NaNoWriMo in July???

I've decided to do my own version of NaNoWriMo next month. Why? Well, there area several reasons, which I'll list here in a few days.

Needless to say, I need to write. In 2007 my friend Lisa and I did our own in May and I was finally able to write my first novel. Said novel is now collecting dust, as is the one from last year's NaNoWriMo, but that's ok. I've written two novels!!!! So I'm going to try it again before work gets too hectic.

More details to follow later this week. I've taken the next two days off (sorry G that you have to do some of my work) to paint but I'm going to be making some serious notes on what to write come July 1st.

I’m trying desperately to find something to work on besides my current knitting project. I kept coming back to my ‘body on the beach’ idea all weekend and made some great progress this weekend, finding a name for my mystery writer (Travis) and discovering how his mother (Miranda) came to be murdered when he was fifteen years old. I’ve even got three suspects now, not including Miranda’s husband. The twist is, bodies are showing up, dressed just like Miranda was in 1968; same exact outfit, down to the brand of clothing, shoes and jewelry. How creepy is that? Well, that was as far as I got. Time to shelve that notebook back on the shelf and work on something else. I’ve learned when nothing else is there to write about, its time to work on something different.

Earlier this afternoon I decided to work on Maggie and Gabe’s story. Maggie is a seamstress who has moved back home due to some unfortunate events in her career as a wedding gown designer. I’ve had this idea for well over ten years. My recent interest in sewing has had me digging out my notes and manuscript from before to see what I could do to it. Several hours later I’ve decided to combine the body on the beach story and Maggie and Gabe into one story. Maggie’s knowledge of fashion and designing will help in uncovering who killed Miranda over forty years ago. So there’s another one shelved back in the bookcase.

[I keep my ideas in one big notebook. Once I start working on an individual idea, I take it out and put it in its own notebook – a place where I know I can find it again – as my friend Lisa is always telling me – “Organization will set you free” – this is one area in my life where I do try to keep organized.]

So here I set, needing to write, and nothing to work on. Don’t get me wrong, it has been a productive day, for non-writing things. My clothes are washed and ready for the next week. I sewed a new pillowcase, stirred up some chocolate chip cookie dough (I keep it in the fridge for up to a week – I bake them as I eat them because there is nothing better than eating a warm, right out of the oven cookie) and attempted to make a skirt without using a pattern. I’ve learned a few things from the skirt, so I’ll be taking it apart and trying again, but I’m happy I had the idea to make one without using a pattern. Sometimes you have to learn to do things the hard way in order to be a better sewer later. Anyway, I got a lot done today but I still need to write.

So I am again on the lookout for something to write. I’ve set my clock a little earlier in the morning. I’m going to try and write before I go to work. Maybe I can get back into my grove I had at the beginning of the year.

Floundering

I'm floundering. Work has been kinda chaotic since March and where I missed a few days while in Philly my writing exercises have deteriorated. I want to write so bad, but apparently I'm back to my old tricks of just going on to bed because I'm tired. And I am tired. No doubt about that. And a tired writer is not a very good writer.

Work is exhausting. When I get home, all the inspiration I've had during the day just disappears. I make notes of what I was thinking, but that's about it. Script Frenzy was a bust this year. I ended up with 20 pages, which is better than nothing. I guess.

I'm fighting a weekly battle with another office at my institution, trying to make sure that the credentials I receive are authentic. I feel like I'm adding to the weight on my boss T's shoulders, but I need her support and she's been great so far in giving it. 

Today's incident has her now calling a meeting with the person in charge of the office I'm having trouble with and the associate VP of academic affairs. I apologized to T today for causing so much trouble but she wasn't worried. She did say however to not go back on what I've been doing - once I make an exception, then all this will have been for nothing.  

I'm headed to Hagerstown, MD next weekend for a small trip. I'm hoping to regroup, find my focus again, and get back to writing. I need the writing to calm the chaos in my life right now. I may even need to murder a few people, fictionally speaking, of course. 

