November 2003

Moving Right Along

November is here now. That means NaFicSubMo and cold weather for me. I'm off to a decent start for NaFicSubMo with five submissions which includes a new story and a novel query. Getting into the swing of things isn't as hard as I thought it would be. Probably because I turned off all of my IM programs, the TV and my regular email account until I was done. It goes to prove that I'm much better at this sort of thing when I'm not being distracted all over the place. If I ever go to this part time or fulltime, I'm definitely going to have to have "non-IM/email" work hours so I can concentrate without distraction. However, just the idea of that is really appealing to me now.

[Why, yes, PMS is hitting me about now, too. Why do you ask? Oh? Yes. The overly emotional, sore and horny as hell cards. But, no acne. So, that's a plus.]

November came in with a cold snap. As in, below freezing, see your breath, frost on the car and ground weather. It's already snowed a little in Seattle and slushed in Redmond. I still don't have a real coat. Sometime, soon, I really need to go out and get one. Thank goodness, I have gloves. What I really want is one of those really warm fleece cape-like thingies I keep seeing the women of Seattle wearing. They are gray with a fur trim collar and look divinely comfy and warm.

I'm starting to work out on a more regular basis. If I don't watch it, that personal trainer that I see from time to time is going to have a positive influence on me. He's convinced me to give up caffeinated sodas. He wanted me to give up diet sodas altogether but I'm not willing to do that, yet. So, I'm weaning myself off of the caffeine again. I know when I start the 20/20 program, I'm going to have to give up all sodas, diet or not.

In the meantime, I can go to the physical therapist at the Pro Club for free because of my medical coverage from work. This is cool. I probably should have a physical therapist take a look at my knee because its tendency to go out and refuse to hold weight from time to time.

Thinking of the 20/20 program, I've filled out all of the paperwork I can for it for now. I have an appointment Thursday with the doctor recommended to me by Aimgrrl. She apparently is pretty popular but, had a last minute cancellation and I squeaked nicely. I have to be there early to fill out all of the paperwork. Getting a new doctor is scary. My last one sucked badly. To the point that I refused to go in for yearly exams. I'm hoping this one is better than that. I would like to feel like I'm going to a competent doctor when I have problems.

Part of me is really excited at the idea of joining the 20/20 program. Part of me is dreading it because it means a lot of hard work and it means some serious vulnerabilities. I'm not sure if people realize this, but fat cells also store the hormones you were feeling back then. So, like an acid flashback, while you lose weight, you get hormonal flashbacks. It triggers all sorts of weird emotional responses. For example, you may be having an excellent day, then suddenly feel like crying. It's because some fat cell got loose and is being worked away. So, it dumps those past hormones into your system.

There's also the part of me that simply doesn't like hard work. I'm lazy. I know it. I don't feel good. So, I don't want to work. It's a cycle. Don't feel good, don't want to work. Feel worse, really don't want to work. But, the other is a cycle, too. It is just harder to get into the cycle of - work out, feel better, want to work out more, feel even better.

There are good things going on in my life. I'm meeting new people and making new friends. I've started my Buffy game (which I still have yet to name) and I'm already making plans for the holidays. It's nice to know that I won't be alone on Christmas nor New Year's. Holidays can be really depressing for me, despite the fact that I like holidays. I still don't know what I'm doing for Thanksgiving. Might have a visitor. Might not. Kind of hope so but I'll survive if I don't.

Tarot Card for the Day: Justice

Bursting

So, this blood pressure thing is a cycle. I have high blood pressure. It makes me worried. My blood pressure goes higher. I guess. I don't know. It's scary having a doctor tell you that you really are at risk now. I've been surprisingly healthy, despite my weight, all my life until now. I am going to do something about. I'm trying to, anyway. On the good side of things, I'm not having any side effects from the medicine. None that I can sense, anyway. That makes me happy. I just have remember to take it in the morning.

I'm really sad today. I didn't think I would be after the despacho last night. But, I am and I know why. As easy as it was to get along with those people, I'm just not one of them. Not yet. Maybe not ever. I don't know. The despacho ceremony was really interesting and I enjoyed it. But... when people started looking at despacho after it was packed up, they started commenting on "seeing" and "feeling" stuff from it. Pain, happiness, warmth. All of this stuff and I saw nothing. I felt nothing. It was just a pretty package, tied up with red ribbon.

