Change is Hard

I know. Profound, right?
Change is Hard.
I imagine you're thinking, "tell me something I don't know, Captain Obvious."

But I think acknowledging that change is hard takes away some of the power of that adverisity. As in--yes, change is hard, but sometimes we have to change.  Sometimes we have to grow. To break bad habits and replace them with better ones. To let go, and live in the now.  Maybe to not let go quite so much, and to be more responsible.

I don't know what it is about the Fall, but it always seems to make me want to be better. To lose weight, to be more concientous about my exercise, my sleep, my health, my writing, my work. It makes me want to be this shining, ideal of a person.

Unfortunately, by the time Christmas rolls around, I'm back to enjoying the pecan pie on the couch, thinking about exercising/working/writing. Because--say it with me--"Change is Hard."

So how to make changes stick? You got me. I haven't managed yet.

What am I trying this year?
The stick of peer pressure and the carrot of loose clothing.
Bring it on baby!

Check back with me around Christmas. Maybe this time, by Christmas I'll be the shining ideal of a person I keep seeing evey Fall. And if not--well, at least there'll be Pecan Pie.

And a couch. Come on over and have a seat.

NANOWRIMO Prep?

So I signed up for NANOWRIMO 2011 today. I signed up for NANOWRIMO 2010 last year and was a total loser. But this year, this year will be different my friends! I will be a winner, no, a champion of NANOWRIMO!

No seriously. I will.

Quit laughing. I can hear you, you know.

You see, I have a plan.
     Step One: Sign Up.
     Completed!! See--I'm suceeding already!

     Step Two: Plan out my novel.
     I'm totally going to do this. Stop laughing. You'll see.

     Step Three: Write. A lot.
     Again, I'm Totally going to do this.

     Step Four: Win, and flaunt my amazing winningness to all.
     That's right. You'll be sorry you doubted me. This is my year to win, and I'm not going to be sparing with the I told you so-s.

My NANOWRIMO handle is MerissaJ for all you fellow NANOWRIMOers who want another writing buddy this year. A winning writing buddy that is.

Books On Writing

I was looking for an i pad charger yesterday evening. I didn't find the charger, which surprised me not one bit.  I never find what I'm looking for, but often I find something else that I've mislaid.
(pic borrowed from Amazon)

That's right--I found my lost copy of On Writing by Stephen King.

I love this book. I've read and re-read it, but thought I'd lost in in one of our moves. I can't tell you how excited I was to discover it tucked away in our guest room closet.

Do you guys have a favorite book on writing? My favorties would be Stephen King's On Writing, and Donald Maass' Fire in the Fiction. Both are just wonderful.

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

Kindle--3rd Time's a Charm

So I had a birthday a week or two ago.

I've hit the age where birthdays are to be celebrated only when they belong to my kids.  I feel old and decrepit enough--I don't need any more birthdays thank you. Of course, as it has been pointed out to me, the alternative isn't so great either. So, for the past couple years I've done my best to ignore the birthday on the assumption that if I don't bother it, it won't bother me.

But this birthday I got a Kindle. It came from my mother in law. I had no idea she even knew what a Kindle was. But apparently she knew that I knew what a Kindle was, and that I liked them. So the sweet lady went to best buy and had them sell her one, along with a wonderful cover with a built-in light.

If you read my blog, you'll know that this is my third kindle.  My first I dropped and broke the screen. Amazon said it was covered by warranty (really?? okay!!) and replaced it with my second kindle. Which I ran over. With my car.  I was too shamefaced to call and see whether that too, by some insane reason, was covered by warranty. Instead I decided to go back to paper as the only thing I could be trusted with.

So, I'm sure you can guess that I was pretty happy about the Kindle #3.  I stroked it lovingly, placed it snug in its cover, and tested the really amazing built-in light.

My new kindle doesn't have 3g. My other two did. Its not really a problem--but I have to connect to a wireless hotspot to download. Anywhere other than Del Rio or the back side of Alaska, I doubt this would make a significant difference. For me it does, but I can live without the instant connectivity. I'm just excited to have my kindle format books back and available to me again.

Thanks mother in law--it was a wonderful gift and I love it and I use it every day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

For anyone out there is looking to buy a Kindle, I've had both kinds now, and I think its worth it to spring for the 3g version, unless you live somewhere where the entire town is a hotspot.

Agree? Disagree? That's what the comments are for.