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 |   A day in the life of... me! |
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A HUGE Thank you to Emily   for the beautiful ribbon  First place in "The Bard's Hall Contest"  for July/August 2012!A day in the life of... me! Sometimes I need to rant. Sometimes I have something burning on my mind. Sometimes I'm so angry I feel like reverting back to old coping mechanisms. So I thought a journal was a good idea! I feel ranting is an important part to life, everyone does it to some degree or another and it's not healthy to bottle things up inside. So for those moments where I feel a rant (or just a general thought) and want to get it off my chest, here it will be! However, ranting is not everything. Sometimes I just feel like I want to share something with someone, and often there is nobody to listen (wow that makes me sound sad! I do have friends but I tend to let them do the talking rather than share). So here I can get things off my chest, rant or be happy, whatever the mood ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
It's like I've come to a sudden realisation about why I come to visit Writing.com day after day and it's something I look forward to doing. Writing.com is the most amazing, unique, challenging and supportive writing site I've ever come across. I've been a member for a long time, got lost a little along the way, but found my way back after time. Though it took a little bit of time to integrate myself back into the community the continual support of those around me helped boost my confidence and feel like I was doing something right, that I was wanted. Writing.com is a place where I feel welcomed every day with a huge smile. I feel comfortable and confident here, sometimes so much more than in my real life. I can really be myself without being judged or laughed at and I love that. I've made some fantastic friends as time has passed and I really do count my blessings to know these people that otherwise, would be strangers probably from half way across the globe. Writing.com, you have brought me so much yet asked for so little  |
| Okay, I know we haven't even reached Christmas yet but hte newsletter I just read focused on 2013 and our goals for then. I submitted a response: For 2013, my first goal is to stick to my goals! I, probably like many others, start out with great intentions that fall by the wayside as life intervenes. I know I'd like to finish a novel I'm working on and hope to edit my NaNo novel too. They're things I always think, oh I'll do just a few more reviews first, then I look up and realise it's home time or so late that I'm almost at work. So those are my two writing goals this year! I know that I have other things to work on too... I think it's important to have goals and have something to work towards. So I'm beginning a list of my goals for 2013:  Finish working on The Devil's Playground Edit my NaNo novel Learn how to say no Do what I love doing |
So this morning I had my shower and then sat around reading the last Harry Potter book when... the call came! I was so nervous as I answered the call and the woman on the other end, the woman who was doing my negotiations, gave me the news... my offer had been accepted! I was so shocked and surprised! I can't believe my offer was accepted, my first offer, at a considerable amount below asking price. But it's so cool too! I am so excited So straight away (pretty much) I went to the estate agents to begin sorting out the fine details. The survey is paid and booked for next week so I just have to wait for the results from that before waiting for another call to finalise my mortgage! It's so exciting. The thought of having my own space, a place to call my own, to do what I want when I want!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeee  |
| Well, after having a successful second viewing of the flat I liked and then having an appointment with a financial advisor who put things into perspective for me, I decided I wanted to live there! It makes me feel so grown up and in a way that's quite scary. I put in an offer. It was like making this huge, big step into a black void of fear... but on the other hand, I also know I'm ready for it. I know that I'm sensible enough to budget for it and be able to look after myself and I can't wait to be that little more independent and have my own place and be responsible for that bit more in my life. So while scary, it's also exciting. I'm getting quite a lot of support around this from my family and friends so that's really helpful too So now I'm just waiting for the phone call to say whether my offer has been accepted or rejected... Fingers crossed! |
| So my three days off work has been punctuated by house hunting. I've really enjoyed the experience so far and think it's given me a really good insight into what I need to be asking as well as what is suitable for my needs. I viewed two houses on Wednesday evening. The first was a three bedroomed house a little bit out of the way going for a really good price. It was the first house I viewed and I let my dad lead the way. I wasn't too sure about it on first glance, but the place steadily grew on me. It was like a rabbit warren, an odd shape and I really liked that about it. The more I thought about it the more I liked it. The second place I viewed was an upper flat not far from where I already live. It was a small one bedroom apartment in a nice area. The thing that really put me off that place was the fact that it was so boxy! I was hoping for two bedrooms just for extra space and that had so little I couldn't imagine myself being there. Yesterday I viewed three properties. The first needed a little bit of work but was a nice space and modern in some ways. The second was a complete dive. It was quite spacious, a ground floor flat but not well kept and would have needed a lot of work doing to it. The third was an upper flat, also not too far from where I already live, in a nice, quiet area. The flat is in really good condition, really spacious and fully double glazed. It has two bedrooms and a lot of loft space (which I love the idea of) and I think it's just the right size for me. As the days went on I've come to think of that last flat that I saw again and again. It seems to have grown on me a tremendous amount to the extent that I'm picturing how I would decorate it... needless to say I'm trying to organise a second viewing! |
