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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Electricity in the Air

I can feel it. The buzz.

I've moved into my own flat and I'm slowly gathering my things to me. I'm nesting and burrowing, gathering and collecting. I'm carving out my own space and it feels fabulous!

I find myself occasionally thinking about my flat and I smile. Its a secret smile all to myself, and when I realise that it just makes me smile all the more.

2009 is going to be my year.

The buzz is buzzing, and its relentless. No matter what gets thrown at me (ie a job that is getting so stressful that I think my head is going to explode, an ex-husband who loves door-handle arguments etc) I still find myself smiling because I know I have my own space and I have my own future to carve out. Its deliciously selfish, and I'm gratuitiously writhing around in it and I'm not giving any apologies.

So, when is the writing going to come? Soon. I feel it bubbling. I'm not such an inexperienced little girl that I'm going to push a great weight of expectation of my new situation onto my writing, I'm just going to carefully carve out a channel to properly direct myself towards success.

Twilight is out at the cinema, and I remember reading about it on the Pubrants blog, so I feel the push of competition and inspiration upon me.

I cant wait. Bedamned with Christmas, and 2008 be over with! The new year is mine. I cant wait!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

My Poor Neglected Blog

I've been so lazy on the blog/writing front. No excuses.

I've at least got a new job - Web Administrator for Southern Railway (www.southernrailway.com), which is great. I get to mess around with website.. well, within very strict guidelines.

Ummm, so, yeah. I've got no excuses. I'm just lazy and haven't logged on to Blogger in ages. I really miss reading everyones updates, but its kinda tricky to be reading blogs while I'm at work coz my boss sits right behind me and I cant hear it when he swivels his chair around. He's always catching me out on Hotmail, so I'd better not push it.

I'm still here, though. Still thinking of everyone. Still thinking of writing. Still plotting away. Just had quite a busy personal life and have had quite a few changes, but I'm sure once I'm more settled I'll get back into it.

I'm reading 'A Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin at the moment. Its fcking excellent!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Fast Times

So, I haven't been working for a few weeks coz my temp job came to an end, which is soooo annoying financially, so I thought I'd fast for a few days. Ten days to be exact... and today is the last day.

Its been a very strange week. It feels so odd to wake up and not have to plan meals all day (or all week), and its pretty boring. The first two or three days were a bit agonising in that I had to watch hubs eat delicious food right in front of me!! But, at least he got off his fat arse and cooked for himself, which is one of the surprise side effects of this 'diet' (for lack of a better word).

This 'diet' is actually called the Master Cleanse, and is sometimes also called the Lemonade Diet. Basically all you have is home made lemonade to drink (made from real lemons, no sugar!) and its supposed to clean you out etc. I've developed a bit of a cough but I would say thats understandable if I'm detoxing.

I've been counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds all week, and this morning I had a small handful of berries. I stupidly ate them just after I brushed my teeth so they tasted pretty grose with the toothpaste taste in my mouth, but besides the taste it was a pretty uneventful breakfast. I'm not usually very hungry in the mornings, so its not a huge deal. I daresay by this evening I shall be quite rampant - especially since hubs is having burritos. But I'm not going to be stupid and jump into eating cooked meat for some days yet. I'm starting slow. Fruit first. Then raw veg. Then steamed veg. Then add some fish. Then add other healthy cooked food, and gradually build up to a balanced diet.

I've lost a stone in ten days, but I'd say thats pretty superficial. I dont expect my weight to keep plummeting once I start eating solid food again, but I'm going to keep the portions strictly small and the food strictly healthy so it at least keeps heading in the right direction no matter how slow.

I've got a wedding to go to in less than a month, and the dress I want to wear doesn't fit me. I'm determined to fit into it! I must!!!

On the writing front things have not only taken a back seat, they've pretty much been left by the roadside. I haven't read a blog in about three weeks (and haven't posted), and I haven't even read a book in that time also let alone written anything. But there is a reason... I've got a test coming up.

