November, 2008
November 1, 2008
I wrote a bit over 5500 words for the first day of NaNo. Most NaNo's I would do at least 10k, and sometimes 20k on the first day. I wanted to spend time with Russ instead. We had a good day, except for the car dying on us. Russ says we're fine as long as it's not the water pump... which in my mind immediately translated to saying something like 'We're fine, as long as the sky isn't blue tomorrow.' Of course it will be the water pump.
Which pretty much puts an end to the idea of me going to the zoo on Monday. Russ says he can take the bus back to Omaha to get a flight, so really we can do without a car for a few months. But it's pretty annoying. Though it could be worse. He had just driven he car to Minneapolis and back last week.
Still. Ugh. It would be nice to have a little time without something major going wrong.
But... Russ is home! And I get to see him for several days in a row! We watched a couple shows tonight and in general had a good time. I'm going to think good thoughts.
November 2, 2008
Day 2 of NaNo. I'm doing alright, though I wish I was just a bit more enthusiastic about it. part of that may have been a bad headache today. It's eased tonight, but I'm just dead tired. I'm heading to bed in a few minutes and hope to do a little better tomorrow. I'm holding the 5K a day plan that I wanted, but it's been difficult to get them. I need to get fired up a bit more.
But I did have a nice time with Russ tonight. We watched shows, which we normally don't get a chance to do much, obviously. Even when he's home for a couple days, we're usually so busy with everything else, that we just don't get a chance to take the time for something fun like this.
The car having serious problems is not helping things, though. It does mean I'm not going to the zoo tomorrow. We might work something out later this week. We'll see. I was looking forward to it, but I'll survive.
Right now, though -- time to sleep for a while.
November 3, 2008
I am just tired tonight.
That's good. I need to
sleep better than I have the last couple nights.
I managed to write another 5000 words today.
I sure hope the story picks up a bit after this.
I am starting to get the feel of things, but it's been difficult.
I knew it would be, but I'm still doing alright, over all.
Russ has had to do some major work on the water pipes next door. Why
can't anything be easy for us?
Just drop something into place and be done with it?
Oh no. That would be too easy, and then Russ would have a chance
to rest on his days home.
But at least we've had some time together.
And he'll be here until Sunday.
Things might still calm down a bit.
Right.
November 4, 2008
This was a wonderful night, watching Obama win. It did cut into my writing time, but It was fun -- especially to have Russ here. We ordered in pizza and fought the cats from trying to sleep on the nice warm box. Right as they announced Obama as the winner, the cats knocked a roll of paper towels off the table and chased it, unrolling, across the floor. It was pretty funny.
McCain gave a wonderful speech. I like McCain, and if he hadn't chosen that idiot of a woman to be his VP, I wouldn't have done more than grimace a little if he had won. But once he put her out there, I could no longer take him seriously.
We don't have to worry about Palin being one heartbeat away from the Presidency. I think many of us will sleep better for it tonight.
And that's as political as I am ever likely to get in my journal. I was not going to lecture people coming up to the election, but I will celebrate now that it's over!
November 5, 2008
(Felt lousy, forgot to upload last night)
Of course nothing is going quite right here. The car won't work so we can't go anywhere -- which not only means no zoo, but also makes picking up things we need kind of difficult. Russ is off teaching classes today, and he can't come home between them.
I've about reached the end of my patience with things going wrong. Not that it will change anything, but there is a point where you just want to start screaming. Nine days together -- it's been wonderful to see Russ -- but it would have been nice to get away for a few hours, too.
Writing is not going particularly well, either.
November 6, 2008
The weather is turning cold. I have the feeling that we're going to be miserable over the next few days. It's just one more thing to go wrong this week.
You know, I had so been looking forward to this week. I don't know how so much could go wrong in so short a time. But at least we got to spend some time together!
November 7, 2008
It snowed. Not a lot, but enough to make it look white and cold. The weather stayed gray all day, and we dared the mostly dead car and went to the vet for cat food and the store to pick up supplies for me since Russ leaves on Sunday. (sigh)
This has been an incredibly frustrating week, made only better by the fact that Russ and I were together, and we had lots of nice meals at home, watched some shows, and just relaxed when we could.
