By Request...My Jeopardy! Experience

Russ suggested last night that I go into more detail about my Jeopardy! experience. Since today wasn't too exciting--got up, went to work, ran a couple errands, came home, cooked dinner, and worked on a review for Sue--I might as well honor his request. So dust off your Weird Al album and come listen to my tale.

It all began in the summer of 1997, when I was living with my parents and looking for another job to replace my technical writing one. I had part-time work as a copyeditor, but that wasn't enough. I did have plenty of time to watch TV, though, especially Jeopardy!. Like many people, I would question the answers while watching, and I wasn't too bad. So when I saw one day that the show would be holding tryouts in Chicago, I went online and registered. I was quite shocked when I was actually selected, though. But I spent the time in between reading general knowledge books and trying to learn a bit more in my weak subjects.

The day of the tryouts, my parents drove me down to Chicago and dropped me off while they visited my grandmother. If I recall correctly, the audition was in a hotel. Many other people were already there, and quite a few of them were cramming just as I had done. When the time came, we were all ushered into a large room and given a sheet of paper with 50 lines on it.

The audition consisted of a tape of Alex reading 50 clues out loud. For this test, you didn't have to answer in the form of a question. The topics were general; I remember there were questions on recent events and beverages, among other things. For this, I did find that my studying helped me with some of the answers. In order to pass, you had to get over 35 questions right. I estimate there were about 100 people testing at the same time I did; only 15 passed. I was one of them.

The second part of the audition was to get to know us a little better and to see how well we would be able to handle being on the show. The people running the test gave us short interviews and let us practice ringing in with the real buzzers from the show. I think this is when we had to list some interesting things about ourselves for Alex to ask us about, but I'm not sure anymore. I felt like I handled this part well, and after I was done, I treated myself to a chocolate-covered strawberry and waited to hear back from the show.

I got the call sooner than I expected, in September. I had to take time away from my jobs (I was temping at the enzyme company by this point) and make my own travel/hotel arrangements. (They had a deal with the hotel, but I still had to pay for everything.) Eugene wasn't able to fly out with me, so my dad came along, since he'd lived in California before and knew the area a bit. (Edited in: Eugene says he gave me a little stuffed animal to bring along, but I don't remember that part.)

The taping was on a Monday; we flew out on Saturday (I think) so we could spend a day sightseeing. We drove around for a bit, with Dad recording things on his camcorder. I can't remember the name of the tourist area we visited, but eventually we wound up at a beach in Santa Monica (not to be confused with Sandra Monica, my names. ;) ) I couldn't wear my contacts at the beach, and there's a crazy section of the video where I tried to use it and couldn't see what I was doing very well. I also got to swim in the ocean, which is something you don't get to do very often in the Midwest. Unfortunately, I also got a sunburn on part of my neck and back. Obviously I needed Eugene along so he could apply some sunscreen properly. ;)

The next morning, I dressed in a suit (gray with a turquoise blouse) and brought some changes of clothing along in case I won and appeared on several shows. I met a bunch of other contestants at the studio, and we were briefed on the rules again. They also put makeup on us and hid my sunburn. Then we had to wait for our turn to be on. When we weren't playing, we sat quietly in the audience and watched the tapings. They taped five shows that day; as luck would have it, I was on the last one.

After all this time, it's hard to describe what I felt while the taping was going on. I didn't feel nervous; I was too focused on the clues. Unfortunately, the first two rounds of the game didn't have good categories for me, and I missed some easy questions. I got both Daily Doubles in the second round. I missed one about starfish and got the second one about golems. (I got that one because I'd read a book about them earlier.) My score bounced up and down, but I made it through to the Final Jeopardy! round behind the leader. The category was "Playwrights." Being the reader that I am, I felt confident enough to bet all but $100. I don't remember the exact wording of the answer anymore, but it had to do with a modern German playwright. I questioned, "Who is Brecht?" It was right. Unfortunately, the leader also got the correct question, and he won. I came in second.

So, what did I win? The main prize was a week-long trip for two to NYC, which I used in 1998. I was supposed to go with Eugene, but due to a family situation he had to cancel. Again, my dad came with me, and we toured the common tourist traps. We did go to the World Trade Center (which was good, since Eugene and I skipped it on our 2001 vacation), and I also saw Cats on Broadway during a matinee show. Some of the other prizes I got were a case of Tootsie Rolls, a copy of the Jungle Book, a back massager (which I gave to Dad), and, of course, an electronic version of the show.

The show I was on aired in October 1997. I refused to watch it, since I was embarrassed by my mistakes. In fact, even though I taped the show, I still haven't watched it. Maybe when I'm old and senile I'll be able to watch myself without cringing. ;) Still, in retrospect, even though I had trouble in the first two rounds of the show, I was lucky when it came to the final category. Of the four shows I watched being taped, I would have not gotten the final question for three of them and would have bet low on the one that I could answer. So in that sense it all worked out for me.

I don't have time to watch much TV anymore, and I haven't followed Jeopardy! in years, not even when Ken Jennings was on. It doesn't have the same appeal anymore. People have urged me to try out for other shows, like Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, but I don't think I'd do well on popular culture questions. I know more about Schroedinger's cat than I do about TomKat, and I'm happier that way. But now I too can sing along with weird Al that "I Lost on Jeopardy!"

All right, kids, you've had your bedtime story, so now it's time to say good-night. And no getting up in the middle of the night for a glass of water either, or the monsters under the bed will get you. ;)

Working-Class Heroine

My friends Sara and Russ recently posted lists of their jobs in their blogs, so I thought I'd be a copycat. I don't think I had as many jobs as they did, though.

1. Babysitter--I don't think of this as a "real" job, but I did babysit for two kids during the day one summer; I think I was 16. It didn't pay much, but I probably should have set a higher wage.

2. McDonald's crew person--Yes, I had a fast-food job; I think I started there when I was seventeen. I worked mostly summers, though when I was in college, I worked over the holidays. I did all sorts of things: manned a register, worked in drive-through, and I even hosted birthday parties. I was a closer, so sometimes I wouldn't be done until 2:00 a.m. The first night I helped close, I tripped over an exposed outlet and cut myself on a metal tray I had just washed. I still have the scar on my ring finger.

3. Food service, Union South--I was fortunate enough that I saved up enough money from McD's that I didn't have to work during most of my undergrad career. I got a part-time job my final semester; I cleaned trash off trays as they passed by on a conveyor. Glamorous, huh?

4. Maid, Union South--This is what I did with my brand-spanking-new B.S. degree the summer between undergrad and grad school. Now I know what the hotel rooms look like at the Union.

5. Teaching Assistant--During grad school, I taught a technical writing class. The first semester, I worked with a professor. The second and third semesters, I taught on my own. I wound up with the early class both times, and grading papers would take all weekend. The stipend wasn't too bad, though.

6. Science Writing Intern--Yes, I've even worked for the government. I was an intern at the National Cancer Institute's press office for six months. My duties included answering calls from the media, writing press statements and news articles for the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, going to press conferences, and arranging media interviews with scientists. Once I got to sit in in an interview with Dean Hamer, the scientist who claims to have discovered a "gay" gene. I have to admit I found this job a bit stressful at times, since there were days when we were deluged with press calls. It didn't help I was so far away from Eugene and my family either.

7. Technical Writer--My first "real" job post-college. This was for a company called Marquip, which made machines for the corrugated paper (cardboard) industry. When I was hired, I was given the impression that this was the first time they had technical writers and that I would be able to provide significant imput into the manuals. Well, they already had manuals, and it seemed I did little more than revise them--when I was able to get the data from the engineers, that is. I never got too excited about the machines, either; despite having had a bad lab experience as an undergrad, I began to miss science at this point. The only good thing about this job was that it was in Madison. I lost the job after a year and a half, but that was a blessing in disguise, especially later on when this plant shut down.

8. Copyeditor--I had a hard time finding a job in the science communication field, which is what my master's is in. So to bring in some money while I lived with my parents, I found a part-time job as I continued my job search. I copyedited a couple of local newspapers and also did some real estate layouts for them. During this time, I tried out for Jeopardy! and wrote an essay about the audition for the paper. I still have that article somewhere.

9. Lab Tech, Sales Department--When my family moved to Janesville in 1997, I saw an ad for a temp job that needed someone with a science degree. It was for an enzyme company in Beloit, Wisconsin. I started off baking bread with their enzymes to see how they affected freshness. For a couple of months, I held both this job and the copyediting position. When I had a chance to do this full-time, I switched to it, though I continued as a temp for a while longer before they finally hired me as an employee. My job expanded to more than just baking; I learned how to perform enzyme assays and did other R&D projects. I found out I liked this type of work; I got to do a variety of different things and wear jeans to work. My boss was in the Sales Department, and he was very "hands-off," which was also nice. I even made some friends with my co-workers and went bowling with them once a week after work.

10. Lab Tech, Quality Control--In 2002, the company I worked for was bought by another enzyme company. Many of my co-workers were let go, but I was transferred to the Quality Control lab. Even though this was also lab work, it felt like the opposite of what I'd been doing before. All I got to do was collect samples and assay them, without the variety that I'd had in R&D. It was more stressful, and I hated the hours they gave me: second shifts, with work on holidays and weekends. Since I was still living in Wisconsin, that would have made it even more difficult to see Eugene, and I was only seeing him once or twice a month then. After having a breakdown in HR, the company let me go with a severance package. Again, this was a good thing, as I heard later the buyer shut the plant down. Even better, it didn't take me long to find my current job....