I usually have some sort of sense of something. I can read people like books. I can sense emotions. But, here, this thing, it was a blank. Maybe, I'm just broken or something. The only time I felt something was when they did the wiping down with it and that might have only been because of the fact that the blanket was wool and being rubbed over people. I've always been sensitive to static electricity. I've shocked my poor cat lately more times than I want to think about.

I enjoyed myself at the ceremony. I really did. Until the end as I was leaving, a woman stopped me to murmur what I'm sure she thought were a few reassuring words about a situation that happened online a couple of days ago and I appreciated her attempt. I did. But, all it made me think was, "Well, crap, so it is going to follow me from online to here. So much for a clean slate in a new place." It made me really sad. It made me feel like things were futile, so why try.

I got home and really wanted to talk to someone. I called my CA sweetie but he had company over, so we didn't really talk. I don't begrudge him his company. I never have but, somehow, it brings home just how far apart we are and how things really aren't the same and won't be again for a long time... or maybe never. No matter how much I want them to return nor how much I miss him.

I couldn't even pet my cat because she was severely pissed at me for smelling like other cats. She bit me twice before I figured out that she was mad at me.

This is so weird. Twice, I've been together with this group and really enjoyed being around them but, when I've left to go home, I've felt that much more alone. I don't know why. I don't know if it's because I'm still an outsider looking in or because I miss people from back in CA or because I'm not ready to be part of a new social circle. There are a lot of easy smiles and friends there. It does remind me of the Palo Alto and Fremont groups that I miss very much sometimes.

I just wish the pain and these tears would stop.

I wrote the above this morning in the middle of an inexplicable crying jag. I'm not kidding. I still don't know why I started or why it wouldn't quit. I got in the shower, thinking about last night. I wasn't particularly sad. Then, in the middle of my shower, I started bawling. No silent tears beautifully coursing down the face in the perfect pose of sorrow. It was full on red-faced, blotchy-skin sobbing. Once I started, I couldn't stop. I cried for about an hour or so.

I pulled myself together, trying to get mad so I'd have some other emotion in me instead of heartbreaking sadness long enough to call Hans to see if we were going to do lunch today, too. I guess I didn't do a very good job of reigning myself in because he asked me if I was ok. I paused, then told him simply, "No. But I will be." Then, got off the phone before the tears came again. This time, I did get mad. I promised to help Hans with his new (spectacular) TV and I wasn't going to cry all day, dammit.

After I got there, we talked about it a little once we went out to eat and had our bi-monthly, vague, "this is kind of hard but it's going to get better, some of our friends are moving up soon and thanks for being such a good friend" conversation before moving on to bigger and better things such a shopping at Fry's. I spent a lot more money than I expect there. But, cordless X-box controllers, two video games and a laser pointer aren't cheap.

I'm better now. Still a little sad. I think I will be ok. So, no interventions nor major worrying need be done. If you want to "help," the best way you can is to email or IM me and just talk. Be my friend and understand that there's so much going on right now that I'm dealing with emotionally that I might not be all ok all the time. It's not you. It's me. Really.

Plus, I just talked to my sweetie in CA and I'm feeling pretty good after that conversation.

Tarot Card for the Day: Justice, Inverted

Crappy Realizations AKA Epiphanies Suck

I'm moving right along in my own personal NaFicSubMo contest. 12 of 30 submissions completed. However, those were all of the "easy" ones. The "Calls for Submission" that I had been saving to see if I could enter them. Now, I'm past the erotica stuff and onto the speculative fiction stuff. The Ralan page is seriously my friend. As are the bibliographies of my writer friends. Yep, that's one of the best ways to find places to submit you work: by trolling through the pages of people who have already been published.

So, on Ralan, I have a strategy:

1. Enter all writing contests that have no entry fee. Sure, you may not get paid that much but it looks great for the portfolio on the spec fiction side of things.

2. Then, look at all of the SF Paying Markets

3. And, all of the SF Pro Markets

4. End with the Anthology Markets.

I'm pretty sure that I'll have my last 18 submissions by #4. The only problem is now that I have to either write full new stories/poetry or do severe edits on old stories. So, submissions will take a lot more time now.

I was sitting at work today, mentally dealing with the latest curve ball my boss had tossed me, hovering somewhere between "Fuck it" and "Zen acceptance" when a thought popped into my head; unbidden and unexpected.

"I don't want to do this anymore."

The thought surprised me. It almost frightened me. It was a bold statement but I wasn't sure if I actually understood what it was that I didn't want to do anymore. I cautiously poked at the thought, asking myself what I meant by that.

