Happy Mondays: Cleaning and writing
Oct. 25th, 2010 08:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizzie_and_ari Hello!
1. Have had what is possibly the world's most pointless day, money earning aside. Have been temping at a place I've worked at before. I commented then how inefficient the place was. Today I was on reception. There were no visitors to reception; apparently there hardly ever are. The phone rang 9 times. One was a hang-up. I spent about half an hour sorting mail. I read a lot of news on the BBC (and found this interesting set of photos. Pretty! I like the turtle one the best).
Otherwise, work stuff is perhaps on the lookup:
2. I have a flurry of interviews. I had an interview last Tuesday for a job which I did not get. However, I have an interview tomorrow for a part time but permanent gig which would be nice, and then one on Thursday for the Job of Joy , doing communications for a charity. Part of the job description is that you have to be available for international travel. Yes please. Trying not to get my hopes up, but also trying not to be too negative. Delicate balance. It also involves language stuff, which is why this blog is also available in French (this week only).
3. I also have a producing gig. It's unpaid as such, but part of my job is to find funding so maybe. In any case it should be fun and great experience. It's a production of The Memory of Water by the Actor's Kitchen. It's a play I know quite well; my brother did it at QM, and subsequently directed an amateur production down south, that my Ma was also in. The show is in April, but plenty to do meantime.
4. Gearing up for NaNoWriMo. By 'gearing up', I mostly mean doing nothing, except worrying slightly about emails that are coming in from NaNoWriMo Edinburgh, talking about deciding plot arcs and characters and so forth. What? I have none of these things. I was just going to start writing. Should I have these things? So this is the thing: give me an idea. A character, a scenario, maybe a location. Maybe I will take all the ideas and mix them together in manner of improv. Maybe I will ignore them all. I promise that if the book makes me my first million, I will reward you with merry bushels of cash. I do feel the need to warn you of the unlikeliness of this event, however.
5. Missing Emily. I haven't seen her in a week. Hopefully I will catch up with her tomorrow for good chats, and also to see her beautiful boys. It's been agesandages since I had proper fun with Toby. Damn his being overshadowed by his wee brother (oh, but who is also adorable... too much adorableness!)
6. Went to The List 25 year party in Glasgow on Friday night - drove through with SiânandJohnny, Erin and the wife. It was fun - I wasn't drinking and not massively into that kind of thing, but it was cool. Saw King Creosote, who were very good; I especially liked the wee baldy guy. I was also reminded of the deep depths to which I loathe performance poetry. After Christopher Brookmyre - who was a very good speaker - we were trapped in the room with a man who stood and recited all the bad things in the world for no clear reason and with no new insight. He was followed by someone much better, who wore a very pretty dress. Look how I put that it a positive light. I hated her too, but not as much. She had little performance skills and the kindest thing I can say about her piece is that is was too long. And note that everyone else I was with liked it. Oh my god my god I hate performance poetry with the vitriol at the very bottom of my heart. Good night though.
7.Spent the weekend doing laundry and tidying the house. I realise most people will find this dull, but I found it exhilarating. We've had piles of laundry and ironing for months, which in turn means that however much we tidy, it's always messy. I have now washed, ironed and put away EVERYTHING. The living room is tidy. Hurrah.
8. My wife is a jammy dodger. Things are going sickeningly well in her MA and plans for her future, to the extent where I have offered to Siân that I will Bring Her Down if things continue.
9. Saturday night was lovely. I feel full of guilt and remorse for missing two birthdays - sorry Cat and Bernard - but had a well-needed alternative. It was the first night in a billion years that Ari was off work, we had nowhere to be, and John was not here. We watched Mad Men, drank gin, I ironed, and we had an amazing time.
10. Talking of which, we finished watching Mad Men. 4 series in three weeks. Vg.
11. Epically failed to see Hazel's play. I don't even know how - one minute it was 'happening this week, I should work out when to go' and the next it was 'finished'. I deeply deeply apologise and feel awful about it. Bad Lizzie.
That's about it folks. Happy Monday!
Lxxx
1. Have had what is possibly the world's most pointless day, money earning aside. Have been temping at a place I've worked at before. I commented then how inefficient the place was. Today I was on reception. There were no visitors to reception; apparently there hardly ever are. The phone rang 9 times. One was a hang-up. I spent about half an hour sorting mail. I read a lot of news on the BBC (and found this interesting set of photos. Pretty! I like the turtle one the best).
