The Game Plan

Okay, so I'm lagging a little bit on NaNo. Lagging is better than a complete stop, however, so I've come up with a game plan to keep myself in his race.

Right now I stand here:



Technically, I was supposed to be here by the end of last night:



That's about 4200 words behind. But, that's okay. I've been behind for all but the first day of this NaNo and I haven't stopped yet. So what is my plan? There are a few things to consider.

1 - We're leaving for KC on Wednesday, and we're driving. From Denver to KC is about a 9 hour drive if we speed a little more than is necessary and don't stop much. It might be 10 hours if we decide we're not in that much of a hurry, or if there are too many Kansas State Troopers hanging around. Since I'll be in the passenger seat of our comfy rental car (because we are so not taking OUR car on that long of a trip) I'll have some time to pound out a few thousand words. If I don't get carsick.

2 - I'm pretty much not going to write from Thursday to Saturday. This is because I have a very large family and multiple Thanksgivings to attend, plus my mom's 50th bday party on Saturday, and some additional baby shower registering on Black Friday (*shudder*)... not to mention the fact that there are a lot of people waiting to see the pregnant lady. I still haven't posted or sent anyone baby bump pics so they're kind of antsy. Due to the insane amounts of food I'll be eating that baby bump will probably expand to make me look like I'm 7 or 8 months along instead of 6. Anyway, not a lot of writing from Thursday to Saturday.

3 - This leaves me with only Sunday (and if all else fails, Monday after work) to do any catch up from Thanksgiving week. That blows. Why? Because Sunday is November 29thth, the next to the last day of NaNoWriMo. The site will be slow from everyone validating their word count -- which is why Monday after work is completely out of the question. If I wait until the last minute to update my word count I may not register as crossing the finish line within the deadline even if I DO actually do it. This means I want to have my NaNo completely done by Sunday the 29th or I only want to have 1-2k left to go.

So, with all of that in mind, I have to be damn productive from now until next Tuesday.

I figure if I can make myself pump out a good 3k words a day from now through Tuesday, that will leave me with a word count of approximately 46,400. Like this:



(I like pictures, can you tell??)

That means all I would have to do is write 3,600 words between Wednesday through Sunday. My hope is that I can write those 3600 words in the car on Wednesday and have some breathing room for Thanksgiving, but this is uber slacker we're talking about here. I'll probably get 2k in the car and have to find time to write the last 1600 somewhere in there. This is assuming, of course, that I actually make my 3k a day word goal from now until then. But I shall banish such pessimistic thoughts.

I CAN DO THIS.

And if I can't... well, hey, I've got more words written this month than I've done combined in the last two years. That's huge. I've found out that even when I'm brain fried and baby tired (which is like every day after 6pm) I'm still able to force 1k words into a word processor a night. If I choose, I can make that a daily ritual. And I will choose to do that. Oh yes, I will. I miss writing. It's time to insert it back into my busy life.

Root for me, people. I'm on the path to victory!


~Sass~

Poker Face

So if you haven't already heard it (almost impossible at this point), Lady Gaga released a song earlier in the year (possibly last year?) titled Poker Face. I kind of like it actually. It has a nice beat and ornery lyrics.



Then, if you've been watching South Park lately, you may have noticed that Cartman sang the song for a game that looked like it was probably Rock Band or something similar. Oh my hilariousness.



I didn't think anything could top that...

UNTIL I SAW THIS.



Traumatized yet? ;)


~Sass~

NaNo: Day 1. Success!

Here it goes, then. Almost a year of writing damn near nothing and I started NaNo at a pretty good pace. Just a little over 1k words in the morning followed by a grand total of 1964 words by the end of the day.

I DID IT. I STARTED WRITING AGAIN!

No school makes a lot of difference. I don't feel pressured to hurry up and write so I can do my homework or vice versa. There's no guilty conscience screaming in my ear about stuff I'm supposed to be doing other than writing ridiculous prose. (Well, almost no guilty conscience. I was supposed to finish cleaning the computer room today and that sort of didn't happen. Shhhhh.)

Also, I'm a slacker of epic proportions. I totally didn't tell you guys.