"This. Testing. QA. I don't want to do this anymore. I don't enjoy it like I used to."

Well, shit. Now's a fine time to decide this, Jenn. You've moved. You've bought a house and you are committed to another 18 months at MS in this department. Signed papers and everything. Not to mention the whole economic market thing - or lack thereof.

"I know. But, it's true. I don't want to do it anymore."

Alright. Let's look at this logically. I know you and your impulse Sagittarian ways. Why don't you like and what else would you in this market?

"I don't know. All I know, is that after 10 years of testing, I don't think I want to be in Test for the rest of my life. In fact, I'm not sure I want to be in the tech sector for the rest of my life."

Ok. There could be a couple of things causing this in me now. It could be that part of me is rebelling against the idea of being "forced" to stay in one job for the next 18 months. It could be that part of me is looking at all of the changes that have come into my life recently and my subconscious has decided that a shake up in my professional life might be good. It could be that I'm hitting a mid-life crisis early. I'm not sure.

There is one thing I do have to admit. I have thought about leaving the tech sector several times before. I have thought of other things I would like to do. For example, I could go back to waitressing. Find a high end restaurant to waitress at 30 hours a week and write full time or go back to school. I would absolutely love to become a scholar of religious history or mythology. Perhaps, I could learn how to identify and appraise antiques. Maybe, I should get a psychology degree and go into counseling. The point is, I have an awful lot of interests and ideas that I would love to pursue outside of the tech industry. I'm young enough to voluntarily change careers.

Or, as it has been pointed out to me, after I receive my retention bonuses, I could move to temping half time in Test or admin while spending the other half of my time seriously focusing on writing. I'm just wondering if there is something else I could do half time that would pay the bill sufficiently while I wrote the other part time. Some of the other wild ideas I've had include: housewife/mother, 911 operator, librarian, union grocery clerk, personal trainer and masseur. The kind of job I can work in order to live, rather than live in order to work. I'm open to suggestions.

Tarot Card for the Day: The Hanged Man

Choices

There is sadness in Jennville today. A new company has taken over at Fast Forward Entertainment and Campaign magazine, the first magazine to publish my fantasy fiction and the magazine that had me contracted for the last two years for publishing my Hucked Tankard tales is going the way of the Dodo bird. Le sigh.

On the good side of things, Games Unplugged is still going strong and the new editor still wants me to do RPG reviews and articles for him. Also, he is considering a female gamer focused column as well. That bit of good but rather scary news is that while fiction is considered low priority, I will still be considered for it but, I will also be competing against the likes of Margaret Weis. That's scary, but what a coup it would be.

Interesting Dreamlines... recently: Sting Operation - I have the weirdest dreams sometimes. This dream involved a cowboy Middle Earth sting operation to stop the illegal ascension of the Donner Party. Starring me, Thea and Monte.

Recently, someone suggested to me that my recent loneliness and sadness was a "karmic" retribution for "the way I treated and hurt people in CA before I left." It was a really harsh accusation. It hurt. I hate hurting people. I always have. However, the fact that someone believes I karmically deserve to feel the grief and sadness that I am feeling over the loss of my home of 11 years, a bunch of good friends and someone I love very much, is scary.

I don't believe I deserve such animosity. I know my current emotional state is a natural part of the separation process I'm going through having just moved from one state to another, one home to another and (essentially) one job to another. I'm not the only one going through this emotional roller coaster either. (As a side note, if -anyone- says that Hans, David and/or Lori deserve the same such emotions in "karmic retribution," I will go toe to toe with them.)

The fact of the matter is, apparently, I hurt some people in CA by withdrawing from them before I moved. I didn't know I was hurting them and they never told me. I'm sorry they were hurt. That was never my intention but, at the same time, they never let me know what was going on with them so I could not stop what I was doing that was causing them pain. I have said it before and I will say it again, I have failed every mind reading course I have ever had. I can't stop hurting you if I don't know I'm doing it. So, while they had every right to call me on it, I have every right to ask, "Why did you wait until now? Why didn't you tell me then?"

To the person who said, "Why bother? It wouldn't have done anything to change your actions." I say this: You don't know that. You did not give me a chance. You made that choice for me by making the deliberate action of specifically not telling me what you felt. You have no honest idea how I would have reacted to someone pointing out to me that I was hurting them. You denied me and you chose to hang onto the hurt. There was no way for me to make amends and no way for you to let go. I'm sorry for your pain but it was your choice that made it that way.

