Cold Showers Suck

So - I've made a little headway on the novel. Now, instead of being 5000 words behind, I am only 4500 words behind. I'm not really sure it's happening the exact way I thought it would. I'm also not sure there is any credibility or believability to the situation that is taking shape. But, oh well. I certainly had no intention of writing anything romantic at all when I started this, but it seems to be happening none-the-less. And the home helper person wasn't supposed to be likeable, but she is. Go figure.

I couldn't fix my water heater. My dad has generously purchased a new water heater and is coming over tomorrow and we will install it. I won't have to pay him back until I get persi money in January. That sure was good fortune for me. My dad, not the busted water heater. I do have to say, however, the thing did last for about 15 years. Around here, that's pretty good.

Tonight I'm going to go to bed at a decent hour. No more majhong tiles until midnight. Gotta get some sleep. Shouldn't be hard, though, I'm nearly asleep now.

Another Saturday Night...

And I'm home alone with my computer.

13,340. That is the latest word count on my novel. It is progressing quite nicely, but if I were to actually follow the outline I made for the story, I would have a good 200,000 word novel when I was done. I have a feeling it won't come to that, but I'm sure it will go past the 50,000 words that have to be written by the end of the month.

I have some fairly decent character development happening. A little twist happened today that I really didn't expect. You know, I've read interviews with authors who said that happened, and that no matter how much they struggled to stay in control of the story, the characters always won out in the end. I thought they were full of it, mostly because I had never done it before. Stories really do just happen. It's amazing.

I am definitely going to have to do some research on Catholicism. I really don't know enough about this religion to be writing anything at all about it. It just occurred to me that it might not matter. But you never know. One should go about these things with the right intent, so that it doesn't come back to bite you on the butt.

I got my son back last Sunday (big reason why I'm so far behind on the word count). He will be staying with me, like it or not. Turns out I have plenty of great reasons to keep him here. His dad is living in a house he was evicted from months ago. The utilities have all been shut off, and they are heating the house with a propane heater. It is shear stupidity. There is no reason why he should be living that way, but he is. My son will not be.

When I drove to Boise to get him, I had a long chat with his grandmother. She had decided it was time to get Zach so entwined in the welfare system that he would never be free. No way. He is capable of more, and I intend to make sure he gets there. I'm really glad he's back.

I got all registered with classes at ISU. So I'm legit and official. I am really looking forward to my new direction. I am also really having a hard time letting go of what is about to be my past.

Oh, what a mess. The ladies in the other room are confused about what their role is in the lives of the children we serve. We have students in our program who depend on us to take care of their personal needs. Unfortunately, the people who were hired to take care of those needs believe that it needs to happen on a schedule that is convenient for the staff, and not what is appropriate for the student. That's right. Child abuse. Neglect that cannot continue.

The new girl started Monday, and that freed me up to actually take care of those needs myself. I didn't do it quietly, either. I have ruffled more feathers than I even knew existed. And I intend to ruffle them until I am convinced that when I leave, those needs will continue to be met. Do I smell the smoke of a burning bridge? Maybe they'll fire me. Ha ha.

Ok, I guess I'm wasting all this typing time on this post. (NOT) Tomorrow I have to fix my water heater. I'm hoping it's the thermostat so I don't have to empty the water out of it. If it's the element, I'll definitely have to empty it. I'm a great procrastinator, though. Of course, cold showers suck, so I will not procrastinate it for long. I also have laundry to do. Ughh. I think I'd rather write.

Well by for now.

Marathons

Holy Cow! Writing a novel is hard work. My thumbs are so tired, I can barely get them to push the silly space bar at the right time. And though I am 500 words shy of my goal, I have typed over 6000 words this month on my novel. I have read chapters of the bible, not for inspiration, but for research. I have looked up dead bolt diagrams, and researched schizophrenia.

Writing is such a funny thing. I can only write for about an hour at a time, then I have to switch gears for a while before I can continue. I guess my max for writing in a day is about 4 hours. Maybe I'll get better. The story seems to be going pretty well. It's kind of fun weaving a tale, giving just enough to keep a reader reading, but not so much as to give away the whole thing. We'll see how I feel about the whole thing at Thanksgiving. I'm glad it's just a story. I would hate to be the heroin in this story, or her sister. This is freaky stuff, schizophrenia.

Zach tried to call last night, but didn't get through. I have been trying to call him, but I think his phone battery died. He should be coming home this weekend. They better let him call me from their phone soon, or heads are going to roll; oh yes, shit will hit that cosmic fan. And I will stand to one side.

Monday should be fun. The new girl starts. She doesn't know that she has to be me. She can't be, of course, but she'll want to give it her best shot. 48 days 'till quit day comes. Yes, I am counting them, no, it doesn't help, usually. But I do it anyway.

I am so tired right now. I am going to sign off. I just wanted to sign on for a minute and log in what has been up. Nanowrimo. That's whats up. clrcl is writing 10,000 words this month. The writing marathon. Surely I will be able to continue with training for the running marathon next year too. Then figure out some equivelent of a marathon for climbing. Oh, yeah, then there will be the finals marathon.

I didn't get to say that when I went to see the advisor at the college, she was impressed I guess. As I was leaving she was trying to get me all fired up for a women's prison study that will focus on sexual abuse. And I'm going to go for the BS (Bachelor of Science, and Bullshit!) :) and not the BA. She said there would be more research, which I really like the sound of. I love research. I'm wierd. and tired.

Goodnight.