Saturday, October 3, 2015

October 2015

Some live, some die, some question the existence of both.
There, that's the only splinter of a spoiler I will give you as for what I'm writing right now. 
While not intentionally meaning to write out someone's death during the Halloween month, I'm writing this chapter for someone. Which means: I'm not exactly writing grieving scenes from just my imagination: I once lost a third cousin to lung cancer. I know what grieving is like, so it makes it easier to describe how it feels and what you go through. It's not known why she got it: Sometimes cancer happens in places you don't expect, and she was never around smokers or anything that could have caused it.
She was a very caring individual, loving people and animals, and equally being loved by them for her sweet kindness (Her neighborhood police department even sung at her cremation service, a few of them singing in tears.). She wanted to become a veterinarian, but she got cancer before she could go to school for it. She died a month after her 18th birthday. 
And I never got to meet her. I only first learned about her a few weeks before she died, but in those few weeks, I felt a deep, unexplained connection to her. I really wanted to meet her, but for some reason, I wasn't allowed to go visit her. She was in a coma at the time, and perhaps it would have been hard for her more immediate family to have lesser-known visitors to show up in the room, but it still would have been nice to go. When I heard about her death, I cried long and hard (My eyes tear up now at the thought of it), and I was a numb leg in the world for a while afterwards, stumbling through life, struggling to move on. 
Although the character I've just killed is hardly like her, the person who loved him/her felt robbed of time. They didn't get to spend much time together, and then the character was gone. That feeling alone is the theme of this chapter. This is for you, Alex.

Oct 1
Stopped writing at: 1:52 AM
Words written: 262
Total words so far: 126,096
Day: 88


 I'm sick with a cold. Blowing my nose off. I wish it would come clean off, but then it would be very messy. 
 I know it's very late at night (early in the morning, depending on whether you see the glass half-empty or half-full), but I really wanted to write tonight. It's not easy to write when you get distracted by a storm (much rain, much wind of 25 - 45 mph), "don't feel like it for some reason " and feel restless during the day (I always seem to do this, so I waste hours of my life roaming the internet), and wish your family learned to be less talkative (Sometimes, I jokingly imagine duct tape over their mouths with an "Oh, I see! So this is what quiet is! This isn't too bad, actually!" in their eyes.). Ah, well. At least I get to sleep in tomorrow morning. What's my excuse for not writing since October 1st? Family stuff, again. Running errands, shopping for my mom, my sister having bunion and likely acid reflux problems, taking my sister to the doctor, etc. Okay, and another thing is contemplating over how I'll write the next series of scenes. My mind kind of went blank when I had to deal with family troubles on top of character troubles. After all, it can be overwhelming when you practically have to solve the problems of two families at once. (Okay, for some reason, that sounds like polygamy. Let me make it clear, even though it probably is: All of my characters feel like a whole 'nother family I have to care for. Let's hear it: "Aww!")
 Forgive me if my writing is a little weird and compulsive right now. I've had a fever on and off for two days, now. Last night (er, the wee hours of October 10th), it went up to 99.6 F. This evening (October 10th, that is), it was 99.2 F.Hmm. Maybe I'll take my temp, now. If I can manage to breathe from my nose. I hate this old-fashioned thermometer. The digital kind that goes in your ear is my favorite for obvious reasons. Actually, this thermometer is a bit thick. I remember growing up with thin ones that I could easily hold underneath my tongue with my tongue and teeth. Now I have to hold it in place with my hand. *inserts boring elevator music* ...Oh, that's good. It's a perfect 98.6 F. Now, to go to bed. It's 5:01 AM, and my cat is glaring at me (nay, actually, she's having trouble keeping her puffy eyes open. "Sweetie, must you always wait for me to go to bed?" Poor little girl can't sleep unless everyone else is asleep and in bed. Just like me, actually. Sometimes, I don't know whether she tries to be like me or we're just similar. Like using the toilet. I use the toilet, then she uses the litter box. Sometimes, it's the opposite: She steps into the litter box while I'm on my way to the toilet. Personally, I think she's just my alter ego. A mini me, if you will. 
 Oh, look at the time. I've been yammering on for 8 more min- *interruption by Sweetie climbing into my lap with a loud purr and sniffing/touching my nose as if saying [in a 3 y/o girl's voice], "Jen, you really need to go to bed. Remember: Your nose is sick."
 Okay, Sweetie. Let's go to bed. (Speaking of which, this is her favorite thing to hear me say, and yes, this is Sweetie in this video: https://youtu.be/bN7Sr1uxfvw )

I'll fix this later:
126,644  total words so far
4:14 AM stopped at
Oct. 11 date
Day 89
 ...So, talking about death, I lost a good friend at work in the middle of this October. She died. My life works like that, unfortunately. Like identical chains being linked together in bunches. "Is this topic related to this one? Let's organize them and put them together so they happen around the same time." But, I suppose God lets things happen together because He knows it helps me to understand and go through things better and to move on easier. 
 It certainly helped having a "weird dream" of being in a rollover car accident a few months before I actually had one. It really, super helped me a lot. After 1 1/2 years, it still does. Although I don't actually believe it 100%, I still feel like "it was just a bad dream", just like how my mom put it when I'd wake up from one when I was young. The comforting reassurance that all these things happen simply because it was its time (And for death, there is no easy time for anyone) is like a mother's arms to go to when you want to cry. 
 That's why I suddenly stopped writing. Oh, also because a family member of mine was illegally kicked out to live on the streets by his disabled care facility without being given his meds and only being given a tiny amount of money to last a whole week. So, I've been having to take matters into my own hands to get better care for him.
 So, yeah. A lot of things happen in this crazy life of mine. 
Q: Could it get any crazier than this? 
A: Yes. Always. Never say you doubt it for any moment.

