Write-In San Diego

The only official write-ins I've ever been to were in Madrid. I think about five people showed up. I thought it was the most awesome thing. I wrote my first 5k day there.

Well this year, I'm in a smaller but better represented region. I went to the kick-off write-in Sunday night at the Studio Diner. It was fun starting at midnight surrounded by people who didn't think I was crazy, but it was so  different from the write-ins in Madrid.

There were about 20 people there, so you would think it would have been four times the fun. It turned out to be about four times as dull. As I said, it was fun starting NaNoWriMo surrounded by other participants, but there was no camaraderie, no conversation besides the table behind me chattering away distractingly.

I don't know. I'll still be going to more write-ins this month, I just don't know what to expect any more.


In other news, I'm around 2300 today, which is a pretty good start on getting above goal early on. The word count widget is on the right side there, right above my old winner badges.

Also, did I mention that my little brother and sister are doing the Young Writers' Program with me? We all of us made our goals for the day, so I call that a win.

Maybe I'll post an excerpt soon.

Rebekah blogs

These socks are epic! No I didn't make them. I just like socks. And I like wearing green.

What? Rebekah's blogging again?
OMG!

Yeah... I figured 6 months of unannounced hiatus was enough. Plus, it wouldn't seem like NaNoWriMo without blogging about it.
That's right! It's that time of year again.
If you've ever enjoyed creative writing, I encourage you to visit nanowrimo.org and seriously consider what you've been missing out on. It's a ton of fun even if, like me, you never plan to do anything with your novel after you draft it.

This year, My main character is a teddy bear who serves as a source of comfort and wisdom to a ten-year-old girl named Katie. Here's a picture:

Here's where you come in. Neither the bear in the story nor the model bear have names. I'm looking for a name that's both cute (as in, something a young girl would name her stuffed bear) and wise (as in, something that would sound good played-off in the title of a novel). Do you have any ideas? Post them in a comment!

And here's to a moderately thriving blog experience for the next 6 months!

P.S. I'd promise, but you know how that has a history of going. I do, however, mean to post a short synopsis of what I've been up to since I last blogged. (Since that seems to be what people want to know of a recent college graduate.) TTYT!

[EDIT: I'm temporarily going with Rufus Puddlemore. I'll still take suggestions though, and if I see one I like better, I might change. Ooh, and click the Nano '10 button on the right to visit my profile and see the working cover art!]

"Help Heinz Fight Hunger"

As seen on facebook...

Apparently, this child is very hungry.
Apparently, we're supposed to feed this child ketchup out of the bottle.

Welcome to today's newest most awkward ad!

Your birthday in history

I've been really really busy lately. I do apologize for not blogging in forever (almost literally) Anyway, I do promise to update you all on Spring break in Mexico, my thesis, etc. as soon as I'm relatively free, i.e. May.
Until then, I break my silence in order to bring you something absolutely pointless, yet strangely fascinating. Do you know what historical significance your birthday has? Look it up on wikipedia! It's really interesting. For example, I share a birthday with Larry King, and on my birthday, Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg address, and Columbus landed in (the future) Puerto Rico for the first time.
What happened on your birthday?

I missed knitting

It's like I'm simultaneously living two lives. One in 2010, and one in 2009. The me of exactly one year ago is at her first day of orientation in Paris. The me of exactly one liturgical year ago will be going to Mass on campus tomorrow and then getting to explain to all the non-catholic students at "Catholic University" what carême is.

The Knitting Olympics have started! I'm absolutely in love with my project. The 100% superwash merino wool, the bamboo double-point needles. It's a dream to work with. And, though the colors are deliberately jarring, they are just so cheerful that I can't help but be so happy when knitting this hat! Even stockinette in the round isn't boring.

"What hat?" you ask? "Knitting Olympics?" you question me with a disdainfully bemused expression? Yeah! I'm making myself Jayne's Pretty Cunning Hat! It's pretty universally awesome.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch firefly here or here before asking. You won't be sorry you did. The hat makes its debut in "The Message".

I'm taking a picture of my progress every day and posting it on ravelry and Picasa. Check it out!