Four Day Weekend?

The buzz at school yesterday was the forecasted winter storm, which was to bring us ice and sleet followed by up to a foot of snow by Friday morning. Like all good teachers, I expected sunny skies when I woke this morning, and told my kiddos to do their homework accordingly. After all, I explained to them, the more prepared for school they were, the higher the likelihood that school would be cancelled.

The prospects for bad weather were bad enough that Monkey's proposed departure for a trip to Lincoln this weekend was moved up a day. She spent last night in a KC HoJo's. Her post-trip report had some nasty freezing precip falling in the KC metro area yesterday afternoon, but here on the homestead, we just had some wet and loud thunderstorms.

Last night, Elementary Teacher ( a new character to this, the chronicle of the author's life) came over to watch the OSU-UNC basketball game. He's from Ohio and doesn't have ESPN. It was great game (UNC won 98-89, or some such ridiculously high score). When bedtime arrived for me, the skies were cloudy and it was cold, but no precip was falling.

This morning, the grass is crunchy and the tress are icy. The roads seem okay, here, but the county roads are apparently a bit slick. The ticker on the TV screen flashed some nearby school closings, but nothing here. At 5:40, I was preparing for a normal day at school. Then, to my joy and surprise, the screen flashed the magic words: "Columbia Public Schools are CLOSED today." Woo hoo!

The forecast is still pretty nasty, with a foot of snow still forecast by Friday morning. In the immortal words of TS Eliot: "Do I dare to each a peach? Do I dare to expect two snow days in a row?" I shall, in a superstitious nod to J. Alfred Prufrock, wear my trousers rolled, today.

What good fortune it would have been had I needed to write a few thousand words to finish my novel on time. But I don't! 'Cause I finished that puppy. I am almost going through a bit of post-writing flurry withdrawal. I kept thinking I had something to do last night, but I didn't. It was a bittersweet feeling of longing mixed with triumph. I feel it still.

So, dear reader, what shall I do, today? Back in Mob Town, a snow day meant toilet paper sandwiches with a glass of milk, but I think I'll have something else for lunch. I'm just glad it's not Tuesday. It would suck to miss chicken nugget day.

We Have A Winner!

Well, after neglecting my students, my colleagues, my friends, my wife, and a host of other things, it has all paid off.

I finished my novel! I am amazed how it sort of all came together, and how some things I had been working on in the past (and some things waaaaay in the past), raised their ugly heads in this piece, too.

It was a slog, but it has been worth it, especially since Monkey is now showering me with kisses!

And now...prepare for a possible snow day on Thursday/Friday.

Think about this: I finished my novel on chicken nugget day. What could be better?

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

This year, I am giving thanks for Monkeys, puppies, and Democratic victories, just to name a few things.

On Target

I have finally made up the difference between where I should be and where I am. I should have, if I want to finish the novel by Nov. 30, 31, 673 words by the end of today. I currently have 31,844. So, instead of being my usual 3000 words behind, I am actually almost 200 words ahead and am on pace to finish on time. And, should I so desire, I can keep plugging away and get even farther out front. But, I have written 7000 words or so this weekend, so I feel like I've done enough. I think I'll spend the rest of the day grading papers and watching Peyton Manning carve up the Cowboys.

Monkey and I are gearing up for Turkey Day. Pie making on Wednesday (hooray two day work week!), so Monkey is happy about that. And company coming into town, too. So, it should be an exciting week. Stay tuned.

The Halfway Point

This morning, at approximately 7:39 CST, I crossed the 25000 word mark! This is an achievement, but it only serves to remind me that I have a long way to go, and less time than is optimal to get there. BUt I am determined. I was talking to PartnerTeacher yesterday after school, and I realized, while talking to her, how disappointed i will be in myself if I don't get this done. This morning (at least the first two hours of it) has been encouraging. Can I write 5000 words today? I'd feel so much better about my prospects for completing this task if I do.

By the way, at this stage of the process, I am pretty sure this monster will never see the light of day. It reeks. Sorry, Osculator. Then again, after a few months go by, I may want to show it off just because I did it. And we can laugh together at how bad it really is...or we can be surprised when we find something worthwhile (if we do find something worthwhile (if we CAN find something worthwhile (aw, hell, let's just agree to laugh at it))).

Off to type some more (after a nutritious breakfast, of course).