A lot of people were very excited after the election on November 4th. I was thrilled that Obama won. Honestly. Very happy. But I was unable to rejoice in that because Prop 8 passed. It ruined it for me. I find the fact that my country voted to take away civil rights from people extremely embarrassing. I hate that.
Anyway, lots of people have posted this, but it really does sum up my feelings and disbelief best, so I’m going to post it as well.
Day 9: I’m so behind
Who’s idea was it to write a mystery? And who’s idea was it to start NaNoWriMo without knowing who killed Marisa and why? Cuz that was a stupid idea. I’ve been writing lots of character profiles. I’m kinda good at that. My word count is way behind. I think I am going to have to start writing down my free form thoughts about the crime and why it was done to her, even if it’s stupid, to get my word count back up. That’s what I am doing now, trying to figure out the players and who killed Marisa and why. Besides the fact she’s an sneaky, cold hearted bitch.
This isn’t a first draft. This isn’t even a shitty first draft. This is like draft .2. It’s 2/10th’s of a first draft. Qualitywise.
On the plus side, I’ve been scrubbing the spots out of our horrible Dalmatian carpet with a Woolite Rug Stick. We were allowed to move into this no pets apartment building with two cats because the carpet in this unit sucks. It needs to be replaced. Because of that, he let us have cats, and did not replace the carpet. We were grateful. However, the carpet makes me sad. It’s ugly and tan and spotty. I haven’t had the gumption to drag home a rental steam cleaner.
The Woolite Rug Stick is not getting rid of every spot, but it’s definitely fading them. And that is such a relief. It’s a lot of physical work, tho. I’m trying to get the hallway and living room at least somewhat de-spotted because we will have house guests for the next six days. One of Wil’s little buddies from the island Monday through Thursday and then my mom will be here Friday and Saturday.
I’m not sure what having house guests will do for my word count. All Wil and his little buddy will be doing is hanging out and playing video games and making messes. One of two things will happen. Either every part of the house, besides the living room, will be really clean. (Because there will be no room for me in the living room, and nothing for me to do there anyway.) or I will run away to the library all day and my word count will soar.
Or I will spend my days preparing food for them.
Or I will play the sims.
PS: Wil lost 8 lbs in the first week of our diet and I lost 6.5. So yay us!
Amelia, the fireplace and procrastination
Amelia: What is that you are watching there on your high falutin’ picture box.
Jodi: It’s my fireplace dvd. It’s good background for when I am writing.
Amelia: What, you don’t have a real fireplace.
Jodi: We can’t afford one. So I turn on the dvd and light a candle for an aromatic touch.
Amelia: Which is why your fire smells like coconut chocolate mousse?
Jodi: Yes. Earlier it smelled of mangos and tangerines.
Amelia: Refreshing! You realize you are only talking to me to waste time, right?
Jodi: Yes. I’m stuck. I’m blocked. I don’t know what to do next. The body has been discovered, the police have been called. All the stuff I came up with last year when I planned this story has been written.
Amelia: You just do it. You just write.
Jodi: Easy for you to say, but write what?
Amelia: My god, girl, quit your crying, get on that plane and fly it already. Oh, and name a character after me.
Jodi: Consider it done.
Just because she’s been quiet, doesn’t mean she’s gone.
Of course she’s been quiet so long, a great portion of people who read my blog now probably don’t realize I talk to a poster of Amelia Earhart.
Day Four: And I Already Feel More Positive Because I had Oatmeal for Breakfast
And because Barak Obama will be the, what… 44th? President of the United States of America. Well done, America!
This morning I got up to read my blogs and was told to vote at least 97 times. Since I voted already, I was over being told what to do and figured the rest of you knew you should vote. Or you were Canadian. The only election results I watched were Indecision ’08, and therefore Jon Stewart told me that Obama would be my next president. I like that. I’m sorry I’m not one of those deep thinking reflective type bloggers. I spent the evening making chili while Wil played video games.
That’s all I have to say about that. Oh, one more thing, at this time, 10:02 PST, as it stands now, I am VERY disappointed in you, California. I don’t even know what to say… I hope I wake up in the morning and when all the numbers are in, you will have shown better sense. (Just to be clear, because the numbers are so close, I’m against Prop 8.) Ya’ll are going to make Ellen Degenres sad. Shame on you.
Anyhoo, since this is Wil’s day off, I haven’t done any writing yet, so I’d better git to it.
Day Three: I’ve Already Eaten My 15 Allotted Almonds for the Day
I haven’t written my words yet today, which goes against my strategy for winning this year: write first thing in the morning, don’t stop until you hit at least 1667 words.
Now, I promise you that I’m not going to talk about my diet every damn day. But I am going to talk about it one more time to let you know that I am officially switching to Weight Watchers. It worked well for me before, and I think it will this time too. South Beach is just far to restrictive for someone with my limited tastes. I like the point system. I like trying to save up as many of the Weekly Points as possible to have a treat. I love that I can drink a Dr Pepper if I want to, as long as I count the points.