11. Assistant Scientist--I have a more exciting title, but I'm still basically a lab tech in the R&D department of an enzyme company. I'm the only one in the lab besides my boss, though, so I have more responsibilities, such as ordering supplies and writing procedures. I occasionally accompany the salesmen on visits to our customers, but mostly I work in the lab. I enjoy it and get along well with my co-workers. I'll celebrate my fourth anniversary in June.

So there you have it. Basically, I like science jobs where I can work on a variety of projects at my own pace. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay in my current job for a long time yet.

The Tango Bowl

Tonight Tango II started up, which meant poor Eugene couldn't watch the Super Bowl in real time. (He told me later that if the Bears had made it, we wouldn't have gone to class.) He taped it, so he's watching that now while I update my blog.

This class is essentially a continuation of what we've learned before. Technique is still important, but now we're adding "decorations," such as the man putting the inside of his foot against the woman's shoes so it looks like he's stopping her. (Actually, he stops her by directing her with his chest--that's where the connection between the dancers is. The foot is a "fake" to look pretty.) We're also still switching partners, which is especially useful when the partner can give you hints on how to improve. It seems that if we stick with one person, we're more likely to pick up bad habits. I think we're getting there, but we need to practice more. Our instructor told us we can practice on carpet if we take our shoes off, so I think that's what we'll have to do. It's a shame that I won't get to break in my new tango shoes, but I did that a little yesterday as I was doing chores around the house. (Wearing heels for housework sounds so 50's, doesn't it? At least I wasn't wearing pearls.) We're going to miss class next week due to Eugene's conference in Madison, but our instructor assured us we can make it up during the third class.

I see Russ and Sara have posted a list of their previous jobs in their blogs. That's a good way to get to know people, but I'll wait until tomorrow to do that here. I feel like I already posted a lot today. I did do some writing as I said I would; I wrote about 550 words in Day of All Seasons. Before I go to bed, I might start getting some more wedding DVDs ready to send out to my cousins and aunt and uncle. I may also try to work on Key a bit.

Finally, I seem to be having better luck posting pictures now, so I'll add those pictures from the Berghoff that I talked about earlier:


The sign outside. The entrance was beneath it, so reaching the sign was the highlight of the evening.

















This is supposed to be a shot of the interior, but the lighting wasn't good enough to show you the details on the walls.










One of the murals.














Dark details of the decor.

Bye Bye Berghoff...

Some of you may have heard about the Berghoff restaurant in Chicago. It's a German restaurant over 100 years old and has been in the same family all this time. When Prohibition was repealed, it obtained the first liquor license in Chicago, which is on display behind the bar. Eugene and I have been there a couple of times, most notably on the night he proposed. Unfortunately, the restaurant is closing for good at the end of the month, as the current Berghoff is tired of running it. So we decided we had to eat there one last time. You may remember from a previous post that we tried to go last month, but it was closed on Sunday. So we figured last night would be our best shot.

Knowing how popular this place is, we knew we'd have to wait a long time before being seated. So I dressed warmly and drove down to Evanston to meet Eugene after work. It would save us some time if he didn't have to come all the way to Elgin to pick me up, and it gave the chance to sell some books at a new Half Price Books first. (I got $14 for them, which was almost enough to pay for the Simon and Garfunkel 3-CD set I found.) By the time we got to the Berghoff, it was about 6:00, and the line to get in stretched down to the corner. Someone said it was a two-and-a-half to three-hour wait, but we braced ourselves and got in line anyway. The wait was as long as promised, and for the first time in over a month, we had below-average temperatures (or at least we didn't have the above-average temps we'd been enjoying). I soon found out I hadn't dressed warmly enough, as my feet got so cold I was convinced my toes would be frostbitten. We people-watched to keep us busy; there was a young girl playing with her family, a street musician playing the sax, a friendly dog that stood in line with us for a while, and a group of people in front of us who had come down from Michigan just for the Berghoff. All of this wasn't enough to distract me from the cold. We finally got into the restaurant around 8:30 and were seated before 9:00, but it took me longer than that to feel warm again.

I took my digital camera along and snapped a few shots before the batteries ran out (and of course I didn't have my spare set with me). Here are a couple of them, though the others are too dark to show the wood paneling and strands of lights in the interior. Strangely enough, Eugene and I were seated at the far end of the room, almost exactly where we were the last time we were here. They ran out of a few items on their menu, but luckily not my favorites. We both started off with hot tea to warm us up. Then I had a cup of chicken noodle soup while Eugene had a salad and some sausages as appetizers. For the main course, I had Wiener Schnitizel a la Holstein--a breaded veal cutlet with fried eggs on top. (The eggs are why it was "a la Holstein," though why they would name an egg dish after a breed of cow is beyond my knowledge of German culture.) I also had sides of creamed spinach and spaetzle, German noodles. Eugene had more sausages, sauerkraut (something I can't stand), and spinach. For dessert, we both had apple strudel with ice cream. We started off with a Guten Appetite, and we were both satt (satisfied) at the end.

It was a long wait, but it was worth it. If I had to do it again, though, I'd wear a few more layers of clothes and make sure my camera batteries are fully charged. It would have been nice to get a picture of us at the table.

One of the people ahead of us in line (the one from Michigan) commented that another old German restaurant in his town had also closed recently. He thought that perhaps this type of food appealed only to those who had grown up on it, unlike Chinese or Italian food, which you can find everywhere. It's a shame, but I do have my own spaetzle maker. I haven't used it yet, but I need to learn how so Eugene and I can someday pass this tradition on to our Filipino-Irish-German children.

(Sigh. The pictures aren't loading. I'll post this entry and try again later.)

Sideways and the Gordian Knot

We had a couple of late nights (late for us, anyway, as we're old geezers) this weekend, which is why I haven't been blogging. I haven't been writing either, though I hope to make it up this afternoon. As for blogging, I plan to post a couple of short entries today.

Friday night we rented Sideways, since Eugene wanted to see it. It's the story of Jack, an actor, and his college roommate Miles, a depressed and divorced writer who's a wine snob. Jack is getting married, and his best man Miles takes him to the Napa Valley for a week of golf, wine, women, and mid-life crises before the wedding. (After having survived the wedding experience myself, I thought the bride was too calm about how things were going the week before the wedding. In her brief scene, they were still trying to decide what type of cake they wanted, which is not something you'd want to worry about that close to the date. And while I wouldn't have objected if Eugene had had a bachelor party, taking the whole week before the wedding off seems a bit much to me. But Eugene was much more involved in the wedding planning than the typical guy, and I appreciate that. But I'm digressing. Am I supposed to digress?) Anyway, during the trip, Miles develops a closer relationship with a waitress at his favorite restaurant (she's studying horticulture and has a good sense of wine), while Jack hooks up with another lady who works at a winery. Jack, however, leads his woman on, and the deception wreaks havoc with both sets of couples.

Eugene was particularly interested in this movie because of the wine references. He enjoyed, but I found the male characters unsympathetic, as they both do some unsavory things. But perhaps another reason why I wasn't too excited about this movie was because I had to deal with the Gordian knot during it. If you've ever worked with yarn, you know that in the center of every skein is a free Gordian knot you have to untangle. I crocheted a few rows of the afghan, then I realized I needed to start a new color of yarn and that I needed to roll up a new skein of yarn into a ball first. Eugene helped, but even so, it took me over an hour to deal with tangled web inside that skein. I hope the others aren't so bad. I crocheted a couple more rows yesterday, so now I'm on row five. Maybe if I do a little every day, it won't be as bad.

On to my next entry....

Crocheting

Before I get to the main point of this post, I suppose I should provide a quick summary of the last couple of days, as I didn't blog then. Work is going well. Writing is a bit slow, as I had writer's block yesterday on two of my novels. I did manage to break through with one of them, and I got some ideas for the other one as I was driving home from work. Hopefully tonight will be more productive. Also, today I found out about an alternate history story about John Lennon through the OWW mailing list. In the story, Lennon leaves the Beatles in 1962 to move to Texas and work with a fiddler named Bob Willis. Here's the URL:

http://literary.erictmarin.com/faded.htm

So, there's precedent for what I do in Lennon's Line, which I hope means a publisher will be willing to take it.

Anyway, I wanted to tell everyone about my latest project (yeah, like I need another one). I decided I want to crochet an afghan. I have a lower tolerance for cold than Eugene does, so I like to have the heat on full blast while he turns it down sooner than I would. In order to achieve a happy compromise, I plan to have a blanket in the car that I can use when he's driving and I'm in the passenger seat.

I started crocheting in my twenties. I got the urge from my mom, who's made a couple of blankets and other things herself. She couldn't figure out how to teach me because I'm left-handed. Finally, I got a book and figured out how to crochet right-handed. (It's easier than trying to flip all the directions over for a left-hander.) I've made several things, including sweaters, slippers, stuffed animals, baby items (for gifts!), and even the ring bearer's pillow for the wedding. (See picture. I made the inside pillow too. I dried all of the roses Eugene's given me over the years, and the pillow is stuffed with them.) This is my first time making an afghan, though. I bought a new book and found a couple of different patterns that I like. They're supposed to take only 48 hours to make, but I wonder how long it will take me to find those 48 hours to crochet in the first place. I used to crochet as I watched TV or movies, but I seldom have time for those these days. Hopefully I'll have the blanket done before too many winters pass. ;)

Not Too Bad for a Monday

Well, one of my experiments had some promising results, though we're not quite where we want to be yet. And yes, my microbes did last the weekend, so the second experiment is still alive too.

