Hey! I almost didn’t make it here today. I’ve been working on this project I landed last week, editing a 150,000-word novel by the end of February, which means I have to get through 25K words a week. I’m absolutely loving the work, but mercy, does it necessitate a lot of concentration on the screen! I have to keep taking eyeball breaks.
This post is going to be very short, and it may not be sweet, but I should be back tomorrow to get caught up with everything I missed over the weekend.
I rarely spend money on myself, but when I do, I usually spend it on things that are intangible. I’d rather go to my favourite restaurant than buy clothes–which may have something to do with the fact that I eat too much to fit into the clothes I wish I could wear. Or is that the other way around? Whatever. And yes, I know that food is tangible, but it’s not the feeling of it I like. It’s the taste. And the experience of eating off someone else’s plates… someone who will wash them.
I’d rather go on trips than buy myself something expensive, like a new computer or cabinets for my kitchen. Again, I enjoy the experience and the memories a trip gives me. As well as the opportunity to get out of the house and away from all the responsibilities I have. And my ugly 1950s kitchen cabinets… But it’s not just that. The cabinets work still, and I can’t justify spending money to get rid of something useful just because it’s old and olive green and shiny. I’m talking about my kitchen counter now, but really, the whole kitchen needs redoing.
My money also goes on my education, which isn’t tangible. But it’s an investment, right? If I spend enough money taking courses so that I can MAKE money, it’s all worthwhile in the end. Especially if I can spend my money on some delicious tangible sushi. In Japan. Away from my kitchen.
This is the only time of year I buy cookies, as a rule. I lurve me a good shortbread. I tried baking it once and it came out well. That was a very long time ago. I think I may have been in high school. My last major attempt at baking was a banana bread in 1984. It was supposed to take a very long time to cook, I remember that. I also remember taking it out of the oven after twice the amount of time it was supposed to be done in the middle, and it still wasn’t. Since then, I usually stick to Pillsbury. Or premixed muffins, or peanut butter cookies which take nothing at all to make. Practically.
I do enjoy cooking meals, as long as I’m left alone to do it with my music turned up and a glass of wine or six. However if I’m rushed or distracted, I’m a bear in the kitchen. Just let me sit down with the jar of peanut butter in the middle of the floor kind of bear. I don’t eat peanut butter out of the jar often any more. I used to do it as a kid all the time. OH, and give me a container of whipped cream and watch me go. … or, I mean, that was before. Honest.
Gone are the days when I used to get baked myself on New Year’s Eve. It’s been a few years since I haven’t had the kids to look after, and this year will be no different. But I have my bottle of Baileys’ to sip, and I have my wine to guzzle… I mean, sip, so I’m good.
Cheers, all, to a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday for those of you who don’t have to work, and the time in between when you do. I hope your celebrations, whatever they are, bring you joy.
P.S. I just realized I had a brain fart yesterday and posted the date wrong. It should read Dec. 24/16. I’ll change it in the title but not in the link, so all will not be lost.
Have you ever done something embarrassing and hope nobody caught on? Of course, it happens to everyone, right? Even when I do something like that and I think nobody saw (things like writing a comment and then erasing it, or a post and then editing it, or even tripping over nothing on the street or walking into a post) I’m still embarrassed. I wonder if that’s because I’ll never be sure whether or not I got caught. So is that moot, or not? Is it moot point because no one saw it? Or is it not moot because I remain in a state of embarrassment for the sake of that ‘maybe’ or just because I’m ashamed of myself.
There is one instance I can’t get over. It involves singing too loud, and I don’t know if anyone noticed, but I beat myself up over it every time I think about it. One thing it has taught me is to be more aware of my surroundings next time. It seems to me there’s nothing more able to teach a lesson than embarrassment. It’s not something easily forgotten.
I’m not alone here, right? Oh, how embarrassing if I am.
Redundancies. I’m studying them in my new-but-almost-finished Stylistic Editing course. I’ve decided to make the decision to get them all out of my system in this post I’m writing right now.
Edit: I’ve decided to edit all the redundancies from the remainder of this post because it’s been bothering me since I published it yesterday.
Sadly, James Justin, the scam artist nice man from Windows didn’t call me back. I had some great suggestions on what to say/do to him; you can read the hilarity in the comments here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/11/26/okay-i-need-your-help/ if you haven’t already. Since I told him my power was off when he called the first time, I was going to inform him that I never turn my computer off so I had no idea how to turn it on. This scenario is getting funnier by the day, since if he does call now, I can say, “THANK GOD YOU CALLED! I HAVEN’T HAD A COMPUTER SINCE SATURDAY!!” Of course it will take 15 minutes to boot, during which time I’ll have lots of opportunity to take advantage of the awesome suggestions on the other post. Then, after I go through all the steps he meticulously explains in order for him to hack my computer and steal all my money, I’ll ask, “What’s an ‘internet’?” Brilliant, no?
My One-Liner Wednesday today had more to do with real life than I wish it had. I was passing out last night when I should have been scheduling the post, then I woke up at 7:10 this morning – an hour and a half late – so I had to drive the kid to school before I could get around to the prompt. Needless to say, it’s been a rough one. However, this is a good opportunity to let you know that if I’m ever AWOL, you check my Twitter feed in the right-hand column, just over there —> somewhere. If possible, I’ll leave a note to let you know what’s happened to me.
I’m almost finished the final edit of my first book in the series, The Great Dagmaru. The actual title for Book 1 is yet to be determined. Book 2 is written and I’m three-quarters of the way through writing Book 3. Unfortunately my plan to get it published this year will not be met. I’m hoping to do so in February.
