ROW Update: Chugging Along

I watched a webinar earlier this week (or maybe it was last week - I seem to be having trouble keeping track) about work-life balance called "Tweak It".  In the webinar, the trainer talked about people who are naturals - folks who just naturally seem to do what needs to be done to keep all the parts of their lives in harmony.  It turns out that one of the key differences between naturals and the rest of us (I am soooo not a natural) is that they focus on and celebrate their successes rather than focusing on the things that didn't go right.  And that seems to be a very difficult thing for me to do - especially right now, when I feel completely overwhelmed with all that I have left to do, and the short time in which I have to do it.  But I'm going to try, because I'd like to live a happy, harmonious life, and not spend so much energy fighting with myself about the things I didn't get done.

1) Write 100 words per day.
This has been going pretty well - on the days I'm at work and can write on my lunch hour.  On the weekends, when I'm working on my home organization project, it is really difficult to feel like I can take the time out to sit down and write.  Even though 100 words only takes about 10 minutes.  Also, my parents were here this weekend to help with some home improvement stuff (my bathroom floor doesn't have carpet anymore and the tool cabinet is no longer in danger of falling on my head!), so that made it difficult to steal time to write as well.  I'm going to try to still get those 100 words a day in this weekend, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it if I don't.  My short story in progress is at nearly 1300 words, and I'm still making progress on it, even if it's not every day of the week.



2) Visit and comment on at least 5 other ROW blogs per week
Didn't get to this this week.  Sorry fellow ROWers.  I promise I'm going to get better in the future.

3) Writing Post Round Up blog post on Sundays
I didn't get this done this week either.  I was going to post it on Monday (my parents were still here on Sunday, and although we got a TON of work done, it wasn't writing work), but I had a short lunch hour and decided it was more important to get my 100 words done.


So, my progress is not big or amazing, but I'm still making progress.  I'm still writing, and that is the important thing.  See you next week - I hope you're all celebrating your successes!

Late Check In

So I'm late checking in this week.  I had a pretty busy, but also really good weekend.  It was, however, largely filled with non-writing activities - and I am so tired now!  Please forgive me if this post seems a little disjointed.  I know I haven't been very good about responding to comments - I'm going to try to do better - but I want you all to know that I really appreciate your encouragement and support.  My foot is all better, and I've also recovered from the allergic reaction caused by the antibiotics.  Yay! 

Better than that, though, is that for the first time in months I actually feel motivated.  For the last three months or so, it has been like swimming uphill through molasses to do anything other than read a book or watch TV.  Even making plans to hang out with my friends has felt like work, nevermind tackling anything on my to do list.  But that's finally over.  I don't know how long it will last, but I'm going to enjoy it. :)

Without further ado, my updates:

1) Write 25,000 words
Since my last check-in, I have written 1619 words, for a total of 9179 so far this round.  I'm pretty pleased with this, although I haven't actually done the math to see if that's on track for hitting my target.

2) Post on Blog once a week - besides check-in posts
This didn't get done this week.  I have my list of links all ready to go - I just have to add commentary and post.  I'm not really unhappy about that - there were a lot of other things I got done this weekend that I've been putting off for a while, so missing a blog post doesn't feel like a big deal.  I'll probably have it up by tomorrow at the latest.

3) Write first draft of short story
I still haven't done any actual writing on this project, but I did spend a little time thinking about what I want to do with it.  The concept came from a writing prompt that turned out kind of cool, but I'm not sure how it ends or where exactly it's going.  I do have a couple more ideas though.

4) Make progress on Last Words
Most of my words this week were spent on getting to know my main character better.  This novel was my NaNoWriMo project last November, and although I did spend about a month plotting and figuring things out beforehand, it wasn't enough to make it through a whole book, and I ended up feeling like my main character was kind of flat.  So this week, I've been doing a lot of brainstorming about her background and what makes her tick, and also just writing random scenes from her life.  It's been kind of fun.

That's all folks!  I hope you're all having a great writing week so far!

Watching Grass Grow

Today I watched grass grow.  I lay on my stomach on the perfectly manicured lawn next to the business building on campus and watched.  And it was beautiful.

Okay, so I didn't actually see any growth happen.  And I wasn't just lying there watching.  I was writing.  About the grass.  And the sun was warm on the back of my black jeans, and a soft breeze whispered over my skin.  And I thought about grass growing.  I thought of how it takes so long that we can't see it happen, but we know it does, because on the weekend we have to mow it.  I heard the cars go by, and saw people rushing on the sidewalk.  And I thought about how I always seem to be running places and there's always something that has to be done right now.

But I was very happy in that moment in the sun, in the grass.  And I thought, maybe we would all be happier if we took time out more often to just be.  To watch grass grow.

Little Things That Make Me Happy

Pretty cupcakes.  Tuesday I finished my final exams for spring.  I went over to the University Center to get some lunch, and they had these gorgeously decorated little cupcakes.  Now, cupcakes in general make me happy, but pretty cupcakes make me even happier.  So I bought one.  (Don't fret for my health, I had a sandwich too.)  Then I took a picture of it with my phone, because I found I couldn't ingest such perfection without documenting it somehow.  And then I ate it, and it was fabulous.  It pretty much made my day.

Fun Musical soundtracks.  Specifically [title of show].  (No, really, that's what it's called).  I think this is probably one of the most brilliant shows written in the 21st century.  It has poppy upbeat music and clever, roll-on-the-floor-laughing-out-loud lyrics.  It's a musical about writing a musical - what's not to love?  It makes me smile to listen to just one song.  Of course it has moments of profound truth, too.  My favorite song from the show is "Nine People's Favorite Thing" with the lyrics "I'd rather be nine people's favorite thing than a hundred people's ninth favorite thing."  The song has a pretty powerful message about following your own artistic instincts instead of trying to please everyone.  Since this is something I struggle with on a daily basis, this song makes me doubly happy.

Random acts of music and dancing.  We had our very own flash mob in the library yesterday.  I don't know who organized it, but ours was entirely violence free and definitely a little pick-me-up in the middle of finals week.  I have to disagree with Wikipedia's statement that these groups always perform "pointless" acts, though.  How can anything that relieves stress and puts smiles on so many peoples faces be pointless?  Here's the video.

Goals 2010

I've been thinking (and reading) a lot about goals this month. I don't usually make New Year's resolutions, but I do want to make some changes in my life and I like the idea of goals, and plans for achieving goals.  I didn't come up with goals in time for the new year, but today is my birthday, the start of MY new year and it seems like a pretty good day to start the rest of my life.  So here are my big picture goals.  I've already broken down some of these into smaller pieces and started trying to create habits to make them a reality.  I'll talk more about that later, but I wanted to get these posted now.

1) Get Healthier/Have More Energy

I work a full time job and attend graduate school.  I also participate in several theatrical productions every year in conjunction with our local community theater, the university, and most recently, a newly formed professional theater company.  I get sick a lot, and don't have time for that (who does, right?).  I hope that developing a healthier lifestyle will help me avoid illness better and have more energy to cope with my hectic schedule.  I'd also really like to lose a little weight.

2) Unclutter My House/Life

My house is a mess.  I have way too much stuff and I can't find things I need.  Also, I know that I'm happier when things are clean and organized.  But the physical clutter is only part of the problem, so I want to unclutter my life as well.  Obviously, this is a really big goal, so I want to set several smaller goals and I won't beat myself up if it's not complete at the end of the year, as long as I can make continuous progress.

3) Start a Happiness Project

I've been reading Gretchen Rubin's blog The Happiness Project and I've decided I'd like to have one of my own.  To that end, I've signed up for her 2010 Happiness Challenge and I plan to pick up her book for my eReader.  I think the first two goals I've set will feed into this one as well.