I spent a lot of the evening reviewing--well, reviewing, taking a break, reviewing, taking a break... no wonder I need several hours to crit a chapter. It can be intense work, though. I haven't had much chance to work on my own projects yet, and I probably won't get far since it's so late. I need a clearer direction for my current scene in Key, and I'd rather start working on the next chapter of Day when I have more time for it.

Since I posted yesterday, I did get three reviews of my latest chapter of Day. All of them say that my main character is spoiled and unsympathetic, so she's going to need some tweaking. I want her to develop over the course of the novel, but I can't make her so awful no one will want to read her. It's a balancing act. In some ways, Day of All Seasons is a more complicated book than Lennon's Line, where I have fewer viewpoints to deal with. Ironic that I wrote Day first; if I knew then what I know now, I might have structured it differently. This is why fools rush in, I guess.

OK, time to stare at Word some more....

Visiting My Parents

Eugene and I haven't seen my parents since Christmas Eve, so we visited them this afternoon after Eugene made some delicious (and healthy) spinach calzones. It'd be nice if he had time to cook more often. ;) Anyway, it seems that lately we get cloudy, windy weather every time we drive up to Wisconsin, and today was no exception. We made it up there safely, though. Heidi turned out to be the main attraction, as she always is. Apparently she thinks it's our mission in life to play with her. Too bad she can't pay us a living wage to throw her toys for her. ;) She even gets attached to ones she can't play with, like a Beanie Baby poodle that looks a lot like her. It's almost like she thinks it's her puppy; Mom puts it out of reach, but Heidi will just sit there and stare at it. Below is a picture of her waiting for the toy, which is on top of that piece of furniture.

After playing with Heidi for a while, we had dinner: salad, chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and asparagus. Mom also brought out a box of Godiva chocolates I gave her, so we helped her eat them. Then we played Uno--a more civilized version than the one I play at work (see previous post). Mom was leading for a while, and Eugene nearly caught up with her. Then Dad and Eugene slammed me with cards and stuck me with a massive score. Eugene says I managed to snatch defeat from the very jaws of victory, but I want to make sure credit goes where credit is due.

We drove home afterwards, stopping along the way to get groceries. Working together, we picked up our full load in half an hour (normally it takes an hour) and put them away in fifteen minutes when we got home. Are we a good team or what?

On a writing note, I reviewed a chapter and posted Chapter Three of Day of All Seasons on OWW. Surprisingly, no one's reviewed it yet; normally my regular reviewers return the favor pretty quickly. Sue posted in her blog that she was busy today with real life chores, so I suppose other people are doing the same thing. Then again, maybe it's a good thing my chapter hasn't been reviewed yet. ;)

One final picture before I sign off for the night and start writing: this is of me in my tango dress. I'm getting it altered (it needs shortening, which should be no surprise), and I took a picture of myself after it had been pinned in a few places. At least there's no video of me trying to dance in it, though that would probably rate pretty high on the amusement scale. ;)

Have a good night, everybody!

Remember the Seven...

Today is the twentieth anniversary of the Challenger tragedy, in which six astronauts and one schoolteacher lost their lives. Where were you when you heard the news or saw it on TV?

I was a sophomore at Delavan-Darien High School, a few months shy of sixteen. I was in the North Commons, our honors study hall. It is (or was, as I have no idea if DDHS has been remodeled since my time) a section of the hall blocked off by a pair of long white benches. Three or four rows of desks took up most of the space, and along the wall were several carrels where pairs of students could study together. The back of the North Commons was a glass wall looking out into the courtyard, but the desks were arranged so you faced the hall. The North Commons was located next to the small auditorium/AV Department. As I was studying, someone from the AV Department came out and told us the news, also inviting us to come down to the AV department and see the replay for ourselves. Over and over the explosion happened as we watched. At lunchtime, I told everyone I could about the accident.

This certainly wasn't the first piece of news that caught my attention, but it was one of those moments that sticks with you. Only 9/11 made more of an emotional impact on me. Years later, when I was in D.C. for my internship at the National Cancer Institute, one of my friends came down to visit. We went to Arlington National Cemetery, and one of the memorials I particularly wanted to see was the one to the Challenger's crew. I have a photo of myself next to it, but it's not scanned. I should ask Eugene to do that sometime.

It's going to be business as usual for me today, running errands after I post this, then returning home to clean and cook dinner before spending the evening at Barnes and Noble, but it seems appropriate to think about those who died on this day back in 1986. I also feel I should stress how important it is to check little details, especially those that affect safety. After all, it was for want of an O-ring that seven lives were lost. You never know what little details will change history.

Finally, let me end this entry with the names of the seven who gave their lives for space exploration:

Francis R. "Dick" Scobee
Michael J. Smith
Ronald E. McNair
Ellison S. Onizuka
Judith A. Resnik
Gregory B. Jarvis
Christa McAuliffe

Uno Olympics

Today went better at work than it has in the last couple of days. I reviewed my notes from one project and started a new experiment, changing a couple of variables. I think this time it should work, but I'll find out on Monday. The supplies I needed came in this afternoon, so we'll see if my microbes held on over the weekend or if I need to grow a new batch of them. Finally, I discussed another project with my boss and figured out some new directions to follow with that one. It's easier to feel like you're getting somewhere if you have a plan. It also reminds me of writing, as characters need to have goals that they work towards over the course of a story. In fact, as I've become more aware of that, I've also felt the need to behave more like a heroine from a story--always trying to find solutions to problems and working towards my goals.

Even heroines have to take breaks sometime, however, and that's where the inspiration for my blog today comes from. My co-workers and I like to play games over lunch. We tend to go in streaks, playing games like Trivial Pursuit, Phase 10, and a German version of Sorry! called Mensch ärgere dich nicht (Translation: Don't get angry, man.) that I have. But the game we play most often is Uno. We started with Uno Attack!, which features a machine that spits out random amounts of cards when you press a button. The machine doesn't work too well anymore, so we've gone back to using a regular Uno deck--but with our own rules. Those of you from college (hi, Russ!) may remember some of them. For example, if Person A plays a Draw Two or a Draw Four on Person B, if B has one of those, she can play it and make Person C pick the total amount of cards. (This actually keeps going until it reaches the unlucky person who cannot defend herself with a card, so you can accumulate cards very quickly. In college, when we used Uno decks enriched with extra cards, we once made Tom Dees, one of the Sellery gang, pick 22 cards.) But at my job, it's not enough just to have the right cards, but to play them properly. What we do is flick the cards into the air and make them spin before landing on the pile. We also impose penalties if you make a mistake. Below are the normal rules for picking cards:

Missing the pile: 1 card
Missing a Wild or Draw Four card (applies to the first person to play after it appears): 1 card
Landing upside down: 2 cards
Hitting someone: 3 cards
Landing on the floor: 4 cards

These penalties accumulate, so if you miss the pile and your card is upside down, you pick three cards. As you can imagine, your hand can grow very quickly under these rules. I've also seen people (and done this myself) miss the pile with their last card and have to pick a penalty card.

Today, we decided to be even more sadistic than usual. We discarded the normal rules and replaced them with a simple one: land on the last card played or draw a card. After we finished, I took a picture of the table and posted it above. Looks like we need to work on our aim a bit, don't we? When we get to the point where we can flick cards from behind our backs across the room and hit our targets, then I think it's time to call the Olympic Committee and have this declared a sport. In the meantime, we may not win gold, but we have fun with our lunch hour.

Downs and Ups

I have to admit I didn't feel like blogging last night. Yesterday afternoon was a Murphy kind of time, with several things going wrong at work. While I can't go into detail about my projects, I'm getting inconsistent results with a couple of them--and these aren't trivial projects. Also, I thought I had ordered something important for one of my projects, but after searching for the new box and not finding it, I then checked with our suppliers and realized I hadn't ordered it in the first place. The strange thing is usually I'm pretty good about ordering things before we run out. This is why I always say, "I'm not getting older; I'm growing senile." I placed a quick order before leaving, so hopefully it will come in tomorrow. If it doesn't, it will set our project back even farther. Sigh.

In general, I try not to complain. This is because I've been around several constant complainers, and they made me feel like I was their emotional toxic waste dump. Sure, it's natural to complain every so often, and sometimes you do need to say something in order to solve a problem. Many times, however, people gripe about something that can't be fixed. When I can, I try to solve my own problems, such as ordering supplies and trying to figure out what to do to replicate the results of my experiments. But sometimes the only thing you can do is to change your attitude.

In that case, let me end with some positive things: tomorrow is Friday; it's supposed to be 50 degrees tomorrow; I wrote over 600 words tonight and finished a chapter of Day of All Seasons; and most importantly, as soon as I put the computer on Stand By for the night, I can snuggle up to my sweetie. Nothing like holding someone you love to make you feel better.

(Eugene just gave me a thumbs up after he read that last bit, BTW.)

Have a good night, everyone, and may tomorrow be more ups than downs for you.

Happiness Is...

Finishing a project you've been working on for a while. I just sent off a review of 70 pages of a novel. It's for a friend of mine outside of OWW. (Yes, as if I don't have enough to do there, I review for other people too. I have no life, but if you're reading this, you know that. ;) ) It is an interesting novel, but I started reviewing it last month, along with all of the other projects that I juggle. I went over all of it three times, working on it in spurts. Hopefully my friend will find my comments helpful. And now I need to decide which of my own books I should work on for the rest of the night. I don't think Pyramids on Yahoo! counts, but odds are that'll draw my attention anyway.

