Twitter subtracts from the blog

Shh.  I know.  I thought Twitter was stupid too.  But I don’t so much anymore.  It’s become an occasional diversion, and a useful tool for communication and information dissemination.  I like it.  I do.

But when I Twitter, I don’t blog.  

I also don’t blog when I’m doing a marathon writing event, which I was doing last month.  I’m happy to share that I finished my Script Frenzy script last month!  The Benevolent Society of Angry Misanthropes (working title), came in at a little over one-hundred pages, including the extensive dialogue that summarized the entire end in five pages.  

In other news, there has been craft.  Much craft, mostly sewing, with some knitting.  So, if I can’t manage to communicate in more than 140 characters, then perhaps I can at least share some photos.  You can have that to look forward to.  

Oh, and in spite of the stuffy head and mild fever I’ve suffered the last week, we don’t have flu.  Bovine, ovine, or porcine.  And we won’t have to suffer through a flu-cation from school.  Or as the Corpus Christi newspaper called it, Swine Break ‘09.  

Shake it up, Shake it down

I’ve missed sharing several things the past few weeks for general chaos and too-many-directioning.  Some of these items may get their own posts in the coming days and weeks, but I’m going to splash out a bulleted updated here.

—There was a cool Spring Pageant in which one of the Sonars was the star, as well as a science fair.  And coming up we have a Bike Rodeo, two egg hunts, and Easter mayhem.  

—I’ve done some sewing (a cool tote bag and apron for school auction baskets, and a ridiculous quantity of backlogged mending and hemming and finishing).  I’m in the early planning stages for some full-sized quilts for the Sonars.  They’ve gone and outgrown their baby quilts.  

—In knitting there has been some teaching (third graders, including Sonar X8.  Yay!!), frogging (mystery stole), steaming and winding (the wool/silk from the MS), finishing (flame socks), casting on (checkerboard lace scarf), laughing (did you see the merkins at TheAnticraft??), and dreaming (socks? sweater? frisbees?).

—In other craft, I’ve worked up a prototype crocheted frisbee made from reclaimed medical tubing, electrical tape, and some neon-bright nylon twine I found in the garage.  Flies well and is really flexible.  Just not sure how well the innards will hold up to heavy play.  

—April is Script Frenzy month over at the Office of Letters and Light.  I finished my first script ever back in 2007 during the first Script Frenzy.  Last year I tried, but was derailed by the flu.  This year, I’m trying again, but threatening to be derailed by my own lack of focus.  I have 14 pages written, and three weeks to go.  If I can get my head into it, I can get there.  I’ll try to put a counter widget over there in the sidebar.  Anyone want to join?  

—In other writing news, I have been reading more about the publishing industry, following agent and publishing blogs and tweets and generally trying to get a feel for how the industry works and how I need to plan and prepare to throw myself in there (someday).  My first step involves working my way toward a coherent platform, or as we are calling it around here jokingly, my IMI (integrated media identity).  I’ve selected Squarespace as my playground, and soon will lay down a personal domain onto this baby.  

I hope all of my old friends and visitors will hang with me through the transition.  It could be bumpy, but eventually I’ll get it all smoothed out.  I imagine a space that includes the same blogging style I’ve had over at Alert the Pizza on Blogger (in fact, all of that content is already here), but with new features and content thrown in as well.  

Leave some words behind when you visit and help me build!!

Full Disclosure

A few updates and then no more whining.

No, I do not have a plastic surgeon. That was sarcasm.

No, in spite of all experience indicating the contrary, I did NOT have the flu OR pneumonia. An invasive nasal swab and an assay of blood and urine tests confirmed against the flu, favoring instead “Pyrexia of unknown origin” and “Viral Infection NOS (not otherwise specified).” I am a conundrum. Doctor called it ‘ILI’ or Influenza-like Illness. Bastard virus.

Besides a persistent stuffy head and phlegmy cough, my cesarean scar feels like it has been ripped apart on the left side, sending shooting pains up under the mama-belly fat on the left side. No, it has not actually been ripped apart. The coughing has just yanked on the abdominal muscle incessantly and pulled at the tight bit of scarry tissue there. But heed this, oh ye who might consider ELECTIVE cesarean: It’s not a teeny little scar. It’s a big, honking, baby-sized scar. Mine is a big sweet smile that stretches almost from hip to hip across the top of my pubes. I wouldn’t give it up in a heartbeat, representing as it does the gateway into the world for those three awesome Sonars. And scars heal, but they don’t always heal in predictable ways, and I have to think that doing your best to push that kiddo out au naturale has less of a chance of leaving you feeling like your stomach is being split in two every time you catch a bad cough.

