So Cricket is around four months old and last night she caught her first mouse. Let me back up a bit. It was 9:45 and I was beat; so I headed in the general direction of my bedroom. Cricket was already in there, doing what she always does: chasing. Everything. Her chasing got in the way of my feet and I was very happy about that…but I was even more unhappy when I discovered what she was chasing via sitting on it. Actually, I don’t think anyone involved was very happy about this: Cricket, me or the mouse. However, I was the loudest.
But Cricket caught and killed her first mouse at the tender age of four months! (I’m trying to ignore the fact that she caught and killed it on my bed.) You go, girl!
P.S. I know I was trying to be patient and independent and all, but I want my bed raised up now! as soon as financially possible. Don’t you hate it when your parents are proven right, again?
Today is the first Sunday of Advent–the start of the new Church year; and all too soon it is going to be the secular New Year. In between these two dates are the end of National Novel Writing Month, my brother’s 21st birthday, and Christmas. Shortly after New Year’s is the beginning of my EMT course, and in May (about the time I think the course will be ending) two of my cousins are getting married. One of those cousins has always been in my eyes a “big girl”, being several years my senior; but the other cousin is the one I always ran with at family get-togethers. First we played together and then, as we got older, we talked. But no matter what the activity, we were our own little Terrible Trio (along with MA)–although we somehow managed to stay mostly out of trouble. I did say mostly, mind. Even I’m not perfect!
Other things in my life have been making me think about the process of growing up. This week I saw all three High School Musicals…which behind all the catchy songs and crazy choreography are really the story of a boy growing up and deciding what kind of man he is going to be…and my current story has reached the point where one of the characters says:
“What I was going to do with the rest of my life has always been an annoying question in the back of my head…but after today it needs to be answered.”
I really haven’t a clue if growing up is a process that ever actually ends; if there is ever a point where you can say: “Aha! I’m there!” If there is such a point, I’m pretty sure I haven’t reached it. However, all these things combined have made me realize that I may not be entirely an adult–but I have certainly passed the stage where I can think of myself as a child. I’m 19 (a popular age for literary heroines–how’s that for an odd side note!) and I suddenly get the feeling that the pace of my life is about to speed up. I admitted in my very first blog post that I am not the biggest fan of change, but I think I’m ready for the changes that this new year will bring…and I don’t mean “Ready” in a cocky sense, but more as in my life is ready for the changes.
Anyhow, Pastor has been preaching about examining and de-cluttering our lives this Advent season, so I think I’m going to take this opportunity to clean out my Favorites bar. Here’s the stuff from a file named “Stuff I’ll want to read again”:
I realize this is my second post with somewhat anti-Twilight undertones, but this is just too funny not to share:
My pitch for a new screenplay:
The thankful Pilgrims struggle up Plymouth Rock, giving praise to the Lord for preserving them during their long and arduous journey. At the top of the rock sits a brooding young man with unnaturally pale skin. He glitters in the light.
“Hello.” he says broodily. “My name is Edward. I’m a vampire. Your daughters are cute.”
“Aaah!” shout the stout-hearted Pilgrim men, and shoot him.
One giant wolf hiding in the woods says to another wolf standing next to him, “Let’s not introduce ourselves just yet.”
Elisabeth of In My Own Little Corner gave me a blog award. Thank you, Elisabeth! I’ve never done one of these before, so here we go.
- Thank the person who gave you the award.
- Copy the award.
- Post it on your blog.
- Tell your readers 7 things they didn’t know about you.
- Link 7 bloggers as recipients.
- Notify winners of award with a comment on their blog.
- Keep being awesome.
- My most embarrassing moment EVER was about a year ago, at the mall. I was coming out of the bookstore with my brother, I’d had a long day and I was tired. Any way, I got stopped by this lady. Her English wasn’t perfect, but I did get that she was wanted me to try out her sample of white creamy stuff. I just wanted to get out of there without being rude so I took a giant fingerful and popped it in my mouth. To my dying day (and possibly beyond) I will never forget the look on her face as she exclaimed: “Not to eat! It lotion!”
And if that wasn’t bad enough I had to explain to my brother why I was scraping my tongue. He then took it upon himself to tell the whole story to the rest of the family.
- I used to have the greatest difficulty pronouncing “Comfortable”.
- I first started reading The Three Musketeers at the exact same time of finding out that some of my ancestors were French Huguenots from La Rochelle who were forced out of France. I, um, have never picked up the book again.
- The most calls I get on my cell phone are when Mom and I are shopping together and she wants to know where I’ve gotten to this time.
- I have pyromania tendencies.
- I am often mistaken for Mom on the phone.
- After playing badminton twice and twice tossing my racket in the air…where, by extreme ill fortune it came down in such a way as to make the rest of my team drop their own rackets to protect their heads…I was never asked to play again.
Now to pass it on…(I’m only allowed seven, so sorry if I miss anybody!)
Kelsey
Mom
Other Hannah
ForeverFan
RileyTea
Anne
Heidi
Said while reading a negative review of the “New Moon” movie: “Wow. That’s a rather biting review.”
