So, after producing a very lackluster piece of prose, codenamed Project Cassandra (still lacking a real title), in November, I decided to give myself December off, and make 2010 the Year of the Novel. I've made resolutions like this before, but this time I'm serious about it. Finishing this book, and making it good, really matters to me. (Even though I'm still pretty convinced that the whole concept of the book is unoriginal and not particularly . . . genius.) And I think, for once, it's a well-defined enough goal that I can do it.

I'm really not even thinking of it as revising what I wrote in November. For one thing, most of the novel needs to be moved to a different point of view, and for another thing . . . it just sucks. Seriously. Not that NaNo wasn't valuable--it helped me work out the sequence of events, and identify a number of problems I need to address, but . . . yeah, I'm starting over from scratch.

Anyway, I guess I'm just posting about this here because I hope that making a public declaration of my goal will help me stay on track. I kind of like how bootheeling has been posting novel excerpts, so now that I intend to be writing better, instead of just writing, I may do that.

(Sorry this post is a few minutes late--I wound up grocery shopping after work.)

Like I mentioned a few days ago, I'm opening up for knitting commissions for the month of January today.

How it's going to work: to reserve a spot, leave a comment on this post. The first three commenters get January slots. (I know I originally said four, but I'm reserving one slot for locals.) Any comments left after those first three can work as sort of a waiting list.

Once I know what everybody's asking for, I may open up one more slot, depending on how time consuming the projects I get are. (If I get one easy project, I can fit one more in.) In that case, I'll move to the waiting list.

And if you don't get a slot, don't worry! I'll be doing this again in February! (And maybe March, depending on interest.)

Once you've reserved a slot by commenting, e-mail me (museofastronomy AT gmail DOT com) with details of what you're looking for. I'll get back to you with a sort of suggested donation, probably in the realm of $20-30. (I'm thinking about this in terms of donation, not 'price', because . . . frankly, it's hard to charge what handknits are "worth" if you're thinking in terms of hourly wage or whatever.)

Thanks everybody!

Hope everybody had a merry Christmas! This is just a reminder that the Great Knitting Commission Project 2010 will open for commissions tomorrow, Dec. 27, at 5:00 p.m., MST. I know that's a little late in the day, but I have to be at work at 7 a.m., and I just don't love you all enough to get up early to post.

It'll be first come, first served, and there'll only be three slots available (I'm reserving one of the original four for the local folks), so check back here at five tomorrow!

So, as you guys probably know, I have an Etsy store. It hasn't been wildly successful, though--partly because I haven't put a ton of energy into it, and partly because it's just sort of hard to get the exposure and all that I would need to really make it successful.

What I've realized is that the best thing about handknits is that they can be customized to be EXACTLY what the recipient wants. Have you ever wanted a knitted item that was too specialized to be something you could find in a store? That's what knitting is for! One year, my mom wanted a pair of thigh-high socks, in rustic, natural tones--not really the sort of thing you can buy. I made them for her! Just recently, bootheeling was searching for a pair of brown, elbow length, fingerless gloves. I made those too! (She got them today. It was awesome.)

My point is, give me some string and some sticks, and I can make virtually anything. So, for the rest of the winter (I'm thinking January, February, and possibly March), I'm going to be opening up monthly commissions for custom knitted items.

Do you want socks in the Slytherin house colors? Fingerless gloves? (Those are the single most common request I get, because they're very practical, and look super cool.) A hat with words on it? Something else with words on it? This is your chance!

In fact, it doesn't even have to be something knitted. I also make some killer little animals (needle-felted or crocheted), so if you'd like a model of a beloved pet, or just something cute for your bookshelf, I can do that too!

In the interest of full disclosure, I need to confess: I had originally conceived this as a charity project--I'd have you guys make a donation to a charity of my choice, and you'd get something handmade in return. But the thing is, guys . . . I'm barely making ends meet. I still don't have a departure date for the Peace Corps, so I'm still putzing around at a job I hate.

I have a lead on a potential summer job (with this organization) that could be much more personally fulfilling and awesome, but will also pay significantly less than what I'm making right now. I'm hoping that if I can pick up enough commissions, I'll be able to put that money away and use it to supplement my income this summer so I can afford to switch jobs.

I know as charities go, I'm not exactly the most awesome thing you could give to, but I promise, any money I make will go towards making the world less sucky, even if it's indirectly just by paying for my groceries. Plus, you DO get awesome handknits out of it.

