Month: April 2015

Z is for Zero (Hour. Ish)

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Here it is! The illustrious, oft-talked-about-but-rarely seen Z! Thirty days of blogging, and we finally made it to the tip of the tail-end of the alphabet.

How about that?

April is but a blur, and May is staring us in the face. Well, as much as a month can and will stare, given that most months are very polite. February, I’m looking at you.

It’s more of a challenge than you expect, isn’t it? It certainly was for me, even without Camp NaNoWrimo this year. Still, we zipped through it, and here we are, and we should all be very proud, however we fared this month. Because we tried it, and stuck with it (maybe) and did the best we could when we didn’t.

So yay for that.

I’ve definitely met some fantastic other bloggers because of the challenge, and how can that be anything but a win?

Thanks to everyone who came by and tolerated some pretty terrible jokes and more than a handful of puns. I can’t wait to see what you have in store next month.

Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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Y is for Yes (Nearly)

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Well, we’re nearly through the alphabet! I have to say this wasn’t my most successful A-to-Z Challenge, out of the two that I’ve done. Huge sample size.

I definitely lost it on the visiting part of the challenge, which, when you think about it, is the fun part. I’ve kept up the posting, though. Six days a week is a lot, even with the short posts.

But regardless of how smoothly or unsmoothly, as the case may be, it’s gone, still April has flown by, a sea of letters stacked neatly one after the other. It’s tough to believe May is right around the corner. Or is it even a corner? I mean, it’s the day after tomorrow.

Whoa.

Time is funny.

Anyway, here’s to yes: yes for trying something challenging, yes to sticking with it, and yes to it nearly being over.

Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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X is for X-tra (Creative)

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Yes, it’s a cheat. I admit it. I didn’t go for one of the legitimate X-words, like xylophone (why is it always, always xylophone?) or xenon. Because really, what kind of post can you write about a xenon xylophone? Also, I think there should be something called a xenon xylophone.

On the non-cheating side of things, I think I have finally kicked this stupid cold, sending those mean, irritating germs on their merry way. Or not on their merry way. Whatever it is that happens to germs when they’re forced out, I seem to have done it. Yay! So though I’m a little on the tired side (and let’s be honest, who isn’t) I am no longer in possession of a nose that, in direct conflict with at least three laws of physics, is completely blocked and yet running at the same time.

Hopefully that means I’ll be around to say hi and visit all of your wonderful blogs I have neglected, A-to-Zers and non-A-to-Zers alike. My germs were not much for blogging, I’d have to say.

So back to the challenge, and my x-tremely lax choice for the letter X. I don’t know about you, but for me, X has to be the hardest letter to find a legitimate word for. I can’t wait to see what everyone else has chosen, and how you all have solved for X.

Yes, I went through all of that to make a pretty weak math joke. Don’t judge me. It was worth it and I’d do it again.

Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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W is for Winding (Down)

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So here we are all the way at W, and I have to confess I’m still not feeling very well. In fact I’m contemplating a nap despite the drills and the other grinding sounds. How I’ll accomplish it, I’m not quite sure, but it feels as though in a few minutes it won’t even be an issue.

Stupid cold.

Thanks so much for all of the lovely well-wishes. I’m hoping that this is the last day for these persistent germs, they really don’t know when they are no longer welcome. Well, they were never really welcome, so they also don’t know an invitation when they see one.

And now another pretty picture.

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Now please excuse me while I go take on some germs.

Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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V is for Very (Short)

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Well, I still have my cold, and I also have errands that have to be done today, as tomorrow will not work. Sigh. So that means today’s post is, as promised, very, very short. I am woefully behind on my blog visits (sorry) but hopefully I will catch up tomorrow.

Let’s hope these germs take a hike relatively quickly.

And now here’s a pretty photo just because.

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Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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U is for Under (the Weather)

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I can hear what you’re thinking already, hypothetical reader. Actually, I can always hear what you’re thinking, because that is how this works. Convenient, no?

Anyway, in a stroke of what might look like suspiciously good timing, it seems I have caught a cold. I am sneezy, coughy, and generally feeling blah. Alas.

Have I really, hypothetical reader? Why the skepticism? Because the cold seems to have blossomed on the perfect day, alphabet-wise?

I agree, the timing is a little suspect, but that’s because I think it’s the universe kinda messing with me. Because today, those men who like to hang out dozens of stories in the air are literally outside my window.

Literally.

Hmm, sorry, I should have put a label on this post. WARNING: whining ahead.

So on a day when I would like nothing better than a little silence so I could battle these germs as nature intended — asleep — instead I have the, well, you know. My brain is too germ-ridden to come up with something creative at the moment. Besides, you know the drill by now.

Ha. The drill. Get it? Drill? Because they’re…never mind.

What’s that, hypothetical reader?Am I sure there’s nothing stronger than water in my cup right now? I am completely sure, thank you. I mean no one needs to be intoxicated to enjoy a good pun. Sure it helps, but it’s not necessary.

Oh well, it’s only a cold after all. It will pass eventually, I hope sooner rather than later. And I will try to look on the bright side. The vibration from the drilling is like getting one of those massage chairs for free. Sorta.

Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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T is for Totally (Behind)

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Oh dear. Here we are on Thursday, and I still haven’t written my scene for class tonight. My last class, as it happens. Don’t worry, I’m signed up for the next one, they all roll seamlessly into one another, and aside from a week without homework, it’s business as usual.

Well, not exactly as usual, it’s a new teacher with the new class, so we’ll see how that goes. I’ve really enjoyed this one, he’s sharp, obviously an excellent writer, and he’s got a finely-honed sense of humor.

See what I did there? Veering away from the topic at hand? Yes, hypothetical reader, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing with this homework assignment. Every time I start going on it, something else beckons.

I thought I made some progress yesterday, but I really don’t like the way the thing is working. Or, to be more accurate, not working. So I’m not sure I’m going to keep it.

But to top off the whole thing, the drilling today is up close and personal as they say. As who says, hypothetical reader? I’m not sure, but I’d think “they” are located somewhere in your neighborhood.

So I’ll probably have to go somewhere to get the work done, if what’s happening right now — the sound of a growling enormous monster gnawing down to the metal — keeps up, it is going to be tough to focus. As if it wasn’t already.

As I said, oh dear

Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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S is for Slowing (Down)

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OK, so here we are at the bottom end of the alphabet, and I have to admit that I’m not as quick with ideas as I was at the start. And let’s be honest, it’s not as though S is a terribly challenging letter. It’s utterly swimming with possibilities.

It’s funny how things change with a little perspective, with a little time in. Things that seem easy at first intensify in their challenge; things that were hard become easier.

I wish I was a little sillier today, a little more frivolous, but it seems my sense of humor is off on its own, probably having the time of its life, as senses of humor tend to do. And that’s going to be problematic, because I have homework for my comedy writing class due tomorrow.

It’s kind of a basic requirement for comedy that it should be funny, right? Or maybe not, depending on the comedian. Combination ba-dum-bum/snap. Though that was a pretty nonspecific snap if ever there was one. And yes, today is retro insult day, why do you ask?

So hopefully my humor is just taking a nap, as we all likely want to do, and will be easily reachable with the time comes to tackle my scene. Or maybe I can claim that it’s some kind of meta anti-humor, that it’s funny in its utter lack of funniness. That seems like it could be a thing, right?

No? Really?

Hmm.

Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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R is for Really (Overboard)

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Yesterday I languished in the absence of construction noise, enjoying every moment of a day without a metal bit chewing through very reluctant concrete. And instead of taking advantage to get work done, I was, if I’m being honest, very lazy.

What’s that, hypothetical reader? You’ve noticed a procrastinaty trend running through these posts? I suppose that is a fair assessment. But I’ve had an excellent reason.

Sorry, hypothetical reader, you’ll have to speak up. What was the reason? Well, it was excellent, as I said. I’m afraid I can’t hear you, hypothetical reader. Our connection seems to be very bad, and no, I can’t be more specific.

So today we have wind, a lot of wind, the kind of wind that rattles the windows and the brand-new leaves. No men scaling buildings today, not with that kind of a wind.

For anyone keeping track, that’s two in a row. Two in a row. Woo-hoo.

And though my instinct is to indulge that cozy, lazy vibe, to look at the ominous clouds and listen to the drone of the wind, wrap myself in a fuzzy blanket and marathon something, anything, that is not what I’m going to do today. No really, hypothetical reader.

What’s that? You’re saying that I can hear you? The line must have cleared. You know, they do that sometimes. Oops, sorry, losing you again.

That’s the thing. It can be so tempting, when something has been particularly pleasant, to really push into it, to curl up into it, and stick with it. But often, it’s the uniqueness of a moment or a day or an opportunity that makes it so satisfying. You take that away, and you just have routine.

So I will not go overboard enjoying my silence today. I will get work done. I will be effective. And I will listen to the wind, because a wind like that one doesn’t come along often.

Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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Q is for Quiet (Maybe)

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I probably shouldn’t be writing about this. I’m probably jinxing it with every letter I type, but with the skies gloomy and the wind huffing, it appears that the facade is being left to its own devices today. Or at least for now.

Could it be? Could I really have silence today? Or at least a kind of city quiet, filled with the drone of cars going by, with occasional truck rumblings, with the sirens piercing and then gone.

We’ll see.

Yesterday I stocked up on earplugs, 80 pairs of them, to gird me against the noise ahead. I also got some noise ear muffs, so I can look like one of those people who works the runway, directing imaginary planes down the hallway.

I prepared, but still had the secret hope that somehow, the work would be stalled today, and stalled it was. Yay!

Last week was a loud week, one where the grinding vibrated through my skin into my bones, no matter how I tried to ignore it. Yes, this means it might take a little longer, but on the other hand, sometimes you’ve got to have a little bit of the plus-side now, you can’t always wait for everything. Little rewards here and there.

Like a dark day with no men on the side of the building.

I never thought that would be at the top of my wish list, but here it is. And I have to say, now that I have it (maybe), it’s awfully sweet. I wonder what the weather’s supposed to be like tomorrow.

Check out  my full-length novels,  Her Cousin Much Removed,  The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management and Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only), and the sequel, Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended) which is now available!

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