38 posts tagged “rain”

Since we lost Wrangler (something I still really can't fully talk about) we've kept our eyes on Craigslist and the local shelters. Though Rain does not have the history I do, she understood that since my first memory, I've always had dogs. It's built into my psyche. Not only do I feel unsafe without them but...the loss of that leaves me feeling not quite whole. So though we just lost Wrangler, we understood that Maddie still has mouth cancer and it is an inevitability that we will lose her as well. We wanted to take in another dog before that happens. That way, Maddie would help keep the new dog in line and when that terrible time comes that we have to put her down because the tumor is too large in her mouth, we'll be forced to not close ourselves off. After all, that dog would be there to remind us that though the loss is substantial, the relationships are worthwhile.

With that in mind, we had been looking forward to the Super Adoption event that was held this last Saturday. Shelters from all around the area would bring hundreds of cats and dogs to the event, already spayed, microchipped, and ready to go home. Because Rain worked the night before, Tabby and I took my sis and we went and looked for ourselves first. At first, I was disappointed since there were very few dogs that met what we were looking for. We wanted a large breed dog because I've never liked small dogs and we wanted a senior, because they tend to be so well mannered already and so few people are willing to even consider them. The problem was that the shelters were bringing only the dogs they thought most likely to be adopted. That meant small and young. I only saw one dog there that they admitted was a senior (out of hundreds, remember) and there was perhaps three or four that would qualify for our definition of large (80 pounds or so). On our first round, we were just looking for what was available. A little dog with an adorable face caught our attention the first time but we still went around the second time. I asked the staff after possible dogs left at the shelters that would meet our hopes. There were exceedingly few. One was a golden lab that was undergoing heartworm treatment, the exact same thing that we just lost Wrangler to. The staff woman tried to write it off as being something minor, though the dog had just begun, and in some ways I was angry because it belittled the loss and the threat these dogs represent to the community but I was also saddened because I have been hearing more and more about other heartworm cases. The main reason we put Wrangler down when we did was because his threat to the community. But because of the dogs being brought here after Katrina and the laxadaisical attitude people hold for its seriousness, it looks to be spreading anyway.

We would have left then but I remembered that small dog that had caught our eye. Within a few short minutes he had won our hearts. He is much smaller then any dog I'd usually consider, though some referred to him as large. He's 25 pounds and they told us he was 8 months old. In many ways, he was the opposite of everything we were looking for. But there was something in his eyes. We ended up adopting him. Soon after, we found out that in fact, he was not 8 months, that he was much closer to 5 1/2 months. That's the youngest dog my family has had since I was 11 and a rott pup followed me home. Also, he has the promise of getting much larger. Perhaps 4 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier, which makes us happy. He's really adorable and though he and Maddie had a rough beginning, they now get alone splendidly. He has yet to show very bad habits beyond a tendency to be mouthy when playing and jump up toward the table when there's food.

We will have him tested for heartworm ASAP.

In good news, something strange has happened with Maddie's tumor. It seems to have receeded. It no longer looks angry and she can close her mouth all the way again. It seems to be pulling away from the jaw and though it sound weird, it looks like if it continues to do that....that it'd fall off. It's the oddest thing but where the molar used to be almost fully encased, the tumor has pulled back, exposing the whole thing and allowing the top teeth to clench without causing problem. We tried to get a picture but were unable to. It seems very possible that the doxy (antibiotic) we're giving her is helping. Wouldn't that be an irony? That the simple med that was the first, supposedly-easy step for treating Wrangler, and the reason he had to be put down, might actually extend Maddie's life, something that we were told was little more than impossible?

We'll see.

Pics.

 

 

Yep, I am once again ill. I don't think I mentioned it last time since I was slightly better than death warmed over. Yeah yeah, I know that you all believe I have a superhero worthy immune system. And I do! But I am convinced this year's coughing yuckiness is a super bug. My family has met its kryptonite. All of us have had it at least once now. Poor Rain has just recovered. With my luck, I have caught it right before my midterm. Thankfully, I don't expect it to be a terrible one. That is unless in the next day and a half or so it gets much, much worse. But let's keep our fingers crossed that that doesn't happen, shall we? Until then, I sit here in front of a fan holding a frozen bag of Brussels Sprouts. Yeah, I think I have a little fever on top of us having a couple days of very warm weather. What will make me feel better?

Eddie Izzard. Duh.

 

and Ellen.

 

 

 

...560 pages? Well, the answer is definitely not two. But I digress.

On Sunday after a sedate Easter dinner with kids and family, Rain and I were going to print out a copy of my novel so that I could finally have Tabby do the first complete read through. I don't know what we were thinking. Obviously we weren't. It was late and we were both tired. So after a couple chapters were printed, this was the conversation:

Her: Wait, how many pages is this again?

Me: ...560.

Her: And each page is 50 cents. Alright, what's half of 560?

Me:....Oh shit. A lot.

Her:Yeah.

Me: Cancel! Cancel! Cancel!

Her: I'm cancelling! I'm cancelling!