(Yes, that's my dog Scooby telling me "No picture, please.")

Final days of ScriptFrenzy

nanowrimo notes , originally uploaded by mysterywriter.

I'm up to 19 pages. Can I do it? I want the bragging rights to say I finished a script. I'll give it my best shot. I really want to wear that t-shirt I bought in public. LOL

I've been using a previously written story and converting it into the script format. I've found that my story has now made several changes and I've veered away from what I had written. I'm going with the flow so all I can do is hope the final outcome is something I can put to good use when I go back to working on the novel.

I will admit that writing a script is much harder than I thought. I'm making a terrible mess of mine, but that's OK. This is a learning experience for me, and if all I ever get out of it is better dialogue for my fiction writing, I'll take it. I write what the voices in my head (characters) tell me to.

Sorry for using an old photo. I needed one with paper on it so reused a previous NaNoWriMo picture.

the start of homemade jelly - and murder

the start of homemade jelly, originally uploaded by mysterywriter.

The most mundane of chores can lead to great story ideas.

I was making homemade raspberry (black) jelly today with help from my mom - that's her hand in the photograph. You can see the steam coming off the hot juice. I was thinking that this stuff would probably take someone's skin off. I was thinking back to Christmas eve last year when the baked beans I was stirring popped onto my wrist. Hurt like hell, but nothing compared to getting splashed with this stuff.

Jelly making would make an interesting way to kill someone. Maybe the body could be so disfigured there wouldn't be a way to ID it. Hmmmm.

Script Frenzy update

I told C over at Planet All-Star today that I had finally written one page of my script. Of course, he comes back with "Only 99 more to go." 

Finding an idea has been tough. And writing a script is much harder than I thought. I'm used to describing the surroundings, what the characters are thinking, etc. No so in a script. I need dialogue and lots of it. Dialogue I can do - sometimes when I'm working on my writing exercises the dialogue is all I'm writing down. One reason I thought I could write the script. Oh well. I still have a few more days left in the month to catch up. I hope. LOL

My issues with writing my word quota has me thinking about murder a lot. I can't seem to find one idea to write on. My regular job is wearing me out and by the time I get home, I'm too tired to think clearly to write anything worth keeping. I sound like I'm whining and I am. C's wife G had to listen to me vent today, as did my sister L while we had lunch. The clothes I have on today will never be worn in the same combination again. Today was just filled bad karma. LOL

Tonight I'm going to work on my teenage time traveler story and see if I can get together a list of scenes to write about for my word quota then turn right around and redo the scene for the script. Maybe add another page or two to the script. 

9709

I needed 9,300 words for the month of March and I achieved that goal even though I missed three days of writing. I still feel sad that I missed those days, but my other days of surpassing the daily quota paid off and I didn't have to write any extra tonight to make up for those days.

My total word count to date is 23,204 words. That's almost half of what is needed for NaNoWriMo! 

Next month I should add at least another 12,000 words. April will be 400 words per day. I'm also participating in the ScriptFrenzy contest, which should help me with the word quota as well.

Script Frenzy arrives in April!!

I was chatting online with a friend of mine about 12:30 Sunday morning (3/19) when she told me that ScriptFrenzy, the script writing contest created by the people at NaNoWriMo was in April!!! I thought it was in July and that I had plenty of time to work on my story - plot, characters, etc. I was going to use my word count for that month (700 words/day) to write at least one 100 page script. But it's next month!!!!! What am I going to do??????

I'm going crazy trying to learn how to structure a script. I've read various books, websites, magazine articles and I have decided that I do not have the time to successfully plot out a screen play. Will that stop me from participating in ScriptFrenzy? NO WAY!

My plan is to just start writing different scenes. As long as I have 100 script pages by the end of the month, I'll be happy. Nothing in the rules says anything about the quality of the script. I know there if a format, but I'm such a loser I was totally unprepared for this year's contest.