Looking back on it now, I can't say that I would have changed anything I did if I had to do it all over again. [Well, I might have redone my mortgage over. *smile*] In any case, nothing sticks out in my mind as malicious or cruel - intentional or otherwise. I did what was best for me at the time and there isn't much more I can say about the situation. If you want to talk more about it with me, you may. If not, there is little more I can do or say.

My personal trainer is starting to get toppy with me now and I like it. (Yes, yes, I am a very weird woman.) Now that he's getting comfortable with me, he's becoming less shy about telling me what I need to do to get healthy. No more pussy-footing around for him. No sir. I'm only going into the gym twice a week? That won't do. The goal for the next two weeks is 4 to 5 times a week and for two of those, after a cardio workout, I need to do a full weight circuit as well.

Still drinking diet sodas? Sure, it's excellent that you have mostly dropped caffeine from your diet. You know, you won't be allowed any sodas on the 20/20 program. Diet or otherwise. Oh, and by the way, for that pain in your leg and knee, I want you to drop by physical therapy to have them checking it out - MS will pay for it, not to mention, because your blood pressure is so high, you need to have your doctor fill out this form for me to make sure she knows you are meeting with me outside of the 20/20 program. Great, I'll see you in two weeks. Oh! Don't forget to get yourself a heart rate monitor.

On it goes. His demeanor with me is still laid back but far firmer now. My next appointment with him is the 29th. I can tell you right now that I'm going to have all of this done and, if possible, I will drop my soda consumption to no more than one per day. Like Lori and David's cat, Mina, I am praise driven. It's nice to hear the praises from him.

Tarot Card for the Day: The Hanged Man, Inverted

To Edit or Not

From Wednesday...
Saturday, I met up with the group of gamers currently playing Tribe 8. It is a disturbing game in an interesting way. The group is currently 4 strong, with one about to drop out. I went. I played. I had a good time with these complete strangers. It was really nice. The Tribe 8 game is wrapping up December and we will be starting something called Heavy Gear after the first of the year. They would like one other player as well and there is one trying it out in December. If he doesn't fit the bill, it looks like Patrick will give it a go. I love RPing with Patrick. So, I kind of hope this other guy flakes.

Sunday, I ran my U of C Buffy game for JenK and Patrick. The other two were out of town and sick. It made things a bit interesting since the main villain for the episode really needed all four of them to kill it. So, the main villain is still out there, causing nasty havoc. On the good side of things, I got to introduce a couple of fun NPCs who will be main NPCs for the future. But, what I really liked was the character interaction between the two PCs. It is really shaking itself out well. I have high hopes for this game.

I've been doing pretty good with my NaFicSubMo stuff so far. 23 of 30 completed. I've started getting results back already. I'm surprised and pleased over all. Four acceptances and two positive rejections.

I know that some of these submissions will take a long time to get back to me but it is really cool to get some positive responses immediately. However, on the bad side, I can't really tell my co-workers about these successes. Heck, I can't even tell my family. Just my friends who understand that I write erotica as well as speculative fiction.

However, now that I've had a chance to look at the changes and edits that In the Buff wants, I'm not really wild about them. In fact, this is the first time I've run into a situation where I'm really having to stop and think about whether or not I want to go with the edits or withdraw my submission. The edits will really change the work and I'm not sure if I'm happy about that.

You see, Disposable Clothes is a true story. It really happened to me. The editor wants me to take out all references to a knife being used in the fear play. Also, she took out all of my personal reactions that were on a low self-esteem level about anal play. She's asked me to put in a full anal scene as well as a light caning scene with metal rod that the knife has become. I can see why she wants all of this. But, if I write it, it won't be the same. It will turn into a fictional story based on the true account called Disposable Clothes. Which I can see doing, if I change the title in addition to the other changes. I'm really not sure what I want to do at this point. I've got until Monday to make the changes or withdraw the submission.

From Thursday...
I had a physical therapy appointment today. Met a really nice therapist. Can't remember her name for the life of me. However, after her poking and prodding, she determined that I seem to have done something to my meniscus, the pad between my knee joint and my tibia. We determined it basically by her doing something to my knee and asking, "Does this hurt?" "No." "This?" "No." "What about this?" "Holy Toledo! Yes!" "Ah. And this?" *grab table I'm laying on* "Yes! Yes! Ow!" "Hmmm. OK. I see what's wrong."

