ROW80 Round 8: 3rd Update

Surprisingly enough, I have actually been quite productive this week. Really, it is surprising, because a) I've still been in a lot of pain with my knee injury, b) I bought a new book to read and c) I bought a new Nintendo DS game (I wasn't going to because I didn't want to distract myself and I thought I should save my money for knee-related expenses, but they had it on sale at work and I got some extra work from uni so I had to buy it :D). Any of these things on their own would usually be enough to have me procrastinating til the cows come home (MOOOOOO!), but somehow I'm managed to ration both my reading and game-playing time and mark just under two thirds of the assignments that were submitted last week. I am hoping to get all of them finished by Friday night, as that is when all the assignments for my other subject are due, so I'll have to get started on those ones next :) And, after my two classes on Friday, the semester is over, so I'll have a lot more free time, which I am sorely looking forward to.

Also, I somehow got myself nominated for a Teaching Excellence Award, which was pretty cool and definitely helped make a crappy week less crappy. I most likely won't win since I'm sure there are other academics out there who are more experienced and/or have more nominations than me, but it is a nice confidence boost. Even though I don't have much chance of actually winning, I'm still going to fill in the application (there are a bunch of forms to fill out) just on the off chance it was a slow year for nominations, because the award money could help me pay for knee specialist consultations/MRIs/surgery etc.

On the writing front; I didn't write anything today because I was marking, but I did get in a few hundred words on my main work in progress on Monday and Tuesday night. It sucks that I am unable to go to my normal part time job because of my knee, but I suppose it does give me a little extra time for writing (on the whole, I'd rather be able to walk without the use of a cane and earn money, though). One of my sidelined WiPs (a steampunk fantasy) has also been rattling around in my head again lately, seemingly vying for my attention to be my NaNoWriMo project. At this stage I'm still planning to work on Dark and Silent Waters for NaNo, but I may still dabble in the steampunk one if my muse takes me in that direction. Provided I have finished my first lot of marking, I am going to set aside Saturday as a creative day, where I will do nothing but draw, paint and/or work on my novel (either actually writing it or fixing up the outline, both need doing).

I think Judgemental Dog approves (sort of) of my game-playing and book-reading:

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ROW80 Round 8: 2nd Update

This week has been a bit of a wreck... Literally. On my way to uni on Monday, my train was delayed because of an accident on the line, and the replacement bus I was on got hit by a truck, resulting in a concussion and dislocated knee for me (it wasn't a hard impact, but it was enough to jolt the bus and make me lose my footing, dislocating my knee as I tried to stop myself falling and then hitting my head as I fell anyway :(  ) I still managed to get to my class, though, as well as taking my class on Tuesday morning, but by the time I got home I was in so much pain that I had to take some of my strongest painkillers, which made me kind of fuzzy-headed and reduced my mental capacity to that of a brain-damaged goldfish. Plus the concussion meant that the slightest little thing reduced me to state of incoherent rage and despair, so I thought it best to just step away from the computer lol To be fair, I've had a problem with that knee for a good ten years - this is probably the 7th time I've dislocated it since the original karate injury - and it's got so weak and unstable that someone just has to fart next to it and that will blow it out of alignment, but I was hoping to be able to put off going to the specialist for another few months...

I spent most of yesterday and this morning alternating between staring vacantly at my screen and catching up on various admin tasks for uni, though I did squeeze in an hour or so of writing yesterday and half an hour this morning, which produced about 700 words and 300 words respectively, so at least I've made the weekly limit I'd set for myself. Rex keeps nudging his leash and then standing beside me and staring at me with guilt lasers in his eyes, but unfortunately the goal of walking him twice weekly will be on hold for a while; even with my walking stick, I'm not capable of much more than an awkward, shuffling power-waddle, so I wouldn't be able to keep up with an impatient German Shepherd :) The rest of today will be spent formatting a sample exam for students, and after that, it will all just be a blur of assignment marking.

And there's a new Nintendo DS game out today that I really want (Pokemon Black 2) and because I'll be spending money on physio, I won't be able to buy it for ages >:( I know I probably won't have time to play it anyway, but still... Bugger #firstworldproblems haha

Judgemental Dog seems to have let the power go to his head:

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ROW80 Round 8: 1st Update

Well, it's been a hectic first week of this ROW80 round. It feels like I spent most of the time either at uni or marking uni assignments. Luckily there are only two weeks left of semester, so even though I'll have assignments to mark, I won't have classes, which will free up some time (and energy). After I'd finished marking assignments, I ended up on YouTube (the great procrastination tool of the Internet) and, as usual, found myself watching music videos that bore no relation to whatever I'd gone there for originally. One of those videos was this one:

Yes, I know it's full of 90s pop-music terri-bad (though that black sequined outfit is equal parts bizarre and epic), but strangely enough it got me thinking about my novel (normally I'd feel that gothic/symphonic metal matches the plot better, but apparently my brain has other ideas). Leaving aside the video's laughably awful 'plot' (eg. I'm pretty sure the life support machine would work better if it was actually attached to the dude in some way haha), the characters almost echo the three key players in Dark and Silent Waters; we have the bat-shit insane evil lady/ruler of death who is determined to steal the soul of an innocent man, with his life depending on the strength and determination of the woman who loves him. I also like the 'monologue' from the Death character, which sounds like something the antagonist of DASW would say, if she were in the habit of bursting into 90s pop songs.

In other news, Rex is still on his medication for his bowel disease, but he seems to be responding pretty well, his dose has been lowered to three times a week instead of once daily. He is his normal happy, bouncy self, even if he's starting to slow down a bit with age, and we're hoping that this round of medication will knock his disease out entirely, though more realistically - as the vet says - we'll probably have to keep him on a low dose for the rest of his life.