We're expecting a little bundle of testosterone!!! (OMG, I'm 21 weeks on Monday! I'm past the halfway point!!! Mah belleh, it gets bigger...)

Gonna sign off early tonight so I can go to sleep (*snort*) and get up early to pound out a few hundred words in the morning before work.

And if you haven't started the NaNo craziness... THERE'S STILL TIME. Go! Go on! Sign up already. Start writing.

Or post your word count. Is anyone up for a word war sometime this week? Just let me know. Imma be there to kick your butt.


~Sass~

OM NOM NOM

Today, victory is ours... for we have successfully made Gooseberry pie in high altitude using a recipe for, well, not high altitude.

For those of you that don't know, Gooseberries are famously tart. I LURVE me some tart berries. We paired it with a graham cracker crust this time and ohhhhhhhhh. Just... ohhhhh. I think I had a pie-gasm while I was eating it. Seriously, you guys need to find you some Gooseberries and make a pie.

This isn't the pie I made but it's a picture that looks the most similar. Just imagine it with a graham cracker base and no top crust.



Drooling yet? I know I am. I'm resisting the urge to go up there and eat the whole damn thing.

Here's the original recipe. Since we're at mile high we added another 1.5 tablespoons of corn starch and a teaspoon of flour. (We did this last year using the original recipe and the filling never thickened... it was basically soup in a pie crust. Still tasted good, but very soupy.)

Gooseberry Pie

2 cans OregoN Gooseberries
1/2 to 1 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
Pastry for double crust 9-inch pie

Preheat oven to 400 F. Drain syrup from gooseberries, reserving 1/2 cup of the syrup. Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Mix the reserved syrup into the dry ingredients and cook until thickened. Remove from heat. Gently stir in gooseberries.

Pour into pastry-lined pie pan and dot with butter or margarine. Adjust top crust, seal, and vent. Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is brown.

You may choose to add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, or mace for extra flavor.

Well? Go on! Go make a pie already and celebrate with me.



~Sass~

Indecisive Sass Is Indecisive

So, like normal, I've decided to toss out the current NaNo idea and go with something else. Namely, this chica from a past writing challenge (the topic was "cyborgs"):

"So... um... how do I work?"

I lifted my arms, careful not to touch anything. They felt heavy. Mechanical noises in my shoulders followed the movement as I extended one arm and then the other. As I shifted my footing for balance I felt my ghost foot ache with the pressure. A quick glance down let me know my left leg was really just metal from the knee down.

"There's 'nuff weaponry in them arms to take out a small country. Just think what you need and it'll pop out," Rod said, fiddling with the toothpick in his mouth.

My new metal ribs stretched the scar on my side as I took a deep breath. I bent my elbow to take a closer look at my hand. It certainly looked like real skin. Felt like it, too. Amazing.

"Is there a manual or something? I don't want to go for pistol and have my arm manifest a bazooka."

He laughed. "No manual, sweetheart. I could tell ya whats in there and how'ta fix it, but I ain't yer maker. Only Clive knows that junk."

A walking weapons arsenal. I liked it. Maybe this time I'd actually get to kill that asshole arms dealer. Maybe with some of his own product. I'd have to find out exactly what was built into me and how to use it so I could light up his ass six ways to Sunday. Visions of smoking ash piles made me smile. Oh yes, he'd regret tearing me limb from limb.

I tried a few defensive stances and punched the air. A bolt popped off with a loud "zing" and a small puff of air escaped my elbow. Something made an ugly grinding noise.

Rod raised one bushy eyebrow. "Hmph. That ain't good."

Yes, it's rough. I pulled it outta my tail about 20 minutes before I posted it. But oh the potential. And I don't really have to put as much effort into coming up with a storyline for her. She already has a background.

Plus, my hillbilly ancestors are loving Rod and Clive and their old skool mechanic skills. Overhaulin' y'all. Cyborg style. And yes, that is Summer Glau in the picture. Males may now commence drooling.

