You mean he's actually . . . ?

Oh yeah, got some writing done this morning. Added another 85o words to the second rat piece, but unfortunately I'm still 135o words off May's target. Damn. Unless my muse really kicks me in the head this evening I can't see me making it.

Later . . .

It has begun

Woohoo! The World Cup has started. 30 days and 64 matches (I think) mean that I'm not going to get any work done in the near future. All that writing I was going to get done--not going to be anywhere near as productive as I had hoped. All those jobs I was going to apply to--I'll be lucky if I write the first line of my CV.

Watched the opening cermony and first game today. The opening ceremony was impressive. A riot of colour, a feast of dubious metaphors and brilliantly coreographed Korean dancers, it was quite a sight. Visually captivating, the opening ceremony was full of the usual craziness and costumes and for the most part I enjoyed it, but I have to ask . . . what the hell were those digital teletubbies about?

Later . . .

Not Nearly as Productive . . .

. . . as I want to be. I only managed to get 7oo words done on the Rat Challenge Pieces yesterday (yes, I've started the second one), and nothing on the day before that. Grr. Need to write ten pages in the next two days to reach this month's target, and--looks around the room--the Buffy . . . series finale is on tonight, so it's all going to have to be done tomorrow.

Can't see it happening, somehow.

Later . . .

A Rat Like Me

Wrote another 5oo words on the first of my two 'rat challenge' stories yesterday. But I'm beginning to doubt if either of them will be finished by Saturday. Posting late won't be a problem, as long as it doesn't prevent me getting the reviews done of the other rat stories. All of this is academic if my credit card bill doesn't come through in the near future; I'm still waiting to get my PayPal membership number so that I can rejoin the workshop. Grrr, should have just tried to barter with the workshop people--would have been a lot less hassle.

Bought a new disk drive this morning (and that's only just over a year since the last one got a disk stuck in it :( I am far too lazy). Desperately need to start backing up files and stuff tonight.

Later . . .

Finally Free

Well, the exams finished two days ago, and I should finally be able to start getting some words down. Not really done much in the two days since I finished: Friday night and Saturday morning were spent celebrating and recovering (think I celebrated too hard, my wallet felt a lot lighter when I woke up on Saturday). Anyway, that's besides the point. Started putting some words down on computer for June's Challenge piece (on paper . . . there is no way I could have faced a monitor yesterday), but had to stop because of visitors. I've actually got two ideas for the challenge. I'm hoping that I can get them both finished before the first of June, because then I can workshop the better of the two, and leave the other for another month.

Later . . .

What's my Name?

Oh yeah. I changed the title, another gem from my titles list. It sounds better, but I'm still not a hundred percent sure.

Later . . .

Five Days to go Until I Finish My Exams . . .

. . . and I'm wasting my time writing in this thing :) It's not as bad it sounds; I'm working hard, but those Safety Engineering course notes are such a struggle to read. It's not the big words that are stumping but the fact that it's boring and written almost entirely in bullet points. This entry's just to say that I won't be posting again until next saturday (at the earliest). I'm unlikely to be doing any writing in that time, so no one's going to miss out on anything.

Four exams in four days. Only worried about one of them, but that would be last exam. With any luck it won't put a dampener on the celebrations we have planned for Friday night.

Wish me luck . . .

First of the Little Amusements

Oh yeah, apparently this is the result of my d&d character test:

I Am A: Chaotic Evil Human Fighter Paladin


Alignment:
Chaotic Evil characters are the most 'evil' people out there. They are willing to do anything to get ahead, and will kill anyone who stands in their way. A chaotic evil person sees no value in order and governments, and believes to the utmost in the tenant that 'Might Makes Right'.


Race:
Humans are the 'average' race. They have the shortest life spans, and because of this, they tend to avoid the racial prejudices that other races are known for. They are also very curious and tend to live 'for the moment'.


Primary Class:
Fighters are the warriors. They use weapons to accomplish their goals. This isn't to say that they aren't intelligent, but that they do, in fact, believe that violence is frequently the answer.


Secondary Class:
Paladins are the Holy Warriors. They have been chosen by a God/dess to be their representative on Earth, and must follow the code of that deity, or risk severe penalties. They tend towards being righteous, but not generally to excess.


