Advice And Other Ramblings

Ok, so Blogger is promoting National Novel Writing Month. This happens every year. You're supposed to attempt to write a novel in a month, or, more specifically, approximately 30,000 words in 30 days. I've attempted the 7 in 7 before (7 short stories in 7 days) and actually didn't do too bad. But I've never attempted this. It seems too daunting, and my schedule has never allowed time to write every day.

So, could I write 30,000 words in a month? I highly doubt it, especially right now. But here's what I need the advice on. How about writing a novella...no time limit here...on a blog. I'd set up a different blog just for the novella. I'd write as little or as much as I could. Sometimes every day, sometimes not for a week. No set schedule, just an idea that I work on when I'm inspired to do so. But I'd be doing it "live" so to speak. You guys will watch the story develop. Once the rough draft is done, I'd revamp it in private, and then, once published (assuming that someone wants to publish it) you'll se the differences between what it started like and how it ended up.

What do you all think of that idea? Although I won't be allowing comments on the novella blog, I'd set up a yahoo email address that anyone can use to give me their thoughts on what's been written so far. Questions, comments, suggestions...everything can go there. I'll set up a newsletter through yahoo where I can address some of the emails I get and talk about how the process is going, since the novella blog will only contain the novella.

So, is this a stupid idea? Would anyone read this? Would anyone participate? Should I care? Should I just go ahead and do it to get my butt back into writing? Thoughts, ideas, whatever...comment away. Or, if you prefer to tell me in private, shoot an email over to horrorwriterchick@yahoo.com.

Ok, done with the advice part...moving on...

This coming Sunday is the holiest of holy days for me. It will be spent with husband and kiddos, trick-or-treating and visiting various family and firends. We'll carve pumpkins, tell ghost stories, and eat way too much candy.

I can hear it now, my co-worker Joe chuckling at me. He's one of those "Christmas" people. Every time I talk about Halloween being the best holiday, he has to chime in about Christmas. hehe Honestly, Christmas is nice and all, but when you've worked half your life in retail, you start to hate Christmas. Hell, even at the bank we're playing Christmas carols already! That just makes my skin crawl! I mean, it's not even Thanksgiving yet...Hell, it's not even Halloween yet! Sure, just gloss on over MY holiday and bring on Rudolf the Red Friggin Nosed Reindeer! Sigh.

Don't start calling me Scrooge just yet. There are a couple of things I like about Christmas. I love the look on my daughter's face when she sees all the presents under the tree. I love getting presents, because I'm greedy and spoiled. :) I also love giving presents, especially when I know the receiver is going to love them. And I do like spending time with my family, and most of all, not having to work. So yeah, nice holiday. However, the following is a list of what I loathe about Christmas...

Crowds - Crowds at the mall, crowds at various stores I frequent, crowds on the roads. People are EVERYWHERE during the holiday season. And no, most are not filled with peace and good will towards men. Most are harping about wanting a discount or arguing that they want to return an item without a receipt or screaming that they were next in line, or screaming because they cut in line. Most are obnoxious, and I say this from experience. I've worked the stores and I've shopped the stores during this season of so-called joy, and people behave like savages!

Christmas music - These drippy, bubbly, cheery, bouncy little tunes that everyone just HAS to love! I mean, how can you listen to "Jingle Bells" and not smile? EASILY! I've heard every friggin carol at least 100,000,000,000 times and I'm sick of ALL of them! Hello! If I can't get into that sugary pop crap on the radio, you expect me to kick up my heels and dance to "Oh Tannenbaum?"

Finances - Christmas is the time of year where I have to come up with money I never have to buy a million people gifts because they always buy for me and my family. I said it already, I do enjoy giving people I care about gifts, but spending money on them is another thing altogether. I always feel like my gifts are inadequate because I can never afford to buy things as nice as what I get. And both pre and post season months aer harder than ever to make ends meet. Bills get behind, I'm up to my ass in credit card debt, and my dad is screaming at me about needing more money. Not good times.

Shopping - This one ties in with both crowds and finances. But also, finding the right item for some people is downright impossible! I spend time I don't have looking for something for the person who has everything and spend money I don't have to purchase something half-assed because I can't stand being at the mall with the savages for one more minute!

My mood - People say that more people kill themselves during the holiday season than at any other time of year. Gee...I wonder why. Being a mental case myself, I can understand why. The stress of the season, loneliness, pain...everything is amplified. If you've lost a loved one, been dumped, can't find a job, can't find a partner, whatever. The hurt you would normally feel takes on a life of its own and spins out of control. Everything looks bleak. For me personally, my lows get lower. It's not an easy time to get through.

Ok, so I'm ending this rant on a more depressive note, and for that I am sorry. But at least you all know why when everyone else is dressed up in Santa suits singing "Frosty the Snowman" I'll be sitting in the corner with a beer and a cigarette saying, "Bah Humbug."

Till next time...

A Day In The Life With A Seven-Month-Old

Well, it's official. Andre may look more like his daddy, but his personality is all me.

I consider myself lucky to be able to stay home with Dre during the day, pick up my daughter from school and help her with her homework, go to the various events during the day at her school. I know a lot of people who would love to be in my position. I work very hard, both during the day at home and nights and weekends at the bank. We barely make ends meet. But still, I feel lucky.

Now that Andre is getting older our daily routine has changed. He's awake more than he's asleep and he's able to interact with me more and more each day. I've discovered that raising a boy is much different than raising a girl. Or maybe it's just that my kids are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum personality-wise.

Let me give you a few examples of the games little Dre likes to play. His very favorite thing to play with, is whatever you may have in your hand. Remote control, telephone, the apple you're trying to snack on, the spoon you're trying to feed him with... You get the picture. Once he gets this object away from you, he loves to put it right in his mouth. Of course he gets bored of that rather quickly, so he flings the object with glee across the room. Usually he wings it behind him so it ends up under the couch or somewhere else that's a bitch to get to. Your cursing and muttering only serve to put a huge grin on his face.

His other favorite game is "make mommy go bald." Scroll down and you'll see a couple of pictures of me at the Halloween party. You can see that my hair is rather long. Dre delights in twirling it around his fingers and pulling on it with all his might. Let me tell you, for seven months, this kid has a friggin GRIP! As you yelp with pain he giggles with glee. The harsher you say no to him, the more hysterical he gets. He's given himself the hiccups from laughing so hard at mommy's distress. That's my boy.

I have a feeling that once he becomes mobile, life as I know it is going to become more hectic and stressful than I ever dreamed possible. He'll be one of those toddlers that's into everything and finds your anger very amusing indeed. He'll be one of those grade school boys that's constantly falling out of trees and needing stitches or casts every time he goes out to play. He'll be exausting. That's all Fran. But a lot of little boys are like that.

My personality comes in with his temper. His determination. His independence and stubborness. This kid wants what he wants when he wants it, and God help you if you don't instantly provide it for him. I can see tantrums and manipulative guilt trips. I can see me.

My mother has said to me on more than one occassion, "may you have a child just like you." Every mother's curse. I figured with the birth of my daughter that my mother did not have the power to cast such a spell. She was an angel from day one. Of course she had her moments, and still does, but in general her disposition is sweet, kind, caring. She wouldn't hurt a fly and makes it her mission to be EVERYBODY'S friend. She could never leave anyone out of a game or tease someone who is different. Sure she gets disappointed when she can't get what she wants, but she accepts it and moves on. She doesn't nag repeatedly for anything. She generally does whatever she's told and is probably the least selfish child I've ever met. She'd give you her last cookie just to make you happy.

However, just because the curse didn't come true with her, doesn't mean it's broken. Maybe I'm reading too much into hy infant's behavior, but I've had more than one relative say to me, "Oh boy Meghan, Andre is going to be a handful, he's going to be just like you." You'd think I'd be able to handle someone like myself. I guess we'll just have to see.

