silensy

Okay, so I quit my job in July. And it's now been just over a month of unemployment and not a whole lot of words added to the novel that is that reason I quit my job.

Goals, though, they're not met by arbitrarily just setting them. You have to break them down into reasonable chunks.

I'm not looking to hit NaNo pace. 2000 words a day is doable but needlessly difficult when you're stuck. I don't really like word counts at all.

Instead I want to do something more like a don't break the chain kind of thing. Writing every day, for at least an hour (at LEAST). Even if I end up killing those words later because they suck.

What sort of writing techniques do you use to keep yourself motivated?

So over the weekend, I cataloged all my DVDs and sorted out the ones that I just never watch, no matter how much I love them. In a lot of cases, I own them simply because I love them and have never even taken them out of the wrapping.

Below the cut are those DVDs for sale. All prices include shipping domestically (I'll ship internationally, I just need to figure out how much more it is.) Some (many) of them are priced for nostalgia instead of actual value but it's my sale and I'll drastically cut my chances of selling them if I want to.

If it has an asterix, it's unopened. If it doesn't, it still might be unopened.

EDIT: So I have anime that I didn't include here because I was lazy and with only a couple of exceptions, it's only a few episodes here and there. But in the interests of Less Stuff, I've appended my anime list to the end of the whole thing. It's all from Early 00s, so don't think there's new series here.


( Movies )

( TV )

( Anime )

When you see this, quote Leo McGarry

"This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out.

"A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on.

"Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on

"Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out.'"

I have a huge and wonderfully close family but more than that, I truly believe that we live in an era when it really is about the family we make for ourselves. The people that we choose, the ones who come through, the ones we call in the middle of the night.

This year has been hard. It's been the next thing to impossible. Christmas shopping is a constant reminder that there's one less gift to buy. I see so many things that would be perfect for Victoria and it's always just a few seconds before I remember why I don't have anything for her yet.

I don't have any nutshell revelations to follow that up. My feelings are still messy and unresolved. There's no movie-style inspiring narrative that results or even a Hallmark 'go hug your family'.

I'm grateful for the family I have - the one I was born to and the one I've been fortunate enough to build. That's got to be enough.

Merry Christmas, for those who celebrate. Love and Peace to you all.

More Joy

1. I do plan to get this going again. I have a small seed fund for it. What I'm wondering-- would people still want to participate if that money went to a predetermined charity instead of back into their pockets? Last year's total would have donated more than $2000 to a cause. Thoughts?

2. I have at least two people who never gave me a place to send their More Joy money. If that's you, please tell me what to do with your money.

Birthday reminder

As is traditional, I'm telling you now that my birthday is on the 10th. This is your only reminder. Spare me the cries later of "but you never told us!" I have. Right now.

Wishlists

This is actually unrelated to the above item. I just needed to give myself a reminder that I need to prioritize my list of wants so that I can budget for them. There was a prioritization app out there somewhere that I wish I could find again. It was cool.

Food

I'm glad my roommate is grocery shopping today. We're out of, like, everything.

Tags

When did LJ put that "select tags" link on their update page? I has a fond!

...I feel so much better now.

It's all gone, like someone stopped pounding me in the head with a hammer. I didn't even know the hammer was there. Why did I let someone pound me in a hammer all that time? What in hell was I thinking? Why did I think any of that made sense?

Once you're out of the system, it makes no sense at all. None of the carrots they dangled before you mean anything, and you start to truly comprehend just how much stress you were under. You see things you never would have believed while you were in the system. And the relief is greater than you ever could have imagined while you were enmeshed.

From How to keep someone with you forever by Issendai


The worst part of these systems, I think, is that you can fall into them over and over again. It's the same reason you don't remember how much falling and breaking your arm hurt when you were 8. You'd never get on a bike again if you did.

Hmm.

I've been trying to stay busy and not think. But I need to black and white this someplace for myself and Facebook doesn't count.

On March 28, my very dear friend lost her battle with breast cancer. It's the end of three very long years and far far too much pain. We're planning a party for Friday night, the funeral for Saturday morning at 9am. If you'd like to come, you're welcome, though most of you aren't close enough to make it.

I keep trying to make sense of it. None of the things people say, that I say, help at all. Yes, she's not in pain anymore. Yes, I got to say goodbye, tell her I loved her and that it was okay. But the only thing that's keeping me from giving in to the need to scream and scream and scream is sticking close to the sense that this is all not real. Just a bad dream from an overactive imagination. Like Russians.

I don't want it to be real.

I'm leaving the comments open but I don't really want any more sympathy or offers to help. If you want to help, make sure that you let all the women in your life know that their health is in their hands. If you think there's something wrong, demand tests. Push for the ultrasound, the biopsy. Don't assume that youth is a safety net. Victoria was 25 years old when she found the lump.

The doctors told her she was too young. That she couldn't have cancer because cancer didn't hurt. That she wasn't an urgent case. They were wrong every single time.

Beth is wearing pants and knee high boots today. I am glad we're not in another supershort skirt. I was nervous for her yesterday. They both look fabulous, of course.

How are you liking the convention?
Gina's a bit overwhelmed. This is her first convention. Beth loves it.

The scariest thing is that the fans know more than we (Gina) do. We shed the script after we're done because we have to learn the next one.
( Read more... )

lheena assigned me three fandoms to answer 15 questions about. These are those fandoms. I think it's supposed to be like a 'comment and get assigned three' kind of meme, so, you know, if you want to do that.

( Batman, Leverage and Lilo & Stitch )

My niece Izabelle Yvonne was born at 7:47 this morning. She weighs 7 lbs and 14 oz and is 21.5 inches long. She's absolutely stunningly beautiful and hardly looks at all like Winston Churchill.

There's a debate raging over whether she's Izzy or Belle. I invite you to cast your vote in the comments and I shall report to the parents.

Fabulously Broke outlines 5 excuses we use to justify our bad spending habits.

I don't know if my favorite is "It's an Investment" or "I had a hard day, I deserve a treat."