Blogetary (Weblog + Commentary = Blogetary)

The closer we get to Christmas the more apt I am to forget to post anything, so I thought I would post a Merry Happy Thingy before too much longer.

I’ve been getting some decent feedback on the holiday story I wrote that’s showing me lots of mindless mistakes I thought I’d caught. So it was good to send it out for more feedback one more time. Also it’s more motivation to work on the next story in the series.
Got photos back that I recently sent in and here they are for your amusement and edification (sorry about the sizing – seems I had a choice between tiny and huge):

Tree with Pye

Favorite old ornament

Cool new ornament

Cinderella’s Castle for Christmas

Disney Santa!

Well, hope that all helps you feel happy and holiday-esh!

I need a time out, or rather, I want a time out. I want to just sit in front of the tv for hours on end doing nothing but working on my afghan and watching sappy movies.

But I have stuff to write and proofreading and copy editing tests to take. I got The Gregg Reference Manual in yesterday, finally. For years I’ve been formatting according to APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Literary Association) standards because I have worked with mostly academic writing and those are the standards. But 1) I left those APA and MLA books, as well as my grammar and punctuation books at my former employers because I was so upset I forgot to grab them when I was cleaning off my desk, and 2) they probably are outdated by now and I am trying to break away from the academic writing and get more into creative, business or technical proofreading, copy editing, and writing. And for that Gregg is needed. So I swallowed hard and got the $50 tome that’s supposed to let me know what those standard typically are. So, now to work.

Pye is restless. He keeps going to different parts of the apartment and crying. I realized I have Kiko’s practically full yet almost expired insulin in the refrigerator door still. Kiko’s stocking is by his ashes container. Haven’t gotten anything for Pye yet. Almost did today. Maybe later. He always finds his stocking and bats it down when it’s got something in it. Yes, he knows Christmas and he knows what it’s about. He sleeps under the tree.

I kind of wish I weren’t visiting my aunt and cousin this year for Christmas. Yes, I want to see them and see New Mexico (never been!), but other extended family is going to show up as well and all I feel like doing is hiding with my kitty. On the up side, I know my aunt and cousin are like me and like to hide as well. So, I know my time with them will be good.

Okay, back to work.

I got the COOLEST REJECTION LETTER EVER! Really. They said they couldn’t use my story as it wasn’t quite what they were looking for, but they really liked my writing!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night a friend of mine had a small Christmas get together – a girls’ night and we all happened to be writers. It was quiet fun.  Despite our differences when it came to our lives and our writing, we all had our writing quirkiness in common. And we also all seemed to have a capacity to allow for quirkiness in others. It was nice. It also made me wonder, though, what do you call a gathering of writers. The San Diego Zoo can let you know what to call different gatherings of different animals, but what to call a group of writers.

So, I ponder…..would we be considered predators or prey? herd or pack? pounce or murder? flock or nest?  A pod, prickle, or rhumba? Cackle, parliament, or wisdom? I don’t know. But it’s interesting to consider.

While I was out and about chasing after a little one in Disneyland, Christmas Pixies visited my place and dusted and cleaned for me.

Magic DOES exist! I DO Believe in Santa and Pixies and Fairies! I DO! I DO! I DO!

Now back to our regularly scheduled writing……

The universe is truly a terrible, wondrous, and awful (in the old sense) thing. Good, bad, beautiful, or ugly, it’s there for you. Traveling around as we do, we don’t even realize that as we trudge through life, our little world is hurtling through space and our galaxy is passing through an immense vacuum. It is amazing. I may be chasing after a young child, writing a report, sending out resumes, plotting my next story, and I just never know when the next surprising and amazing thing might happen. And surprising and amazing things DO happen, like friends cleaning your apartment for you, or taking care of you when you’re not feeling so well, or hearing that something you’ve done was done well.  These are the things that make the sun shine a little brighter and make you go all veklempt. They are also some of the reasons why I am a writer.

I remember when I was in junior high, I was supposed to write a report on my chosen profession. I dutifully went to the school library and pulled out the huge volume on professions. I forget the name of it now, but it was basically an encyclopedia of different professions. One of the introductory paragraphs (what writers know as the hook paragraphs) talked about how pilots have to have at least 45% more depth perception in their eyesight than the average person in order to be considered good for their position.  It went on to point out that writers, like pilots, need to have that extra bit of perception or sensitivity as well. It is our duty, our JOB, to observe, cogitate, absorb, and brood about things we see — more than the average person.  This can get really irritating for our friends as it means we’re in our heads a lot analyzing our experiences and what we see, and not just experiencing our experiences. But it’s what we do.  Eventually, we have to find a balance.  In the meantime, in my opinion, it makes us extra sensitive to the ups and downs in life and how this effects us.

It gives us a good appreciation of what goes on out there.

So, what has the universe brought you lately and why do you continue to write?

Used to keep me in line, making sure I went to bed on time, or at least keeping me company while I stayed up. He made sure I got rid of clothes that were past repair (if he found them laying around and they were beyond repair, he peed on them, end of story). My other cat, Pye, used to keep Kiko in line, make sure Kiko got his beauty sleep. Well, now Pye does Kiko’s job and does his best to get me to bed at a decent hour. When I’ve been sitting at the computer too long he makes himself completely annoying by walking over the keyboard or demanding attention until I get up and move around.

Lots of writers have had cats, as well as dogs, who kept them company while on their lonely vigils in front of a computer or typewriter or regular pad of paper. There were Hemingway’s cats, for one. Andre Norton is famous for her cats as well. I remember in the book, Starting From Scratch, by Rita Mae Brown, she said the writer needs a pet, whether a cat or a dog, so that they won’t take themselves too seriously. They need someone who, while full of unconditional love for their human partner, is more self-centered then the writer is. The cat or the dog will not quit reminding the writer that it is dinner time (feed me!), that water is needed (hey, I wanna treat and I’m tired of dirt in my water bowl), and that yes, the rest of the world has gone to sleep and it’s time you did, too (turn the music and lights off, dammit, I wanna go to sleep!).

They are our muses and our guardians as well as our good friends. What have you done for yours lately?

Giving up on my Christmas tree this year. I have this fake tree I pull out every year. I got it the 2nd year I lived here I think. I found one for $40, which is what I’d pay for a real tree and I could use it every year. So I pull it out every year and swear at it as I put it together. It’s plastic. Smells musty. So many “needles” fall off it every year I wonder why it’s not bald yet.

Then comes the lighting. The thing about lighting a fake tree is you can manipulate the branches better to hold the lights (and ornaments) – bend them and twist them to make them work for you. And every year when I light the tree I plug each strand in to check it. This year I did that. And would put the working strands on the tree only to find half the strand not lighting once it was up on the tree. I thought it might be bulbs. Checked the bulbs. Thought it might be the cords – or the fuses. Changed fuses. Maybe I needed a power strip that could carry more power more than just an extension cord. Tried that.

Normally, at this point, I would trudge down to the Rite Aid down the street and just get 5-6 boxes of new lights since they’re on sale for $1.77, but this year I just don’t see that as a justifiable expense. So, I’m giving up. The top has pretty white lights. The bottom has pretty white lights. The middle has colorful bubble lights. I could spend the time to restring everything and even it all out, but I’m tired. I just want it done.

I wasn’t even going to put up Christmas this year. Kiko died in March. I’ve had money and health problems all year, almost every thing I’ve sent out to be considered for publication has gotten kicked back at me, and now I’m unemployed. I just didn’t feel like celebrating, but a friend of mine pointed out that it’s not like it cost anything to put up Christmas decorations and it might actually lift my spirits and help me feel better. But now I’m so over it.

I have to say, though, that as soon as I had the 4′5″ tree up on the book case (so I can pretend it’s a nice big 10′ tree), my kitty, Pye, totally got excited. He ran all around the room and up the tree and likes to hang out beneath the tree. Kiko used to do that, too. Reminds me that I’m not the only one who’s going to have a tough Christmas this year. Pye will, too. I need to do this for him as much as for me. So, yes the tree is going up, but I am not going put all the energy into it that I have in the past.

Here are some pictures, four of Pye and one of Kiko, from Christmases past. Just thumbnails as the regular ones seem to come across as too huge.

Pye

Pye – I guess I coulda clipped off that tag……

Pye again. He’s a big poser.

Kiko

Pye

Over on Good Karma, cyber champagne was uncorked for all the participants who made it through NaNoWriMo on one piece. I have never participated and I have to say I am impressed and a little intimidated when I read some of my friends blogs about their experiences. By now, people are hopefully finishing up what didn’t get finished, or taking a break before going back to review and revise what they got down, nursing headaches (or carpel tunnel aches) from an immense push of creativity. And then the regular labors of writing will go on, still as important, if a little less speedy.

It will be a while before the accomplishments from this push in November can truly be seen in perspective, but what I would like to know, from anyone out there who participated, is what are the lessons you brought back from this experience? How do you feel about what you did? Did this help you break down barriers or was it just an exercise in frustration for you? What will you bring to next year’s NaNoWriMo if you participate again? Do you think your writing skills improved? Your stamina? Your creativity?

Tell us about it as you look back over your month’s writing endeavors.