After the last post, I was struck with the sudden desire to look back on my other New Year's posts. There were only two others since I started this blog. Here's a very brief recap of what was going on:
In January 2008, we hung out with one of our coworkers and shot off fireworks in his backyard. We had also adopted Bruno right around that time. We were working, eating, and sleeping and that was pretty much it (though we did squeeze in a drive to Talkeetna and saw our first moose after three months of living in Alaska.)
In 2009, things had quite dramatically changed. I helped my new writerly friends make a video to enter in a contest and we got second place. I'm still very proud of that video and I remember how much fun we had making it (and how cold it was, too!)
But the really big thing last January was "The Spitfire Grill." I was reading about the opening, watching the Youtube videos, and even read all the way through February and the last show. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about that night.
See why I added theatre to my list of resolutions this year?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Christmas, New Years, and the future!
Christmas brought great relief to our tiny Whittington household. Both of us working in retail diminishes the specialness of the holiday season, but we still had something to be grateful for on Christmas day: we both had the day off! We were so stoked when we got home from work Christmas Eve that we opened all our presents that night. My husband totally floored me with his gift: The complete MASH series, plus the movie, plus a bunch of really cool extras, all compiled into this neat green fatigue box. It is without a doubt the coolest collection I now own. As soon as we're done watching Lost, that's going into the DVD player next.
We spent Christmas Day mostly at home, then went to Logan's former boss's house for dinner. Got to meet Morgan and Jake's new baby, Payton. So cute! No, I did not hold her because I was positive I would drop her, she was so tiny!
New Years Eve also passed quietly. Well, quietly for us, if not the town. Lots of fireworks going off in the area, but we couldn't really see too many. The main attraction of the night was the glorious full moon. If it weren't so freaking cold out that night, I probably would have stood out there looking at that moon for hours. But we hustled back inside after a few minutes to watch the ball drop on "Dick Clark's New Years Rocking Eve," or whatever it's called.
We had chosen to stay in for the night after Logan came to pick me up at work. (I bet I was scheduled to work New Years Eve and Day because they knew I wouldn't call in "sick!") He had passed two police "incidents," one of which happened at the Brown Jug Liquor store down the street. Four cops all pointing guns at a guy coming out of his car with his hands up. And it wasn't even dark yet! Good night to stay home.
So here I am, wondering what I'm going to resolve to do this year. Two are repeat resolutions from last year, but I've got a couple new ones to add:
1) Stop biting my nails. (I know, I know. EVERY year the same thing. I'll do it for good one day.)
2) Finish working on my novel Sparkless and start shopping it around as I move on to revise Summerland's Savior.
3) Read as many books from that list of 100 books everyone should read. At least I'll try to get to the classics.
4) Perform in at least ONE show this year!
It's been a year almost to the date when I last opened a show. It's killing me to watch all my friends perform and not being able to take part myself. I realize that resolution has a lot of parts to it (for instance, my job will need to be changed or dropped altogether for this to happen), but it must happen. Or I'll shrivel up and die. Well, maybe not die. But it won't be pretty, I'm sure.
Anyway, I think that's good enough for this year. Heck, it may be good enough for this whole decade, the way my progress on writing has been going. Sheesh.
Many blessings to you and yours in 2010!
We spent Christmas Day mostly at home, then went to Logan's former boss's house for dinner. Got to meet Morgan and Jake's new baby, Payton. So cute! No, I did not hold her because I was positive I would drop her, she was so tiny!
New Years Eve also passed quietly. Well, quietly for us, if not the town. Lots of fireworks going off in the area, but we couldn't really see too many. The main attraction of the night was the glorious full moon. If it weren't so freaking cold out that night, I probably would have stood out there looking at that moon for hours. But we hustled back inside after a few minutes to watch the ball drop on "Dick Clark's New Years Rocking Eve," or whatever it's called.
We had chosen to stay in for the night after Logan came to pick me up at work. (I bet I was scheduled to work New Years Eve and Day because they knew I wouldn't call in "sick!") He had passed two police "incidents," one of which happened at the Brown Jug Liquor store down the street. Four cops all pointing guns at a guy coming out of his car with his hands up. And it wasn't even dark yet! Good night to stay home.