Tango and Tender Feet

We had our third and final class at the Level 1 level tonight. It went for two hours, and yes, my feet are still sore. Regular pumps don't work well for tango; I need strappy shoes. I ordered a pair from shoebuy.com, so hopefully they'll come in soon.

Eugene and I still need a lot a practice. He worked with one of the instructors tonight and learned he needs to project more to establish a connection. As for me, well, I have even more to work on: relaxing my hips and knees, keeping my weight on the foot it needs to be on instead of shifting too soon, not anticipating my partner.... If it's any consolation, it seems as if some of our fellow students need to work on the same things. And while I'm still having trouble with one of the moves (the cross), I was able to do a sidestep called ochos (eight), where I walk and spin in front of Eugene.

The next class (Level 2) starts the first week in February. In the meantime, I have to break in some new shoes (and buy some shoe inserts so I can be gelling) and practice my weight shifts at work and at home with Eugene.

Small World

Eugene and I went to Barnes and Noble tonight after dinner. He wandered off to collect a pile of books and magazines while I got settled in the cafe. As I was booting up my laptop, I noticed a teenager in a varsity jacket. The back of it said "Comets," the name for my high school's sports teams, in blue; our colors were blue and gold. I didn't get a good enough look at the front of his jacket to confirm if he was from my high school or not. I was tempted to ask him, but after that glimpse he ventured further into the shelves, and I didn't see him again. I wouldn't have known this person anyway, as the year on the sleeve was from this decade. It was still strange seeing someone (possibly) from Delavan, Wisconsin, in West Dundee, Illinois, though. I also have to admit that seeing him made me realize that in two more years I'll have my 20-year reunion. High school doesn't seem that long ago. I also thought about the class ring I wanted when I was in high school but never got. It's just as well, as I doubt I'd still be wearing it.

Besides seeing people from my old town, I reviewed five chapters of Heather's book to make some overall comments. I also wrote about 260 words for Key. I wrote over 300 words in Day before dinner, so that's not too bad overall.

Some of you may wonder what Eugene does at the bookstore while I write. He researches his various hobbies, such as photography, computers, and cooking. Lately he's started something different but something he's been meaning to do for a while: write up the family history. Tonight he browsed through several books on genealogy. His family is so big I joke we're all related to him. It's going to take him a while to collect information, and some irreplaceable records in the Philippines were destroyed during WWII. But I think the final result will be worth it.

Walking in Winter Weather

I was tempted to use the title of the Christmas carol, but I figured that was the last thing people wanted to hear in January. ;) As proof that it really is winter, here's what the balcony looked like this morning. (That's Mr. Ficus in the lower-lefthand corner.) Anyone want to hang out outside and have drinks? ;)

Eugene and I have become crockpot converts and try to use it every week. We did use it on Monday, but last night I found a recipe for pork chops that I really wanted to try. (Leftovers don't stretch as far as they did when I was single, so I keep looking for new ways to cook old standbys.) The only problem is that we didn't have some of the ingredients it called for. I didn't feel like driving on a side street with all the snow we got during the night, so I decided to walk to Jewel this morning instead. That way I could exercise and run an errand at the same time. I ate a bowl of oatmeal first, then set out. A few people were shoveling their driveways, and some of the sidewalk had been cleared, but it was easier to walk on the street instead of the sidewalk. The footing wasn't too bad, but I saw a car swerving around, so I'm glad I didn't drive. The sky was a beautiful, cloudless deep blue, the perfect remedy for the ominous cloud cover we had yesterday. It was only about a mile to the store each way, so the trip took between 40 and 50 minutes total. And now I have dinner slowly cooking and a loaf of bread baking. I installed the latest version of Norton Antivirus without any problems (for once), and the general apartment is picked up. (Still have to tidy my desk a bit, though.) Time to make a PBJ for lunch and get to writing/reviewing.

Lazy Evening

I haven't posted much this week since it's been a case of same ol' same ol'. Tonight I would have liked more of that instead of the snow. It took me over ten minutes just to make the turn from the street that my company is on to the main road leading to the highway. It's a left turn, so the intersection is always busy, but I didn't expect it to be so bad at 5:20 on a Friday evening. I turn into a Nervous Nellie when I have to drive in bad weather (I've spun out a couple of times in the past, though luckily I wasn't hurt), so I was crawling on the highway too. I'd say the trip took twice as long as it normally does. Eugene has a much worse commute than I do, so I shouldn't really complain.

I've accomplished a fair amount this week writing-wise, so perhaps that's why I'm feeling lazy tonight. I performed an experiment with Lennon's Line: I converted the first chapter from first-person (narrated by an "I" voice) to third (an indirect voice using "he" or "she.") I posted the original and modified chapters on OWW, and so far it looks like people are saying the third person viewpoint will be better for the novel. I've also made some progress with Day of All Seasons, even though I'm throwing out a scene and rewriting it. I tend to do that a lot; it's as if I get better ideas the second (or third) time around. I've even found time to work on Key; maybe I'll work on that a bit before turning in. Tonight I've mostly done line edits for one of Sue's chapters and established a losing streak with Pyramids. ;) I should have more free time tomorrow to get more done.

Lennon's Line Lingers

OK, maybe not the best title, but I couldn't resist the alliteration.

I had Monday off for the holiday. I spent part of it on the eternal round of chores and reviews, then decided it was time to work on my stuff. I brought my printout of Lennon's Line and my laptop with me when I had the oil changed on my car. As I waited, I finally started to re-read my story.

It's always a little weird reading something you've written yourself. I'm my own worst critic, of course, and I did find commas out of place, minor continunity errors, and some phrasings to fix. But to my surprise, it didn't suck. ;) I say that because when I revise one of my stories, I generally start by throwing everything out and writing it over again. I do that because I get ideas for better scenes, though I'm sure my perfectionistic qualities have something to do with it too. I have to admit I did rewrite a lot of this story even before I posted it to the workshop; in some cases, I even rewrote what I'd posted and submitted it again. But I enjoyed reading this story so much that after the oil change, when I stopped by Barnes and Noble to hang out there, I didn't even open up my laptop; I just sat there, drank my tea, and continued to read. By reading some more after dinner, I managed to make my way through the whole thing. The funny thing about this draft is that as I read it, I didn't come up with my own ideas for the next draft. Instead, I remembered comments reviewers have made.

Probably the next big thing I have to do with this novel is review all of the reviews I received on it. That will take a while, as I think the printout of reviews is as big as the 400-page novel itself! One thing I started in the meantime is to go ahead and play with the opening chapter. Most of you reading this probably haven't read my story. I don't want to give too much away, but the first part of the story is in the first-person viewpoint of Joanna Lennon. (I originally wrote this part as a stand-alone story, but then I decided Paul's son needed his own story too. Little did I know what I was letting myself in for....) The second half is mostly in Paul's POV, but it's in third person. Basically, I start off with an "I" story and switch to a "he" one halfway through. A few people commented on that, so I'm going to try converting Jo's section to third person to see what it's like. I've had better luck with first-person stories than with third-person ones; my theory is that the first person POV makes me pay more attention to style. I'm also going to create a third alternate opening in which I've changed names and details to disguise the fact that it's a Lennon story. It should be interesting to see which version gets the most votes.

I'm making more progress with Day of All Seasons now, even if it means throwing out what I have and rewriting a new scene, which is what I'm doing now. At least I should have a new chapter up by the end of the month. My reviewers may be a bit surprised to see me post so much in a relatively short amount of time. ;) I also finished the second chapter of Key (I can't remember if I said this before), but I still have to review it before I can upload it to my website.

Tango, Take Two

I sometimes think of the week as Workday, Workday, Workday, Workday, Workday, Choreday, and Run-around-and-get-nothing-doneDay. Today did feel like a runaround day. We got up late (yes, it's a sad thing that we have an alarm go off on our Sunday mornings) and had to scramble to work out and get the laundry done. We didn't quite finish the laundry either. We were invited to a birthday party for some of Eugene's relatives, including Mikki, one of our flowergirls. We were there for a couple of hours, but I didn't take pictures. After that, we had to replace our microwave and get some groceries. I barely had time to make my Internet rounds before it was time to eat dinner and leave for tango class.

Class was more difficult this week. I think we're both making some basic mistakes that are hindering us from learning some of the more advanced steps. The main thing we need to work on is developing the connection between us, so Eugene can project what he wants me to do. Posture is also important; if I twist my hips instead of keeping them straight, then the steps we're trying to do won't work properly. Hopefully we'll be able to find someplace to practice during the week.

As for writing, last night at the bookstore I managed to finish Chapter Two of Key. It's nearly 15,000 words, which is a pretty long chapter. I'm debating on whether I should trim some of it, though it's meant to give a slice of everyday life in the colony on Jovonne. I still have to make some changes Sue suggested to one of the scenes. Hopefully I'll be able to upload the chapter to my website this week, though. I started that story in 2004, and it's nice to be making some progress with it again.

Speaking of Sue, we chatted a bit on Skype last night. I told her I was blocked on Day, and she suggested maybe my subconscious is telling me to work on Paul's stories for a while. I have to admit he tends to monopolize my writing thoughts, but I guess that's natural when you're dealing with a prima donna (what's the male equivalent?) superstar actor like him. ;) Still, I was able to make some progress with Day at the bookstore, so I'm going to keep going with that one for as long as possible. Maybe I need to stop rewriting it before I post it on OWW and focus on revising Lennon's Line.

Alas, Poor Microwave...