Today's disaster was finding out that we can't get the gas turned on in the other house because they think the gas pipes aren't good. So... all the work Russ did on the water is useless, and I can't move over there anyway. Oh, and it cost us $200 to have them come out, test the pipes, and tell us no.
So, just one more thing added on to everything else to drive us crazy. I am taking it as the final sign that I was not meant to move over there, no matter what. I'm going to do my best to get my office sealed up and warm for the winter, and hope for the best.
Tomorrow is the last day Russ will be here. I wish this could have gone better. I wish we could have gone somewhere and had fun. I wish I could have at least gotten to the zoo... but nothing like that worked out, either. I don't think I've ever felt so totally annoyed at so many things, or felt as though anything that I wanted or planned was doomed to fail.
And no, I haven't gotten much writing done at all. And now it's late and I'm tired.
November 8, 2008
This is the last night Russ will be here. I wish he could stay longer. Actually, I wish he could find a job here and not go back. I know he feels the same way, too.
We dared the car and the weather and made a run to Sam's Club to make certain I had enough supplies to make it through a couple months. There is no telling when Russ will be able to get back. Last year he had a horrible time because of storms and getting flights canceled.
It's going to be another long, miserable winter.
November 9, 2008
Russ is back in New York now. I wish he could have stayed longer. I wish things could have gone better while he was here. We're not certain when he'll be able to get back. Or if we'll be able to get a car by then.
Sometimes things are just going to drive me nuts.
I'm back to working on NaNo. I'm hoping that it will be a nice distraction for a few days. I wrote about 3k today, and that's better than I had been doing the last couple days. I'd like to do better -- but I'm having that problem with focusing again. We'll see if it's any better tomorrow.
Not surprisingly, I'm tired tonight. And my leg really hurts -- I twisted it getting out of the car when I was holding Edmond when we took him to the vet yesterday.
November 10, 2008
Long day. I got about 3500 words written, so that's good. I need to just keep writing more. I'm thinking of adding about 500 words a day, just to get my speed up until I hit about 5 or 6k at least.
The book is going well, actually. Better than I hoped it would. I just am having trouble focusing still. I'm so glad I have the outline or else I would be in real trouble!
I'm very tired tonight. Even more so than usual. I think part of that is the cold meds. That's all right -- I can stand to get a little extra sleep, I think.
They are calling for ice tonight, but so far we've stayed above freezing. I don't know what I'll find when I wake up, though. That's a bit of a worry! But I have food, I have cats... I don't really need more!
November 11, 2008
So, it's Tuesday. I'm getting a few things done. Writing went well this afternoon and not so well now... but I'm getting there. I even listened to some music today, which is something I don't often do these days. It made a nice change.
The book is going along fine. I'm almost up to 40k, so that's good. I'm torn between trying to make a big push and get high numbers, or just relax, not worry and maybe even do a little art as well. I have to admit that the second idea is appealing more and more to me. But we'll see. I tend to jump around and change my mind every day or so.
November is going fast, though. I need to make a decision soon!
November 12, 2008
I'm feeling lousy today, but oddly the writing is going better. I think something finally kicked in for me. I've just gone over 40k finally. Yay! I don't know how far I'll get on this NaNo, but since I was starting to fear that I wouldn't get to 50k, I'm kind of happy.
The weather here has been up and down, up and down... I don't know what to expect. Maybe it's a good sign. Maybe we won't have a horrible winter.
People are coming to fix the gas line in the house next door tomorrow. At least we hope that it will get fixed. I have to be up early to let them in, though. Not real good at 'early' stuff. Eeek.
I wish this cold would go away. Even the pills aren't really helping tame it down much. I hate that. But I'll survive it.
And I'm going to post this early so I can go
write.
November 13, 2008
Ugh. Cold. Tired. Feel like a Neanderthal about now. But I am working on the DAZ newsletter and I hope that it won't be too much trouble to put together. I've got a lot of it sorted out already, so that's good.
The big problem is that I just want to go crawl into bed and sleep. I am feeling a bit better tonight, at least, but I'm still drained. I hope this clears up fast. I feel like I could just curl up and sleep at the computer right now.
