elrhiarhodan

 


In short, not much. Or a whole hell of a lot, depending on your point of view.

My company was closed on the Friday before Christmas, so technically, my vacation started on Thursday night. I pulled into my favorite Starbucks, got a Cafe Mocha and started writing. 'Bucks was opened until 4pm on Christmas Day, and I was there writing until they kicked me out (it was very interesting to watch the staff go through the store and take down all the Christmas promotional materials.

Sunday - well, if you live in the Northeast, you know what happened on Sunday. It snowed. Lots of it. Official total for my area - 15.7 inches, but based on my own readings, we had close to 20. I cooked and wrote all day, as the wind howled. Very exciting.

Monday, once the driveway was dug out, I headed out. And you guessed it - to Starbucks. Where I sat and wrote and drank and munched and wrote and chatted. Until they kicked me out (6:00 early closing because it was getting icy out there).

Tuesday I was supposed to meet sonia6349 in the City, but the trains weren't running - so we postponed for a few days. I ended up sleeping REALLY REALLY REALLY late (like 'til after 1 pm). I got up, got dressed and went out. Where, you may ask? Well how about Starbucks for a change. No - wait - I went to the library first and took out Season 1 of Numb3rs and the entire set of Prime Suspect. THEN I went to Starbucks, where I sat and wrote until they kicked me out (10 pm closing during the week).

I was a good girl, and got up on the early side the next morning (8 am), did some grocery shopping, some other things and...oh, fuck. Why should I even bother mentioning it. I went to Starbucks, sat at my corner table and wrote until 9 pm or thereabouts. I may have stopped at Barnes and Nobles for my new wall calendars, but that's about it.

Thursday broke the pattern - that was the day I drove to New Jersey and met jrosemary, of White Collar Fixation fame.  We had an utter blast - talking for hours about everything, and then about everything White Collar.  Even though it took over three hours to get home (grrrr traffic), I had a smile on my face the entire time.  jrosemary is funny and smart and warmhearted and just an incredibly super person.  (She's been my alpha, my beta, my cheerleader and drill sergeant for a story I've been writing - the one that puts my ass in a chair in Starbucks for a week and then some).

Friday was an abbreviated writing day - because (gasp!) I had plans for New Year's Eve.  This year marks the tenth I've spent with my friends F&G.  Our evenings are pretty low key - none of us really drink.  But the food was good (filet, mashed potato, salad, plus starters and dessert).  We usually end up watching a movie instead of TV, because frankly, none of us want to kill off brain cells (will they stop wheeling out Dick Clark already).  But this time around, I made a mistake.  I picked up a DVD set of White Collar AND a copy of La Jolie's latest, Salt.  Because I'm all about teh Choice.  They made the WRONG CHOICE - and we watched what has to be the worst movie I've ever seen (and I've seen some stinkers).  I could have been smiling at Peter and Neal's banter in Pilot, biting my nails over Govat, or cheering Neal on at the end of The Portrait, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - we watched Queen Puffy Lips pout her way into a hand-to-hand with Liev Schreiber.

The movie finished, we said goodnight, I went home (because, you know, Starbucks was CLOSED). 

Saturday was more writing at 'Bucks - yeah...as if I'd do anything else.  Don't remember much after that.

Sunday, nasty and rainy though it was, was an utter blast.  Took the train (yes, FINALLY the LIRR got back on schedule) into the City and met sonia6349 , FINALLY.  I really shouldn't put it quite like that, because we were shoulder to shoulder while waiting for TDK's autograph at the Paley Center event in June.  But this time, we finally talked with each other.  OMG - what a smart and lovely and wonderful and GAH - sweet person she is.  If there is a posterchild for what a fandom fan should be, it's sonia6349 .  We talked WC for hours (over 'cue at Brother Jimmy's). 

Yesterday, was last day of my vacation - because I am fortunate enough that requires the New Year's Day holiday to be celebrated in the New Year.  And guess where I spent it?  Not in Panera, that's for certain.

Now you may wonder, nine days of writing - but nothing new's been published...what gives?

Well, I'm working on a freakin' epic.  In the 10 days between 12/24 and 1/2, I added approximately 15k words to this crazy story I'm writing.  Yeah, it's White Collar, and yes - it's A/U.  But I don't want to say anything more than that - because it's really a story I don't think anyone's going to want to read.  It's just that ...well ... odd.

And I decided I needed a bit of a break, so I'm writing what was supposed to a short and dark story involving rough sex.  Hmmm, it's dark and it's got some rough scenes.  But no real sex - yet.  And it's not short.  SOMEONE HELP ME, PLEASE?

And now, back from the whining.

I've been thinking about dates for the next Promptfest.  There's a couple of things that are delaying it in my head.  First is THE CHICAGO BIG WC FANDOM MEETUP over MLK weekend.  (If you live in the area or want to come to the Windy City in the deepest part of winter, and want to join in the FUN FUN FUN, PM me for the deets).  I don't know how important a part my cheerleading played in the success of the last fest - but I can't do it justice if I'm distracted. 

Also, I've got this damn epic to finish - and if I start the fest before that's done, jrosemary will kill me.

So, as much as I like the idea of having the next 'fest start just before the Season premier, I'm thinking that the timing would be better if I started it on the morning of the 19th, right after the premier - which should catch the wave, so to speak (and give me a nice book of starter prompts.  It will run until the 31st, because on Feb 1st, I fly out to Arizona for four days of sun, fun and spending lots of money.

Anyway...that just about sums up everything in my life.  How were YOUR holidays?