I've also just returned from a conference in Philadelphia. My university uses Banner so the company that makes this database, SunGard, hosted their annual summit. First time for me to attend and I had a blast. I went with three co-workers, flying out on Saturday (3/21) and returning on Thursday (3/26) and since I had already been gone four days that week, I took Friday as a vacation day. Whew. So I had no chance to work on my script idea and structure. 

I also didn't write for three days while I was gone. I started out great, handwriting my daily quota, since I didn't take my computer (my iPod Touch was used a lot though to surf the web) and one night I actually forgot to write. I was disappointed with myself. I ended up skipping the next night, my last night in Philly, and skipping Thursday night as well after I returned home. I finally told myself I needed a break. I wasn't writing to win a prize. I'm attempting to make writing a habit and I think I have done a good job of that. So I may take a few more breaks in the coming months.

So my plans are to participate in ScriptFrenzy, writing 100 pages of a terrible script, but that's OK. I'm happy to just be writing, and to feel the creativeness finally bubbling up and escaping. I've mentioned to a few friends that my stories were trapped by my laziness and if I ever popped that cork, I would have an unending flow of words pouring out and onto the paper.

I'm sure you're wondering about the photo I included. That is a picture of my sewing machine. I finally drug it out of it's case and bought the piece I needed to fix it (two of them actually.) I think April's word count will be about a seamstress/costumer who gets involved with a small town cop solving a cold case. I've had this particular idea for over 10 years. Actually, I don't think I've worked on it since I left my job as a police dispatcher in 1998. 

I came across an article in a newspaper while on vacation about a woman who made wedding gowns. That got me started on a story about Maggie, a seamstress who previously worked in the costume department at a movie production company and who now had her own business creating custom clothing. 

My creativity in writing has spilled over into other areas of my life, causing me to get back into sewing (currently making a pillowcase for the first time) and to start knitting. Those crafts will in turn inspire more writing, creating a beautiful circle of creativeness.

100 Things

I finally made it to 100 posts! Almost like trying to write to a certain word count each night. I started this list in November 2008 and kept adding items as I would think of them. Some times I despaired of actually finding 100 things to say about myself. But I have prevailed.

1. I have red hair.

2. And green eyes.

3. I'm 5'4" tall. Well, 5'3 3/4". Same thing. LOL

4. I'm nearsighted and wear glasses.

5. I'm right handed.

6. But I fervently wish I was left handed.

7. I work in higher education.

8. I have a master's degree.

9. I drive a black VW Jetta.

10. With a manual transmission. Special order.

11. I learned to drive on a VW Beetle. Light blue. Manual transmission.

12. That my dad drove to school. 

13. My dad is 6'4". I am 5'4. You would think I would be a little taller. Thanks, Mom.

14. I took my driving test in a car with a manual transmission.

15. I failed the test. Stalled on a hill. In the pouring rain.

16. State trooper told me I had guts to take the test in a car with a standard transmission.

17. Passed the next time. IN THE SAME CAR.

18. If I could do the math, I would be an architect.

19. Or a forensic scientist.

20. Or a musician.

21. My dad taught algebra, pre-calculas, geometry, chemistry, physics and computer programming in high school. I had all but physics. I know just enough to be dangerous.

22. I'm a beginning knitter. 

23. I'm an experienced cross stitcher. 19 years experience.

24. I have two sisters and one brother. 

25. Odd numbers are my favorite.

26. I love frogs.

27. I love practical jokes.

28. Blue is my favorite color.

29. I played the flute and piccolo in the school band.

30. I have been to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC at least once each month.

31. I have never been out of the country.

32. But I do have a passport. Everyone should. You never know when Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome (with blue eyes) will show up and ask you to leave with him.

33. My avatar is a somewhat accurate description of what I had on the day I created it. My hair looked worse that day, though.