Q: What am I doing now for writing?
A: Nanowrimo! I've been wanting to do this for several years after being urged by a friend. If you're on it, you can add me as a Writing Buddy if you want. My name is on the nanowrimo website  is SlugDiaper. :)



Monday, September 21, 2015

September 2015

 Yeah, I'm back to writing again. No, I haven't gotten my wisdom teeth extracted, yet.
 It's rather hard to make such a thing happen when you finally realize that your insurance forgot to send you your card, have no choice but to call people back and forth, need to find a decent place for the extractions close to home, etc., etc. And since it's now the busy time of year at work again, I'd rather wait until I'm less needed. So far, my teeth haven't bothered me since, and it's my hope they won't again any time soon.
 What took so long? To make it short, I was so stressed-out over the whole thing, I wasn't sure at first what my plans were. The rest of it was just rediscovering emotional calmness (a.k.a. meditation and regaining control over my emotions and thoughts so it wouldn't be racing, as I suffer from anxiety), and regaining "the mood" to write again.
 Now, without further ado, let the writing come alive again!

Sept 20
Stopped writing at: 3:20 AM
Words written: 42
Total words so far: 120,226
Day: 85

[Sept 20]

Stopped writing at: 11:58 PM
Words written: 2,745
Total words so far: 122,971
[Day: 85]

 I wrote something sad, shedding some tears. Then something happened, so I was at the edge of my seat. Well, actually, I pulled the computer closer as though I were but reading a book (Not far from the truth!).

Sept 21
Stopped writing at 2:00 AM
Words written: 69
Total words so far: 123,040
Day 86

 I can't stay awake. I really want to write, as I haven't been writing for more than a half an hour tonight, but I had a busy day today on about 4 hrs of sleep. I can't hardly keep my eyes open, anymore. I wrote a word with my eyes closed while slipping into a partial sleep. Even though I was sleep-writing (writer's version of sleepwalking), I amazingly I spelled it correctly and didn't combine it with another word coming up next in the sentence. ...Just half-fell asleep while typing this. Time to go! 

Sept 30
Stopped writing at 1:54 AM
Words written: 2,794
Total words so far: 125,834
Day 87

 It's been a busy couple of weeks. Running errands, getting ready for my mom's birthday (50!), going out to eat, etc. Now that it's all behind me, I finally get to sit down and write. Let me tell you, every single night I have had inner turmoil not writing. 
 Unfortunately, it was not easy spilling those words out tonight. I kept getting distracted by my noisy, talkative family. I tried white noise, music, both at the same time, finally told them to quiet down, calmed down, chose to listen to music, and wrote.    Wow, I keep dozing off while typing this. Time to sleep, I think!


Sunday, July 19, 2015

Short Break - Why? Dental Emergency

I was going to wait until August to have my wisdom teeth pulled, but it seems they had a different plan in mind. 
They're all impacted, but the bottom ones have now become a bigger problem. Without warning, they decided to cause me pain, lockjaw (At times, I can't open my mouth more than a few centimeters or an inch), and even ear pressure for the past few days. 
So, I went to an emergency dental place to get a prescription for the infections and have all of my wisdom teeth X-rayed and possibly pulled. The place ended up giving me a prescription for an antibiotic and heavy-duty pain medicine, and also some referrals to choose from for an oral surgeon. The upper teeth haven't even tried to come out, yet, and the bottom ones are too deep and difficult for the people to get to.
Since I'll be on this medicine for several days, and several more days after the procedure, I think I'll take a break from writing until I'm better. I don't want to write while I'm loopy. Not always a good combination. I'd rather not risk later looking at what I wrote and be all like, "What is this?! Gahhh!!!" Although it could be funny, as my jokes and comedic skits, scenarios, and ideas can be nonsensical and weird (as evidence from my posts in crazyfacebookconversations.blogspot.com ). With those, I like making people like, "What!?" to the point that they're laughing, but I'm not sure if I'd want a serious scene to suddenly turn into a huge joke (I'm currently stopped at the beginning of a serious scene).
Oh, and one more thing before I succumb to this pain: I just wrote this whole post on half of a heavy-duty pain pill. I think I succeeded to be as normal as possible, but I still can't say what I'd be like on a whole pill. :P

Although my cheeks are always rather puffy in appearance due to having abnormally thick cheeks, here's my swollen face right now:



Puffy eyes: It's 3 AM, and it's been a long, hard day. It's also hard to stay awake and keep my eyes open and focused on the camera.
Pimples: Who cares. Adult acne is a real thing, and a real struggle because you can literally try everything and still get those stubborn little pepperoni volcanos.
Too dark: Everyone's in bed, and it's too hard to try to find a good angle to take pictures because my mom has a love for junk to make our place less boring and mirrors to make it look like there's more space than there really is.
Yes, I still live with my mother: Because I want to help out with my autistic sister and run errands they can't do for themselves. Why? Because I care.


...Something tells me I might regret posting that hideous picture of me, but maybe I can remind my future self that I'm human and that other people can relate to the struggles of living a crazy life more than I think. 

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

July 2015

Bah! I'll write something more here later! It's almost 2 AM, and I am falling asleep at the computer.