Anyway, goal progress so far:

• Write 500 words on Wednesdays and Thursdays: Didn't write on Wednesday or Thursday because I was marking assignments and I had to do preparation work for my Friday classes. My old man deciding to renovate the kitchen (and being as noisy and disruptive about it as humanly possible) has delayed me a bit, as it is impossible to concentrate with him hammering and pulling things apart and swearing every five minutes. (update: managed to write about 300 words today, better than nothing)
• Come up with PhD idea: Sort of. Have been discussing it with lecturer and have been throwing a few concepts around, but still haven't really settled on one. Really need to sort this out quickly. Have started putting together a vague document for my research proposal.
• Do 1 painting/drawing each week: No artwork done, but I have done another colour chart for some new pastels I got, which will be used in a review on my other blog.
• Keep up to date with assignment marking: Yep :) Have marked all submitted assignments to date. This week my students are all doing presentations, which means less preparation work, but both subjects have large assignments due at the end of this week and next week, so after that I will be snowed under with marking.
• Keep up to date with research assistant duties: So far yes, though admittedly there hasn't been that much to do at this stage.
• Walk Rex twice a week: He got a walk on Wednesday but not on Thursday; my knee injuries were playing up and I thought that being dragged along by an impatient German Shepherd probably wouldn't help :D

Judgemental Dog lays on the guilt trip:

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ROW80 Round 8: Goals and Musings

I can predict with almost 100% certainty that I will get off to a pretty slow start this Round, but I'm hoping to get a lot more done in the second half. Next week will be a bit better since the students for both subjects are doing presentations, which means I don't have nearly as much preparation work to do for classes, but at the end of the week, both subjects also have (large) written assignments due, so the week or two after that will be consumed by marking (kill me now haha), as well as bits and pieces for the usability testing I'm helping out with as a research assistant (which should be good experience for when I'm doing my PhD). After that, things should get easier.

Anyway, my goals will be broken up for the first and second parts of the round, ie. The first month, when I'm still busy with uni stuff, and the remaining months, when things should hopefully have settled down with uni (though it will be getting busier at my retail job).

So, Part 1 Goals (Oct 1-Oct 26):

• Write 500 words on Wednesdays and Thursdays
• Come up with PhD ideas (must be done before mid October if I'm to have time to submit a decent research proposal)
• Do 1 painting/drawing each week (doesn't have to be a finished piece, can just be a sketch)
• Keep up to date with assignment marking
• Keep up to date with research assistant duties
• Walk Rex twice a week

Part 2 Goals (Oct 27-Dec 20):

• Write 500 words every day
• Do 3 paintings/drawings each week (again, can just be sketches)
• NaNoWriMo (?) If I do this, I'm going to 'cheat' and work on my novel in progress, Dark and Silent Waters, instead of starting a new novel like we're supposed to. I just feel like that's a better use of my writing time and energy.
• Walk Rex every weekday

I was hoping to come into this round refreshed and relaxed, but that hasn't happened... Last week was the mid-semester break when I was hoping to have time to myself (which is something I really need; I can only tolerate a certain amount of human interaction and I have long since exhausted my supply for now), but as usual, the more I wanted to be left alone, the more people kept getting in my face. I also learned the important lesson of "Do Not Post Opinions On The Internet That Are Different To Other People's". Not that it will stop me - I don't see why I should respect other people's opinions if they think I don't have the right to my own - but it was interesting (and a little amusing) to see some of the reactions I got. Ah well... I suppose it keeps me from being bored, though it would have been nice to just kick back a bit :)

Also, I managed to get one more drawing done since the last Round (yep, just one... Family and academia keep getting in my way):

As always, my faithful companion Judgemental Dog will be overseeing my writing antics :)

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ROW80 Round 7: Final Update

I've missed the last several check-ins but I was at least able to make the final one :) I finally finished my marking after another bout of illness set me back a whole week, and I have about a week and a half before my next assignments come in. Next week is the semester break so I will finally have time to relax and do more writing and painting. I haven't done any writing or painting since last check-in apart from late last night and this evening, when I managed to squeeze in a few hundred extra words for my novel. I had one of those awesome moments where I was aimlessly browsing YouTube and stumbled across a music video that provided some much needed creative inspiration, so I've been hurriedly jotting down notes for scenes that I'll be able to write later.

I'm also contemplating whether or not I'll do NaNoWriMo this year (I know it's more than a month away, but still...). I do like the idea of just doing nothing but writing for a month (in my case it will be a bit less than a month, as I'll still have exam marking etc to do in early November), but I'm not sure it really suits the way I write. NaNoWriMo is mainly about just letting yourself go and writing and not editing, even if it's rubbish, and I can't really make myself do that; I would rather go a bit slower and try to concentrate more on quality than quantity. I did NaNoWrimo in 2010 and got 50,000 words, but I only ended up keeping about 12,000. I'd rather write slower and just get, say, 20,000 words and be able to keep a larger percentage of it. Plus, technically for NaNoWriMo you have to start a completely new novel and I'd rather keep working on Dark and Silent Waters (I have other story ideas/fragments but DASW is the one that I really care about, really want to see finished). Eh, I'll probably end up NaNo-ing anyway, if for no other reason than it will give me an excuse to consume insane amounts of chocolate and energy drinks without feeling guilty :D

Anyway, I'm off to try to do a quick drawing before going to bed. One day of uni tomorrow and then holidays :)

(edit to update: finally managed to get some art done :D This is my first soft pastel drawing, a pear drawn in Faber-Castell and Rembrandt pastels)

Judgemental Dog has his priorities right:

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ROW80 Round 7: 10th Update

Well, I'm finally starting to feel reasonably healthy again, just in time for the nice spring weather :) (it seems weird looking out the window and not seeing black clouds and torrential rain). Fairly short update this week; I wrote 500 words on Friday and Saturday and have finished one batch of marking, though now I have a second lot to keep me busy. My students for both subjects don't have assignments due til the end of semester now, so hopefully the next few weeks will be a bit quieter, giving me more time for writing and painting.

I've also dug out my folder with all my papers in it from last year for my Honours thesis. I'm hoping that going through it will give me some ideas for my PhD thesis. The deadline for applying for a scholarship is at the end of October, which is a while away, but I'm wary of time getting away from me; plus, once I come up with my idea, I still need to write it up properly as a research proposal. I've also decided that if I do get a scholarship, I'm going to get myself a tablet PC. I know I don't need one, but I have been wanting one for a while, and it would be pretty handy to take to uni, instead of my bulky laptop or big folders of paper. Haven't decided what type I'll get, though... Any suggestions?

Words of wisdom from Judgemental Dog:

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ROW80 Round 7: 9th Update

I've been sick for most of this week, but luckily have at least managed to get some work done. I've marked all but 3 of the 15 tests from last week's class and should hopefully finish the rest tomorrow (and then I can look forward to getting 50-odd reports to mark on the weekend... *sigh*). I spent most of today just watching DVDs as I still don't feel too well (lack of sleep from coughing has left me with a general tired/headache/dizzy 'blehness'), though I did catch up on most of my admin stuff for uni. I'm hoping to be up-to-date with everything by tomorrow evening, because I'll be at uni all day Friday and won't have time to work on much after that.

I had been aiming at 500 words per day recently, but I think I'll have to drop that back to two or three days a week, especially with the load of marking coming up. I didn't get much done on Dark and Silent Waters, aside from a few hundred words of brainstorming stuff, but I did add about 1,000 words to my other WiP. So I did some writing, at least.

I also transferred my ROW80 blog to a new blog, as you can see. I figured that my proper WordPress blog has my name in it, and if/when I manage to get something published and someone searches my name looking for my writing or art, I'd rather that blog come up first than this one (not that there's anything wrong with this one, but outside of ROW80ers, no one is going to be interested in me rambling about writing and academia and Rex and not having enough chocolate lol). So I decided to make this one a bit more nonsensical :) (I know I need to fix up the header a bit, I made this one using a dodgy online Photo editor)

Nothing I do is good enough for Judgemental Dog:

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ROW80 Round 7: 8th Update

Since the last check-in, I've managed to write at least 500 words for my novel every day except Saturday (only managed about 200 because I was under the weather). I also only got about 3 tests marked, but I guess that was better than nothing; I really would have preferred just to sleep through the whole weekend.

My progress has been somewhat slowed by me coming down with a cold. Since I hurt my back while helping Rex get around a few weeks ago, I haven't slept well. And when I don't sleep well, it screws with my immune system, and then I get sick. I knew it was coming :) Still, my students are doing class presentations this week, meaning I don't have to do much talking; if I had to get sick during semester, I picked the perfect time. I know it's just a mild cold, but I swear it's draining all my energy... This must be what it's like to have man-flu :D I still have another 12 tests or so that I need to get done before the middle of this week. Friday is the assignment due date for my other subject, so I want to get the tests out of my way before those come rolling in.

This week will be mostly consumed by test/assignment marking, but I also want to find time to do at least one painting or drawing. And I'm hoping to continue my 500 words a day streak. I also need to brainstorm some ideas for my PhD topic; applications don't close til October but I need to have at least a semi-decent idea for my research proposal if I'm to have any chance at getting a scholarship.

A little hypocrisy from Judgemental Dog?

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P.S. His Judgemental Holiness appears to have fully recovered from his bout of vestibular disease. He hasn't had any dizziness or staggering for two days, and we took him for a walk down by the river on Saturday morning and he had a ball running through the long grass, chasing rabbits and paddling in the creek. We're still battling his bowel disease, but it's so nice to see him wagging his tail again :)

ROW80 Round 7: 7th Update

This week has been a bit better than last week, with Rex finally feeling a little more like himself. He is still fairly quiet, especially since we've just put him back on his full dose of medication for his bowel disease now that the vestibular disease has mostly passed. Dad and I took him outside today for a little play, and though he got tired sooner than he usually does, he had a good time running around, chasing us and catching his ball, with only a few falls (and he was always up and ready to go again straight away).

I managed to write 1,500 words on Dark and Silent Waters yesterday, and another 500 so far today. The next couple of weeks will probably be a lot less productive, since both subjects I teach have assignments due, so I'll be spending most of my time marking. Still, at least I've made some progress :)

Also, someone shared a link to this post on Twitter, and I thought it was quite handy since I'm writing fantasy. Though no one has magic in my novel except for the antagonist (and, for a while, the protagonist), it was still a helpful exercise to go through and answer some of these questions; some of which had obvious answers, and some I had to think about quite carefully. The questionnaire has also planted the seeds for a few other plot points, so that can only be a good thing. I'm also going to fill out the same questionnaire for my previous WiP, Exile, so that when I return to it, I'll have a clearer idea about how the magic is structured. It also reminded me of the utter car wreck that was my first novel manuscript from when I was 13 or so (it was hand written in an A5 exercise book, filling up about 2/3rds of the 320 pages). Every major character had a different magical ability, and there was no consistency to what their magic did, what limitations it had, how they could use it etc. And the sad thing was, that wasn't even the worst thing wrong with that novel haha

Judgemental Dog has decided to reassert his authority:

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ROW80 Round 7: 6th Update

Even though I had so many ideas flying around in my head, I have done very little writing since the last check-in. Mainly because I've either been looking after Rex or worrying about Rex. He had to go back to the vet on Thursday evening because, although his eyes had mostly returned to normal, he was still refusing to eat or drink, and could not walk without tripping and staggering. The vet gave him some antibiotic and anti-inflammatory injections in case it was an inner ear infection, but it seems more likely that he's got vestibular disease. There's no known cause for it and there's no cure, but it is something that generally resolves on its own, though it can take a few days to a couple of weeks. We were really worried that it was something a lot more serious and that we might have to make the decision dreaded by all pet owners, but in this case, we were lucky.

He started drinking on his own late Friday night, and he started getting his appetite back on Saturday night (the whole roast chicken I bought for him may have helped; that dog doesn't know how spoiled he is), so that was a big relief. He's even managed to have a little wander around his back yard a few times. He still staggers occasionally and he's not yet back to his normal bouncy self, but at least it seems that the worst has passed. Which is good not just for him, but for me; getting woken up every hour or so during the night to check on him and comfort him when he started whining or crashing into stuff and having to half-carry him every time he needed to go outside has left me pretty tired. Plus he managed to canon straight into my dodgy knee on one occasion, which did not improve my mood in the slightest.

So, writing progress this week was next to nil. I've probably done less than 300 words since Wednesday. I decided on Saturday not to worry about it too much, though, since I was just too physically and emotionally exhausted to do anything. So I sat on my bum and watched TV with my Dad instead, getting through several episodes of Once Upon a Time that we had recorded. I have been picking at an old WiP I have on the side. It's the one I always seem to end up working on when I get stuck with Dark and Silent Waters. I've probably got more words for this than for DASW but since most of it is just random scene ideas, 90% of it will probably end up being obsolete; it was mainly just a way to get the ideas out of my head.

I haven't had time to do any painting or drawing, or even look at art supplies, which is probably a good thing since all my spare money has been eaten by vet bills. I'd be willing to bet that, thanks to Rex, we've been single-handedly funding the vet's next Mercedes or whatever.

And I still need to think of a topic for my Ph.D... It will most likely be something in the area of eBook interaction/interface methods, but beyond that I have no idea.

As always, Judgemental Dog provides some sound advice:

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ROW80 Round 7: 5th Update

Surprisingly enough, I've managed to write 500 words every day since the last check-in. Most of it has gone towards one chapter in the middle of Dark and Silent Waters. Also surprisingly, the words mostly came easily; it's a fairly dark scene, and when I planned it in my outline, I wondered how I'd fare when it actually came to writing it. I think the chapter still needs some work - could do with some tightening in some places - but I'm quite pleased that I've at least got the bones of the scene down.

