And So It Ends . . .

Despite last minute technical errors (like my computer thinking it was January 1, 1980); despite my car losing its alternator; despite being the mother of a two year old and being desperately short on time; I WON! (though boy, howdy, I'll admit my writing quality sucked in a very spectaculor fashion for everything written between 11:00 - 11:30 p.m.)

Happy dance. Happy dance. Sleep is good. Must cleanse . . . coffee . . . from . . . system. Must go to work in seven hours . . . zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Metaphor

Ever been speeding along - and suddenly lose your momentum?

Ah . . . that would have been the alternator in my Subaru. Not only did I have a the kind of day at work that leaves your outside spotless, but your spirit considerably rumpled; not only did a cold front of snow, ice, and dumb drivers come together to wreak havoc on the city roads (though it was amusing to see how many tire tracks suddenly went into a squiggly line that ended when they met the curb); not only did I desert my beloved Subaru at a local McDonalds (here's to hoping the tow trucks laugh at anyone who requests they take a break from pulling folks out of snow banks to haul my little 'Roo) . . .

I get home, relax, and lean my head back to look at the ceiling . . . only to discover a large brown spider, directly overhead, waiting to fall on me.

Perfect. Just perfect.

Status Update

For those of my fans out there (hmmmm why are only two people clapping?) . . . I thought I would give you a status update on all of my projects. This is in no way, shape, or form an excuse for non-blogginess . . . ahem *cough*.

I have officially stuffed myself with turkey and cranberries, talked to all my family members who won't speak to me for another year, and yes . . . even managed to keep typing along on my novel. I'm about to break 28,000 words, and while I might not make the goal of 50,000, I never expected to get past 20,000 - so, regardless, I am proud of myself (20,000 words in five days . . . I CAN DO IT! They sit me in front of a computer at work for eight hours a day . . . I could be typing a brief . . . or a memo . . . really . . .).

Hmmm one of my attorneys reads my blog, so I think I just blew that opportunity . . .

And, oh! I embarrassed my husband immensely by taking doll pictures at the airport :P :P :P. He has come to grips with my new hobby - as long as I don't practice it in public MU HA HA! Actually, I'm working on setting up a photo/story blog with my new ball jointed doll soon. Once it's ready, I'll post the link here - and everyone can decide if I'm insane for themselves.

So as for my progress report, my current goals are:

1) Wage war with Thanksgiving airport traffic. Arrive with spouse, child, and luggage all intact.

2) Finish NanoWriMo novel. Required: lots and lots of coffee. Desired: new laptop with working battery . . .

3) Launch doll blog. Wait for husband to be asleep. Feature pictures of husband with doll. Place doll in witness protection program.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! And I should be back to blogging on a regular basis fairly shortly. And who knows? I may need a few editors to help me whip the stack of words I'm crunching out into a publishable novel! Volunteers?

Paperclips

You know it's going to be a good week when your attorney wanders out on a Friday afternoon and asks: "So . . . what do they wear in Saudi Arabia?"

Thus began a week long effort to prep my attorney for a "pop" trip to Saudi. Insert a flurry of activity regarding visas, passports, and research into the cultural and political background of Saudi Arabia. I must admit that I did not do the bulk of the work - and I owe a thousand thank yous the the lady in our home office who assisted with travel arrangements and the bulk of the paperwork for the visas and passports. Still, I have learned much this past week - including the following:

In order to get a visa to go to Saudi Arabia, you must sign a letter that the embassy informally calls a "death letter." It informs the traveler that you should not (note: not cannot - SHOULD NOT) bring in intoxicating substances, pornographic materials, or narcotics. Especially the narcotics. The letter is a legal document giving permission to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to put you to death. EEK!

You can import any dog you would like, as long as the paperwork lists them as a "guard dog" or "hunting dog." Hmmmm . . . what the heck do you put for a yorkie?

Listening to music in public is forbidden.

Dress conservatively. If you do not dress conservatively, either the religious police or random individuals may choose to chase you and throw rocks at you.

Speaking to anyone of the opposite sex, to whom you are unrelated, is forbidden.

The Department of State has a section titled "Adoptions and Abductions." I call it: what to do if you take one of our kids and what to do if we take one of yours. EEK!

I never ever ever want to go there. Which is good. Because they have a lot of language explaining that they don't want you there, and under no circumstances are you allowed to stay there. As a matter of fact, your employer must prove that they are providing you enough money that you will be adequately cared for and will not become destitute and dependent upon the government of Saudi Arabia.

I repeat: EEK!

And then came the adrenaline spikes as all the little glitches and hitches in our carefully laid out plans came to light. Thanks to a hearing in another state, we had to arrange a series of improbable flights - connections that would probably be missed, planes that may or may not be delayed, and for the final leg to Washington DC, we had my attorney flying into one airport with only three hours to get his baggage, meet up with the car service, drive like a bat out of heck to a second airport, and check in and catch his international flight to Kuwait. I told him he better pray for perfect weather.

Tornadoes and flooding in D.C. on his day of departure. No, I'm not kidding.

We finally find an alternate flight path that will eliminate 80% of the fuss and hassle listed above (and I had been hovering at my desk, eating some leftover Chinese and waiting for my attorney's phone calls). At last, the phone rang. My attorney was at the airline counter (I'll be nice and not mention their name), and he calls me, and says "Umm . . . the lady working the ticket counter just informed me that these are not my actual tickets. Even though they look like tickets, they are actually the receipts, and I don't have my ticket for Kuwait."

I can honestly say that was the highest adrenaline spike I have had in five years of working as a legal secretary.

I begin frantically tearing through every piece of paper on my desk. Paperclips are flying. I'm throwing envelopes on the ledges and on the floor - anywhere to get them out of my way. I know, deep inside, that I triple checked that package - that the ticket has to be with my attorney.

Then I hear the lady at the ticket counter in the background, through my attorney's cell phone. "Oh. . . never mind. It's right here. It was stapled out of order." IT WAS STAPLED OUT OF ORDER? She didn't look at all eight tickets before they called me!!??? Ms. Ticket Lady is lucky she was in another state. Nonplussed, my attorney said "I'll call you back," and hung up. My nerves were so jangled, I was shaking. I decided it would be best to finish my lunch and then leave the office for a while. I turned back to my Chinese.

There was a paperclip in the middle of my plate. A paperclip.

I haven't laughed that hard in years.

Absent, But Not Forgotten . . .

As expected, the NanoWriMo effort has consumed all of my spare time at the moment. However, I am learning a few valuable things from NanoWriMo - chief among them - maybe I can write a novel. I'm only a few thousand words behind the target mark, and I still have a clear idea of the direction I want my novel to travel in.

Huh. Who knew?

I'm currently weighing in at a little over 15,000 words. That's about 30 pages of single spaced text. And I'm enjoying the experience!

They also do something really really mean. You have a user profile, and you give them information such as the title of your novel - which they then run through a spiffy program and give you an interface that actually looks like a book. You "turn" the pages to see all of the information. And you can post an excerpt.

To quote one of my characters: "Cruel. Downright mean and cruel."

But I'm loving every second. In case I don't update for a while, remember I am absent - but I have not forgotten!

Safe journies to all until my return!

NanoWriMo

The NanoWriMo madness has begun. Three days in, and I am close to 3,500 words. Not bad. I'm actually beginning to feel that maybe I can accomplish the goal (50,000 words in 30 days). For the moment, it is coming much quicker and easier than I had anticipated.

Devil in the White City actually turned out to be a decent book - though I was surprised that I found the architectural sections about the building of the World's Fair in Chicago for more interesting than the account of the serial killer who was active during the time of the Fair. Hmmmmm . . . .

Back to the grindstone! Wish me luck!