In closing, the details: The project officially starts January 1, but I will open for commissions on December 27, because I'll probably have to order yarn and I want to allow time for shipping. Every month, I'll have four slots open (though I may reserve one or two slots for people I know locally). Items will be finished and mailed off by the end of the month.

So, start thinking about what you might want! I'll make a post here on Dec. 27 announcing an official opening of commissions (Twitter will receive the announcement as well). Thanks for tolerating this shamelessly promotional post--I now return you to the usual whining about my job.

This was going to be short, but it turned into a big dump of all the things I hate about my job right now. I think I'll put it behind a cut to spare you all. But if you stick it through to my footnote at the end, you'll be rewarded with a big basket of WTF that I just recalled from my training. So, there's that.

( I HATE MY JOB SO MUCH YOU GUYS )

I was watching Lost on Netflix, and Locke got a blast door dropped on his leg, and at that PRECISE SECOND, I got an incredibly painful Charley horse in my right calf. So, he's screaming in pain, and I'm screaming in pain*, and it's all really surreal. I mean, my calves have been tight and twingey for days, but I have to wonder if there isn't some psychological component there.

I swore a lot more than he did, though, because I don't live on network television.



* I don't know if other people get them the same way I do, but for me a Charley horse is basically ten or fifteen seconds of utterly excruciating and immobilizing pain that basically comes out of nowhere, followed by minor soreness. I can literally do nothing but writhe and swear. They happened a lot when I was in college, but this is the first time it's happened since I graduated. I had a very hectic/stressful day at work, though, plus eight hours on my feet, so that's probably why.

And yes, I know, I know, eat bananas, drink water.

ironychan has been having fun with Google autocomplete. In fact, it looked so much fun that I'm ripping off her idea with "does" plus the various letters of the alphabet! It's not stealing if you call it a meme, right?

"does a root canal hurt": From someone hoping against hope.

"does bella become a vampire": The very first suggestion; answer: not quickly enough.

"does coffee have calories": Are you that person I watch order a low-fat sugar-free decaf mocha? You do know that some day you'll have to eat something that's not composed primarily of synthetic compounds, right? And that preservatives don't actually make you live longer?

"does demi lovato cut herself": Why is this the number one suggestion? How come when I play this game, it's less funny and more faith-in-humanity-destroying?

"does extense make you bigger": And several variations thereof; also, two inquiries about eHarmony; the Internet's priorities in a nutshell.

"does fedex deliver on columbus day": Only if you're white.

"does god exist": Next time on JFG Your Existential Questions, find out whether life has meaning.

"does hpv go away": :(

"does ibuprofen contain aspirin": Also, do grapes contain apple juice?

"does justin bieber have a girlfriend": He's actually waiting for you to ask him. I suggest you sneak into his bedroom to do so.

"does kohls drug test": Maybe the people who asked "does kristen stewart do drugs" would know?

"does lightning come from the ground": Because I didn't think you people needed to know how many people search for "does lady gaga have a willy".

"does miley cyrus have a tattoo": I think that's actually just her face.

"does naruto become hokage": Gesundheit!

"does obama smoke weed": Only because he hates America so much.

"does precum contain sperm": Yeah, condoms are a bitch, aren't they?

"does quick fix synthetic urine work": Try Kohls.

"does rogaine work": Maybe, but it's really not worth the mocking when the guys at the office find out.

"does size matter": Because Google is really going to give you a different answer to that question than every other aspect of our culture? (By the way, the Greeks thought that little penises were the prettiest, so build yourself a time machine and you'll be golden.)

"does the moon rotate": . . . okay, it's been a while since the Internet has said something so stupid, I couldn't even be snarky about it.

Every single suggestion for U was about UPS, except one about USPS. Boring. Next!

"does vodka have calories": Don't worry, it's clear! Clear stuff is basically like water, right?

"does weed kill brain cells": Only the bad ones. It's like weeding your garden. You weren't using those brain cells anyway.

"does xanax get you high": Just get some weed, dude. Ask Obama--he can probably hook you up.

"does your period stop in water": I've always kind of wondered why people think this. Do they think their vaginas have ESP? (Apparently there is a little bit of support for the phenomenon, but the whole myth still freaks me out a little.)

Nine out of ten results for Z were about prescription drugs. Because that's the only thing that gets to begin with Z in our culture.