Its called the 'Life In The UK' test and its for fucking immigrants. I have to pass this stupid bollocks test before I renew my visa in July. So, I've got a half-inch thick book to study and its fucken shite!! I spent six years at university loathing exams and now I've got to do another one! Goddammit!! I vowed never to do another damn exam ever again. I think its multiple choice, though, so that at least is something.

Anyway, must get on with my day and plan my meals for the next few days very carefully, before sticking my nose in the stupid book and learning all the statistics and intricacies of British Life. (Surely Aussies should be exempt! I mean, I worked in a pub when I came over here - isn't that enough?????)

Friday, April 25, 2008

Stupidity at 30

If happiness is buying 10 new books guilt free (for my birthday) then stupidity is that 3 out of those 10 books I already own - so I've had to return them. But that doesn't mean I'm settling at 7 new books - oh no - it just means I can choose 3 other books!

Hooray.

My folks are in town this week (they're Aussies but they live in NY), which is nice. Mummy dearest has bought me a sewing machine so I can now finish hemming my curtains!

I am quite the domestic goddess!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Holy Moly!

116 words

Speed test



I took this test a few times and improved with each time. I noticed that my typing speed got faster when I read ahead faster. Its a bit odd that the test uses random words rather than full sentences, which was a bit off putting at first, but at least they were easy common words without too many capital letters or apostrophes etc.

I'm smugly chuffed!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Horoscope

Your Horoscope for APRIL 16, 2008

After the rush of energy over the past few days, Kate, today you may feel a powerful letdown. Not every day can be filled with adventure and excitement. For now, you just need to take care of the routine matters that are a by-product of life on Earth. However, keep in mind that there are many social opportunities coming up, and with the right kind of planning, you can get excitement back into your life.


Looking forward to more excitement!!!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Happiness at 30!

Happiness is buying ten new books guilt-free.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Break

Just takin' a break.

Friday, April 04, 2008

Nightmares... or Not?

I had the weirdest dream last night. It involved a crocodile, a kitten, and my pants!

But the dream isn't the point. The point I wanted to make was that most of the time you hear about people waking up screaming, or talking in their sleep or whatever, but I woke myself up because I was laughing.

I could feel my body wanting to laugh but because I was so languide, being asleep and all that, I was making this funny choking sound. Hubs thought I was sobbing like a baby, but that didn't stop him from being annoyed that I'd woken him up. When he spoke to me I burst out laughing and tried to sloppily explain that having a crocodile and a kitten in your pants would make him laugh too.

I think I drifted off to sleep pretty quickly after that, and I dont remember any dreams thereafter, but I still have this odd image of the kitten trying to hide from the crocodile and my butt being scratched to death!

Very odd! I wonder if there is a book idea in it. Hehehe.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Thud & Mayhem

It was going so well...

I've got a lot of my book organised in my head (so, really, if its only in my head then its not really a 'book', but I shall call it a book nonetheless and I will feel no shame that not a word has yet been written!), I can almost see the first chapter and can hear how it will sound if read aloud...

Then THUD!

Migraine.

A sleepless Sunday night and a tummy ache (well what can I really expect from eating chips & burgers two nights in a row!) lead me to take Monday off work - which I'm paid hourly at coz I'm a temp - which depressed me even more since if I'm not at work then I'm not earning. The only thing keeping me going through Monday and Tuesday (back at work and dead tired, head dully throbbing) was the waiting waiting waiting to hear the verdict on my interview at Penguin.

Went to the pub Tuesday night and against all good common sense I had three pints of Doom Bar (lovely bitter), and happily trotted home to find an evilly cold and disconnected email in my inbox.

I'd been expecting a phone call from at least one of the girls who interviewed me, but the email was from a strangely named HR employee. The friendly 'thanks' at the beginning was enough to let me know that they'd stupidly passed on hiring me.

Bugger.

