Time is going by in an incredible blur. Between my day job and NaNo it’s kind of been all work, no play. And we all know how that adage goes. But I’ve still had some fun. I just got a new rug for my bathroom. (Don’t pity me that I find this fun! I like to make my house a home, dammit!) I’ve had some quality family time and some out and about time since the weather has been freakishly warm for November. Words and pictures do not do Central Park justice in a perpetual fall. But points for effort?!
I downloaded some new music because no matter what I will forever have a soft spot for Mark Hoppus and give anything he does a shot.
But I pretty much feel like I blinked (no pun intended) and I missed the month. Time flies when you’re having fun. Or you’re busy as hell. And this month has been a bit of both.
But finally the break is here! And I’m like a kid when it comes to things like a long holiday weekend. I was supposed to get out at 1 o’clock today and by 12:45 I was antsy beyond belief. Freedom was so close I could taste it! And then I got stuck for a bit, but when I finally got out the door I couldn’t get down the street and home fast enough. Visions of comfy clothes and naps were in my future. And five days of doing *almost* whatever I wanted.
For many, many years I stayed up in Boston for Thanksgiving, partially because travel was miserable (I have no patience for crowded travel and Thanksgiving weekend is by far the worst one around) and partially because I had a job that often meant I had to work the day after Thanksgiving, to oversee the holiday decorations installation. Good times! (Though not really for that second part. Even if I could wear jeans.)
My family came up a couple of times to do Thanksgiving in New England. And other years I sometimes hung out with friends who stayed in town for the holiday (usually going out for too many drinks the night before). And once we even had a proper Thanksgiving, hosted by friends of mine. It was all very adult and mature of us. Though we had too many drinks there too. And on top of the proper holiday, they had a proper house with a proper washer and dryer so I actually did all my laundry on top of everything else. Don’t judge. A walk up brownstone with one washer and one dryer in the basement that was shared with the brownstone next door…doing laundry was an all day commitment and usually the worst thing ever! And before you even suggest sending it out, I can think of nothing more skeevy than having a stranger touch my dirty things (never mind my unmentionables) and then touch them all over again when they were clean. Or supposedly clean…I’ve heard too many horror stories so I operate from the school of Fox Mulder when it comes to laundry - trust no one.
But more often than not I stayed home alone and vegged out. I absolutely loved having day where I didn’t have to be anywhere or do anything. I would get groceries delivered on Wednesday night and enjoy a day of sleeping in, watching too much TV, eating very non-traditional Thanksgiving food (I don’t think Kraft Mac and Cheese is traditional for anyone or anything after college) and probably tossing in a nap at some point. Some people used to be like, “oh I feel so bad for you, you’re all alone”, but I was alone by choice and not for nothing, I actually liked it. I had a sort of Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with toast and popcorn and well, I had mint-chocolate chip ice-cream in lieu of jelly beans because as I’ve mentioned I’m obsessed with it, but it was the thought that counts.
But this year I’m doing the family thing and having a traditional Thanksgiving. But before that I’m doing my best to catch up on my DVR and then am going to enjoy a 5-day break from the working world. WOOHOO!!!!
Like I said this month has passed in a blur, but happily it hasn’t been all work. These days my story goes a little something like this:
NaNoWriMo:
It’s day #23 and I’m at 42,337 words written and 7,663 to go to hit the mark. I’ve got a story brewing. I’ll admit it’s a little scattered, given the whole pantser-on-a-good-day thing I’ve got going for me. But I’ve killed the main victim and scared the shit out of my heroine (which of course after she gets over her initial scare, it will only make her work harder to sleuth out the murderer). I just need to decide who to kill off next. Have to confess, there’s a certain amount of pleasure in working out my angst by killing fictional people.
I’ve kind of become obsessed with writing again. And it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that way. But I’ve written something every day since NaNo started. I’ve pushed through the crap (and I know there’s a lot of crap in there, but that’s what first drafts are for). Fought against the block. I’ve even skipped out on so much TV (the horror, right?!). But I’m very proud of me. And yes, I’m tooting my own horn but isn’t self promotion part of being a writer?! Toot! Toot!
Ringer:
Now as I gushed in a previous post, I had high hopes for this show based on SMG alone. As usual she doesn’t disappoint. Now I thought this show would just be a pleasant distraction (think any Lifetime move with Tori Spelling or Tiffani-Amber Theissen), but have to say it does have some good twists and turns. SMG does an amazing job being the bitchy-I’m-supposed-to-be-dead-Siobhan and the I’m-smart-but-have-a-conscience-and-want-a-second-chance-to-make-something-of-my-life-Bridget.
I just caught up on the last two episodes and I can officially say this show is BEYOND! There is so much mystery built it. So many “OMG” moments. You’re never sure who is legit (except SMG as Bridget, though even she surprises). And just when you think someone is dead – BAM! Tied up in the basement. And just when you think someone is helping – SHAZAM! Hired by evil Siobhan. And if this isn’t enough, Logan Echolls is now in the cast. If you don’t know who that is, well, we have problems. I do know his real name (Jason Dohring…or something close to that), but that’s not important. What’s important is Logan just gave me one more reason to tune in. (Was I the only one who cheered when he came on screen?) And it’s just a matter of time before something happens with him and his teenage student. And if it doesn’t the show might finally disappoint me. Wait. Scratch that. Now I'm just talking crazy.
The Good Wife:
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| Still swooing in Good Wife! |
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| Swooning in Dead Poet's |
Not quite caught up – still have 2 episodes to go, but the drama is getting good. Loving Will and Alicia together. And my fascination (obsession?) with the show is bleeding into real life and I’m going to their Times Talk in January at Arts & Leisure Weekend. So very excited. I’ve been to a bunch of these in year’s past and have to say I just love them. And I’ve had the most severe crush on Josh Charles since Dead Poet’s so my inner teenager is so excited to see him live and in color. He's pretty much the only reason I watched Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead ("Right on top of that, Rose") and Threesome. (And the soundtrack to was amazing too! I got it at Tower Records on Newbury based on "Dancing Barefoot" and "Make Me Smile" alone. Hadn't even seen the movie, but anything with U2 and Duran Duran couldn't be all bad!)
Okay, so I have to go off the path for a second...checked YouTube on a whim for "Make Me Smile". My sister and I taped this concert on our Betamax and played it constantly. Cant' believe it's on here.
This song wasn't on any of their albums. It's showed up on an EP (from Crazy Eddie's...best record store on Central Avenue) circa Seven and the Ragged Tiger and life was complete. I'm DYING over watching this!!!! The outfits. God how I loved Andy Taylor. Guitar solo is still amazing. Ah, memories.....
Everything Else:
Well, there isn’t much else left since last I wrote. I did manage to read a few magazines (though can’t keep up with the December issues that just rolled in). I’m slowly reading my book. Verrrrrrrrrrrrrry slowly. And don’t get me wrong. I’m really liking it, there’s just not enough hours in the day to do the things I want, but once I hit the 50K mark on NaNo, I hope I can find the balance between writing life and life life.
I’ve also been running Season 1 of Gossip Girl in the background of my writing life (Apple TV + streaming Netflix + nostalgia for when the show was good collided), and am stealing this fabulous quip voiced over by Kristen Bell:
“As per Gossip Girl Thanksgiving tradition, I'm trading my laptop for stove-top. And for the next sixteen hours, the only thing I'm dishing is seconds. When the cat's away, the mice will play. Have fun, little rodents!"
Logan Echolls and Kristen Bell in one post. God, I’m good! I mean, any excuse to reference Veronica Mars….
And last but not least, the magic of the shuffle feature on iTunes gave me this last night:
Forgot how much I loved this song. Do wish the video was a lot less bizarre, but that's REM for you. And if you can recall the Dawson’s Creek episode that this song was featured in (and the college year episode when Jen played it while DJ-ing, in reference to the original episode) then I bow down to you! And give thanks for not being the only person with such a weird mind, love for teen TV and unexplainable memory.
For the record, I really wanted to find the Dashboard Confessional version from MTV2 Covers, but struck out. Still worth clicking to listen to though.
Happy Thanksgiving.
(And bee-tee-dubs, I can’t do the whole “Gobble! Gobble!” thing because that reminds me of that scene in Gigli where Jennifer Lopez embarrasses the hell out of herself. And in a movie that it pretty much one epic embarrassment it's frighteningly easy to pick at this scene as the worst. “Turkey time!” Sigh! Yes, I went there. And if you are one of the bazillion people who has not seen that movie, give thanks for that too tomorrow. Trust me! If I've peaked your curiosity then by all means look it up. Can't say for sure if you'll regret it.)
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