It is COLD in Colorado right now! I kind of forgot what Colorado winters are like after all those Virginia winters. Also, before college, I was homeschooled for seven years, which meant I was free to pretty much spend the entire winter inside with a book or my computer. So, I was like, "Hey, winter's not so bad!" Sure, it's not, if you spend the whole thing indoors!

But now . . . I have a job. And a car. And winter? Winter makes everything more complicated. Winter driving? God, winter driving sucks. It's not just having to scrape ice off my windshield BOTH before AND after work, or waiting for the rear defrost to kick in. It's also taking detours because that road I usually take is icy, and my little Corolla can barely handle the hill when it's dry, so I'd better find another way around.

It snowed a bunch yesterday. It's still on the ground everywhere--cold as it is, I don't see it melting any time soon. The roads are still icy. So you know what, mizujada, and all you other snow lovers from states with mild winters? You can suck it. Personally, I don't like feeling like I'm living inside somebody's freezer. I don't like having to watch my footing everywhere I step so I don't break my neck. I don't like having to knock snow off of my shoes every time I step in a door or get into my car. And I really don't like how hard it is to drive with it all piled up along the roads and icing up parking lots and scraping the undercarriage of my car.

It is pretty, though. I will grant that. A winter day with snow on the ground is much less depressing to look at than a winter day with no snow on the ground. At least, until you realize you have to go out in it.

And I don't even live in a cold part of the state! For Colorado, my county has very mild winters! That's one of the reasons I like it here.

I mean, I'm a knitter--I like having winter, because without it, I couldn't wear almost anything I knit. I get a sincere satisfaction from pulling on something I made and knowing I can count on it to keep me warm. I even like a nice brisk cold once in a while. I'm not tired of winter yet by any means. (But, by the end of January, you can be damn sure I will be. It's not that I mind the cold so much, but as I've indicated, winter is just a HASSLE.)

In less ranty news, I just got my work schedule, and discovered I don't have to work on Christmas! I am so excited! I have to work on Christmas Eve, but it's a short shift. I'm a little annoyed at Walmart, because I'm part-time, but they keep scheduling for a bunch of 4.5 hour shifts, which means I still only get two days off a week (and one of those days is the day I work my other job), and half the time even those aren't consecutive. But, right now, I'm just excited about getting to spend Christmas at home with my family.

With the whole H1N1 drama, Walmart's absence policy has come under some criticism. Since I'm sick right now, I think I'm going to talk about it. I feel like a lot of the anti-Walmart movements on the Internet come off as alarmist, and criticize the wrong sorts of things, leaving themselves open to attack. So, here's how I see it.

Walmart's absence policy is a little complex, so bear with me while I break it down. Employees get three absence "occurrences" in a rolling six month period. An "occurrence" can be up to three consecutive days off, if they're for the same reason. What Walmart doesn't advertise (my supervisor had to tell me) is that if those three days fall over a break in the work week (the Walmart week ends on Friday and begins on Saturday), it counts as two occurrences.

So, if I called in on Sunday and Monday, that would be one occurrence, but if I called in on Friday and Saturday, it would be two. Remember, I only get three in a rolling six month period--by having the misfortune to fall ill on a Friday, I've just used two of those three. (As a matter of fact, I did get sick yesterday, a Friday, and went to work anyway for that very reason.)

And it's a rolling six month period. That means that the three months I've already worked without a single absence doesn't mean anything to Walmart; my six months begins today. I could work without an absence for a year, it wouldn't matter--the six months begins the day of the first absence.

After those three "occurrences", any absence bumps you onto Walmart's "coaching" circuit. It has two levels--verbal coaching, and written coaching. If you manage to work through those, you get to a "decision day", which basically puts you on probation while Walmart decides whether or not to fire you. And you can get coached for a lot more things than just absences. (My former supervisor got coached for swearing.) It doesn't matter what you're being coached for--you're still on the road to a decision day.

I've had two higher-ups at my store tell me that Walmart's absence policy is extremely lenient--after all, assuming you haven't been in trouble for anything else, you can miss up to seven days before they fire you! I can't speak for other retail companies--I don't imagine Target is much better, for example--but I can say that there's a lot about this policy that strikes me as arbitrary and unfair. (Why should Friday/Saturday count as two absences if Saturday/Sunday only counts as one? It's not like we get a day off at the end of the week!)

And of course, all of these days are unpaid. That's one bit of criticism I don't quite understand--the very nature of hourly work is that you don't get paid for hours you don't work. I honestly don't expect Walmart to pay me if I'm not working.

