Okay, we didn't get THAT much snow, but sheesh! The cold!

So January goals......So far....okay. I haven't written anything, which is bad, but I'm almost finished with the blanket, which is good. I just have a set of granny squares to put around the border and do a nice border around the whole thing as we should be good. I've been more focused on getting the blanket down, and quite frankly, it is been incredibly cold here which makes crocheting a blanket rather nice.

As for the writing, I'm at a point where I just don't feel like writing. Ever feel that way? I just have no desire to write, even fanfic. I'm just in a literary rut. So, I decided to read. That's what I usually do when I can't write and I usually fall back on, what I call, my safety books. These are books I go to when I don't want to start a new series or delve into a new book. Mostly, I go to Hogwarts. At one point I decided I needed to put more books on my Kindle to force me to start reading new books, but I always leave Harry Potter. That series is like my security blanket. After several recommendations, I picked up “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. Oh.My.God. Without any spoilers, let me tell you, if you have not read this book, do so before the movie hits the theaters. It was an amazing book and I highly encourage you to read it. Just make sure that you have a box of tissues with you. It is one of those kinds of books. It's like “P.S. I Love You” meets “The Notebook”. So, yeah, you need tissues.


So now that I read that book, it made me want to read more books, which means I needed to clean out my electronic library. What a mess that was! The files didn't transfer very well when I moved everything from one computer to the other. I knew it was going to be a mess. What I didn't expect was the literary chaos that met me. Ugh. I had authors in the titles, titles in the authors, book covers that didn't belong to the book, It was a mess. So I had to clean up my files. That worked fairly well. I am missing books, which stinks, and I have books that are not in the proper format for my Kindle, which is odd because I know I converted all my books. Oh well. It is what it is. I have a decent e-library with series that I need to complete. I'll get it there at some point. In the mean time, I have a blanket to finish.


As for my writing, I dunno, I'm just not feeling it this month. I think it is the cold. The only desire I currently have is the desire to stay warm. Maybe my muse will come back once this cold snap clears, who knows? Maybe I just need to start a new story for the time being. I'll give that a shot.


Anyhow, I'm spending my last week in my twenties trying to stay warm and watching husband play Skyrim.

 

So, about four years ago, I answered a Craigslist ad about a lady "Getting rid of" her kitten because she didn't ask the new landlord if she can have pets before we bought one. She advertised a nine week old female cat. He was orange. I've always wanted an orange cat, so I figured, why not? If it didn't work out, I could always put her in rescue and find her a good home. 

So I answered the ad and the lady brought the cat over. The first thing I notice that this was a big cat. The second thing I notice was that it was not a girl cat. You can't miss that this was a male cat. He had a pair on him. So, I fall in love with him instantly and we decide to keep him. The lady called me the next day asking about her cat, Jasmine. I explained to her that it was a male cat. She was shocked and asked me how I knew it was a male cat. 

"How do you know he is a male cat?"
"Because he has balls."
"He does? Where?"
"Um....under his tale."
"Those round things? I thought that was matted hair and I've been trying to brush those off!"

Facepalm. 

I renamed him Shippo and he has become MY cat. He loves the dog and gets along okay with the other cat Berticus, but he is my fat, smooshie, lazy cat. 

Four years later I received the following e-mail:
 

"Hi. I don't know if you remember me, but a couple of years ago I posted a ad on Craigslist about giving up my kitten Jasmine. You responded and I brought the cat over to you. You tole me that Jasmine was actually a boy cat. That's neat! I was wondering if you still have him. We are in an area where we can have a cat and my daughter really wanted that cat back because he was sweet and cute. If you have the cat, can we have him back? If he was given to some one else, can I have the information to the people who have him so we can ask for him back? Thank you for you help."


It took me a moment to process what I had just read. She wanted MY cat. MY cat. She actually wanted me to give her my cat, four years later. I ranted on Facebook at bit and gave it a few days to let my temper cool. I was really wanting to yell and scream at this woman for the sheer nerve. I took the advice of one of my cat rescue friends and told her that he was adopted to a loving family and the information was not for public knowledge. It wasn't technically a lie. 

I responded with the following e-mail:

"Thank you for your e-mail. The cat in question has been adopted to a very loving family. Because of privacy issues, the information is not available to the public. Since it has been four years since you surrendered the cat, it is highly unlikely that you will be betting the cat back, not matter how much your daughter wants him back. Thank you and have a good day."


I thought this was the end of the conversation. Apparently, that was an acceptable response. Here is her updated e-mail:

"That is just stupid. The cat was our and we temporarily gave him away. I don't understand why we can't have him back. My daughter is really sad that you will not be more copoerated. She be crying night and day. She wanted Jasmine back and I need to get her back. Please, please, pleeeeeeese give me the information." 


Seriously? She was determined. Unfortunately, she will never get my cat. Never. So here is my response to her. I was far nicer that she deserved. People practically give away cats and kittens on Craigslist, hence Shippo, so why does she want MY cat?

My response:

"You want to take the cat from the home and people HE has lived with for FOUR years because you were the bad parent and feel guilty for having to giving your daughter's cat away because you failed to ask the landlord if you could have pets before you moved? He is happy in his home and as I said, the information is not for public use. I will not share the information, because (a) I do not have the information and (b) I will not allow you to harass the people. Go to the shelter and adopt a cat or kitten there or use craigslist. There are plenty of people who give away their pets there, as you are fully aware. I am sorry that your daughter is sad, but you should never have told her that you are getting the cat. That is your failing as a parent. You should know better than try to pull this fours years later. This is my final word on the matter. Do not contact me again. If you do, I will contact the police and file harassment charges."

That was yesterday and I have not heard back. I'm hoping my threat works. We will see. What kind of parent does that though? Oh hey, you remember that orange cat we had four years ago? Yeah we are getting him back. Stupid idiot. 

You know there are hobbies out there that do not require the use of my hands. Soccer, tap dancing, clogging, painting with my toes, walking, becoming a movie critic, etc. But, because I am me, I had to pick the ones that require the most use of my hands, writing and yarn crafting. I guess I could learn to crochet with my feet, but you get the idea. This year I want to get seriously serious about my writing. Seriously. So, I decided to join a few of my fellow NaNoers to do a year of creative pursuits, i.e. doing creative stuff not sparingly throughout the year AND I have a group of people that will hold me accountable. I have an overall yearly goal, and I am breaking it up into monthly goals. I have two blankets that I need to do this year, one by March and the other by June. Well, actually three if you count the one I want to make for my parents, but that is one of those it-is-finished-when-it-is-finished type blankets. I have to fit writing in there as well. So, my goals, here they are. Riiight here....goals...goals, goals, goals, goals.......

Overall Yearly Goal: To finish this past year's NaNo Novel and edit the first draft by this year's NaNo so that I can be ready to write the first 50K of the sequel in November. I want to be at least halfway through the second story by the start of the year. That is not that difficult of a goal. Seriously it isn't. I'm almost finished with the first book, but the editing process.....well, it would be my first, if I'm being honest. Usually, when I am editing something, it is not my own stuff. Apparently, I am quite good at editing, though I can be really harsh. I lost a friend over that. I warned her. So, we will see how it goes. 

My January goal: Since we are early enough in the month, my writing goal is to write at least 15k on my unfinished NaNo story by the end of the month. My crochet goal is to be at least halfway done with the blanket. It is a never ending granny square, aka granny squares in a spiral pattern. It is crazy easy and builds up quickly because I am using five colors. I love the colors. They are so pretty. 

My February Goal: Well, that will come next month.....we will see how far I get this month. 


So that is where I am now. I think I will make myself an itinerary so that I can pay attention to both of my Creative Pursuits. Like a said, I want to really focus on writing this year. I would, eventually, like to be published. It is one of my goals in life. I'm not expecting to be the next Anne Rice or Stephen King, but just to have a novel out there, with my name on it.....that is a long held and never forgotten dream.