34. I'm older than the cartoon character Scooby Doo.

35. I'm in love with Edward Cullen, AKA Robert Pattinson.

36. Hawaii 5-0 and I debuted in the same year.

37. Most of my pets growing up were "rescues" - not from the pound or rescue groups - they were dropped at my house because I live in the country. There's a serial killer for you - murdering people who drop pets because they don't want them any more.

38. I saw the Twilight movie 4 times in theaters. 

39. I love cemeteries. Don't ask me why.

40. Age 40 was pretty sucky for me. I hope 41 is better.

41. I wish time travel were possible.

42. I have never broken a bone in my body.

43. I like to read mysteries.

44. I've met Alton Brown, host of Good Eats (Food Network).

45. I've also met William Shatner. Live long and prosper, Captain Kirk.

46. I've discovered that knitting is a much more expensive hobby than cross stitching ever was.

47. I love horses.

48. I'm fascinated by snakes, but also scared of them.

49. I can play the piano. 

50. I want to make a quilt.

51. Smallville is my favorite TV show.

52. I love ghost stories.

53. If I can teach myself to write in a higher level programming language, I may embark on a 2nd master's degree in Information Systems. Maybe.

54. I've pre-ordered three different versions of the Twilight movie on DVD. And pre-ordered it from iTunes as well.

55. I own a Macbook and an iMac.

56. I plan to grow pumpkins this summer.

57. I spent 6 years working as a police dispatcher.

58. I joined eBay in 1998 to purchase a VCR that played and recorded the in the formats PAL and SECAM as well as NTSC. 

59. Said VCR cost me $400.00. And is still working today.

60. I have a real copy of the Song of the South movie. PAL format (VHS).

61. I want to build my own house.

62. I now have a huge poster of Edward Cullen on the back of the door in my TV room.

63. I learned to cook so I could eat certain foods more than once or twice a year. Example: homemade crescent rolls. My mom would only make them for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can now make them anytime, but I will admit they taste the best during the holidays with all that turkey and mashed potatoes.

64. My first dog was a German Shepherd named Sam. He died when I was 12.

65. My current dog's name is Scooby-Doo.

66. I've had my new car (black VW Jetta) for 15 months and already have over 27,000 miles on it.

67. My favorite board game is Monopoly.

68. My next favorite board game is Trivial Pursuit.

69. I also like Scrabble, Clue and Yahtzee.

70. My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip. Also has to be colored green too.

71. I've owned three VW Jetta's and a Jeep Wrangler. 

72. I've been certified as a CPR instructor by the American Red Cross.

73. I've been certified as a CPR instructor by the American Heart Association.

74. I want to drive on Germany's Autobahn. Really.

75. My license place is personalized now. It's the name of my favorite TV show.

76. I won 2nd place at my junior high school in a DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) writing contest.

77. My boss B gave me the highest compliment the other day. She called me irreplaceable. I almost cried.

78. I want to work on a master's degree in Forensic Science.

79. I would like to visit Germany for a month.

80. I have over 6 thousands e-mails in my inbox alone, not counting the hundreds in various folders in Outlook.

81. I currently have six pairs of glasses with the same prescription. Yes, six. Three with black frames, one with silver, one with gold and an old, old pair of blue frames.

82. I've been making homemade napkins like crazy. I like the idea of doing my bit for the environment.

83. If I keep up my monthly writing exercises, I will have written over 250,000 words by the end of the year.

84. I would like to teach myself a foreign language or two.

85. I've also discovered that sewing is a much more expensive hobby than cross stitching ever was as well.

86. I plan to participate in ScriptFrenzy and NaNoWriMo this year. 

87. Current songs on my iPod include: Runaway and Dream on Dreamer by Cascada, Convoy by C.W. McCall, Will you still love me by Chicago.

88. I once tracked down a television movie I had watched as a child on Saturday morning on the CBS Children's Film Festival. I could remember only that it appeared to be based on a fairy tale and had an owl with three silver acorns that were actually wishes. Tri orísky pro Popelku is the name of the movie. Better known as Three Wishes for Cinderella. The language was Czech with English subtitles. I finally found a VHS copy of it. For more info on the CBS Children's Film Festival click here.

