NaNoWriMo – T-60mins
So, we’re nearly there and I’m not that much further along than I was last time I posted. It’s been a crazy few weeks – applied for a job, got an interview for a job, didn’t get a job, work’s been stressful, bellydancing full-on, tried to catch up with people before a novel eats my November and I’ve had a few Worth contests to boot. So I’ve pretty much spent *no* time on my NaNo prep, although I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. Last year I went crazy with preparation beforehand . . . well, not as crazy as others who virtually write another 50,000 in notes, but crazier than what I normally would and by the time I was a quarter of the way through writing I had disregarded most of my notes anyway. This year, I’ve been stewing on the idea for the best part of twelve months so I’m confident my subconscious is in control. I’ll get myself a notebook for this novel tomorrow, but otherwise not a single pre-novel note, plot, plan or scheme has been written. And it feels good.
I’m in my last hour now before I can start, I’ve got a cuppa brewing and I’m bumming around on line – I can’t wait . . .
Another Week Slips Away . . .
Do you ever wish you could just press pause and make everything stop for a while? I’m having one of those moments right now. These past few months have felt like everything’s on fast forward – no chance to stop and pause before running on to the next mountain to climb. Then when I do have time to spare – like today – I just end up bludging and doing nothing when there are still plenty of things I need to do. I’m still in my PJs and it’s nearly 6pm . . .
Well, I haven’t *entirely* been bludging. I caught up with all the posting and reading I had to do with the 30 days of Text (I’ll post my better entries on here soon), reorganised my Short Stories page to make it a little easier to browse, washed some dishes . . . and yeah, a lot of sleeping in. There probably would have been more sleeping in if it weren’t for my neighbour’s kid yelling upstairs, but I didn’t get out of bed before midday so that was alright.
I had some bad news this week – they’re jacking my rent up $90 a month. Just reading that letter I saw a bunch of things dissolve before my eyes: more bellydancing gear, CDs and books I’ve wanted, decent groceries rather than buying the no-name cheaparse stuff all the time . . . don’t get me wrong, some of that stuff is just as good as other things but other things like muesli and tinned beans are really horrible. *sigh* but when you compare the generic brand at $2.25 to next cheapest at $4.00 for a bag of muesli, you know which one you’re going to buy. Oh well, at least I’ve pretty much got the run of birthdays out of the way; there’s always a slight respite between now and when Christmas comes around . . . They say I can appeal against the decision and launch an investigation into the rent rise, but I looked at all the other one-bedroom flats around my area and surrounding suburbs for rent and they’re all $50 a week more than what they want me to pay so I’m worried that if they investigate it I’ll end up paying more again, and I really can’t afford to do that. Even crappy student accommodation is going for the rate I’m paying now, and that’s just obscene – and I thought things were bad when I was at uni!
On an unrelated note, I went to the football yesterday, for the second time in my life. I had managed to get through 24 years of my life before ever going to a game – having always rejected sport ideologically - but last year for Mothers’ Day the Crows were playing in Melbourne so Mum and my aunt decided that as die-hard fans, that was what they wanted to do. So this year for my sister’s birthday, she decided she wanted to go for her birthday and being the good older sister that I am, I went. And let me just say, I had NO IDEA what was going on. As long as lil’ sis pointed out in which direction our goals were, I did alright, and I even managed a “hey, kick it to that guy!” every now and again. I just went by the theory that if the Adelaide cheer squad started going nuts and cheering, the if Crows Grannies got on their feet waving their scarves (it seems a large proportion of Crows supporters are over the age of 65 and knit their own scarves, which is just adorable) and if Mum was smiling and clapping, it was a good thing (my Mum’s hilarious at the football, she gets really excited and cheers and whoops).
But still, there’s a sly little part of me that still loves to see a South Australian team kick the crap out of a Victorian team. Sure, I’ve lived in Melbourne more years of my life than any other place and out of all the cities in Australia I probably wouldn’t live anywhere else, but inside I’m still South Australian even if I have lost touch with the place. It really pisses me off when the foreign comedians come down here for the comedy festival and make Adelaide jokes . . . sure, they’re often true, but really, unless you’re from there you have no clue, you’re just parroting what others have told you to get some regional laughs and seem cool. Having had the piss taken out of me for the way I say things like “cloud”, “cicada” and “castle” all throughout school, I defend the right to enjoy a little one-up-manship every now and again 
But oh well, I probably ought to get out of my PJs and head to the laundromat – I can’t see myself getting another chance to wash my clothes during the week as it’s likely to be just as busy as the last few *sigh*
Quick Update
To say I’ve been busy the last few days would be something of an understatement, but I thought I better just give a quick status update as I’ve got a few things on at the moment.
Firstly, the “30 Days of Text” . . . oh boy. What started from a tiny little “wouldn’t it be cool?” post on the forums at Worth has grown into something bigger than I ever thought it would. Inspired by the photographer’s daily photograph project, I figured it would kinda cool to have a Text version where everyone vows to write once per day for a whole month on whatever subject or form they like. It’s now got quite a big turn out, a structure, rules and it’s own writer’s group over at Multiply (I’m assured the layout will change soon). I’m trying to keep philosophical about it, as I think the aim should be to have fun, play, experiment and see where the discipline takes us rather than turn it into a competition or something overly rigourous, but it seems to have fallen into place. I’ll post my daily snippets here, but I’ve also got a personal page going over at multiply too keep up with the community spirit (I’m stillbeing over there).
On top of this daily writing practice, I’ve got the deadline for Short and Sweet fast approaching . . . I’m putting an entry up and it seemed to go down well at Script Tease this Monday but it’s getting to the point where I can’t tamper with it anymore. It’s a comedy and I’ve been toying with it for a while now and I think it’s up to standards but I still get the same doubts: is it funny enough? Is it just a bland, soulless fluff piece devoid of meaning or impact? What’s the point? Is it really just crap and I’ve been delusional in thinking that anyone would want to read it? I know that’s all just harmful thinking, but you can’t help wondering these things. Oh well, it’s comedy and light entertainment so I really shouldn’t be putting so much weight on it and I’ve got a lot of positive comments in the past, but still . . .
And lastly, the Film Festival is on at the moment. I’ve managed to catch two films so far and I might see what else I can go to on the weekend but as usual I’m super-busy weeknights which means I’m missing a lot of things. Last year was great – I’d see whatever session that sounded interesting at 5:15 after work, get a glass of red wine if I had a bit of money free and just kick back, but with dancing and everything else that’s been going on that hasn’t really been possible this year and I already know there are a few films I’d like to see that I’ll miss. Anyway, I might post reviews of the films I saw last weekend soon, so stay tuned for that.
