[Salinger]

Hey MC hope the nerdy guy adds you and you and Cid can because mates with him

 

And really hope that you slept amazing xx

[MaeradCase]

3 hours ago, Salinger said:

Hey MC hope the nerdy guy adds you and you and Cid can because mates with him

Side note: he did add me, so we'll find out more on that front later.

( @sarakingdom, this is where I like Doctor Who the most... the memes. 😂)

 

3 hours ago, Salinger said:

And really hope that you slept amazing xx

Nope. Probably because of the caffeinated drinks I started drinking at 5 to try to suppress the worst of some cramping, but I am utterly exhausted and have no energy to move. 😭 Guess I should move around anyway so I'll get to work on time... 😥 *sigh*

 

Maybe today will turn out awesome regardless. 😅

[shaar]

Oh no the bad sleeps are here too!!  I hope you get through the day unscathed and sleep better tonight!

[MaeradCase]

32 minutes ago, shaar said:

Oh no the bad sleeps are here too!!  I hope you get through the day unscathed and sleep better tonight!

Thanks!

It's funny - I made a tiny cootie catcher at work and my new favorite thing is to have a coworker use it like a magic eight-ball. My coworker asked it if today would get better (because things were already a little stupid by the time I got here), and the response was "not likely." We both laughed and groaned, which to me is half the fun of asking.

Good news, though! Today has been so moderately paced, that in the slow periods I've been revamping my outlines for the upcoming second draft! I'm changing the story from four characters' (very messily) interwoven introductions into what sounds like a fascinating enough normal adventure narrative before new characters pop up through portals (as they did before, but without the reader getting any clue who they are or why they came through a portal until they've explained).

 

I did do my stretches this morning to get moving. I warmed up some leftover fried rice from dinner last night (with additional peas (would've put more carrots, too, but sadly had none) and eggs) for breakfast, as well as half a grapefruit to get my fruit bonus. 😃

 

I spent the rest of my morning listening to a YouTube series recommended by @Sovalis while prepping myself a bowl of chicken salad, since we don't currently have other left overs planned (read as: the salmon gets wholly devoured with nothing left behind 😅). Cid will probably do a freezer meal tomorrow, but I will chow on the chicken salad again. 😃 I had it today with another serving of salad mix (yay veggie goal!) and a slice of the pineapple upside-down cake! Yum!

 

Feeling pretty good about today, and hoping it stays on the upward trend.

Thanks for being here!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Artemis Prime]

I had to google what a cootie-catcher was and now I can't remember what we called them in school. Did we even have a name for them? Am I remembering anything from my childhood correctly? I was not prepared for an existential crisis when I came here!

[KB Girl]

Hi! I am so impressed you’ve already written a full length novel. I dream of doing that someday  characters appearing by portal sounds like either scifi of fantasy, any other hints you want to give us before we eventually get to read the whole thing?

[Sovalis]

What do you think of the YouTube series so far? I had paint night last night so I haven’t gotten back to it, but I will try to listen a bit today at work. 

 

Glad you are getting your movement and veggies in! ❤️ Yay for using work time to buff our creative projects!  

[Wild Wolf]

On 3/21/2023 at 8:07 AM, MaeradCase said:

I participated in the National Novel Writing Month for my first time, and wrote my first full-length novel. I set it aside for a month, returned to it to read and condense my book in the first two weeks of January, and then I have been in creative brainstorming mode since then, but I haven't started the second draft.

 

This is amazing and I'm positively jealous about it. As someone who feels like they were born to write a novel, but severely lacks the time, it's frustrating as hell. However, this is sooooooo cool that you were able to write your first novel!  

 

On 3/21/2023 at 8:07 AM, MaeradCase said:

That's normal for writers, right? 😅

 

Totally normal  

 

I think I'll enjoy following your challenge Maerad  . Let me grab a comfy seat to enjoy the ride!

 

 

Wolf

[MaeradCase]

1 hour ago, Artemis Prime said:

I had to google what a cootie-catcher was and now I can't remember what we called them in school. Did we even have a name for them? Am I remembering anything from my childhood correctly? I was not prepared for an existential crisis when I came here!

I saw a couple different name options, but the only other one I would've called it was a paper fortune teller. 😅 Childhood is a bizarre time of mental development, and there are weird things that only kids know, that are learned in mysterious ways and forgotten in the process of growing up. 🤔 Like skipping rhymes! 😲

 

39 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

Hi! I am so impressed you’ve already written a full length novel. I dream of doing that someday  characters appearing by portal sounds like either scifi of fantasy, any other hints you want to give us before we eventually get to read the whole thing?

