Day 3 of NaNoWriMo

I wander in the desert of words. Flurries of punctuation flies around my head like gnats, landing in my eyes, buzzing in my ears.

Eyes watering, I see a shimmer of hope on the horizon.  The elusive thread of story, taunting me.  I race to catch it only to fall into a pit of despair.

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Ahem, this is Charlie, the Cat.  Clearly Minion #1 is losing her grip on reality. I will escort her from the box that beeps so ferociously as I walk across its massaging stones.

Ever Yours,

Charlie, the Cat

Be Afraid People, Be Very Afraid…

November 1, 2009, I start my yearly odyssey into the insane world of NaNoWriMo.

Pray for me!  I need all the help I can get.

50,000 words in 30 days.  That works out to be 1,666.7 words each day.  Okay, I’ll round up, 1,667 words per day.  In real life that is 3 and a quarter single space pages and change a day.

Every November I start with a clean Word file and go forth.  This year is different.  Different I tell you!

How you ask?

Well, I have a Novel in progress.  A plan in place.  Characters developed. And Magik run amok!  I won’t count what I’ve written so far, which is significant.  I hope this is my push to finish the manuscript, or at least see the finish line.

I’ll make sacrifices to whichever Creative muse I must to see this through.  Chocolate, Diet Dr. Pepper, Family (if they get in my way).  With my loyal pooch at my side, my literary feline editing as I go. I’m ready.

NANOWRIMO!

Loyalty

There is nothing more loyal than my boy Quizz.  When I discovered iTunes had absconded with my ENTIRE mp3 library (6.5 Gigabytes of music! 1,785 songs) and converted to its own file format, I freaked.  My Music Library was empty!  Woe is me!

He bravely sidled up to my chair as I muttered and said things I had to repent for, laying his head in my lap. His eyes saying, “Mama, step away from the box that makes you so mad.  I need a belly rub. I’ll make it all better. I promise.”

The moment my hand laid itself on top of his blocky head, settling on his soft ears, I realized that I could find a fix but my loyal companion was right.  He needed a belly-rub more than I needed to strangle Steve Jobs and the entire iTunes programing team.

Leaning down, I kissed his forehead and said the magic words.

“Chicken?”

Tail wagging, feet prancing we headed for the treat closet.  Belly rubs are good for the soul.

Apple and I will have words later.

Birthdays

Everyday is a new beginning.  I wake up having hit the reset button the night before for a new start.

Birthdays while, yes, significant really aren’t high on my priority list right now.  I’m not anti-birthday, anti-aging or even anti-celebrating.  I just have a lot to do. A birthday on a Monday is not fun.

So, I’m low-key this year.  Appreciative of everything that I have. My friends, my family, my dog, my job, my talents, the world in general.

So I’m not planning on blowing out a bunch of candles, but I am planning on counting my blessings.

Thank you to my family and friends for helping me make it through another year.

National Pit Bull Awareness Day

(I know that this is a repost for me.  Enjoy!)

But there is nothing blue about owning a pit bull, it is a grand adventure with rewards too many to name.

If you fear the breed, you simply don’t understand them.  Ignorance kills.

Adventures in Windows 7 Part 2

Okay, I’m a tech-head. I readily admit it.  I’ve been playing in Windows 7 Ultimate for over 3 weeks now.

I have to say over all a VAST improvement from my limited experience from VISTA (4 months).  From XP Pro, its more about power, speed and resource usage.  A definite improvement on all three.

I’m not a gamer, but I am a heavy application user. I do heavy photo editing/restoration and video editing, both of which are taxing on the resources.  So far, the operating system has taken it like a champ.

I like the little features like magnifier. Where I can magnify specific portions of my screen. I’m still playing with the voice recognition. I just have to be able to set it up without my dog or cat in the background talking.  :)

The search functionality is AMAZING!  I’m finding files I thought I’d lost.  Now that I can tag my pictures, I can sort my 10 years worth of pictures (no, I’m not even close to being finished with that project, but I’m started).

AND, I’ve been able to fix most of my own problems through on-line searches & forums.  Given the fact that the tech-support for early adopters was EXTREMELY limited, it took them 5 days to respond to my one initial question.  So, the material is out there to fix most installation issues.  One other handy reference, MS has a free Windows 7 netbook for Deploying Windows 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine.  Worth the download.

This is an operating system that I believe that is intuitive enough for the most tech-phobic to be able to use.  And in between.

