So what's occupied my time other than shouting into the void of the internet? Well, all of the things really. There's wedding planning, my venture into competitive high school theatre, trying to get back into a real training routine, J Word, work in general, studying for my Minnesota license exams...you get the idea. There's always something, but that something hasn't been a lot of writing time.
Actually, I shouldn't say that either! I have been doing a lot of writing too...just not blogging. I'm actually about 82 pages into writing the second draft of the novel I started two years ago. So yeah, that's a long and tedious process, but it's been fun and worth it as the second effort is, so far, a much more engaging story than the first.
Like I said, I have all the excuses. It's not that I've just been slacking! Promise!
So...for the Friday Five...a quick rundown of all the things...
1. High School One Act Competition - This is a thing that did not exist as part of my own high school experience, and maybe for good reason. The one act "season" came up almost immediately after finishing the high school musical, and to be entirely honest, I was burned out on theatre! Nevertheless, we launched a production just before Christmas break started and ended our competition season with a 4th place finish at sectionals just over a week ago. As could have been expected, for as burned out as I was when we started, the excitement and energy of the kids for the production and performances got me through the season. But now, having been involved with a production of some sort since September, I'm really really glad that I can take a breath for a moment, and won't have to worry about a spring show.
2. All things weddings - A fellow blogging friend recently suggested that the best way to plan a wedding and make time to blog at the same time is to start "Wedding Wednesdays," which seemed hokey and cliche at first, but then suddenly became an intriguing idea...we'll see! In any case, with just over 4 months to the wedding, all those little details that seemed trivial when we first started (shoes, jewelry, programs, stamps, etc.) are now starting to come up on the to-do list. It's not a bad thing per se. It means we've gotten most of the big things off the to-do list (cake, wedding rings, and invitations have been the most recent cross offs in the last two weeks!). Still, they're also kind of putzy. Like addressing my envelopes by hand. This is a good idea...I just know it is... (But ask me what I think about it after this weekend!).
3. Testing my patience - As part of my transition to teaching in Minnesota, I needed to take and pass the MTLE...two sets of educator competency tests, one on my content area, the other on general pedagogy for secondary education. I took a set of these tests in WI to be licensed, but Minnesota doesn't accept those scores, so I had to start from scratch. Consequently, that also meant studying from scratch, as most of that educational theory/developmental psychology stuff that I learned in college wasn't exactly fresh in my mind. So I spent the better part of a month, and 400 notecards, reviewing and reteaching myself what would be on the test, all so that I could regurgitate it for the state...and then go back to my classroom (where I'm currently licensed to teach anyway...without having passed the test!). Makes a ton of sense...right!?
4. Writing on other things - As previously mentioned, I also dove back into my second draft of the novel I began two summers ago. Having solicited feedback on draft one, I was uncertain with how to proceed on draft two without changing major pieces of the story. J Word and I had talked and toyed with ideas last winter when we first started dating and I had shared a portion with him, but it's harder than you might think to just abandon your first story track while keeping your characters intact and developing the same theme. So it took a while to figure out where everything was going...and it's still a work in progress. But 80 pages in, at least there's a new, albeit very general, direction!
5. J Word - Then of course there's J Word. In all honesty, a lot of my blogging used to be done at 8:00pm when I was home from school/rehearsal/the gym/etc, sitting on my couch with mindless TV on in the background, and left to my own devices. Now, my 8:00pm's are far less lonely, and if given the choice to blog alone or curl up on the couch and watch a movie, or play a very competitive game of Chinese Checkers, or kick butt in a game of darts...well you can see how/why my preferences have changed a bit. If not having time to blog is a "problem," then J Word is the best kind of problem to have! :)
There it is, my entire list of excuses. I don't really apologize for any of them because it's been a pretty decent stretch of weeks, but I do wish I hadn't let things go by the wayside for quite as long as I did. I make no promises for a Valentine's weekend post...nor should you be sticking around waiting for one. Do something with your sweetheart...and if you don't have one, use it as an excuse to do something really nice for yourself! In any case, enjoy. And as always...
Happy Trails,
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