holoblomo day 30: holoblomo no mo'

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

I guess that’s it. Horribly Local Blogging Month - or HoLoBloMo - is finally at an end. With this post, I have met my challenge of writing a daily post throughout November and hitting 10,000 words, and since I hit 13,612 words yesterday, I did it with at least a 36% word bonus to boot.

Have we learned anything? 

holoblomo day 29: f-word

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

I know you don’t expect to hear this from an actor, but I don’t really want fame. Fame is a memorable film from 1980, a somewhat decent TV series, and a great Irene Cara song, but it is a hideous noun. 

Famous is an equally hideous adjective. There are many things I want to be: employed, well-regarded, respected, lauded, professional, in-demand, a size zero... but not famous. It is way too exhausting. Even with the goody bags and free stuff, it’s not worth it. (Being way too exhausting is also the reason I am not a size zero.)

holoblomo day 28: stupid grapevine

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

Recently, I was told by someone I’d just met that he’d heard from people I’ve never met that I hated someone.

This struck me as odd. Not only do I not hate the person in question, but apparently total strangers are out there somewhere talking about my relationship with this person. Only, I don’t really have a close relationship with this person. I know this person and he knows me, but we’ve never had a conversation that’s lasted longer than a few minutes and we’ve had exactly one email exchange. I have a good deal of respect for this person, and if anything, I’m not sure how fond he is of me. But none of that actually matters.

Because I don’t hate people. Hate is a strong, dangerous word. 

holoblomo day 27: face it

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are. 

When I was in high school, I came across an old movie on TV one day: Heaven Can Wait. Not Warren Beatty’s Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty from 1978, but Ernst Lubitsch’s Heaven Can Wait with Don Ameche from 1943. Despite matching titles, the films are totally unrelated. 

holoblomo day 26: underneath

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

Something has been bothering me this week as I see all of the hoopla about the new Muppet movie. It has nothing to do with the actual film. It has to do with credits. 

You may not notice anything missing from the film’s poster, or the reviews, or the music credits, but I do: the names of the Muppet Performers are not to be seen. 

holoblomo day 25: yesterday

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

Yesterday’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was just about as good as it gets. The day was crisp and clear, with not a single percent chance of precipitation, and when the bright, dazzling sun finally rose over Central Park West, you could actually smell optimism and joy amid the autumn chill. That and coffee. 

holoblomo day 24: thankful

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

Oh come on. You know this one’s going to be a list of things I am thankful for. I mean, that’s what people do on Thanksgiving, right? It’s the one thing we can all expect to have served at dinner. Even the vegans. Sharing things we are thankful for is the cranberry sauce of Thanksgiving: expected, demanded, but few people really want it.

But I am not serving cranberry sauce this year. So...

Here are some things that I am not thankful for:

holoblomo day 23: dum de dum dum dum

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

Tomorrow morning, I will be on the Sesame Street float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the 13th time. I am currently slated to be performing (via lip-synch, of course) Cookie Monster for the third year in a row, unless something changes between now and then. 

And if things do not change (though again, they might), this makes me the luckiest girl. When it comes to the parade, Cookie is the one you want to puppeteer. 

holoblomo day 22: pie

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are. 

And I am thinking about pie. It’s that time. Time for pie.

Time to pick up the pie, or make the crust and buy the apples, but who am I kidding... it’s time to pick up the pie. 

My favorite pie at Thanksgiving is my favorite pie in New York City: the sour cream apple walnut pie from the Little Pie Company. It is a staggeringly excellent pie. It is also thirty dollars. 

holoblomo day 21: tourist tip

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

Maybe you know this, or maybe you do not, but I make Manhattan my home. I did not grow up here, however; that designation belongs to the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA... a mere 370-ish physical miles from here but a more than a million mental ones. 

Everything I’d heard about New York City -- from TV, films, and friends -- suggested that the rapid pace of the city would overwhelm me and swallow me whole. But when I came here, I found myself easily transitioning to a slightly faster walking speed, even with my unfortunately short legs. It was such a not-a-big-deal that it was somewhat disappointing.

holoblomo day 20: 100

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

Thanks to HoLoBloMo, I’ve reached a milestone much sooner than I anticipated. For this is my 100th web...blah...log post! Wow! How about that?

