So, a lot of you may have heard by now that Michael's mom died. She had been sick for a long time, although we didn't know this until after we moved here. Michael did have a chance to talk to her a few times since we moved, so I think that was good. But his dad didn't call to tell him when she passed, so that was less good. Michael seems to be doing okay, but it's hard for me to tell sometimes because we show emotion differently from each other. So I try to be available if he needs me, and be nice to him because he deserves it. He really deserves better than what he's gotten in life. I just wish I could make everything perfect. But that, I cannot do.
The Saga of the Roof continues. Apparently, when the roofer came before and went up on the roof and then left without saying anything to me, he reported back that he couldn't find the leak from the top. So the building maintenance guy came through today and cut a huge hole in the ceiling to try and see if he could find the leak from the bottom. And he did. And now there's a big hole in the ceiling, and it's supposed to rain for the next four days. The good news is that there should be a direct line of dripping from hole-in-the-roof to bucket-on-Kati-and-Michael's-floor. So, any time now this'll all get fixed. And actually, I'm not that fussed about it. It's an inconvenience, to be sure. But knowing that I don't have to pay for this (and have a general variability in my schedule that allows me to be home for roofers' visits) kind of takes the anxiety out of the situation. And so it goes.
My Methodology final went well. I think. I feel. I'm pretty damn close to knowing for sure. Yeah, it went well. And sprung from this project is the official (albeit general) topic of my Masters Thesis: the Superferry. The next step will be researching background literature and learning everything there is to know about the Superferry, and looking into psychological research into community change. Within the next few months I'll tie all this info together into a research proposal, and then I'll do research, and then I'll defend it, and then I'll be Master Kati. Simple as that.
Oh, and I finished my novel. Working on the editing/rewrite a bit already. I'll have time in December to put forth more effort to that. Also, a group of us nanos in Honolulu are sticking together for more writing through December. We like the momentum of the writing we've got going, so we're gonna stick with it. New stories, or finish this one, or really whatever each person feels like working on. So I'm gonna edit and try to get another book laid out and basically written. It's amazing to me all the ways I can see to improve this last one while maintaining the basic structure I've written out. This is a new type of writing for me. And it's fun. Wish me luck.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Day of Atonement
I mean, Happy Thanksgiving.
I was reading this article that suggested we rewrite Thanksgiving as a national holiday and instead observe a Day of Atonement for the genocide committed on behalf of the future generations (us). The author talked about expecting criticism from right-wing traditionalists, but not expecting so much criticism from left-wing progressivists. Their arguments tended to run along the lines of, "I know our history is terrible, but we can still give thanks for our family and friends and be quietly mindful of the true history so as not to buy into the big holiday consumerism nightmare."
And, you know, sure. Whatever. That's what I've tried to do. But this got me thinking about paradigm shifts (which I've been thinking about a lot lately) and so I started trying to imagine what would actually happen if the US converted Thanksgiving into a Day of Atonement. And in a way, it's hard to imagine because we don't have any national concept of saying we're sorry. In a way, it seems so un-American.
One of the petty arguments I've had about this (but which is actually a pretty big deal) is how would we teach a Day of Atonement to kids. How do we forgo the pretty mythology of the first Thanksgiving and teach little kids about the genocide on which our nation was founded? It's a tough one because our school curricula always start with watered-down, well, lies that sound nice and don't get to the gritty truth until high school or so, if then. This would be a big change.
So I imagine a classroom filled with 6-year-olds and they're expecting to wear paper Pilgrim and Indian hats and expecting to draw turkeys from their hand prints and expecting to learn about sharing your bounty, just like their older sisters and brothers did last year.
And I imagine a teacher standing before them, telling them a watered-down version of the genocide that followed the first Thanksgiving, telling them that a lot of the Indians got sick because the settlers had diseases the Indians' bodies couldn't deal with, so a lot of them died. And telling them that the settlers wanted to live on the land and didn't think the Indians should get to have the land, so they took it away and kept pushing the Indians further and further away until they had nothing left. The settlers took it all away. (We can tell them about torture, enforced slavery, and mass killings once they reach second or third grade).
And I imagine the teacher comparing this action to ... what? ... playground bullies deciding they want the swing set all to themselves. And if they push everyone else off, is that wrong? Because it was wrong when the settlers took all of the land. It was a really, really bad mistake. Therefore, on the Day of Atonement, we think about these bad mistakes we made as a country and as individuals, and we say we're sorry.