July 8
Stopped writing at: 1:50 AM
Words written: 1,089
Total Words So Far: 113,676
Day: 79

... "Something more here later!" There. I wrote it. ;P
___

July 9th
Stopped writing at: 1:21 AM
Words written: 1,402
Total words so far: 115,078
Day: 80

Sweetie is waiting for me to go to bed. She's sitting and dozing off a few feet away, facing me. I'm dozing off, too. After catching myself falling asleep behind the wheel of this book, I figured it best to get out of the car of wakefulness and-- I just now dozed off twice trying to think of what to end this with. I think it's time to take my cat's advice and go to bed, now.

___

July 12th
Stopped writing at: 3:16 AM
Words written: 2,604
Total words so far: 117,682
Day: 81

Ahhh.... That felt good. Giving live birth to a big writing. (Sounds painful, doesn't it? XD ) 
My go-to-bed cheerleader ended up going to bed with my mom, but I'll let her know that I'm going to bed, now. She's always happy to hear that. 
Every night is the same adorable routine: 

Me: "Okay! Let's go to bed!" 
Sweetie: "Neh?" 
Me: "Yeah! Let's go to bed!" 
Then she'll promptly get up, stretch in a hurry, jump down from where she's at, and race with me to the bedroom door, repeating a cheery, "Neh! Neh! Neh-eh! Nehh!" She'll look up at me to make sure I didn't forget to do something.
Me: "Yes! Let's go to beeed! Go to BED!"
I'll open the door -- (As I type this, she just came out of the darkness and scratched the worn-out chair I'm sitting in. Now she's sitting on the floor right next to me, patiently-- *climbs up the chair* *looks at herself in the mirror for a long moment* *climbs into my lap* Now, she's purring in an upright sitting position with her front arms and head resting on my left arm*
Ahem! As I was saying: I'll open the door, and she'll ask me for permission to eat.
Me: "Okay! Let's go eat your num-num!" 
*Sweetie eats a little, purring* *She waits about five minutes after I go to bed to hop up and sleep on my legs*
*I wake up in the morning with her still there*

 I once had 3 cats, and I taught them all how to say, "Num-num". Because saying "food" is impossible to enunciate for cats, I thought about it and decided that the baby talk version of "food" would be possible, since I had heard the same sounds needed to say it in cats. That was when I was 14, 15, 16, and 17 years old. Unfortunately, the one cat that learned to say "num-num" the clearest passed away in August 2008. He was an old sweetheart. He comforted me whenever I cried. My little Tiger....
The second one, Fiona, I had to give away because she didn't like my mom's dog. Long story short: I had to move to my mom's, my aunt kept her, she didn't like cats, she gave her back to me years later, Fiona freaked out and attacked my mom's dog and bit my thumb, and we had to take her to the animal shelter to go to a dog-free home. She wasn't very good at speaking what I taught her. She'd sometimes say "num-num", but it wasn't nearly as clear as Tiger's. She had a very thick, purring accent and never lost it.
 The third one, Gracie, who was also returned back to me, didn't like my mom's male cat, but she liked my mom's old-man friend and his dogs, so she lives with them. Although unable to say "num-num", she said "Hello!" in a very friendly, cheerful, purring voice.
 Sweetie? She kind of has Fiona's problem of having a thick, purring accent with a mumble, but she's slowly improving the more I work with her. For the past two months, I've noticed her voice being clearer when saying "num-num" and especially "hello". Her hello's are really doing great. 
 I think "hello" is the easiest to teach cats: When you pet it, say "Hello" clearly and slowly with each stroke. It g
ets tiresome, but the longer you do it and the more often you do it, the more they'll remember what it sounds like and what it means. The next step (And mind you, it takes months or years to teach them to say it) is saying hello to them whenever you come home and whenever you or the cat comes into the same room. It's especially effective when you pet them whenever you meet again.
 Num-num is basically taught only when you give them food of any kind. When they get hungry and know you have their food, they get chatty. Those long wails, cute pleadings, and meowing that almost seem to beg, "Please??" MIGHT just turn into num-nums. "Num-num" right over their noise. "Num-num?" "Num-num!" But don't say it more than five times each time. Making them wait too long can exasperate them. Nobody wants a frustrated kitty.
 Oh, and it doesn't matter how old a cat is. My Tiger was about seven or eight when he learned this stuff. Cats are such amazing, socially adaptable creatures.
 But, enough about my cat obsession and experimentation. It's 4:34 AM, now. I'm going to be so tired when I get up. Oooh. XP

____


July 14th
Stopped writing at: 1:17 AM
Words written: 555
Total words so far: 118,237
Day: 82

That's cool! The last word count was over 117,000 words, and the time I stopped writing tonight was 1:17 AM. What's so cool about 117? Just yesterday, I got to (finally!) play Halo 2 independently for the first time. My cousin owned it, so I'd sometimes play on multiplayer on a level or two, but now that I own it (whoop-dee-doo, right?), I found it to be easier than I thought (on Easy! Hah!) and got through 10 whole chapters without stopping until I decided to take a break. And no, I didn't measure how many hours I was playing (Boo!). 
To those of you who still don't get the 117 thing (like my mom, for example. Hi, Mom!): The Master Chief is also named John 117 or Spartan 117.
Anyway, back to writing: The only reason why I didn't write more than 555 words tonight is because I am tired (Yes. Again. I think it's my allergy medicine that makes me sleepy earlier than I want it to.). And the only reason why I'm typing here and not falling asleep is because I made the connection of the 117 thing and got excited enough to talk about it, here. Now that I did, I'm on the verge of falling asleep again. I now bid you a good night (or day, depending on where you live). :)

___

July 15th
Stopped writing at: 1:46 AM
Words written: 1,719
Total words so far: 119,956
Day: 83

Lol While I was writing, I accidentally spelled "rape" instead of "rage"!
But that, I think, wasn't the funniest mess-up I made today: While I was at work washing my hands, I grabbed a paper towel instead of soap from the soap dispenser. For some reason, I only do that at one particular sink. I'll have to catch myself doing that again and analyze it for the reason behind it.