So here I am, wondering what I'm going to resolve to do this year. Two are repeat resolutions from last year, but I've got a couple new ones to add:
1) Stop biting my nails. (I know, I know. EVERY year the same thing. I'll do it for good one day.)
2) Finish working on my novel Sparkless and start shopping it around as I move on to revise Summerland's Savior.
3) Read as many books from that list of 100 books everyone should read. At least I'll try to get to the classics.
4) Perform in at least ONE show this year!
It's been a year almost to the date when I last opened a show. It's killing me to watch all my friends perform and not being able to take part myself. I realize that resolution has a lot of parts to it (for instance, my job will need to be changed or dropped altogether for this to happen), but it must happen. Or I'll shrivel up and die. Well, maybe not die. But it won't be pretty, I'm sure.
Anyway, I think that's good enough for this year. Heck, it may be good enough for this whole decade, the way my progress on writing has been going. Sheesh.
Many blessings to you and yours in 2010!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Holy Snow!
It has been snowing here for three days, with a little break last night and a little break today. Yesterday it took four attempts of driving, and lots of digging and swearing before I finally got out of my driveway. Ours has a neat little uphill at the top where my car kept getting stuck. Finally got through and I was only a few minutes late to work. Heck, at least I showed up!
My husband met our very nice neighbor across the street. He offered to plow our driveway to make it easier to get in and out. Such a nice guy!
Today it was snowing heavy. Not big fat flakes, just gazillions of little dry dots that piled up quick. The snow is up to Bruno's chest. I had today off, but I was asked to come in to work when two other employees had called out. Since I have tomorrow off, I went. Our driveway was getting thick again, but I got out on the first try.
The roads were scarier than my driveway. I almost thought I'd get stuck going around one tight corner. Another car was already sitting off the side of the road in a drift. But I made it through with a little fishtailing.
When I got to work, I realized I hadn't brought my clothes, shoes, music, and so on for teaching my class later, so I told one of the managers that I would leave when the next employee came in. It was pretty slow due to the weather, so that was okay. That would give me some extra time to get my stuff and eat before my class. The trip home was uneventful.
I was getting ready to leave for class, collecting my things. I had decided to leave early since it was getting dark and I wanted to take my time driving. During this time, I could hear the sound of a truck outside, and the beeping sound it makes when it backs up. I thought, "Oh, I guess the plow is out there."
I got into my car after letting it warm up a bit. I got a good running start -
- and ran straight into a hill of snow at the top of my driveway. It was almost as high as the hood of my car.
The plow had left a big berm of snow blocking my driveway when it came through. We are near the end of the road, with only one other house next to us. That house is a retreat for someone who lives in Anchorage, so the road is not well traveled past our driveway.
Did they realize what they had done? I don't know. Could they have prevented it, or done something to help us out a little bit? I don't know. But they did it at the worst possible time. I backed the car down the driveway and left the lights on so I could see to start digging. I dug until it was too late to get to class on time, and I still hadn't gotten it clear enough. I chucked the shovel and stomped inside to thaw my hands and call the club.
My cell phone kept giving me the same message over and over: "Emergency calls only." WTF?! I'd never seen that before. It would not let me call the club and have them put up a canceled class sign. Everyone was going to think either I was a total flake or something terrible had happened to me. I finally managed to get through (after my big screaming hissy fit tantrum.)
I think we need to get our land line fixed.
After that I called Logan and told him what happened. Then I went out to finish digging so that Logan could get in without a problem.
When Logan got home in his Landcruiser, he took one look at the snow piled up next to the driveway and said even his Landcruiser would not have gotten over that berm.
This is the first time the snow has really ticked me off. And it's not even the snow's fault. I'd like to tweak the nose of the plow guy. And then say thank you for plowing the road.
At least I have tomorrow off.
My husband met our very nice neighbor across the street. He offered to plow our driveway to make it easier to get in and out. Such a nice guy!