Yeah so moral of the story? Do not print out a copy of your novel at Kinko's. That will be a several hundred dollar print. Yeah. No. So instead we came home and used up both our almost-full black ink cartridge and color cartridge. And we had to buy a new cartridge in the morning to finish printing the last seven chapters. You'd think a full ink cartridge would go further than that, wouldn't you? Apparently, it really only has about 350 pages worth of ink in it. I suppose under normal circumstances, that's more than enough. In ours, not quite.

Though we did not end up printing at Kinko's, we were still considering binding it at Kinko's. The lady assured us that they could bind anything up to two inches thick. We ask how many pages is in that. She ended up telling us the 560 pages would definitely be less than that.

Uh, no.

Quickly into the printing, we realized this was not so. In the end, it was about 3 1/2 inches thick. Quite impressive weight. In the family, threatening to hit someone upside the head with my novel is now a very gruesome threat. Though it appears impressive, I know quite well length means nothing to the quality of a piece. So, I was very nervous about the first full read-through my novel was about to get.

Usually, there are people reading along with my writing. Though I do not post my original work on the internet, I do have several great friends who are kind enough to be my test-readers. But family life has been so chaotic that writing was something I did on my own time and really didn't try to bother people with. At least until the end. By the time I finished it, I had read over this thing so many times, I was sure that I had lost perspective for the sheer amount of times I have reread this thing. To ensure that my style remained consistant and the voice was strong, every time I spent more than three or four days away from writing, I'd reread the entire thing, editing along the way. I know exactly what is happening, what has happened, and what is about to happen, from seeing one or two sentences off of any page.

I was very nervous for this first reading. There were several points that I thought might be questioned. I worried the length meant I didn't do well with pacing. I was trying to be as critical on myself as possible, hoping that it'd help when I was having to accept criticism. As my fellow writers know, criticism is a terrible blessing. We know we need it. We know it'll make us stronger. And we know we're going to hate it. Like I said in the previous post, I expect to be told where I suck, to become upset, for it to be insisted, and for me to slowly come to accept the advice.

But when Tabby finally read through it....I was surprised that she seemed to enjoy it. In the end, her feedback was extremely positive. Though she did warn that it might not exactly be an easy sell since there isn't really a conventional relationship in the whole thing. I knew this. I hate the fact that conventional means sellable but I also understand it. Still, I was shocked with how little criticism I received for it. Especially since I know Tabby has no problem telling me when she thinks something needs to be changed or needs to be removed. She will tell me when she thinks I've done something stupid. I even know the tone of voice she uses while doing so. The fact she hasn't...I'm not quite sure what to think of that. Obviously, she's only the first test-reader but I'm very pleased to have such good feedback after all the amount of work I put in this. For about a year and a half, I have been slaving over this. Writing, editing, reworking, plotting, constructing backgrounds and dates, studying....I put a hell of a lot of work into making this the best possible thing I can produce at this point. I know that a writer is always developing and that should I walk away from this for three months and come back, I'll still want to edit it to perfect the phrase with what I've learned during that period of time. Still, I'm happy with the end product.

Is it perfect?

No.

Is it sellable as a first novel?

There's some doubts.

Am I happy with the story and its intricacy?

Yes.

Am I proud of this accomplishment?

Twenty-Seven chapters. 560 pages. A year and a half of hard work and something that accomplished my original goal despite life's constant insanity? Hell yeah.

 

 

 

 

With hair wet from the shower, I'm sure "looking like a half-drowned cat" might work better. But c'est la vie. I'm dressed for family Easter events, whenever that may be today. I called Tabby and left a couple messages asking, but it appears I must have patience. So with time to kill, I thought I should update. I mean, leaving my vox alone for over a week? Scandalous.

Spring Break so far has been full of activity. Rain's sister came all the way from Alaska to play. We bowled, danced, competed, ate, laughed, drove down the Blossom trail, and generally had a great time. It had been so long since we'd seen her. It was wonderful to have her back again. Of course, she had to leave eventually but her plane was delayed yesterday so we got one extra evening with her which though probably upset her husband, made us very happy. She even sat through almost two episodes of Torchwood with me! And that is a bit of a feat since I'm just now getting into it and it's been....what 7 episodes now? It's not exactly a show you can usually sit in on at any time. I mean, when you have to begin the explanation with, "You see this guy? Yeah, he's dead. He got shot in the chest a couple eps ago. Dead. And see that guy? Yeah, he can't die. Oh, and he's totally doin' that guy. And that girl so wants to do the dead guy." Well, you know it's complicated.

Somehow, during all of this, I was able to finish the first preliminary edit of my novel from start to finish. I'm still iffy about the end page or so. Not the scene but how it is written. But I went through and broke it apart into 27 chapters. Smallest chapter is 17 pages I think. Largest being 27. Most average around 20. I have the chapters named (subject to change) and all the pages numbered. I know several of my test readers will prefer to read it printed out instead of on the computer. So....I'm just wondering after I print it out (all 560 or so pages) how exactly I'm going to choose to hold it all together. Binder probably. No, I'm not going to pay to have it properly bound and all that. This is not the final edit. I need these copies accessable for my test readers. Meaning, I expect to change things. I expect for them to tell me where I suck, me to get upset, them to explain, me to slowly accept and then finally to improve on it. You know, the usual. So...I'm guessing print it out, hole punch and large binder. Joy. At least I figured out how to get the program to number the pages for me so I don't have to do that by hand. Yes, that actually was a bit of a difficulty since every chapter is in a different document. But I figured it out and felt very accomplished.

