Something New and Different ...

Well, I'm sure some of my friends who know my avoidance of certain beauty practices will be shocked to hear this.

For the first time in my life, I actually plucked my eyebrows.

I had it done to me once many years ago and I've refused to ever have it done or do it myself ever again. I swore my eyebrows never looked the same after that fateful afternoon I was being groomed for a photo shoot.

But today I was having more than a bad hair day. It was more like a bad life day.

So as I was looking in the mirror, I just happened to notice that my eyebrows were looking bushy in some spots and thinner in other spots. And it totally annoyed me.

So why the sudden obsession with my eyebrows?

I think it has to do with the fact that I'm getting older and noticing the physical and mental effects that go with it. All at once, my eyebrows needed shaping.

When we all know aging is inevitable, and that everyone will do it no matter what they get injected with or have sucked out by tubes, why do we insist on trying to remain the same? What's wrong with getting older gracefully?

It seems more important to feel good, rather than look good, right?

And yet, grooming my eyebrows made my horrible day a little brighter. I didn't even pluck very many. (Of course, I had visions in my head of a character in a teen book I read where she plucked for the first time and ended up with huge scabs on her face because she plucked too many hairs at one time. She also shaved her legs for the first time and took the first layer of skin off. Reading about these things can help when doing them yourself for the first time!)

Okay, so my hair wouldn't cooperate. Couldn't find anything to wear that was comfy and looked good as well. I still have the acne-ridden skin of a teenager, which is one area I wish would age like it's supposed to, but isn't, no matter what products I use. And I feel like I've reached a complete dead end in my job and I need to find something else fast.

But at least my eyebrows look good. Eat your heart out, supermodels.

And then I lost ...

One of those things you think will never happen to you.

Absolutely no warning of any kind.

And the worst part is it feels almost karmic because of the timing.

I was meeting with a bunch of people at a local coffee house to work on a novel I wrote a number of years ago and have been rewriting for even more years on top of that (about 7 years altogether). Now that Nanowrimo is over, I decided it was high time I get down to brass tacks and get the thing finished once and for all. Then move on to three others I have started in previous Nanowrimos that need to be finished, then edited and rewritten.

While I was typing, I had a vague thought: I should start backing up these files. I had a new memory card thingy that I won at a Nanowrimo drawing and figured I should put it to good use. One of those thoughts that you know is a good one, but you're distracted at the moment, so you don't really give it the full value it deserves.

So what happens when I get home and, later that evening, turn the computer on?

Nothing. A complete and utter blank. Nothing but a black screen. The mouse arrow waded in the center of the blackness with nothing to click on.

There was nothing we could do. Logan had to reset the computer to the original factory settings. We're still not entirely sure if our files are squirreled away in some recovery area, but I'm not holding my breath.

I mean, the timing of it was uncanny!

I'm taking this as a sign that I have proven to myself I am capable of writing an entire novel. Therefore, I should put the old stuff to bed and begin anew.

I still have the original copy of that very first finished novel on disc. But we no longer have the program it was written in. And I've lost all the new parts I added the last year or so. And I've lost the heart to redo it yet again. I think seven years was long enough.

Now all I need are some new ideas. That's the area I'm lacking right now. I usually get my story ideas from my dreams, but I haven't been remembering any for the last few months.

Perhaps it's time to face my fears and jump into the zombie culture. I have a zombie novel in mind, but zombies scare the crap out of me. The only thing I fear more is drowning.

Well, that and losing my voice. Especially since I'm the lead in a musical that's opening in a month.

Eeek!

Speaking of writing, the melodrama that I wrote with my best friend is being performed at the Olde Coloma Theatre (http://oldecolomatheatre.blogspot.com/) and will be closing soon. It's called "A Coloma Christmas". Go see it and bring a video camera! I want to see it, too!

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.

Now that's cold!

My hair froze today.

I kid you not. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there saying, "So what? Happens all the time." In fact, maybe I even wrote about it happening last year, but I don't remember. If it did, I don't think it happened on this scale. I usually don't go out with really wet hair because it makes me colder. (Duh.) But this morning I was in a hurry and I had to walk the dog, so I went out with the ends of my long hair still wet.

As the dog sniffed along, I pushed my hair away from my face. When the ends scratched my cheek, I looked at my hair thinking, "That's funny. I don't remember putting hairspray in my hair!"

I'm just lucky that moving my hair about like that didn't break off the lot of it. I left it alone until I got back in the house, where I gently pressed it between my palms and felt it go soft again. This time, when we left for work, I tucked my hair inside my scarf so it wouldn't freeze again.

Later on, I told one of the managers about it and he told me a story about a girl who had just moved to Alaska and got her hair done at a salon. She was in a hurry (hm, sounds familiar) and refused to let them blow dry her hair. She dashed out to her car. He said that as she hustled, she flipped her hair back and the ends shattered off. She sprinted back to the stylists, crying her eyes out. She ended up with a 2nd new hairstyle in the same day.

Well, I've been doing a lot of sitting on my @$$ and playing vulture over the new office manager's shoulder at work. She's doing fine, but she and my boss both said they feel better with me there to oversee things, so sat I did. I know a lot of people wouldn't mind being paid to sit around, but I don't like wasting my life, no matter how much I'm making. (Okay, maybe I wouldn't mind if it was a s--t load of money, but it has to make being bored for that long really worth it!!!)

But then today the girl I will eventually replace said it's her last day because some things came up all of a sudden and she'll be leaving sooner than she thought. So Thursday I start back in receiving. I hope my manager doesn't think I'm an idiot because I've pretty much forgotten everything already. Ah, well.

Saw some Halloween pictures on my friend Tiff's Myspace page. Sigh. I miss celebrating Halloween with my friends. Looks like this year I'll be wearing my costume to work and then giving out candy if anyone knocks on our door that night. Of course, if I'm working in receiving that day, my southern belle frou-frou may not be a good idea! I'll have to talk to the manager. I'll be lucky if I can fit the thing in my car. No hoops, just lots of fluff. And it's kind of heavy, too.

Of course, with how freaking cold it is (13 degrees at 8 am this morning), I'll probably wear my hiking boots under the skirts. I'm sure no one will notice!

After Halloween, I'll post pics of my costume and probably some of my coworkers' costumes, too.

Pumpkins here don't last very long. I remember the ones in California would last at least a week before they got soft and moldy. I've been through two pumpkins and had to throw them both out after two or three days! Must be because we have to keep the heat up in here since it's so cold outside.

Also, because of the insane growing season, the pumpkins are generally larger and more hollow. I got a ton of seeds out of each one and now I'm addicted to pumpkin seeds. I may go back for a third pumpkin soon.

Rehearsals for the Spitfire Grill start on November 3rd. I actually got the lead! I'm so stoked and nervous at the same time. The last lead in a full blown musical I had was Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. That was, oh, about a decade ago! I hope I can pull it off.

Okay, that's it for now in my current Alaska life. Nanowrimo starts soon and I was thinking of taking this blog and making a novel out of it! I can't think of anything else I want to write about at the moment. Usually I have an idea all planned out by October, but nothing is biting me yet. Bummer.