Nancy's Ramblings

History: I've had knee pain for years. We discovered an osteochondroma (benign bone tumour) about ten years ago and assumed the pain was from it.

Today: I went to a specialist who assumed the same thing when he looked at the xrays, and then looked for other causes when I pointed to where it hurt. (Same knee, different location.) He has diagnosed patella femoral syndrome (PFS) due to a week vastus medialus oblique (VMO); although, he said it is more likely that I have over-strengthening of the three other quad muscles and just have to strengthen the VMO to "catch up". The pain is unrelated to the tumour at all, and is more likely partially caused by overpronation of my foot. Yup. Those orthotics are a necessary expense. So, I'm off to physiotherapy. He also gave me a shot directly into the knee joint and it hurts worse than before. Maybe the cure really is worse than the disease.

I managed to squeak over the finish line late last night. I validated and got my purple winners bar. I also discovered I like writing short stories more than novels. I guess this NaNo was not a waste of time after all.

Brimley is a murderer. He attacked Tweety. For those who don't know, Tweety was a budgie we were caring for while his owner was away. Tweety has been with us since the end of January. Tweety succumbed to his injuries on Friday.

Brimley is still looking for Tweety and calling to him constantly.

I have emailed Tweety's human companion, but have yet to receive a reply.

The remainder of my NaNo is going to be written in short stories. I finished the owl and mosquito story. I have 1,500 words left to reach 50,000. I will be incredibly happy to get there and just toss this pile of words into the junk heap. The only part I might salvage is the order of Bat Out Of Hell songs. I will use that if I choose to do ScriptFrenzy in April.

I learned something this year and I may try a book of short stories for NaNo next year instead of a full novel-length story. One story per day would be a good challenge.

The new story is going okay. I'm just a little puzzled. The people noticed owls missing within 2-3 weeks; but it took them 2 years to notice mosquitos were missing. I like that I have no idea where this story is going. I especially like that I don't really care and I'm just along for the ride. Word count. That's all I need right now.

Since giving up the Bat Out Of Hell idea (that really should be a script and not a novel), my word count is starting to soar. I even caught up on my word count. Woot! I am so happy. Yup, I'm writing crap; but I don't care. I just refuse to lose after four winning years.

Sprint continues.

Well, it is official. I have stopped writing the Bat Out Of Hell novel. I'll still count it in my word count because I did write it for NaNo. I am moving on to project two. Just don't ask what project two really is because I'm letting it flow. I began with "It was a dark and stormy night" and somehow ended up with owls mysteriously disappearing. No idea where it's going; but it could be fun.

I might do Bat Out of Hell for ScriptFrenzy in April. I think it would work much better as a musical script. It just doesn't suit the novel format.

NaNo isn't going smoothly this year; but I've stopped losing ground. I have been able to write enough to keep from falling further behind. I hope to catch up this weekend.

My Spanish course arrived today. Of course, I'm going to be a good girl and not start it until after NaNo. That gives me three months to learn to hold simple conversations.

It has been difficult; but I have managed to get writing again. The story is starting to flow. There's still along way to go and I'm still almost 6,000 words behind; but there is finally some movement.

Our little Harrier Jet (Harry) died this evening. She was 10.5 years old and is predeceased by her parents Chiqui (4 years) and Angel (6 years).

Harry had a big tumour on her butt and her toes didn't work any more because Brimley had broken them all. About two months ago, Brimley broke her leg. This afternoon, she lost that leg and died from loss of blood. She was unconscious on the floor when I came home; but regained consciousness for a minute or two (opened and then closed her eyes) when I picked her up. She immediately succumbed to her injuries while I snuggled her. Perhaps if I had been home just 10 minutes earlier, I could have saved her. Then again, she is no longer suffering.

She has been quite ill for about three months, and has been snuggling with me for a couple of hours each day for a little less than a week. She had not come near us since she originally fledged and learned to fly so we knew her days were numbered.

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I managed to write a total of 67 words tonight. Unless inspiration strikes, I think I'll take a breather until the weekend. I have contracted a cold (not H1N1) and I need sleep.

2,235 words. I needed 3,333 to get back on target. Also, my story consists of total "suckage". I love the "idea" of a Bat Out Of Hell story; but I'm just not up to writing it this year. I am considering throwing in the towel on this idea until next year when I hope to be in a better frame of mind. I don't want to court burn-out so soon after feeling somewhat better.

I think I will just write some sort of stream of consciousness sludge and see where it takes me. There's a lot less pressure that way. I don't have to have a great work this year. My new goal is just to cross 50,000 words by November 30.

Okay, I have to admit my mind is not completely on NaNoWriMo. I bought a Spanish course for my computer (not for my computer to learn Spanish, lol). I am looking forward to receiving it and starting to learn the language for the trip I'm taking with my Mom. It appears to be a course I can learn from quickly, so I'm very hopeful. Just doing the first snippet of a lesson that was online is enough to be able to say "I need a washroom". I spent most of today (when I wasn't sleeping off a headache) perusing reviews from people who have taken the trip we're going on. It appears I'll have to pack a higher percentage of cold weather clothes than I had planned.

It was not a good day for writing. First, we had a power outage of several hours. Then, I developed a headache and had to sleep for about three hours. Finally, I just couldn't get into the head space of my character. I did manage to eek out 1,312 words. That puts me 355 words behind schedule. I hope to catch up tomorrow. For now, I'm going to bed.

Finally, I can get started with NaNo. I decided to start off with a good night's sleep, so didn't start writing at midnight. Unfortunately, our hydro was out when I got up and just came back on. Oh well, such an inauspicious start must bode well for a spectacular finish. N'est pas?

Mom called all excited this morning because she got our cabin assignment (1012). I have to renew my passport. Then we just have to wait four months. The waiting will be the hardest part.

Yeah! I'm going on vacation with my darling Mom. We're booked to sail around Cape Horn. We fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina and sail around to Valparaiso, Chile before flying back from Santiago, Chile. Mom is paying my way because her cruising friend can't travel and she really, really wants to go on this trip. (Oh, and I'm broke.) It is long--almost three weeks--and fully escorted. Both of us for very excited. She has wanted to travel with me for a long time and this is her chance. If she gets too tired walking (she goes to Curves three times a week but still can't walk far) I can push her around in a wheelchair.This will be the first opportunity she'll have to really get out and do more things because she'll have a moderately able bodied companion. I'm excited; but I think she is even more excited. When she booked the cruise (kinda late with only four months before sailing), the only balcony staterooms (so she can smoke) available were mini-suites. She paid the extra and we're going in style.

To be fair to my siblings, I asked her to keep track of what she is spending on me and to deduct it from any inheritance I may (or may not) receive. She told me that she doesn't intend to leave anything behind and that how she chooses to spend her money is up to her. She also said she paid for the trip she took to Vancouver with my sister. Okay, my guilty feelings are assuaged a little.

The best part of this whole thing? My Mom is not my Mom, she's my friend. She tells all her friends at Curves that she doesn't have kids any more...she has friends. It's true. I'll be traveling with my closest friend. After all, she carried me for nine months. You can't get much closer than that.

Oh, for the record, I want to be able to put two moods on this entry. I want to show "excited" and "thankful".

Yet another literal video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTPko-aXvJM&feature=fvw

I have to explain.... I'm working on the plot to my NaNoWriMo novel and it involves Jim Steinman songs, specifically Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell series of three CDs. I just got distracted by Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Stay tuned. I might post more.