I Won, I Won, I Won!!!!

After a couple of years tinged dark with the taint of failure, I have finally won Nanowrimo for a second time! I was beginning to think that first time was beginner's luck, a total fluke.


This year I joined with the local Nanoers here in Wasilla every Saturday for a write-in at the bookstore/coffee shop called Pandemonium. I think that made all the difference, really. Here's a group of people as crazy as I am doing the same thing I'm doing.

I'd had a dream about Nanowrimo a few days ago. A nightmare, really. I dreamed I'd gone well past 50k, but forgot to validate and lost! Arrrgh! After a month of torturing myself to get it done, and only to lose from forgetting to validate my word count, what a disaster!

So I told my fellow Nanoers. They all insisted last night that I stay until I passed 50k and validated to make sure I didn't forget, just in case I didn't make it to today's final write-in.

I am now at 52k + and an official winner. I am posting some of my badges of honor in the side column on this blog. Worship me, for I am greatness personified.

Yeah, okay. So it's going to my head a little. Sorry about that (two, three, four).

Anyway, I'm very happy for myself and congrats to all the thousands of Nanoers out there who crossed the finish line (including the ones who are still frantically typing at this very moment while we still have a few hours left before midnight.)

Write on!

I Am Disgusted

Before I bust a gut, I'd like to start by saying Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I hope you all had a wonderful day and a wonderful meal. I was thinking of all my friends and family. I love and miss you all.

Okay, enough with the sentiment. I am thoroughly disgusted with the human race.

I am very familiar with the aptly named "Black Friday". I've worked in a few different retail environments and I understand there are people who see Black Friday as a holiday tradition. Not to mention it's a great time to get all your Christmas gift buying done in one day with some kick-@$$ deals.

But come on, people!

Near miscarriages? Injuries? Stampedes? People getting trampled until they DIE?! Worse, the people trying to save that trampled person's life getting pushed and jostled as mindless shoppers rush past to get to the TVs and video games.

"Black Friday" used to mean the day that retail stores are no longer in the red, no longer in debt. To me, it now means a day to stay home and mourn the human race. Mourn the loss of all sense and compassion for others. Truly a black day.

And all for THINGS. For INANIMATE OBJECTS that will entertain us and distract us for a time but by themselves do not bring happiness or peace of mind.

Closer to home, I'm pretty sure there weren't any deaths or injuries, but there were individuals causing noisy scenes because the store was out of a particular item that was on sale today. People threatening to sue for "false advertising". People who don't bother to stop and think about what's going on in the world today.

While I don't like to make political statements, this one speaks for itself. This item was out of stock and not likely to be in stock any time soon because of who will be in office come next year. If any of those people causing scenes had been in the store the day after the election, they wouldn't be surprised by the current situation in the least.

Heck, people were getting pissed off because we were out of SOCKS! That's what happens when you have a really, really good deal on SOCKS!

Get a grip, humans, before it's too late.

And now for something completely different ...

Nanowrimo is drawing to a close. I have only a couple of days to reach 50k. I'm pretty certain I'll cross the finish line this year. And with a novel that I really have no intention of doing much with, at least not until I finish working on the ones that came before. At about 43k right now, it's nowhere near being done. It's a big block of stone that will need quite a lot of carving sometime down the road.

My rehearsals are going well enough. I'm a little nervous because some of my solos keep getting pushed back, so not only have we not done any choreography for them, I haven't really even practiced singing them with the music director playing the piano!

But I'm working with a fantastic group of people and I feel like I'm getting pretty tight with them. Most of us went out for drinks at the Great Bear Brewing Company restaurant the night before Thanksgiving after rehearsal. We chatted and talked about past shows (I'm the only one that hasn't been in one at VPA before.) I got to hear a lot of great stories and I'm proud and pleased to be working with such a group. This one puts some other theatres I've worked with (which shall remain nameless) to shame. These people know how to make theatre successful in a small town!

Ah, well. Time to go back to writing. Need to be at 45k before tomorrow when I attend the last write-in to make sure I finish a day ahead of the end!

Hubby is Going to Jail!

Yes, it's true. My husband is going to jail "for good". Below is part of his wanted poster:

"WANTED



Description: Usually Wears a Smile
CAUTION: Heavily Armed With Kindness…This Could Be Contagious!
PRIOR CONVICTION: Thoughtfulness and Generosity

Please Help Me!!! I have been arrested and will be put in jail for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Lock-up. Don’t even bother asking what crime I have committed – it’s not really that important. I just have to raise my bail of $1600 before the Lock-Up and they will go easy on me, but I need your financial assistance to post my bond. Please lend your support during the:

Mat-Su Hacienda Lock-Up

Your 100% tax-deductible donation will help MDA continue research into the cause and the possible cure of the 43 neuromuscular diseases they cover. Your support of the MDA Lock-Up will also help MDA provide medical equipment, clinic visits, support groups and a magical week of MDA Summer Camp for the families served by the Association in our local area."

If you have a little to spare, any donation to help bail out my sorry-@$$ hubby would be greatly appreciated! Donations need to be received by December 3rd. Here is the link to donate:

https://www.joinmda.org/matsu2008/logan_heather/SID/1912113/

Thanks so much for your consideration!

Full Blown Nano Freak!

Nanowrimo is in full swing and we're almost at the halfway mark. That's why I haven't been posting much lately; most of my writing is saved for my daily word count! Since I couldn't come up with any inspiring fiction idea, I am indeed writing a ... Well, I guess you could call it a fictionalized autobiography. It's based on my blog, so a lot of my blog entries are in it, but then I write more detail in story form.

I can't remember every little detail of stuff that happened, so that's why it's "fictionalized". I'm making some of the stuff up as I go to fill in the gaps. I started out in third person, but I don't like that at all. However, I can't lose time to changing what I've written, so I'll save that for the revision and rewrite. AFTER Nano, that is!

I even attended a couple of the Mat-Su Valley chapter of Nano's write-ins. I met some new people and had a lot of fun. We had word wars and drawings for prizes and got goody bags of candy, stickers, little notebooks. Turns out one of the two municipal liaisons in charge of the write-ins also does theatre stuff at Valley Performing Arts, so we met at the auditions for "Spitfire Grill"!

So until December, here is where I'll be: chained to my computer, trying to catch up (I should be at about 20k right now and I'm only around 16.5k). That is, chained when I'm not at work, not at rehearsal, not practicing my teaching routines, etc.