*crickets*

holoblomo day 19: fascinating

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

There’s a fascinating place in New York City.

I know. That’s an unfair sentence, right? Because there are a lot of fascinating places here. There are also secret places, underrated places, odd places, and places that deserve every adjective in the book. 

Maybe I’m the only one who finds it fascinating. But since I have home-blog advantage, I get to choose the descriptor. 

holoblomo day 18: shipoopi

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

I remember the first time I saw a video recording of a musical I did in high school. Someone’s mom had a high-end VHS camera (wow!) and shot the show for her kid. At the cast party, someone decided we should all watch it.

It was amazing and horrifying all at the same time. Even in the post-performance glow, even in my youthful naivete, I saw my flaws. 

But I was comforted by the fact that relatively few people would see it. If it got copied, the quality would diminish with each generation. And in time, no one would remember or care.

Cut to 1998. 

holoblomo day 17: warmth first

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

I’ve already mentioned my heartbreaking decision not to run for President (see “press release” from this past spring), but I must add that I am also glad that my husband has refrained from throwing his hat in the ring as well. I am simply not cut out to be a First Lady, and not just because my arms are too chubby for the job.

It’s the whole Inauguration Day thing.

holoblomo day 16: oh, man

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

I am not pleased with The Man today. The Man cleared out Zuccotti Park. The Man tore down the tents. The Man is throwing his weight around in Oakland, too. And to that, I say, okay, The Man. You do that. You go and be The Man. You just continue to be someone to rail against and try to stick it to.

But when The Man messes with Community, and bumps it off the air mid-season, I say, oh, no. Oh, no, The Man. Don’t you raise my hackles, The Man. You do not want to raise the hackles of someone who is weeks from becoming middle-aged and as such is already well-versed at fist-waving.

holoblomo day 15: halfway

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are. 

I’m at the halfway point of this challenge, and so far I am on track to hit, and probably exceed, 10,000 words. Of course, part of me looks at the past 14 entries and thinks, You fool! That’s more than two months worth of regular almost-weekly posts you’ve squandered! You could have had a backlog, allowing you to rest easy in a hammock if you had one!

The other part of me is surprised I’ve had that much to say.

holoblomo day 14: quiet

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

It was a quiet weekend. Literally. I spent most of it on complete vocal rest.

See, this cold I’ve been dealing with for the last two weeks has been a little wicked. It’s the sort of chest cold I haven’t had in many years. The kind of cold I had the first time I lost my voice onstage. It is evil and green.

holoblomo day 13: good vibes

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

A week ago, tens of thousands of runners ran the New York City Marathon... as I sat on my arse and wrote. 

Today, my sister will run the Norfolk Freedom Half Marathon/5K. Maybe I’ll do some laundry.

It’s impressive to me when anyone runs. It’s more impressive to me when someone runs despite major health issues that often prevent them from running. It’s still even more impressive when someone runs despite those major health issues in order to raise money for worthy causes.

Well, that’s my sister.

holoblomo day 12: bearing witness

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

I’ve always been fascinated by people who have lived in eras that have borne witness to incredible change. Whenever I would read the obituary of someone who lived from 1898 to 1998, I’d marvel at what these people must have seen and experienced. Imagine being a child at a time when women couldn’t vote, movies were new and silent, cars were still novel, and there was no radio, television, or airplanes... and then seeing the culture explode with promise, progress, and invention throughout your lifetime.

holoblomo day 11: alt verse

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

It’s sad to think that we’ll never know what our parallel universes might have had in store for us. 

Maybe, in a parallel universe, the song would have gone like this:

holoblomo day 10: nostalgia

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

This past spring, I wrote a passage about nostalgia in “time warp:”

If nostalgia had existed in the 1300s, there probably would have been some monk who preferred to transcribe with a chisel and stone tablets because of its old-school quaintness.