It looks like I've lost a companion I've had since my undergrad days. Eugene was melting some butter in the microwave when he noticed it was reacting as if there was metal inside. We both checked it out, and it happened again, even when nothing else was in there. It's strange that it would do this without warning, as I had no problems when I warmed up some leftovers for dinner. Then again, I've had it for about fifteen years or so, and I'm not sure how long my parents had it before they passed it on to me. It served me well, but I guess it's time to head to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to use one of our gift cards from the wedding. On the plus side, I am making up for not blogging since Sunday. The things I'll write about instead of writing my stories.... :shakes head:

Whew!

I am temporarily clear of crits for the OWW. It's about 3:20; let's see how long that lasts. ;) I still have to finish critting Heather's novel, but I just need to review it one more time to summarize my general comments. I may start that tonight, but I should have more time tomorrow or Monday, since I have the day off.

I did all of my chores except for washing the placemats, and it's a little late to do them now. Again, that can wait until later. Time to look at Key for a half hour and possibly give myself a manicure before Eugene comes home.

Catching Up

Well, after Pompeii and tango on Sunday, the rest of the week was pretty mundane in comparison. So mundane, in fact, that it doesn't make for an interesting blog. It's been a case of get up, go to work, come home, make dinner, work on the computer for a while, and go to bed. Yawn. We did make twenty-clove garlic chicken in our crockpot on Wednesday, so at least I won't have to worry about vampires for the next decade. ;)

Yesterday a few interesting things happened, though I was too lazy last night to blog. First, for those of you who remember my "big drip" entry (I could mention Russ here, since he brought it up, but I won't. Well, maybe I will. :evil grin:) about the water purification system at work, we're still having problems with it. I was revising a document when I heard a popping sound in the lab. I came out of my office and saw that one of the filters had blown out of the system. These aren't small filters; they're over a foot long, and it had flown about six feet. And yes, we had water all over the floor. My boss was passing by when it happened, so we both cleaned it up. We still have no idea what's going on with the unit, but hopefully we won't have to spend the money to replace it.

After dinner last night, Eugene and I did something we haven't done for a while: we played Trivial Pursuit. We're fairly evenly matched, except I have a very obvious weakness in the Sports and Leisure category. But last night Eugene got off to an early lead while I floundered. The answers just weren't coming to me; there was one question that I knew had to be about one of the Beach Boys, but I couldn't think of the very obvious Brian Wilson. After a while, I began to catch up, but I was still down two wedges by the time Eugene got all six of his. Luckily for me, he missed the final question a couple of times, which gave me a chance to catch up. I won in the end, but that was because Eugene didn't read the sports question completely before giving it to me, as it had a big clue embedded in the wording. I'd say overall we split the victories when we play against each other. It's more fun to work together, though. On our honeymoon cruise, we played Team Trivia a couple times a day when we were at sea, and we won three times.

I'm sure Eugene will add this if I don't list it, so I might as well poke fun at myself first. After the game, we were talking about various things, and he said something that inspired me to joke about giving him nose-hair clippers for Valentine's Day. Well, it didn't quite come out that way; I said "nose clippers" instead. We both got a good laugh out of that; just thinking of it now makes me chuckle. For the record, I really don't want to give my husband the Tycho Brahe look. Beside, I already have a pair of pruning shears that I use on Mr. Ficus to lop off his branches. I'm sure they will work on someone's nose as well.

OK, that's about it. Time for me to finish my chores (clean the kitchen, vacuum, hand-wash some placemats, and cook wheat berries), so I can then finish my last crit for Sue and maybe get some writing of my own done. I've been doing lots of crits this week and have been making some progress with Key, but I really need to return to Day of All Seasons again. It's not fair to the people who are waiting to give my next chapter some well-needed tough love.

Three Cultures in One Day

One good thing about a big city like Chicago is that it offers a lot of things to do. Today was particularly packed. Eugene and I went to the Field Museum to see the Pompeii exhibit. It featured artifacts (a lot of jewelry and coins, but also tools, including a couple of surgeon's kits) from Pompeii and other nearby areas destroyed by the eruption. It described where the artifacts were found and what clues they provided about the people they were found next to. They also had parts of the original frescoes, still brightly colored after all these centuries. There were also casts of the bodies; in some of them, you could still make out the fear these people must have felt as they tried to flee. We thought it was an interesting exhibit and well worth seeing. We also joined the Field Museum, and since there are several other good exhibits coming (King Tut, Mendel, and Auschwitz), I think we'll be getting some good use out of our membership. Although we didn't tour the entire museum, we did look at some of the permanent exhibits. For example, here's Eugene bravely holding Sue at bay with nothing more than a digital camera. Even she's scared of his equipment! ;)

We had our hearts set on German food (the Bergoff) for dinner, but we didn't realize they were closed on Sundays. We had to settle for Swedish food at Ann Sather instead. Their cinnamon rolls are good, but I still want a wiener schnitzel and apple strudel!

Finally, Eugene and I began tango lessons. Yes, you read that correctly: tango lessons. We decided after the wedding that we wanted to take more dancing lessons, and when we heard about this class, we decided it was a great opportunity. The class meets for three Sundays, though there are two more classes (three weeks each) we can take afterwards to improve our skills. We like the class so far. The instructors start off by explaining a lot of the technique of tango, teaching individual components of the dance (such as movement, connection between the partners) instead of throwing everything at once at you. They also don't teach you

a choreographed dance; instead, they teach you the steps so it's more of an "improv" dance. By now, I bet you're wondering how we did. Well, we're still learning, but at least we didn't run into the wall--though we came close. I think we both need to wear better shoes next time. Oh, and please don't tell Eugene's parent's we're taking this class; we want to surprise them the next time they throw a party!

Well, it's after 11:00, and I don't know how much, if any, writing I'll do tonight. We'll see if the muse is up for a few quick steps before I go to bed.

At Last, Some Productivity!

I think Eugene and I need to go to Barnes and Noble more often. We’re at the bookstore as I type, though I won’t upload this entry until I’m home since I don’t want to pay for a WiFi connection. It’s probably better for me if I don’t have the Internet hooked up, as I get a lot more done. So far I’ve done line comments for two separate crits (though I’ll write the overall comments later) and written over 400 words for Key. I did write about 150 words on this story earlier, so I’ve actually done about 600 words. It’s so nice to have a longer time to write instead of only an hour or so. I feel I should work on Day too, since I’ve been avoiding that for the last week or so, but I still feel inspired on Key, so that’s what I’ll go back to now. The bookstore will remain open for another hour, so I have to write while the muse is hot.
Update: We were there for nearly four hours, and I wound up with having written over 800 words today. Woo-hoo! I also bought two paperbacks to add to my twin towers of books to read eventually.

Sprints vs. Marathons

I'm a little late with 2006; I only got around to buying new calendars today. Unfortunately, since I put it off for so long, the selection at Barnes and Noble was limited. I got a Classic Cats calendar for our home office and a Wild Illinois (scenery) one for work, but there were no Beatles calendars left. I knew I should have picked one up at the Fest in August. What kinds of calendars did everyone else get?

In the spirit of New Year's and Russ's blog (http://platzek.blogspot.com/) about resolutions, I thought I would talk about resolutions myself tonight. I have some projects in mind for this year, such as buying our first home with Eugene and losing weight. (I gained a few pounds after the wedding, but at least I'm not as heavy as I was this time last year. I would like to reach a normal BMI though, even if I don't expect to stay there for long.) For writing projects, I have too many things I want to do: write at least one short story, finish posting Day of All Seasons on OWW, and work on both Lennon's Line and The Key to All Locked Doors. I don't think I'll finish them all, but at least I can give it a good try.

This brings me to the point of this blog entry. I think many people approach their resolutions as an all-or-nothing, short-term project, like a 100-yard dash that's quickly over, so it's not surprising that so many of them fail to keep their goals. If you really want to change, you have to be willing to make it a long-term project, like a marathon you run your entire life. If you want to lose weight, you have to eat right and exercise. When I do that, my weight goes down; when I slip, my weight increases. But since I know I'm in it for the long haul, it's easier for me to forgive myself when I indulge in sleeping in (and missing a workout) or eating something decadent. It's the same thing for writing. I get frustrated when I don't get to write at all or if I have a bad day, but I know I'll have both good and bad stretches over my writing career. It's a typing marathon, and I have to work on it every day to keep going. But as much as I'd love to get down 500 words or more a day, I have to accept it's harder now when I have so many other demands on my time. The important thing is to keep going, even when it's hard. I might not make much progress on a given day, but it's still better and more disciplined than waiting for that capricious muse of mine to cooperate.

Having said that, I should return to Key and write some more. As for you, dear readers, keep on running your own personal marathons, and hopefully we can all make it past the wall and reach the finish line--even if we don't reach it this year, we can eventually if we don't give up.

Beatlelinks Buddies

Tonight Eugene and I had dinner with our friends Paul and Cara from Michigan. I know them through Beatlelinks, a discussion forum devoted to -- who else?-- the Fab Four. We've also met a couple of times at the Chicago "Fest for Beatles Fans" (which used to be known as "Beatlefest" before they were forced to change the name). Naturally most of the conversation was focused on the Beatles, but I'd like to think Eugene didn't feel left out. (It could be worse; when I visited him during his vet school days, all he and his classmates could talk about was their classes and cases!) Here's a picture of me with Paul and Cara:

I'm holding a special pastry they brought us from a Japanese bakery.

I have a few other things I need to do tonight before I start writing, let alone go to bed, so I'll end this entry here. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a little more time to catch up with reviewing, writing, and everything else.