I've also been kicking around a few ideas for a sequel (or at least, a book in the same series/style) for Belvedere, the illustrated children's book I did for my non-IT elective for Honours last year. I loved writing the story and doing the backgrounds and character illustrations was a lot of run, but having to do it to such a tight deadline (less than 12 weeks) along with other academic deadlines made the whole experience a lot more stressful than it should have been. It also meant that some things got rushed, and though I am proud of the book I created last year, there are some aspects of it that I feel were rushed and that I could have done better if I'd had more time. If and when I do another children's book, I'll have more time to refine it. Not just the story, but the artwork as well; the illustration style for Belvedere was quite simple, with basic backgrounds of acrylic paint and various fabrics and cardboards, and characters hand drawn and then coloured and textured in Photoshop. In my next children's book, I'd like to go with a more traditional illustration method, using coloured pencils and/or watercolour paints. Then again, having two related books in the same 'world' with completely different artwork styles might be a bit jarring... Ah well, more possibilities to ponder :)

To end with a bit of bad news; Rex went to the vet today to be sedated, so he could have his paw X-Rayed and his teeth cleaned, and also got a check over to see how his bowel disease is going. Unfortunately it is no better, so he now has to have his medication twice a day, instead of just twice a week; the higher dose may make him feel sick for the next week or two. As if that wasn't bad enough, Rex has had a bad reaction either to the anaesthetic or to having his ears cleaned out, and now appears to have vertigo; he's staggering around dizzily with his head tilted to the right and his eyes are constantly flicking back and forth. The vet said he should come good within the next 24 hours, but if he's no better tomorrow, he'll have to go back to get looked at. Now he's just home sleeping on his bed, so we're hoping he gets better on his own overnight. We're keeping a close eye on him, talking to him and patting him, but I'm sure he'd appreciate any virtual cuddles or tummy rubs folks might want to send his way. I hate seeing him so miserable :(

I'm sure if Judgemental Dog were feeling better, he'd be proud of me...

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ROW80 Round 7: 4th Update

So far I've been keeping up with uni work, though it still seems like the semester is going really quickly (almost up to week 4 already; eep!). I also knocked out two books in my to-read pile, which may not seem like a big achievement, but I've had so little time to read recently it was nice to just relax and read some new fiction. I've also been toying with the idea of beginning my Ph.D next year, though I haven't decided for sure; if I do it, I'll need to come up with a topic. Applications close in October so I still have some time to think about it. I'm torn between wanting to stay in the academic world I enjoy and get to wear the funny hat and have people refer to me as "Doctor" and wanting to go out and get a 'real' job so I can earn money and get my own house. I know that the longer I leave my Ph.D, the less likely I am to do it, although I could probably do it part time while working. I'll have to wait and see. The trouble is that either way is going to take up a lot of my creative time, and I know that's part of working like an adult and all that grown-up stuff (lol), but I have this constant worry in the back of my mind that I'll get to 60 years old and still have no finished novels or no completed art projects of any worth, which then gets that voice in my head saying, "Don't bother trying, you'll fail anyway." I'm sure I'm not the only one who's struggled with this sort of thing, but I still need to figure out a way to shut that voice up :|

Side note: Chuck Wendig posted this article on 25 Ways to Survive as a Creative Person this morning. I think it's well worth a read, and I want to try to work on adhering to at least some of those points.

I haven't got much done on Dark and Silent Waters (which is currently just under the 40,000 word mark), but I have printed out the outline for DASW and cut it up into sections so I could spread it out over the floor (our lounge-room resembled a ticker-tape parade) and work out how each piece fit into the story as a whole. I've made a few notes for a couple of sections and I think I've sorted out the plot hole/implausibility issues for at least some of the problem scenes. I did manage to write another 2,500 words or so on my other work in progress today. It's one I've had on the side for years, before I even started DASW. Aside from Exile (my main WiP for several years before I started DASW), this story is probably the one I've made the most progress on out of all of my begun-and-then-abandoned stories (and, shamefully, there are many of those scattered around my hard drive). I'm not sure what genre it is, but I guess it's somewhere between crime, horror and urban fantasy. I would rather the words have gone towards my proper WiP, but progress is progress, right? ... Right?

Judgemental Dog doesn't think so:

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ROW80 Round 7: 3rd Update

Aaaarrgghh... It's already August. Where has the year gone? D:

Short update this time, since I still have some preparation work to do for a class tomorrow. I've spent most of my time over the last couple of weeks either being at uni or thinking about uni, so writing has taken a bit of a back seat (as I knew it would). However, I have still managed to make some progress on my main WiP, Dark and Silent Waters. Most of this was handwritten in a notebook on the train on my way too and from uni, though, so I'm not sure how many words exactly, but it was about 10 A5 pages. I still need to type it up on my computer. I also wrote about 1,000 words for another story idea that I came up with a few years ago but never really did anything with; I'd always loved the concept/world I'd imagined, but never really came up with any characters or events to go along with it. I don't know why it waited til now to grace me with ideas, and I don't know how much of it I'll end up doing, but at least now I have something to potter around with when I get stuck on DASW. Haven't had time to do much painting or drawing, but I'm hoping to do some of that over the weekend.

In other news, I know a lot of ROW80ers are writers of (or at least, fans of) paranormal romance. My friend Samantha Marshall has just released her first self-published novel, Aislinn's Shadow (cover photography by our friend, Tony Tulloch).  At this stage it's only available on Kindle but if you have an iPhone/iPad etc you can download the Kindle app and read it that way. I'm not generally a fan of paranormal romance but Aislinn's Shadow is well-written story that kept me reading until the final page; it provides a fresh take on the concept of werewolves (and other creatures). I believe it's the first in a series, and it's definitely worth a read.

Judgemental Dog tries his best to be encouraging.

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ROW80 Round 7: 2nd Update

I'm hoping that everyone else is doing better than I am so far this round, because aside from a few days of very good word counts, I haven't done a lot :( This was mostly because I had a nasty stomach bug last week and spent most of Sunday to Thursday curled up in the foetal position around the toilet, so I guess that couldn't really be helped, but it is still annoying that I missed out on all that potential writing time. I did have three or four days of 1,000-1,500 word counts, so at least I partially made up for it; I think since my last check-in I've added around 5,000 new words to my novel. I haven't done any new drawings or paintings, but I have been working on a coloured pencil test/comparison for my other blog, since I want to be more active with that blog in terms of reviews and so on.