Ah well. After 2.5 years, three stints of work experience, and over 60 applications to Penguin I'd say it was about time I was interviewed. Someone once told me that persistence is the key... I suppose I'm being persistent eh. Hehehe. I'm not sure why I've set my sights on Penguin - maybe its because its got a cute name and an even cuter little logo - but since I haven't got any other work-related goals (obviously other than being a writer of fabulous novels) then I figured I may as well set my sights on SOMETHING! It certainly beats the crappy secretary job I'm doing now!

So, until I can get my ideas down onto paper succinctly and get published and make enough money to quit my day job then I may as well keep trying to break into the publishing industry, coz at least I'll be surrounded by books which is definitely not a bad place to be. A damn sight better than working in a shit job in an industry I care so little about it makes me strain my eyes from rolling them so much!

Three more job applications pending for Penguin - but now I have someone's email address in HR, so I'm going to chase them up directly!!!

Mwah ha ha ha haaaa... I shall snag that elusive job - I shall be victorious!!!!

If only I could shake this lingering migraine...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Anthology Builder

THIS could be good. Although the submission guidelines 'request' that material be previously published I'm thinking I might try my luck and enter a few of my whimsical little stories and see how they go.

Friday, March 14, 2008

Google Docs

Just been playing around with Google Docs. I'd never heard of it before and thought it might be a good tool for writing when I'm not at home. Previously I'd just write in a Word document then email it to myself when I was done for the day, but that added up to sometimes multiple word docs all over the place, and was generally a pain in the arse. Especially if I was using Jerry as well which has to be uploaded into a word document.

I can also publish to my blog from Google Docs. How cool is that?! It would be handy if in my next job I am unable to access blogs... but I dont post very often anyway so I think I'm just stalling on the writing front by testing out groovy new tech stuff.

Procrastination is my middle name!
Testing

I Should Be A What...?




You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer



Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from.

And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi.

Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics...

Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Countryside

So, I've chosen the boots I want, and the jacket I want (not the ones I was previously thinking about. I decided on one of the mens jackets)... now all I have to do is convince Mum that she wants to buy them for me.

I've succeeded with the boots - mainly because they dont sell the ones I want in the UK, only in the US, and also because they're actually quite cheap... but the jacket is a lot more pricey and may need more some kind of bribe in order to succeed in persuading her. Though, Mum is a lover of quality and these are damn fine quality jackets.

Fingers crossed. Hehehhee.

Still aint done a scrap of writing. I'm so lazy.

Friday, March 07, 2008

New Jacket

I've been viewing the Barbour website almost daily for a week now, trying to decide which jacket to buy.

I've narrowed it down to the Flyweight Wax Utility or Amelia jacket, I think. But I just dont know. I've tried on a few at lunchtimes (there is a Barbour shop just around the corner from where I work - so handy!), but they dont have the entire range.

I'm going to have to go to Harrods tomorrow.

Yay. I haven't been to Harrods since I was 9! Yikes, thats 1987... 21 years ago, when me and my family were living in the UK for a year (and when I first fell in love with England and started feeling like it was home).

And, yes, from above you can deduce that I am hitting the big 3-0 this year. In five weeks. OMG. Five weeks.

Actually, its less than that. 4.5 weeks. April 11th. 30. Years. Old.

Its freaking me out, man. Totally.

So, anyway... back to the new jacket - must keep myself occupied. Going shopping tomorrow. Should be fun. Should be. (and expensive!)

Be Adventurous!

I really like this post from over at Bookends. I think that the three points that Angie rose are excellent, and are what can make or break a book.

I dont think I could put it much better than she did, so I wont try, but I know that after a couple of glasses of JD & Coke I find that my fear (ie the side of me that makes me say "oh my god, did I just write that?!") diminishes and I start being more adventurous and seeing the potential of where my story could go.

I also think its quite important not to stick with the first few ideas you come up with and actually push yourself to the limit of your creativity. I mean, really, if the best ideas could be had so quickly and easily then why is it that most (all?) authors say writing a good book is actually quite difficult?! I've read some of the crap I've come up with at the drop of a hat, and to be honest it was utter crap. I may have had the seeds of some good ideas planted in there, but they definitely didn't flourish.

