ROW80: One More to Go

The end is near.  No...I'm not talking about the end of the world.  I'm talking about the end of this round of ROW80.  I can't believe that this part of the challenge is almost over.  The amazing thing is, even though towards the end I haven't been as diligent with my goals, I have still accomplished way more than I ever imagined.  So, that being said, here is where things stand:

1.  I have definitely been writing every day.  Even though some days it may not be writing on my current WIP, it is writing of some kind other than work.  It's usually revising, editing, or working on other WIPs I have started.  I even have started sketching out my outline for the novel I'm going to start for NaNo.  I can't believe NaNo is almost here.  About a month and a half and I will typing my bloody fingers off!    

2.  In the last few days, the only creative writing I've really been doing is in regards to my short story.  Word count is about 8K, though at the rate I keep adding and moving things, it could get a bit higher.  Though, last time I checked, I was pretty happy with where it stands. It's been formatted and edited to be sure it meets the Smashwords formatting guideline, and now it only needs one more thing.  A cover.  Although I can use GIMP (which is a kinda open source version of photo shop) to do the basics, I'm not that artistic.  I got a D in 8th grade Art and that near Art-fail has stuck with me ever since.  So I need to find someone who can make me a cover.  My goal is to have the cover done by Oct. 15th or so, so I can upload it and...well, I guess just see what happens from there!  I have no idea if anyone else will like it, but this step is more for me to get over the fear of just putting something out there for people to read.  

3.  School is hard.  I'm not used to having homework--and this 8-10 page critical essay on Swift's A Modest Proposal is kicking my butt.  I'm totally and completely stuck.  That is one reason I am blogging at the moment and not working on homework.  But, despite how hard it is, I know in the end it will be more than worth it. I've wanted this Master's degree for too long to give up on it just cause it's hard.  I just need to keep my eye on the prize.

4.  If school is hard, this working out 4-6 days per week is killing me.  My muscles have at least stopped screaming at me every day, and are slowly deciding to come along for the ride.They only scream at me every other day now! The upside of it all?   I've definitely had an increase in energy level and I've been sleeping better. Haven't had a sleepless since the end of August--talk about amazing!  Good-night insomnia!

5.  Some friends and I had our first book club on Wednesday.  It was so much fun.  I didn't realize how tense and stressed I was until I actually had 3 hours to just relax and talk about books, eat good food, and have some equally awesome drinks.  It was definitely needed and I can't wait til October 26th when we meet again!

6.  FALL IS HERE!  Okay, sorry for shouting.  But fall is my favorite season.  Halloween is my favorite holiday.  So yeah, hence the shouting.  Hello fall with your apples, apple cider, crisp cool days and nights, and the leaves changing colors. Goodbye summer with your bugs, bees, mosquitoes, and poison sumac.  Good riddance, especially to you poison sumac.

Not too bad a list I guess, given the craziness in my life lately.  Later this week I will look more closely at word counts and just how far I've come on the WIP that I've worked on most during this round of the challenge.

Lastly, this week I will be heading off on  my first real vacation in seven years in which I take zero work with me.  (Though I will take a little bit of homework--I don't count that as work since I prefer homework over work for my job!).  The downsides?  I hate flying; I am not a big fan of ships (clearly I watched Titanic one too many times when it came out) and I would rather see fish--especially sharks--through glass at an aquarium.  However, despite all of this, I am packed (well mostly!), and ready to go.  In four days, I will be getting on a plane and flying to Hawaii, where I will then be boarding a ship for my first cruise.  This was planned over a year ago, when I said yes in a moment of temporary insanity.  I can't believe it's finally here. I now know what it feels like to be terrified and excited all at the same time.

But now I have to stop thinking about Hawaii and concentrate on the things at hand.  I unfortunately cannot procrastinate any longer and must get back to work on this paper.  Good luck to everyone on the last few days of the challenge!