I don’t know how far back nostalgia actually goes, but let’s give it a shot:

holoblomo day 9: smell-o-vision

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

I used to love scented candles. When I was in my 20s, working for a few months on a kids’ show in Los Angeles, I discovered the gloriously fragrant wax creations peddled by the Bath and Body Works in the Glendale Galleria. They made the stale air in my corporate housing so much more palatable, and it was a peaceful way to slip into the evenings after a long day of puppetry... being hypnotized by the soft, flickering flame gently releasing raspberry or vanilla-lavender swirls of delight. Aromatherapy was still a new word in my vocabulary, but I believed. And seeing as I actually had some disposable income for the first time in the history of my existence, I was thrilled to be able to finally afford a little luxury. 

As time passed I came to use them less and less, after hearing about carbon wicks and such, but since they are quintessential gifts to both give and receive, I had no reason to remove them completely from my life.

Cut to a few evenings ago. 

holoblomo day 8: no way

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

And I’m not gonna make it. I’m not talking about my HoLoBloMo challenge. I’m talking about not being able to make it through the next twelve months. It’s exactly 364 days (including Leap Day) until the 2012 presidential election, and I tell you now, I’m not gonna make it. 

holoblomo day 7: 30 to 40

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

The countdown has begun. In 30 days I will be 40.

I don’t know why I care. I’ve never cared about my age before. I’ve never lied about how old I am. I’ve never uttered, well, when I was born back in nineteen-seventy-mmmmmmwhmmm... And I have no intention of referring to myself as 39 plus one, ha ha. Sure, I’ve been covering my grays and buying a crapload of serums, creams and retinols for a while now, but come on. That’s not being afraid of a number. That’s just vanity.

holoblomo day 6: unoriginal

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

I should know better than to think I could ever have an original idea. 

Yesterday, I received a comment on “nanowrimo nononono” from Noisy Quiet that I will paraphrase here:

holoblomo day 5: ballad

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

It’s incredible how seemingly random things in life intertwine. A couple of weeks ago, I was watching the Harry Belafonte HBO documentary, blown away by my underestimation of his activism over the decades, and suddenly I had a revelation: music plays heavily in the world of the oppressed, but not so much with the oppressors. There is no opposite of “We Shall Overcome.” No one does a revue of Gestapo folk songs; at least, not just for the reasons you’d think.

holoblomo day 4: fog

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

I am in the midst of a classic lightheaded, dizzying antihistamine haze. It doesn’t make everything funny or deep, but at least the fact that I can still breathe through my nose makes me not care about my brain-addled fog. I’d enjoy this little buzz a lot more if I didn’t feel primarily made of mucous. That and if it didn’t make me groggy during the day and unable to sleep at night.

holoblomo day 3: dear society

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

So here we are.

If there is proof that there is something wrong with society, it’s the following headline on web sites and local news stations:

Fun Things To Do With Leftover Halloween Candy.

It is now that I wish to address Society:

holoblomo day 2: here whatever comes

note: “holoblomo” stands for Horribly Local Blogging Month, my response to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that happens every November. The NaNoWriMo challenge asks writers to compose 50,000 words in a month; I chose 10,000 as my goal. Enjoy.

At the suggestion of my pal Julie, this challenge is now called HoLoBloMo.

So here we are. 

As I mentioned yesterday, I am coming down with something, and this is the scary time when it’s just starting to manifest. Is the congestion going to go nasal or bronchial? Is it going to go away in the standard two-week time frame or is it going to linger until Christmas? How to attack? With what to attack? When to start attacking? When to give up on attacking and let whatever it will become just run its course?

Yes. I am a sickness nerd. 

nanowrimo nononono

So here we are.

Today begins NaNoWriMo -- National Novel Writing Month -- where writers all over the globe are challenged to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in the thirty days that hath November. I know a few perfectly sane people who are diving in to this pool of crazy. I doff my cap towards them.

But it ain’t for me. I’ve never been adept at long-form writing. (Some of you snarky types may be chortling, “You’ve never been adept at short-form writing, either.” Ha ha. You win the Game of Internet.)