the obligatory new year’s resolutions

I should really be working on a brochure for work, but I decided my time would be better spent procrastinating instead! And since I have yet to make any New Year’s Resolutions, I say why not try to come up with some now. So here goes:

1. FINISH my freaking my book already! I’m about halfway through so I don’t see why I can’t achieve this before this time in 2009 if I really work at making some time to write each week.  Or maybe 2010. Although has been a while since I last touched it (beginning of December)… maybe I should start with some editing first. Hm.
2. I need to find more exciting/fun and interesting ways to get active. I don’t want to grow bored of the gym, which is sadly already starting to happen, sigh, and I’m already a serious procrastinator as it is. Not to mention incredibly lazy – such a bad combination - I’d get even lazier, if that were even possible. Not to mention fat!
3. Maybe not as important as the others, but I’d like to work on my spanish. Perhaps the french too. I used to be able to speak both so well, but I’ve been really out of practice. Good thing I still have most of my textbooks from uni lying around in my room. Somewhere.
4. I really am going to draw more, damnit!
5. I’m going to try something new every month. This month, for example, I signed up for bellydancing lessons! I am probably the most uncoordinated person in the world, and I don’t even like dancing, but who knows? Maybe I’ll find out I’m good at it.

There are more, of course, but they aren’t as exciting: spend more time with friends and family, focus on eating healthier foods, stop drinking so much, and cut back on the procrastinating. No, really.

procrastination & preparation

It’s almost October, which means it’s almost November… which means I need to start preparing for NanoWriMo. I wanted to try it last year, but I ended up procrastinating a ton, and then a bunch of work stuff (two jobs will do that to you) burnt me out before I even got a chance to get going. I didn’t really have a direction for my story though, and just kinda started writing. Boy was that frustrating(!) a mistake.

Now that I know I have more free evenings this time around I think I’m going to try working on developing my plot and characters, and all my ideas and such beforehand, so I can at least have something to work with come November. I’d better make a schedule so I don’t forget. Hm, maybe next week will be characters.

hours wasted:

8 and counting…

So, I’m supposed to be cleaning in preparation for a friend’s visit. Thus far I’ve done a load of laundry (darks), made myself two mugs of tea (Chai… yummy), had a shower, played with my cats, took a nap, watched CSI with the Sister, played around on the computer (well, twice, if you count this post), and went to thought about going to the LCBO, maybe. Although I did start to organize one of my bookshelves. “Start” being the key word here, as about an hour after I’d begun I found myself rereading an old copy of Mansfield Park with the rest of the books in piles on the floor all around me. Hm.

As you can see today has been a very productive day. And since I still have a little over two hours before he arrives, no one can say I’m leaving things to the last minute. Though we are definitely ordering in tonight.

PS. Happy Canada Day!

procrastination at it’s finest

I know this may sound impossible, but I think I’ve been procrastinating about procrastinating. Yes, you heard me – or “saw” in this case. I haven’t written anything in days (well, that’s not completely true, a couple father’s day cards, a shopping list or two…) and I just can’t seem to motivate myself to work on my book or even this blog. I created this thing so that I could jot down random thoughts and whatnot when I didn’t feel like writing, and yet here I am, putting it off. Or I was. I’m writing now, aren’t I?

Anyway, a few random things that are completely unrelated to my WiP lest I forget:

• Taro icecream is amazing! Did you know “taros” are actually yams? I had some last night after a tasty Thai dinner. It’s bright purple in colour and has a bit of a sweet, coconutty flavour to it. I must learn how to make this from scratch at home. And then possibly sell it, if I don’t decide to keep it all for myself. Hm. And then I could create other interesting veggie flavours like sweet pepper, or carrotstick. Hmm.
• On another food-related note, I made my first cheesecake ever yesterday. I had some supervision, of course, but it was surprisingly easy. It took maybe twenty minutes to put everything together and then cover it and shove it into the fridge. That will be our Father’s Day Dessert tonight. I think I’ll take pictures… it will be a momentous occassion should it taste not half-bad.
• What is with the fascination cats have with bags? Be it plastic, paper or otherwise, whenever there is an open bag left on the ground (nevermind if something might actually be inside it) my cats will be sure to dive right in and make themselves at home. My Dad’s presents were almost ruined this way – my one cat enjoys chewing on the corner of big books…
• My cats also love to curl up or play in the sink. With the water running. One of them even tried to jump into the shower with me… an odd story, to be sure. One that I may recount later. Maybe. If I’m not procrastinating again.