From that point, she had me do a hellish set of 90 leg lifts - 30 lifts in three different positions - twice. Can you say "Ow!"? I knew you could. I'm supposed to do two sets of 90 leg lifts per leg twice a day. Plus, I'm supposed to get in as much physical therapy as my schedule can manage it. MS pays for all PT appointments with no co-pay as long as the physical therapist thinks you need it. She really thinks I need it. She's recommending 3 times a week. I'm going to try out my 20/20 program schedule I'm thinking of Tues - Thurs - Sat. Also, afterwards, I'll go spend 30 minutes on a good cardio work out. At least, it's a plan. One that's gonna hurt but I prefer that pain to the pain of not being able to walk at all.

Tonight, I got to meet up with Lee and Karen for dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. I had a really good time. We gabbed for a couple hours. Even me. I managed to get myself out of my observation mode so I wasn't just "hiding and watching." That might have made things very uncomfortable. But, I was very comfy the whole night. Lee and Karen are a lot of fun to watch and talk to. They do the cute-bicker-we're-a-comfy-couple thing really well.

It turns out that they live maybe all of a mile away from me in Redmond. That's awesome. I can see me hanging out with either or both of them over the coming months to watch movies, chit-chat or to learn how to play the board game that Karen mentioned to me that I can't remember the name. Settlers of something, I think. In any case, it was an excellent evening and time well spent with new friends.

From the too-cute-for-words file, Esme has a new trick. When she really wants my attention while I'm on the computer, she will get on the loveseat behind me, step partway onto my chair arm and will politely tap me on the shoulder once. I find this so adorable that I reward her with what she wants - my attention.

Tarot Card for the Day: Death

Cycles

My own personal NaFicSubMo is coming to an end and not a moment too soon. I'm up to 42 submissions now. Mostly because I can't stand slacking. So, even though I reached my goal of 30 submissions a few days ago, I haven't been able to just sit back on my laurels. However, the submission process is going a lot slower these days because I have less to submit to literary markets than erotica markets. This will change soon enough.

However, in the meantime, I'm having to stick only to e-subs because I don't have a good system set up for hardcopy submissions. No envelopes, stamps or SASEs prepared. Plus, I really need a new printer if I'm going to get serious into the hard copy submission route. Oh, my current printer works fine if I don't mind standing there, feeding it one page at a time so it doesn't jam.

NaFicSubMo seems to have done what I wanted it to do. It's kicked me back into an author headspace. I can feel myself itching to write stories instead of submitting them. I can't. Not yet. My personal agreement is submitting this month, then writing in December, January and (maybe) February with no non-contract submissions at all. I am going to allow myself to work on the 3rd round edits of Regresser's Evolution. Maybe that will be what February is for. I'm not sure.

In any case, it seems as if doing my writing and submitting in cyclic spurts is going to be a good thing for me. I won't get burned out on it all at once. Work on one, then work on the other. Not a bad little system.

Continuing odd dreams. Fever Dream - When I have a fever, I end up with some pretty strange dreams. This one involves a monstrous darkness at work, a pissed off momma bear outside and some co-workers who can't see either danger.

I find myself in a very weird spot where money is concerned right now. I've been doing very good on making sure bills are paid on time and credit cards are completely paid off each month. I did that again this month. However, I did have a couple of larger than normal credit card bills based on all the stuff I needed for the house. After paying them all off, I discovered that I was in double digits in my checkbook with a week to go before payday.

This is a bit on the shocking side for me. Several times in the last couple of days, I've thought, "I should go to QFC to fill my prescription and get a few things. Oh, wait. I don't have any money. I can't." Or "I should finally get off my butt and get my WA driver's license. Oh, wait. I don't have the cash for that. Not until the 1st." It has been years since I've had to stop and say no to myself on doing anything monetarily related because I've been flush for years.

Things have changed. Boy, have they changed. I own a house now. I'm on a different payment cycle and my mortgage guy, who promised to make it so the cost of my car would be absorbed into the second mortgage failed in his promise AND has completely failed in his promise to refinance his mistake to fix it. Even though I've called a couple of times. It's that $300+ car payment every month that is throwing me off my stride. I did not budget for it and the mortgage guy's promises didn't stick.

[Pause to call Chase Auto and Chase Mortgage...]

Ok. Now I see why he's been dragging his feet on this. Calling to see if I could extend my mortgage line of credit to deal with the car payment would take everything from a re-evaluation of my home, subtracting my unpaid balance from my first mortgage and my line of credit before they could see if they could extend the line of credit any further. It looks like I'm going to have to pay the car off the hard way and continue on towards my monetary lockdown mode.

