If you tried to list all the people who changed the world, the list would long and inevitably incomplete because we’ll never know who invented the wheel or the genius who figured out how to make soap, however, can even Einstein or Newton even remotely compete with the genius who invented “The pillow” ? I don’t think so! Because without a decent nights sleep, would Einstein and Newton have been able to do their thing? Au contraire! This morning I had a Eureka moment. I’ve been sleeping for months on this pillow which I thought was good for me because it’s a special neck supportive pillow only as the months passed my poor neck has been feeling decidedly unloved and the last few months I’ve been waking every morning with an aching neck and an aching lower back that I have to stretch out before I can do anything. I’m not Einstein, (obviously or I’d have bought myself a new pillow months ago) but I knew there could only be several reasons for this change; the mattress had died (it was guaranteed 20 years and we’ve only had it nine), my stress level is so off the scale that I’m going catatonic (stress over what?), the rubbish chair I sit in while obsessively writing has caused me repetative strain injury (definitely a possibility so I’ve stopped being lazy and now wheel the Goblin’s superior chair into my room every morning), I’ve been abducted by aliens every night and used as a guinea pig or my poor neck…and this seemed most likely…was being ruined by my evil pillow.”
I ran so far away…
While eating my dinner, instead of watching another episode of Hercule Poirot on You Tube, I read this great blog I came across last month. In one entry this woman, who wasn’t inclined to exercise, decided to set a goal for 2008 to run thirty minutes one hundred times in the year. She made it and she had all these adventures doing her runs which made me almost wish I felt inclined to such self-torture (almost) but reading through the comments…one person remarked that the entry had brought to mind the song “I Ran So Far Away” by A Flock of Seagulls (one of stupidest names ever thought up for a pop group). She was right…and as I thought about it I had to go buy it. I’m listening to it as I sit here digesting my pizza and fighting off the temptation to go eat a slice of chocolate cake (topped with cream and cherries and cranberries). It should be my theme song (if you know the tune sing along) And I ran…I ran so far away….so so so far away…from the chocolate cake!
It’s done!
Just a little entry to let anyone interested know that A Companion for Life is finished and on line!
So for all the members who didn’t win the notebook and pen (the winner was A. Valdez in California), well you’re still a winner! You get a book to read! If you’re interested I’ll be having more competitions throughout the year. The next one for the members will be for some scary historical romance DVD’s…the Barbara Cartland ones…for a laugh at Valentines! I may even throw in some chocolate as well. I’ll get that up soon, but in the mean time…Merry Christmas…Happy New Year…and Happy Reading!!!!
A Companion for Life is now a complete rough draft!
A Comapanion for Life is DONE! Hurrah! I literally just finished the rough draft a few minutes ago. I’ll let it sit there for a day or so and then I’ll read it over to make sure it flows and then I’ll read it backwards to try to find errors and then I’ll put it on line! Hurrah! Yesterday I sort of finished it and I celebrated by vacuuming most of my house…yes I vacuumed…finally…and it feels lovely to have a nice clean floor and a nice finished book! I’m SO happy with the changes. It’s now just over 64 thousand words, but all those words I took out, they didn’t need to be there. It’s much better this way and the ending came without difficulty…it was slow, endings always take a lot of time because they have to be absolutely right and every word is weighed, but it’s right. So now I am happy with my book and it feels really really good. Yesterday and today I’ve been working on the first Epilogue…this book has two Epilogues. You’ll understand when you read it. Anyway…I think I may celebrate today by going out into the sunshine (the sun is shining in England right now…at least where I live) and buying myself a treat. Ok, maybe I’ll be good and try to find some more prezzies for the Goblin…maybe I should be bad and find something for me? We’ll have to see…
Cari answers a Christmas questionnaire
One of my friends sent me a Christmas questionnaire and I thought I’d share it. Be Warned…if you’ve never had a Crappy-Christmas you might find some of my experiences rather unbelievable…it’s all true!
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Depends on the gift…if it’s going under the Christmas tree I like it to be wrapped, but if it’s a gift I’m giving away and I want it to look nice I’ll buy a nice bag and tissue paper, but I almost never give Christmas gifts to people outside my immediate family so don’t feel unloved if you don’t get anything…most of my siblings and best friends won’t get anything either!
2. Real tree or Artificial?
Real ofcourse…they smell divine…however, the last real Christmas tree I had (1996) I nearly accidentally killed myself trimming it. I don’t know what I was thinking…no I wasn’t thinking…I had the “brilliant idea” to use my sculpting mallet and chisel to cut off the bottom of the tree before putting it in water. I had the chisel in the wrong hand (Why? I don’t know! I never hold the chisel in the right hand it goes in the left!) And so I nearly killed myself when the chisel slipped off the tree (because my right hand never holds the chisel) and it landed on the opposite wrist. (I can show you the scar…it was a miracle I didn’t sever an artery. I was a millimetre away from fainting into in a large pool of blood and dying because I was on my own) Never trim a tree on your own! And NEVER trim a tree with a mallet and chisel…not unless you can’t bear another Crappy Christmas. It was clearly not my time to go! Anyway…we have an artificial tree…not as nice as a real tree, but less dangerous. Thankfully back in 1996 I had a friend who lived in the floor above me who was home…instead of going to a movie he took me to the Emergency room at the hospital where he then had to endure the embarrassment of being thought my husband. Doubtless before he corrected them they were thinking he was a really pathetic man to let his wife trim the tree and nearly kill herself. When we got back he insisted on sawing off the bottom of the tree. I don’t think he wanted to have to go back to ER and face any more traumatising questions! Bless!
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Eureka…I think…
I think I finally figured out where I’ve been going wrong with my latest story(A Companion for Life). I’m going back 23 pages and rewriting it. It’ll be the same story, but slightly different. I have all the pieces of the puzzle, but some pieces are from different puzzles and I’ve been trying to hammer them with my fists into this puzzle. I stayed up all night thinking about plot possibilities and I finally accepted that if I kept it as it was then the only logical next step would take me in an totally wrong direction…so back I went looking for the root of the problem and I found it. When you read the final version you’ll wonder what on earth I could possibly have done differently. I wish I had a crystal ball. Or better still, I wish I didn’t insist on thinking I know anything. That would help!