Syndactyl Salutations

Thoughts on writing, knitting, and the world around me.

Saturday, January 31, 2004

Just Plain Cold

After the snow day we had an early close and a delayed start. And we're supposed to get hit hard again Monday or Tuesday. I know it's only the end of January, but I'm already tired of winter.

I'm tired of spinning my wheels nearly every time I pull into or out of a parking space on my street. I'm tired of not being able to see the pavement on my block, I'm tired of wearing my heavy brown boots everywhere I go, and I'm tired of being cold nearly constantly. I know this is the Northeast, but it doesn't make me any less tired of the season.

I'm convinced that getting up early is the right thing to do. This week I was thrown off by the strange scheduling, I only did it a couple of days, and I felt the absence. Back to it on Monday, most definitely.

I sent a query out today! I don't know what my chances are of having it accepted, I don't know how good it was when I sent it, but it's out the door and that alone is enough to make me happy and moderately proud of myself.

Today I have typing and writing and reading and video watching to do. I'm hoping for productive, but I can feel myself sliding toward dozy. I'll keep you posted.

Monday, January 26, 2004

Snow Day

Hibernation mode, if I'm lucky I'll do a little now. I'm not counting on it. The weather's supposed to be nasty again tonight and during the day tomorrow, not sure what to expect, work-wise.

I hope everyone is staying safe and warm.

Thursday, January 22, 2004

So Far So Good

I'm continuing to get up early and do my morning pages and some other miscellaneous writing. It's working, the morning pages are going more quickly and I've started back on the nano project. I'm hoping to branch out or go longer, but for now it's going well.

Our dinner the other night was as good as expected. We hadn't been since the renovations had been finished, the place looks great, very atmospheric, and the service was surprisingly speedy. We need to go more often.

Dancing tonight, not sure what we're going to learn yet. Should be fun, no matter what. Of course, I'll probably still dance in my big boots since it hasn't gotten any warmer.

I gave my self a papercut under my thumbnail after dinner Tuesday and it still really hurts. I never realize how much I use my left thumb until it hurts. I use it a lot.

Work has been better lately, I'm on a filing kick and have cleaned up two major areas in our office. The problem is that we're running out of space in the file cabinets. There are two drawers that I could not fit files in to, it was frustrating. Tomorrow I get to file papers into the folders that were in the cabinets to begin with. Envy me!

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Experimentation

I got up early this morning to write. I did my morning pages (which took forty minutes) then typed a possible query. I'm going to try to get up early this week and see if I can be at all productive before I go to work.

I sent a submission out today, a story I've sent before to a few places. I lagged for a while after getting it back the last time, but I decided I needed to get on with it again.

More on the writing front, I did go to the shopping center the other day and ended up writing a short story while I sat in the cafe. I'm pretty sure it's awful, and may beyond any redemption, but it was fun and I felt good doing something from start to finish in one sitting. I still need to get back to my 2003 nano, it's getting close to the end, I think that's what my problem is with it at the moment.
It's his birthday today, so we're going out for Mexican when he gets home, we're both looking forward to that. We don't eat out much, so we enjoy it when we do.

Sunday, January 18, 2004

Wintry Mix

It's raining, probably freezing rain, on top of the pretty inch or so of snow we got last night. It's ugly and miserable, but still significantly warmer than it was most of last week, so I think I'll get myself together and walk up to the shopping center so that I can get a Sunday paper and sit in the cafe and get some writing done.

I need to think about theme for Only a Novel, and I just plain want to get words on paper beyond my morning pages. You'd think I could sit right here and do it, but I'm feeling antsy and I think a change of scene would be helpful. I'll let you know if I'm right.

Saturday, January 17, 2004

Unroutine

It's been a week again. I keep meaning to update more often, but I never feel like I have anything worthwhile to say. I'm convinced that this ranks as one of the most boring weblogs on the 'net, and that doesn't make me happy.

I think I haven't settled on what I want to put in here, that's at least part of my problem. I talk about writing a little (when I get any done), I mention knitting and quilting from time to time, and there are those oblique references to the rest of my life... I need to either focus on what I want this to contain, or write more frequently in it, and subject matter be hanged.

On the oblique side, we did swing in dance class this week, we were less successful than we were with foxtrot, I think it was the turns. Yes, it was definitely the turns, and it was faster. We tried and tried and tried some more, sometimes we'd get it, but getting it wasn't consistent. We still had fun, and that's the most important part of this activity anyway, as far as I'm concerned.

I don't work until Tuesday, so I'm hoping to accomplish writing, knitting, and at least final fabric selection for some quilting. So, theoretically, I should have things to put in here before next weekend. We shall see.

Saturday, January 10, 2004

Cold Nose, Warm Heart

It wasn't supposed to get out of the teens today, and I don't think it did. I only left to go to dinner with my sweetie and the boys for anniversary number three. It was a fairly low-key celebration, but we had a nice leisurely morning and a nice dinner.

He wrote and recorded a song for me on the sly over the past week or so, I guess, and played it this morning then printed the lyrics so that I would have a copy. I've never had an entire song (music and lyrics) written for me before, and he's never written a song specifically for anyone before, so it was extra special.