So then all the kids can say what they're thankful for and what they're sorry for. Then they get cookies. So there, class party and positive life skills all present.
The second and third graders can write letters to Congress about the ongoing oppression practiced against Native American nations now, today, ongoing, now and still in the United States.
The fifth and sixth grade social studies classes can do reports on centuries of anti-Native American policies and what can be done now to end our dominant oppression over these sovereign nations.
High schoolers can start petitions, and picket in front of their state legislature.
Adults, meanwhile, sometime between cooking turkeys and scribbling out holiday checks to charities, can sign their high schoolers' petitions and lobby to their Senators and Congresspersons about how the Constitution doesn't really have a clause regarding the civil liberties of the people we've conquered and how we've got to make reparations, big time, to all the people we've hurt in the past.
Yes, it'll be a new country, one that bothers to say 'we're sorry' and perhaps even one that'll stop doing bad things to begin with.
So, what we need in order to get this off the ground is... a historian, a political scientist, and a marketing/web design person. Or twenty. So, what say next year we offer apologies as well as thanks?
...
word count: 45,345
I was reading this article that suggested we rewrite Thanksgiving as a national holiday and instead observe a Day of Atonement for the genocide committed on behalf of the future generations (us). The author talked about expecting criticism from right-wing traditionalists, but not expecting so much criticism from left-wing progressivists. Their arguments tended to run along the lines of, "I know our history is terrible, but we can still give thanks for our family and friends and be quietly mindful of the true history so as not to buy into the big holiday consumerism nightmare."
And, you know, sure. Whatever. That's what I've tried to do. But this got me thinking about paradigm shifts (which I've been thinking about a lot lately) and so I started trying to imagine what would actually happen if the US converted Thanksgiving into a Day of Atonement. And in a way, it's hard to imagine because we don't have any national concept of saying we're sorry. In a way, it seems so un-American.
One of the petty arguments I've had about this (but which is actually a pretty big deal) is how would we teach a Day of Atonement to kids. How do we forgo the pretty mythology of the first Thanksgiving and teach little kids about the genocide on which our nation was founded? It's a tough one because our school curricula always start with watered-down, well, lies that sound nice and don't get to the gritty truth until high school or so, if then. This would be a big change.
So I imagine a classroom filled with 6-year-olds and they're expecting to wear paper Pilgrim and Indian hats and expecting to draw turkeys from their hand prints and expecting to learn about sharing your bounty, just like their older sisters and brothers did last year.
And I imagine a teacher standing before them, telling them a watered-down version of the genocide that followed the first Thanksgiving, telling them that a lot of the Indians got sick because the settlers had diseases the Indians' bodies couldn't deal with, so a lot of them died. And telling them that the settlers wanted to live on the land and didn't think the Indians should get to have the land, so they took it away and kept pushing the Indians further and further away until they had nothing left. The settlers took it all away. (We can tell them about torture, enforced slavery, and mass killings once they reach second or third grade).
And I imagine the teacher comparing this action to ... what? ... playground bullies deciding they want the swing set all to themselves. And if they push everyone else off, is that wrong? Because it was wrong when the settlers took all of the land. It was a really, really bad mistake. Therefore, on the Day of Atonement, we think about these bad mistakes we made as a country and as individuals, and we say we're sorry.
So then all the kids can say what they're thankful for and what they're sorry for. Then they get cookies. So there, class party and positive life skills all present.
The second and third graders can write letters to Congress about the ongoing oppression practiced against Native American nations now, today, ongoing, now and still in the United States.
The fifth and sixth grade social studies classes can do reports on centuries of anti-Native American policies and what can be done now to end our dominant oppression over these sovereign nations.
High schoolers can start petitions, and picket in front of their state legislature.
Adults, meanwhile, sometime between cooking turkeys and scribbling out holiday checks to charities, can sign their high schoolers' petitions and lobby to their Senators and Congresspersons about how the Constitution doesn't really have a clause regarding the civil liberties of the people we've conquered and how we've got to make reparations, big time, to all the people we've hurt in the past.
Yes, it'll be a new country, one that bothers to say 'we're sorry' and perhaps even one that'll stop doing bad things to begin with.
So, what we need in order to get this off the ground is... a historian, a political scientist, and a marketing/web design person. Or twenty. So, what say next year we offer apologies as well as thanks?