Between the craziness of the above and spending the day at the hospital in Kingston for a consultation, I’ve been shamefully negligent in responding to comments. I hope to get back to you all soon!
I can count on both hands once the number of times I’ve been called “pretty” in my life. I just don’t have the face and the style for “pretty,” and I’m okay with that. I don’t like a lot of “pretty” things. My taste has always been tuned more to simplicity. My hairstyle and lack of makeup speak volumes.
I think being pretty smart makes up for a lot of what I lack in looks. I’d rather have intelligence than beauty anyway. Yes, it would be nice to open doors with just a smile, to quote the Eagles, but being able to reach out and open them myself has value.
I like to write pretty things. It’s like I live vicariously through my fiction. And I do. I have for some time now, especially the romance. Then again, there’s a certain romance to be had just sitting here on my laptop with a cat on one side and a dog on the other. I hope the dog doesn’t wake up and notice the cat is licking his bone. Oh, now he’s chewing it. I think he’s having an identity crisis. Dog’s eyes are open… and now they’re closed. I guess he doesn’t care.
Where was I before I started my play-by-play? Oh yeah, “pretty.” I’m supposed to take Alex to his teacher’s house today for a tea party. Alex has informed me that he wants me to dress up and look pretty. I told him I’ll try.
I hope this pretty horrid headache I’ve been battling all day so far goes away. Tylenol didn’t work – just took some Advil. Wish me luck.
This has the potential to be fun. I just had a nice man call me from Microsoft. He introduced himself as “James,” a lovely East Indian name to be sure, to let me know my computer is sometimes “not responsive” because of a serious problem with Windows. James can fix it for me, but I have to be in front of my computer.
I explained to him that, unfortunately, I don’t have any electricity right now (a blatant lie) but he said that’s no problem, he can call me back later and we can fix this thing! He confirmed his name, “Justin,” and said he’d call tonight.
SO! How can I have the most fun with “James Justin” tonight? Suggestions, please!!
Yes, I lack the perfect house. My clothes are all years and years old, my furniture doesn’t match, and there’s a funny smell in one of my cupboards. But we’re all happy. Me, the kids, the dog, the cats, the fly flying around, laughing at me when I try to kill it… all of us. We have a warm place to live (now that the furnace is fixed–it was touch-and-go a few days ago), we have food in the fridge (and apparently rotting in one of the cupboards), and we have electricity with which to watch TV and connect on the internet (Hi!!).
And we have stuff to look forward to, too. Tomorrow is the Santa Claus parade here in town, and Alex is very much looking forward to participating in it, on his school’s float. But there’s a catch, of course. The float is themed on the Grinch and he’s terrified of the Grinch. We may be in the parade, or we may be running, screaming from the parade. Something for me to look forward to since it’s supposed to rain. Then there will be the joy of Christmas shopping to look forward to. For the first time in three years I’ll be doing my shopping in Canada. At home. This time last year I was on a plane to Tokyo. So hard to believe. But I have proof:
Mt. Fuji, just below the engine.
This year I just didn’t have the money. In fact, I’m probably still paying for that trip. Maybe I’ll post about it, finally, for the next ten days, which was how long I was there. Yeah. Happily, I took notes.
But now life is so much more simple. With my old clothes, my mismatched furniture and my funny smell, my dog who’s not a puppy anymore and three kids who are old enough to drive, I’ve proven that I don’t need much. Only love.
I often have ideas for novels but are any of them really novel ideas? They say there are only seven plots in the world. Just like there are only seven notes (not including sharps/flats) and yet look how many variations there are to play them.
I’ve always wanted to be able to play an instrument. I love music. I love listening to people play who I can hear are really feeling the music. But I have no talent of my own. I started with the recorder in elementary school (drove my parents crazy) then I graduated to the clarinet (drove them even crazier) and at one point I even played the oboe. I drove everyone crazy with that – they took me off it after three days.
I inherited my dad’s two guitars – a 12-string Yamaha acoustic, and a 6-string Guild electric/acoustic jazz guitar. The latter is worth some money, but I’d rather play it than sell it. Except I can’t. As many times as I’ve tried to learn, I can’t. Ah well.
My NaNo project isn’t going very well. I’m having a hard time getting into it, and I think it’s because of what I’m reading right now. I need to be reading a novel that is in tune with what I’m trying to write. So if I’m writing something that is along the purely story-telling line, I need to read something like Stephen King, who is a master of storytelling. Right now I’m attempting literary fiction. It’s a huge leap for me, but I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone a little. I need to read literary fiction, to get the feel of it. Instead, I’m reading two other fantastic books, Eating Bull by Carrie Rubin and Eve of Darkness by S.J. Day. (You can find links to them both in my Goodreads widget on the right side of the screen. Below my twitter feed.) I don’t want to put either of them down but… NaNo is only 30 days long – and I’m soooo behind in my word count. I’m up to 4,300 words – by the end of tomorrow I’m supposed to hit 10K. Not going to happen with Alex at home. I need some fire under my butt. Or I need to rethink my novel. I suppose it’s not too late. What’s another 4,300 words, after all?
Or hey, maybe I just need some background music. Maestro! Where the hell are you, Maestro?
I’m game! …wait, what happened to the old donors?!?
Note: I drove past this sign, turned around, parked as close as I could, and walked to it to take the picture. Some opportunities you just can’t pass up.
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