Today it was snowing heavy. Not big fat flakes, just gazillions of little dry dots that piled up quick. The snow is up to Bruno's chest. I had today off, but I was asked to come in to work when two other employees had called out. Since I have tomorrow off, I went. Our driveway was getting thick again, but I got out on the first try.
The roads were scarier than my driveway. I almost thought I'd get stuck going around one tight corner. Another car was already sitting off the side of the road in a drift. But I made it through with a little fishtailing.
When I got to work, I realized I hadn't brought my clothes, shoes, music, and so on for teaching my class later, so I told one of the managers that I would leave when the next employee came in. It was pretty slow due to the weather, so that was okay. That would give me some extra time to get my stuff and eat before my class. The trip home was uneventful.
I was getting ready to leave for class, collecting my things. I had decided to leave early since it was getting dark and I wanted to take my time driving. During this time, I could hear the sound of a truck outside, and the beeping sound it makes when it backs up. I thought, "Oh, I guess the plow is out there."
I got into my car after letting it warm up a bit. I got a good running start -
- and ran straight into a hill of snow at the top of my driveway. It was almost as high as the hood of my car.
The plow had left a big berm of snow blocking my driveway when it came through. We are near the end of the road, with only one other house next to us. That house is a retreat for someone who lives in Anchorage, so the road is not well traveled past our driveway.
Did they realize what they had done? I don't know. Could they have prevented it, or done something to help us out a little bit? I don't know. But they did it at the worst possible time. I backed the car down the driveway and left the lights on so I could see to start digging. I dug until it was too late to get to class on time, and I still hadn't gotten it clear enough. I chucked the shovel and stomped inside to thaw my hands and call the club.
My cell phone kept giving me the same message over and over: "Emergency calls only." WTF?! I'd never seen that before. It would not let me call the club and have them put up a canceled class sign. Everyone was going to think either I was a total flake or something terrible had happened to me. I finally managed to get through (after my big screaming hissy fit tantrum.)
I think we need to get our land line fixed.
After that I called Logan and told him what happened. Then I went out to finish digging so that Logan could get in without a problem.
When Logan got home in his Landcruiser, he took one look at the snow piled up next to the driveway and said even his Landcruiser would not have gotten over that berm.
This is the first time the snow has really ticked me off. And it's not even the snow's fault. I'd like to tweak the nose of the plow guy. And then say thank you for plowing the road.
At least I have tomorrow off.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Nanowrimo Fail, but Christmas A-Ok!
Yes, it's true. I failed to reach the 50k mark in last month's Nanowrimo experience. But the defeat is not so crushing as I thought it would feel. Truth be told, November kind of ended without me. There has been lots of drama regarding employment on the home front, among other things, so I kind of forgot that November has to end some time.
But what I got from the experience was worth its weight in gold. I finally tackled a story that has been bugging me to be written for a long time, but I avoided it from my own fears. So I plunged in and tried to use those fears to my advantage. I got lots of great ideas from my fellow writers and even from friends who are thousands of miles away from me at the moment. I learned more about how the story wants to be written, so much that I know I'll have to start over from scratch. (I wrote it in third person, but the story desperately wants to be told from the main character's POV. So when I get to rewriting it, that's what I'll do!)
In the meantime, I'll be going back to my very first novel, Sparkless. My new year's resolution last year was to finish that one and move on to some others that have been sadly neglected. Well, I have not yet reached that goal, so I want to achieve that one very soon. Summerland's Savior will be next on the list. It still needs to be finished, and then revised. It has been waiting patiently for, um, several years.
I finished all my Christmas shopping early and sent everything off last week. I hope the boxes reach their destinations with all due speed and alacrity. Now if I could only find the time between teaching and work to clean the house and set up the Christmas tree. I think I'll try to accomplish that today!
Things are changing for Logan on the job front. He put in for the Store Manager position, but it was filled by a corporate employee. There are more changes afoot, but I'll leave those for later when things are more solidly settled.
As for me, my jobs remain the same. I'm sure in January I'll find myself with more time on my hands. After all, retail dies after Christmas and I'm the part timer in my department, so I fully expect it and I'm not bothered by it. I've seen it from the management point of view, too.
