Goals for the year are being revised. I’m planning the rewrite for my NaNo 09 project this month, and will start it next month. Goal is to have the rewrite finished in three months to leave me until January to revise the novel (and the month of November for NaNo 10, which I already have the idea for). If it’s any indication of how deep the rewrite is, the title I have been using has been chucked for now until I come up with something more fitting. But since I’m not anywhere close to submitting my NaNo 09 for the code, I’m offering it up for grabs. For anyone interested leave a comment and I’ll send you the code. The first comment or email I get is the person who will get the code. That’s it. Nice and simple. No money involved, no emails, no drawing. The only stipulation I have is that whoever takes the code must use it within two days or let me know so I can give it to the next person on the list. FYI, this offer is posted on two other sites, but I promise if there is someone who wants the code, it will be given out. (No takers then I’ll use it for a project that I’m doing for work on July 1st). Good luck all and I’ll be back with an update soon.
Facebook, IPods, Cell Phones. . . 05/10/2010
Strangly my 7 year old and I had the discussion about all the above yesterday and today this (http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100510/News01/5100302/1129/News) was in the newspaper today. Is this God’s way of telling me I’m right?? Who knows, but I do know that my seven year old does not need a cell phone or any of the above. Conversation from last year before he turned 7:
Zack: Mommy, I want a cell phone for my birthday.
Me: What on earth do you need a cell phone for?
Zack: So I can call you when I’m not with you.
Me: And when exactly are you not with Daddy, Grandma, Papa, or me?
Zack: Ummm, can I have an ipod then?
Yesterday’s conversation was more of the same. Now he seems to think that if he were to get a cell phone, he wouldn’t have to check in every hour when he is playing at his friend’s house (which is across the street), since running across the street seems to take too much time out of playing. And he wants a facebook account so he can play petville (Ugh!!). So I had to go over my stance again about “No facebook, no ipods (mommy gets one first), and absoluetly no cell phones until you are old enough to drive.” Then I start thinking, am I being unreasonable? Should I give in on the facebook request? Facebook is free, and all he wants to do is play games. Then I read that article above, and I feel a little bit better. Maybe I’m not crazy for my “outdated” views. Maybe I’m doing a good job. Then I groan because I realize that I have two more kids to get through, when they get to this age. (And I don’t want to tell Zack that Erin might get an I-Pod touch as early as 6 since they are using these for speech therapy now. . .).
Screnzy 04/27/2010
Okay, I’m in the final days of Script Frenzy, aka Screnzy, for the first time, and I discovered that I really don’t like script writing, I’m not a fan of my story (but if I was writing it in novel form it might work better), and I’ve got a sinus infection. Today is day 1 of me waking up and my head not actually feeling like it’s going to explode before I take any sinus medicine (yesterday felt better after the medicine but not before) and I’m not coughing up a lung, so I might actually get some progress done.
I’m at 60 pages per the word count validation, and need to get to 100 in the next 4 days. I really don’t want to wait for the next for days, so my goal is 15 pages the next two and then 10 pages on the 29th, leaving me finishing a challenge early for once. Then I can have a day to work on lesson 5 of How to Think Sideways(http://howtothinksideways.com/members/?rid=1706) which has been a worthwhile investment for me (awesome course has helped me think, and we’re entering the planning phase now).
Then its on to MayNoWriMo (http://maynowrimo.webs.com/) for another attempt at finishing the NaNo 09, its a mission now and the CreateSpace offer expires at the end of the month. MayNo has a set your own goal, so it’s not a bad place to head over too.
Fighting for the Hornets 03/12/2010
This week has been a whirlwind. On Monday, it was announced that my 7 and 4 year old’s school is on the chopping block. (Yesterday at the PTO meeting it was said that the superintendent said that they were going to explore other options). It was announced about two weeks ago that the program that my 4 year old attends is also on the chopping block. I’m really frustrated with the school corporation. We moved from the neighborhood that their school is located in the summer of 2008, and during the 7 years that we owned our house there we had three different elementary school districts. Now the board wants to close the school they just invested to reopen 5 years ago, and turn it back into an alternative high school, causing the 4th school change in less then 10 years for that area. I understand the frustration. In itself, the school is a very small school, and I can see where the board is coming from. We need to save money. But I have five major issues with the changes as proposed:
- The school corporation is wanting to cut special education, with some of the deepest cuts to special needs preschool. What is wrong with this picture? Right now, the only therapy Erin receives is what she gets through the school corporation. She has imporved, although not nearly as much as her older brother did when he was in the program (I’m saving this for another post). Cutting the preschool means that these kids will be less likely to be mainstreamed, resulting in more kids in special education classes and resulting in the need for more resources. The key to treatment of these disorders (apraxia, autism, speech delays, developmental delays) is early detection and early treatment, and the corporation is taking away that early treatment option.