Eating healthy is out the window for this week; while I was sick I lost several kilos, so now I have to try to put some weight back on to stop my pants falling down all the time :| Also, I just found out I'm teaching four classes this semester instead of two (as well as still working my other part-time job), which is excellent for my bank balance (especially with Rex still on his medication and the strong possibility he'll have to remain on it for life) but not so good for writing/art/web development time. Ah well, I'll have to find ways to get creative with my time management :) The second semester starts a week from tomorrow, so at least I'll have some time to try to catch up on my goals before I start teaching again.

Judgemental Dog is less than sympathetic about me stressing my brains out...

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ROW80 Round 7: Goals and 1st Update

I know this post is a few days late, for some reason I got my dates mixed up and thought the round started next Monday :| I blame lack of sleep, I'm still trying to get my sleeping pattern back to some semblance of normality after working midnight to 7am last week. Since the last round, I've added around 2,000 words to my novel, but have probably deleted as much in scenes that became obsolete when I wrote and/or revised other sections. I did manage to do a quick, colourful sketch in my art journal:

I also recently stumbled across Pinterest and thought it might be a good way to organise some of my novel-related inspirations (as well as other random things I like), so I set up my own account. Does anyone else here use it? What sort of things do you use it for?

This round's goals:

• Write at least 500 words every day until semester 2 begins
• During semester 2, write 500 words three days a week
• Keep tinkering with novel outline, especially the two problem areas
• Continue developing web folio
• Produce at least one decent sketch or piece of art work each week
• Visit at least 10 other ROW80er blogs each week

I'm only teaching two classes this semester instead of three, so keeping up with everything should be more doable, though I know that once I start teaching again I'll probably drop off a bit (especially considering how badly I bombed with my writing last semester).

To these productivity/creativity goals, I'm also going to add a personal health goal or two: exercise for 20 minutes every day, and start eating more healthy food. Though I haven't put on any weight, I've been lax with my exercise and eating habits over the last few months, since by the time I get home from working two jobs I'm too tired lazy to cook a proper meal or do much of anything. Exercise will have to be fairly light anyway because of my knee issues but some is better than none, and I can probably cook some decent food during the day and make an extra portion for dinner. Hopefully this will improve my general well-being and energy levels.

To finish off, Judgemental Dog seems unimpressed with my new friend, a Pillow Pet:

Good luck for this round, folks :)

See other ROW80 posts here.

ROW80 Round 6: 4th Update

Well, this week got off to a rocky start in terms of writing productivity. I had to work most days at my evening job, and spent two full days at uni marking exams, which I finished (or at least, thought I had finished, until two more exams arrived from interstate, so I have to go back to uni to mark them tomorrow *sigh*). Then on Friday, my computer crashed, so I spent most of the weekend getting that up and running again :O Still, I found out I'll be teaching the same subject next semester, so that's pretty cool. The extra money will come in useful, since a) Rex is back on his medication after his bowel disease didn't clear up entirely from the first course of treatment (he's on a lower dose now so he's generally happy and playful), and b) there are lots more art supplies I want D: I know, I already have plenty, but I always want more :D

I did manage to get about 1,500 words done yesterday, including 500 words in a near-midnight sprint. Not enough to make up for the lack of writing during the week, but certainly better than nothing :) Other than exam marking tomorrow, I'm hoping to have most of this week free, so hopefully I can get more writing done.

Judgemental Dog does not like his dreams of chasing rabbits to be interrupted.

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 6: Slinking Back In...

... With my tail between my legs. Or I would be, if I had a tail. I know I've dropped the ball majorly this round, not just with ROW80 but with writing in general. I think I hugely underestimated how much time/energy would be taken up by tutoring (though I think it has been a good experience for me - as well as helping financially when I have really, really needed it - and I'm hoping to do it again next semester). With semester 1 finished, all that remains is exam marking. I've been pretty slack with writing lately; apart from the odd hundred words here or there, I've barely opened my novel since April, though I did write about 800 words today. Still, now that I have more time, I should be able to get more writing and artwork done. I did at least manage to keep up with all my marking though, so there's that. I have also started tinkering with my folio website. It's pretty basic so far, but I have got most of a functional shell working, so I have something to build upon now.

For the remainder of this round, I am going to try to post once a week, which should be manageable. Ideally, I'll also manage to visit a few other ROW80 blogs. As for my goals, I'll try to resume writing 500 words a day, and if I can't write those words for my main novel, Dark and Silent Waters, I'll at least write them for one of my other WiPs. I have been doing a few paintings and drawings lately, so I'm going to try to keep that up as well; practice, after all, makes perfect :D I'll start with a few simple still lifes and landscapes, but at some stage I want to do proper drawings of Rex and of my novel's protagonist and antagonist; I've already done a few pages of preliminary sketches and costume designs.

Judgemental Dog won't let me off lightly for being slack:

  

See how other ROW80ers are doing here.

Melbourne Zoo/Supanova - April 2012

(this post contains a lot of photos and will probably chew up a fair bit of bandwidth. But the pictures are cool. So there.)

This is a writing check-in and fun post all in one. I have done some writing this week - around 1,000 words worth - but a death in the family this week meant that a lot of the time I was meant to spend writing and marking assignments was lost (it wasn't someone I was close to but it has been hard for other family members). Ah well, sometimes these things happen and all you can do is try to work around it. As far as my novel goes, I think some scenes are becoming a bit clearer, but others still need work. I am starting (slightly) to break myself of the habit of picking at one section at the expense of finishing the story, but it's a slow process :) I did manage to do a painting last night, though, since I couldn't concentrate on either writing or uni stuff:

I spend most weekends at home either writing or painting; ie. being a desk hermit. Today, however, I set aside my anti-social tendencies and went gallivanting off into the city, more specifically, to the Melbourne Zoo for a friend's birthday party and to Supanova. Here are some of my favourite photos from the zoo:









After I left the zoo, I headed over to the Melbourne Showgrounds for Supanova. I didn't get to spend as long there as I would have liked, but I did get to chat with two awesome authors, Michael Pryor (writer of The Laws of Magic series and the Extraordinaires series, and wearer of wicked top hats) and Ben Chandler (The Voyages of the Flying Dragon series). If you like reading YA fantasy, especially with a steampunk setting, check out their books. You won't be disappointed.

Tomorrow will be spent catching up on assignment marking, since life (or, more specifically, death) prevented me from getting it done during the week, but at least today was awesome :) Anyway, I'm off to slather more deep heat gel into my knee (old karate injury always plays up if I walk around all day) and head off to bed. Adios.

Judgemental Dog has been temporarily usurped by Imperious Meerkat*:

ROW80 Round 6 Goals + 1st Update

I know, I missed the goals post and my first check-in is late because of work... And this check-in will be a bit short since I worked all day... Retail on Easter Saturday with a lack of staff... It was like Armageddon :| *dies of exhaustion*

My main priorities for this round are a) to revise my novel outline and b) to just write more of the damn novel. My novel is at around the 35,000 mark (I wrote a lot last round, but much of that was for a different - now abandoned - story idea, and several sections got cut because of plot inconsistencies etc). I haven't made as much progress on it as I would have liked; sometimes I'll punch out a few thousand words over a couple of days, and then I'll barely write anything for a week. In a few past ROW80 rounds, I've tried setting goals like "I will finish these four chapters" or whatever, but it just doesn't work; I always just ended up faffing about with other random scenes and completely ignoring the ones I was meant to be working on, which of course brought on the old writer's guilt we all love so much. For this round, I'm going to just try writing 500 words a day; doesn't matter what chapter or scene, just as long as I'm adding to the manuscript. Wednesdays are going to be a non-writing day, though, since I spend all day at one job and then rush home and go straight to my other job. I will have neither to the time nor energy to write, so it's probably better to just accept that I won't get anything done on those days.

My novel outline is also in pretty dire need of attention. I've had a few plot points that have been bugging me pretty much since I wrote the first version 2 years or so ago, and though I think I've finally found solutions to these plot holes (more like plot craters in some cases), it will need a pretty heavy rewrite. But it has given me some ideas for how I can expand one of the sub-plots and make the world seem richer, so hopefully once I spend some time with my outline, I'll be more excited about tackling the novel itself.

In the break between rounds, I did a little bit of writing, but mainly just a few random snippets. I did get to have a go at using my new Derwent Artbars, though. I also wrote a review about them, including a few drawings; you can see it here (hey, I may not have been working on my novel, but at least I was still writing :D).

So, goals:
-Write at least 500 words every day except Wednesdays
-Expand and revise novel outline
-Create more artwork (focus on painting but also wax crayons)
-Continue job hunting (especially towards end of semester)
-Keep up to date with assignment marking

Anyway, my dodgy knee is aching like buggery after running around (it was that busy I was literally running for most of my 9 hour shift), so I'm off to go marinate my leg in deep-heat gel. Mostly I'll probably only update once a week, but if I have a good week progress-wise, I may pop in more often :)

Judgemental Dog drives a hard bargain:

ROW80 Round 5 - Final Update

My final check in for this round is a bit late, since I've worked the last two days, but I did manage to end up with quite a few new words, writing around 2,000 on Tuesday and 1,000 or so on Monday. I wish I could be more consistent with my productivity; I tend to write heaps over a few days and then do hardly anything for a few days. Then again it's a bit hard to be consistent, since the days I work all day, I generally don't feel like doing anything. I seem to be back in the right frame of mind for the story now, since random ideas I have are actually for this novel and not some other random half-baked project. I still haven't finished the first four chapters, even though that was one of my main goals, and I think I'll just have to accept the fact that if my brain doesn't want to work on things in chronological order, it sure as hell isn't going to :S

Also, I got more art goodies in the mail today, so I look forward to playing with those over the next few weeks (I think I need to be more specific about art-goals in my next round, since I've only done two or three pictures since this round started). (for anyone who's interested in arty stuff, my new toy is the full 72 set of Derwent Artbars, water-soluble wax crayon/pastel thingies).

Anyhoo, I'll keep this update short, since I'm sleep deprived and grumpy and am going to go finish reading my book. But I'll be back again next round :D

Judgemental Dog was just as surprised as I was by my weekly word count.

See how other ROW80ers fared here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 16th Update

No new paintings this week, but I have been doing more writing on my main WiP, which makes me happy. I think the enthusiasm for the other Shiny New Idea that was bugging me might be dying off, or at least waning slightly. I am glad about this, because it's one of those stories that, even though you enjoy/feel the need to write it, you know it isn't particularly good. I still hadn't even come up with a plot, so without that, it was only a matter of time before I ran out of steam. I'm not discarding it entirely - just putting it away in case some of it can be salvaged in the future - but for now it seems that story idea has run its course. I spent some time rereading what I had for Dark and Silent Waters while listening to the playlist I put together for that story, and slowly the ideas have started percolating again. So far I've probably only done around 500 words a day, but I feel like I'm starting to get back into the right mindset for it again (I also finished two chapters that just needed one small scene, but those are for later in the story; still need to finish the first few chapters). Does anyone else have certain songs/music types that help them get into writing mode?

On the exercise front I've been doing okay. I've taken His Judgemental Lordship for a walk every day this week except Wednesday - just around the block, along part of the railway line and back - to give us both some fresh air. Walking doesn't seem to do my knees too much harm unless I'm doing it for more than an hour. Unfortunately my knee has been playing up a bit lately (not the one I dislocated last year by walking, the other one, which I've dislocated 5+ times at karate over the years. Yeah, I really need to sign up for bionic legs or something). I'm hoping that with a bit more exercise and strengthening activity I can hold it off doing anything horrible, but I've been getting that achy, wobbly feeling in it I always get right before it craps itself.

Haven't been swimming but I have been using the exercise bike, which is funny because for some reason Rex is terrified/infuriated by the WHIRRRRRR! noise it makes and he runs around in circles yowling at me the whole time I'm using it. The other day, I realised how unfit I really am, not just in terms of physical strength but also my cardiac system. I had to run a few blocks to catch a train because I was running late (only just made it), and while I would have done that without breaking a sweat a few years ago, by the time I staggered onto the train I was gasping and wheezing like a beached whale. My knees will probably prevent me from becoming as fit as I used to be, but I need to become far fitter than I am now, that's for sure (though I know some people who get winded walking from their armchair to the fridge and back, which makes me feel better about myself).

No, Judgemental Dog, you will not distract me with your charm!

See how other ROW80ers are faring here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 15th Update

Quick update tonight; haven't done much in the way of writing lately, since I've worked every day since the last check-in. I did get another few odd paragraphs (a little under 1,000 words, I'd estimate) done on Dark and Silent Waters, but I'm not entirely happy with them. I wrote them for the sake of trying to fill out a few odd scenes, but they didn't really 'flow' as well as I'd have liked. Still, at least they're there for now.

On Tuesday (the only day I wasn't at work all day), I finally managed to finish a painting with my new acrylics:

I've also decided I need to try to add some fitness goals. Even if they're not part of ROW80, it's still something I need to do. Until last year or so I've always been fairly fit. I did karate until a few years ago, and even though I had to give it away because of my knee and back injuries, I always made sure to at least keep up some level of fitness. But since I dislocated my knee last year (which in turn made my other, even dodgier knee play up from the extra strain), I've had a lot of trouble doing any real physical exercise; I literally can't run more than a block without my knees screaming in agony and often just giving out on me altogether (not only is it painful for my knees, but face-planting into the ground isn't much fun either).

Since most forms of weight-bearing exercise are out - at least til I build up some more strength; it's a lot stronger than it was before I saw the physio, since I've kept up with all the knee exercises, but it's nowhere near what it was before the injuries - I'm thinking swimming and bike riding are the main options. Except I'll be using the exercise bike in the kitchen because the only helmet I have for my real bike is a pink one my dad gave me when I was little, and I hate pink and don't want to wear it in public and am also too stingy to just go buy a new one. I've also thought about starting up that Zumba exercise dance thing (I actually have the starter set with the DVDs etc, don't even know where it came from), since it looks like it might make exercise fun, but I'm kind of wary it would make my knees even worse; it looks like there's a lot of jumping and twisting which are the two things my knees really hate. Has anyone else used Zumba/know anyone else who has used it? What are your thoughts?

Judgemental Dog is looking forward to tomorrow afternoon, when I'll have more time for writing.

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 14th Update

Well, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of last week didn't see much added to my word count (I think those days are generally going to be low productivity-wise since those are my most work-filled days, and by the end of it I can't be bothered doing anything even when I do get home). I made up for it Friday, Saturday and Sunday, cranking out another 4,000 words in total (don't know what the count was for each individual day since I was too lazy to check) for my new story, bringing me to about the 10,000 word mark. It still doesn't really have a plot; all I have so far are the two main characters and a few random scenes, which will more than likely be cut once I figure out what the characters are meant to do. This is one of the few times I've thought of the characters before a plot, and it's a bit weird to work with. In all my other stories, the plot came first, followed quickly by the characters who put that plot into motion. Maybe I should give these two a self-help book each so they can work out what to do with their life -.-

Today I wrote another paragraph for my main WiP (yes, one paragraph. Break out the champagne). I'm trying to get back in the mindset for this story, since it's the one I care about more and want to finish more, but the other dumb story won't leave me alone. I've been listening to the music that originally inspired this story in the hopes it would take me back there, but it's only half working (if anyone else has any suggestions for writing exercises etc that might help with this, fire away).

I've also started a little painting with the new acrylics that arrived the other week. Didn't get off to a promising start, though, so I had a minor tanty and packed it all away again; in fact, I'll probably just gesso over it and start again tomorrow after work. Hopefully I'll have something to show for my next update. It's been a while since I painted with acrylics, so at the moment watching me paint is a bit like watching a budgie try to eat noodles with a spanner or something equally ridiculous. I also must remember to wear clothes I don't care about; I managed to splatter paint everywhere and now my previously-plain shirt looks like it was decorated by Jackson Pollock (still, I think half the fun of painting is getting it all over everything, including yourself).


Sure you can, Judgemental Dog. Just as soon as I finish writing it... *slinks away*

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 13th Update

I know, I know, I've been a bit naughty and missed the last two updates. The first one was because I hadn't really done a lot worth writing about, and the second was because I was busy with work (both jobs) and writing. What I lacked in productivity for the first half of last week I made up for in the second. Oh yes, I made up for it. *cue maniacal laughter*

Three days in a row, I managed to get a little bit done on my main novel in progress, Dark and Silent Waters. I think I got around 2,000 new words for that story, which was pretty awesome since I'd been lagging on it a bit lately. But the real fun started when I started playing around on 750words.com after seeing other people talking about it in the ROW80 Facebook group. Since DASW is kind of 'solidified' in my mind, I found it difficult to be as spontaneous with that story, so instead I decided to start hammering out some of the other story (the one that was a random mash-up of genres) that's been bugging me lately. It seems to be settling more into the fantasy Feudal Japan setting, so at least it has some direction... sort of (and it still seems to want to develop into a romance, though I have no idea why). Hoping to at least get something out of it, I started story-rambling in 750 words... and ended up getting more than 1,000 words three days in a row. Yesterday I actually wrote 5,000 words, which is more than I usually write in a week. Sure, most of them are probably rubbish, but hopefully now that I'm back in writing mode, I can keep up the momentum. At this stage I have what could be an opening (or perhaps second) chapter for the story, which makes me happy; I like to write chronologically, but usually I just can't and end up bouncing around through my story in any old order.

I do feel guilty about not working on my main WiP. I really want to finish it, since I feel like it has potential and I also feel like it's something I can finish, if only I can work out a few small plot kinks. But this new idea is so shiny and fun and it's eating all my creativity :( I've already got around 6,000 words for it, after only a few days of writing, which I suppose is a good thing, but I really wish I could have added those 6,000 words to DASW instead.

Anyhoo, I have to go finish marking some uni stuff before bed. Adios!

Judgemental Dog was so pleased with my progress he even dressed up for the occasion:

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

P.S. More Judgemental Dog news: Late last week the vet said we could decrease Rex's medication for his bowel disease to two doses a week. This has made a huge difference to him. He's basically back to his maniac-puppy self, bouncing around like a fool and full of energy. His appetite seems to have returned with a vengeance, since he is now eating all of his food at mealtimes (and then trying to scam some from us as well; he nearly knocked off my ham roll the other day, living up to his Austrian crime-fighting namesake). His paw is completely healed, which means we've been able to take him for a few walks (only short walks, though; every day lately has either been scorching hot or full of torrential rain as is typical for Melbourne). He'll have to be on the medication for a while longer, but at least at this stage it seems he'll beat this bout of the disease as well.

ROW80 Round 5 - 12th Update

I missed the last check-in, but that was because I was busy writing (so I don't think Judgemental Dog will be too hard on me). Unfortunately a lot of it went towards some other random story, but at least a few thousand words went towards my dark fantasy novel. I'm still stuck on the last scene of chapter two; it's almost like I'm afraid to write it because I know it will be crap. Still, I keep plugging away at later chapters, in the (possibly vain) hope that it will somehow prod my brain into punching out the early chapters. I also have one half-chapter or so that I really like, but that I think will probably have to be cut out because of plot/continuity issues. Hopefully I can salvage some of it.

Yesterday I got my revised thesis/journal article back from my supervisor, so now that I've made the last few small changes (delete a sentence here, rephrase a sentence there), it will be good to submit to the journal :D Since uni starts back next Monday and I'll be tutoring two days a week (as well as working four days at my other job), it will be good to have it off my plate.

The review on my Sakura Koi watercolour paints I wrote last week seems to have been getting a lot of hits, so I'm wondering if I should make art reviews a regular thing on my writing blog. It would be a good way to exercise my non-fiction writing muscles (with all my art supplies I'm in no danger of running out of material lol). It will also give me an excuse to buy the new range of water soluble wax pastels Derwent has just brought out :D I should also start doing book reviews again, since I haven't done one since late last year.

I also checked up on my illustrated children's book, Belvedere, and discovered that in the last week I've sold two more copies. I know it's not much, but still... Yay! :)

I haven't had any chocolate or energy drinks in the last week (I know, people who know me are going "WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE REAL BEC?!") since I'm actually trying to be a bit healthier. Plus I figure the less I spend on sugary stuff, the more money I'll have for art supplies and books :D I can pretty much feel my synapses hammering at the inside of my skull, shrieking at me to eat something sweet.

I would shank a mo-fo for some M&Ms right now, is all I'm saying.

No Judgemental Dog photo this week. Instead (because I was really really bored) I decided to make a Judgemental Dog video. Here is His Judgemental Holiness playing with the new toy I got him, a giant novelty tennis ball:


See how other ROW80ers are doing here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 11th Update

Since my last update, I finally managed to meet one of my ROW80 goals for this round; finishing the first draft of my thesis in journal format. I managed to get it from 70 pages or so to around 18, and I've just got it back from my supervisor. Luckily there were no major changes that needed to be made, so I've spent today just fixing up all the little bits and will soon send it back for another look.

For the rest of this week, I want to squeeze in some writing and some painting, as well as mucking around with my modelling clay. I did a bit of writing last night and a bit more this morning; not much in the way of new stuff, just fidgeting with chapter 1 again, since I want to give the second draft of it to my workshopping group to look at. I've had a few ideas for paintings and created a few sketches, so hopefully my artistic muse will smile upon me this week and let me bring some of them to life in more detail. I had a bit of a play with my art supplies today, attempting a small watercolour painting of a rainbow lorikeet (below) and a pastel drawing (which came out crap because apparently I'm just rubbish at using pastels). Since I was bored, I wrote an art supply review on the paints I used for the lorikeet; you can read it here.


I also fell off the wagon and bought more art supplies -.- But it wasn't my fault, they had a huge sale on making it like a hundred bucks cheaper than if I bought the same stuff in Australia and I couldn't help it :O Still, Rex is on a lower dose of medicine now, and I've worked a bit of overtime lately, so at least I won't have to live on canned soup and noodles since I spent most of my money on art supplies...

Judgemental Dog thinks life should be all work and no play.

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 10th Update

Short update this week, since I have to go to work soon and I don't have that much to report. I haven't quite finished my thesis but I should have it done by tonight, or tomorrow morning at the earliest. I just have one more section to finish (it's a pig of a section though) and some formatting to do and then I can email it to my supervisor. After that I'll just have to wait til she sends some feedback, so I can revise it and hopefully send it off to a journal for publication. I want to return to the conference paper I wrote last year as well, so I can try to get that published too, but I'll most likely end up doing some sort of artsy stuff; I got some modelling clay on sale the other day so I want to see what I can do with it.

Healthwise, Judgemental Dog continues to improve; he's a lot more cheerful and bouncy than he's been in a long time, and he seems able to walk normally now, without any pain. He's starting to get a bit hyper though; he needs a good walk, but we're not allowed to take him for a walk for at least another week, just to make sure his paw is completely healed. Since the infection had got into the bone, he's got to stay on the medication for at least another week, but it looks like he'll avoid needing surgery.

Judgemental Dog should have no reason to nip me this week.

See how other ROW80ers are going here.

ROW80 Round 5 - 9th Update

Since last check in I've finished editing another section of my thesis (the methodology). Only a small section, but at least it's still another bit that's out of the way. Wednesday and Thursday weren't too bad for productivity, but Friday I had one of those days where I woke up and just knew I wasn't going to do anything useful (so I went shopping instead XD). Then, when I settled in on Saturday for what was meant to be a whole day to myself, my old man decided to clean the house to within an inch of its life (even though it was cleaned on Thursday) and to be as noisy as possible while he was doing it, occasionally nagging me to fix something he'd messed up in the first place. Knowing that even if I got into the writing frame of mind I'd probably be interrupted straight away, it was very difficult to stay focused on what I was doing, and today wasn't much better (it did mean I got to spend some time reading though, which was good).

I am struggling to make myself adapt to writing in a non-quiet environment. Ideally I like to work in silence when writing non-fiction/academic stuff (if I'm writing my novel I like quiet music that suits the scene/genre I'm writing), but I don't think I'm ever going to get that while I'm living at home (and I can't afford to move out yet). It seems that every time I set aside writing time lately, my family decides they have to pester me every five minutes or have their TV cranked up to maximum volume. And yes, I have tried asking them for peace and quiet when I need to work on something, but they insist on disrupting me. They know they're doing it; they just don't care. For now all I can do is try to do my writing late at night and early in the morning and say, "To HELL with a healthy sleeping pattern!" Though now I'm starting to get a cold. In the middle of summer. Poo.

I did get some good news though; the other day my Honours supervisor called me and asked if I wanted to tutor in one of the subjects she was teaching, so I'll be teaching three classes a week for that subject, and hopefully more in some other subjects as well (the official staff line-up won't really be decided til the end of Feb). This will give me something else to fill in my days apart from my normal retail job in the evenings, and it will be a good boost for my bank account. I'm also meeting my supervisor later this week to discus my thesis, so I need to make sure it's done by February 7, so I can email it on Wednesday. If I don't get it done, I will offer my rump to Judgemental Dog for a good, solid nip.

On the Judgemental Dog front; on Thursday evening we got a call from the vet with Rex's blood test results. They said we can decrease his medication from two doses per day to one. Not only will this be good for us (the medicine will last longer so we won't have to pay for it as often, cushioning the cost a bit), but it's already making a difference to Rex; though he's still not eating much, he's a lot happier and more like his old self. Since the weather is so hot, he's not up to doing much anyway, but hopefully once the cooler weather comes he'll start being more active, and working up an appetite to go with it.

Judgemental Dog tries to protect his mistress from the dreaded Desk Goblins, with varying degrees of success...

Check out how other ROW80ers are going here.