So Far?  4 out of 5 stars.  Still one star short, because I’m still working out all the features.

Paw It Forward!

Hi! It’s Quizz!  Wow!  I got a package in the mail! Okay, my mom told me to say that Charlie and me got a package in the mail!  My  good friend Daisy the Pretty Pink Pit Bull ran a contest a while back called ‘Paw It Forward!’.  And we won!

Thank you Miss Daisy!  Thank you very much!

I was so excited I grabbed it out of mom’s hands and started opening it right away.  Charlie has NO experience in this sort of thing.

Let me at it!

There were lots of good things in it for me and Charlie.

Wow! Look at this Loot!

(Mom said I was rude because I ran off with my toy which was a Cow Kong Wubba! How could I resist it! Plus it was from a cute girl?  I’m a sucker for a girl!)  Shhh!  I think Miss Daisy is Psychic! (Mom says that Miss Daisy can read minds.  Isn’t that neat?) Because she sent my all-time favorite peanut butter biscuits.  I wonder what other things she can figure out?  Hmmm.  Is this a super power?  Do I know A Super HERO?

Ahem.  This is Quizz’s mom.  Have no fear, I’m calming him down as you read.

Sorry Mom, I couldn't wait!

Mmmm? What is this delightful smelling creature?

So, it’s our turn to Paw it Forward.  We hope you want to play.

So now if you want to play “Paw it Forward” here is what you need to do.

1. Be one of the first 3 commenter’s on this post that says I want to play!
2. Then I will send you a “Paw it Forward package” , it can be a stuffie or a treat or anything you want to send!
3. Then you need to blog about it!
4. And send a package to the first 3 commenter’s on your post.

Receiving is fun, but according to my mom giving is even better.

Can’t wait to Paw It Forward!

Quizz & Charlie, the Cat

P.S. – I still think Miss Daisy might be a Super Hero!

Happy Gotcha Day Quizz!

Who could resist this little bundle of energy? I certainly couldn’t.

Five years later, still going strong.  The bestest buddy on the planet!

I”m blessed everyday he is in my life.

Perspectives in Writing #1

It’s taken a few days for me to digest everything that I learned this weekend.

One of the themes that ran prevalent throughout all the workshops was as an author you should write to the story and characters, not to any outside influences.

At first blush that seems like a no brainer.  Write the story.  But there is a little voice in my brain that likes to say ‘Oooo your mother wouldn’t like that!’ or ‘What would the people at work or church say?’ or ‘Really, are you really an author?’  That censor that is so hard to squelch and tends to shred brilliant stories before they’ve reach daylight.

An author needs to find a way to muzzle that voice.  Sure, your mother, father, family or friends might be uncomfortable with parts of what you write.  Ultimately, they aren’t writing it and will understand that it is not a reflection on them.  If they chose to make so, their loss.

You pour everything into telling a story. Your blood, heart, soul only to strip it down re-frame, rework it until the experience you want the reader to have emerges.

Writing is not for the weak in heart.

Sorry

Sorry

Sorry is not a phrase we utter.  We communicate.

Some of the most hurtful eviserating words can be can be flung like shrapnel, blood pooling on the floor, the soul tattered. Sorry is never said.

The wounded continues their respective day with arterial blood hemorrhaging,  leaving the victim listless.  Their day in ruins about their feet.

An email with a token or a phone call with an offer appears. A choice has to be made. Accept the gesture or ignore.

To accept the proffered gesture is to accept the unspoken apology.

Ignore the gesture, the onus of difficulty, intractablity, over-sensitivity are the lables tatooed for all too see.  Damned either way.

The wrong has been transferred because the perpetrator has communicated.  The victim left holding the bag, bleeding to death.

Sorry is not a phrase uttered.  We ‘communicate’.

Some of the most hurtful eviscerating words can be can be flung like shrapnel, blood pooling on the floor, the soul tattered. Sorry is never said.

The wounded continues their respective day with arterial blood hemorrhaging,  leaving the victim listless.  Their day in ruins about their feet.

An email with a token or a phone call with an offer appears. A choice has to be made. Accept the gesture or ignore.

To accept the proffered gesture is to accept the unspoken apology.

Ignore the gesture, the onus of difficulty, intractability, over-sensitivity are the labels tattooed for all to see.  Damned either way.

The wrong has been transferred because the perpetrator has communicated.  The victim left holding the bag, bleeding to death.