- The South Bend Community School Corporation is a troubled corporation. It has three high schools and one elementary school that will be taken over by the state within two years if test scores don’t improve. The majority of the remaining elementary schools and a number of the middle schools are set for take over within the next 3-4 years. There are three exceptions to this, Kennedy (the gifted magnet), Tarkington and Hamilton (two of the three traditional schools which require increased parental involement). Hamilton is only in its second year of being a Traditional School, and has had the test scores to meet AYP prior to being considered a Traditional School, meaning we’ve been doing something right in a corporation that is consently doing things wrong. This is why I chose to send my son to Hamilton, even though we don’t live in the neighborhood anymore (Erin didn’t have a choice since that’s where the preschool was located). Closing a school that is actually a success in a corporation that is full of troubled schoools seems kind of strange, unless they are trying to raise the test scores in another school without actually teaching the kids that are already there.
- The whole point of a Traditional school is that parents have the choice to send their children to a school with smaller class sizes (which is not totally the case) and a smaller school. The parents are required to be involved for a minimum number of volunteer hours per year, and if the family does not meet these expectations they will not have a place in the school the next year. You can’t just choose a school and force the parents to commit to these requirements, especially a school that is not known for extra parental involvement (and a 30 point difference in test scores). The traditional school format is a choice, not something the school borad can arbiturarly force on a school, or its not a traditional school anymore (at least by the rules that the school borad invented in the early 2000s).
- As I pointed out above, 4 school districts in 9 years. That destroys property values, especially in one of the few desirable areas of SB, based on actually having a successful school, not the utter failure that the majority of the schools are considered.
- Okay, we’ve been told that they are leaving Hamilton alone, for now. Of course the vote isn’t until the end of the month, so things might change. But what bothers me is the “for now” or the “next year” I keep seeing tacked onto people’s statements. This doesn’t change the fact that SBCSC just spent $20+ million dollars renevating a building that will only be half full. I can’t help but think this is going to keep getting revisited in future years, making me wonder if I should continue sending my children to Hamilton. But why pick on a small successful school. Hay is extremely overcrowded. Why not move some of those students and end up with on 300 student school and two 400 student schools rather then two overcrowded schools? Just a thought.
I’m very thankful to the parents who stood up for what they believe and made their voices heard. Great job Hornets! I will continue to fight for an excellent school and family regardless of where my children end up, but I can’t say for sure that we’re going to continue to be a Hamilton family. I also have to look out for the best interest of my children, and the shrinking special education budget with a child that requires more speech therapy not less makes me worry about her future. Also having two children that do not respond to change well may require me to make the change before the school board makes the changes for me. I am proud to be a Hornet, and will stand by regardless of where the future takes my family.
Children’s Museum 02/26/2010
Okay, I’m trying to plan a trip to get the heck out of SB for a couple of days (I need to see something else other then my house) and just found out that the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis and Conner Prarie offer a special to families on hoosier healthwise. Its only $1 per family member for addmission to each place. This is so awesome. We can take a day trip down to Indy and visit the museum for only $4 (the baby is still free) and the cost of gas instead of costing $60 for admission. (For more information see http://www.childrensmuseum.org/accesspass/index.htm). This makes an awesome place an awesome deal, and allows us to get away for a short amount of time. I remember going and having a blast as a kid, and now can share the fun with my kids. Who knows, I may get some inspiration down there in the exhbits and come up with a good story while I’m down there.
For anyone who hasn’t been to the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis, it’s worth the visit, especially if you are in the area. It is 5 stories of fun, hands on exhibits for the kids, that adults have fun with also. You don’t outgrow the museum. And this year (until Feb 2011) the Barbie exhibit is down there. My four year old daughter wants to go NOW and not wait. The Museum is always growing, and last time I was down there 4 years ago, it was at least twice as big as when I was a kid. It is well worth the admission prices, even if you do have to pay full price.
Book Review: The Long Way Home 02/14/2010
The Long Way Home
Andrew Klavan
Thomas Nelson Publishers
Charlie West is an eighteen year old boy that wakes up one morning to find out that a year has past and his is being hunted by both a rogue terrorist group as well as the police. Although he lived that year, he doesn’t remember any of the events of that year, including the murder that he was convicted of performing and developing a relationship with the girl he had come to love. This is about his journey back to his hometown, and location of the murder, in order to find answers and to clear his name.
The Long Way Home is the second book of the Homelanders Series, and I would hope to think had I read the first one I might have enjoyed this one better. Mr. Klavan does a good job of catching up the reader who picks up the book for the first time, but I feel he relies on flashbacks to tell too much of the story, which I would expect to know had I read the first book. The current events of the book only take up a small portion of the book, which I was disappointed in.
With the exception of all the flashbacks taking up the majority of the book, the book is well written, especially for its intended young adult audience. Mr. Klavan does a good job of creating a main character who live the values that he believes in, values that teens need to adopt for their daily life. It is a plot filled with promise, I just would have enjoyed more of the current story, not living in the past.