Oddly, I got quite a bit of writing done on the NaNo novel yesterday. Today has been devoted to the DAZ newsletter so far, and I don't think I'm going to get much else done.
November 14, 2008
I am finally over 50k on the novel. That's good, at least. The cold is doing me in, though. I don't remember the last time a cold stayed this bad for this long. The only good thing I can say about it is that once I take the nighttime cold stuff, I sleep. And sleep. It's better than being awake and miserable.
But I feel as though I have no brain left. I've had a horrible time getting through even the easy stuff. I sure hope this clears up soon. I'd like to have at least part of my brain back for a little while.
November 15, 2008
I think this cold is going to kill me. I did get some writing done today, but it was such a battle that I have to wonder if it's really worth it. I can't say I like the story much...
No, that's not true. I'm actually having fun with the story. I just can't work on it for long before I have to go rest again. Like now.
November 16, 2008
Okay, I know it probably sounds odd... but I am really happy with how well the bats turned out in this picture. I created it in Carrara, and figured out how to get groups of bats using the replicator and invisible props for them to be attached to.
I did get writing done today. Almost 4k -- I'll probably hit that much before I quit.
Oh, and I slept about 14 hours last night. And I'm still tired... but I am determined to stay awake for a while longer!
November 17, 2008
The NaNo novel is nearly up to 63k. Considering there was a time when I thought I wasn't going to make 30k, I think I'm doing pretty well. It's been that kind of year.
I'm having fun with the book, though. I've divided it into three sections -- pre-story journal, which I quote in the book sometimes, the actual story I have outlined, and a side-story about what's going on elsewhere during some of the trouble. It's been a lot of fun so far.
And isn't that what NaNo is about? I needed to find the fun side of this book and just run with it. That's exactly what I needed for this year.
I've also been working with the graphic art stuff again. Today's picture (Penguins) was a lot of fun to do. I wanted something that looked a bit silly. Happy. I think I got it.
Not much else really to write. It's cold tonight. Russ is having snow where he is, but none here.
November 18, 2008
I am not feeling well at all tonight. I wish whatever this is would just clear up and let me get back to things.
So this will be short. I've been in bed for a few hours and thought I felt better, but I changed my mind. I'm just going to write this and go back to bed. I hope that by tomorrow I'll be better again. It almost feels like it's all clearing, so maybe that's a good sign.
November 19, 2008
The computer (or possibly the cats) ate about 4k in words yesterday. It annoyed me so much that I wrote them back and some more. So there.
Really, the story is moving along very nicely right now. So much so, that I think I'll be done with it in a day or two. I don't know what I'll do next, but I would like to reach at least 100k for this NaNo. I think I have a chance of doing it.
The cold is still hanging on. I wish it would clear up and go away so I could feel like I'm more than half alive.
November 20, 2008
I've had two good days of writing. The novel is over 71k now, and very close to done. So, there -- something finally went right. I can't say that I'm thrilled with the story, but it's actually been fun the last couple days.
I need to get the newsletter done. That is going to take a little time. But I can get it tonight, still, I think. Or most of it, anyway. Get that done and then finish off more writing. And maybe watch some shows -- I did that last night.
The cold is still here, but not as bad as it was. Maybe it will finally move on and let me have a little peace. That would be nice for the rest of the month.
It's cold tonight. I wish it wouldn't drop down this low yet. Yuck.
I don't know if I want snow this year or not, to be honest. I think it would be pretty. But it would be cold, too. Of course, it's cold anyway. But still....
Ugh. I need to get back to work on things!
November 21, 2008
Broken Journey is done! Yay!
I now have the outline for Written in the Sand up and I'm looking it over. I'm not sure I can get it done by the end of the month -- kind of running out of time here -- but I'll give it a try. I hope to at least get to 100k.
Beyond that, not much to say. It's cold. I have an ongoing headache that refuses to ease up. I hate that, and it's starting to really annoy me, which doesn't help at all.
This has been such an odd month. And I don't think it's going to get any better next month. Or next year, for that matter. That's depressing. I think I need to think about something else. Time to start the new story and escape!
November 22, 2008
A year ago today, Russ left for New York and the new job. Yeah, we've made it and things are marginally better. We still have the house. Bills are almost paid off.