Putting in surprises is a good point, though I think it could backfire. In one book I read by Robin Hobb, right near the end she put in a surprise - it was a new race of people called the Peksies (or something like that) that she used to create conflict to keep Fitz from getting back to Buckkeep in time to see the Fool before he leaves possibly forever, and not only did it annoy me that she left the book on a cliff hanger like that, but it annoyed me that before then I'd never heard of the Peksies.

Perhaps thats not the right example for putting a 'surprise' in your story. Perhaps its just the smaller 'surprises' that Angie was meaning, ie like the dog talking back to the protag. But anyway, good or bad they will definitely make the writing more adventurous.

And I love a good adventure!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Exiting Dystopia

Went for a two hour walk with the hubs last night, through the paths in the forests and fields around where he grew up.

It was absolutely lovely.

And its the best way to cure a migraine!

We're going to make it a regular thing (which will be good for my ever-expanding waist), so I've been spending all my time looking for maps of paths and walks throughout the Kent countryside.

We've got friends who have got a landrover, so we've been out with them a few times down some pretty obscure and muddy lanes, which has been fun, but sometimes you just need to walk.

Its free, too. And we sooo dont need to be spending money!

The prize at the end of each walk is a quick stop for a quiet drink in one of the many marvelous country pubs in the region. We went to the Crown in Knockholt last night. A very quiet pub, but I love the decor.

I'm hoping that these nighttime wanderings will get my brain plotting some more coz I'm seriously lagging on the writing front. Not only that, it hasn't even been occupying my thoughts as much as it usually does. I normally cant stop thinking about the stories I want to write. They're all dormant at the moment, though.

Out for lunch now.. looking for a new jacket!

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

No Sleep

Migraine. Again.

Moaning. Again.

At least its Tuesday. (pub night)

Friday, February 29, 2008

Drag

Is today dragging or what?

Perhaps its because I'm at work with no work to do. I'm twiddling my thumbs. I'm all blogged out as far as reading goes.

I really should spend time writing, but with my head so full of cold I just cant think straight.

I'm so looking forward to an easy weekend. I'm going to make a raspberry and chocolate pavlova tomorrow night. I'm actually going to make two, one for Saturday night when we have friends over, and the other for Mother's Day. I've never made one before but it seems easy. Whip eggwhites, add sugar, bake, cool, add topping, eat.

I normally dont bake... Only because of laziness really, and the complete lack of interest I have in desserts. Its quite odd actually. I thought I was such a sweet tooth, but that really only applies to chocolate. And I mean just straight chocolate - not chocolate flavoured things. Pah. Choc flavoured things are fakes. Give me the real creamy chocolatiness of proper brown gold above any 'flavoured' thing any day!

...But I am going to bake tomorrow, mainly because its the first friends we're having over for dinner since moving into our new flat, and because I know they like pavlova (merengue!). I'm so looking forward to it. I'm also looking forward to receiving a package from my Mum tomorrow. I think she has sent me socks. Mums - Damn fine creatures, eh!

Right, well, I'm going to try to fill the rest of my day... only two hours to go...

The Cold Writer

I am full of cold. Sniffling and miserable.

TFIF (I dont thank God for anything!)

I'm having an easy night tonight, though I have to clean the house. I probably shouldn't drink, but I have two whole bottles of Jack Daniels and Captain Morgan and I dont want them having a party in my cupboard without me. Perhaps I'll just drop in for one or two, then pass out early.

On the writing front -

Oh my, have I been lazy! I keep trying to live by the same excuse of 'just moved house, life a mess, cant possibly write right now'... but the truth is is that time is relative and like anything juicy you can always squeeze one last drop out. There is enough time in the day. I just have to recognise it.

