Something Squirrelly this Way Comes

Two videos and one image for yall to peruse. Global, National and Local varieties of importance/impact...

World Wide Importance



Video is from amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research
World Aids Day is Saturday, December 1, 2007



Important in the Future of American Energy



Video is from the Center for American Progress.



Important Only in My Own Little World




















- Current word count: 50,222
- No, that's not my real name.
- No, that's not the real title of the novel, just the working one I've used all month. (Thank you, U2) Title is more along the lines of Thugs, Unicorns, and the Witchy Girl. Well, maybe not. Altho all three are in the book.

Yes that cry of pain and dismay yall heard not too long ago was me. I was celebrating (finally) hitting the 50k mark when the Blue Screen of Death reared its ugly head.

Obviously my computer recovered but there was a loss. Instead of the 50k+ words, I'm at 46,308. Nothing I had written on Wednesday was saved (tho I hit the save button numerous times throughout the day) and sadly I hadn't emailed myself the novel before I began celebrating.

Of the words lost, I have about 1,100 hand written, the rest is gone. I've written over 5500 in a day, I can do 4000. I just may have to have a good cry first.

I know I thought about telling yall about the Free Rice website, but I don't remember if I did. It'd have been umm awhile ago, which is why I can't be bothered to check and see if I did. Either way, it's still a good reminder.

Go to the Free Rice website, improve your vocabulary and help end world hunger. For every word you get right, 20 grains of rice are donated through the United Nations.

Hockey
Stupid Flyers.

NaNoWriMo
I've nearly made up the thousands of words I lost (yes that scream you heard a couple days ago was from me). I'm hoping to have a spiffy picture for yall tomorrow.

Actual words this time! Woo! Or maybe not. Woo that is. I had hoped to have a spiffy image for yall to see today. Sadly not. Maybe hopefully tomorrow.

Of course I had planned on posting this on Tues night not Weds morning. Then I started reading stuff in forums and on blogs and the next thing I know it's 1.30 Wednesday morning. Time flies and all that..

Unrelatedly
When I told someone that I was in college when the movie Clueless came out she didn't believe me. She told me that I looked too young. I'm taking that as a compliment. :)

Poetry
Here's a poem that Elims found while hunting up stuff for Rach. I'm amused.

I wanna Be Yours... by John Cooper Clarke

I wanna be your vacuum cleaner
breathing in your dust
I wanna be your Ford Cortina
I will never rust
If you like your coffee hot
let me be your coffee pot
You call the shots
I wanna be yours

I wanna be your raincoat
for those frequent rainy days
I wanna be your dreamboat
when you want to sail away
Let me be your teddy bear
take me with you anywhere
I don’t care
I wanna be yours

I wanna be your electric meter
I will not run out
I wanna be the electric heater
you’ll get cold without
I wanna be your setting lotion
hold your hair in deep devotion
Deep as the deep Atlantic ocean
that’s how deep is my devotion

From Union Chapel, London, Little Noise Sessions, Nov. 23, 2007. (thanks c)

Two videos from Friday, November 23, 2007 at London's Union Chapel. The Edge and Bono playing acoustic. Wave of Sorrow was started during the JT era and finished only recently. Yall should know Desire.

Wave of Sorrow



Desire

Happy Thanksgiving everyone :)

Also be nice to the retail clerks on Black Friday, chances are we've encountered snotty people and our feet are likely killing us.

NaNoWriMo
42,397 of 50,000 done.

Hockey
Bah! Humbug! I blame Ward (coworker of M's not the Fantastic Cam) for the Canes losing. Either he went to the game or he listened to it. Whenever he has gotten involved (going, watching, listening) the Canes have lost. Final score, 6-3 flyers (last goal being an empty netter).

Six of the nine goals scored were on power plays. All of Carolina's goals (3) were scored on power plays. At least we had practice scoring on power plays..

Yeah, so it looks like I missed posting something on Tuesday but I didn't! I just posted Tuesday's on Monday. Or something.

Anyway, I had a thought for an entry but it was probably caught in one of the webs of the spider nets trees. Never heard of that variety of tree? Be happy. Be very, very happy. They're extremely creepy unless you like spiders. Lots and lots of spiders of all shapes, sizes and poisonousnessivity (seriously, that's not a word?) then you'd be in heaven. Personally I was creeped out and then irritated with myself for having thought up such things! Gah. Silly, tired, over-nanoed brain.

Look, I warned yall early in the month that as the days go by, my entries would be less and less coherent. So suck it up and get on with your day ;)

NaNoWriMo
Current word count (as of 01:30 on 11/21): 36,521
Word count needed by end of today (11/21): 35,007

I am ahead and I'll be writing more later today! Woo!

Hockey
Canes play Flyers at home. Not on TV and I don't have tix. *sigh* I guess I'll have to listen to it online and yell at the speakers. Hmm wonder if I can work another hockey scene into my novel...

Yesterday, I had 26,732 words in my novel. Today I have 32,303. That's 5,571 words written in one day. And yall want me to write something here? Pfffftttttt.

Sorry, I'm about worded out. Maybe tomorrow...

Yes this was posted on Sunday night and not Monday morning, get over it. You're still reading it on Monday morning.

Things I accomplished today (other than this post):
- Wrote over 2,000 words in my NaNoNovel (current total = 26,732)
- Attended a Last Minute Write-In where I wrote over 1,000 words
- Overheard two employees at a coffee shop ranting about something, challenged the other Wrimos to use two key phrases from this rant, in their novels. One did, one thought he might be able to, one refused and I did! (Phrases were "They're goin outta business!" and "You fat F*ck!!")
- Seriously wounded, if not killed, a character in my novel whom I had never intended on killing (poor guy)
- Set the stage to blow up a cafe with a grenade (also not intended)
- Laughed til I had tears at the phrase, "His face turned the color of squishy food!"
- Learned about the possible uses of unicorn horn zest (really, don't ask)
- Discussed Tupperware
- Attended an hour long meeting at work that lasted 105 minutes
- Took a nap
- Discussed, via text, the diet of sperm whales

All in all, a pretty busy day, don't you think?

I was asked an odd question today, figured I'd pass it on to yall. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever been asked this. I know it's the first time for that particular situation.. Anywho, on to the query...

Other than writing, name five things you can do with a pencil.

Argh. I just sent out a semi-peppy email to 601 people (okay more updatey than peppy) and participated in multiple word wars which garnered me over 2,000 words written in about an hour's time. I'm fresh out of things to post about on here.

NaNoWriMo
My word count is 23,387 (which is right where I should be for Wednesday). So, yay me.

Unrelatedly
Santa (you know your real name starts with an 'H' and ends with an 'alkie') I found something else I really, really, really want this year. The Joshua Tree album remastered, it'd go perfectly with this other item I've already requested. And, of course, something like this... Don't you think? ;)

Hockey
Arrgghhhhhh!!!!! I can't even put into words how upset I was at the Canes vs lightning game. They skated circles around us, especially in the second. The refs soooo didn't need to skew the game in tampa bay's favor. I didn't even watch the third period, tv was on but sound was off. Final score was 6-1, lightning.

*sigh* I think I may go cry myself to sleep now.

Canes won tonight but Erik Cole was taken off the ice on a stretcher with less than eight minutes to go in the third. It hasn't even been two years since Erik was hit from behind by Brooks Orpik (Pittsburgh Penguin), into the boards head first, breaking his neck. Erik missed the rest of the season as well as the first 23 playoff games.

Thankfully Erik was cleared by the Cleveland Clinic to fly with the team to Tampa, later this morning, after the CT scan came back negative. *whew* I know I'm not the only Caniac breathing a Huge sigh of relief at this news.

Unrelatedly
This is just scary.

I guess if they can have cell phones for little kids, they can have them for pets too. Besides you see critters in TV shows and movies using technological equipment - phones, computers, faxes, ovens, etc.

Heck, Garfield has been doing it for years. Hmmm does that mean Priss is behind the times?

I sure hope her human has arranged a good plan for her - extra minutes and texts. I also hope that cell phone companies never stop making flippy phones. Seems to fit Priss' head so well. Plus it's easier for her to use - she doesn't have to get up.

Unrelatedly
My feet hurt.

Hockey
Great game on Saturday night. Canes beat the Thrashers 5-3 despite the squirrelly penalties called on Rod. He so rarely gets penalties (unless it involves him punching a player for a bad hit on a teammate) that it seemed suspicious for him to get two in one game. Then again, I am a suspicious sort. Especially of refs.

I think the discrepancy between mouth movements and words only makes the video more amusing and Brian Williams more squirrelly. Bono too.




Unrelatdly
Floors aren't done (shocker). They finally have the floors leveled and patched and will start the laminate install tomorrow. I'll be so happy when this is all done. The blue eyed flooring expert (aka the boss) called me Sug as they were leaving for the day. I was most amused.

Hockey
Stupid lightning. Grr. Argh.

NaNoWriMo
Still plodding away, over 11,000 and still going. Of course I'm behind schedule, but I still think I'll reach the goal of 50,000 by the end of the month. If not sooner. Oh and I named the cat Mysterious Ways. I'm pretty sure she's not an average cat - a shape shifter? a Watcher? something else? I don't know yet.

When an 'expert' on floors comes into your home, sees the state of your sub floor, and says, "Jesus, these are the worst floors I've seen in my life," you know it's gotta be bad. Of course, the fact that I can insert a yard stick into a crack in the floor, let go and the stick does not fall, kinda clued me in on the state of the floors - before I heard his comment.

The expert, and his two apprentices, then spent over three hours patching the floors. They didn't finish patching. I get the sneaking suspicion that the floors will not be done tomorrow, despite their 0800 arrival.

Unrelatedly
Canes play the lightning tomorrow night (well, tonight) and if you go to the game, you could get a Rod Brind'Amour figurine. There's something inherently wrong about calling it a figurine. The guy is a (kick ass) hockey player and resembles Rocky Balboa. He shouldn't be immortalized in a figurine. That's just unmanly. Make him an action figure. Or a bobble head. Save the figurine homages for the Storm Squad. Or Stormy.

Ack! I have to type this quick before the scheduled blogger outage.

Time got away from me tonight/this morning. Catching up on the dozens of NaNoWriMo emails that appeared in my inbox in the six hours I had not checked it. As well as the dozens(!) that showed up while I was logged into it and the NaNo site. Wow. Still love being a local coordinator (municipal liaison) tho :)

House Stuff
Carpet and vinyl are done. The air still smells and there are still carpet & dust bits floating through the air. Laminate starts tomorrow (today) and finishes (hopefully) Thursday. At least we're getting our exercise in moving furniture around. Or something.

Unrelatedly
Do yall think a novel about a serial killer who picks his victims because they eat crepes, kills them with a branch from a crepe myrtle tree and then wraps them up in crepe paper would sell many volumes?

Yeah, I didn't think so either. But it was amusing to talk about it with others tonight. Kept us laughing for awhile.

We kicked their butt! Woooooo!!! Cam got his first shut out of the season and Cory Stillman got a natural hat trick in the first period! Way to go Canes!!!

It was a great game to see in person. Also had killer seats, halfway down in the lower level. The fact that my throat hurts and I'm rather hoarse is nothing. Just means I was at a hockey game :)

I think it was a good omen that before the game had even started, a ref went down and hit the boards. It was a freaking riot! Stop fretting, he wasn't hurt. He was zooming down the ice, went to stop and lost his edge and sailed into the boards. He hit them hard too. He laid there for a bit, players were heading towards him when he managed to get up and then skated (much slower) back to center ice, where he paused to bend over with his hands on his knees, his zebra brethren clustered about him.

It's debatable whether the hit knocked any sense into him tho.

Unrelatedly
The new carpet and vinyl feels good on the tootsies, tho they're not done. Sadly, the installation of the new floors is not conducive to normal breathing. In fact, I'm pretty sure the two are mortal enemies. Thankfully I had some heroes around to get me through the day (one is two-toned purple and round, one is grey & blue and L-shaped, and one is small and looks like a squished circle).

I accidentally answered the phone today when I went to check the caller ID and got to talk to M's mom. I was most amused when she said, "I was just calling to see if she was still alive."

I assured her that M was, in fact, still alive. I refrained from telling M's mom that had M been seriously injured or had died, I would have called to tell her. Pretty impressive restraint on my part, don't you think?

Wow. I've managed to squirrel away nearly an hour of time writing this post, surfing for Celtic music groups and talking with M. I really need to be cleaning. The floors in the bedrooms and bathrooms are being replaced tomorrow. Which means I get to move everything out of my room and scrub the hell out of my bathroom floor. Yippee.

Then I get to move everything back in my room before Wednesday morning when the flooring people return. This time they'll be installing laminate in the rest of the condo. Double yippee.

What's that? Why didn't M replace the floors before I moved in? I think it's because she's squirrelly. Or maybe she just wanted to torture me...

NaNoWriMo
I'm over 6,000 words and none of my characters are doing/being what I intended them to do/be. Which is, ultimately, good just frustrating when I think about all the time I spent pondering characters earlier this year. Ah well.

Hockey
Canes beat the panthers on Saturday, 4-2. WOOOHOOOOOO!!! And I'm going to Monday night's game against the caps. Speaking of the caps, a friend of mine sold a pair of high end men's shoes to one of their defensemen Sunday afternoon.

Sorry folks, I am unable to think of anything witty or charming or entertaining for yall today. Yes, I realize that by saying this I'm assuming that I normally have something witty or charming or entertaining for you. Mostly I have something squirrelly. All I can say is that I did warn you that I am not to be held responsible for any extra squirrelly posts during the month of November.

I will say that I was in my car for nine hours after getting maybe 2.5 hours of sleep. Then I went out and met a bunch of strangers and was sociable. Shockingly, I had fun meeting with the strangers. Perhaps I'm finally getting over my "I hate people" mind set that I acquired whilst living in DC? Or maybe it's because these were fellow Wrimos and they are inherently squirrelly like me.

Word Count: 1084. That's right, I'm already behind *sigh*

It's after one in the morning on November 1st and I have zero (0!!!) words written for my NaNoWriMo novel. Sadly I've spent the last two+ hours doing NaNo admin stuff. This is what I get for volunteering to coordinate things for the Raleigh-Durham area.

I can't even include the stuff I wrote and emailed and posted as part of my word count. Nor can I use this! Arrr. And I have about an eight hour drive later today and no tape recorder to keep track of any Nanoy plot type thoughts. Not that I'm complaining or whining or anything...

The absolute worse thing (at the moment) tho is that the Canes lost to the Panthers last night. Bah! Maybe that's why I have a crummy headache that won't go away? It's not my lack of word count or the weather, but the fact that my boys lost. Stupid Panthers scored four goals in the 3rd period. GAH!!! :(

Perhaps the refs need to view some videos of Greg Louganis at the pool as part of their training. That way they know what a dive actually looks like.