Larocque and Roll

25 minutes and counting October 31, 2004

Well, NaNoWriMo officially starts in 25 minutes. So far, I have three main character profiles completed, posted, and linked. I’m as happy as I can be with the page at the moment, but trust me - tweaking will be done. I don’t expect that I’ll be posting long messages during the month (ha!) since I’ll be busy with the story (double ha!).

I’m already in a better place this year than I was last year for NaNoWriMo. I’d only heard about it at the end of October, which wasn’t enough time to mentally prepare for it. And I only decided to do it after it had begun, so I was behind already. My final word count was somewhere in the 13,000 range - I’d get stuck on a scene because I hadn’t thought that far ahead in the plot, so I’d go off and start another scene in another file, and get stuck there, too.

Some good did come of it. I started keeping a writing journal, talking about things that struck me about the characters, debates about what should happen next, and rants about various things. At the end of November, when I gave up for good, I thought I’d had enough of writing. But during December, I realized how much I missed writing every day, even just a little bit, so I started an online journal, which I managed to keep well into this September.

So, the things I have going for me this time around:

• I’ve been psyched up for this since, oh - around May, which is enough time to mentally prep for it;
• I have a plot, and I’ve thought it through to almost the end;
• I’m used to writing a little bit every day - now to write a lot every day;
• I’m living on my own - fewer distractions (which guarantees that my Mom will be saying to herself, “Must call Rebecca at random times every night for the next month” when she reads this. Love you lots, Mom!)

Right - must go finish last three profiles and scene summaries for first six scenes.

Time well wasted! October 30, 2004

Remember that long list of blogs that was on the left side of the page? Well, I found an item in the Blogger Knowledge database about how to expand and collapse the text of posts. I took it, played around with it, and made it work on the sidebar. So if you want to see the list of blogs I read on a regular basis and recommend you check out, just click where it says “Click Here” and the list expands.

See! I knew I’d get something done if I stayed home!

The life of an anti-social hermit

Well, last night at this time I hoped I’d be writing tomorrow morning about my first time in a gay bar - in Sudbury, no less. Karen and some friends were going to the Hallowe’en party there, and I was gearing up to go, too.

Alas, the fates intervene - in the form of rain. Now, normally, rain is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing, and completely expected in the fall. And, as several people went to great lengths to remind me, at least you don’t have to shovel it or scrape it off your car. (Aside: okay people - the Southerner GETS IT. It gets cold up here sooner. There’s lots of snow, and it usually comes sooner that it does in Niagara. I knew that when I moved up here. You can now offically quit it with the perky reminders. I give you permission to stop.)

However, when that rain is accompanied by a warmish front, and it’s been chilly all week, the air pressure changes rapidly. And it’s this rapid change that my sinuses Do. Not. Like. At all. I woke up with the beginnings of a headache, and it lasted pretty much all day. I had to go to the mall and for groceries, and it was a zoo, which pretty much pushed me over the edge as far as my anti-social tendencies go. So I called Karen and opted out. I’m still going over to her place tomorrow night to help hand out candy.

I’ve been out almost every night this week, I’ll be out almost every night next week, and I’ll be out all next weekend. I needed some serious hermit-time. Knitting, blogging, drinking tea or fruity mineral water, NaNoing - that’s all that’s on the agenda for tonight. And that’s how I like it.

And the “Beginner’s Guide to Being a Bitch-Hermit” from iLL WiLL PreSS pretty much sums it up. (Warning - contains strong language. So Mom, you might not want to watch it. Actually, you probably can’t anyways because your connection is too slow. Never mind.)

Book club verdict: The Englishman’s Boy October 29, 2004

This is going to be short and sweet, because even though it’s surprisingly early for a Friday night, I’m tired and going to bed.

The verdict was a general “meh” feeling. While none of us actively hated the overall books (there were moments that made us see red), we felt that there wasn’t really any build up. Normally, you have an introduction, a build up, and a climax, but this book went straight from intro all the way through to the climax. As well, there were a great many cliches, such as the gruff but loveable old guy, the crazy rich guy, and the psychopath.

My feeling was that the story ended poorly. That is to say, I would have been happy if it ended badly or happily, yet this book drifted off. The narrator was wimpy all the way through, and it had a suitably wimpy ending.

This led to a discussion about Canadian lit in general, and award-winning Canadian lit in specific. That it’s dull and heavy and depressing - and that’s not something that Canadians are known for. Really - it’s like we’re a nation of agnsty teenagers: “Oh, I’m all happy and funny and laid back on the outside, but if you read my book you’ll see that I’m deep and sensitive and complex!” Pshaw.

Next up: Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.

Veiled promises October 28, 2004

At the end of yesterday’s post, I mentioned in passing that we’d be doing veil work at belly dancing. Not having a real veil, and not really knowing what they look like, I brought along a veil-like scarf I have.

It was not even close to what real veils look like. My pathetic excuse for a veil is about 30cm wide by about a meter long, while the veils we use in class are about a meter (or more) wide by 2.5-3 meters long. Holy cow! The instructor loaned me one of hers, which was nice of her.

The overall effect of a group of (mostly) middle-aged women in our brightly coloured coin belts and sweat pants and t-shirts isn’t always the picture you’d imagine when someone asks you to describe what a belly dancer looks like. But, give us veils and have us twirl around to the music, and it’s a whole other story. We’re no match for Salome and her sisters, and we may never do the Dance of the Seven Veils, but the overall effect is rather stunning.