But, that doesn't mean it's not devastating for me to lose a couple day's work. I make just under $69 for a day's work (8-hour shift). To give you some scale, I've budgeted $50 a week for groceries, and I pay around $200 a month in rent. I am barely making enough to maintain this (very frugal!) lifestyle (and still save a little money) if I work every day I'm scheduled. If I start missing days, I start having to cut things . . . I can't even imagine how someone with a family does it.

Which is why, although it's pretty tempting to go ahead and call in to work again tomorrow, since it won't count against me, I probably will go to work anyway. Because December is going to be a bad month, bill-wise (doctor bills stacking up against student loans coming due), and I need all the money I can get. Besides, I get paid a dollar extra when I work on Sundays.

But, all of this is why I would recommend washing your hands thoroughly next time you leave a Walmart. Or, better yet, don't shop there at all.

(I'm sort of waiting to see how long I can keep being candid on the Internet before I get in trouble with Walmart. It's a fun game!)

I wonder why people don't talk more about the fact that democracy is deeply flawed. I mean, if you think about it, getting the majority opinion of a population on a certain issue isn't exactly the most fair or reasonable way to make a decision.

Recently, my town voted on whether or not to construct a truck route to reduce traffic on our Main Street and also provide an alternate route for emergency vehicles. The truck route passed by 71%. That's a very large majority, to be sure. But that still means that 29% of the people in the town did not want the truck route to be constructed.

Some of those 'no' votes certainly came from the handful of business owners whose access to their businesses would be blocked the construction--yes, the city intends to provide alternate access, but the construction can't help but damage their business. Maybe some of them were from people concerned that a truck route (the city is quite opposed to use of the term 'bypass') would reduce business on Main Street by lowering the amount of people passing through. (For such a small town in a place with such a bad economy, our Main Street is doing surprisingly well at the moment.)

There are a lot of good arguments in favor of the truck route--it'll make Main St. safer for pedestrians and drivers, it'll give emergency vehicles a way to get across the railroad tracks to the north end of town even when there's a train, etc. etc. etc. I personally think that in the long run, even with inconveniences, it's best for the city. But my point is, even with the large majority in favor, there's still a minority here that was opposed and will likely suffer somewhat as a result of the decision.

And that was a relatively straightforward decision. With more complex issues, it becomes even more complicated.

I'm sure you've all heard how the New York state senate just voted against legislation that would make gay marriage legal in the state of New York. The article I link there quotes Maggie Gallagher from the National Organization for Marriage (you may remember them for their unintentionally hilarious commercial--inexplicably, still online even with all the mockery), saying: "What you saw was the will of the people .... The culture really hasn't shifted on gay marriage."

Here's the problem: Regardless of NOM's fear-mongering, the fact of the matter is that the only people affected by legislation regarding gay marriage are gay people.

I know that's not an uncontested point. I've had the argument before, more than once, and every time, what it essentially boils down to is that gay marriage hurts people with traditional values because, to them, it would indicate that their version of morality is no longer backed by legislation--which might, conceivably, open the door to the suggestion that it's not an unalterable moral imperative.

But, the problem is, and I cannot emphasize this enough, it is not the job of government to legislate morality. The government's job is to provide an organizational structure that will protect its citizens and allow them to meet their basic needs. (I wouldn't even suggest it's the government's job to meet those needs--just to create an environment in which those needs can be met.)

Because, the thing is, you can't have it both ways. You can say, "Morality derives from the will of the majority," in which case, you need to be willing to suck it up if the majority, say, decides that it's okay to kill anyone over age 70, or decides we'd be safer if you didn't have a gun. Or, you can say, "Morality is governed by universal laws that aren't subject to the whims of humanity," in which case you lose the right to claim, as Maggie Gallagher does, that your version of morality is supported by "the will of the people" or the cultural climate.

I believe that most people, especially conservatives, would claim to agree that morality is something that holds true regardless of a majority vote or cultural climate. Majority opinion 100 years ago was that women shouldn't vote, and it was completely acceptable to expect a black person to use a separate (and inferior) bathroom. Majority opinion in many countries today suggests that women should not be allowed to be educated. Majority opinion, in short, is worthless for determining what is actually right.

Knitter and blogger Stephanie Pearl-McPhee said it well on Twitter this afternoon (and, in fact, prompted me to write this post): "Dear NY Senate, It is not kind nor fair to allow a majority to make the rules for a minority. All people. All rights."