...
word count: 45,345
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Limp-with-style accessories
Hey! FutureKati here. Still hobbling about.
After a couple of days, the pain had receded but not vanished, and this led me to believe that I'm going to be dealing with this for awhile. Again. But there is a silver lining to this cloud. Since this is now officially a recurring injury, I've decided to get a cane. So, for Christmas (which will come as early as possible), Michael is getting me a dragon head cane. Because if you have to limp, you might as well limp in style! Oh, yeah.
I'm really excited about this, actually. We've been shopping about online and I found a lot of nice ones for around $60, plus $30 s/h. Some places won't ship to Hawaii for reasons unknown. Some places say that shipping is $10, until they find out you're in Hawaii, and then it becomes $30. One place has a nice dragon cane for $40, plus $unknown s/h and they're only open Monday-Friday, so I'll call for specs then. Many, many, many places have dragon head canes with swords hidden in the canes, and most of those places don't mention in any convenient location in the product description that it is illegal to carry about a sword in your cane. They are for display purposes (in your home) only. One place has a really groovy silver carved dragon head and fiberglass shaft, for the bargain price of $500. A lot of dragon canes (I assume because most people get them to look cool, rather than to assist with their walking) are 40" or more high, making them too high for me, because I'm short, and that comes up above my elbow, which would make it hard for me to support myself. Lot of strain to the wrist, I imagine.
Also, I'm lucky because I'm small. This means I have a wider variety of limp-with-style accessories available to me, because a lot of the pretty canes say they are not weight-bearing canes for people over 170lbs, 220lbs, or 250lbs. I weigh less than all of these put together... or something like that.
I hope to have a cane chosen and ordered on Monday. It should be here... sometime after that. Hopefully sooner, rather than not sooner.
Michael's kind of sick (hopefully not the flu). Came down with... whatever it is... yesterday. He's got papers to write and Chinese to study, so hopefully it's not too bad, and won't linger. We'll see soon enough, I guess. Stocked up on juice and healthy things.
I'm at... 33,700ish words right now, and I'm hoping to add another 3000 or so today. Final projects are coming along. Short films are nearly done. I'm playing games with some of the nanos this afternoon. My foot aches. I don't want to walk anymore. And I'm restless. I hate sitting still.
my love to the wife and kids,
kati
After a couple of days, the pain had receded but not vanished, and this led me to believe that I'm going to be dealing with this for awhile. Again. But there is a silver lining to this cloud. Since this is now officially a recurring injury, I've decided to get a cane. So, for Christmas (which will come as early as possible), Michael is getting me a dragon head cane. Because if you have to limp, you might as well limp in style! Oh, yeah.
I'm really excited about this, actually. We've been shopping about online and I found a lot of nice ones for around $60, plus $30 s/h. Some places won't ship to Hawaii for reasons unknown. Some places say that shipping is $10, until they find out you're in Hawaii, and then it becomes $30. One place has a nice dragon cane for $40, plus $unknown s/h and they're only open Monday-Friday, so I'll call for specs then. Many, many, many places have dragon head canes with swords hidden in the canes, and most of those places don't mention in any convenient location in the product description that it is illegal to carry about a sword in your cane. They are for display purposes (in your home) only. One place has a really groovy silver carved dragon head and fiberglass shaft, for the bargain price of $500. A lot of dragon canes (I assume because most people get them to look cool, rather than to assist with their walking) are 40" or more high, making them too high for me, because I'm short, and that comes up above my elbow, which would make it hard for me to support myself. Lot of strain to the wrist, I imagine.
Also, I'm lucky because I'm small. This means I have a wider variety of limp-with-style accessories available to me, because a lot of the pretty canes say they are not weight-bearing canes for people over 170lbs, 220lbs, or 250lbs. I weigh less than all of these put together... or something like that.
I hope to have a cane chosen and ordered on Monday. It should be here... sometime after that. Hopefully sooner, rather than not sooner.
Michael's kind of sick (hopefully not the flu). Came down with... whatever it is... yesterday. He's got papers to write and Chinese to study, so hopefully it's not too bad, and won't linger. We'll see soon enough, I guess. Stocked up on juice and healthy things.
I'm at... 33,700ish words right now, and I'm hoping to add another 3000 or so today. Final projects are coming along. Short films are nearly done. I'm playing games with some of the nanos this afternoon. My foot aches. I don't want to walk anymore. And I'm restless. I hate sitting still.
my love to the wife and kids,
kati
Monday, November 12, 2007
Dear FutureKati,
How are you doing? It's Veteran's Day today, which is sometime in November. I could look up the date by clicking at the bottom of the screen, but I'm too lazy to bother. You know me.