In a new record last evening, I managed to loose three coins from my belt, mostly from getting them caught in the veil. I found all of them, and will sew them back on once I get the right colour thread. I have two belts - one is white, and has coin-and-bead chevrons, while the other is a red ten-line (four double-rows of coins, plus a row on the bottom and rows on the edge of the belt). It’s the red one I keep loosing the coins from. I just need to get some red crochet thread, and I can tie them back on. Better yet, I can just reinforce all the other coins while I’m at it.

Wait… what…. did I… what… am I… nucking futs? There has got to be over 200 coins on that thing! When the hell am I going to have time in the next month to do that?!? And since the workshop is next weekend, I’m going to have no time to do important things like sleep, eat, or practice personal hygiene between now and then!

(Speaking of short on time, I need to go finish a birthday present, write a thank-you card, and have something to eat before 6:45. It is now 5:30. GO!)

“Did you hear that noise?” “What noise?” October 27, 2004

Wow. That was a seriously lame post last night. I apologize - I was a bit scattered and was having problems focusing. Happily, I did eventually manage to settle down and get some things done. And then ended up chatting with, like, everyone I know, who all happened to be online at the same time. The odds of that happening again? Infestiminal. I hope. Five separate conversations are a bit much to carry on at one time.

I did end up going with option 3 of #3 last night, but I’ll be dipped in batter and deep-fried if I can remember the URL I chose for the page. Oops. It has something to do with the title of my NaNo, tentatively called The Posse.

(”Posse” is one of my favourite words - it conveys the idea of a small, tribe-like group, without the formality, structure, or hierarchy of an official unit. It also reminds me of one of the funniest Far Side cartoons: two cowboys are looking at a pile of horses and people, and the one is saying to the other, “A posse isn’t something you throw together! You have to organize these things!” Or something to that effect. I can’t remember it verbatim. It was a big hit in my Organizational Management class at library school.)

(As for the title of this post - I couldn’t think of anything clever that was in any way related to the body of the post. Besides, I have to go get ready for belly dancing. Tonight we start using veils!)

Apparently, I don’t have enough to do with my free time October 26, 2004

Well, once again book club was postponed, but this time for medical reasons. Not mine or Karen’s, and it’s nothing serious. We will be rescheduling on Thursday.

So, seeing that I have an evening free in a week where every night I’m committed to something, do you think I’d use it to tackle one of two major upcoming projects - knitting Christmas presents or planning for NaNoWriMo.

Oh - and I can watch Making the Cut now - ’scuse me!

(Later…)

Where was I? Right - what I did instead was: 1) read more of Going Postal (did I mention it was brilliant?); 2) play around with my other blog, which was originally for book reviews, with the idea that I’d make it my NaNoWriMo blog; which led to 3) an ongoing, internal debate about whether I should convert the blog back to its original purpose, delete it and keep everything together, and start a new blog for NaNoWriMo. Stupid, unproductive stuff, really.

Gah!

Egg-tastic!

This is adorable - yet, terrifying. (Thanks Louise!)

For everything else, there’s Bausch & Lomb October 25, 2004

* Going to curling and not being able to see the skip’s instructions from the starting block because you can’t see them over the tops of your glasses: blind as a bat.

* Knowing that there is a solution to this problem in your linen closet: curious.

* Spending ten minutes digging through the closet, looking for said solution: frustrating.

*Finding said solution, sitting at eye-level and to the right of where you’ve been looking: d’oh!

* Discovering that the box of solution also contains a lens case and cleaner: yay!

* Getting your contact lenses in in under twenty minutes after four years not wearing them, without cursing, swearing, poking self in eye, scratching the lens, or loosing it on the floor: priceless.

Update: Remembering what you did with your glasses once you put the contacts in: useful.

WIPs: October October 24, 2004

I’m getting ready for the Stitch n’ Bitch and I’m digging through my stash trying to find scrap yarn and extra needles and such, so I might as well update:

• I’m calling the kitty hat from Stitch n’ Bitch done, even though it doesn’t have ears. I used the Red Heart Cozy (in Paprika) that had originally been earmarked for a poncho. The reason that it doesn’t have ears is that I’m tired of trying to figure out where to put them. Since the gauge was completely different from what the pattern recommended, I had to improvise, so the whole thing came out slightly different than in the book.
• The fingerless gloves are coming along. I have one completely done, and the other is over halfway there already.
• I have two scarves on the go. The first is with the Lion’s Brand Incredible (in Autumn Leaves). The first time I tried knitting with it, everyone who was in the room with me got tense, so I (wisely) put it aside for a little while. Happily, my second attempt went much smoother, and it’s coming along nicely. The second is with the Gedifra Dandy I got in August when I went home. It’s very pretty, and I like it, except that it does not frog well at all. Which is a problem, because I think I made it too wide.
• I restarted the QaF socks, and the second attempt is much better. Still, I’m no further along than the cuff - it’s slow going because it’s such fine yarn.
• My sisters and I are going to make something for my mother. Which reminds me - I still haven’t sent them the pattern for it yet. Oops.
• Various other Christmas presents I’m trying to get started before NaNoWriMo. Time is at a premium this week, so every spare minute will be spent knitting (or goofing off because… y’know - I don’t focus on one thing at a time very well.)

Updates of last month’s projects:

• Still not finished the halter top. I forgot to look for yarn for it in Guleph.
• The scrap vintage-and-boa scarf is too wide. I feel like I should frog it and start over, but that’s going to have to wait.