___

July 16th
Stopped writing at: Approximately between 5 and 6 PM
Words written: 228
Total words so far: 120,184
Day: 84

I was having a tough time focusing on writing because each time I attempted to write, my sister would sing a song super loudly while watching the music video on YouTube. She was in the other room, and I dared not complain. She's autistic, so she'd get angry and depressed over it (Meaning: It's already been tested.).
On top of that frustration, the impacted wisdom teeth I've been saving to get pulled this August decided to throw a fit early. Swelling, pain, inability to open my mouth very wide, ear pressure, sinus pressure on the sides, and swollen lymph nodes. This bout (Yes, there have been about 5 or 6 worse times where I had a migraine with the jaw selling/pain.) has been going on for the past few days, on and off, mostly in the evening. It's been going on for most of the day today. 
Even now, my jaws feel like balloons that have been filled with too much air. Pain meds work somewhat, but I'm looking into a good close-to-home place to have them pulled, since one of the impacted teeth is incredibly close to a nerve in my jaw. I'm not looking forward to the numbness resulting in its damage upon removal of the tooth, but there's nothing else that can be done. Fear kept me frozen in place for too long, so it's my fault for the risky wait. 
Sorry about that.

____

 

Friday, June 26, 2015

Happy Belated Birthday, G3:DF!

It turned 2 years old (from the day I started writing it in 2013) on June 20th. I can't believe it's been that long already. It almost makes me feel like I'm not writing fast enough, but I'm doing my best with the time and energy I have (even if I do sometimes get distracted by other projects and hobbies. But I'm just living my life as a human being, so there's not too much guilt in that).
Anything new regarding G3:DF? Nope. Still hammering at G4:O in the forge. I haven't been writing much for the past nearly-four-weeks because many things were happening: Shopping for birthdays, wrapping gifts, running numerous errands, celebrating birthdays, preparing my sister for her high school graduation, fetching my autistic brother from miles away, going to the graduation, resting, finally enjoying my own birthday gifts (including a dragon jigsaw puzzle, a Doctor Who soundtrack CD, and a leather journal), being too uptight to write because my grandma ended up in the hospital (She's 88.), and finally back down to being distracted by the internet.
Now that it's all over, I can finally write. 
Hold that thought. My sister wants to go out in the sprinkler right now. It's a hot day. An excessive heat warning is in effect in our area. *wails* I don't wanna' go outside!! Wahhhhh!!! ...But I have to. I can't keep her cooped up in here, forever. After that, though, I MUST write!




Tuesday, June 2, 2015

June 2015

Yay! My birthday month! I'll be turning 23 on the 12th. 
It's weird. I've felt like I've been 23 for 6 months, now. It's been driving me crazy for that long, so it'll be a relief when that's all over.
Ha! Speaking of a "relief when that's all over", my birthday is not the only thing happening in my family!
As follows:

June 5th: My sister's birthday party (when her wild friends come over and party like 3-year-olds).
June 7th: My cousin-in-law's birthday and also the day when we celebrate our traditional group birthdays at a restaurant.
June 10th: One of my Auntie's birthdays (63).
June 11th: My sister's birthday (18).
June 12th: My birthday (23).

As you can probably tell, by the time it comes to my birthday, I'm sick of the celebrating and want nothing more than a quiet, laid-back birthday. 
As you can also imagine, this is the time when I gain the most weight. Not like I gain a huge amount of fat all at once, but it's still uncomfortable and makes me feel gross-looking and miserable. Thankfully, we've decided to make a bunch of cupcakes so we don't end up wasting cake when we get tired of eating it (Helps with body image and self-esteem, too).

Oh dear. I'm realllly falling asleep a lot tonight. I had a really busy day at work, so that's my reason. 

June 2nd
Stopped writing at: 12:29 AM
Words written: 919
Total words so far: 106,746
Day: 74

___

June 8th
Stopped writing at: 2:02 AM
Words written: 1,862
Total words so far: 108,608
Day: 75

Sorry. Can't say much, this time. Big, busy day tomorrow. Hope I survive the week.

___

June 27th
Stopped writing at: 4:04 AM
Words written: 1,407
Total words so far: 110,015
Day: 76

A person who doesn't have much sleep is more likely to get heat exhaustion or heat stroke, so what I am doing up at past four in the morning when an excessive heat advisory is in effect, I have no idea. It's going to be 90 degrees Fahrenheit today, so I think I'll stay indoors as much as I can. Here in western Washington state, U.S.A., it's typically mild weather, so getting 90 degrees is uncommon. 
People are already complaining at temperatures in the 80's, and many more don't have air conditioners. My little apartment is shaded by a couple of big trees, so I'm mostly safe, but others won't be so fortunate. Next week, there will be several days in the 90s, so I pray for the health of all.
In case you're having hot, sunny weather like me, I highly suggest putting emergency blankets (the camping kind) over your windows. It will dramatically reduce the heat coming inside, but you'll still be able to see out of them. It works like a one-way mirror, or like sunglasses.
Forgive me if I've already mentioned the emergency blanket thing before. I'm terribly sleepy, and it doesn't hurt to sound like a forgetful grandma if it's for the welfare of actual forgetful grandmas.

