gomer-b

My NanoWrimo story has consumed me.
I will not be a winner this year.
I have only about 17,000 words,
but my story will not let me go.
I will finish this story by the
end of December.
That is my new goal.
I will not give up and I can't
wait until next year.

Thanks to NanoWrimo for awaking
the sleeping writer within me.

We had our first snowfall this winter.
It was beautiful.
I wish I could go home for Thanksgiving,
but unfortunately it looks like I will
be stuck here.
I miss my family.
It's been 5 months since I've seen them
and I really would prefer not to have to
wait until next year.
I am glad that I don't work this Thanksgiving.
I will be busy at work on my novel, which
I am way behind.
Must get to work! :)

Second week of Nano and I am about 11,000 words so far. Of course I still have quite a few hours left to write this morning. I needed an unusual Thanksgiving tradition for my novel. I asked my husband and the first thing he says is FOOTBALL. Uh, honey I said unusual as in not watching football or just playing in the yard. Then I said okay give me something unusual about football. So he comes up with getting half-naked and painting Cowboys on your chest and going to a game in the snow.
Honestly that is too scary a mental picture to even think about for to long, but he did help jumpstart my thought process and I was able to come up with a pretty good tradition.

Daily Lesson Learned: Give those around you a chance to be creative. You might be surprised.

I love living in Eastlyn. Traveling through Eastlyn is like traveling across states. The heart of the city is the downtown area. Just to the west are the old tree lined neighborhoods of time past. To the east lies the campus of Eastlyn College. My apartment is in an old brick building that houses a bookstore, bakery and an Italian restaurant. I love waking up the special of baking bread. Usually I will go down and help out the bakery owner, Lily. Lily is a great friend and working with her is all the payment I need.

Visiting with the "regulars" is great. We generally start with the arrival of Mrs. Tam. Mrs. Tam is seventy years old and in great shape. She loves to come in every morning and get the first pick of all the fresh bread. Haggling would be her second love. The menu is located right next to the register and clearly states that fresh bread is $3.50 a loaf. Yet every morning Mrs. Tam is knocking on the door and 6 am and plunks down a dollar and 2 quarters (always the same) and spends 15 minutes looking through the glass at all the different loaves. "I have never paid more than $1.50 for a loaf of bread and I'm not starting now!" she repeatedly tells Lily. Lily smiles and lets her choose the bread she wants. After Mrs. Tam smells her chosen loaf she beams the most beautiful toothless smile to Lily and says "You are a wonderful girl!" and prances out the door. I never could understand why Lily would let Mrs. Tam pay such a low price. What Lily told me was so unexpected, "Mrs. Tam lives in that old abandoned house on 5th street."
"That place is about to fall down! How can she live there? Don’t the police know?" I rapidly fired at her. Everyone knows and everyone looks out for her was Lily's response. I felt horrible knowing that I had been upset with her for pressuring Lily. Now I always look for a way to throw in something extra.

Seven a.m. is when the school crowd hits. The fifth and sixth graders crowd around the counter waiting for their turn at the donuts and pastries. The girls are usually laughing and whispering in one corner and the boys are pushing and teasing each other in the other corner. This is my favorite part of the morning. Just watching the preening patter of preteens brings me back to my childhood.

I was always the dramatic one in middle school. The other kids never knew what to do with me. I would dress up in big floppy hats and full skirts and dance around like I was Mary Poppins. I loved Mary Poppins. Most kids my age were to sophisticated for such a silly Disney movie. I was enthralled with the idea of flying wherever I wanted to go. I would sit for hours writing stories of all the places I visited. I still remember holding up my pencil to the ceiling, I didn't have a fancy umbrella, and closing my eyes. As I started to rise up higher and higher, I would turn and aim for the window at the very top of the attic. As I would fly out the window, I could see my dad washing the car. He always waved and said to come back soon.

On our block the sport was street hockey. Street hockey was a vicious game that generally left its players bruised and bleeding. For the most part the boys were the sole players in this bloody game, but a few girls were brave enough to participate. I remember watching Sheila push her way through the tangle of boys and score goal after goal. Usually the girls were hiding out in the many play houses that dotted the back yards. To old for dolls and to young for boys, they would play with their makeup and listen to cds from the latest boy band.

Gliding through the neighborhood, I would glance into the windows of the homes with parents cooking and teenagers doing homework. Families always look so happy when you gaze into their windows. Flying around the corner I headed up, up as high as I could get until I reached the clouds. As I passed over the towns filled with stores and churches I would watch the people bustling on their way home from work and school.

I flew farther and farther away from home until I reached the castle hidden in the big tree. The castle was a prism in the sunlight shimmering pink, blue, yellow or green. Fairy guards greeted me as I neared the castle. Delicate wings of crystal colors contrasted with their fierce expressions. "Greetings Princess Necia," the guards would say, Welcome to the home of our beautiful Princess Shannon.” Of course I was to big to enter the castle so the guards would give me cookies to eat so that I would shrink. (Did I say that I loved Alice in Wonderland)? The castle always took my breath away. The entry of the castle was lined with ivy and the interior dripped with jewel like flowers of all colors. As I entered Princess Shannon's room I ran to her and gave her a hug. Princess Shannon and I were best friends. We would run throughout the castle bugging the cooks and knocking over the maids (on accident of course!) and talk about everything. I would have stayed forever, but the magic of the cookies only lasted for a short period of time. I would fly back to my room and read another book.

The departure of the kids brings in the morning commuters in a hurry for their coffee and bagels. During all this commotion, Stevie and Cary would sneak in and sit at the back corner until everyone finally left. "The Guys" played chess every morning while drinking gallons of green tea. (Ewwhh!) I had never met anyone who played chess before and I couldn't understand how anyone could just sit for hours doing nothing. The more I watched the guys the more I understood. There is such a companionship between the two which is amazing since they rarely talk. I admire the peacefulness that surrounds their table especially in the middle of the customer rush.

--Necia