I hate that the battle for gay rights has to be fought in senate halls and courtrooms at all. It's ridiculous that civil rights groups have to be on the offense in a fight for nothing more than equality. These are issues that shouldn't be legislated at all, and they are certainly not issues that the majority is qualified to vote on. I hate that people who claim to defend 'freedom' want it to be clear that they're only defending freedom as they define it--and their definition says, "My freedom depends on restricting your freedom."

Freedom has to be universal in order for it to be freedom. Gay marriage does not take any freedom away from straight couples, or from the institution of marriage itself* (certainly it can't damage it anymore than our 50% divorce rate does). And for the love of God, just because more than 50% of people who voted think something does not make it RIGHT.


*Caveat: I do think that it should be the decision of a church to decide whether or not to solemnize a marriage as a sacrament--churches are independent organizations, and they should also definitely not be legislated--that would be hypocritical.

I DID IT!



I wrote 3000 words today, and also finished most of a bottle of wine (beautiful, beautiful wine). And it's not even LATE yet.

I remember, in 2003, when I hit 50k, I was SO PSYCHED, had to take a brisk walk up the hill (wearing the very same sweater I'm wearing at the moment, now that I think of it -- weird). But then in 2004, even though I made it to 50k in time, I felt very "eh" about the whole thing. Like, eh, that's over, and eh, my ending sucks, and eh, whatever. (This is probably a byproduct of the fact that I was very much a Disillusioned Teen at that point.)

This year, instead of forcing out a terrible ending, I just kept writing until I hit 50k and stopped, mid-scene. I mean, I know I need to revamp the entire book anyway, so why bother finishing the ending? I got TO the ending, anyway, so it's not like it's a mystery.

And, I'm pretty damn happy with myself. So, I'm gonna finish this bottle of wine, and watch Lost on Netflix, and knit, and sit here being proud of myself, trying not to think about what an enormous piece of absolute shit I just produced.

So, here I am. Three days of NaNo left. More like two, actually--I work until 11pm on the 30th, so it would be a REALLY good idea to have the novel done before I leave for work that day. (For some reason, validating my wordcount on the website and getting the associated goodies is actually something that matters to me, even though I think it shouldn't.)

And I'm on track. I broke 45k yesterday, and now I just need to keep going and get that last 10% of the novel out. I don't expect I will actually get to the end of the story, but it kind of doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter, because I realized somewhere around the 30k mark that the story I've been writing all month is only one thread out of at least three and possibly four that make up this story as a whole. In fact, I suspect almost everything I wrote this month will get thrown out as I figure out which scenes require different PoV characters, etc. etc. etc.

Oddly enough, I don't feel bad about this, even though I've worked my butt off trying to get these words written. I'm learning the shape of the story, and what it needs, and how to make it stop crying when it wakes up in the middle of the night, and which foods make it spit up, and I've got its dirty diaper schedule pretty well memorized. (Yeah, I know we use childbirth metaphors for writing a lot, but nobody ever acknowledges the dirty truth.)

So, all in all, I'm in pretty good shape! Just . . . I'm gonna whine now.

( You can skip this, if you want )

Someday, when I'm grown and have plenty of money (hahaha), I'm going to go to a local Walmart store and pick some really obscure item and buy their entire stock (like coconut milk, or canned artichoke hearts, or something) (probably over a couple days so they don't try to stop me), and keep doing that for several weeks, so they're all like, "Geez, why can't we keep this in stock?"

And when their computer system finally decides to start sending them more to meet with demand . . . I'll stop. And then they'll be like, "Oh geez, what do we do with all these obscure items?"

Yes, my money will be going to Walmart, but it will SO be worth it for the hassle and consternation. And then my revenge will be complete. *puts fingertips together and cackles*

Not only did I get to 25k the other night, but I finished the next day slightly ahead, and today I've built up my lead so that I'm only about 500 words behind tomorrow's wordcount goal, with a wordcount of 29,537. It would actually not have been very hard to get that last 500 and get to 30k tonight, which would be pretty cool, but I'm very tired, and I think that being SO CLOSE will give me more motivation to write tomorrow before work (which is something I find difficult, on the days I work 2-11.)

I am so proud of myself for not wasting these three days I haven't been at Walmart. (I had two days totally off, and then today I worked for the newspaper, which is barely work at all. Except for the getting up at 7am part.) Basically, I'm awesome!

. . . well, not that awesome. Because, oh God, my novel is bad. It's bad, bad, bad . . . not fit for fertilizer. I'm really glad it's getting written, but God, I'm going to have some serious excavation to do to pull the very few diamonds out of this pile of stinking shit, once November is over. (I recently compared November to a month-long bowel movement. Which is a disgusting metaphor, but isn't it true, you guys?)

Now, I have to try to get myself to go outside and look at the meteors. I know if I do it, I won't regret it, but it's COLD outside, and not particularly warm in the house, so I'm worried that if I go out there, I won't be able to warm back up before bed.

Ah well. Suck it up, Emma!

Spent my day hanging out on a sheep farm! There was much knitting, and wool talk, and some sheep wrangling. (I held the clipboard to record which sheep were getting sent to slaughter. It was a little bit sobering, but I am determined to not to be a meat eater unless I'm willing to look my dinner in the face first, so . . . yeah.)

And now, it is time for NaNo! I'm hoping to hit 25k today, since it's the halfway point, and I feel like if I can reach the halfway point on time, I can reach the end on time. And I'm at the point in the story where we get the big scene that is the transition between the first and second halves of the story, which should be full of drama and hopefully easy to write.

The only pitfall I can see is that suddenly we're moving into a part of the story where the nine-year-old who's been my point of view character so far will not likely be present for many of the scenes I want to write. (I can use "In Space" to fudge a lot of stuff about this story, but I'm pretty sure that even In Space, children aren't generally present when their custody, for example, is being discussed.)

But, I also don't really want to abandon her as my PoV character, because . . . I mean, it's been pretty much 25,000 words, and that's an awfully long time to go before suddenly breaking PoV. Especially since there's no other character I'd want to commit to for the second 25k; the nine-year-old does need to come back for it. If I didn't need her later, I could see dividing the book into two parts and having a different PoV character for each.

As it is, I will just have to be creative about what I show and don't show. Fortunately, she is a pretty nosy nine-year-old. I already have her overhearing conversations and spying on things. I suppose she will continue that way. It is freaking hard to have a child as your main character, guys! Orson Scott Card got away with it in Ender's Game by making an entire society full of autonomous children, but if you're working in a world that's full of adults, there's not a lot kids can do. But my girl is determined to do it anyway.

I suspect that this is exactly the sort of thing you're not supposed to worry about during NaNo, but if I don't feel good about the story, then I don't enjoy writing it, so I need to make sure I'm comfortable enough with the format (if not the content) that I still feel it's worth carrying on.

I sort of love my life right now. I mean, there are parts of it that really suck, but there are also a lot of parts that are really fantastic and irreplaceable. And several of them are things that are completely unique to this particular place and time--I couldn't get them anywhere else. To wit:

A) The Doghouse Espresso, the little coffee shop on Main Street, is pretty much my favorite place in the world these days. I'm so comfortable here, and my brother makes me amazing coffee, and it's just such an unmitigated pleasure to spend my free time here.

B) My brother, period. We're living together for the first time in about five years, and it's been so wonderful developing a relationship with him now that we're both sort of adults. Honestly, it would be pretty miserable living where I do if he wasn't there. We share enough interests to be able to spend quality time together, and we're different enough that we challenge each other--it's basically exactly what you'd look for in a friend. Joe's introduced me to espresso--like, how to really appreciate good espresso, and also to good beer, and also to good music. Meanwhile, I've been lending him pretty much my entire Neil Gaiman collection and am getting him started on Diana Wynne Jones soon.

C) Beer! We have a local brewery that focuses on high quality, small batch beer that is pretty much earthshaking. I don't get up there as often as I like, but my brother does, and often brings some home to share.

D) My current Internet community. I was worried for a little while after I graduated from college that after spending so much time sort of disconnected from everything except LiveJournal, I wouldn't have much an Internet community to turn to after I was away from college. But it turns out, I'm surrounded by a rich, beautiful community of people I like, who entertain and support me. Twitter has been a huge help in that; I feel like I'm having little miniature conversations with people all day long.

E) NaNoWriMo. We're far enough into November now that NaNo has become a way of life--if I'm not working, I'm either writing, or (more likely) feeling guilty about not writing. Either way, I'm thinking about it constantly, plotting about how to find writing time (and motivation). My novel is complete tripe, but, well, at least it's getting written. (Although I'm quite behind. Sigh.)