___

June 28th
Stopped writing at: 3:11 AM
Words written: 1,637
Total words so far: 111,652
Day: 77

Accomplishments today: Stayed mostly out of the heat of the day, re-potted my sprouted plants on the porch, wrote, caught a big spider with the help of my bug-tracking cat, and falling asleep while typing this.

___

June 29th
Stopped writing at: 2:39 AM
Words written: 926
Total words so far: 112,578
Day: 78

Ack! My leg fell asleep! I guess that's what I get when I sit criss-cross-legged in a chair for so long. Anyway, beside from the weather being unpredictable as usual, the only thing I have interesting to say is that Sweetie alerted me to two bugs tonight while I was writing: A green lacewing on the kitchen ceiling and a small spider that thought it was safe to hide underneath my mom's luggage case. 

___


Friday, May 1, 2015

May 2015

Yay! It's May! *leaves you imaginary flower on your doorstep*

 You may have noticed I changed the system around with my logging. Yes, it's less statistical and more wordy. That's because it was too time-consuming in trying to make it look like a chart, less fun to write, less fun for you to read, and the thing that frustrated me the most was how I couldn't insert a table grid on Blogger like I could do in Microsoft Word and Google Drive (Take note, Blogger!). But, once I screw on a more wakeful head onto my neck, I'll decide on what to put in and take out, etc.


 Right now? I'm falling asleep on and off again. Thankfully, I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow, so I can finally sleep in. 


May 1st
Stopped writing at: 1:59 AM
Words written: 11 (Yes, 11 words! I got stuck with a ton of things to do and now I can't stay awake.)
Total words so far: 92,152 
Day: 59

 I'll write more to add to May 1st when it's close to noon or afterwards.
...Oh! Gahh! Agh! *coughs and breathes to the side* Sweetie, who's sleeping in my lap right now, just farted! That, or it was my black lab nearby. Well, whoever did it, just woke me up (I was dozing again). The smell that followed was not a delicious smell, let me tell you that. Umm... anyway! Off to dreamland!

___

(also May 1st)
Stopped writing: Late 8:00 PM
Words written: 839
Total words so far: 92,991
Day: [59]

 I believe I started writing around noon, but it was on and off. I blame social networking and random ideas constantly popping up in my head (a song, some jokes, questions regarding a computer issue, random research, etc.). What a restless day. This is why I don't write during the day. Now it's 2:30 AM on May 2nd, and I really want to write! I normally write at night. Oh! the constant battle between the sleepy body and the overactive mind! ...I think I'll write and see how far I get.

___

May 2nd
Stopped writing at: 3:19 AM
Words written: 494
Total words so far: 93,485
Day: 60

 [I refuse to write much here because I am sleepy and my cat is now using my arm as a pillow, which is making me jealous. Can I be a cat, already???]

___

 *Update on May 2nd: There. I went back on all the daily log-ins I put in that were no longer in the so-called chart form. Looks a lot better! 
Oh, and the one thing you may have noticed that I removed from the system was "(Difference from Last)". Not only is it not much needed, but I also get a tiny bit of anxiety when I see negative numbers. "Oh, dear. I wrote less than I did yesterday." Especially when the numbers are big. It's an unconscious reaction that no writer likes to have unless they do better under pressure, but for me, I don't do well at all (It's a good thing I'm writing the latter books to be published far later before I go back to the first two!).
All in all, I'm happy with the new system, and I hope you do, too!
___


May 5th
Stopped writing at: 1:08 AM
Words written: 227
Total words so far: 93,712
Day: 61

 I keep falling asleep. My cat just came to check on me. Now she's yawning vocally. Now she waiting on the arm of the recliner. Now I'm going to bed.
___

May 8th
Stopped writing at: 2:07 AM
Words written: 42
Total words so far: 93,754
Day: 62

 I haven't written in a few days because I wass stupid. <-- HA! Those last two words I was sleep-typing again! I was dreaming of Dexter from the cartoon, "Dexter's Laboratory", trying to teach me how to say "stupid" in his accent. Not sure whether I should be worried or entertained by this zombified state I slip into. ...Come to think of it, those who have to communicate by sign language can sometimes be found sleep-signing, so maybe this falls into that category. Interesting.
 Ahem! What I meant to say was that I haven't written in a few days because I got stuck a little. I needed to decide on the order of things happening and when they would happen. After a few days' break of being too daunted to go back to it, I finally decided to remove a few paragraphs and move a certain event a little further down the book. Although I did daydream the entire thing in my mid-teens, I have since gone through some crazy and traumatic ordeals and forgotten some things. I can also blame it on too much daydreaming of the most important scenes and of my favorite scenes.
___


May 17th
Stopped writing at: 2:40 AM
Words written: 384
Total words so far: 94,138
Day: 63