Whirlwind Weekend

Welcome to the new year! I haven't blogged for a couple of days with all the things we've been doing and places we've been going. It started Friday night when we drove to Evanston. Eugene's father's cousins were in town, so we had Chinese with his family and then watched our video with them before returning home. We got back so late I wasn't up for writing, alas.

Saturday we ran errands, such as picking up new copies of our wedding video (our personal copy was damaged, and some of the entourage's names were misspelled. The videographer fixed it for free, though.), stocking up on groceries at Sam's, and buying new exercise equipment and clothing. To celebrate New Year's, we drove downtown for sushi and ComedySportz (improv comedy). They had a special New Year's Eve show, but the early show, which we went to, wasn't much different from a typical show. We still enjoyed it, but I don't think the additional charges were justified. I did get a special compliment when the ref had the team captains try to guess the name of the "beautiful lady" in the first row--me. That doesn't happen to me too often. We were home by 10:30 to avoid all the drunks on the road. We watched Dick Clark and the local Chicago celebration, but I was more interested in stretching out on the couch than ringing in 2006. Again, not much of a writing day, though I did write in the car while we were on the way to the videographer.

We got up late on Sunday, and after brunch, we drove up to Wisconsin to visit my friend Liz and give her her Christmas present. She liked the earrings I found for her in Alaska. I finally had a chance to crit a couple of chapters and even work on my own stuff.

Today, the focus was on our household chores. Eugene also had to pick up the wedding proofs from his mother, as we had to place our order tonight. It took us about an hour and a half to review everything, but as one couple had been there for over seven hours while they laid out their album, I think our order went pretty smoothly. Even though we hadn't thought much about the physical appearance of our album or our parents' albums, we were pretty decisive about them once we reviewed the options. The pictures should be ready by mid-April, so it's nice to have a break from them for a while. As for writing/reviewing, well, I did line edits for one crit, but I didn't finish it. I wrote about 100 words of Key before posting this entry, but I haven't worked on Day for several days. I need to get back into the groove for that story, plus I still have to reread Lennon's Line and catch up with the rest of my crits. I'm so glad the holidays are over and things can go back to their usual level of craziness.

A Shower-Shower A Day...

OK, I don't normally post about work, but I think I can talk about this without giving away any company secrets. Besides, Eugene and I have been teasing our friend Russ on his blog, so I guess I should atone by making a fool of myself online.

Since I work in a lab, we need a constant supply of purified water, so we have a filtration system in the lab. My boss noticed a couple of days ago that it was leaking by one of the filter cartridges. They needed to be replaced anyway, so we ordered a new set, which arrived today. (Actually, one of the filters is the wrong kind, and the customer service rep seemed to think I ordered the wrong kit even though I looked everything up on their website first. She's replacing the cartridge for us anyway; I just hope she sends us the right one.) I had a little trouble finding the manual since it wasn't with the rest of our instruction booklets. So I gamely went ahead, turned off the power, and started trying to yank out one of the cartridges. Sploosh! The water supply was still connected, and water sprayed me and the floor. I mopped it up, found the manual, and figured out where to disconnect the water. Then I went ahead and removed all the old cartridges. Needless to say, this is the point where I realized we have the wrong cartridge. After calling customer service, I reinstalled the old cartridges. The last cartridge (the one that's leaking), didn't go in properly, and in the process of trying to make it fit I got splooshed again by the water still in the system. I cleaned up and got that job finished so I could take care of some other things in the lab. Later on, I checked the system. It was still leaking; in fact, it looked as if the cartridge itself was leaking at the bottom, as if excess pressure was making it come apart. I decided I should go ahead and replace that cartridge immediately, even though I wanted to replace all of them at once. As before, I shut off both the power and the water before trying to remove the cartridge. SPLOOSH! There must have been a pressure buildup, for the water came out even more violently this time. I got sprayed right in the face and had to dry off my hair with paper towels. I did manage to install the new cartridge, and when I left, it seemed to be holding and not leaking. Let's just hope the lab isn't underwater when the boss gets in tomorrow morning, or I can kiss any chance of a raise good-bye. But since this is our one-year proposal anniversary, Eugene made my day better by bringing in strawberry pastries from a bakery I used to go to when I was a child--and he didn't even know about the water filters. Guess that's why I said yes to him, even if I made him wait on his knees first. ;)

Writing's been going slowly the last couple of days, as Eugene and I have had to do some things in the evening. Tomorrow we're supposed to have dinner with a cousin of his from the Philippines. I'm going to bring my laptop in to work so I can go to a bookstore before dinner and try to write there. Wish me luck.

And There Was Great Rejoicing...

Eugene and I have finished selecting pictures for our wedding album. Maybe now that I don't have to worry about page counts or poses or color (oh my), I can get my mind back on writing. It's been a bit slow the last couple of days, though I did manage to put down 150 words on Key. I'm falling behind on my crits too, but hopefully tomorrow I can work on that too.

Trying the Pictures Again....

The pictures posted out of order, and I don't feel like reloading them. But at least you will get some idea of how the evening went. Here, Eugene's brother Mike offers his tribute to his dad (seated), while Eugene (in background), Jason (middle), and my mother-in-law listen.









My father-in-law blows out the candles on his cake. Look at that smoke!














Guests wait for my in-laws to arrive.














Eugene and myself.













My mother-in-law and father-in-law as they enter the room.

The Holidays Part Two: With the Almazans

Yesterday (Christmas Day) was my father-in-law's 65th birthday, so we had a special surprise party for him to celebrate. It was at the same venue where Eugene and I had our reception; those of you who were there can imagine my excitement at returning. My mother-in-law had the food brought in by a Filipino caterer; I don't think I can spell the names of the dishes properly, but at least I can describe them. There was sticky rice, fish, beef, noodle casseroles called pansit or ponsit (see, I told you I can't spell these dishes), fried shrimp, "stuffed chickenless chicken," and a roast pig. There were probably about a hundred people there, though I'm not sure as some of them came in later. My father-in-law was quite surprised by the party; he didn't even realize that Jason, Eugene's youngest brother, had moved his karoke machine to the hotel. He was very touched by the whole affair, though. After dinner, Jason and his mom gave a slide show presentation of pictures of his father from his teenage years to the present. Then my father-in-law got to open a gag gift from his partner (and one of our wedding sponsors) Jan, featuring all sorts of things he would need at his age. Then Eugene and his brothers gave short but moving speeches about their father and what he meant to them. In particular, they pointed out the legacy he had in the many friends who had come to the party and his inspiring generosity to others. Then there was a cake and dancing. Everyone had a good time--especially when they came up to me and asked if I was pregnant yet. In case you're wondering, the baby is on backorder. We'll let you know when it's here. I think I need to write that on a sign and carry it with me to all family events. ;)

I've tried to upload some pictures three times now, but it doesn't seem to be working. I'll try again later.

The Holidays Part 1: With the Ulbrichs

My family always celebrates on Christmas Eve, so that makes celebrating the holidays easier for us. We drove up to Wisconsin yesterday for dinner and a gift exchange with my parents, my brother, my niece, and my grandmother. While we were there, we also got to watch our wedding video, which we just picked up yesterday. Here are some photos:

My grandmother (Oma) at the dining room table.










My parents put up a small tree this year, but at least it's not so hard to find room for it.


















Eugene and my brother Rodney talk computers/photography while my bored niece Nicky waits for the highlight of the evening: the presents.










My parents during the gift exchange.













Eugene entertains Heidi (not pictured).

















Afterwards, Eugene and I drove home so we could spend our first Christmas morning together. After exercising, we opened our gifts to each other. I gave Eugene a book from his wish list and the new Billy Joel box set; he gave me three books and a couple of CDs. Then we had breakfast: baked French Toast with apples, fruit salad (I attempted to blog yesterday about the abuse I inflicted on the citruses, but the Internet connection died on me before I could publish it), and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Needless to say, it was all very good. Later today, we need to work on the wedding album (again) before we have Christmas with Eugene's family. I doubt I'll get much writing done today, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that.

Christmas Eve Eve

My family traditionally celebrates on Christmas Eve. I had the day off, so I did a few chores around the house and took care of some last-minute things for tomorrow. We're going up to my parents' house for dinner and a gift exchange. Hopefully we'll also be able to bring along the video from our wedding; the videographer is burning it onto DVD now. Eugene made my dad's favorite cake, a flourless chocolate one, and it's baking right now. I'll take care of it while Eugene finishes up his shopping.

On the writing front, I'm continuing to edit a novel for a friend, and I'm working on both Day of All Seasons and The Key to All Locked Doors. I may only write a couple hundred words on each per day, but at least it's progress. Still haven't started reading the second draft of Lennon's Line, even though it's sitting here on my desk. Maybe I can read it after Christmas is over.

In case I don't have a chance to blog tomorrow and post pictures of our family get-together, I hope everyone reading this blog enjoys the holidays, no matter which one you celebrate. Spread joy and love to everyone you know.

Self-Reliance

Poetic thought for the morning: the trees are mocking summer with their winter foliage of frost. (That line occurred to me as I drove to work this morning, so I wanted to get it down. Maybe sometime I can use it in a story.)

In an attempt to clear the tumbleweeds blowing over this blog, I'd thought I'd pose some questions and see if I can raise a response from readers. A couple of things in real life and in other people's stories have made me think a bit about people who seem to need other people's opinions to make decisions of their own.

Have any of my readers noticed someone in real life doing this?

If so, did you offer your opinions or leave them to work it out on their own?

Do you see yourself as self-reliant or as seeking other's opinions?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each trait?

If you're a writer or reader, would you rather write/read about one type of person over another?

Getting Carded and Titling

Today I made scallops l'orange for dinner. One of the ingredients was orange liqueur, so I had to pick some up at the liquor store. When I checked out, the clerk asked me for ID. At my age, that's a compliment! The ironic aspect of it all was that the clerk looked too young to be selling booze herself. Perhaps she was being a stickler to her job training, or perhaps she was so new to the job that she wasn't a good judge of age. I suppose I should have asked her for ID!

The other interesting (well, to the other writers out there) thing that I encountered today was this link:

http://www.lulu.com/titlescorer/index.php

This is a tool that allows writers to compare their titles to those of best-sellers and see if they have what it takes to make it. You type in the title and select a few options to describe it. The site will then rank its chances of becoming a best-seller. Here are the results for my books:

My first (but certainly not best) novel: Let Silences Be Broken--44.2%

My Season Lords trilogy:

Day of All Seasons--10.2% (ouch!)
Fifth Season--69.0% (that's much better)
Summon the Season Lords--20.1%

The Consciousness Corollary trilogy (featuring Paul Harrison)

Lennon's Line--83.1% (woo-hoo!)
Catalyst in the Crucible--26.3%
The Key to All Locked Doors--26.3%

My overall average is almost 40%, which could be better.

So, what seems to make the difference? Names are important; I think that's why Lennon's Line ranks so high. Length, literal vs. figurative title, and the use of nouns and verbs also make a difference. But I don't think this title analyzer tells the complete story. It ranks Smith's Line just as high as Lennon's Line, even though the latter has alliteration and a celebrity's name. I'm certainly biased, but I think this tool can't account for the intrigue of wondering what the Day of All Seasons is. So I'll keep my titles as they are right now. Besides, if one of these books does get accepted by a publisher, they'll probably do their own title analysis and revise it at will.

OK, time to shut up here and start getting these stories finished....

Weekend in Review

Saturday I did some cleaning, baked a loaf of bread, and printed out all of Lennon's Line so I can read it and make notes as I go along. I better mention to Eugene that we need to kill a few more trees, as I used nearly 400 sheets of paper. The first draft was shorter, around 104,000 words, if I recall correct. This one is about 154,000, and I don't want it to grow any longer during the next draft. This may be a problem if I want to add more details to the first half, but maybe I can slash something in the second part.

Later that day, Eugene and I met my cousin Megan in Woodfield Mall so she could review the wedding proofs. She saw some of them online, but we have the full set. In retrospect, I should have suggested we find a less busy place to meet. At least we did find parking eventually. After we were done, we went to my company holiday party at a restaurant not too far away from the mall. The crab legs Eugene and I had were huge, even bigger than the ones we had in Alaska. The party ran quite late, though; we didn't leave until about 11:30, and I have to admit I was showing my fatigue.

There wasn't much rest for the weary (or wicked), as Eugene and I had to get up early so we could work out and finish our laundry before driving up to Wisconsin to visit my parents. We had lunch with them and dropped off the wedding pictures so they could figure out which ones to order. We also brought them a tin of cookies, which were well-received. But the real star of the show was Heidi, my parents' toy poodle. Despite Eugene's "vetness," she spent most of her time trying to get him to play with her favorite new toy. Above is a picture I took of her while she was staring at her bear. I told my dad about this blog, so let's see if he checks it out. Then Eugene and I did some shopping and had dinner at Panera before going home. I've spent most of the time since just catching up on e-mail and my forums. Let's see if I can get some writing done before I keel over and crash.

Whew!

I'm momentarily caught up on crits for OWW, and I even finished my Christmas cards. Of course, soon Sam will post the rest of his novel, and I still have 70 pages to crit for Heather (hi!), more pictures to select for the wedding album, etc., etc., but at least there's progress on some front.

Juggling

I suppose the holidays are extra-busy for everyone, and I'm no exception. I'm making progress with the Christmas chores; I only have two more presents to get (and I'm not telling whose, just in case Eugene reads this ;) ) and about six more cards to write. Eugene and I haven't sent out all of our cookies yet, but we need more boxes. Plus we're still dealing with Night of the Living Album as we cope with the torture of deciding which photos make the final cut and how to lay them out. But what really keeps me busy are the reviews. I think my regular critters must conspire; several of them posted all within a short span, and I've been scrambling to clear my crits. I think I'm making progress, but if I say that too loudly, the review gods will punish me still further. ;)

Progress on my own writing is slow but steady. I'm undecided on how I want to end the current scene I'm writing in Day, so I've been working on Key for a couple of days. I doubt I'll post it by the end of the year, but I would like to get it done eventually. I also got a review today on Chapter Two of Day that gives me a lot to think about. I need to reread it and mull it over so I can get back to the reviewer with a thank you.

I just finished reading John, Cynthia Lennon's latest book. I never got around to reading her first one about John, but this one is more complete because she's more open about some of the cruel things John did to her and Julian. None of it is completely new to me, but it does make the portrait of John a bit darker. It is pretty sad reading about the breakup of her marriage and the problems she and Julian have had since John's death. But I wanted to read it in case I decide to use any of this information when I revise Lennon's Line. Based on Cyn's book, I may shade how I portray John's Aunt Mimi, for instance. I may also give Cyn a brief appearance when Jo hears John play at the Cavern, but that could complicate the plot, since I don't think John would want to talk to his "American cousin" when he could spend some time with his then-girlfriend instead. Maybe I can have Cyn have to go directly home for some reason. I'll still stand by having Joanna and the rest of her side of the family be descended from Yoko and Sean, however. One of the reasons I didn't use Julian is that I doubt he plans to become a father anytime soon. Sean's still single in this world, but I intend to present this book as taking place in a universe where Sean marries his first girlfriend and then divorces her. Granted, I could set up a world where Julian has a child, but I also like being able to use New York for some of the scenes and to give these fictional descendants more money; it fits in with what I have planned better.

I told myself that after I finish Cyn's book, it's time for me to start revising Lennon's Line. Of course I need another ball to juggle--not! But I would like to finish this one and see if I can do anything with it. What I plan to do next is put it all in one big file and re-read it start to finish to get my own impressions of it. Then I'll have to plow into the pile of reviews I have stashed somewhere on my desk. I have some ideas for revising the first part, but I don't want to start with that until I've gone through everything and am sure that it's the right way to go.

Speaking of going, it's time for me to do so. Shall I go work on Day or go play? I guess if I want to keep all of my books in the air, then I'd better be good. Now if only Santa would bring me some good news about the anthology I'm supposed to be in, that would be a nice reward. But I digress.

As Promised, Pictures

Here's the Christmas tree in the Walnut Room in Marshall Fields, or at least the top half of the tree. I took this picture from the floor above the Walnut Room.

















Eugene pointing to Cloudgate, a.k.a. the Bean, where he proposed to me last December.

















Returning to the scene of the crime. We're standing where we were the night Eugene proposed. The buildings behind us are reflections in the Bean's surface.


















Ice skaters at Millennium Park.

Woo-hoo for Sue!

Sue, one of my regular critters on the writing workshop and a reader of this blog, just had her first short story published. It's called "Justice," and it's about a young woman who attempts to aid an enemy prisoner. You can read it at
http://www.theswordreview.com/Published/211_Justice/211_Justice.htm

Way to go, Sue! Congrats, and may this be the first of many sales!

Christmas Time in Chicago

Eugene considers it his responsibility to drag me away from the computer once in a while so I can see what Real Life is like--as if I have time for that. ;) Today we'd planned on having breakfast in the Walnut Room at Marshall Field's in Chicago. We got up at 6:30 (which is early for us on Sundays), worked out, showered, got dressed, and drove in. We arrived around 9:30, and the line was already so long we had to wait half an hour just to pick up a pager. By the time we did, we were told we wouldn't be able to get in until 12:30, and we couldn't wait that long. We did manage to take some pictures of the tree from the floor above before leaving to find a deli. The place didn't have the ambiance we were hoping for, but the food was more important. Afterwards, we wandered around downtown for a bit. We visited Millennium Park, which is where Eugene proposed to me. It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since then! Then we walked to the Daley Plaza to see the Christmas tree there. There was also a Kristkindlemarkt there, which is basically a German bazaar. Some of the vendors were in tents; others had more permanent shelters. They had many different things to offer, including Christmas tree ornaments, wood carvings, lace, and candles. Plus there were treats such as mulled wine and cider. We wandered around for a bit, drinking cider and buying a couple of ornaments and gifts, before we had to drive back home, running a few more errands along the way. Despite the disappointment with the Walnut Room, Eugene and I enjoyed ourselves. After all, this is our first Christmas together as a married couple.

Later that afternoon, a couple of friends came over to look at pictures from the wedding. We all went out to dinner afterwards. We had a good time. Unfortunately, after dinner, we had to catch up on some other things we've been putting off for a while, such as sending out the cookies. We just bagged bunches of them and placed them into tins; along the way, Eugene coined a new word: "orphanated." (Bags of cookies without recipes have been orphanated. I guess you had to be there.) It's late, I'm tired, I have a backlog of chores and reviews to clear, and I didn't get any writing done today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, even if it's a Monday. In the meantime, I have to crash. I'll try to post the pictures from our Chicago excursion tomorrow. Stay tuned....

Girl Time

I meant to commit an Act of Blog last night, honest; I just wound up being too tired.