Poor Jerry has been gathering dust since I pathetically failed Nano last year, and I even had a hard time remembering what my damn Nano novel was about.

I've been lurking and absorbing all the info still being churned out in the blogosphere, and have occasionally left a comment or two, but generally I've been living under the radar.

I will get back to writing. I will. I must. I want to. I really want to.

I really dont want to be full of cold. *sniffle*

I also really want a decent damn job. And one within publishing so that I can stay close to my love. I hate working in crap industries that I have absolutely zero interest. I'm temping with a property company at the moment. They 'interviewed' me for the permanent position and asked the horrid question: 'Why do you want to work in property?'

rant rant rant (I've removed what I originally wrote coz I just realised if anyone at work googled my name it could come up and that wouldn't be at all good!)

Hmm... What has got into me? I wonder if its a full moon...

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Grrr

Bloomsbury sux.

An agency has put me forward for a job at Pengiun though.

Fingers crossed.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Where Am I?

Here I am.

I'm still here, lurking on the net. Watching. Reading. Learning.

My enthusiasm for this blog thing has fizzled a bit, but I'm getting more settled in my new house, and we've just bought a new computer, so once I get sorted with a permanent job then I'm sure I'll snap out of my wanderings and will post something more like I used to.

I'm so excited about our new computer. Its big and fancy and it actually WORKS! Its my first time with Vista, and it seems ok. Not sure there was anything wrong with XP, but there ya go. My lap top, after crashing three times in one week, has been reloaded again and if I can manage to get myself a wireless router without parting with any precious £££ then I'll have it connected to the internet as a backup (where I can download to my heart's content without affecting the speed of the new computer - or without opening it up to viruses!).

The house is all but done. We've got curtains, but no poles to hang them on. This should be rectified by the weekend. All the fixtures and fittings are on the walls etc, except for a bathroom shelf, and the new massive mirror is being delivered next Tuesday. All we have to do now is find some bedside tables, a sofa bed for the spare room, and some dressing table type drawers or shelves that I can use by my bedroom mirror without taking up too much space.

So. Normalcy has pretty much returned. Except on the job front.

I'm working at a property consultant place doing very little work! I'm a secretary to the valuations department, but all of last week I just sat there twiddling my thumbs. It got quite boring as there is only so much surfing on the net you can do without going crazy, but at least they were paying me. I squandered the time when I could have been using it as writing time. Ah well. My muse is still on holiday.

I'm waiting to hear back about an interview I attended on Tuesday. If I get the job then I'm going to be over the moon. I hope they call soon. If not by 4pm then I'm definitely calling them! Mustn't be pushy, but hopefully I will be seen as 'enthusiastic and proactive' though I think I'll come across as pathetic and desperate. I'm sure they'll consider me though, they didn't pass up on publishing Harry Potter like every other publisher out there. Thats right. Its Bloomsbury publishing. I didn't call them. They called me. Thats got to be a good sign, right?! I put my CV out there for a job that I was in no way qualified to do, but they called me up anyway to interview me for another position. Hoorah.

Fingers crossed.

Waiting... waiting... waiting for that call...

Saturday, January 26, 2008

ONLINE!

Finally. Got the internet set up at home! I think its a bit shaky, but it seems to be holding for now.

If only I had the time to spend surfing...

Friday, January 11, 2008

No Time

Back from Oz. Moved into new flat. No internet connection yet. No job. No writing done.

BUT...

No worries! Things are starting to settle down and I'm going to try to get the internet set up at home by early next week. Just bought a load of new furniture today. Hooray. Only got to paint, change the carpet, and fix the tv to the wall and we're set!

I'm so looking forward to things going back to normal. I'd even welcome a boring rut! I haven't had a chance to read any blogs or anything in the last month, let alone devote any time to writing! Ah well. Mustn't rush things. Stress is a funny thing, and I'm going to try to concentrate on relaxing and not worrying about the things I'm not doing but should be.

I got about four bottles of Jack Daniels for Christmas... thats a good start! People know me so well!