I'm not trying to say that my son is going to grow up to be a "bad kid." Even all the shit I've put my parents through, even all the shit I've put myself through, I don't think you could have ever classified me as a "bad kid." A strong-willed, instensely stubborn, indepent kid...yes. Those traits may be a handful in childhood, but I think that they all serve a purpose. I've pretty much learned how to control these parts of my personality (I said pretty much, I know I can still be a handful at times. heh) and use them more to my advantage. I'm hoping my son will as well.

The games my son plays now may be pretty much the same kind of games most babies his age play. It's the look he gets on his face, the way he shrieks...it's hard to explain. You'd have to see and hear it to understand. This is definitely my child. Face of an angel, spirit of a spitfire. Lethal combination? That remains to be seen.

Till next time...

Halloween Hootinany Photos

As if you didn't guess, below are some pics (courtesy of Matt Warner: www.matthewwarner.com and Deena Warner: www.deenawarner.net) from the Halloween party this past weekend. Go ahead, laugh at my dumb ass. heh

How the hell do you spell hootinany anyway?

The cute, creative, and crazy Cassandra Keene! 

Headbangers from hell 

Matt's ready to kick some drunken ass! 

The ever gentle and sweet Brian Keene, with the ever tipsy and bloody me. 

Zombie Meghan has been a very naughty girl! 

Scary Fran. That mask lasted about 10 minutes before being thrown to the wind. 

Sleepy time Fran. (Party pooper!) 

Sister Diane and Srgt. Val, winners of our "gayest couple" prize. (Diane wins the prize for scaring me the most. Nuns frighten me.) 

Me, as zombie Meghan. 

The horrifyingly cocky, Brian Keene!  

The hopping vampire zombie otherwise known as Deena, the hostest with the mostest. 

Actually Survived VA!

Yes, that's right. For the first time in over 10 years, I've gone to Virginia and NOT had a problem! Woohoo! (For those of you new to my blog, please see the post "Fuckin Virginia" from 2/24/03.)

So...went to Matt & Deena's place for a Halloween Hootinanny (sp?). Fran and I co-hosted. It was a lot of fun! I was going to dress up as the zombie pregnant woman from Brian Keene's THE RISING (if you haven't read it, shame on you! www.briankeene.com). However, halfway throught he trip I realized I forgot the most important part of the costume, the baby doll. Sigh. So I ended up being my character from the book. Brian had named a hooker after me, I live for about 3 or 4 pages before a zombie grabs my ankle and pulls me out of a humvee to my death. I have to add that Brian had me whining, which I still haven't forgiven him for. I don't whine! ;) heh Anyhoo, I thought it would be fun to bring my character back to life as a zombie and seek revenge on Brian. It worked well. :) As soon as I get some pictures, I'll post them here.

I actually didn't get rediculously drunk or embarass myself. Of that I am proud. :) What I did do is hang out with some really great people. I want to say thanks to Brian & Cassandra Keene, Val & Diane, the brothers' Lancaster, all the people I just met and can't recall their names because I'm an ass, and especially Matt & Deena for hosting!

The Halloween spirit was kept alive with horror flicks playing all night with the sound down and creepy music playing over them. Most I had already seen, but after the party died down and it was just Matt, Deena, Fran, and myself, we popped in a kung-fu zombie flick, "Spooky Encounters: Encounters of the Spooky Kind." Holy fucking shit! This has to be the absolute best B-movie ever created! I laughed my ass off, and the kung-fu moves were really cool! The hopping zombie vampire was the best! Deena actually dressed up as him for her costume. Today I went straight to eBay and grabbed a copy. I also saw that there is a sequel. Must get my hands on that as well! heh

So, ok...now that I have a comments section to the blog, how about posting some COMMENTS! I know there are only about 5 of you out there reading this, but still. Let's get some interaction going here people! Don't leave me curled up under my desk, weeping because I'm so lonely and nobody likes me. So I'll give you an assignment. What is your favorite B-movie (in any genre) and why? You don't have to leave your name if you don't want to. I'd just like to get an idea of what my readers think.

Well, I better run for now. Till next time...