I'm hoping to have my first test-reader (Tabby, as always) read it tonight. But that might be complicated. Normally, I'd probably go to Kinko's or something of the like, print it out, get it hole punched, and in a binder within an hour or so. But I'm not sure that's going to be possible today because of Easter. I'd really prefer not to do it tomorrow since I have to go back to school on Tuesday. Not only do I have some work to do but I know I'm going to stress while it's being read in its entirity for the first time. I can't really do that on a schoolnight. I need all my sleep to deal with being told how much I really suck in my editing class that day. Long story short, we had a test that we didn't know what it was about, weren't able to study for, and I think was given generally to make us feel like complete and utter idiots. Mission accomplished.

Ugh, it's just crazy. I don't want to think about it anymore. It'll get me all worked up.

So....when's dinner?

This last Tuesday, Rain and I took my little sister up into Yosemite to play in the snow. The park was beautiful and the snow was vast and plentiful. By the end of the trip, Rain was an expert at putting on Tire Chains and had a nice bruise on her tailbone from a sledding mishap. Yes, again I take the opportunity to say, "Itoldyouso!" Though her flying in the air once she hit the log did look like fun. Until she met the ground. In which case, I immediately started wondering how the hell I was going to manage my first driving experience being driving her down a snow covered mountain at twilight to get to an emergency room. Thank god, that wasn't needed. She helped Siobhan and me make our first snow person. I seriously had no idea that you rolled the snowball until it was that big. I thought it was a cartoon creation like running on air. Dorky me. We had a snowball fight. Both Rain and Bonnie have abysmal aim. Meanwhile, I was born for snowfights. Bonnie climbed a twenty foot pile of snow. Then disappeared and gave us a minor heartattack. We went sledding on little hills and that was a lot of fun. At the end of the day, we had a whole snow park just outside of Yosemite to ourselves. By the time we got home that evening, we were all happy and ready for bed. It was a good day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me (thick with sarcasm): So Cuba decided on their new president and it's such a big surprise!

Rain: Who? Castro's brother? Hilary Clinton?!

Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Rain looks over to see headline on my laptop.

Rain (disappointed): Oh, it is Castro's brother.

Me: HAHAHAHAHAHA! Hilary Clinton!

Rain: Well, I guess she would have some trouble getting back into the States.

 

I love you, Rain.  

It's raining.

It's pouring.

The old man is snoring.

Went to bed

bumped his head

And couldn't get up in the morning!

 

 

 

Woke up this morning at about 7. Rain was up too. I learned about 45 minutes afterwards that Rain was hosting my sis's DI team at the house today at 12:30. The house was not anywhere near ready to host it. I mean, we still had all our Christmas stuff up. We had all the last minute things we moved from my parents' house just stacked around. Then there was the stuff we moved from Rain's old house. It was a mess. We just haven't really had the opportunity to pull it together. Mostly because we have been swamped by stuff from all directions that we simply can't turn away.I mean we can't. And our house, though wonderful for us, has very limited storage. We have no garage, no nuttin'. So where to store things? Somehow, we found a way.

Tons of dishes washed. Christmas dishes (and cups, mugs, platters) put away 'till next year. All christmas decorations (including three trees) stored. Everything dusted and washed. Everything swept and vacuumed. Furniture moved. I am so happy to have all that done and we did it in time for DI!

Now pre-heating the oven for cookies. We'll peel some oranges. Good reward for imagination.

Five things I am thankful for today:

1. We had a very lovely breakfast-for-dinner today. Rain made some great pancakes, some with chocolate chips in them.

2. I chatted with a friend I haven't spoken with for some time. I'm happy to hear that her sister is better.

3. I am making great progress in my novel and according to my outline, I have 8 1/2 scenes left until the end.

4. I have my blankets and sheets back on my bed. I love my bed. It's so comfortable.

5. I have new rubber gloves for washing dishes. My hands get way too dry if I'm always washing the dishes barehanded and my last gloves got a tear in the thumb. The Rubber Gloves are much appreciated and loved.

5 Things I Am Thankful For Today.

1. I was allowed to sleep in.That was very nice.

2. Found out that our Old English Sheepdog, Maddie, loves to dress up. At the moment, she's sleeping on her bed in one of my t-shirts and a Disney's Princesses kerchief. We have the most adorable dog ever.

3. Rain made a wonderful dinner today and we had more of the dessert she made yesterday. She makes the best frosting. Ever.

4. A friend on a board I frequent put a little message up of appreciation. I was mentioned and it made me feel wonderful.

5. I've found out that I quite like the movie Ella Enchanted which is very good since both Rain and my sis love this movie and are watching it constantly right now.