THERE.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Blast it All
Warning: NaNoWriMo novelist is in session. Trespassers will be reborn as the inspiration for an ugly and evil race of horrifically disfigured beings and/or the villain.
Today was the day of the first Board Readers NaNo Write-In! (Or, you know, something. I just dubbed it that this minute.) I was incredibly excited for it all week. Then, today, I of course decided that I didn't need to work on the paper due at 5 pm, and then when I got to meeting place I had no desire to work on it at all. So I didn't turn the first or second papers for this class.
The write in was just way too much fun. I got little to no work done until the last half-hour before I had to leave. Up until that time, I was having too much fun bantering with Fredjikrang and m&m and Unit of Energy, trading stories, throwing things... it was great fun. (Though I'm pretty sure I got rather obnoxious at times.) And then Unit of Energy left to go prepare for her party (I hope it was a great party, UoE! Sorry I couldn't come!). I took over her chair and started to get a bit more work done sometimes. Then m&m (who had been working on homework most of the time, poor thing) had to leave, which left me and Fredji. And then I finally got work done. With no one else there, we both shut up and got typing. Until, of course, I had to leave, so I packed up and left Fred all alone.
Then there was this party at my house, a birthday party for a friend of the family. I'd spent the day trying to get people to come, but ended up friendless. And that was either a good thing or a bad thing. Good because I spent half an hour with my fingers in my ears (Just couldn't handle the noise!) and being no fun until I escaped downstairs, and bad because I'm now really lonely but there's no one here to talk to. So now, yes, I am sitting down her moping. : )
Best line today: "'Listen, angel, I may be your mortal – or immortal – enemy and all, but I can promise you that I will not be trying to do anything so… indecent. I have all-seeing parents too, you know.'"
Worst line today: "'It’s heavenly rage,' she insisted in an undertone."
Also, I would like to take this moment to insist, for the millionth time, that I am not cheating.
Days left of NaNo: 23
Word count: 16450
Donations: $5 Huzzah!
Today was the day of the first Board Readers NaNo Write-In! (Or, you know, something. I just dubbed it that this minute.) I was incredibly excited for it all week. Then, today, I of course decided that I didn't need to work on the paper due at 5 pm, and then when I got to meeting place I had no desire to work on it at all. So I didn't turn the first or second papers for this class.
The write in was just way too much fun. I got little to no work done until the last half-hour before I had to leave. Up until that time, I was having too much fun bantering with Fredjikrang and m&m and Unit of Energy, trading stories, throwing things... it was great fun. (Though I'm pretty sure I got rather obnoxious at times.) And then Unit of Energy left to go prepare for her party (I hope it was a great party, UoE! Sorry I couldn't come!). I took over her chair and started to get a bit more work done sometimes. Then m&m (who had been working on homework most of the time, poor thing) had to leave, which left me and Fredji. And then I finally got work done. With no one else there, we both shut up and got typing. Until, of course, I had to leave, so I packed up and left Fred all alone.
Then there was this party at my house, a birthday party for a friend of the family. I'd spent the day trying to get people to come, but ended up friendless. And that was either a good thing or a bad thing. Good because I spent half an hour with my fingers in my ears (Just couldn't handle the noise!) and being no fun until I escaped downstairs, and bad because I'm now really lonely but there's no one here to talk to. So now, yes, I am sitting down her moping. : )
Best line today: "'Listen, angel, I may be your mortal – or immortal – enemy and all, but I can promise you that I will not be trying to do anything so… indecent. I have all-seeing parents too, you know.'"
Worst line today: "'It’s heavenly rage,' she insisted in an undertone."
Also, I would like to take this moment to insist, for the millionth time, that I am not cheating.
Days left of NaNo: 23
Word count: 16450
Donations: $5 Huzzah!
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Sigh
Warning: NaNoWriMo novelist is in session. Trespassers will be reborn as the inspiration for an ugly and evil race of horrifically disfigured beings and/or the villain.
Worst day to date for this year's NaNo-ing. Of course, considering how far ahead I am, that's not too bad. I can quite easily catch up, or rather, stay ahead, tomorrow at the lovely write-in. If no one bails, that is; I have this terrible fear that everyone will bail and I will be all alone.
I hung out online instead of doing my homework, and that paper's due tomorrow. I may just have to do that instead of work on my novel for a while tomorrow...
And instead of writing, I have been hanging out online (as I've said already, but I like to repeat myself), working on a scene with two girls from my acting class (yes, again; we had to perform today, and everyone loves my character), and arguing with my dad (well, actually, it was more of a reminder of last night's argument than an argument in its own right). And there was the far-too-long shower, after which Cami fell asleep in the tub. (Don't worry, there was very little water and I kept a close eye on her.)
However, what with all that, it really has been a bad day for writing.
Best line today: "'Do you get the feeling that we just doomed ourselves?'"
Worst line today: "Ash came on the scene carrying a box, followed by Dirk, who Ezekiel knew from the crew from the summer play and who was also carrying a box."
Days left of NaNo: 24
Word count: 14306 (I told you I didn't write much.)
Donations: still $0. What a surprise.
Worst day to date for this year's NaNo-ing. Of course, considering how far ahead I am, that's not too bad. I can quite easily catch up, or rather, stay ahead, tomorrow at the lovely write-in. If no one bails, that is; I have this terrible fear that everyone will bail and I will be all alone.
I hung out online instead of doing my homework, and that paper's due tomorrow. I may just have to do that instead of work on my novel for a while tomorrow...
And instead of writing, I have been hanging out online (as I've said already, but I like to repeat myself), working on a scene with two girls from my acting class (yes, again; we had to perform today, and everyone loves my character), and arguing with my dad (well, actually, it was more of a reminder of last night's argument than an argument in its own right). And there was the far-too-long shower, after which Cami fell asleep in the tub. (Don't worry, there was very little water and I kept a close eye on her.)
However, what with all that, it really has been a bad day for writing.
Best line today: "'Do you get the feeling that we just doomed ourselves?'"
Worst line today: "Ash came on the scene carrying a box, followed by Dirk, who Ezekiel knew from the crew from the summer play and who was also carrying a box."
Days left of NaNo: 24
Word count: 14306 (I told you I didn't write much.)
Donations: still $0. What a surprise.
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