I’ve been called both a hopeless romantic and a hopeless optimist.
Neither is true. I’m ever hopeful, not hopeless.
Which is not to say that I’ve never been dejected or depressed, never felt defeated, never feared that I was doomed to failure. I have felt all of those things. Throughout my teens and well into my twenties I periodically had depressive periods.
I’m not saying that I merely felt sad. I had more than a slight understanding of the clinical definition of depression…
When I set my goals for the year, I said I’d do regular check-ins. We’re more than a week into a new month, so I ought to check in.
I tried to set very concrete steps for achieving. Inspired by a friend’s suggestion, I tried to identify a better habit to replace each bad habit. So how am I doing? Continue reading Time to check in on those goals
But the important thing was the music…
Everybody has at least a few habits and routines. Some of them are so minor we don’t even think of them as a routine. For instance, at the end of most work days I fill in my timesheet, check in all my documents and code, shut down the computer, make one last run to the kitchen (rinse coffee mug, throw out trash), put away my headphones, put away my badge, pack things up in my backpack, and leave.
Simple and logical and no problem, right? Continue reading Going on autopilot
Continue reading Managing music
I make typos. A lot. It is amazing the number of people who believe there is a strong correlation between intelligence and typing accuracy. And that’s what we’re talking about, here; it often isn’t spelling that is at issue. There is no such connection.
Now, it’s not that I don’t think correct spelling is important, I do. No one gets more irritated at me that I get at myself when I make a typo, trust me. As much as it may amuse or exasperate you, I am ten times as angry at myself when I find them or have them pointed out. Plus humiliated. I want to spell things correctly.
And most of the time I do. And sometimes it is not spelling correctly that’s the problem…
Eventually one of the guys turned to me and asked which actress I thought was hot. It was asked in a fairly challenging tone of voice which clearly communicated that the topic of the conversation was shifting to What-stupid-thing-can-we-get-him-to-say. It’s one of the more subtle forms of bullying, asking the kid no one likes a question that to the ears of an adult who might be listening sounds like an attempt to include you in the conversation, but all the kids know that this is really just another test. Can you come up with an answer that isn’t going to result in derision and teasing?3
I knew where this was going, and I knew no matter what I said my answer would be wrong in some way. But ignoring the question could go even worse, so I quickly scoured my brain and said, “Doris Day.”
Even I was a little surprised when that name came out of my mouth.
I knew July was going to be a sparse blogging month, since I’m doing Camp NaNoWriMo again, this time to wrap up my previous novel to get it published. I didn’t take into account how unproductive I become when it’s hot.
Of course, I’m always hopeful that the hot weather will hold off a little while. Statistically, the jet streams and other large weather systems that directly impact Seattle don’t switch to the summer pattern until about July 12. Even though we have only experienced measurable precipitation on Independence Day about one out of every four years (and many of the years that precipitation is a very scant trace of only a tenth of an inch or less), that’s the reason that some people often joke that “the rain will end on July 5.”
And it’s not as if the weather we’re having constitutes a heat wave according to most people. But any time the temperatures get above 80°F I start melting. I just want to find some shade with a cold breeze and a cool drink. And if I do find a moderately cool spot, I usually just fall asleep.
I’m okay most of the day, since I’m in a nice, big air conditioned office building. I have energy, I work, I get things done. But the walk home in the sun and heat just wipes me out. And we don’t usually get enough of these days for it to make economic sense for most people to have a fully air conditioned house.
We bought a new small air conditioning unit for our bedroom. In the past we had one of those window units. It worked okay, we could have one room that was a comfortable temperature. We could hang out in the bedroom for a few hours in the evening until the sun went down. The temperature outside drops considerably at that point, and we can open the doors and windows, put a fan in the front door, and cool down most of the house to a reasonable temperature again. And of course, the bedroom is cool enough that we can both sleep.
But our windows aren’t really the kind those sort of air conditioners are designed for, and there were some issues. It started dying a few years ago, I think hastened by those issues. We got rid of it. We toughed it out two years without.
The new one is one of those units on wheels, with a large PCV hose that attaches to a vent we put in the window. It’s really only intended to cool one room, but we’ve made that work before.
Each night since we got it I’ve taken various writing project materials into the bedroom intending to get work done in the cool room. And each night I made it about a half hour before needing to take a nap.
It’s supposed to be a little bit cooler today and tomorrow. Maybe I’ll get some actual writing done.
Wish me luck!
When I set my goals for the year, I said I’d do regular check-ins. It’s a new month, I should check in!
I tried to set very concrete steps for achieving. Inspired by a friend’s suggestion, I tried to identify a better habit to replace each bad habit. So how am I doing? Continue reading After six months, how are the goals?
I had so much fun (and got a lot of work done) with April’s Camp NaNoWriMo, that I have signed up again for July. And this time I have a bunch of friends joining me. Some had to be bullied convinced to join the fun, but I’m hoping they enjoy it as much as I did last time.
My project this time is looping back to my previous novel. I’ve received editorial comments on the completed manuscript from several editors and readers. Now I need to edit, fix, and otherwise finish it so that it is ready to publish.
While resisting urges to work on the just finished first draft of the second book, or a little side project, or the next book, or…
My friend, Mark, who’s been doing NaNoWriMo longer than I, set up a “cabin” (which is mostly just a private message forum) and invited a passel of our friends to join in. Everybody has different kinds of projects planned. I look forward to teasing and encouraging and assisting each other through this month of creativity!
I’m scheduling this post to publish midday on the first, which means some of you will be reading this while I’m under sedation having a not terribly pleasant medical procedure. Or maybe by now I’m home recovering, saying silly things to the crazy friend (and cabin mate) who has kindly volunteer to drive me back while I’m under the effects of the drugs. Or driving my poor husband crazy. Or maybe I’m just going to sleep it off.
So I’m not sure how much progress I’ll make in the opening 24 hours of Camp NaNoWriMo. But it doesn’t matter. Full speed ahead!
Font Folly 