 I haven't written for several days because I was shopping for Mother's day and an upcoming family birthday, my mom got sick, (two days later!) my sister got sick, and went grocery shopping for both of them. In the end? Exhausted. They're all better now (Whew!).
 I didn't write much tonight because I had to get back into the groove and read several pages before my stopping point. I do that anyway, every time I sit down to write, but it's most always by 1-3 pages. It's just like when you finally pick up a book you haven't finished reading and have to read a few pages or more before the part where you left off just because you get lost, you know? This time, though, I also had to fix several little confusing parts and minor errors I made along the way (I think I need more sleep....), which took up time.
 Oh, whaddya know? It's 3:07 AM, and I feel like assaulting an innocent little haystack. I think I'll approach it like the zombie apocalypse has begun and I'm the first one who's been zombified. Wait a second. Why would a zombie try to attack hay when it doesn't have a brain? That was probably The Wizard of Oz's Scarecrow's idea. Wait a second. Is Scarecrow actually a sort of zombie?? It might explain why he was animate from the beginning. Thankfully, being that he was a scarecrow zombie, he had no interest in attacking Dorothy, because his prey was only other scarecrows. But that doesn't explain how he became animate from the beginning. Aliens? Brainless zombie aliens? Brainless zombie aliens whose only craving is hay? Okay, this is getting weird. Time to hit the hay. No, not again! *types up a bunch of Z's that somehow equal the sound of snoring, even though I don't snore, just so I actually end it this time* ZZZZ Ha! Gotcha'! Okay, all I have to say more is: This weird, crazy story-building out of hay, zombies, The Wizard of OZ, and aliens is born out of a perfect, seldom-happening combination of me being tired, having a very-awake imagination, still wanting to be awake, still wanting to write my book just a little longer, and feeling silly. (Did you know that the brain scans of a tired person and a drunk person look similar? So, you can say that I'm drunk from tiredness. Oh, and just so you know: I've never been drunk by alcohol and never plan to be. My great grandfather was a drunk, and besides from that, getting sick and having a hangover don't sound fun at all. Plus, I enjoy having a clear head at all times, thank you.) 
 Blagh! I did it again! (Not a Britney Spears joke.) My "All I have to say more is" didn't work very well. I got off topic, and I didn't even finish. Okay, I'll make it short: That weird story-building thing I just spewed all over this just now? I go through that sometimes, and it's awesome. It mostly happens on my (private, non-public) Facebook. One of my friends will post something, and I'll end up making a joke out of it. People react, and I somehow - I don't know how I do it - make it crazier and crazier. That's why I made a blog out of it, on which you will find other, funnier things I did and said past 2 AM: http://crazyfacebookconversations.blogspot.com/  . There are a few posts in there that are a bit inappropriate for younger audiences (Rudolph the Red-nosed Zombie Reindeer raping people, for instance. While not too graphic, I nonetheless put up a setting that warns about content and asks if you wish to continue. Basically, the rest of it is okay. I haven't posted in it for a couple of months, but I just yesterday had a funny conversation with someone that I'm dying to ask for permission to share his photo. So, stay tuned!)
 Enough advertising my other blog! Now, I really got to slam my face into my pillow. It's 3:55 AM. *grumbles* And to think that all this time, I could have been writing in my book, instead.... Oh well, it's entertainment for you. Good night! :D

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May 18th
Stopped writing at: 2:44 AM
Words written: 1,253
Total words so far: 95,391
Day: 64

 Uh, whoops! Look at the time! Gotta' get up for work in 4 1/2 hours! :/ Time flies in real life when time flies in a book. Wish I had a net to catch it and give it a leash.

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May 21st
Stopped writing at: 1:55 AM
Words written: 1,742
Total words so far: 97,115
Day: 65

 I'm falling asleep even as I write a exciting battle scene. How is that possible?
...My cat just jumped into my lap, my department <-- There we go again. Sleep-typing again. This time, the dream was about me being at work (P.S. I work in a city library), figuring out something about the printer being down, etc.
*ahem* Let me try this again: My cat just jumped into my lap. ...And I forgot what I was going to say about her. Oh well. *backflips into bed*

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May 22nd
Stopped writing at: 1:36 AM
Words written: 226
Total words so far: 97,341
Day: 66

 Whoah. My eyes heavy, I shut them for what I thought would be a small handful of seconds, but then I looked up the next "moment" and realized I've been having a full-fledged dream. In my alarm upon waking, I forgot what it was about, but I think I should stop it right here. *writes 14 more words* Right there. *writes in this* Right there. ...Okay, not another word. I've got to.... Okay! Okay! *crawls away*

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May 23rd
Stopped writing at: 2:36 AM 
Words written: 118
Total words so far: 97,459
Day: 67


 Wrote in bed for the fun of it. A wee bit difficult to prop it up at the right angle, but I keep falling asleep and jolting awake while writing this, and it's really getting on my nerves. ...Wow. Looking at May, I'm writing mostly in bursts of a handful of hundreds in word count. How depressing. Well, I'll have time all day tomorrow to hopefully make another 1,000+ words before the end of the month. Wish me well. ...*jolts awake again, feels like leaving the laptop running all night and just sleep, knows better, ends this to update this blog post and shut computer down*

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May 25th
Stopped writing at: 3:22 AM
Words written: 2,216
Total words so far: 99,675
Day: 68

 Nice. I love it when I get a huge writing splurt. Haha, I used "splurt" ever since I was a little kid, not knowing that it was already around since the 18th century. I thought I made it up from the funny sound, combining the words "spurt" and "splat". Maybe it was also inspired by my fat pet Black Moore goldfish, Blurp? Anyway, I'm happy I wrote this much in one sitting. It's depressingly not nice when it's only in the triple digits, which hardly feels like anything to me.
 Oh, and today was the very day last year that my whole life turned upside-down. Literally. Car crash of the century. And I had the front row seat to the show, too. It was scary - no, terrifying - and yet kind of cool, like I was in a real-life action movie. Unfortunately, it wasn't an easy job after all, being a Spiderman impressionist. Word of advice: ALWAYS use the toilet before you get in a car. Seatbelts do not feel comfortable on a full tank, if you get my meaning. And no, I wasn't driving. Slick roads, I can tell you that, though. My ambulance driver witnessed another spin-out with a "Whoah! There's goes another one!" while I was still on the way to the hospital. Funny guys, they were. If they weren't paramedics, they'd do great as comedians.
 My gratitude forever goes out to those two people who pulled over just five seconds after it happened. They didn't even know our upside-down roller coaster went out of order that soon before they stopped to help us out. I hope to meet them again one day to thank them again. They could be anywhere near Bellevue.
 Anyway, I hope to keep my mind busy today with Memorial Day events around me whilst walking in hopefully warm temperatures and no rain. And, oh dear. It's 4:06 AM. I get to see my smelly brother in 8 hours. Hooray! *pinches nose shut at the thought*