| Diving into the world of mortgages is a fairly daunting experience. I'm having to learn all of these technical terms as well as what they mean! Still, some escape me. I'm trying to work out if I can actually afford to move out and meet monthly repayments as well as paying all of my bills on top of it on my own. It's looking like I can scrape through by the skin of my teeth. It's a little scary to think that soon my money is going to be so tied up that I won't be able to just go out and buy that new CD or have an impromptu night out as well. And, I'm guessing there will be hidden costs that I haven't thought of yet alongside the solicitors fees, survey etc. However, I know that I can't (and don't want to) live with my parents forever and realistically, is my situation going to get millions better? Probably not. So I could just wait around forever hoping to begin earning more money and it's something I can't really do, so I'm going for it. I've emailed a housing company and asked for six viewings! All of the flats are in my local area and all roughly within my price range which is great. I'm quite looking forward to wandering around, inspecting, picturing! I'll keep you updated! |
| My copy of the WdC Anthology appeared at my house today! It was such a lovely package to wake up to after having a bad time the day before. It made me smile! It's such a beautiful book, it's well laid out and looks brilliant. I can't wait to begin to read through it The only thing I spotted was that my poem, one of the two items accepted, is a little off kilter on the page and my name can't be seen. But nevertheless, still a brilliant book and a wonderful idea! The day before I received a final notice for payment of something I didn't even realise I still had to pay for! A little while ago I ran a small, local project here in the North East which aimed to raise awareness of sexual violence to young women and begin to debunk some of the myths around it. The project went well although my colleague was hardly ever around and I did much of the work on my own. I created a booklet to distribute (of which I still have several hundred copies) and a website too. I paid for two years up front for the web domain and thought it was just go down after that. But no. I haven't been checking my emails at all and when I got this letter through the other day, I could have died! I managed to get it sorted out (though I had to pay the invoice) and the website should be up and running for another two years (though it doesn't appear to be yet). But next time the renewal comes around I will remember to cancel it! Originally I was able to do this through some funding I got but I used that up and so the project should have ended. Needless to say I spent my own, hard earned cash on this notice. But that's just one of those things and something that I can't put blame to anyone else, it was my own fault. Next time I'll be extra vigilant! |
| I've had a really fantastic weekend, and I've still got today to go. I think with all of the pressure of NaNo off my shoulders, it was really nice to kick back and relax a bit. On Friday I went to see the fifth Twilight film. It's something I've looked forward to for a long time. I loved the books and fell for the movies too (I'm a sucker for teen romance!) and this was just going to be the epic finale! I'm not going to say anything that happens just in case any of you want to go and see it but it was amazing! There was one bit in particular that I didn't see coming and I swear there was a collective gasp in the audience! Then last night, I went out with the girls in town. It's been a long time since I was out, and especially with the girls, so I really enjoyed it. There weren't many of us and we left around 12:30 but I had a good drink and a good dance. We visited a karaoke bar too. I wasn't so drunk that I wanted to get up on that podium but it's a possibility for next time! So we got a taxi home together and my partner met me and walked me home where we sat talking to his family (who had also been out) and had a good laugh over pizza and cheese on toast! Then, the even better bit is that while I have a slight headache I don't feel particularly hungover! Woohoo. It has to be a first for me. Me and alcohol don't usually mix well. So today is Sunday. I was hoping to go to the local market. I haven't been in a long time and I can't make it regularly because of my shifts at work, but it's somewhere for me that's comforting and a nice place to be. However, if not, it'll just be a nice relaxing day doing nothing in particular because I can! I this weekend! |
| On day 14 I managed to finish my novel. The whole concept was complete, the characters saved, the day ended. The only problem was I only hit 45k. This really bummed me out. I mean, I thought I had finished and didn't just want to add to it for the sake of it. Last night I began going back through chapters, adding bits I'd missed, engorging on details and I made it to 47k. So that's definitely a step. It's slow going doing that though creating a few words at a time. Somebody today has suggested to me that I write a second epilogue... I have to say I've never heard of that before and I'm wondering what it entails. I'm feeling a little sensitive at the minute. I don't know if it's just tiredness that's got me (onto my fourth nightshift tonight) or whether the pressure of NaNo is cracking my skull a little, but I'm feeling quite emotional. The littlest thing seems to set me off. I hate feeling like this. It reminds me of days gone by, back when I couldn't quite cope with my life and things just seemed to be on a downward spiral. Though saying that, I know that maybe in a few days, a few weeks even, things will look better and I'll not be as emotional. Let's hope it comes quicker rather than later... |
| Wow, NaNo day 13 and I've hit 40,002 words! I'm pretty impressed with how fast I've been able to write this so far. It seems that when I sit at the computer and begin to type, the words just flow and it's not so much a chore as needing to get it out. That means I've been having a lot of fun. However, I've drawn pretty much to the end of my novel now as I saw it and I'm struggling to think of where the next 10,000 words are going to come from. As I've been working I've made a note of where I want to add bits in but I'm not sure it's going to be enough to reach the elusive 50,000 mark. Oh dear! To come this far and be foiled by a few thousand words. That would be terrible! On the plus side I had a really fab weekend visiting the lakes with my family and my partner. We walked through a mile long cave system which was amazing, then enjoyed a four mile walk in the neighbouring village. I took some brilliant shots of the waterfall there. I've got quite a busy week coming up. I'm at work the next three nights and have something planned every night before work, let's hope I can keep up! |
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Just for you BJ Hope your have'n a good day. 
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