Thanks! It helps to pretend it wasn't chock full of typos because NaNoWriMo is about shotgunning ideas words out with no finesse. I'm usually so particular about my spelling and grammar that it was an ordeal turning off the editor, and then only letting the editor focus on the content when I finally read through again. I might reread the first draft again sometime this summer to compare and contrast the book I remembered for rewriting versus the book it was when spawned upon the page.

 

It is fantasy, and the portals have to do with the clock towers that the protagonist has been trained to repair. The other three characters each had their own world they were interacting with, and that muddied the story a bit too much for most of my beta readers. 😅 My biggest bold stroke of the second draft is slashing out their backstories from the view of the reader.

 

22 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

What do you think of the YouTube series so far? I had paint night last night so I haven’t gotten back to it, but I will try to listen a bit today at work. 

I'll be honest, I almost couldn't endure how many times she said "series series" in her first video, but I decided the other ones would have topics worth listening to, so I've watched three. I like her elaboration on story, character, and series arcs. It has given me something to contemplate since I do intend to explore more worlds.

 

22 minutes ago, Sovalis said:

Glad you are getting your movement and veggies in! ❤️ Yay for using work time to buff our creative projects!  

❤❤ Yeah, I don't mind doing outlines and prep work at the job, but I do like to keep the writing at home. 😏

[MaeradCase]

26 minutes ago, Wild Wolf said:

I think I'll enjoy following your challenge Maerad  . Let me grab a comfy seat to enjoy the ride!

 

 

Wolf

Ooh! Welcome! (Also awesome gif)

 

26 minutes ago, Wild Wolf said:

This is amazing and I'm positively jealous about it. As someone who feels like they were born to write a novel, but severely lacks the time, it's frustrating as hell. However, this is sooooooo cool that you were able to write your first novel!  

If you wish to be talked into trying NaNoWriMo, I think a couple people will vouch for my enthusiastic recruiting style. 😂 One of the distinct things about the two Camp NaNoWriMo events in April and July (heck, even for the big event in November) is that they advocate using the challenge to your goals, whatever they are. For the official event, the standard participation is to do 50k by the end of the month by writing 1667 words every day. If you wanted to keep track of minutes, or do editing, or whatever, the camps are stomping grounds for freestyle goals.

 

(Why they haven't yet updated their website to let you change the goals from "words" to "minutes" is uncertain)

[Artemis Prime]

36 minutes ago, MaeradCase said:

saw a couple different name options, but the only other one I would've called it was a paper fortune teller. 😅

Yeah, I guess paper fortune teller would be my name for it if I had to pick one, but it seems to me if you wanted one you just started folding it and it was instantly recognizable to everyone else.

 

38 minutes ago, MaeradCase said:

there are weird things that only kids know, that are learned in mysterious ways and forgotten in the process of growing up. 🤔 Like skipping rhymes! 😲

Or these things:

 

The prevalance of this drawing among kids is such a weird cross-cultural phenomenon.

[KB Girl]

1 hour ago, MaeradCase said:

 

It is fantasy, and the portals have to do with the clock towers that the protagonist has been trained to repair. The other three characters each had their own world they were interacting with, and that muddied the story a bit too much for most of my beta readers. 😅 My biggest bold stroke of the second draft is slashing out their backstories from the view of the reader.

I’m intrigued! 
Slashing out so much probably gives you a lot of room for new things? Or are you going deeper on existing storylines?

[MaeradCase]

22 minutes ago, KB Girl said:

I’m intrigued! 
Slashing out so much probably gives you a lot of room for new things? Or are you going deeper on existing storylines?

🌟 gold star for guessing right! I will be expanding the narrative to make the timeline more clear since I did skip a lot between what were the major scenes.

[shaar]

COOTIE CATCHERS AAAA!  I remember those!!! XD A coworker and I actually made some a year or two ago and hassled our other coworkers with them heheh...

 

I LOVE chicken salad! It's one of my favorite on the go meals, and so versatile... makes me think of summer too... ☺️

 

I hope today is awesome for you too!!

[MaeradCase]

18 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Or these things:

 

The prevalance of this drawing among kids is such a weird cross-cultural phenomenon.

So true. 🤔

 

4 hours ago, shaar said:

COOTIE CATCHERS AAAA!  I remember those!!! XD A coworker and I actually made some a year or two ago and hassled our other coworkers with them heheh...