So, there are REALLY AWESOME THINGS happening on Youtube right now. And I don't mean the giant squids of anger who're always being stupid in the comments. Because, if you didn't know about it, there is a blossoming community of highly talented young musicians on Youtube! (As a matter of fact, I have been novelling to this guy's album and also his other Timelord Rock project, and it is AWESOME.)

But that's not what I wanna talk about right now. I want to talk about Chartjackers! Basically, a bunch of guys in the UK produced a single, gave it to Children in Need so that absolutely 100% of the proceeds go to the charity, and now they're trying to get it into the UK charts. Just to see if they can, and and to raise money for charity.

The best part? It is a really catchy song. Check it out:



You guys, I bought this song in the library about ten hours ago, and it is already at the top of my "25 Most Played" list in iTunes. (Granted, that probably says more about my obsessive tendencies than anything else, but hey. Also, this is a pretty new computer, so I haven't racked up lots of plays. STILL.)

Now, the thing is, if you're not in the UK, you can't help them get into the charts. But all of the money will still go to Children in Need, and you get a great song!

And I know that at least one of you actually is in the UK! thirteenthend, I know I don't know you super well, but, hey, if you wanted to pop over into iTunes and buy the song, you could be part of the extreme awesomeness that the Internet is generating!

And of course, you should all tell your friends! This is our Internet now, and we can actually make good things happen with viral videos. How freaking awesome is that?

I'm gonna brag, guys--I totally pwned at NaNo yesterday. I woke up early and dragged my computer over into bed with me and wrote 1000 words before I'd even stepped out of bed. Wrote another 800 works between visiting the coffee shop and my lunch break at Walmart. (I'm especially proud of successfully writing about 500 words during my Walmart shift.)

I also found time to run a Peace Corps-related errand in there. And I worked until 11:30. And when I got home, our Internet wasn't working (I suspect it still isn't), so I couldn't get on and brag! Very sad.

The problem is, I have to do the same thing today. Also, I am still behind, if you're figuring things at 1667 words a day--but my spreadsheet tells me that if I write 1722 words a day, I'll be fine. And I'll give it another big push on my next day off, which is Thursday. This month is anything but a sure thing, since I'm all over the place, productivity-wise, but I'm basically too damn stubborn NOT to win.

Now my lunch break is ending. Time to get back to the proofreading!

I'm doing NaNoWriMo again! I missed it a lot while I was in college, so this is VERY EXCITING for me. Unfortunately, since I have Twitter now, it's led me to neglect the LJ (whereas, before Twitter, NaNo would have sparked Much Posting here). Ah well.

Anyway, I just wanted to stop in pat myself on the back for everything I did today. I got out of bed by 9, and I had a marathon and wrote 1000 words in an hour, which at least twice as fast as I normally write, and then I hurried down to Montrose, got a polio vaccination, and ran three other errands all in time to show up at work by 2pm. Also, I wrote a couple hundred words on my lunch break.

So, my wordcount is behind, but I don't really feel bad. It was a full day. Trouble is, tomorrow I have to get up do it again--I need to get 2000 words at least before I go to work at 2. I think I will sleep now!

Today was snow!

I have never understood why people get excited about snow. Really. It's pretty, yeah, so if you get to stay inside all day, it can be kind of nice, but if you have to go anywhere it's a royal pain.

Despite living in Colorado my entire life, I've never driven in snow before. I almost didn't get out of the driveway, because the snow was at least seven inches deep, and more where the plow had piled it up, and my dear little Corolla couldn't handle it. Much wheel-spinning But I had learned from getting stuck in the sand at Lake Powell (the experience had a use, mizujada!) and backed the car up a good way and then picked up a little speed, and prayed no one was coming up the road, and made it out.

And on the way home, the roads were dry and the most dangerous thing I saw was a bunch of deer. And that was really good, because one of my coworkers had said that it was whiteout conditions up here, and that scared me. (The weather changes pretty quickly around here, though.)

The weird thing about this part of Colorado (especially this time of year), is that it'll snow, but the temperature won't stay down quite below freezing, so it'll snow, then melt, then snow, then melt, which makes everything very soggy and icy. (Now that I think of it, Virginia was the same way. Maybe it's just a temperate climate thing.) The icy-ness is dangerous, and the soggy-ness is just gross. Maybe that's why I don't like snow?

Well, that, and I don't ski.

(I know. What kind of Coloradan am I?)