Good news and eh news

Good news! I went into my bank to get a new keycard and when they checked my account, apparently someone had called the 1-800 number on Saturday, having found my wallet!

Eh news - they were told to hand it into a branch of the TD or the nearest police station. So far, no joy. And the 1-800 number people didn't even get a phone number for me to call and arrange a meeting.

It would be brilliant to get my wallet back - I can replace the stuff in it, but it'll be a pain in the butt. However, I'm dependent on someone who may or may not actually get around to handing it in. Still, fingers crossed, eh?

Edit: The bout of pessimism is thanks to my manager, Sonia, who was cheerful enough to tell me of the story of her sister's lost wallet, and the jerks who prank called her about it and never returned it.

NanoWriMo 2009 - Midpoint

So, here I am, half-way through [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]. I thought I'd do a little pause for reflection, since I'm feeling reflective.

Last year, I only made it to the 17th, and that time I not only had a few days of missed posts, but I'd also recycled various bits of fiction I had on my harddrive when inspiration failed. This year, I've only missed one day - the 10th - due to an insane day's work and no computer access that night whatsoever, and I posted two fics by Wednesday afternoon. Everything has also been 'fresh' - nothing previously written and reused, everything written that day.

I'm feeling rather proud of myself, actually.

The difference this year is that I've figured out I don't have to be brilliant - I just have to write. And in a way, having the 'stage' to myself is actually taking off some of the pressure, since I'm not reading other people's work and feeling inadequate. I'm using online sources for ideas - webcomics, random idea generators, image webbsites, news feeds - and I'm allowing myself to write as much, or as little, as is needed.

It's funny. One of my favourite pieces was Ghost Story. Two sentences, that's all. But those two sentences say more than the paragraphs I wrote and rewrote and finally deleted because they didn't work. I never thought something so short could actually have so much depth to it.

The other thing I'm noticing is that I'm not holding my breath waiting for feedback any more. I did, the first few posts, but then I realised that I'm getting enjoyment out of the words, the exercise of writing, and the fact I'm able to come up with something different every day. Sure, feedback is great - we all like the validation of someone saying "hey, good story" - but where I would once curl into a ball of self-disgust ("I suck, I can't write, everyone hates what I'm doing"), I can actually sit back and look at what I've done and say, "Yes, this works, this is good. This needs some work, this was just pure coasting and it shows, but this? This is fantastic."

For me to be able to do that is a huge step.

NanoWriMo 2009 - Fic 16

This one is dedicated to [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com], who came up with the concept one night on the phone after a bottle of red wine each.

( Pest Control II )

Take that, negativity!

My faith in humanity is justified. Not only did the girl who found my wallet return it, she actually brought it around to the apartment off her own bat to make sure I got it. And all the money, cards and my metropass were inside. I lost absolutely nothing.

And she was cute. :)

But huzzah! I am walleted again!

And in the spirit of giving and all that...

Should anyone need it: My wishlist. Includes non-Amazon stuff as well.

Gift cards are faboo, especially from iTunes. :)

I hear tell there's possibly a new Weddings Parties Anything album out, as well as a new Paul Kelly.

And that's as much asking as I do. ;)