Losing My Way

Yesterday, at my private lesson for Kempo, Sensei asked me to do something with my right hand. I've got a double-wide finger on my right hand, you would think I would be able to remember which hand was which. It shouldn't be hard!

Uh, right. Lefty now thinks she is righty. Much like dogs think they are people. My left had is attempting to change it's identity to right hand. Is that like a gender change? Is there a surgery for it? I should probably check my phone for doctor's numbers that I don't remember dialing. What if my other brain side is about to take over and instead of writing and Kempo, I find myself liking pink, frilly dresses and *gasp* broccoli?

If anyone sees me eating broccoli, please capture me (watch out for lefty) and throw me in a closet for a week. Feed me chocolate and put lefty in a mitten. Thank you.

So Much Better

I've only got 5 episodes left in the series! Yes, yes, I realize I'm behind.

The series is SOOOOoooo much better than the *cough* movie.

Blockage

I think I've got blockage of the brain. At least the creative side of my brain, that is. Wait, no, the logical side isn't doing well either. Yes, I do believe I am suffering from a brain blockage. Stuff goes in, gets jumbled around but doesn't come back out.

I've had no luck with revising my novel. I know, I know, if it isn't coming it is probably a sign that I should take a break from it. It's not the writing, it's the planning that is killing me. Too many decisions and each one has repercussions throughout the whole story. Yes, this will only be round 2 of the novel, but I'm kind of a perfectionist (shocking, I know) and I hate things not fitting nicely into place. Like a giant, Tetris game. Ooohhh . . . Tetris. I was so addicted to that game at one point in my life. That and MSN's Collapse. There it is—my dirty past.

Note the lack of focus. Anybody got a shinny object? This is how my mind works these days. I start out thinking about one thing and ten seconds later I'm light years away thinking about something else. Start with moving my shoes when I get up, and by the time I get up I've forgotten about the shoes and am in the kitchen trying to remember why I was headed for the sink.

Gosh, I can't wait to get old.

Left Turn at Albuquerque

Aspiring Author is up one today. At Kempo class we did knife techniques. I'm pretty good at them if I know what's coming, but when Sensei says the others in the group can cut you however they want I kind of go all to pieces. I end up in pieces. Whatever. Good thing we didn't do the (washable) Crayola marker on the white uniform drill.

This evening, before Kempo class, I pulled out my novel. I looked at the printed copy and opened my notebook. I wrote down a few ideas and then turned the page on the notebook.

I guess I'm not quite ready for novel revisions, because I started to write another rhyming picture book. I got the idea a week or so ago, wrote down a few tidbits this weekend, and this afternoon I put pink pen to paper. It's not good. It's not even finished, but it was fun to write! I'm not sure how much I should put on a (gasp) public forum, but here is one verse I jotted down. Oh, the title would be something like “What if it was Winter?”

Instead of having ice cream
or those popsicles to eat,
there should be something warmer—
like hot cocoa for a treat!

Someday maybe I'll have mad, rhyming skills. Either way, it came out pretty easy and my brain feels a little better. There will be an honorable mention about socks, of course.

Knight Rider? Not Quite . . .

Two self-driving electric robot vans have embarked on an epic journey from Italy to China in a bid to demonstrate the scope of autonomous driving technology.

So these two vans will travel from Italy to China starting in July and ending in October. They can go 37mph and have to stop after 4 hours of travel to recharge. Pretty cool, really. Check out the article for more info.

After I read this, my geek brain kicked in and I wondered: Will these two vans travel the entire way to China, only to find some other self-driving machine waiting for them at the finish line? You know, like all those Sci Fi books where the first round of colonists go out on the slow ships and actually arrive after the second round who got to ride in the ships with faster than light capabilities, which were only discovered after the first round left.

That's where my mind went. Then I pictured the other vehicles looking much cooler than these vans, with drivers (not actually doing any driving, of course) who were cocky, hot Americans who would then “wave” as they went by the vans in the mountains of China. Mr. Hasselhoff, I presume?

These are the things I wonder.

The Pen is Mightier . . .

I have to say that today I'm very grateful for pen and paper. I've got a lot going on at the moment (most of it running around in my head, clamoring to get out) and if it weren't for me writing things down I would never remember anything. Well, not anything cool, that is.

Sure, I can remember that I have to go to work on Tuesday (yay for Labor Day!), and I don't usually forget to dress before I leave in the morning. I got that stuff. Mostly. My problem is all the little ideas that parade in front of my conscience, do a little (and sometimes impressive) dance and then run away to hide in the recesses of my mind. Cool things like the technology hunting half-cat, half-robot that I want to put into my next story. If I hadn't written that little jewel down, I never would have remembered it. N E V E R.

Just one more proof that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Especially if it is an energy shooting, spider eliminating, pink-inked pen with a tassel.

Beware the Groove!

“His groove! The rhythm in which he lives his life. His pattern of behavior. “ -The Emperor's New Groove

My groove is off! Lefty and the double wide have thrown off my drawing groove at work, which in turn has left me both slow and crabby. Yes, I realize that I am often slow and crabby, but this is worse . . . so much worse. Oh so much worse that I'm considering something drastic. Unfortunately, nothing appropriately shocking comes to mind (groove is off after all), so I'll just leave it at that.

I mentioned a panic attack yesterday. Well, here's what I've done to myself this time. Nanowrimo is in November, and the first week of November I've got a writing camp to go to. That's about 8 weeks away. Between now and then I want to complete round 2 of my YA novel. You know, the one I just finished round 1 on at the beginning of August. Also I need a cast of characters and a plot for my Nanowrimo novel. Oh, and I just joined an on-line writing group through Dave Farland's Daily Kicks.

What was I thinking!?! Just to get the YA novel finished I will have to blow through 4 or 5 chapters a week. They're not super long chapters, but that's still a lot. I'm freaking out here!!!

All this and my groove is thrown off. You try typing 70 words a minute with two of your fingers taped together.

Happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts.