BOO!

NaNoWriMo starts TOMORROW!

Greetings, potential writing buddies!

Are you ready? Well, you'd better be, because the NaNoWriMo fun starts tomorrow!!

If you want to add us as your writing buddies, go here:
Ronnie - hmsdragonfly - http://www.nanowrimo.org/user/203795
Chloe - C.B.Pierce - http://www.nanowrimo.org/user/201352
MJ - coming soon! Check back later.

Still debating? Here's an excerpt from founder Chris Baty's kickoff e-mail. It might just bump you over into Yes.

For those of you who are new to NaNo, I want to quickly run through the noveling schedule for the month ahead.

Step 1: Keep reading this email; learn the secret of NaNoWriMo.
Step 2: Wait for 12:01 AM local time on November 1.
Step 3: Write a novel.

No problem.

Okay, back to Step 1. The secret of NaNoWriMo. Which is this: There is a door in your brain. The door has been there your whole life. You may not have noticed it before because it blends in with everything else in your brain. Weird art. Mismatched furniture. Squishy gray bits clinging to everything.

So what does this door have to do with your novel?

Your job this month is not so much writing a book (which is intimidating) as it is finding that door (which is easy). It's easy because you'll have guides in November who will take you right to it.

These guides are also known as your characters. They're kind of an abstract notion now, but you'll meet them in all their glory in Week One of NaNoWriMo. They'll be a strange lot. Insecure warlocks. Stamp-collecting squirrels. Teenage detectives. Whoever shows up, go with them. And go quickly. You may have a general sense of where you're going together; you may not. It doesn’t matter. Just write your allotment of 1667 words (or more) on November 1. Don't edit any of it. Editing is for December. Then come back and write another 1667 words the next day. And the next. And the next.

By Week Two, you'll be at the door. A few words later, you'll be through it. You'll know you're there because the writing will feel different. Less like work, and more like watching a gloriously imperfect movie with cringe-worthy dialogue, heaps of confusing tangents, and moments of brilliance so delightful that you'll want to scream. Once you've stepped through that door into the vast reaches of your imagination, you'll be able to return there as often as you like. It's an enchanted, intoxicating place, and there are other great things besides novels in there.

What unschooling looked like today

MJ spent most of the day working: my mom hired her to dogsit Angelo for the day. Since this is not an especially labor-intensive task, she also did some reading and movie viewing. She finished Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, a book we all enthusiastically recommend and which, academically speaking, covers more subjects that I can list. I'm not sure what movies she watched, will update later if I remember to get more details.

The work part of her day involved administering doggie medicines and food and acting as walk companion.

Chloe spent the day visiting unschooling pals Logan, Hunter, and Kyla. Sounds like it was a very physical day, with lots of running around shooting each other with Airsoft guns. (Don't worry, they wear goggles!)

Frank and I had a rare day sans kids. We used part of it to start our Christmas shopping, because we're anticipating a very busy November and December since MJ will have driver's ed three nights a week. Plus driving practice. Oy. Anyway, after shopping, we watched Casablanca.

MJ stayed over at my mom's, but late Saturday night, we went out to pick up Chloe. I'd been feeling headachy on and off all evening, and somehow the round trip out to Snohomish did me in. I had my usual, best-not-discussed-in-public response to a migraine the minute we got home, then put myself right to bed. By morning, I was fine. Very odd; I don't think I've had a migraine since I was 16.

Academic translations (excluding parental activities):
Development of A Sense of Responsibility
Physical education
Socialization
Lesser included subjects: math, history, physics, English, sociology, French, geography, psychology of grief, human anatomy, etc.

An open letter to a former math teacher

Let me introduce you to some wonderful kids.

First, there's Kyla, a 17-year-old whitewater rafting guide. She is also a book lover, so much so that she works part-time at the library and is considering a degree in library science. We don't see as much of her as we'd like, because her social life is very full and Patrick is very cute. She is gracious and friendly and loyal and fun.

Next, there's MJ, who just turned 15 and is eagerly anticipating the start of driver's ed next month. She's a vegetarian animal lover who volunteers twice a week at a horse rescue place; they love her there and have awarded her "rank" over their other volunteers. She's a beautiful writer, has very un-Maier-like penmanship (she can write in italics!), and knows more about music than anybody I know.

14-year-old Logan (aka "The Great God Logan") is a knight-in-training with the SCA. He loves manga and XBox and hanging out with friends. He's writing a comic book, loves horror movies, and wants to teach everybody how to play Magic. He's kind of a picky eater, but we all bow down to his greatness anyway. He flings himself into whatever fun presents itself, and he is always ready to laugh.

Chloe is a creative force and has spent most of her 13 years writing, drawing, telling stories, and imagining. She can talk faster than most of us can listen, has more faith in her little finger than I have in my whole body, and feels the injustices of the world quite keenly. She's something of a loner until she's in the mood to socialize, and then she's an effortlessly sociable creature. Small kids love her, because she hasn't forgotten how to pretend.

Hunter (12) is our athlete. If it involves running, jumping, swimming, batting, throwing, dodging, or shooting, Hunter is your man. He's sensitive and sweet, accepts you as you are, and always tries to be accommodating. Like his big brother, he is a talented gamer and an apprentice knight with the SCA, but he prefers anime to horror movies.