There are things about SB that I will miss. As much as you can miss something you’ve only been on three days. Ideas I will miss. You can eat all you want of the foods you are allowed to eat. You don’t have to measure or worry about portions. The only limit is nuts. You can only have 15 almonds a day. That’s not a lot of almonds, which is unfortunate because it’s on the rather small list of “Foods I will actually eat.” The thought of continuing on that diet just depressed me.
It was stupid to start NaNo and a diet at the same time, but at least on WW, I know I will have foods I can eat. Although a lot fewer daily points than I had when I started the last time. Maybe because I weigh 44 lbs less than I did the first time.
Day Two: Do I Sound Like A Musical Robot
Day two of NaNoWriMo and my word count is 3,407. Once again I finished my minimum before Wil got home from work, if only about two minutes before. If anything, today was more of a struggle than yesterday. At times, I just started writing like a robot. You know, like “He got out of the car. The car was brown. He was wearing a shirt. It was plaid.”
I would go on like that until I loosened up a bit, and something more pleasant came out. Later, I went back and fixed the dry stuff. I use a great program called Scrivener to write. It allows me to write “scrawling fragmentary ideas that don’t seem to fit anywhere yet.” I can jump from scene to scene. Whatever it takes to keep writing. I highly recommend it. It’s mac only, but it comes with a 30 day trial, so you can try it out while you work on your novel throughout November.
The South Beach diet is not going as well. Yesterday was hard. I was hungry all day and the cravings for something sweet or something bready were intense. And this morning, I cheated. I admit it, I had the last bowl left in the box of raisin bran. It was delightful, and now it’s all gone. I suppose, if you are going to cheat, better on day 2 of the first phase then day 12 or something, after you’ve worked so hard to get rid of the cravings. Right? I dislike this diet and it does not work well for my limited tastes for foods. I am going to finish phase one and see how I feel. I might switch to Weight Watchers. Wil can stay on it. I’m pretty sure the food I prepare for him would be low in points as well.
It’s not fair! NaNoWriMo requires candy and Dr Pepper! Everyone knows that. My heart’s not in it, but man, I have got to do something about the weight gain. I’ve got all these pants in a smaller size I can’t wear right now.
Day One
Well, since I already finished my daily minimum words for NaNoWriMo, I guess I’ll just keep writing. So far so good. My nickname on NaNo is jodiferous, of course, if you want to be buddies.
Not only is it day one of NaNoWrimo, but it’s also Day One on the South Beach diet. I gained a disturbing amount of weight this summer, went back up a pant size. This scared the crap out of me, because up is not a direction I ever want to go again. Wil wanted to lose some weight he’s put on since he started dating me. Because that’s what happens when you hang around me. I’m fattening.
I blame Wil’s workplace. This summer, they put him on a 2 pm to 10 pm schedule, and we ceased to have meals together. I did NOT mind not having to come up with dinner every night. Loved that part. But basically we started snacking instead of having healthy meals. We ate far too much Open Late Drive-thru fast food. We ate out way too much. And I developed a not-so-small addiction to Tiny Cherry Pies from Safeway bakery. 
God, I am hungry. The book promised I would not be, but the book doesn’t know who it’s dealing with. We are on Phase One which lasts two weeks. Phase One is supposed to cure you of your sugar and carb cravings. I certainly hope so, because I’ve been riding a wave of sugar cravings of significant size for months now. No fruit, no carbs, no sugar, no fun. Lean protein and stupid vegetables. This diet will be easier for Wil. He looOOoooves vegetables. And his favorite way to eat them? Raw. He also likes plain yogurt. You know what I like? Buffalo wings, cheese burgers, fruit, potato chips, french fries, Dr Pepper, bread, candy and, of course, Tiny Cherry Pies. What I don’t like are vegetables. 
Sucks. I’m hungry even though I just ate grilled chicken wrapped in lettuce with South Beach “Ranch” Dressing. (I like to think of it more as inspired by a vague idea of what Ranch Dressing looks like.) I want some raisin bran. I want a bagel, toasted, with butter AND peanut butter on it. I want Red Vines which I can’t even have anyway because they don’t have them in Canada.
Please help, someone bring me mini reece’s peanut butter cups. Pleeeeeeeease. That reminds me, can you freeze peanut butter? I’ve got a big jar of Jif and it’s calling my name. I don’t want to throw it away, but I need it to be unobtainable for a while
I’m supposed to be cleaning the kitchen
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What Your Cute Monster Says About You |
 You are a very natural, real person. You’re comfortable with who you are – and your spirit truly shines through. You are free of inhibitions and hang ups. Because of this freedom, you tend to be very creative. Your inner demon is greed. You can’t help but lust after wealth and shiny objects. |
Odd, because I hate sushi
That’s right, I said it.
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You Are Japanese Food |
 Strange yet delicious. Contrary to popular belief, you’re not always eaten raw. |
via Raul.