However, I was discussing both NaNo ideas with Crankypants (aka a friend from Cali) and I mentioned that I still liked my villainess from the other NaNo idea. We agreed it would be possible to mix the two. Picture this: bloodlust girl finds a new toy, one that bleeds but has mechanical parts to explore. Of course Crankypants had an entirely different scenario in his head involving what I'm sure was oil or a tub full of jello or a pit of mud or something, to which I replied that fantasy would likely happen in bloodlust girl's head. Only, yannow, involving more blood. What I'm trying to work out is whether the arms dealer mentioned in this blurb is involved with bloodlust girl, or if the antagonists need to have antagonists. Arms Dealer vs Bloodlust Girl vs Cyborg Girl. It just screams NaNo.

We'll see if this idea sticks. I hope it does... cyborg girl sounds fun.


Today's moment of zen:




~Sass~

Updates

I know, I did it again, I disappeared off the face of the earth. At least it wasn't for 3 months though, eh?

So I haven't thought a lot about my NaNo in a few weeks. School and life are pretty much kicking my ass. However, I did decide how to work in Greek mythology. (I did this a couple of weeks ago, actually. I just haven't had time to blog!)

Zeus, aka the most ancient of manwhores, allegedly has an affair. I know, don't faint. But he does it with Eric's sidekick -- Preggers. Guess how she got that way??? Oh yes. I did in fact just pull a sekret bebbe move here. It's corny and juicy and you know it... especially when Hera (Zeus's wifey and a perpetually menopausal goddess) shows up in search of the little bastard. NaNo fodder at its best. But I've kind of decided that rather than being all vengeful with the killing and such, Hera might just sit down and have a civil conversation with Preggers (when and if Hera finds Preggers). Ideas for that convo, I has dems.

At this point you might be asking where Eric fits into all of this. He is, after all, the main character. Don't worry. I've got plans for him. I also know how to tie in my bloodlusting villainess. This is the part where you imagine me behind my keyboard pulling a Mr. Burns. Excellent, Smithers.

On a personal note -- holy crap I think I had the first little movements this week. I'm not entirely sure it was baby somersaults, but I have a very strong suspicion. Time will tell. At this point I'm in the middle of week 16 so it's not quite at the point where I'd expect to feel movement. Still exciting. Now if only I could find a comfortable position to sleep in...

Expect the posting to be sparse for a bit longer. This weekend I start my weekend intensive class for the semester. It's three credits and only lasts two weekends. 8ish to 4ish on both Saturday and Sunday. Lots of writing. Heavy emotional stuff. The class is called Death and Dying. It goes over how different religions and cultures deal with death, and we also go over ethical issues related to death (physician assisted death, euthanasia, pulling the plug on vegetables, etc). I hear the final project is to either write a big ol' research paper involving attendance in a hospital or old folks home, or get your final affairs in order. Yikes. I'm a bit wary about taking this class while pregnant... it would be super embarrassing to burst into tears or something equally emotional in the middle of class. I think I should be fine as long as we aren't watching any videos. Seems like conversation doesn't bother me and I don't think reading would bother me (reading is done outside of class anyway I think), but based on my recent movie-watching experience, videos might do me in.

Did I tell you about that? Yeah. We were watching Big Fish. I had already seen the movie, so I already knew what happened, but damn if I didn't start balling like a little kid twenty minutes before the end. Sobby hiccups and all. I was like WTF? I've seen this. Adventures in pregnancy.


Anyways, I'm out. Got stuff to do and all that. Happy October!

(Yes, the aspens do look like that here.)





~Sass~

ARRR, MATEY!

It be talk like a pirate day again, me hearties! Last year was great fun, it was. Time fer another round o' drinks!

There be pirate news this year:




And pirates be plundering the social media:

MySpace
Facebook Group
Twitter
YouTube
Pyracy Pub
Bilge Monkey Blog


There even be a couple o' books to loot:




There be a whole list of online games here, savvy?


But if ye prefer real people, there be a game for that, too:




And o' course, I had to get me pirate on in WoW:





Don't forget them land-lubbin' unfortunates... there be a Walk Like a Pirate event for charity! (Only in the UK... sorry, yanks!)


Well, what are ye waiting for? Get to plunderin' ya dirty bilge rat!



Today's moment of ARRRRRR!!!!!:

Who wins? Pirates or Ninjas?



~Sass~