NaNoWriMo: TGIF

Thank Goodness I'm Finished



More tomorrow after I finish celebrating (i.e., doing laundry, straightening up the house, and sleeping a looooooong time).

NaNoWriMo: I think I can, I think I can...

15,000 words to go, which means I have to write 3,000 words every day this week to "win." It's going to be tough. I imagine this will come down to a Friday night of frenzied typing.

After this is over, I swear I will start reading everyone else's blogs again and update my blogroll to include some new folks I've discovered.

P.S. The USB drive was in my home computer right where I left it, thank goodness!

NaNoWriMo: Behind, Lost USB drive

Gah!

Not only am I thousands and thousands of words behind on NaNoWriMo, but now I’m also without my USB drive containing all my work.

I was bright enough to make a back-up on my home computer, thank goodness, but it irritates me to not have my entire document with me as I travel and try to continue writing. And I'm hoping that the USB drive is still attached to my home computer and not left at some random rest stop between WV and NC.

I’m planning to devote large chunks of time to writing during the next 2 days -- if I can just keep myself from shopping online.

NaNoWriMo: My ten most annoyingly overused words & phrases

10. Genuinely
9. Even though
8. At least
7. Suddenly
6. Typical(ly)
5. Glare/Glaring
4. Occasionally
3. Unbelievable
2. Obvious(ly)
1. Of course

Of course, I've always struggled with "of course," but some of these are new for me, like "glare." That's because of one character who's very surly, so I feel compelled to repeatedly note that she's glaring.

But I'm not editing now. December is for editing.

Hello, Mothman; Goodbye NaNoWriMo Lead

The bad news
Friday all was well and I was right on track with NaNoWriMo. Well, I wrote nothing on Saturday, and next to nothing today and Friday, so now I'm officially behind.

The good news
I was on the road a lot this weekend, including a drive through Point Pleasant on Route 2, so I finally got to see the Mothman statue. It's not nearly as good as the photos I've seen by others, like Jerry, but at least I got to see it.

Speed Update: 14K, Ravenous Cat

NaNoWriMo
I'm in the neighborhood of 14,000 words. Why don't I know for sure? I've been writing in longhand -- in pencil -- and typing it when I get a chance. Yeah, I know. Not very efficient. Unfortunately, I developed this ritual in grad school and old habits are hard to break.

Feline News
The temporarily anorexic cat is now back to his old self and eating everything in sight, including any minuscule crumb he can find on the floor. Here's hoping this continues, especially while he's vacationing with a relative over Thanksgiving.

Cat Food Taste-Testing: WV Experiment Station

Oh what a fun week it’s been, but now that things are looking up, I can finally laugh about it a little.

Monday morning the elder cat showed no interest in his food. That is hugely out of character. Even when he’s been sick in the past, he’s managed to eat.

A vet visit and more than $80 worth of blood tests later, nothing abnormal could be found. Yet he still lacked interest in his food. I was told how important it was to keep him eating something each day.

Which led to this mess…

…because he seemed interested in new kinds of food and would at least try a few bites of each. And I tried various presentations – a flat plate, a small bowl, the usual food bowl, and – his favorite – directly on the living room rug.

The break-through came last night when I got him to eat about 8 Greenies and 60 tiny balls of Science Diet Light (big bag on left) – but only by doling out 5-6 pieces at a time on the rug.

This morning he ate almost 1/8 cup of the Science Diet in his regular food dish. How do I know 1/8 cup? Because I measured it before and after he ate!

And remember I have another cat, so one of the greatest challenges is keeping her from gobbling down all of his food. Good times.

Thank goodness it seems to be resolving itself.