Bit behind

Yes, I'm behind with my postings. We're doing the usual rush of Christmassy things including kids concerts and other performances. Actually, with Sir Talkalot not dancing this year that was one less concert and one less (big) expense. Last year the costuming was several hundreds of dollars and the tickets about fifty dollars each. Tres expensive! (And I remember his frustration because when they took their final bows, they had to wear their full regular tracksuit, and someone had stolen his tracksuit top, so he wasn't allowed on stage. They had said that anyone not in full uniform wasn't allowed on, which was fair enough except that they let everyone else not in full uniform (about four people) on stage and just kept him off. No, it wasn't a deliberate attempt to slight him -- just a matter of his standing near someone who was strict about enforcing rules, whereas the other director on the other side of the stage didn't enforce the rules at all. It is annoying though, for parents and performers alike. I mean this is a kids' production, for goodness sake. People sometimes take themselves a bit too seriously -- but, even so, I can accept this if it's consistent... And that was his last performance with them...)

This year, both kids performed in their drama school's play, and then had an awards night they had to attend. Sir Talkalot has sung with his school choir in Collins Street in the city and then in Holy Trinity in Williamstown. And Princess Sleepyhead has sung with Victorian State Singers at a performance in Altona, and then at Holy Trinity in Williamstown. Today, she's rehearsing for Doug Heywood and Alex Cameron's wedding, which is in a few days time. They've put the rehearsal just before the one for Channel 9's "Carols by Candlelight" so the others will go directly on from there. PH is still upset that Channel 9 won't let anyone in the choir until they're in Year 10, but that's just how it is. Anyway, better get going and get her off to rehearsals!

How lucky is this kid? (Not)

Dramas in the house tonight. My son, who is a very keen acting student, found out late last night that someone rang him for an acting job tomorrow -- a TV commercial. Only problem was that his dippy sister took the message, wrote it down on a piece of paper that someone later turned over to write other messages on the back, and she promptly forgot about the message and didn't tell anyone -- till 11 pm the next night. Too late to ring, so he rang today and was told that it was tomorrow and to come in etc by the receptionist, but later when he spoke to the director (or producer?), she said she'd already filled his place. She only rang two days ago. So there were tears, acrimonious accusations, and though his sister does "hate" her brother (or so she says), she was genuinely upset and remorseful.

He's more upset because this is the third time it's happened. Not exactly like this. First, he was offered a lead role in a telemovie that involved just him and a foreign actor. There was wild excitement for a week, but that actor's community found the script offensive (I read it and from a white Caucasian POV it wasn't offensive, but we have to respect other people's opinions), and so they weren't able to cast the other role, and the project was cancelled.

Then we had an answering machine that decided off its own bat to start deleting unread messages. It took us a little while to figure out this was happening, at which point we threw it out. I mean it's worse that people think they have left a message than know they have not. It would do this funny beeping thing and, bang, the messages would be gone. Most frustrating. We found out later that he'd received another casting call, but we never got to hear it. Too late again.

So now three times unlucky, and he's convinced that's it. Sometimes the world isn't a fair place -- and Mum's lectures/philosophical rantings don't make it any more palatable. Oh, well.

NaNoWriMo: the end is here

Today, the last day of NaNo writing, I made my goal. Life has been on hold over the last few days. The focus has been writing writing writing. And now it's over I feel both relief and disappointment and a great enthusiasm to finish my novel. So this is a short post. Too little sleep recently, and I've learnt not to write when you're really tired. I'll catch up in the next few days.

Dogs again

Why is it that about once a week my dogs will fight in the middle of the night. My theory is that the big dog has nightmares and attacks the little dog while she is sleeping. It does seem to go this way. It's always the big dog who attacks, and then looks sheepish when I have to go and break them up. If I put them in separate rooms, the little dog frets and won't go to sleep. She has never slept alone in her life. Instead, she scrabbles at the door and lets out her famous Toller cry, which is really more of a yodelling nose than anything else. People are stunned when they hear it. I'm just worried that at some stage the big dog might really hurt the little one, as she's twice her size. Any advice from the dog owners out there?

Time management

Why are we all so bad at it? Why does my daughter insist on emulating me by leaving assignments till the last minute? At least I would have realised that the one that told her to collect articles on France for one and a half terms and then write an essay on what she had learnt couldn't possibly be done in a night. Perhaps she could write an essay on how she shouldn't leave things to the last minute. So where is she today? She's gone to open day at the local yacht club, after spending yesterday at singing and then last night watching TV. Really, why should I worry? Why should I take on her worries as my own? Yeah, yeah, I know: because I'm her mother and it's part of the job detail. It sucks, though. Especially when it means I spent the whole night nagging. I hate nagging. Hate it with a passion.

Anyway, she's off with her brother (and her dad), and I have some peace and quiet. Time to write!

In the darkness, lightness!

For you, dear blog readers, what transpired as a long darkness included a time of lightness for me: my trip to Phillip Island on a writing retreat. Okay, I hate second person used like that. I won't do it again! (I'm slapping my wrist now!)

The best thing about getting away with another writer is the headspace you create for yourself. Headspace away from the chaos of everyday life. My husband was happy enough to let me go -- I'm sure by the time I got the phone call to say that one child had tipped boiling water over the other one's head (or near boiling as she doesn't seem to be burnt!), he was having second thoughts. Especially as the naughty child is still arguing, a week later, that she had it coming. Hmm. Even when I've talked about eyes cooking in their sockets he hasn't expressed any regrets. Hmm.

The children were less happy about me going.

"Why aren't you taking me?" one demanded.

"Why can't I go?" the other said.

The whole point about a weekend away is to get away from them -- especially when every time the writer tries to write one child insists on standing next to the computer, talking. Talking, talking, talking. Non-stop. That child can't stand not being the centre of attention all the time. That child rang and asked, somewhat belligerently, "Are you having a great time?"

"I'm having a fabulous time," I said, and heard the disappointment in his grunt.

"Good," he said, "because I'm not."

"Oh, I'm having a terrific time," I said. "I've written so many words!" That cheered him up. He didn't mind that I was having a great time as long as it was working. And we worked lots. Wrote lots. And included some inspirational walks. Of course, I didn't tell him about those.

I've posted pics on my Spec Fic blog that shows one of the walks we went on, one that is reminiscent of parts of the coast where my novel is set. These, a bit more spectacular, are from the other side of Phillip Island, but not so much like where my characters are.

Being dark

With end of semester looming (a few weeks ago), I knew my blogging time would be highly curtailed. What I didn't expect was not to have blogged for so long. Partly, mostly, that's because I've been bum and head down marking, but I've also had assorted server troubles and then been away for four days without any internet access. How used to our technological gadgetry we get. I did, however, take my laptop and in that four days wrote 13,500 words -- mostly on my NaNoWriMo project (book 2 of my trilogy) but also on my "real" work-in-progress: book 1. I'll blog more about all of this later. Suffice to say I'm back, feeling refreshed, energised, in the writing zone, ready to blog and catch up on all those blogs I haven't been reading. Of course, tomorrow, I'm back at work... In the meantime, I'm so grateful to the friend who dragged me away with her to write, talk writing, and to walk. I've had a fabulous time!