Last night was one of the rare occasions when Eugene and I had different plans for the evening. He went to a basketball game with his family, and since I'm not much into sports, I stayed home. (I'm glad I didn't have to drive in to meet them anyway, given the snow we've been having.) What did I do with all of that free time? I had a nice chat with Sue over Skype while I wrote two reviews. One of my reviews was on a short chapter I'd seen before, but this time so many questions came to me as I read it that my review was nearly as long as the chapter. The author thanked me, though, so I hope it was useful for him. After that, I spoiled myself for a bit. I gave myself a facial--steaming, mud mask, the works. (Russ, you're going to have some competiton for the title of Best Skin Care Blog! ;) ) Then I soaked in the bath for a while. By the time I got done with that, I was too drowsy to write, so I went to bed. Exciting, huh?

I haven't gotten as much done today as I'd hoped. I did do laundry and start another review (which I didn't finish), but I haven't written anything or even printed out labels for Christmas cards. Bad Sandra! And of course I haven't written today yet either. But I did get to talk with another friend of mine, and she had some exciting news. No wonder I've been distracted, but I'm happy for her.

Eugene should be home soon, but maybe I can start something before then (he might be delayed because of the snow.) I don't know if we'll go out tonight; if we do, I think it'll just be to B&N. Writing in the bookstore is easier because I feel I have to work, not goof off.

Til later, then....

My Patron Muse

As John himself said, "I don't wanna face it."

It's about 9:10 here at the moment, which means in New York City, it's 10:10 p.m. On this date twenty-five years ago, at 10:50 p.m., John was shot five times in the back as he was returning home to say good-night to his son Sean. With that horrible act, the world was changed forever--and the stage was set for me fifteen years later to be drawn back into writing.

As I've said before, I barely remember John's murder; I didn't pay a lot of attention to public events like that when I was ten. As I grew up, I became a casual fan. I remember listening to Sgt. Pepper in a friend's house when I was in high school, and I had a tape of some of their hits. (Yes, a tape; for some reason, I didn't bother buying CDs until I was well out of college. Could be because my stereo didn't actually play CDs, just tapes.) So when the Beatles' Anthology aired in November 1995, I was interested enough to watch.

Some background is necessary here: during this time, although I had a job in Madison, my favorite city, I hated my job and didn't get to see Eugene too often--maybe once a month or so. After watching the first episode of the Anthology and getting "Free as a Bird" (a lot of fans don't count this as a real Beatles song, but it has special meaning for me) stuck in my head, I had a new interest. Twenty-five is relatively old to become hooked on the Beatles; most fans I know at Beatlelinks, one of the forums I belong to, became fans as kids or teenagers. I made up for lost time quickly by buying the CDs (yes, I had discovered CDs by now) and reading as many books as I could. I didn't have a favorite at first, but the more I learned about the Fab Four, the more interested I became in John.

Why John? Well, the first thing that drew me to him was our shared interest in writing. But the more I learned about him and his many contradictions, the more fascinating he became. And to be honest, the Beatles made for good eye candy. Don't worry; I'd been with Eugene for five years before I became a Beatlemaniac, and in my life, I love him more.

So, what does it mean to me to have John as a patron muse, so to speak? For those of you who've read Lennon's Line, that should be obvious. ;) John and the other Beatles with their four-fold synergy inspired me to create my own quartet: the Season Lords in Day of All Seasons, which I'm currently running through the workshop. But John has influenced me in other ways too. John had a "sideways" way of thinking, as can be shown if you attempt to read his books. They may be in English, but you really have to think to follow his wordplay. I'm very much a left-brained person, very methodical, logical, and linear, so John can shake up my thinking. He's also made me write some difficult passages. Five years ago, on the 20th anniversary, I wrote a scene about his death from his POV (set in the afterlife). I never used that scene anywhere, but after writing it, I feel I can write on any subject I need to.

I'm not listening to John's solo work tonight; it's too intense. I did listen to some of my favorites of his while commuting to work today. One of the songs I heard was "God," which includes the lyrics:

The dream is over; what can I say?
The dream is over, yesterday
I was the dreamweaver
but now I'm reborn
I was the Walrus
But now I'm John
And so, dear friends,
You just have to carry on
The dream is over.

John's dream and the dream of the Beatles is over, but now it's up to us to carry on, to make the most of our talents, to love each other, and to make the most of our lives before fate makes other plans. Now it's time for me to have a moment of silence for John and for all the other victims of violence, reread a chapter of Lennon's Line, then go on writing. Today of all days, it's important to keep writing. To borrow some more lyrics (this time from Peter Gaberiel's "Biko"):

You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher

John may be dead, but we are still here, and we can combine to create our own fire. Seize the day.

There's No Such Thing As a Free Lunch

There's not much I can say about the actual work I do, since I don't want to have to kill anyone brave enough to read this blog. ;) I think I won't violate any confidentiality agreements to say that today we got to have a free lunch, courtesy of our landlord. (We lease our office space.) The meal consisted of breadsticks, chicken breasts (can't really describe how they were prepared), Swedish meatballs (too salty), mixed veggies (mostly green beans), and mashed potatoes, with chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. The buffet was in another building, so I and my co-workers had to go pick up our food and bring it back to our place. (Something else it's safe for me to say is that we play Uno during lunch.) While we picked up our food, I looked at a tree in the lobby. It had "wish lists" for the holidays from needy children. I picked up a tag from a six-year-old girl and went shopping for her after work. I got her a sweater, a pair of pants, a pair of shoes, socks, and a Pet Doctor Barbie. I'd been thinking of doing something to help others during the holiday season anyway, so this was a good way to do it. Now I just have to remember to stop by and drop off the gifts tomorrow before I head into work. Just call me Sandra Clause. ;)

PAJLMS

As I watched the news this evening, I finally put a name to what's been bothering me for a while--PAJLMS: Pre-Anniversary of John Lennon's Murder Syndrone.

This time of year is hard for Beatles fans. George passed away on November 29, 2001, and of course John was murdered on December 8, 1980. This year, with it being a "special" anniversary (25 years), the media is flooded with news stories about him. I use the term "news" lightly, since many of stories are about things dedicated fans already know. For example, on World News Tonight, they played sound clips from an interview John gave in 1970, after the Beatles broke up and John had undergone primal scream therapy. True to himself, John disses everyone left and right--Paul, the Rolling Stones, even the fans. Well, maybe this may shock the casual fan, but I've had a transcript of that interview for years. Personally, I think a better choice would have been excerpts from the interviews John gave David Scheff of Playboy. John changed his mind as often as he changed his socks, but the Scheff interviews took place only a couple of months before he died. They would have given a better picture of his state of mind at the time, but since he was at peace with himself by then, his comments wouldn't be so contraversial. Humm, does the news go for truth or what sells? Why do I even ask?

Anyway, I apologize for the rant, but after seeing this story and reading countless articles about John and the murder on Beatlelinks, I'm feeling a bit numb but still sad. Yes, it's been 25 years, and I barely remember the actual day myself. I was only ten and knew very little about music or the current events of that era. Now that I'm older and more involved with John's music, his murder matters more, especially since I had to research it for Lennon's Line. Come Thursday, as I go throughout the day, I'll be able to think "John was getting his hair cut" or "John was posing for photos at this time" whenever I look at the clock. I don't even know if I'll be able to listen to his solo music that day; it's too intense. Maybe I'll start a Beatles marathon instead so I can absorb some energy from Please Please Me and With the Beatles. I'll be blogging more about what John means to me on Thursday as well. In the meantime, I think I'll cheer myself up with another dead celebrity's work: A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Our Holiday Party of 2005

Every year, Eugene and I throw a small party around the holidays. Last year, we invited a few of my Beatle friends over, so this year Eugene picked the guests: some of his friends from vet school who are in the area. Party prep started a few weeks beforehand when we picked out the menu. (Part of the reason we finished our baking so early this year is to have cookies available for our guests.) Earlier in the week, Eugene made the desserts, and I shopped for groceries Thursday night. Then on Friday, I made one of the side dishes, and we both cleaned. (I even used up all of my vacation time to get some things done.) We ran a few errands Saturday morning, but otherwise most of the day was devoted to cooking and cleaning. Here's our menu:



Beverages: Mulled Cider, Chardonnay, a Spanish dessert wine, and coffee
Appetizer: Homemade Lo-Cal Spinach Dip with fresh veggies
Salad: Orange and Almond Salad
Main Course: Lemon-Thyme Cornish Hens
Side Dishes: Cranberry Sauce; Twice-Baked Potatoes, Green Beans with Almonds and Parsley; and Sage, Sausage, and Apple Dressing
Dessert: Homemade Premium Vanilla Ice Cream and Cran-Apple Pie with a Cream Cheese Crust

Despite all this food, we turned out to have only two other guests. (One of the other guests told Eugene ahead of time she might not be able to make it; we think the other didn't come because of the snow.) We still had a good time, though. The conversation ranged from everything from combining utilities to a wedding riddled with problems. After dinner, we showed them some of our wedding proofs and let them pick cookies to bring home. They chose a few from almost every type we made, not surprising when they have three small children. They had to leave around 11:00 because of the babysitter, but I have to admit I was pretty tired by then. Eugene and I managed to get the dishes done before we crashed, though.

Today we slept in late and ran a couple of errands. We were supposed to meet one of my bridesmaids so she could see the wedding proofs, but that didn't work out. Hopefully after I finish this entry, I can get some writing done. I didn't get anything done yesterday and very little on Friday. Part of it is trying to "block" out what to include in Chapter Three now that I'm breaking it up. I want to make sure there's a good hook at the end. Hopefully Jenna will provide me with one.

BTW, I finally took a picture of our crooked half-tree that I described before. It could be worse, couldn't it?