89. I've learned that patience is a virtue. I've waited for HDNET to air the NCIS episodes from JAG. They're FINALLY airing on March 18th and I've set the Tivo to record them. I hope the power or cable doesn't go off.

90. I don't know whether to believe in ghosts, but I would love to meet one.

91. I actually enjoy playing solitaire. On the computer or with real cards, especially if they're my Scooby Doo deck.

92. I collect USGS (United States Geological Survey) topographical maps (7.5 min quadrangles) of places I've been. Or of places I would like to visit. The last one I bought was for Forks, WA of Twilight fame.

93. I like windows. My house will have lots of them. 

94. I love strawberries, will eat a banana if I have to and I will suck the juice out of an orange but I won't eat the pulp. Ick.

95. I'm currently reading The Reader. I hope to get Revolutionary Road next.

96. I made myself my first pair of pajama pants over the weekend. I love them and look forward to making a few more. 

97. My goal for Christmas 2009 is to make handmade gifts for my family and friends.

98. I love BBQ potato chips, popcorn with extra butter and crunchy Cheetos. But not all at the same time. ICK.

99. I plan to get a motorcycle endorsement on my driver's license next summer if not before.

100. I have red hair. Here's the proof. This is a school photograph of me from, I think, the first grade.

the return of the time traveler

This month my goal is to write 300 words a day. Ok. I've been doing that but I can't seem to stick with one story. I started out good, writing a murder mystery one, but I soon strayed from it and begin writing other stuff. Which isn't to say that's a bad thing, but I ended up writing something different each night. So here I am, March 12th, and while I have the word count quota, I don't have anything else worth keeping.

Now I know you'll say that at least I was writing, practicing my craft, but I would at least like to have something I can come back to at a later date and edit into something that might one day be published.

So I've brought back Mac, my time traveling teenager and her story. I wrote about 20 single spaced pages about her and her friends Freddy and Tessa last month. I'm hoping they can get me out of the funk I've been in this month. 

I want to use Mac's story for the short story contest sponsored by The Writer I mentioned in an earlier post. I think this will be what I need to actually write something, edit it, then send it off for a review. I hope I can do it.

Happy Birthday to my MOM

My mommy is 69 years old today.

Thanks for your love and wisdom and encouragement and cooking lessons. 

I want to be just like you when I grow up.

two dead bodies in less than 1000 words

I'm pitiful. I've written less than 1000 words so far (970 to be exact) and I've already murdered two people. Haven't decided how they died or why, but one body has washed up on the beach and another was found in his home, I think. LOL

I'm writing a new story and just going with the flow. I have six new characters and no idea what to do with them. I've got a doctor (GP), a veterinarian, a maid (dead body #1), a cop, the cop's father (dead body #2), a housekeeper and someone else I can't remember right now. Too many to keep track of already. I guess I need to drag out the character list I use with NaNoWriMo and start writing them down.

I finally made my cookies tonight. I was mixing them up yesterday evening and found out that I had no brown sugar! Well, no brown sugar that was usable. All of if was hard as a rock. So I had to buy new stuff today. It's all in the fridge now, waiting for me to come home tomorrow. I cant' wait.

Happy Birthday Gabriella Moonlight!!!

First off, you gotta change your age on your blog to 41, like I did!!! MUHAHAHAHA

G (she's behind the All Who Wander Are Not Lost blog) and I have been friends for a few years. She worked in an adjoining office, which is where I met her a couple of years ago. Then she changed jobs and moved upstairs. But now she's back downstairs in the best department on campus!!!

She's been a super quick study and has picked up the knowledge needed in a few short months to do a very demanding and mentally exhausting job. She's also working on finishing her master's degree in Humanities. She inspires me everyday to be a better person. I hear her talking on the phone with students and I realize how 'cold' I've become in answering questions from students. I rarely get a call now I haven't heard before so the job has become a little mundane. It's been refreshing to see the job through a new person's eyes that makes me appreciate the job I have.