It wasn’t until the rest of the family started laughing that I realized what I had said.
While surfing Wikipedia, I found an article on blue amber. I didn’t even know there was such a thing until today.
Blue amber when the light shines on it…
The same bit of amber when the light shines through it…
Pretty cool!
More about blue amber
Please excuse the title; I’ve been watching Newsies this weekend.
Hanging the word count has not effected the amount of words I have been writing. It has, however, changed the quality of my writing–for the better, Mom says and I agree. It has also changed my attitude towards NaNo: before when I was focused on making the word count, writing was a chore that I didn’t really want to do. Now that I’m focused on the words and what I write instead of how much I write, I am happy to be scribbling away…I want to be scribbling away. And oddly enough, I must be writing faster, because I see a whole lot more of my family these days!
So, the word count stands at 14,243. That is where it should be after 8 and a half days of writing (I don’t write on Sundays).
Here’s to only counting pages and having a blast!!!
When I write creatively, I write long hand via pen and paper. I’ve done this for so long I mostly forget there are other ways. It often causes quite a bit of confusion among my writing friends when I start jabbering away about pages, Paperblanks, what a hassle it is to count words and such like. I guess that despite hand-writing being historically the most common method of recording words, it is a minority these days? Last night, fellow NarniaWebber stargazer asked me the following question:
Avra, I gather you’re writing your novel longhand? Very impressive! How do you manage to avoid writer’s cramp?
I thought this Q & A would make a good blog post, so:
There are a few methods I use to deal with writer’s cramp:
a) Complain and push through it.
b) Complain and take a break.
c) Get so excited that I don’t even notice…until inspiration runs out and then I really notice.
Seriously though, your hand is just like any other muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes and the more it can do.
My greatest trouble with hand-writing is actually my kitten taking off with my pen…in fact she has it right now.
Well, I better get off here and go write: one more page and I’ll have met my goal for the day! First I’d better go rescue my pen…
I would add for here that handwriting is slower, but this is what I like about it. It forces you to slow down and consider each word as it crosses from brain to hand to page. The movement of the hand writing one word becomes that of the mind forming the next one…I may be sounding a little wierd here, but it really is a neat thing. Not, of course, that there isn’t value and a rhythm that comes from typing in a computer; I believe that everyone who writes should find their own pace and rhythm. For me, that rhythm is conected with the physical act of writing out each word. (Also, nothing can beat the smell and feel of acid free, sustainable forest paper. Never underestimate the value of the eco-friendly.)
It suddenly strikes me that this is all pretty funny, considering that I typed these words about the value of hand-writing!
I now have a wardrobe to replace the closet I so gleefully took down. One of my neighbors bought it at a flea market or something, decided they didn’t want it and traded it to me for babysitting ”credits”. Pretty cool!
My Wardrobe
I doubt anyone going into it will find anything other than a very tight space.
That’s me in the reflection, by the way.
After going to Ivy Tech on Thursday, Mom and I stopped by the pet store for her to buy some fish for her aquarium. While we were there, I looked at birds. I’ve really been missing Chip, and somehow I came home with two new parakeets.
These are some unusual parakeets: they do not swear, scream or otherwise engage in loud and obnoxious behavior. Instead they sing to us and live together peaceably. Wierd. So, introducing Daniel and Jack (named for Dr. Daniel Jackson and Jack O’Neil of Stargate SG1):
Daniel
Jack
Daniel and Jack 1
Daniel and Jack 2
3,535 as of last night. Slow and steady might just make the race yet!
These last two days have proven that 10 pages equals about 1,667 words, which is the minimum I can do and still make 50,000 words in 30 days. (Well, actually it is 1,666. a very long stream of 6’s. But I don’t think leaving .3 off a word will be very good for my already stretched sanity.)
The day before yesterday I was just overwhelmed. Yesterday I was fixated on the word count. Today I’m going to just write, and enjoy writing. I’ll try to make sure I do about 10 pages, but let the word count be hanged! Until tonight, that is.
In other news, I’m going to Ivy Tech tomorrow to met my instructor and be shown the lay-out of the place. I’m really rather excited!
If it did, I would have higher Spider Solitaire stats than 17 % after 135 games.
A familiar image on my computer screen
- Despite what one might have thought, you do not have to breathe to write. (I’m at the stage of flu recovery when everything is dripping and/or completely stuffed up.)
- If you are me and frustrated, for goodness sake, take a break! More words and better will be written in the long run that way.
- Changing a character’s name mid-page is really confusing.
- DO NOT use the Paperblank journal if you feel the need to hear paper rip.
- Counting words can lead to counting all sorts of other things.
- Unfortunately for the word count, “into” and “upon” are each only one word.
- Mothers are the greatest.
- Dads are pretty great, too.
- So are patient brothers who let you take over the computer to update your word count.
- There is no limit to how many times a day a person can say “word count”.
- Even in a “month of literary abandon”, one cannot escape mathematics.
Oh, and I’m at 1,300 words or something. Just a few more and I’ll make my wordcount for the day. Now to make up yesterday’s…