We're still working on the nano project, although besides outlining the next chapter, we didn't really do much by way of writing yesterday. Maybe today will be more productive. We're still ahead of schedule, though: 20,358, or something like that. We're good. Is that enough small talk? I think it is.
Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about this foot injury that happened 12 1/2 months ago. You know the one I'm talking about-- Dublin Marathon, trying to hide in the Wicklow Mountains, but then our tour start two blocks from the starting line, six months of training wasted (although we did manage to raise a tidy sum for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago). Remember how we cried in that restaurant over a Guinness when we realized that since walking was so painful there was no way in hell we could run 26.2 miles? Remember how we hobbled around for weeks afterward, and even after we were too stubborn to limp anymore how the pain shot through our foot with every step for months? And remember how it still twinged for months more, even after walking had more or less returned to normal?
Think on this. Really think on this. Because, I know you, FutureKati. I know you've probably been having dreams of running again, and you see people running all over Oahu, and you're getting sentimental about how you wish you could run again, and you're thinking it's been months since your foot hurt so maybe it'll be okay this time.... Well, it's not. Don't run. And don't do high-impact aerobics either. You cannot mess with your foot like that, because it will hurt. You may not remember the pain very clearly right at this moment, FutureKati, but I do, so listen to me. You. Can. Not. Run. Anymore.
I know the memory of the pain fades with time. I myself had been thinking that it couldn't have been that bad, and I probably could have run that Marathon if I'd just had more strength of character. You're probably thinking this too, FutureKati, which is why you're considering trying to run again. So I want you to consider how stubborn you are. And I want you to consider how long you'd trained for the Dublin Marathon, how much work you had put into it. And I want you to consider people's expectations-- think of how John DiMucci got you to Dublin and how very, very, very much you would not want to let him down. Think of these things and imagine what would have been necessary to make you NOT run. It probably wasn't a flight of fancy, was it?
Now I want you to remember me-- PresentKati, or more appropriate to you, PastKati. It's November something, 2007. More than a year later. And I did some high impact aerobics yesterday. And it wasn't even a huge stress on my body, but, repeatedly lifting my foot and bringing it back to the ground was too much for the poor dear. This. Hurts. Before we went to the doctor last year, we thought our foot was broken. That's because it feels like it is broken. It is highly unpleasant, and at this point I can only hope that this doesn't last for weeks or months like it did last year. Please don't do this again. Listen to me, FutureKati. Don't. Do. This. Again. Get a bike. Find a place with a workout machine that involves moving but not stepping. But for the love of god, don't go running. It was nice while it lasted, but it's just not in us anymore.
Now, I'm going to leave it to FutureMichael to remind us of this post when you, FutureKati, start thinking that foot injury thing hadn't been so bad afterall. But it is up to you, FutureKati, to swallow your pride and find something else to do that will take care of your desire to run. I have faith in you. You're a very creative person. And this isn't failure. This is injury. Take care. And tell FutureMichael I said Hi. I bet he's still really cute, yeah?
peace,
PresentKati
A.K.A. PastKati
We're still working on the nano project, although besides outlining the next chapter, we didn't really do much by way of writing yesterday. Maybe today will be more productive. We're still ahead of schedule, though: 20,358, or something like that. We're good. Is that enough small talk? I think it is.
Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about this foot injury that happened 12 1/2 months ago. You know the one I'm talking about-- Dublin Marathon, trying to hide in the Wicklow Mountains, but then our tour start two blocks from the starting line, six months of training wasted (although we did manage to raise a tidy sum for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago). Remember how we cried in that restaurant over a Guinness when we realized that since walking was so painful there was no way in hell we could run 26.2 miles? Remember how we hobbled around for weeks afterward, and even after we were too stubborn to limp anymore how the pain shot through our foot with every step for months? And remember how it still twinged for months more, even after walking had more or less returned to normal?
Think on this. Really think on this. Because, I know you, FutureKati. I know you've probably been having dreams of running again, and you see people running all over Oahu, and you're getting sentimental about how you wish you could run again, and you're thinking it's been months since your foot hurt so maybe it'll be okay this time.... Well, it's not. Don't run. And don't do high-impact aerobics either. You cannot mess with your foot like that, because it will hurt. You may not remember the pain very clearly right at this moment, FutureKati, but I do, so listen to me. You. Can. Not. Run. Anymore.