On the up-side… I wrote 63 pages on a script that was a lot of fun until it ground to a screeching halt with the onset of ILI. ScriptFrenzy ends tonight with the page count thus. I am really proud of what I wrote, and proud of my ability to crank out ideas and words when the universe conspires to grant me healthy working conditions. The story is one that I think I will work into novelly form rather than trying to finish the script on my own time. I really encourage any of you who started a script (ILEANA!), even if you only wrote one page, to head over to the ScriptFrenzy site before midnight local time and enter a page count. Do not discount the warm fuzzy power of the page-count widget, even if you only enter the number 1. Okay, full disclosure, the page-count widget for NaNoWriMo is more warm and fuzzy, but ScriptFrenzy is on a budget. Still!! Your page-count is awesome and it is yours! A year ago, could you have imagined that you’d even try a script? It’s so cool.

*sigh*

Ok, back to disclosures.

April (hereafter known as the Month of the Endless Demon Virus) was a bitch. I am having a seriously hard time feeling good right now. It would be easy to blame it on the bad bout of viruses, the long slog between getting myself and the rest of the family nominally healthy over the past few weeks. Spiced with the disappointment about falling short of the writing goal. But the truth is, I think I was struggling with enthusiasm and satisfaction even before The Month of Endless Demon Virus went awry.

I am trying to remain hopeful. My family is awesome. I have good people and good things in my life. (count yourselves among them) I know this. I am trying to remember to be patient. To let myself heal. To get through all of the sick drugs and start eating normally again. To not get frustrated when I can’t do all of the things that I normally do.

The patience is a struggle for me.

While I wait around trying to be patient, I’m trying to do a few things that might help things along. I’m taking all of my medicine (which is thankfully almost finished). I’m trying to eat good food and drink gallons of water, and a lot of chocolate. On the theory that my body might be missing something, but I can’t figure it out because I can’t smell or taste anything yet, I am planning to bring home a variety of flavorful foods from the grocery store tomorrow, including some spicy nori rolls with wasabe, the fixings for lasagna with Italian sausage, the fixings for a key lime pie, a jar of hot salsa and some good tortilla chips, and a bag of doritos. Yeah, ok, the doritos might be a bit redundant with the tortilla chips. I’ll get a coke instead. Right now, I am enjoying my first beer for three weeks. It is good. Heck, maybe I’ll even get the ingredients to take up the Yummy Mummy’s hot dog challenge. If I can manage to breathe, I might even run.

Sonar X5 has counseled (sweet child) that I should try doing something crazy. With a wrinkled-nose-smile and a giggle he shrugged off specific suggestions though, so I’ll have to get back to you on that one. Sonar X3 suggested that it would help if everyone tried to be nice. Hear hear. Sonar X7 suggested the lasagna. Partner suggested a strategic application of hot oil, though the language he whispered in my ear was much more colorful.

Bring it on. I’ll try it all. It would just be so nice to feel a little bit good for a change.

So spill it. What do you do when you feel a little blue? What strategies and rituals and tips do you employ for a little warm fuzzy, for a little bit of good when everything else gets you down? I’m only asking because I suspect the next step might involve velcroing the children to the wall and throwing plates, and nobody really wants me to be THAT person. Not even me.

Forward

I have 52.5 pages on my script!! Yay!! More than halfway. Ok, I know I set out to do 30 this weekend and only came up with 12 (and a half!), but I’m counting this as good forward progress and refuse to dwell on 17.5 pages I wish I’d done.

There are ten days and 47.5 pages left. That requires a completely doable average of 4.75 pages per day. I am going to finish this crazy little story.

In other news, that stupid virus just won’t take a hint. I tried to be gracious and let him be the one to leave rather than humiliating him with a messy breakup. But dude won’t get out. Virus is really freakin happy clogging up my left ear. Virus needs to find pseudo-life in some other body. Just not anyone in this family. Or anyone else I know. Perhaps some stranger. Or someone I don’t like. Yeah, that’s it.

Next time: The raid on the Texas polygamists is really weird.

Would you like tissues with that?

This virus and I are celebrating our eighth day together. Ah, and what a time we’ve had. Gosh, it seems like only last week we were having that first little tingle of excitement, a tickle in my nose, then the flash of a blinding headache. And then how time flew as we worked our way through the snot, choosing our favorite kleenexes, deciding on a drug regimen.

But I’m worried that the virus is starting to lose interest. The fire has really gone out of things.

And what will I do when the virus is gone? Oh, my, what will I do???

Oh wait. I know what I’ll do.

Breathe through both nostrils at the same time! Hear clearly with both ears!! Not fall asleep when I sit still for three seconds!! WRITE.

Ahem. Sorry. I got a little carried away there.

But yes, the plan here is to write this weekend. I have 40 pages done on the script. I have a 30-page goal for this weekend. Who’s with me? You over there in California maybe? How about you, yes, you, up in British Columbia? Yes, you know you want to. Ok, maybe not 30 pages. How about a fresh blog? Free-writing for 20 minutes? A grocery list?