Deity:
Talos is the Chaotic Evil god of storms, forest fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, and destruction in general. He is also known as the Destroyer. His followers fear him more than worship him, and they revel in the destructive fury of nature - while praying to be spared from its wrath. Talos's symbol is three lightning bolts, of different colors, coming from a central point.


Find out What D&D Character Are You?, courtesy ofNeppyMan (e-mail)

Hadn't seen that one coming. I thought I was more of a good type. Nevermind.

Later . . .

Will not be Silenced

Have had unbelievable trouble logging into blogger.com over the last four days . . . hence the complete lack of an update. This one's going to have to be a short one, as I've left all my work out in the library and I don't trust any of the shifty-looking students that occupy the nearby tables. Sunday night I wrote 700 words of my WiP and then on Monday night I added another 600 and finished chapter two (again). It's a lot of talk about the journal, which probably means I'm going to have to cut most of it when I rewrite it. I can see the reviews now: nice enough story . . . but it's too long. That seemed to be the general gist the last time I workshopped it.

Last night I wrote about five hundred words on the 'Sergeant Dolittle' thing I've got in reserve, started writing a little bit about the (still nameless) main protaganist's character. Going to try and do that for all the main characters, but it may take a very long time at the rate I'm going.

Later . . .

Almost Court

Wow. Sometimes I surprise even myself. Recently I resolved to do at least 1 hour of writing everyday. I'm keeping up with it, although the actual amount of words I do get down has been variable, as any additions I make to my Journal would count towards that hour. When I speak of the journal (currently called A New Breed of Idiot) I refer to the real thoughts-and-feelings journal that I maintain on my home pc--I decided on keeping that stuff seperate because a). I doubt many people would actually want to read it and b). there are certain things that I just don't want certain people to see (loves and hates typically).

Anyway, back to the matter in hand. I sat down on Friday night and managed to add 650 words to Dearest . . . in one hour. And that's after a full day of revision. This is unprecedented. Go me.

Eleven Squared

Partook in the BBC's Test the Nation thing last night. Apparently, although I neither trust the test's accuracy nor believe that IQ tests have any use whatsoever beyond looking good in front of your mates, I have an IQ of 121 (the average being about 100). Kind of disappointing because the previous test I took said that it was 158. I am hoping that instead of my intelligence having plumetted over the last few months that these tests are in fact based on different scales.

Later . . .

Kiara's Back

Am happy; I worked on my WiP for the first time in almost three months. Dearest . . . now has 350 extra words, which is always welcome. I feel a little cruel. Kiara stormed out of the bar three months ago and she's only just been allowed to go back inside. It was a very cold night, hope she's not angry :) The word count sounds more impressive when you realise that during the first incantation of this book I spent three months working on the aftermath of one sexual encounter.

Later . . .

It's True, It's True

Finally remembered to check my word tally before I came in this morning. Counting the 400 words plotting that I did towards that 'Sergeant Dolittle' thing I'm planning, i've done 1250 this month already. Doesn't sound all that impressive, but I think it is considering what a busy month this is destined to be. May do a bit more tonight, but I want to start working on my CV.

Later . . .

How can Someone with Glasses so Thick be so Stupid?

Damn. I forgot to check my tally so far for this month. Will do it soon.

Have just handed in my final piece of coursework as an undergraduate. Bit disappointing, really. I was expecting it to be a bit more momentus, but instead it was just hard and unfulfilling. Which is also how you could describe my last lecture.

Party was boring. Very boring. Have to go home now and see if they've succeeded in making the house any tidier.

Later . . .

Grrr.

It happened again. Luckily I remembered to copy it this time . . .

Later . . .

So Far as is Reasonably Practicable

The nub of what I was trying to say earlier in my eaten post:

No writing done today (I'm supposed to be working, damn it!). Have set targets for May. Essentially my aim is to get 75oo new words down this month (it's less because of my finals at the end of this month). Will record how many words I've done so far tomorrow when I get a chance to check my computer at home.

I know the title sucks (what comes from misreading my Civil Engineering Dynamics notes). I will change it when I think of something better.

I'm not happy. It's bank holiday and I'm (apparently) working. I've actually come onto Campus, have to work until 12, and then we're having a barbecue for my housemate's bday. It's drizzly outside :(

Later . . .