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May 27th
Stopped writing at: 2:15 AM
Words written: 467
Total words so far: 100,142
Day: 69

 Yay! I finally made it to over 100,000 words total! I think I'm halfway through the book. 
 Busy week. I was sleepy after work, so I took a 4-hour-long nap and woke up around 8:45 PM for dinner. I've been feeling very sleepy ever since I woke up, but I couldn't resist writing late tonight anyways. 
 I had a dream about Bilbo and the dwarves hiding from evil elves inside this abandoned house full of big, dirty windows. At first, I was just me, and I was helping out wherever I could. During the last part of the dream, however, I was a dog made out of blue patched-up cloth. It was a spell to keep me disguised. I might have been a human, but I think I was an elf seeking out the truth.
 Okay, I can't write here anymore. I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open.

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May 28th
Stopped writing at: 3:20 AM
Words written: 598
Total words so far: 100,740
Day: 70

Nooo.... I planned on NOT writing tonight because I knew I'd end up NOT going to bed early, which is what I originally wanted to do, but I just couldn't help it. It didn't feel right not writing at least a little. Well, at least I had a 4-hour-long nap after work yesterday, but I certainly won't be able to do that today. Poop heads! (Yes, that's how I cuss. I also say, "Thrice blast!" Less often? "Poop fart heads!" But, my personal, long-time favorite? "Thrice blast me to the moon!" I used to say, "Ah, poopy doopers!" Aaand... I can't remember what else. To me, traditional cussing is boring. There was a short time when I cussed at age 14, but I quickly found it to be empty and felt it had a lack of life and creativity to it. Although I sometimes say "dang" and "darn", I tend to use those more in response to something disappointing. Otherwise, I'll make up and use something more interesting until I change and feel the need to change my exclamations to a style more fitting to me.) 

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May 29th
Stopped writing at: 12:22 AM
Words written: 180
Total words so far: 100,920
Day: 71

Ugh. VERY tired. It was a hot, busy day (It was 75 degrees Fahrenheit, but it was significantly hotter than it has been for a long while. For those of you who are used to much hotter temperatures, the Pacific Northwest, especially west of the Cascade Mountains, is typically very mild throughout the year, so my body isn't used to this sudden heat.). I had to go somewhere about a mile away, so I took the bike. I hadn't ridden it in months, but it was fun. Unfortunately, I didn't get much relief from the wind I got from riding. My life has been primarily indoors, which only made my intolerance to the heat worse. Think I should slow down and enjoy the outdoors again? I miss hiking and biking. Oh, and if you want a fun bike trip experience, I highly recommend the San Juan islands! ;)

Update in evening of May 29th, 2015: I found two lost January sticky notes of log days and one from February. I've just added them and made corrections on the Day numbers for the months since.

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May 30th
Stopped writing at: 3:17 AM
Words written: 682
Total words so far: 101,602
Day: 72

*yawns* Time for some sleep. I've a friend coming over tomorrow, so I'm not going to type much here. My cat, Sweetie, was certainly adorable tonight though. While I was writing:




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May 30th into May 31st (Sometime during the hour of 3 PM into the next day)
Stopped writing at: 3:51 AM (Yowza! That's almost 13 hours straight - again!)
Words written: 4,225 (WHOAH!)
Total words so far: 105,827
Day [72] & 73 (Counting only May 31st, because I already counted the earlimorn log) 

I think I need some well-deserved sleep, now. ZZZZ

--

Update on Jan 22, 2016: A goof was made in February 2015's post, so I fixed it. And since you can obviously see this, this post is now fixed, too. ("Day 1, Day 2, Day 7...." "...Wait, what??")


Thursday, April 9, 2015

April 2015

*April 9: At this moment, I don't feel like typing up a bunch of stuff here, yet. I just want to delete this from my writing file (I put my April 6th logging into the file where I am writing the book) where I left off:

April 6th
Stopped writing at: 3:18 AM
Words written: 1,128
Total words so far: 78,872 
Day: 50

Ahh. Now I can go write. And eat marshmallow circus peanuts. At 1:41 in the morning. And listen to my mom snore softly nearby. And now I'm going to shut up.

... *writes* ...

___

...WHOAH. Long day. Got super sleepy sooner than usual. This is super weird, but as I was writing a scene just now, I started to fall asleep. I was even dreaming random gibberish. But I wanted to finish that part at least, so I kept on typing.
Well, it ends up that you can actually "sleep-type", much like sleep-walking.
I seriously have no clue what this means, but it's totally not what I meant to type. Far from it:


It took [character's name] several minutes to recompose your lunch.

They're on a battle field, and the guy is injured on the ground being dragged to safety by an ally, his burn injuries making him scream. The ally reassures him in a sort of way. What. The. Heck. "Your lunch" is the part that I didn't intend on typing. I recall sluggishly typing, head drooping, eyes barely open. I also recall the gibberish talking in my half-awake dream. I think a boy was talking in it, but I can't remember.
Okay, this is kinda' freaking me out. Time to go to bed.
April 9
Stopped writing at: 2:38 AM
Words written: 142
Total words so far: 79,014
Day: 51

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April 12
Stopped writing at: 2:55 AM
Words written: 870
Total words so far: 79,884
Day: 52

The only reason why I can't go much further right now is because my cat came out of nowhere just now and is letting me know that it's time for bed. Literally, I'm lying here in bed with my computer propped on my knees, and my little seven-pound cat is on my chest. It's really hard to write this right now with my neck craned over her back and my other hand as her pillow. I bid thee good night and good morning.

