Abstract Utopia

Over the past month, I haven't been reading as much as I usually do. I find that this has left me with a sense that I am missing something in my life. I love to read- it sets me at ease and keeps my mind rolling over about on itself and helps me focus on doing other things.

This month I have been trying to write instead.

Overall I am pleased with my book. Not 100%, but that is what redrafting is for. I feel like I am losing pace and distance and perspective in some areas and I need something to pull it all back together. I feel like I've lost something as I finish my 40,000 word and I want to go back to around 25,000 and start over again.

Then I remember that this was a test to write 50,000 words in a month. Writing this many is difficult because I have to work and I do have somewhat of a life outside of my computer. Not a lot mind you- but some. I also play video games and MUD and this sucks away more of my life than I'd care to admit in all honesty. But I have been steadily writing, setting aside a little bit of time for myself every day to put down words on paper.

Perhaps this is why I have lost continuity. I have diverted from my outline and stuck in new things and taken things out.

Anyway, I feel at loss without reading. I have realized I cannot do one thing without the other. I can't read or write- I must do both. I need both in my life.

Bleh. I don't think I will reach the 50,000 words in November. I should be upset over this, but I'm really not. I would rather write something good, than force out the 50,000 words. I think I can accomplish this. But I don't think it will happen in one month.

I knew this would be a challenge. I could have written a mystery novel, but I didn't want to. Instead I chose something I want to write and it will put me over the November timeline.

Oh well.

I don't find that I really mind. It gives me time to read and to write. This does wonders for my state of mind. And that is what matters to me.

I will post the next chapter in a different post. It is longer than the previous ones, so it needs its own space.

ATHENS (Reuters) - "I'll tell you what's wrong with it. It's dead, that's what's wrong with it."
For those who believe the ancient Greeks thought of everything first, proof has been found in a 4th century AD joke book featuring an ancestor of Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch where a man returns a parrot to a shop, complaining it is dead.

The 1,600-year-old work entitled "Philogelos: The Laugh Addict," one of the world's oldest joke books, features a joke in which a man complains that a slave he has just bought has died, its publisher said Friday.

"By the gods," answers the slave's seller, "when he was with me, he never did any such thing!"

In a British comedy act Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch, first aired in 1969 and regularly voted one of the funniest ever, the pet-shop owner says the parrot, a "Norwegian Blue," is not dead, just "resting" or "pining for the fjords."

Obviously, Monty Python is the highest form of entertainment. But I already knew that. If I ever get a parrot, I hope it pines for the fjords.

Anyway, here is the next chapter- yeah, I got lazy with posting chapter, but the next several chapters are doozies.

I haven't done any work on my novel today. I haven't felt like it. I find myself wondering if I have already reached the pinnacle of my writing abilities and focus. Probably not, but after finishing the last chapter, I feel oddly drained.

Of course, it may just be that I am physically drained from limping around and taking a rather nasty fall after my knee completely buckled under me as I tried to walk down the stair out of my apartment today. Strangely, the knee itself doesn't hurt much- I just find I have very little strength in it. If I step too quickly, it buckles and gives way beneath me. If I turn, it does the same. It is a very odd sort of feeling. It definitely does not hurt as much as my previous knee injury and the subsequent surgery on it. This most likely means I haven't hurt it all that bad, it just wants me to be off of it for a while so it can rest and repair itself.

Anyway, instead of working on my novel, today I thought I would write a little story instead. It is Murakami inspired, I admit that. And the story just sort of fell out of me while I was trying to do other things. I hate that.
After this, I need to get back to working on some very frustrating VB code for a spreadsheet and drink some more of this fabulous coffee I've got.

I have nothing to say other then, blah.

Uhg...I need coffee and painkillers.

And ice.

Damn knee.

Girls are mean. Remember that.


Words so far: 23001
Words to go: 26999
Days left: 19

So, apparently I got tagged to do a six random thing, thing. I was tagged by WebKittyn who has had a bad couple of days- no, bad couple of months really. Heck, I would almost venture to say bad year. But, she still found 6 mildly amusing things to write about, such as Lucky Charms cereal (which I can't stand and have never been able to stomach- I have a thing against those little marshmallows) and odd dreams about Mt. Everest Base Camp.

I have the silly little Shitty Blog Feed on my admin log in page for Serendipity (fuckin' awesome no?) so I can now see when shitty bloggers have new posts- all of them. I log into my blog and link right into other new posts at the other blogs. It is a good feature and it pleases me. Anyway, this is bouncing about the Shitty Bloggers right now and I was tagged.

The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on the blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

So…let's see if I can come up with six random and nearly witty facts about myself.

1. I like hats. I am wearing a hat right now. I have instituted a Friday Hat thing at work and it has bled into a Tuesday Hat thing. Wearing hats makes me happy. Today I needed a bit of constructed happiness (which is akin to liquid courage and infectious charisma). So, I am wearing my woven straw cowboy hat. It is excellent. I think everyone should wear hats.



2. In my soccer game on Sunday I sprained and/or ruptured my Collateral Ligament in my right knee. I can walk, so long as I stay in a very, very straight line and don't deviate too quickly. Otherwise, my knee buckles and I fall and hilarity ensures.



3. I had Ethiopian food for the first time on Saturday. It was delicious and awesome and I plan on going again. The bread was purple and spongy and a little sour and slightly bitter, but it was impossible to stop eating it. Also raw beef with cardamom and other spices rocks.



4. I just don't get daylight savings time. It utterly and completely baffles me. It is random and we can institute acts of congress to change when it happens. Mind boggling. Utterly mind boggling. Perhaps when I solve Grand Unification Theory it will have something to do with unlocking the mysteries of Daylight Savings Time.



5. Something on my desk is making a ticking noise and I can't locate it. It sounds vaguely like one of those clicking beetles. Or wooden beads knocking together. But it is probably just a bomb. At least I will die in an unspectacular and tragic way- in a grey cloth box wearing an excellent hat.



6. I do have a unicorn in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

I suppose I should tag six people. I am not sure I know six people to tag. Do six people even read my blog anymore? With the drivel spewing out lately, I doubt it. Also, I think everyone I "know" has more or less been covered by other people. Anyway, people to tag:

My One-Eyed Cat, Cygnus (he says meeeeerrrrrooooOOOOW, also that his poos are quite stinky today and I should appreciate them)
The Guy in the Cube 3 down who insists on bringing fish for lunch.
The cubicle ninja who moved all my pencils (I know you're there)
Sparky
Mistress of the Dark

I think I have fixed my comments. Apparently they were sort of broken. I loosened some of the spam blocking (which was probably most of the problem). It should be good now. I had to put on an emergency stop not too long ago because I was getting spammed when I upgraded my blog and forgot to upgrade my spam filter as well. Whoops. I just turned that off and everything should be okay now- I even tested it myself.

Also, I will be posting the next chapter soon. I was off my leg for the past couple of days so I fell a little behind in writing. But I still have new stuff to post.