Can't think of a title... nom nom nom

So... I'm back in my dorm room after what was possibly the best home visit I've had... EVER. I was on this euphoric high for most of it. Which is weird, because I didn't sleep much. Or at all, really. But every waking moment was absolutely amazing!

After such a weekend, it sucks to think that for the next few weeks, I'll be here, following the same old routine. It's like being stuck on a railroad track. Just coasting along to some unseen destination, with no hopes of stopping, or change of pace. I don't like that. Finals are coming up. Grrrrreat.

I'm listening to Christmas music now. That makes me happy. I started blasting it in my mom's car as I drove it around LC late Thursday. So, of course, I ripped the music to my laptop so I could take it with me back to BR. And now that I have a new micro SD card, I once again convert my phone into a 2-gig music player. Oh yes! Christmas music while walking to class. Good stuff.

A lot of people's birthdays are today, I've noticed. My roommate's. My cousin, Ryan's. My cousin, Lil' Donald's. Kendrick Wilkins. And then tomorrow is my best friend's. Along with some other people who Facebook has informed me of. But a lot of birthdays are coming up as well in the month of December. So is there something about March that makes people want to conceive? Valentine's Day lovin' maybe? Too much drinking during St. Patty's Day? I dunno...

I think it's fun to figure out about when you were conceive. Either count back 9 months (~ish) from your birthday or count 3 months ahead (which is /much/ easier). So I'm the product of a mistletoe kiss gone too far or too much champagne on New Year's. Hm... I wonder if my mom remembers... I wonder if she'd actually tell me...

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

Give Thanks

A year ago, as I sat down to write a post similar to this to celebrate the holiday season, I reflected on how much my friends are like a second family to me. It's funny, going back and reading that post now. Funny how I feel the same about people, the rollercoaster I've ridden with other people, and... how some people in that post are now irrelevant.

So I'm giving thanks to progress. To change. To enlightenment. Thanks for getting rid of fake friends. Less drama. Less stress.

Thank you all.

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas, 2008 Edition

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all the through my house,
no one dare move, breathe, or roam about.
The tree had been decorated with wonder
and all the gifts were nestled safely under.
The boys lay in their room,
Little Johnny snug in his Batman costume.
And down the hall, inside the girls’ room,
there were nothing but dreams of Orlando Bloom.
When an alarm suddenly sounded
“What the hell?” Mommy and Daddy shouted
We pressed our faces to the glass,
hoping to see what lay out on the grass.
The porch lights were all a-glow
illuminating the front yard below.
And what was bestowed upon my eyes
came as a complete surprise.
There, in our yard, was a sight to see:
Santa himself had crashed into the SUV.
On the passenger’s side, he left the biggest dent
Then, he spoke, hands raised, swearing it was an accident.
Daddy shook his head from side to side
While Mommy looked as though she could have cried.
We all watched the reindeer,
their injuries most severe.
Dasher lay there twitchin’
Dancer and Prancer hemorrhaged from the fall
Comet and Cupid were so stunned, they moved not at all
Donder and Blitzen were missin’
And I won’t repeat how we found Vixen.
Santa was most upset,
knowing his Christmas deadline would not be met.
“Please, help me,” he said,
“My sleigh is wrecked and my reindeer surely dead.”
We begged and pleaded,
realizing how much our help was needed.
Mommy and Daddy agreed, and we began our good deed.
Santa’s eyes lit up like Christmas lights! his dimples so deep!
He thanked us a thousand times and began to weep.
Little Johnny flew into action, in true superhero fashion
He found Donder and Blitzen, much to Santa’s satisfaction.
The girls patched up Dancer and Prancer, fixing them in a flash
and I tended to Dasher, helping him up from the crash.
Daddy went to Vixen,
and after he was done fixin’,
he helped Mommy with Comet and Cupid.
They eventually moved, if not a little bit stupid.
With a gust of winter air,
a little magic and a lot of prayer,
the sleigh miraculously rose to the sky,
and we all waved goodbye.
Santa thanked my family once more
and away we watched them soar.
The children and I went to back into the house, and climbed into bed,
trying our hardest to wipe those images from our heads.
Daddy turned to Mommy, and said with much assurance,
“I don’t think this is covered by our insurance.”

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

Fresh Start

Whew! Thought I'd never see the day. New layout!

Rachel was right, though. It is A LOT of personalization after you get the code. Which can prove to be a bitch. Where's that text coming from? Oh, okay, I see not. Click, click, click. Preview page. Nice. Oh damn! What about this? What the... OH! Yeah, okay, links. Click, click. Preview. Damn. What is this? Err... too.much.text.

But I'm proud of the result. Hope you guys like it too!

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

Open Mouth, Insert, Pull Trigger

It's painful to think I have to give up now. It kills me. I'm killing myself. "It's just not the right time," they say. "You're too overwhelmed." "It shouldn't exhaust you like this."

Even with all these (reasonable) excuses, I still feel horrible. But it's too late to push through now. I'm wayyy too far behind. I've wasted so much time.

I do want to finish though. I will finish. This has helped me get back into writing. For that, I am thankful. Now I know I can complete a project. That I need to. That I want to. Just.. timing.

So, my dear readers, I ask you--because without you, I am nothing--which would you rather: Me post pieces/chapters/sections/blurbs periodically here (like every Friday or something) OR take on a project of my own (like make the 31 days of Dec my new goal)?

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

Avoiding Writing an Actual Blog

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Memnoch the Devil by (of course) Anne Rice

WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? 9:49p

WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? laptop touch pad

FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? Dirty Minds. Haha. Seriously, Candy Land.

FAVOURITE MAGAZINE? People.