Guess that's all for now. Gotta get to cleaning! And watching the snow fall outside.
But what I got from the experience was worth its weight in gold. I finally tackled a story that has been bugging me to be written for a long time, but I avoided it from my own fears. So I plunged in and tried to use those fears to my advantage. I got lots of great ideas from my fellow writers and even from friends who are thousands of miles away from me at the moment. I learned more about how the story wants to be written, so much that I know I'll have to start over from scratch. (I wrote it in third person, but the story desperately wants to be told from the main character's POV. So when I get to rewriting it, that's what I'll do!)
In the meantime, I'll be going back to my very first novel, Sparkless. My new year's resolution last year was to finish that one and move on to some others that have been sadly neglected. Well, I have not yet reached that goal, so I want to achieve that one very soon. Summerland's Savior will be next on the list. It still needs to be finished, and then revised. It has been waiting patiently for, um, several years.
I finished all my Christmas shopping early and sent everything off last week. I hope the boxes reach their destinations with all due speed and alacrity. Now if I could only find the time between teaching and work to clean the house and set up the Christmas tree. I think I'll try to accomplish that today!
Things are changing for Logan on the job front. He put in for the Store Manager position, but it was filled by a corporate employee. There are more changes afoot, but I'll leave those for later when things are more solidly settled.
As for me, my jobs remain the same. I'm sure in January I'll find myself with more time on my hands. After all, retail dies after Christmas and I'm the part timer in my department, so I fully expect it and I'm not bothered by it. I've seen it from the management point of view, too.
Guess that's all for now. Gotta get to cleaning! And watching the snow fall outside.
Monday, November 9, 2009
SNOW!!!!
Last night we got our first big snow of the season! Yay! Uffda and Bruno had a ball running around in it this morning while I cleaned my car. It was the kind that brushes off real easy.
And now, back to my novel. I'm falling behind in my word count! Eek!
And now, back to my novel. I'm falling behind in my word count! Eek!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
My widgets are working!
Yay, my widgets from Nanowrimo are up and running! Woohoo! Doing all right overall. Still haven't officially fallen behind in my word count, but every time I get way ahead in my count, I do terribly on other days and even out again. Today I'm at Pandemonium having word wars with my writerly friends and I am one day ahead. I need to be two days ahead and I'll be more comfy.
Okay, will write more later. Got some word wars to start!
Okay, will write more later. Got some word wars to start!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Nanowrimo 2009 begins!
Look, Ma, I'm Nano-ing!
We are off and running. There are nine of us at the Kick-off party right now and so far today I have written two days worth of words. I have to make sure I stay ahead of my word count because I have a weekend where it will be very hard to get any writing done. And it isn't Thanksgiving, either.
Anyway, I'm going to be very busy writing this month. Finally tackling my zombie novel "Zombies Don't Eat Blondes." In a little more than 3,000 words, I've already had zombie mice and one zombie human get chopped to bits and buried. Things are going well, I think. And I'm going to try adding a Nanowrimo widget so everyone can see my word count grow. Feel free to badger me with encouragement and general heckling of "Why aren't you working on your novel!?"
PS: I guess the Nanowrimo widgets aren't working yet. I hope they are soon. I want to see the coolness because I've never had one of these on my blog before!
We are off and running. There are nine of us at the Kick-off party right now and so far today I have written two days worth of words. I have to make sure I stay ahead of my word count because I have a weekend where it will be very hard to get any writing done. And it isn't Thanksgiving, either.
Anyway, I'm going to be very busy writing this month. Finally tackling my zombie novel "Zombies Don't Eat Blondes." In a little more than 3,000 words, I've already had zombie mice and one zombie human get chopped to bits and buried. Things are going well, I think. And I'm going to try adding a Nanowrimo widget so everyone can see my word count grow. Feel free to badger me with encouragement and general heckling of "Why aren't you working on your novel!?"
PS: I guess the Nanowrimo widgets aren't working yet. I hope they are soon. I want to see the coolness because I've never had one of these on my blog before!
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