No one has to tell me…I already know I’m crazy!

It’s hard for me not to step up to the plate and accept a challenge.  Sometimes this isn’t a good thing to do, but I do it anyway…all the time.

From NaNo Website

Right now I’m talking about November and another NaNoWriMo that is upon us.  Wasn’t it just November?  Time goes by way too fast for me to keep up.  For those of you who don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, it’s the National Novel Writing Month and it happens every November.  Those of us goofy enough to enter this competition get 30 days to write a 50,000 word novel, or the beginning of a novel, or novella.  The goal is to write 50,000 words in thirty days.  That’s only 1667 words a day so quite doable.  If you can write more than that, I suggest you go for it.  That way you can take a day off here and there if you find yourself way ahead of schedule.

For any writer out there, this competition gets you in front of your computer daily and keeps you in your chair until you reach the goal of 50,000 words.  It’s okay to outline a story first and come up with your characters and do character sketches and plot points, but the actual writing doesn’t start until November 1.  We are all on the honor system for abiding by these rules.

I’m not usually an outline writer, but I do make a few notes ahead of time.  I like to write by the seat of my pants and see where the story takes me as I go.  A lot of times it’s in an unexpected direction.  Sometimes I can really run with this using my imagination and other times it’s a struggle.

The point of this whole exercise is to get in the habit of sitting down to write everyday.  During this month, you write only.  Do not second guess yourself, go back to fix type-o’s, research things for your story, or edit as you go.  All those things can wait until later.  The main thing here is to get your 50,000 words on paper by November 30.  DO NOT GIVE UP!

This is my fifth NaNo.  I’m not sure why I can’t skip one but I’m always up for a challenge.  I usually know full well from the get-go that it’s all going to be a struggle from day one because I have little time to devote to this activity.  However, this knowledge somehow doesn’t stop me.  I doubt it ever will.  I’m too much of an optimist and always think “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”  I guess this thinking was ingrained in me as a child. 

So I’m jotting notes wherever I go and will keep a pen and paper handy all month for ideas that come to me, or for writing a few lines as I have time that I can type into my manuscript later.

If anyone else is doing this, keep yourself away from social media as much as possible or you’ll get distracted and never make it to the end.  If you haven’t signed up yet and would like to, it’s not too late.  Here’s the link:  http://nanowrimo.org/

Can I still see the fun in life or am I crazy!

Maybe I’d have better judgment if I didn’t post this story, but some of you may think I’m crazy anyway so I guess we’ll see what the verdict is here.

I have a wild imagination and sometimes I get carried away with things and crazy stories pop into my head.  I also have crazy dreams that I could make stories out of.  Maybe something like that will be for another time.

A couple of months ago I was in a crazy mood and everything seemed funny.  That happens sometimes when my imagination takes over, or perhaps I haven’t had enough sleep.  My hubby wanted to go and exchange a new frying pan he bought for a different one so I went along and was in one of my giddy moods.  Something he said gave me thoughts of a frying pan running behind the car to catch up with us.  I started giggling as this story played out in my head.

 You'll have to picture this pan standing up with legs because I couldn't find one and didn't have time to manipulate it in Photoshop

 

Once I told him about it and kept adding onto my story he gave me a look that said perhaps he should be driving me to the nut hospital instead of the store.  “I don’t know where you come up with all this stuff,” he said.  The more he talked the more I laughed.  I just couldn’t get the picture out of my head of the frying pan chasing us down the street.

I’m even smiling as I write this.  I don’t know why I get such enjoyment out of such a crazy thought that could never happen except in my imagination.

Have any of you ever let your imagination run away like this?  It happens to me probably more than it should.

Golly gee – Another year older tomorrow

How did I make it halfway through my sixth decade of life?  Sometimes I wonder because I used to think this was so old when I was a kid.  Now of course it doesn’t seem old at all, except for all the aches and pains associated with it.  Most of the time I have to look at the calendar to realize that, yes, I’m really this old.  Thank goodness I don’t look it …yet, or so my co-workers tell me.

 This is me.  I don't post many pics of myself

I’m fortunate that I have the energy I have and keep going like a much younger person.  There’s a gal at work and we discovered we had the same birthdays a couple of months ago.  We were born in the same year on the same day but in two different places, so due to the time zones she’s about 2 hours older than me.  Of course since this came out it’s all over work, thanks to Doreen (my birth mate).  I would just as soon fly under the radar at my age.

But all this birthday talk brings up another story about a guy at work named John.  This guy is amazing.  I’m totally flabbergasted at his age and the hours he keeps.  He’s an inspiration to me for my later years.  I really think we’re cut from the same mold, but he’s about twenty years older than me.  This guy ballroom dances, goes to bed at 2 am and gets to work by 10 the next morning.  He astounds me by his story of laying wood flooring in his house until the wee hours and is still able to make it to work on time.  He always has a big smile on his face too.  When he came to work a week ago he said he’d gone to bed at 4 AM and would try his best to do the job at work that day.  Of course I want to know what his secret is because that’s so like me.  I seem to do fine on very little sleep and now I know I’m not alone in that world.  That’s a very comforting thought because John is an ordinary guy and always in a happy mood.  I like to think of myself that way too. 

This is my sister, Scherri - Happy Birthday!

Anyway to get back on track, my next birthday is tomorrow and one of my sisters is the 21^st.  We’re a year and a day apart.  She can start Medicare this year.  We’re all getting so old.  I know I never envisioned myself carrying around a Medicare card.  But I guess as long as I stay well, age is only a number.

A is for Adventure

I hope none of us ever get too old to enjoy a new adventure as we travel through life.  It would be a sad day if we can’t look forward to tomorrow, even when what we have on the calendar isn’t all that great.

Each new day is like a blank sheet of paper in a notebook.  It still has to be lived.  You never really know which way each day will go either and sometimes things surprise you and what you thought was going to be bad was actually a great time.

This goes for my part-time job as well as daily life.  Things are in a constant state of change.  Sometimes things are challenging, but a person has to rise to the challenge and make the best of each day.  And yes, I know we all struggle with this from time-to-time. 

During the A to Z this year, I may bring you some of those adventures, along with facts about things and places most of you probably don’t know.  There could be recipes as well and maybe a cat post will even sneak in.  Hee-hee.  I’ll try to keep the rants at bay, although with this being an election year, I can’t promise that.  Some worthy tidbit may cross my mind.  Over the course of the month, I hope you’ll find reading my blog is an adventure and hopefully one that will leave you with new information, or maybe a laugh for the day.  If I can do, I will have succeeded. 

Welcome to the A to Z challenge for 2016 everyone!  I look forward to meeting new friends and visiting some old ones.  I enjoy learning from each of you and will definitely visit everyone who visits me, so please leave a comment.

Non-fiction is sometimes an unforgettable story

Like most of you, I prefer fiction books for my reading pleasure, but I’ve read some non-fiction books that have left a lasting impression on me.  Sometimes a true story can be unimaginable and chilling.  I want to tell you about three such books here.

Tales from a Mountain City by Quynh Dao

            The book is about growing up in Vietnam during the war when a change of government turns the life of one family upside down.  Soldiers move into their home burn their books and take over the neighborhood.  This story is about a young girl growing up under the communist regime.  The family tries to hang on to their traditions, their hometowns and provinces, but the pervasiveness of the communist value system eventually drives them to suicide or exile.

The Black Wall by Jiazhen Qi

            This story is a full account of a family in China during the rise of communism.  This powerful story is told by one of the daughters in the family who is imprisoned at the age of twenty under a charge of being a counterrevolutionary.  Her father is already serving a sentence for the same crime.  The remaining family must scrape by selling what they can to buy food to survive.  They under constant surveillance and not allowed to leave the house unless it is to go to the communist school or to buy food.  As you can imagine, prison life is no better.  Conditions are deplorable there.  At times, this book is graphic and the things these people endured are beyond imagination.  This story is one you won’t forget.

Far Outside the Ordinary by Prissy Elrod

            The book is about a family living in FL.  The father discovers he has a brain tumor at age 50.  Glioblastoma gives no warning until it’s too late.  The diagnosis leaves his wife and two daughters stunned, but they don’t let go of hope as they struggle for a cure and survival against all odds.  Southern black caregivers move into the home to aid the family around the clock.  After all avenues are exhausted, they must accept what’s coming.

            The second half of the book is about how the family copes with his loss and shows them that sometimes there are second chances at happiness.  Love can come disguised and when least expected.

Have you read any memorable books?

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Isn't this picture beautiful?

Thanks to all my readers and my blog followers who put up with me and read the crazy cat stories and adventures in my life. A happy holiday time to all of you and to my family and friends. It's great to have all of you in my life. I hope 2014 is wonderful, bringing you much happiness, good health, and many blessings.

Sunni