BABIES? No.

FAVOURITE SMELL? Baby powder and clean linen.
WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Food poisoning, I've been told.

FIRST THING YOU THINK OF IN THE MORNING? Fuck, school.

HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE? 2 if I like you. 4 if I really don't wanna answer. Haha.

FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? D'Artagnan (seriously, I LOVE that name).

FAVOURITE COLOUR? Blue.

WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE? Faith.

FAVOURITE FOOD! Pancakes.

IF YOU COULD PLAY AN INSTRUMENT, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I've always loved the piano...

DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST? No. It scares me.

SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Yes. Brownie, my black McNeese teddy bear.

WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? None yet...

WHO IS THE PERSON FROM YOUR PAST YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO? Luis Cerna.

FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? Strawberry daiquiri.

WHAT'S IN THE BOOT OF YOUR CAR? N/A

DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI? No.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB YOU WANTED WHAT WOULD IT BE? Author.

EVER BEEN IN LOVE? Yes.

GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL? It's poisoned.

FAVOURITE MOVIE? Oohh.. Uhm... Toss up between Count of Monte Cristo and Man in the Iron Mask (neither of whihc I own, now that I think of it. Haha.)

DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS? Psht. No.

WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED? Dust.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST AMBITION? To be a published author.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS? People I care about. I'll do almost anything for them .

IF YOU COULD BUILD A HOUSE ANYWHERE WHERE WOULD IT BE? The Italian countryside. I hear it's beautiful.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING? Jeans.

BEACH, MOUNTAINS OR CITY? Beach.

TECHNOLOGY OR ART? Art.

COMEDY OR HORROR? Comedy.

FAVOURITE PHYSICAL FEATURE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX? Eyes.

FAVOURITE TIME OF DAY? Depends on the weather. If it's hot: afternoon, cold: night.

THE LAST CD YOU BOUGHT? I bought? Psht. Last one I received was Cheetah Girls: One World.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE TO BE MASSAGED? Shoulders.

WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT, STRONG IN MIND OR STRONG IN BODY? Mind.

WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? Haha. Morning. Ya funny.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE KITCHEN ITEM? Skillet.

WHAT MAKES YOU REALLY ANGRY? Small minds. Intolerance.

WHICH DO YOU PREFER, SPORTS CAR OR SUV? SUV.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN AFTERLIFE? Yes.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE SEASON? Summer.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Read minds.

DO YOU HAVE A TATTOO, WHAT IS IT? No. Deathly afraid of needles.

CAN YOU JUGGLE? Does multi-tasking count? Haha. No.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE DAY? Oooh.. uhm... Saturday.

WHICH DO YOU PREFER SUSHI OR HAMBURGER? Damn. Uhm... Sushi, actually.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE SOAP? Dove.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEAL? Fried porkchops, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and kool-aid.

IF YOU COULD TAKE A VACATION ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE WOULD IT BE? England! Duh.

(Thanks, Harrison!)

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

So how's NaNo going?

How's it going? How's it going?! I'll tell you how it's fucking going. It's hell! Absolute hell.

Oh, I love writing and I want to feel accomplished so I'm going to enter this contest to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Yeah, I know. No, you don't get anything for winning. Well, it's just to say I've done it, to feel good about myself. Published? No. You just.. do it. Well, you can't officially start until midnight Nov 1st. I gues syou can cheat. But then you wouldn't feel as accomplished. No, they don't read them. Just count the words. That would pointless, though. I could just write crap or copy something if I only wanted to reach 50,000 words. Yeah, I know. Yeah.

Word count? Oh, it's coming along. Well, I don't feel inspired today, so I wont' write. What do you mean it's the 10th?!?! What the fuck? Let's see... That 1666 a day.. and I've missed like 8 days so... Oh shit!

Must write. Write whatever. Write what sounds good. No, no, that's crap. Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah! That's awesome. Awesome. Keep going. Oh, this is great! Yes, yes, more words! Keep writing. What does she see? How does she feel? Is this relevant? Did you allude to that.. Yeah, yeah. Good. Let's see... WHAT?!?! 1027 words?! But I wrote so much. Fuck fuck.

____

Yeah, it's something like that.

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

Shifting Gears and Moving Forward

Alright, so it's officially Nov 5th and now that all the election hype has died down and the votes are actually counted and we have a new president elect, (Wow! run-on sentence much?) I can actually focus on NaNoWriMo. I can actually start NaNoWriMo.

I have all these ideas in my head. Lines I want certain characters to say, names for them, names for places, basic plot structure and few twists... But actually getting them down in written word is nearly impossible. Especially considering the fact I have 8330 words to write by the stroke of midnight tonight if I want to stay on track and complete this. Which I WILL!

Here's the dilemma: I've decided to change stories. Yup. I'm insane. The story, piece, idea, whatever I originally planned on developing into a 50,000-word novel is no longer up to par for me. I don't feel as though I can go all the way with it. Even in my head, I get stuck so I know trying to write it will be an epic fail.

However, this new idea I have--although, technically an old short I'm just going to expand and develop--I feel I can really go somewhere with. It seemed to have positive feedback when I posted it here before, so we'll see how well I can develop it further.

As always, I know I have a ton of support helping me through (Rachel, Nick, Harrison, Mr. Taylor... Love you guys!). And I don't intend on disappointing.

So "keep it locked" here for all NaNoWriMo updates as I "officially" start.
Today.
Right now.
Here I go.
Seriously.

.:~o*'Kaylyn'*o~:.

P.S. - Oh, and in case you're wondering exactly which one of my previously posted shorts I'm going to use for NaNo is, it's
this one.