I haven't been in a monetary lockdown mode AKA Miser mode for years. This is very odd. There are a couple of small things I still want to get for the house but now I'm having to sit back and think, "Do I really need that? Is this something that can wait a few months? Is this worth extending the car payments?"

You know, I don't think I like Miser mode anymore. It used to be an easy habit. I remember living fairly well on a third of what I make now. Granted, I had roommates and a lot smaller rent payment. But, I did alright. I was good at telling myself "No." when I needed to. I'm not so good at it anymore. I'm out of practice and I'm loath to get back into the practice of it. However, with the 20/20 program to pay for as well as my car, I need to do so ASAP.

It's been about two weeks since I had my epiphany about working in the tech sector and QA. It's not the overwhelming immediate need that I had when the thought first struck me. But, it is still there. Sitting there and being patient. I've got about two years to plan on how I'm going to go back to school, whether or not I'm going to work part time and what it is that I'm going to study.

I'm leaning towards psychology over religious history for the moment. There are a few reasons that I'm favoring psychology.

1. If it had not been for my AFROTC scholarship in computer science, I would have gone for a psychology or sociology degree. I've always been interested in psychology.

2. I would like to get out of the tech sector. Or, at least, have the option of getting out of the tech sector. Or, have the opportunity to use what I've learned in psychology in the tech sector. I've been doing QA for 10 years. I want to do something different.

3. This will help me learn about the motivations of people. Why they do what they do. That, in turn, will help me with characterization in my fiction work. Anything that can help with that, can't hurt.

4. I think I could do some good in counseling and/or research. I seem to have some natural skills in it already.

Number four is my big problem. I'd like to counseling to help people but I don't know which path to follow in psychology. Behavioral psych? Abnormal or Cognitive psych? Do I want to do research or practical application? Both? Do I want to set up shop as a counselor for singles, couples, poly, bdsm folk? I don't know. How about weight control or plastic surgery counselor? Don't know. A profiler? Too many "I don't know." Responses.

What I need now is a good book that explains the basic differences in each path. One that will allow me to compare and contrast the different paths as well as see where each path could take me. An old text book or maybe the library will have something I can use.

Tarot Card for the Day: Death, Inverted

Holiday Wrap Up

Thanksgiving day was pretty good. First, I got paid 5 days earlier than I expected. I felt so much better with money in my account again. I slept in really late, then ran out to QFC for some shopping. Much to my surprise, it wasn't overwhelmed. So, I was in and out in about 30 minutes which allowed me to bake some cookies for going over to David and Lori's place. I got to meet a whole bunch of family. On Lori's side: Father and Step-mom. On David's side: Mom, Dad, brother, sister-in-law and two nephews. So, I got to here some good family stories. Including the fun "tiger" story that Lori liked so much. The food was incredible. Lucky me, I got to take home leftovers and I didn't have to cook or clean! Am I lucky or what? The best thing was the fact that the way David cooked the turkey reminded me of my family and the way my Dad cooks the turkey.

Friday was a fun day despite having my butt handed to me on a silver platter most of the day. First, it was physical therapy. Shelly had me doing several new exercises, including standing on a half sphere, full of gel to balance on one leg. Plus, we discussed why my left foot hurts after a short time in certain positions - a pinched/squeezed nerve. On the good side of things, we got to do the electrical thingy and it still makes my knee feel wonderful.

The afternoon was taken up over at Jesse and JenK's house where I lost every game I played. My usual luck was not with me. Then, Dana and I headed out to see Gothika. It was surprisingly good and definitely creepy. I'm not a fan of Halle Berry but she did an adequate job in it. As Dana put it, Nicole Kidman can't be in everything. The movie had some turns I did not see coming and I like that. Of course, now, my overactive imagination is getting the best of me.

Saturday was dedicated to an appointment with my personal trainer who did his usual encouragement and butt kicking. Then, I spent the rest of the day at home, watching movies, teasing the cat and eating junk food. While Sunday was spent with Andrew and Glenn having lunch at Neville's and watching Neverwhere. I thought it was a nice touch after having a proper British lunch. It's been a really nice holiday.

NaFicSubMo is done now and I think I can safely say that I am pleased at my performance.

The Goal: 30 submissions in 30 days

Now, I'm onto writing the following short stories: