Monday, November 3, 2008

Things To Do That I Can't Get Done, My Dog is a Lampshade, and Salsa-ing With Jalepenos.

I have been having one of those weeks where all of the things I need and want to do are simply piling up on me faster than I can handle.

It's not all bad, not really. I'm just behind in a lot of things. For instance, I should have about 3,000 words written for NaNoWriMo by now. But my word count remains a meager 527. What kind of an author am I?? It's just not going as well as usual for me. Writing, I mean. Usually spitting out words isn't a huge feat, but for some reason my characters don't want to cooperate. I don't know the name of my protagonist (and I find it extremely challenging to write a character with no name as I don't feel that I can properly know them when I only refer to them as "BOY" or "GIRL". Or "Insert-Name-Here"). They also don't want to be where I've put them for the opening scene, they don't like the people I've got them mingling with, and they don't care how well I can visualize what I want them to do because they just plain don't want to do it.

If you're reading this and you're not a writer, yes it's perfectly appropriate, if not normal, to think that I am a raving lunatic for talking about characters that I'm supposed to be writing as if they were living, breathing people with minds of their own.

On the other hand, if you're reading this and you're a writer then I know you know what I'm talking about. It's like taking your best friend, who HATES seafood, karaoke, and dress shoes to an All-You-Can-Eat sushi bar and telling them they have to sing Dancing Queen in six inch Choos. And they have to have a good time doing it.

They're just NOT going to.

But I digress. The point is, I'm behind. I also have homework I've been putting off, a second job (that I love but that still takes up precious hours of the day), day
dreams of revamping this blog, and I'd like to keep at least a toe in the social scene. Even that has been difficult to manage as of late.

However, I DO have another few cute pictures of Tucker for ya'll. :)

So without further ado, I'm moving on to that.

My little baby Tucker just had his first brush with surgery this last week. We took him in to get "fixed", and all went very well. Plus he got a Halloween costume out of the whole affair.

Behold!


He was none too happy about this bit, as you can imagine. He came home from the vet and was fine. Perky, just like usual. He didn't seem sore, either. Probably something to do with those
 meds they gave him. He doesn't have to wear the cone all the time, but when he does he looks so pitiful that I can't help but feel bad for even putting it on him to begin with.

It's also made sleeping in bed with me a little more interesting. He was so scared when we first put that cone on that he was just shivering, and he didn't much enjoy walking around with it on, and I couldn't very well add to that trauma by kicking him out of bed. So instead of on or around my feet under the covers, or against my stomach which is apparently also warm and cozy, he slept with his head on my arm and his body under the covers.

It mostly went well, but there were times throughout the night that he'd move and inadvertently wack me in the face, shoulder, arm, etc. with that big plastic cone.

I can't help but feel bad for the little guy. But he hasn't messed with his stitches at all that I can tell, so I suppose it's helping.

I'd meant to purchase a little Halloween costume for him, but of course I put that on the list of things I need to get done, which pretty much ensures that I won't get it done. So...instead we decided that Tucker's little cone would serve as Halloween costume enough. Besides, going as a lamp is just classic, right?

I also spent a decent chunk of tonight pestering Tucker with flash after camera-flash, but I don't think he minded too much because he was avidly chewing on a treat. Plus I got some really good pictures, which as you can surely guess will turn up on here soon enough. :)

I wish I had some good Halloween pictures to post for ya'll, but I am sad to report that my Halloween was spent setting another ad at Kohl's. I didn't even get any candy. I didn't even dress up. It was a bit of a let down, but I didn't have high expectations so at least I won't cry about that tonight.

Besides, I stumbled upon an incredible shirt today so I can't frown too much. It's a long story, so perhaps I'll share the whole thing later, but I do have to post a picture. So that you can understand. Long story short, a friend and I decided we should join forces and write some songs. Our first 'hit single' was going to be called "This Is Why I'm Hot".

Imagine my surprise when, after following mom into a store, I come across this:


Yeah, I about had a cow.

         So that made my day. 
         I hope it made yours, too. 
   Or, you know, at least made you smile.     

2 comments:

Mary Malcolm Duncanson said...

Aww! Poor Tucker. When Ollie had his lopping-o-the-man-parts done, we didn't need to get a cone. Actually, he was so young when I had him whacked that other than a little whimpering the first day, he didn't really notice or care. But Tucker. Tucker as a lampshade. I have to tell you, I'll not get that image of him whacking you with the cone out of my head. All. Day. Long.

As for Nano, don't worry about it. I think what you may have to do is decide to follow your characters. Scary, I know, but all the same. When you can't get your friend to the sushi singing choo place, you settle for a chinese restaurant with a sushi bar, singing along with them in the car, and your favorite pair of slippers. You know?

Your characters are the same way. Usually if they're not going someplace, or doing what you want them to do, it means you're wanting them to do something they shouldn't be doing. Um. Yeah. Okay, now I'm the crazy one. It's true though.

Best O' Luck in wrangling those crazy nut jobs. I am certain it will work out for you in the end.

Mary Malcolm Duncanson said...

So tell me. What's wrong with a good beach read?? Today I got results back from a contest I entered and her biggest critique was that it read like a beach book. *lol* Um...isn't that a good thing?

The thing I love about my books is that you don't have to strap on you hat to read them. You don't have to get all intellectual, you don't have to prepare for major conflict, you just sit down, read the thing and enjoy being in someone elses life for a few hours.

She wanted something more. She wanted the ex to be stalking my heroine, or for my hero to have a horrible secret in his past, or to be dying of kidney disease or something. Um, no.

Mine are slice of life books. Step into the shoes of a person you are not, enjoy falling in love as they do, then go make the chicken pot pie before your husband gets home from work.

Or, better yet, call a recess, take my book into chambers and read a couple chapters as the attorneys arguing in front of you try to decide who's got the best arguments. Relax a few, then throw that black robe back on and call court back into session.

*phew* I feel better. I needed to whine.