Man, I'm so glad you guys relate to me and my weirdness. 😂

 

4 hours ago, shaar said:

I LOVE chicken salad! It's one of my favorite on the go meals, and so versatile... makes me think of summer too... ☺️

I think it's funny I can chop up a bunch of things, add a shredded meat, mayo, and some seasonings and have a sandwich mix. 😆

 

4 hours ago, shaar said:

I hope today is awesome for you too!!

Today could be awesome. Cramps just turned on with a vengeance, so it might also not be awesome. 😥

 

I did have a productive morning because I got myself some biking gear - I found a sufficient jacket in light turquoise, a 4-pack of flashy light reflectors, and a decently priced tool kit and tire repair kit. 😃 But being in excruciating pain the moment I stepped in the door to work is not a good sign. 😰

[Gemma]

On 3/23/2023 at 8:11 AM, MaeradCase said:

Side note: he did add me, so we'll find out more on that front later.

( @sarakingdom, this is where I like Doctor Who the most... the memes. 😂)

 

I've never taken the time to dive down the Whovian rabbit hole (mostly because I am sure that once I start I will binge-watch everything there is, and stop living my life for however many months that takes) but this meme contains two of my favorite actors in the whole wide world right now. If you are ever in a mood to spend two hours laughing until you cry, David Tennant and Catherine Tate were Benedict and Beatrice in the funniest production of Much Ado About Nothing  that I've ever seen.  (Tennant is weirdly also my all-time favorite Hamlet, which takes a completely different skill set so I'm double-impressed.) 

 

I shall not be joining you in NaNoMadness this April, my rehearsal schedule is going to become brutal soon - but I plan to cheer loudly and enthusiastically from the sidelines for you, @Sovalis, and whosoever else is playing this round. 

[TimovieMan]

7 minutes ago, Gemma said:

I've never taken the time to dive down the Whovian rabbit hole (mostly because I am sure that once I start I will binge-watch everything there is, and stop living my life for however many months that takes) but this meme contains two of my favorite actors in the whole wide world right now. If you are ever in a mood to spend two hours laughing until you cry, David Tennant and Catherine Tate were Benedict and Beatrice in the funniest production of Much Ado About Nothing  that I've ever seen.  (Tennant is weirdly also my all-time favorite Hamlet, which takes a completely different skill set so I'm double-impressed.) 

 

David Tennant is also responsible for the greatest "knock knock" joke of all time:

 

[Shello]

On 3/23/2023 at 1:26 PM, MaeradCase said:

I made a tiny cootie catcher at work and my new favorite thing is to have a coworker use it like a magic eight-ball.

I totally remember these but I was very confused at first since I read this as a cootER catcher instead which would be something else entirely!  🤣

 

21 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Yeah, I guess paper fortune teller would be my name for it if I had to pick one, but it seems to me if you wanted one you just started folding it and it was instantly recognizable to everyone else.

 

Or these things:

 

The prevalance of this drawing among kids is such a weird cross-cultural phenomenon.

Oh man!  I drew these so much, pyramids of them all the time.  

[sarakingdom]

2 hours ago, Gemma said:

I've never taken the time to dive down the Whovian rabbit hole (mostly because I am sure that once I start I will binge-watch everything there is, and stop living my life for however many months that takes)

 

The sooner you give in, the less disruptive this will be. Better just get it over with.

 

[Gemma]

On 3/23/2023 at 5:13 PM, Artemis Prime said:

 

 

Or these things:

 

The prevalance of this drawing among kids is such a weird cross-cultural phenomenon.

 

I did a million of those too, but my specialty was these - I must've done ten million of these: 

 

[MaeradCase]

19 hours ago, Gemma said:

 

I've never taken the time to dive down the Whovian rabbit hole (mostly because I am sure that once I start I will binge-watch everything there is, and stop living my life for however many months that takes) but this meme contains two of my favorite actors in the whole wide world right now.

I joined the Whovian fandom long before I was able to binge the majority of the modern series. Most of the iconic moments were something like a game of I-Spy for me to go

with an excited grin on my face. 😆

 

19 hours ago, Gemma said:

If you are ever in a mood to spend two hours laughing until you cry, David Tennant and Catherine Tate were Benedict and Beatrice in the funniest production of Much Ado About Nothing  that I've ever seen.  (Tennant is weirdly also my all-time favorite Hamlet, which takes a completely different skill set so I'm double-impressed.) 

This took over my evening. I had seen a snippet of their first conversation, but not watched it (though I had seen Hamlet, and I am in agreement with you). Now I have watched it, and despite it being the only instance I've seen of Much Ado About Nothing, it is immediately the best iteration, the easiest to follow, and most enjoyable thanks to this hilarious duo.