Michelle is also 12. She is passionate about gaming and often carries her DS and games with her in a special purse. She's teaching me Pokemon characters, but I'm a little slow. She is crazy about horses in general and rides a Clydesdale for her lessons. She has firm "self boundaries" and expects them to be respected, loves to talk, loves to win, and loves to drive dad's driving simulator.

These are the kids you had in your wagon at the corn maze last Thursday. These are the kids who couldn't (or perhaps wouldn't) tell you what 8x7 is. These are the kids you quizzed, judged, and criticized, and at the same time ignored.

What do you think you learned about these kids that day? Can you tell me which of them do math for fun? Can you tell me which of them use math every day? Can you tell me which of them score well on standardized math tests? I very much doubt it. You can't judge mathematical competence by a person's ability to do turn-the-crank parlor tricks.

More importantly, can you tell me a single one of them who enjoyed your company that day and wasn't thrilled to have that wagon ride over with? I very much doubt it.

Restaurant review: The Cherry Blossom Grill

Both girls were occupied last night, so Frank and I had a date. We went to the Cherry Blossom Grill for Japanese food. This is a new restaurant in Everett that we discovered last summer when Chiara's favorite sushi place was closed. Now we all like this one better! The decor is pleasant, the prices are good, and the food is very good.

Our favorite thing to get is a bento box combo. You get two entrees, rice, salad, and miso soup, all for the bargain price of $8.99 to $10.99 (depending on the entrees you choose). Last night, Frank had a hefty salmon steak and spicy chicken teriyaki, and I had California rolls and tempura. Very delish, and only $9.99 per person.

Another Cherry Blossom highlight is their wasabi (Japanese horseradish). It's the best we've ever had, creamy and flavorful.

For sushi lovers, we recommend the dragon roll. Excellent presentation!

Anyway, check it out next time you're in town!

Writing for success

I flattened my deadline at work and rolled right into the next project. Ah, the exciting life of a tech writer....

"The next project" is a couple of articles for the Web. I really enjoy writing these, since the product they are for is not documented well and we have never been given time to fix that. These articles help to fill some of the gaps. If you're really short on stuff to do, you can read the "Inventory Management Series" on the Web site that I maintain.

Write of passage

Chloe completed her novel—more than 50,000 words in less than 30 days—about a week ago. She was very pleased and still wears the pride in her own accomplishment gaily. We had a little quickie party to celebrate, complete with champagne—the good stuff!

MJ wanted to know why we hadn't had a party when she finished her novel. Our answer was rather unsatisfactory ("Umm, because we didn't think of it...?"), so we now owe MJ one quickie party.

Both girls and I are still planning to take part in the official National Novel Writing Month starting next week. Join us!

Thanks for your patience!

Still here? I'm impressed! I apologize for my blog neglect. Here are a couple of family reports.

Home alone

While Frank and MJ were gone, Chloe and I had a pretty idyllic stretch of mom-and-daughter time. I was (and am) working a LOT, but we still connected to a delightful degree. When I got home from work in the evenings, we both made a point of settling down to be together. It was great!

She made good use of her days at home alone. She is still working on her NaNoWriMo practice swing and put in some 5000-word days last week. Her total wordcount now is up over 44,000, with four days remaining in her 30.

I made good use of my days, too, putting in a whopping 65 hours of work last week. But enough of that! I'll still have some OT this week, but nothing like that.

One of our bonding experiences was reading Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me aloud together. We LOVED this book, although Chloe—being firmly in writer mode—did perfectly anticipate many of the best jokes.

Scrabble, Mollypop, Paul Jr., and the Blues

Frank and MJ returned Wednesday from their dad-and-daughter trip to New Orleans. Here are a few highlights from their visit:

• Dad Marty is doing okay. He has lost a little more right-side mobility due to a second "circulatory problem of the head" (that's a quote from a movie, not his doctors) last summer, but he gets by pretty well with his left hand. Mentally, he is as sharp as ever in some ways—he very much enjoys playing Scrabble and pulls off some sophisticated multiple-word turns—but he has to be strapped into his chair because forgets that he can't walk, and he doesn't consistently remember Gary, whom he has lived with for a year now.
• I'm almost too envious of this one to write about it, but Frank and MJ got to meet Jerry and Cori's too adorable daughter, Molly, who is (umm) 9 months old (I think) and whom everyone calls "Mollypop." She loved MJ's jewelry especially. I'm sure MJ protected her nosering carefully from those clever little fingers.
• Chrissy's son, Paul, and his significant other are expecting! Baby is due May-ish, Frank says.
• MJ wanted to see a couple of bands that were playing at the House of Blues, so Frank took her down there one night. I think he went only reluctantly, but it sounds like he was pleasantly surprised by the experience. She loved it, of course!

.....
There is more to tell, but my time is limited. Maybe Frank and MJ will fill in the blanks in the comments.

Another view of Columbus Day

From Columbus' own journal, written about the Arawak Indians of Hispaniola (Haiti).

"They...brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned... They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane.... They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want."

Within a few years of his arrival, 175,000 men, women, and children—half of the Indian population—were dead.