Otherwise, work stuff is perhaps on the lookup:
2. I have a flurry of interviews. I had an interview last Tuesday for a job which I did not get. However, I have an interview tomorrow for a part time but permanent gig which would be nice, and then one on Thursday for the Job of Joy , doing communications for a charity. Part of the job description is that you have to be available for international travel. Yes please. Trying not to get my hopes up, but also trying not to be too negative. Delicate balance. It also involves language stuff, which is why this blog is also available in French (this week only).
3. I also have a producing gig. It's unpaid as such, but part of my job is to find funding so maybe. In any case it should be fun and great experience. It's a production of The Memory of Water by the Actor's Kitchen. It's a play I know quite well; my brother did it at QM, and subsequently directed an amateur production down south, that my Ma was also in. The show is in April, but plenty to do meantime.
4. Gearing up for NaNoWriMo. By 'gearing up', I mostly mean doing nothing, except worrying slightly about emails that are coming in from NaNoWriMo Edinburgh, talking about deciding plot arcs and characters and so forth. What? I have none of these things. I was just going to start writing. Should I have these things? So this is the thing: give me an idea. A character, a scenario, maybe a location. Maybe I will take all the ideas and mix them together in manner of improv. Maybe I will ignore them all. I promise that if the book makes me my first million, I will reward you with merry bushels of cash. I do feel the need to warn you of the unlikeliness of this event, however.
5. Missing Emily. I haven't seen her in a week. Hopefully I will catch up with her tomorrow for good chats, and also to see her beautiful boys. It's been agesandages since I had proper fun with Toby. Damn his being overshadowed by his wee brother (oh, but who is also adorable... too much adorableness!)
6. Went to The List 25 year party in Glasgow on Friday night - drove through with SiânandJohnny, Erin and the wife. It was fun - I wasn't drinking and not massively into that kind of thing, but it was cool. Saw King Creosote, who were very good; I especially liked the wee baldy guy. I was also reminded of the deep depths to which I loathe performance poetry. After Christopher Brookmyre - who was a very good speaker - we were trapped in the room with a man who stood and recited all the bad things in the world for no clear reason and with no new insight. He was followed by someone much better, who wore a very pretty dress. Look how I put that it a positive light. I hated her too, but not as much. She had little performance skills and the kindest thing I can say about her piece is that is was too long. And note that everyone else I was with liked it. Oh my god my god I hate performance poetry with the vitriol at the very bottom of my heart. Good night though.
7.Spent the weekend doing laundry and tidying the house. I realise most people will find this dull, but I found it exhilarating. We've had piles of laundry and ironing for months, which in turn means that however much we tidy, it's always messy. I have now washed, ironed and put away EVERYTHING. The living room is tidy. Hurrah.
8. My wife is a jammy dodger. Things are going sickeningly well in her MA and plans for her future, to the extent where I have offered to Siân that I will Bring Her Down if things continue.
9. Saturday night was lovely. I feel full of guilt and remorse for missing two birthdays - sorry Cat and Bernard - but had a well-needed alternative. It was the first night in a billion years that Ari was off work, we had nowhere to be, and John was not here. We watched Mad Men, drank gin, I ironed, and we had an amazing time.
10. Talking of which, we finished watching Mad Men. 4 series in three weeks. Vg.
11. Epically failed to see Hazel's play. I don't even know how - one minute it was 'happening this week, I should work out when to go' and the next it was 'finished'. I deeply deeply apologise and feel awful about it. Bad Lizzie.
That's about it folks. Happy Monday!
Lxxx
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no subject
Date: 2010-10-25 09:35 pm (UTC)I have a plot...kinda. Well, I know what I want to write about. I tend to change my mind on the first day and write something completely different. But then, I write all year round, so I guess I always have something at the back of my head.
The whole point of nano is that you get to do it your way - I ignore the emails!
no subject
Date: 2010-10-25 09:57 pm (UTC)If you wanna do mini write in type things in my house, with gin, do let me know xxxx
no subject
Date: 2010-10-26 07:59 pm (UTC)It'll be fine. I've never been to the write ins, because I'm too cheap for Starbucks!
no subject
Date: 2010-10-28 08:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-25 11:44 pm (UTC)We have sort of done NaNo for like five years now - I think this will be the sixth year since we started writing together. I usually just count up at the end of the month and deem it a success if we made 100k between us, which is basically the monthly average so we always have. This year we did agree on a basic plot and concept ahead of time so that's nice for a change.
In short, I suggest collaborative writing. It keeps you going, and it makes it endlessly enjoyable, even if what you end up with isn't exactly 'literature'.