I know the memory of the pain fades with time. I myself had been thinking that it couldn't have been that bad, and I probably could have run that Marathon if I'd just had more strength of character. You're probably thinking this too, FutureKati, which is why you're considering trying to run again. So I want you to consider how stubborn you are. And I want you to consider how long you'd trained for the Dublin Marathon, how much work you had put into it. And I want you to consider people's expectations-- think of how John DiMucci got you to Dublin and how very, very, very much you would not want to let him down. Think of these things and imagine what would have been necessary to make you NOT run. It probably wasn't a flight of fancy, was it?
Now I want you to remember me-- PresentKati, or more appropriate to you, PastKati. It's November something, 2007. More than a year later. And I did some high impact aerobics yesterday. And it wasn't even a huge stress on my body, but, repeatedly lifting my foot and bringing it back to the ground was too much for the poor dear. This. Hurts. Before we went to the doctor last year, we thought our foot was broken. That's because it feels like it is broken. It is highly unpleasant, and at this point I can only hope that this doesn't last for weeks or months like it did last year. Please don't do this again. Listen to me, FutureKati. Don't. Do. This. Again. Get a bike. Find a place with a workout machine that involves moving but not stepping. But for the love of god, don't go running. It was nice while it lasted, but it's just not in us anymore.
Now, I'm going to leave it to FutureMichael to remind us of this post when you, FutureKati, start thinking that foot injury thing hadn't been so bad afterall. But it is up to you, FutureKati, to swallow your pride and find something else to do that will take care of your desire to run. I have faith in you. You're a very creative person. And this isn't failure. This is injury. Take care. And tell FutureMichael I said Hi. I bet he's still really cute, yeah?
peace,
PresentKati
A.K.A. PastKati
Friday, November 9, 2007
More Nano
Word count: 18,040
Also, I didn't know if anyone was interested, but my account name at nanowrimo is greenmansdaughter. You can visit my user profile at:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/231823
It's just little fun stuff... novel excerpts that I update whenever I write something vaguely interesting and non-sucky, a graph that shows my progress, a picture I took of myself in the Wicklow Mountains outside of Dublin...
I still want to build up lots of outside peer expectations since every time I've tried to write this story in the past, I've quit and restarted it about 5 chapters in. And I want to finish, so I really need that fear of humiliation (thanks, Anna, by the way :) in the contingency that I fail to complete this goal.
This time, however, I think I've passed the point of wanting to start over. I wrote for two or three days straight, knowing that everything I wrote during that time was crap. And I thought of a better way of going about it. So I went back, put in a note of what I'll do in the re-write and then... continued from where I'd left off. And as I slip into the meat of the story, and as I get used to writing every day... I think my mad dash writing is improving. I can see, even as I write, where I'll need to tidy up in the re-writes, but it's been more a matter of making the phrasing more eloquent rather than needing to actually rework the structure of a chapter to make it worth reading. I think I'm a converted nano.
As for non-nano news, this weekend I'm filming some more. And that's fun. Also, I'm attempting to finish at least a majority of my final project for Cultural Community Psychology. I actually think that's gonna work out well. Although, yes, it's taking a good deal of time. But Monday's a holiday, and I'll have most of Saturday and Sunday... This can work. I'll make this work.
peace,
kati
Also, I didn't know if anyone was interested, but my account name at nanowrimo is greenmansdaughter. You can visit my user profile at:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/231823
It's just little fun stuff... novel excerpts that I update whenever I write something vaguely interesting and non-sucky, a graph that shows my progress, a picture I took of myself in the Wicklow Mountains outside of Dublin...
I still want to build up lots of outside peer expectations since every time I've tried to write this story in the past, I've quit and restarted it about 5 chapters in. And I want to finish, so I really need that fear of humiliation (thanks, Anna, by the way :) in the contingency that I fail to complete this goal.
This time, however, I think I've passed the point of wanting to start over. I wrote for two or three days straight, knowing that everything I wrote during that time was crap. And I thought of a better way of going about it. So I went back, put in a note of what I'll do in the re-write and then... continued from where I'd left off. And as I slip into the meat of the story, and as I get used to writing every day... I think my mad dash writing is improving. I can see, even as I write, where I'll need to tidy up in the re-writes, but it's been more a matter of making the phrasing more eloquent rather than needing to actually rework the structure of a chapter to make it worth reading. I think I'm a converted nano.