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Early 3:?? PM, April 12th into 4:04 AM, April 13th (13 hrs of writing)
Words written: 6,698
Total words so far: 86,582
Day: [52] and 53

Yowza! Huge writing storm! I just wrote for 13 hours straight! (Except for brief breaks of taking bites of food, gulps of water, being distracted by my noisy mom and sister, and using the toilet.) I couldn't stop writing. It was just too exciting. Having finished the complicated battle that takes place in this book, I zipped through like crazy. The battle wasn't very thought through 8 years ago when I came up with the book, but a good portion of the rest, I remember extremely well, so that's why it was so fast. 
Hmm.... *calculates numbers* ...WHAT?????? 6,698 words in 13 hours. Wowee.
Okay, I'm tired. And - whoops - I have to get up in 3 hours and 45 minutes for work. Oh, dear. Remind me not to write on a Sunday night again. XP
(Update: I survived work surprisingly well. After getting home, however.... ZZZZ....)
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April 14
Stopped writing at: 12:43 AM 
Words written: 263
Total words so far: 86,845
Day: 54

I'm falling asleep while writing. Can't go on. I regret not taking a nap after work today. *dozes off right now, jerks head up* My cat sleeping on my lap is not helping, either. I bid thee a good sleep. ZZZZ

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April 25
Stopped writing at: 2:03 AM
Words written: 2,256
Total words so far: 89,101
Day: 55

Coincidentally, I'm falling asleep while writing again. My hands are weak and deciding to take their own naps (inspiring something in my book, as a result of this being a common symptom of writing late into the night), my eyes are taking brief naps, my head feels heavy on my neck (like a bowling ball on a bendy-necked straw), and Sweetie is sleeping on my lap again. ...I just dozed off again while typing this. Don't wake up the moon with your snoring! (P.S. I don't snore, but Sweetie often does.) Nooo.... I don't want to wake her! She's having a dream. Akk! She's poking me with her claws! ...Okay, I need to go to bed. I can't stay awake any longer. Thankfully, she understands (and is delighted by) when I whisper, "Let's go to bed!" ...Okay, so she just woke from her dream just before I tried to wake her. Now she got up, turned over, and laid down again. Told her, but she just looked at me as if saying, "I don't feel like getting up." *pause* I just told her again, and she immediately got up, purred, looked up at my face, and squeakily yawned. Nighty-night!

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April 26
Stopped writing at: 4:32 AM
Words written: 1,676
Total words so far: 90,777
Day: 56

Ah, whoops! Look at the time! I noticed how late it was about an hour ago (It really doesn't feel like it!), but I had to finish a series of really moving, great scenes. I haven't finished them, but Sweetie, losing her patience, got off my lap and crouched on the arm of the recliner I'm in and watched me write.
All of a sudden, she had enough just now and, the clearest I've ever heard her say it, asked, "Go to bed?" 
(Well, of course she couldn't enunciate the g, t, and the d, but she otherwise said it more like this: "Oh oo beh?"). 

I've been teaching her various words ("Hello" and "En" = "Jen" are her favorites), and although I didn't expect her to say it, I always whisper, "Okay, let's go to bed!" or ask her, "Go to bed?" when it's time to go to bed. She'll ask, "Beh?" And I'll say, "Yeah! Let's go to bed!" It's our common routine. It's adorable. There's not a night we don't do this.
Anyway, during the time that it took me to type this for you, Sweetie acted crazy by climbing around the back of the recliner like a monkey, and now she's crouched on the arm of the chair, waiting for me again.
One more thing, Sweetie! Here's a pic of us as of a few minutes ago. As you can see, she's not very happy about being told that we can go to bed, only to have to wait for yet another thing. I'm so sorry!

This picture is so horrible. The color is off. It looks like my lips are bleeding! XO And yes, I'm battling adult acne. It's horrible. One of my aunts had this same problem, too.
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April 29
Stopped writing at: 1:11 AM
Words written: 884
Total words so far: 91,661
Day: 57

Sweetie is snoring on my lap right now. And I can't count how many times I've been falling asleep sitting here. Bedtime! 

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April 30
Stopped writing at: 1:42 AM
Words written: 480
Total words so far: 92,141
Day: 58

Ooh. I can't wait for it to reach its 100,000 mark. Getting closer.... 

Ooh. On another note, I can't wait to go to bed. Getting sleepy....
So much that I'm repeatedly falling asleep at the computer. I had to force myself up to 40% wakefulness in order to type this and be able to drag my feet to bed. I'm such a zombie. Urrrrgh.... ZZZZ *cartoon snorts awake sound effect inserted* That'd be really weird: Giving my book series a sudden twist with zombies in it. Zombie dragons in space? Nope! Let somebody else do it. Hey, that'd be some wild fan fiction or art! Ha ha ha! That'd be crazy. Somebody should seriously try it and post it on DeviantArt. Let me know if you do!


Update on Jan 22, 2016: I made a goof in February 2015's post, so I've corrected it there as well as in this post, which it also affected. ...Ha! I just noticed another goof in this post by itself, too. Go figure. I wrote all this AFTER I was done writing for the night, when I was at my least-functional and sleepiest.