Today is three years. They have been among the best, most at ease, most productive of my life, and the relationship has had a great deal to do with that assessment. He is caring and supportive and creative with a sense of humor at least as off the wall as mine. We complement one another in many ways, and I'd shout it from the rooftops for anyone who asked. And he is willing to take dancing lessons with me.

Our first ballroom class went well, we both enjoyed it and the teacher is a big part of why. She is funny and adept at getting her students to understand what it is that she wants us to do. She is southern, so she refers to all of the men by the formal versions of their first names (Her excuse). She has a ton of energy and is animated and brimming with anecdotes to illustrate her points.

We learned the foxtrot the other night, all but the twirl, I think. We did pretty well, just some minor tweaking here and there when she saw that he was afraid of stepping on me. I need to dance more.

Not much writing over the past few days, or not on any coherent project, anyway. The second assignment for Only A Novel should be out tomorrow, I'll do that when I get it. I've been thinking about where my nano needs to go, and doing random semi-essays, but not much else.

I'm reading Writing The Breakout Novel, by Donald Maass. It's good, he makes a lot of sense. I'm going to read it the whole way through before trying to jump into anything with it. Using his method is only one possible reason for reading it, though. He's going to be at the conference I want to attend this spring, so I want to have some familiarity, just in case. Not that I'll actually speak to him at the conference, I know myself better than that.

Thursday, January 08, 2004

Strictly Ballroom

That's right, tonight we have our first ballroom dance class. I'm looking forward to it, and it's the first time I've been in a relationship with someone willing to do this with me. I'm always a little nervous about going into a new group of people, but I'll have someone I know and trust with me and it should be a lot of fun besides. I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh, yeah, I've also joined the "gabget" set, I got my wireless phone the other day. I picked it up at the FedEx station across town. This is one of the few areas of the country that you'll see a horse and buggy parked at FedEx...in a space marked by an official sign with a horse and buggy silhouette on the purple part. If the owner hadn't been on his way out of the building, I would have taken a photo, just for the heck of it.

I've activated the phone and set voicemail up, but haven't actually spoken to anyone on it, it's still not quite real to me, I guess.

I've done some writing in the past week, but not as much as I would have liked. Technology, and upgrades thereof, has had me somewhat preoccupied.

Friday, January 02, 2004

Onward

I actually opened my nano 2003 file yesterday evening and did some work on it. I hadn't since the end of November. I plan on doing it again this evening, I need to get back into it (it being writing, period) and I'd like to do it sooner than later.

I also got started on the Two Year Novel at Forward Motion yesterday by posting my one sentence idea and the slightly expanded version that was the first assignment. There are a lot of people doing it with a lot of interesting ideas, it should be a good experience all around.

I went to the gym this afternoon and did cardio after signing us up for ballroom dancing and switching one of our racquetball court dates. I'd better watch out, or I may end up exercising regularly, or something. (Nah, I've had a week and a half off work and this was the first time I hit the gym other than for our racquetball dates, I'm such a slacker.)

I went to my favorite vegetarian restaurant this morning and had scrambled tofu for brunch. It was really tasty, but it was also really salty. It was the first time ever that I did not clean my plate at the Enchanted Forest. Maybe I should have tried the Mango Raisin Polenta.

I spent 45 minutes this evening talking to the neighbor lady when I went over to take her a tin of Christmas cookies. I now feel guilty for never having done so before. I want to make a point of dropping over from time to time now. She's lonely and was pleased to have someone to visit with, even though she was nursing a cold. When I left, I took an envelope to the corner mailbox for her. I was glad I'd said yes when she asked me to come in.

Thursday, January 01, 2004

2004 Resolutions

1. Write consistently, preferably daily
2. Increase exercise level
3. Decrease sugar consumption
4. Track diet and exercise at fitday.com
5. Maintain gratitude listing
6. Take more photos and dive back into home study
7. Continue working on handcrafts and expanding those skills
8. Write letters to family members every month
9. Maintain more professional demeanor and appearance
10. Focus on becoming more conscientious about my job

Happy New Year -- Welcome to 2004!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year and hope that 2004 brings all that you hope for.

We actually went to a party this evening, first New Year's shindig in the nearly three years we've been dating. We both had fun and I got more compliments and comments on my new haircut than I've ever had on a haircut in my life, I think. I guess it works for me. It'd better, after the hours I spent at the salon yesterday.

Of course, the party we went to last night was full of people I'd either never met or hadn't seen for a while, so only one person even noticed anything different and he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

I felt very Mary Tyler Moore tonight with my side-parted flipped bob, short tweedy skirt and nearly knee-high boots. It worked with the atmosphere of the party. Everyone was very retro-chic, in tune with the decor of the house.

I'm not sure what the new year will bring, but I'm hoping to do all sorts of new and interesting things, or at least extend some of my current projects to points beyond where I have gone so far.

May all of your wishes, hopes, and dreams for the new year come to fruition. Best of luck in all your endeavors.