As for non-nano news, this weekend I'm filming some more. And that's fun. Also, I'm attempting to finish at least a majority of my final project for Cultural Community Psychology. I actually think that's gonna work out well. Although, yes, it's taking a good deal of time. But Monday's a holiday, and I'll have most of Saturday and Sunday... This can work. I'll make this work.
peace,
kati
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Tandem Writing
15,025 words.
Getting along nicely.
I met up with some of the other Nanos in Honolulu last night at a coffee shop near our place. I don't recall ever having done tandem writing before, but that's what we did last night. I got there, talked out my villains (who were lacking names and individual personalities) with the guy sitting next to me, and then we wrote. Later, this lady who is one of the two local meet-up organizers got together a word war. This is when you set a time limit, say, fifteen minutes, then you say 'go', and then you write like, say, crazy until the fifteen minutes are up.
It's a mad-dash of storytelling. I wrote about as much in that fifteen minutes as I had written in the previous hour. Granted, there was less talking just then, and less character development. Just a scramble to get out what was going on. I got out a two-page conversation of foreshadowing. Immediately afterwards, I thought, 'Oh crap, I'm just gonna have to cut all of this, re-write it elsewhere.' But then I got home, read it over, and realized it has actually opened up a whole new level to my story that I would have missed out on if I hadn't been in that particular storytelling mindset. Awesome.
It was really fun. Will do this again next week.
Getting along nicely.
I met up with some of the other Nanos in Honolulu last night at a coffee shop near our place. I don't recall ever having done tandem writing before, but that's what we did last night. I got there, talked out my villains (who were lacking names and individual personalities) with the guy sitting next to me, and then we wrote. Later, this lady who is one of the two local meet-up organizers got together a word war. This is when you set a time limit, say, fifteen minutes, then you say 'go', and then you write like, say, crazy until the fifteen minutes are up.
It's a mad-dash of storytelling. I wrote about as much in that fifteen minutes as I had written in the previous hour. Granted, there was less talking just then, and less character development. Just a scramble to get out what was going on. I got out a two-page conversation of foreshadowing. Immediately afterwards, I thought, 'Oh crap, I'm just gonna have to cut all of this, re-write it elsewhere.' But then I got home, read it over, and realized it has actually opened up a whole new level to my story that I would have missed out on if I hadn't been in that particular storytelling mindset. Awesome.
It was really fun. Will do this again next week.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Acclimated
So, have I mentioned it's been raining here?
Yesterday (Sunday) I didn't see the sun at all. There was no sunshine. It really bothered me, even though full-on rainy days with no sunshine have happened all throughout my life in the other locations I've lived. And... and I put on a sweatshirt yesterday evening. It couldn't have been less than 75 degrees, and I put on a sweatshirt because I thought it was kind of chilly. Nine months ago I didn't wear sweatshirts on 45 degree days. WTF has happened to me?!
Well, anyway, this has just proven to me (as if there was any doubt) that I'm a warm-weather person. It took two years to get used to Chicago winters, and I never really liked them, although I did learn how to appreciate the brisk just-above-freezing temperatures that had always seemed frigid to me before. But here I've gone and acclimated to Hawaii in just over 3 months. Yup. Definitely a warm-weather person.
Michael has vowed to continue making fun of people who put on sweaters here for as long as he possibly can. Until he, too, is one day forced to put on a sweater. Don't tell him, but I don't think that day will ever come.
Word count of the best fantasy novel ever to be in the writing process: 10,999.
Everything I wrote today was crap, but it's marking the place for where I want the well-written conversations about various things to go. And you know? This whole kamikaze approach to writing is so much fun. It takes all the pressure off so that I can really just enjoy putting the story together. I'm really digging this project. It's awesome.
Yesterday (Sunday) I didn't see the sun at all. There was no sunshine. It really bothered me, even though full-on rainy days with no sunshine have happened all throughout my life in the other locations I've lived. And... and I put on a sweatshirt yesterday evening. It couldn't have been less than 75 degrees, and I put on a sweatshirt because I thought it was kind of chilly. Nine months ago I didn't wear sweatshirts on 45 degree days. WTF has happened to me?!
Well, anyway, this has just proven to me (as if there was any doubt) that I'm a warm-weather person. It took two years to get used to Chicago winters, and I never really liked them, although I did learn how to appreciate the brisk just-above-freezing temperatures that had always seemed frigid to me before. But here I've gone and acclimated to Hawaii in just over 3 months. Yup. Definitely a warm-weather person.
Michael has vowed to continue making fun of people who put on sweaters here for as long as he possibly can. Until he, too, is one day forced to put on a sweater. Don't tell him, but I don't think that day will ever come.
Word count of the best fantasy novel ever to be in the writing process: 10,999.
Everything I wrote today was crap, but it's marking the place for where I want the well-written conversations about various things to go. And you know? This whole kamikaze approach to writing is so much fun. It takes all the pressure off so that I can really just enjoy putting the story together. I'm really digging this project. It's awesome.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
The Rainy Season Has Come
Cliff assures me that "the Rainy Season" means that it will rain more often than during the others months of the year. There will still be bright and sunny days. There will not be daily monsoons. It will just rain more often than before.
So, it's raining. A lot.
It's raining like a Memphis thunderstorm without the thunder. And also, it lasts. I haven't seen rain last like this in Hawaii. Usually it'll rain for ten minutes or so and then stop raining. But last night it started raining and it hasn't yet stopped. And almost the entire time it's been a downpour. And it's been raining with great frequency over the past week. And it looks from the weather online that it's going to continue for some days.
There are flash flood warnings posted, along with high surf/dangerous swimming conditions posted. There is also a catchy phrase bandied about in regards to the flash flooding-- "Turn around, don't drown." Meaning, do not try to walk or drive across fast moving water.
Michael and I live on middle ground. It's not low or high, it's just sort of mediumish. And we're not near any streams, although there is a deep canal down the road. It's about twenty feet deep and the water level at Kapiolani is usually about a foot deep. I think I'll go check that out sometime. Climb down to walk through it if it's fast moving. Or just peer over the railing. There are usually ducks.
Also, we've sprung a leak in our ceiling. I told Walter about it the other day and he said he'd get some guys up there to re-tar or whatever needs to happen. I don't think it's been dry enough yet for that. The leak got worse overnight. The other day, we laid out a towel to pick up the drippings. We are now in bucket mode. The ceiling is bulging a little. I wonder if that piece is going to fall in before the weather breaks. Good thing I'm not standing below it.
Really, it's kind of a lucky leak, as leaks go. It's in probably the best possible location. There are no electronics or furniture or anything really underneath. It's in front of the refrigerator, but a few feet in front of it so you can still get food without getting wet. And it's directly over the tile flooring, although part of the carpet got soaked last night before we realized we needed a bucket.
So, yeah. Water.
So, it's raining. A lot.
It's raining like a Memphis thunderstorm without the thunder. And also, it lasts. I haven't seen rain last like this in Hawaii. Usually it'll rain for ten minutes or so and then stop raining. But last night it started raining and it hasn't yet stopped. And almost the entire time it's been a downpour. And it's been raining with great frequency over the past week. And it looks from the weather online that it's going to continue for some days.
There are flash flood warnings posted, along with high surf/dangerous swimming conditions posted. There is also a catchy phrase bandied about in regards to the flash flooding-- "Turn around, don't drown." Meaning, do not try to walk or drive across fast moving water.
Michael and I live on middle ground. It's not low or high, it's just sort of mediumish. And we're not near any streams, although there is a deep canal down the road. It's about twenty feet deep and the water level at Kapiolani is usually about a foot deep. I think I'll go check that out sometime. Climb down to walk through it if it's fast moving. Or just peer over the railing. There are usually ducks.
Also, we've sprung a leak in our ceiling. I told Walter about it the other day and he said he'd get some guys up there to re-tar or whatever needs to happen. I don't think it's been dry enough yet for that. The leak got worse overnight. The other day, we laid out a towel to pick up the drippings. We are now in bucket mode. The ceiling is bulging a little. I wonder if that piece is going to fall in before the weather breaks. Good thing I'm not standing below it.
Really, it's kind of a lucky leak, as leaks go. It's in probably the best possible location. There are no electronics or furniture or anything really underneath. It's in front of the refrigerator, but a few feet in front of it so you can still get food without getting wet. And it's directly over the tile flooring, although part of the carpet got soaked last night before we realized we needed a bucket.
So, yeah. Water.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
And then it gets really exciting
The best way to get things going is to give myself too much to do. I have regretted this about myself in the past. I'm sure I'll regret it again. But there have also been times in the past where I've just thrived on it. And right now, no regrets. Life has just gotten a whole hell of a lot more fun and exciting. I am loving it.
The stats:
NaNoWriMo is off and running. I'm at 6,836 words at this time.
Methodology midterm score is in. I did very well. I'm very pleased.
Methodology readings have lightened considerably for these final few weeks of class. Pages to be read by Monday: 38.
Methodology final project is on hold temporarily while I work with Cliff to come up with a plan for my masters. If the study I propose for my final can be the study I propose for my thesis, I wanna do that. Here's hoping.
Cultural Community Psychology readings are about youth violence this week and last. Very interesting material. However, not always interestingly written. I do not know how some psychologists can take such an exciting subject and reduce it to dry chapters. Luckily, the book we're reading this week is written by a number of folks, so chances are some of the chapters will read quickly. Chapters to read by Thursday: 7 (approx. 150 pgs)
Cultural Community Psychology final project is going quicker than expected. What I really need to do now is sit down for a day and write it up. It may not be perfect or finished after that day, but there will only be tweaking left to be done. Then, I'll turn it over to Safe Haven for review so they can make sure what I'm saying is good and accurate. Then I'll present it in class. Pre-research practice run seems to be a success. I'm feeling good about this.
Research preparations have begun. For real. I spent most of this semester reading background literature in the field so I can get a good basis of knowledge in my head about what's going on and what I can do within it. Two weeks ago I created a list of research interests. One week ago I created a list of studies regarding my research interests. Yesterday Cliff emailed me a list of which of these studies would be practical and possible for me to do here. Right now I'm developing a list of research questions that could fall within his list of study possibilities. I really could have a topic within the next couple weeks. I really could be proposing my Masters thesis next semester. How crazy is that?!
Also, I'm going to be in two short films. The problem: although I don't mean to generalize or stereotype, 100% of all undergrad film students everywere are incapable of scheduling. This actually has to do with the fact that I think the same crew is creating three short films right now, and for some reason they keep juggling what's actually happen on any given day with what was expected to happen on that given day. But the result is lots of rescheduling. Still, fun. And still, I'll get to learn how to make empanadas because my character Quimey makes empanadas.
Maybe I can get paid in empanadas...
Mmmm.... empanadas....
The stats:
NaNoWriMo is off and running. I'm at 6,836 words at this time.
Methodology midterm score is in. I did very well. I'm very pleased.
Methodology readings have lightened considerably for these final few weeks of class. Pages to be read by Monday: 38.
Methodology final project is on hold temporarily while I work with Cliff to come up with a plan for my masters. If the study I propose for my final can be the study I propose for my thesis, I wanna do that. Here's hoping.
Cultural Community Psychology readings are about youth violence this week and last. Very interesting material. However, not always interestingly written. I do not know how some psychologists can take such an exciting subject and reduce it to dry chapters. Luckily, the book we're reading this week is written by a number of folks, so chances are some of the chapters will read quickly. Chapters to read by Thursday: 7 (approx. 150 pgs)
Cultural Community Psychology final project is going quicker than expected. What I really need to do now is sit down for a day and write it up. It may not be perfect or finished after that day, but there will only be tweaking left to be done. Then, I'll turn it over to Safe Haven for review so they can make sure what I'm saying is good and accurate. Then I'll present it in class. Pre-research practice run seems to be a success. I'm feeling good about this.
Research preparations have begun. For real. I spent most of this semester reading background literature in the field so I can get a good basis of knowledge in my head about what's going on and what I can do within it. Two weeks ago I created a list of research interests. One week ago I created a list of studies regarding my research interests. Yesterday Cliff emailed me a list of which of these studies would be practical and possible for me to do here. Right now I'm developing a list of research questions that could fall within his list of study possibilities. I really could have a topic within the next couple weeks. I really could be proposing my Masters thesis next semester. How crazy is that?!
Also, I'm going to be in two short films. The problem: although I don't mean to generalize or stereotype, 100% of all undergrad film students everywere are incapable of scheduling. This actually has to do with the fact that I think the same crew is creating three short films right now, and for some reason they keep juggling what's actually happen on any given day with what was expected to happen on that given day. But the result is lots of rescheduling. Still, fun. And still, I'll get to learn how to make empanadas because my character Quimey makes empanadas.
Maybe I can get paid in empanadas...
Mmmm.... empanadas....
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