I can't believe I wrote the whoooooooole thing...

I just finished my first NaNoWriMo.  With three hours and fifty-three words to spare.  :-)

I kinda can't believe I did it.

When I heard about it, it sounded like something I'd like to do...once I was finished grad school.  So I graduated last December and started trying to think of an idea.  My plan was to work on hashing out the plot, setting, characters, etc. between December and October, so that when November came I could just write.

Well, I didn't do quite as much planning as I'd hoped (I was originally going to make a very detailed outline in October.  That didn't happen.) but I guess it was enough for me to expand on and flesh out into a 50,000-word bohemeth.

I'd been telling myself all year that I was going to treat this more as a writing exercise than a chore.  If my story only lasted 20,000 words, then that was 20,000 words I wouldn't have otherwise written, and that's still an accomplishment.  I promised myself that I wouldn't get uptight if I fell behind schedule or didn't finish the storyline in November.

And then as I got closer and closer, I started thinking, "Hey, maybe I can make this 50,000 words after all.  And maybe I can even finish it in November.  I mean, maybe.  Still no pressure, right?"

So overall it was fun.  There were definitely times when I wanted to do something else, or just put the computer away.  There were times when other stuff came up and I didn't have the time I wanted to do my writing for the day.  But somehow I managed to do it.

And now I can't wait until next year.

Hair Stylin'

My hair is very straight and flat, so I go to a little old Japanese man to get my hair done.  He knows how to make it look nice, with more volume and movement, and he's also hilarious.  The last time I got my hair cut was just before I was going to London for a trip.  When my hairdresser found out, he said, "Oh, I'll give you an extra-nice hair style for when you flirt with all the British boys!"

This time, we were talking about the unusually warm summer here.  I mentioned that it hasn't been too much of a problem for me, as I enjoy the hot weather.  My hairdresser immediately advised me to insist to my (imaginary) boyfriend that he have a home in Hawai'i.  He said, "It should be in your contract.  If your boyfriend doesn't have a home in Hawai'i, you cannot date him.  Make him sign that."

I love my hairdresser.  I told him to never change.

Heat Wave!

We've been having a nice summer heat wave here; it's bad enough I had to turn on my air conditioning today.  That only happens once or twice a season.  (There's a tree outside that provides a lot of shade, so the temperature in my house stays pretty moderate even in the summer.)

I've been brushing my cat multiple times a day, and getting enough fur to make a whole second cat.  But this morning I noticed that despite my best efforts she had a hairball.  I may have to start vacuuming her.

Being Girlie, part 3

Today I went to buy a new pair of jeans.  I got a few pairs in different sizes, and as I walked back to the dressing room I found myself thinking, "I really hope the smaller size fits; I'll feel so much better about myself."

Really?

The size of the jeans I wear?  Is that what I should feel good or bad about?  Is that a measure of my self worth?  The respect I am owed, and that I owe myself?  Is it a way to judge the person I am?

The larger size jeans fit better, so I bought those.

And I feel great.

Another crazy conversation

I'm going to London soon, and have recently become somewhat obsessed with the BBC "Sherlock" (as well as Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the title character).

friend: are you super excited?

me: I am indeed

friend: I feel like you're going to get off the plane and just scream "Benedict Cumberbatch," then go to warp (complete with animation), and six seconds later, as Benedict is quietly reading in bed, you will fall from the ceiling into the other half of the bed

me: I'm laughing so hard I scared the cat away

oh man tears are running down my face

friend: good

then make it so

me: so I watched the first episode of another show he was in

in which he plays a mathematician

and at one point is explaining equations

hot man...talking math...it's like porn to me

friend: auto-defenestrate

me: but I'm on the first floor?

friend: you can throw someone out a window at any elevation

Maggie

Recent IM conversation between me and a friend:

friend: now if we could just get you control of magnetism, we'd be set

me: I love that you assume I'm secretly magneto

BECAUSE I AM

friend: impossible

he already exists

but you could be magenta

me: that is my other secret identity

friend: so you're both magneto and magneta?

me: Just call me "Maggie"