But it's still pretty miserable.
I really don't like living alone all the time. It's no fun. But I'm managing it.
And right now I'm heading to bed. I'm really tired tonight.
November 23, 2008
Written in the Sand is going VERY well. Considering the return of the headache, I take this as a good sign. I'm almost up to 90k total for the month, which is better than I had hoped to reach.
I'm tired tonight, which is a good thing, too. I would like to have several long hours of sleep and wake up feeling better. It might happen!
Hard to believe that NaNo is so close to over already! I feel like I'm just starting to get going on it!
November 24, 2008
I've written over 7000 words today. I was hoping for 10k, but I really don't think I'm going to make it. I'm starting to get very worn down.
I like this story, though. It's amazing what a difference having a book that just flows makes. It's not going to be very long, but I think it's going to be a good story when I'm done.
But I am so tired tonight! I need to get to bed soon.
Or I could write just a few more words....
Okay, so I wrote more. I reached 10k for the day after all. Yay!
And now I really need to get some sleep!
November 25, 2008
A good writing night so far, but not as good as last night. It doesn't matter since the story is going so well. I'm having fun with this one. I think I've hit the half way point in the outline and since the story is right at about 25,000 words, it looks as though it will come in just in the NaNo requirement range. You can't ask for much better than that!
Still, I'll be glad when the month is over. And the year, for that matter. I would like to start new again. It means a lot of work to clear things up in December, but really, that's not so bad. I'm not quite ready to look at 2009 yet, though. Let's at least get through NaNo first.
Which means, of course, that it's time to get back to work.
November 26, 2008
I had a fun day. An unexpectedly fun one, in fact. some of the people at FM sent me a lovely big box of fun things. Lots of nibble things, and fun stuff... Edmond, Zaphod and I had a lot of fun unpacking it.
It certainly improved my holiday spirit!
Writing went pretty well, too. So all in all it was a good day!
November 27, 2008
While it wasn't much like a holiday today, it wasn't bad either. I nibbled on stuff (and ended up eating too much!), and I worked on the book and the DAZ Newsletter. The last is very nearly done. I just need one more piece from the DAZ people before I can complete it.
I have treats to all the cats -- indoor and out -- and filled up the birdfeeders today. I figured everyone should have a nice feast. And maybe I'll get a few of the late season stragglers at the feeders so I can get some nice pictures.
Other than that, nothing else going on. I need to get a bit more writing done tonight!
November 28, 2008
Long day...
It's already nearly 3 am. I need to get to bed so I can get up tomorrow and go back to work doing much the same thing as I've been doing today.
I need a break.
NaNo is going well. Down to the last few thousand words I need for this book, so I'm happy about that part. Other than that, though, there's really not a lot of fun stuff happening. I finished off the DAZ newsletter. It's hard to believe this is really the end of November already, and almost the end of the year.
So much that I would still like to get done, but I don't think it's going to happen.
November 29, 2008
I took this picture by pointing the camera over my shoulder. I knew it! My cats laugh at me behind my back!
It's after midnight, so it's now officially the last day of NaNo. I'm going to get 50k on the last story -- I'm close -- and I might even come close to finishing it off. Yay! So, here at the end, things are going better than they did for most of the month.
I'm going to bed in a few minutes. Then, when I get up, I'll do my best to finish off this beast, and we'll be done with NaNo for another year. Not my best year, but I did it.
It might snow tomorrow. The only thing I can say is that it will give me something else to take a picture of for a change. Things are getting pretty boring here in some ways. I'll be happy for spring and a chance to walk again!
But right now, just looking forward to finishing off the NaNo books.
And sleeping.
November 30, 2008
I'm glad to have NaNo done -- 130, 110 words -- and happy to be moving on to new things. I am going to be doing a lot of writing in December, but much of it will be rewrites of older material. I want to have some new work ready to go out in 2009.
I'm not sure quite what I'll be working on yet. I have a copy of The Servant Girl on my desk, and that's the choice at the moment, but I may change my mind by morning. We'll see. I have a few other things to finish off, too, but they'll be relatively short and quick.
Right now, though, I think it's time to head for bed. We're heading into December and the last rush to get writing done. I'm going to need my rest!