She sits in the cube beside mine, in what you would call a "corner" office - we're all in a cubical farm and she has one of the corners. I used to have this space, but I wanted a smaller one so I have her mine after she was hired. She brings humor to the office and is a willing participant when I get in one of my moods to pull a practical joke.

Luckily for me, she is taking Monday off to celebrate her birthday. An entire day, home alone. How wonderful is that??? It's great. For me. MUHAHAHAHA

Yes, practical joker that I am, something will happen to her cubicle while she is out of the office. Fair warning G! Be prepared for a surprise when you return on Tuesday. I'll post an update when she returns.

8,357

I again met my goal of writing at least 200 words each day during the month of February. 

My highest word count day was Wednesday, February 4th. I had 1,203 words that day. That was the snow day I took and I wanted to write at least 1,200 words that day.

My lowest word count day was another Wednesday, this time February 18th. I managed to pull out 201 words. And the words for that day are in no relation to anything else I wrote this month. I just wrote miscellaneous descriptions of some knitting I wanted to do. 

my list for the weekend

I'm working on a list of things to do for the weekend. I have a lot to accomplish and a short amount of time.

1. Write my last 200 words for the day. I'll post my February total on Sunday.

2. Make some homemade chocolate chip cookies. I follow the recipe on the Nestle bag of chocolate chips but I also add more chips. I then keep the dough in the fridge and bake cookies whenever I want them. Hot cookies, straight out of the oven, anytime I want. LOL

3. Decide on the story idea for my March daily writings. February has been about teenage time travelers visiting the RMS Titanic before she sinks. One of them runs away and tries to save someone who died during the sinking, which is a no-no.

4. I may have to kill a couple of people in the March writings. I've only killed one person since November and NaNoWriMo. I hate to say this, but I miss that part. I like writing about crimes and how they are solved. The kids on the Titanic have a dead body there now. Guess I need to wind that up and move on to a few more bodies. MUHAHAHA

5. Sew some more napkins. I'm going through a crafty phase right now. My sewing machine is now fixed so I'm going crazy buying fat quarters (usually an 18"x22" piece of material) and turning them into napkins. Trying to be more environmentally friendly. The picture is of my newest purchases. Two of each will be added to my collection.

I just had to share.....

...this photo of my very first napkin!!! Yes, I'm a geek. I'm so excited to finally be able to sew. I tried years earlier, much like my writing, and never got very far. I have the determination now to start a project and finish it. This napkin will be the first of many, following in the steps of the writing exercises I'm working on now. Practice makes perfect, or at least makes the writing a habit, which I believe is what I've needed all along.

How does this pertain to writing really? I've inspired myself to dig out a story idea I was working on about 15 years ago. I'd seen an article in a newspaper about a woman who made wedding gowns by hand. My character was going to be exactly like this woman. She would be one of those old fashioned seamstresses we hear about. She can make anything, from wedding gowns to suits to napkins and table runners and Halloween costumes. But there's something in her past that haunts her. A murder? A jilted lover? Who knows. But now that I'm inspired to work on the story again, I'll soon know the answers.

Happy Birthday Lisa!!!!!

Special birthday wishes are going out to one of my BFFs - Lisa (aka miseenplace) today. You're getting closer to me everyday year. LOL

Lisa runs the All About Alton blog, about Alton Brown. She claims to be his #1 fan, and I totally believe her.

Lisa and I met during the Fall 2002 in a Humanities class called "Historical Studies" where we both work. At the time Lisa wasn't working at my school (yet) but we became friends in the class we will forever call "the class from hell."

Fast forward a couple of years. I see Lisa when she comes in for class sometimes. We chat, exchange pleasantries. Then she is hired to work in the library of the school I work for. How great was that???