2010 01/27/2010
Happy 2010. There are some changes being made to this blog, along with my goals for the year. First of all, I am going to start posting book reviews shortly. Some will be sponsered through an advance copy of a book, others based on what I’m reading for the heck of it. I promise to be honest in the review, aka even if I received a free book but hated it I will tell you I hated it. This blog will be dedicated to books and writing, so a new name is forthcoming (although I like the name Death by Ramen Noodles, I might just save it for a short story not the blog). An outline of my goals for 2010 is:
1. I’ve signed up on WriYe for 200,000 words for the year. This amounts to just under 548 words a day or about 17000 words a month. (Note as of today, January 27 I’ve only got about 2000 words for the month so I’m way behind).
2. Blog entries at least 1 time per week (again, this being the first one in January puts me 3 behind)
3. Read at least 25 books this year and 5 of them have to be nonfiction and have nothing to do with radiology. (Ah easy to read the fiction books and I shouldn’t have any problem with the 20 book part, its the 5 nonfiction/not radiology that’s the problem).
4. Complete two first drafts this year (NaNoWriMo and FebNoWriMo should cover this)
5. Edit Nano 09 to take advantage of CreateSpace offer (this is in jeopardy since I’ve decided to walk away from the novel for now, but I’m hoping in a month or two I’ll want to revisit this one)
6. Finally, write and submit 5 short stories this year, to get some writing credentials.
I’ve tried to make these goals achievable, but time will only tell. Feel free to bug me and nag me to keep on track, since it seems that pressure is the only way I get it done.
49 hours 30 minutes 11/29/2009
Okay, only 49 hours and 30 minutes left in November, meaning only 49 hours and 30 minutes left in NaNoWriMo 2009. I’m only at 31,075 words right now. So the correct answer would be to tell me to start writing or admit defeat. I’ve added just under 4500 words today and didn’t start writing until 4 PM. At this pace, I should be able to hit 50000 by midnight November 30th, but it’s going to be close. I am not expecting a miracle, like the novel being good, or what I write in the next 49 hours and 25 minutes to be salvageable, but I am not going down without a fight. Lessons for next year:
1. Do not fall behind. Get the 1667 words per day regardless, even if I don’t feel like writing that day. If I can write 100 words in 5 minutes about nothing, then I can come up with 1667 words about something regardless. Who knows, I might get another idea out of it.
2. Pick a genre that I actually read. The plot hasn’t developed, and I think part of that is because I don’t read romance. I read sci-fi and mystery. Stick to what I like.
3. Plan, plan, plan. Come up with an idea for next year now and work on it throughout the year so come November I’m not meandering around with no clue as to what I’m writing, and not resorting to 100 bottles of beer on the wall.
4. Keep up on writing by keeping a goal of at least 500 words per day about something, even a journal because ideas come from the strangest of places.
On a side note, I am pleased with this experience, even if I end up with 49,999 words at 11:59 PM Monday night. The biggest plus I see from this is that I am writing again, and I can do 1000 words a day. I have enjoyed my time with NaNo, and am kind of sad to see the end in 49 hours and 18 minutes.
25,000 down, 25,000 to go 11/23/2009
Okay, I’ve hit 25,000 words yesterday. Problem, I only think the novel will take another 8,000 to 10,000 more words to finish. I’m staying away from straight romances from here on out. I think that is the problem with this novel. I don’t really want to continue because I see it meandering and not having much of a point. I like the characters. I like the ideas of the plot. I like how the relationship between Rachel and Ben is complicated by the fact that Jordyn is his daughter, not Rachel’s ex-husband’s. Other then a few clever lines it is just well boring. Also, the dialogue is taking over and I’m not getting much of any story otherwise. AGGHHH!!! Okay, I feel better now that I got the rant off my chest. I’ll just finish the story and then I’ll go back and see about adding some descriptions. Maybe that will boost me up over 25,000 words. (Its hard to go back though due to the change from first person, to third person, then back to first person again. Maybe sticking with first person and then telling both sides of the story will help also). Ohhh ideas are starting to flow again. Congrats to those who finished already. Wish me luck!
Random Thoughts About NaNoWriMo 11/06/2009
Okay, I’m entering the sixth day of NaNoWriMo and I’ve decided I like the experience. There are a few realizations that I have come to, and I thought I would share:
- What I’m writing is total crap! So many might say, why continue? Because I always stop at this point, and never persevere. So, I plug on with my little 5800 words, about 2500 words short of goal.
- This is good practice for writing. I don’t have to worry about the quality. The stuff I wrote on day 5 is much better then the stuff on day 1 (which was almost painful to transfer from paper to the computer).
- I write better when listening to books on tape rather than music, especially books that I’ve already read so I’m not more interested in the book then what I’m writing. Hearing someone read to me puts me in this psudo-calm state in which the words flow (and it doesn’t hurt to hear good sentence structure and descriptions as I’m trying to write mine, which have nothing to do with the book I’m reading).
- I’m more productive writing with pen and paper somewhere else, other than home with three kids running around and a husband trying to read what I’m writing (he thinks he’s in this book, he’s not, and that I’m going to kill him in some crazy fashion).
- I’m getting into the habit of writing daily, which I will be able to keep up after November is done. Will I be able to keep up 50,000 words in a month, doubtful. But I can set a goal of at least 500 words a day to keep up with.
Word count should be at 10,002 tonight, so I’ve got some writing left to do today.
