February Has Arrived

Why does my calendar feature a photo of a blobbish, heart-shaped donut? Because it's February, of course! No longer does the idea of candy hearts and pounds of chocolate given to me by a loved one rule my thoughts--as much as I would love to have someone show their undying love for me, I'd rather have it on a random day instead of when Hallmark tells them to shower me with gifts. Or any day at all. Ya know. Anywhoo...

Turning the calendar page makes me happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I'm no longer wallowing my heart and brain in the terror that has been dubbed Singles Awareness Day (see above; I've finally become enlightened instead of a bitter shell of a human about Feb. 14). Sad because every flip of the calendar page tells me I didn't do enough personally and professionally. It's the audible Homer Simpson "D'Oh!" when you realize you haven't moved an inch from where you were in January. The productivity gurus all tell you it's about small steps. What about microscopic ones? What about those that are invisible to the naked eye? A basket of my microscopic steps towards goals of any kind still isn't really visible. Especially to me.

But I'm not stopping, even if I have virtually nothing to show for the previous weeks.  I could throw out that whole the journey, not the destination stuff, but no. I'll spare you. I want to arrive at that golden destination, look around, say, "Eh, not bad," and go about finding a new destination. That's the goal for me. Multiple figurative and literal destinations. Maybe February will be the stepping stone I'm looking for. Let's get to it.

**PS: I've got a fun freebie coming up next week; I'll post more about that later. Be prepared with your Kindle/Kindle app in hand. ;-)

Looking Forward in December

I ended up with an official NaNoWriMo word count total of only 20,740. Not even half way. I don't like excuses, but I had a nasty cold throughout the last ten days of November and could hardly do anything, let alone think coherently about a novel. But that's not stopping me. I'll finish the novel by the end of the year, whether it ends up being 50k or just 40k, as long as I have a complete story to work with during the first round of revisions.

My other goal in December is very vague, but I can take tangible steps to get there. Officially, the goal is called "get to where I want to be" but I know what that means (most days). Usually it involves a change of scenery, a new job and some courage that I haven't yet found (I think the lion from The Wizard of Oz took it all). Right now, there's a really positive attitude going on around here, but an abundance of Christmas candy could be a contributing factor to that. So while I'm still walking around with a smile on my face, I'm taking the month of December to set a few more concrete goals (and enjoy the Christmas season) so that I'm not floating in the wind aimlessly in January.

Leaf blowers in January?

That's right. You read that title. Now, I know that there is no more than 1/2 inch of snow on the sidewalks, but there is a guy outside my window using a leaf blower to clear off the sidewalks. It's not necessary, and I'm sure all its doing is uncovering some pretty nasty ice.

Anyway, back to work. I just had to say something about that.

One Movie I Can't Wait to See

If you look here: Mulder, Scully believe in 'X-Files' audience (AP), you will know which movie I am anticipating. And taking into account that the last movie I saw in a theater was in January, I can't wait go. And you know... I'll go and see it by myself if I really have to because it is going to be amazing. Just this little tease from the article says it all:

His heart also clearly remains with Scully. They spar just like old times, but they share the most explicit moments of affection in their 15 years together, though still restrained by Hollywood romantic standards.

Yay!! I can't wait.