You can tell how good friends they are. 😂

 

19 hours ago, Gemma said:

I shall not be joining you in NaNoMadness this April, my rehearsal schedule is going to become brutal soon - but I plan to cheer loudly and enthusiastically from the sidelines for you, @Sovalis, and whosoever else is playing this round. 

Understood! I hope your rehearsals continue to go well! 😃 Thanks for the recommendation. I laughed often and so very hard at all the antics. (David Tennant in so many moments had me dying laughing - the paint, the keyboard, the enormous shades 😆😂🤣)

[MaeradCase]

Just realized I gave no status report for meeting goals yesterday. 😅

 

In regard to writing, I've been using prompts from the snowflake method to prepare for this narrowed range second draft. I want to step back into the writing waters aware of where the character arcs are, and how they should complement each other as they join together. By the end of the book there's a character who will have had the least screentime, and maybe it's odd that she'll be the focus of the next book, but on the other hand, I think it'll be a good move because it forgives the lack of exploration of her character and how well she fits with the others.

 

So, even though April is a week away, I've been writing like a Christmas Eve shopper making their last minute gift purchases. 😂

 

Hit my food goals, though I don't recall doing stretches yesterday. I did them this morning. 😃 Cajun salmon with dirty rice and cajun-seasoned red beans was a fun flavor exploration! Those salmon packs made this week's dinners a fun change of pace. I had fruit and veggies with breakfast and lunch, too. Just overall a good day outside the cramps. I'm doing better today. 😃

 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Maerad

[Snarkyfishguts]

On 3/24/2023 at 3:01 PM, Shello said:

I totally remember these but I was very confused at first since I read this as a cootER catcher instead which would be something else entirely!  🤣

Oh thank heavens I'm not the only one!!

 

3 hours ago, MaeradCase said:

just overall a good day outside the cramps. I'm doing better today. 😃

I'm so glad you're starting to feel better💜

[MaeradCase]

Good morning! Hope your weekend is going well! After I did a half-shift of work yesterday I went to join my mom and sister at a local renaissance festival. I didn't see quite as many shows as I usually stop for, but I saw an excellent magician, a portion of punch and judy, and a juggler who was juggling dramatically while the trebuchet people blasted Carlos O Fortuna.

 

My mom and I both tried our hands at archery for the first time in years... I have a nasty welt on my inner arm, and shot long for half my shots, but they also had us firing dang close... 🤔

 

The magician's act was hilarious, and I got to hold up the longest piece of rope in the rope trick. And he called me out for laughing during another trick.

 

Joe: "The coin leaves the hand, goes up the arm, across my manly chest..."

Me: *giggling*

Joe: *direct eye contact* "That wasn't a joke! Stop laughing!"

Me: *collapses to ground in more laughter*

 

I managed to recover, but my mom and sister also thought it was hilarious. 🤣 They also laughed about me being attacked by an enormous bubble when waiting for the Punch and Judy show to begin. An wobbly 4 foot bubble meandering its way directly at me, and my reaction was to cower with an arm raised for defense while crying out in alarm. 😂 I am so dramatic, but I was ultimately concerned it was after my pirate hat. 😅

 

I bought a bunch of doodads! Very nice ones, including a cute hand-size mug with dragonflies and a flower imprinted in the clay, pretty (unfortunately heavy) earrings, a dragon pin, a tiny watercolor painting, and a belt pouch with two tiny bottles. 😍 

 

In addition to my arm's bruise I have two very burnt shoulders (and neckline) despite Cid's effort to remind me to wear sunscreen (I didn't want to carry it around, so in misinterpreting his suggestion I declined and now am suffering the hot red skin). Still it was a good time. 😏

 

I did some more writing on my outline doc while at work. I got nuts (work), fruits (apples at lunch), and veggies (both fresh at lunch and salad at dinner) in over the course of the day. I'm pretty impressed with how well I've done, and I may need to go to the store to restock for continuing my hobbit goals. 😉

 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Maerad

[Everstorm]

Oh, I am very jealous of your Ren Faire excursion.  I used to go to one in Wisconsin when we lived near there, but now the closest one is a bit too far for a day trip and I am not sure if it is worth an overnight.

 

I feel your pain on the archery welt.  My forearm is black and blue after every session (with or without an armguard).  My poor double jointed elbow insists on being directly in the line of fire unless I concentrate very particularly on my arm's rotation, but then I can't focus on accuracy.  🤷‍♀️

 

Do you have any aloe for the burn?