What’s Up Wenzday Point #1:
A Note of Clarification —
Last week I tried something new. I’ve been very unhappy with this nonsensical, elongated winter bullshit, to the point that I have actually considered driving over to Punxsutawney, PA and looking for Phil so I can punch him in his stupid groundhog-ish little wiener. He promised an early Spring, but all I keep seeing is grey skies and lots of snow. Being this upset with a creature who can’t even talk, much less understand the superstitious myths we ascribe to his shadow’s appearance, is, I realize, a sign that I’m going over the deep end. So I bought me some flowers.
The flowers are really pretty. Except that my a-hole cat bit at some of the leaves so it looks like a caterpillar went to town. And then my a-hole cat knocked over the vase, which wouldn’t normally be a big deal since I don’t freak out over spilled water — but the vase was sitting on my desk so I could enjoy the sight of Spring flowers while working at my computer. So the stupid vase spilled water right into my stupid keyboard, which at first was a major emergency, because SHIT – OH SHIT – THERE IS WATER ON MY MOTHERFUCKING LAPTOP!
Eventually the water all dried up, but there are still telltale signs of its lethal wreckage. For example, during the first day of water-gate, I had zero usage of certain keys — namely the “A”, “D”, and “W”. I know you just looked at your own keyboard and noticed those three letters are along the left side, and I know also that you’re going to ask, “What about the letters ‘S’ and ‘Q’?” And that is quite an observant inquiry. Unfortunately, I don’t have any fucking clue how the stupid water skipped over some letters and not others, because I’m neither a computer programmer nor a chemist. Final answer? Fuck knows.
After usage of the “A” and the “D” came back, you’d think I’d be grateful. But I wasn’t, because the “A” would just stream across the screen of its own accord, like so:
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…
— until I pressed delete button enough times to win the battle. The letter “D” was fine. Still no letter “W”, however.
Finally the “A” dried out and fell back into normal usage, so that I could write things like “apple” instead of “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaple”. That was a good day. Just holding out for that stupid “W”. And still waiting. Yep. Still missing.
Do you know how many times I have had to paste the letter “W” into this post thus far? FUCK YOU, is how many. I cry foul and demand a new laptop whose letters do not mock me at every turn.
In slightly related news, my flowers must be genetically altered, because even with caterpillar-shaped kitty-kat bites in the leaves, they are still bloomed and pretty. And seeing them does not please me because all I think when I look at them is, “See what happens when you listen to the lies of a groundhog and then try to fix the problem?”
What’s Up Wenzday Point #2:
My Happiness Project —
“Homework VII” by
This week’s assignment is: “Write out the vision for what your great work was going to be.”
We’re supposed to grab a keyboard or else pen-n-paper, start writing, and don’t stop till we hit 750 words. This is an excellent exercise and I hope you all do it. I’ve already done it so many times on this here bloggy-blog that I have a very clear image of what my “Great Work” was — *IS* — going to be. Furthermore, I know what steps I need to get there.
For the uninitiated, my “Great Work” is my novel. I will complete it. Where it goes from there… well, that’s another dream for another day. I’ll jump off that bridge when I get to it. Just knowing what I want to do, and what I need to do to get there, keeps me moving forward, even after I stop for a break. One of my Personal Commandments is, “Don’t stop starting.” No matter how many times I fall, I have a dream that makes me get back up to keep marching on.
What’s Up Wenzday Point #3:
Goal / Dream / Target / Plan Assessment —
1. Add at least 300 words to my WIP per day.
After reaching the end of the first 80-day period of the ROW80 Challenge (A Round of Words in 80 Days), I know I need to reassess this number. I can’t keep writing *FAIL* every week and expect that cruel word NOT to take its toll. So I have two options:
a) Keep beating my head against the wall and swear this time will be different.
b) Lower my standards and try something different.
One of my Personal Commandments is, “Recognize flaws and act accordingly.” Obviously I’m just NOT going to write 300 words per day. Maybe I suck for not following through. Doesn’t matter. I’m not going to give up on this, and I’m not going to give myself a hard time about it. I’m going to keep plugging away till I find a plan that works.
New target: 1200 words per week. Let’s see how that goes.
2. Read half a chapter of PLOT & STRUCTURE per day.
DONE! Yes, I actually finished this book. But — I highlighted so many passages, I’m going back through adding to my notes, applying them to my outline, and making changes to my work as I go.
3. Walk two-three miles daily per the course I outlined.
I have been hit-or-miss about this the past couple weeks, but prior to that I was doing really well. I have a post on this topic coming up soon, so I won’t say more, except to add that I’m back on track and I think I got this.
4. Spend 15-30 minutes daily on my house project.
Another goal reassessed, but more on this in a later post.
5. Attend more social gatherings in 2013:
January — attended writing critique group.
February — none. nada. nothing. zip.zero. zilch. (see why!)
March — attended book club and scrapbooking workshop.
What’s Up Wenzday Point #4:
MOVIES!
The and I have seen a few films in the last several weeks that I’m excited to talk about.
ARGO won Oscars for Best Picture, Film Editing, and Adapted Screenplay (which I feel should have gone to LIFE OF PI). And let me tell you — this film as really good. The details that Ben Affleck included to lend to historical authenticity are simply amazing. The suspense had me biting my nails, and even my hubz as on the edge of his seat. We intend to purchase this on DVD and will definitely watch it again. (More info from Amazon about Argo and Life of Pi)
THE MASTER — okay, this movie was seriously fucked up. We didn’t like it and never want to see it again and I don’t even understand fully what it was about because every single one of the characters was fucking bat-shit insane. We both came out of this one scratching our noggins and asking each other, “HUH?” The acting was superb… but yeah, a real strange film and I still kind of resent having to see it. Apparently the Academy felt the same way, as it won exactly ZERO Oscars. (Check out Reviews and other info from Amazon here)
What’s Up Wenzday Point #5:
BOOKS!
It’s kind of funny that two weeks doesn’t seem that long, until I go to discuss what all I’ve read lately, and find that my last post on the topic is way out of date. Um, excuse me — we have a NERD FEST at table six. Yes, that girl is me. I like to read the books. ALL THE BOOKS.
- Bedside Table: THIS BOOK IS FULL OF SPIDERS: SERIOUSLY DUDE, DON’T TOUCH IT, by David Wong (aka Jason Pargin). This is the sequel to the hilarious and creepy JOHN DIES AT THE END. Both novels are among my favorites and shall be among the next purchases I make as they must sit atop my shelf for my viewing pleasure. If you don’t like these books, you should really ask yourself if you want to continue being my friend. Because, litmus test. (Check out reviews and other info from Amazon here)
- Living Room: Third book in the Newsflesh Trilogy by , BLACKOUT is one I’ve been looking forward to reading ever since zooming through the first two books in the series. Zombie novels don’t always impress me, but these are much, much more than mere people-chomping stories: Journalism, blogging, politics, sociology — it’s all here. Love it! (more info from Amazon)
- iPod (audio book): About half-way through THE MOST DANGEROUS THING, by Laura Lippman, and it’s turning unexpectedly to be somewhat of a mystery. Great character development and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. (more info from Amazon)
And that’s what’s up Wenzday.
Hope your Hump-Day is full of hump-ish good times.
I’d love to hear what’s up with *YOUR* Wenzday.
Please tell me about Happiness Project, how your Homework is coming along, and what movies or books you have loved lately!