I talked her into applying to the University of Tennessee's Information Science (Library Science) program and we both were accepted, taking classes via the Internet since neither of us could leave our jobs beginning in the Fall 2006, when our friendship took off. She finally completed the program last August, earning her 2nd master's degree. (I dropped out due to death and illness in my family.)

I got her hooked on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC and we made several trips. She introduced me to Alton Brown and his show Good Eats on the Food Network. We've both joked that we could be sisters, with the amount of stuff we have in common. When we went to orientation for the UTK program, I talked until I was hoarse, finding all the things we both liked (cross stitching, photography, architecture, research, etc) and had great fun on the trip.

So, in order to show her my appreciation for our friendship, I found something out about her favorite TV chef. I found a magazine today, premiere issue. I've included a photo of it here at the bottom of the post. I've also purchased you a life time subscription to it. 

Here you go: Happy Birthday Lisa!!!!

W

A

I

T

F

O

R

I

T

HERE YOU GO:

MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So much for my little reward dinner

I left work early to give myself a reward tonight. I'd finally gotten caught up with everything in the office and decided to eat at a little diner in my hometown on the way home. Well, lets just say I should have stayed at work.

The meal wasn't that bad. I had a ham and bacon club sandwich on toasted bread. Plain. Yes, you heard me right. I am not a veggie person. I do not eat lettuce, tomato or mayo on my sandwiches. I like them plain. No problems there. Even the fries were half way decent this time. Usually they haven't been cooked long enough, but tonight's were better.

What I didn't like was how the ordering process went. I don't blame the waitress at all. I don't think she saw me come in, nor the guy about five minutes after me. I came in, sat down and opened up my book. I'd received Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein today from Amazon and I so wanted to get into this one. Fairstein is one of the few writers I buy in hardback. I immediately started reading. Everyone knows to come in and sit down, the waitress will get to you.

I'd been reading for a few minutes when this guy comes in and sits down at another table adjacent from me. A few more minutes and the waitress comes over to the area where we are. And you know what??? She goes to his table first!!! WTF??? That wouldn't have been so bad (not her fault she didn't know who came in first), but he goes ahead and orders!!! He didn't even look over to ask if I had been waited on. He just immediately orders!! 

So she takes his drink order then leaves to bring it back. Then she comes to my table to get my drink order. She leaved and brings it back. Then she takes his meal order, then mine. His food is also brought to the table first. GRRRR. I was kinda ticked off. But who to be mad at the most, the waitress for not knowing better, or the guy who should have had the decency to ask if I had been waited on already, since I didn't have a drink on my table or a menu or anything. 

Now some of you may be thinking, why didn't I speak up? And why did I get mad when I didn't speak up in the first place? I'm just not that type of person. One, I don't want to embarrass anyone in public, so I usually keep my mouth shut and just stew in silence. If someone cuts in line, I just think about ways to kill them painfully in the pages of my stories. That usually helps alot. I did write down what I wanted to say in a post while I was sitting there waiting on my drink. Couldn't help myself. LOL.

The tip I left was ok (20%) since the food was good this time, but I'm the type of person who gives great tips, if the service warrants it. Most waitresses there either work there full time or are going to school so I'm happy to give extra. The girl who usually waits on me usually gets a nice BIG tip. Where was she tonight?????

So how does this relate to writing? Well, right now I don't know. I'm sure the experience and scene will work its way into my writings some day.

February 4, 2009 snow day

It doesn't look like a lot of snow, but it is to someone who has to drive 40 miles to get to work.

It wasn't an official snow day, but I took a vacation day anyway. After driving home the night before, I wasn't going back out on the roads again until they were clear.

The snowman idea was a bust. The snow was not the right kind to make one. So my dog will have to suffer. LOL

I did, however, write 1,203 words that day. I think I took a nap, too. It was just a great day to be home and not have to worry about driving.

I also want to send out birthday wishes to my friend Cliff. Hope you had a great one. And now we're the same age again. MUHAHAHA

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