Yearly Archives: 2007

Talk like a Pirate Day

Arrrr Matey!  Did yer know it was Talk Like a Pirate Day today?  All yer landlubbers out there kin talk like a Pirate all ye want.

I'll be wearin' me pirate hat all day, and if anyone laughs, I'll be makin' a meeting wit' you and Davey Jones! 

Back to School

It's official, summer is over.  My oldest started Grade 2 on Tuesday, and my youngest starts Kindergarten (full-time, mornings) on Monday.  We managed to squeeze in one more frog hunting expedition and one more day at the beach.  The beach ended up being a tad on the cool side, though the boys loved it, and the frog hunting wasn't as fulfilling as the last time we went.  The frogs, it seems, are beginning to hide for the coming winter.

Along with school starting, I seem to have turned the tide against the general malaise I've had.  I'm back to getting up at 5:00 AM and getting a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours of writing in.  Progress is still slow, since I'm taking draft 0 at ~33,000 words, and turning into a solid draft 1 at hopefully 90,000 + words.  At my current rate of rewriting (since I've got a spreadsheet to watch all this for me), I'll be at ~65,000 words when done.  That's with being only 8 scenes in so far.  I'll get the word count up there.  My speed should increase as well, since both kids will be at school in the mornings.  That'll give me another couple of hours to work.  I'm considerring adding a couple of hours in the evening during the winter months.

I can already hear some people asking what's up with blowing up the word count.  Most writers try to get the word count down on subsequent  drafts.  My outline was at 10,000 words, Draft 0 is a lot of telling and short sentences summarizing actions and feelings and stuff.  Draft 1 takes all of the telling and summaries and builds something that is actually readable.  That's why the word count goes up.  Pruning will happen later.

Oh, and I got the motorcycle on the road for the last warm month.  It was still on the expensive side, but I scrimped and saved and got it all together.  Now if only I could get Marnie home from work at a normal time so I could ride. 

As a sign-off, this is one of my favorite songs, and the commercial is cool to boot:

Weekend Fun!

I went rock climbing this weekend!  Yahoo!  I think it was my second time this year.  Since the kids, the climbing has dropped off dramatically, say from every weekend to once or twice a year.

We didn't get much done, since it was a one day trip.  I lead:

Blood in the Tracks (5.9 trad)
No one Nose (5.6 trad)

Garth led:

The Great Slab (5.9 trad) 

Not too much, but considering we both really hadn't climbed this year, not too bad. 5.9 is pretty darn good for a couple of old-timers like us.  Which bring me to another point…

<start rant> 

Gooseneck climbs have always been rated tough, and some people have decided to re-rate the climbs from the original.  For example, The Great Slab has been called a 5.10A.  Seriously, it's tough lead, but there is no single 5.10 move on it.  I would say its toughest move is a 5.9, hence the original 5.9 rating.  Climbs don't get rated higher just because they may be  tad run out, or every move is a tough 5.9.  If the toughest move is a 5.9, then that's what the climb is.

 <end rant>

Being rather out of shape, I basically flogged myself on Blood in the Tracks.  I think I managed to finesse one move.  Every other move turned into a huge grunt fest, drama seeking debacle.  Still, I did lead it with a fall.

As a gauge of how I climb now to way back when… No one Nose took about 8 pieces of pro.  Way back when I did it with 2 or 3 pieces, and a lot quicker!

 

Gone Again

I'm going to be off the grid again for 5 days.  I'm taking the boys for a last camping trip to Birdshill Park.  I've never camped there, but hopefully it'll be okay.  I understand there is lots of Poison Ivy in the park… I'm not sure if it's around the campsites though.

 

Just for a lark, I took a test for what age I acted (Thanks Heather)

You Are 29 Years Old
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view – and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come… love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.