AW December Blog Chain Theme: 2009 Wrap-up

Okay, this month the AW group voted to do the December Blog chain on a general wrap-up of our writing goals in 2009. Since I’ve been blogging on my writing all year I feel like I’m bludgeoning my readers with a spork. Also, I’m not the greatest at setting long term goals. I set a goal, something shiny distracts me, and then I feel like a failure for not achieving my goal. Although, I can hands down take anyone when it comes to making a list I will never look at twice or color coding an Excel spreadsheet. Therefore, I intend to take a left in Eureka and write about where I ended up this year, goal-less and with a hellish lot to show for it.

1. Wrote an Entire Damn Novel in 4 months – I said I wouldn’t write about writing. I lied. That feeling you’re experiencing? It’s betrayal. You should really work on that. While you read my novel. About a girl who’s betrayed by everyone she cares about. See what I did there? That’s cause I’m a WRITER.
2. T-boning a Woman Doing 60 and Walking Away from the Wreckage – Let’s be clear – so her fault and not mine. She panicked and came at the barrier across four lanes of freeway. I slammed the breaks and got a mouthful of airbag for my effort. My poor Ford Focus died heroically saving my life. R.I.P., poor baby.
3. Walking the Ramparts Alone at 3:00 AM at Mont St. Michel While Listening to the Tide Come In Around Me– By far the most amazing place I’ve ever been. When I was thirteen, I begged my mom for this 3D puzzle of a castle that turned out to be the Abbey at Mont St. Michel in France. I know, you’re thinking “Hello, Nerd.” Before you cast that stone, I ask you to look in the mirror. I’ll wait… Now that you’ve realized we’re kindred spirits, I can tell you how black the night was without city lights, how the wind ran through me and over the stone streets, and I just knew that same breeze had caressed another woman hundreds of years ago. But don’t be fooled by the savory crepes. They were not, in fact, savory.
4. “I’m YA, and I’m OK” – I intended to write SERIOUS fiction. You know, LITERATURE. Instead, I ended up writing about a teenager. This means (a) I’m not grown up at all despite my age or (b) YA Literature is some of the best literature out there right now. The answer is so obviously (b), and I belong to that genre since I write SERIOUS LITERATURE. Like Dickens. Who wrote for the entire family, including the young adults. Yeah, just try and argue with Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. I’ll sit over here and quietly gloat.
5. A Family Roadtrip – My family is a bit like Gossip Girls without the designer clothes, the money, New York, or vapid teenagers, which technically means we’re nothing like Gossip Girls. (Note to self: Don’t use that analogy again.) So, my family is a bit like UCLA and USC football. Someone is always hatin’ on someone else or stealing our family mascot – a ceramic cow my mother gave me, but that’s another story. Anyway, a ceasefire was recently called, and one of my brothers and my sister drove from Los Angeles to San Francisco in my convertible with the sun beaming down on us and the wind blowing our hair back dramatically. Well, that’s what it was like for my sister and I. My bald brother drove the U-haul with all of my crap, and we frequently pulled up next to him to mock him with our blistered glowing skin and snarled blowy hair. Yeah, you wish you rode with us!
6. I Frickin’ HEART San Francisco – I love my studio apartment with its hardwood floors, giant bay windows, and steam heat that sounds a lot like my brothers after eating chili. I love my 24-hour Starbucks and driving my car down curvy, switchback Lombard Street. Mostly, I love driving through the Presidio with the top down (the car, not me) and Nick Drake singing “Pink Moon” like I’m living in that VW commercial. You know, this one. Except it’s better cause I’m in a MINI.
7. Earned Two Free Rewards Tickets on Southwest – I travel a lot, mostly for work. This year I flew to San Francisco three times, Los Angeles three times, Seattle twice, San Antonio once, plus Paris, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. I’ve learned I love John Wayne Airport and Southwest flight attendants who tell you in the event of an emergency water landing put your head between your knees and kiss your butt goodbye. And I hate sitting in airports for hours on end, getting charged for wireless internet, and idiots who continue to talk on their phones preventing the damn plane from taking off. I see your guilty blush, making you resemble an older Bella from Twilight. Feel my wrath.
8. Paris and Barcelona, Oh My! – Paris is NOT like Amelie, and Barcelona is full of pickpockets. The Mona Lisa is tiny, and Gaudi was an insane, brilliant man. People in Europe drink less. At least in my experience since I was basically dehydrated for three weeks due to 6 ounce glasses of water served over a two-hour meal. That, or they’re trying to kill off Americans one at a time but depriving us of liquids. Oh, and I hated most of the food, but I saw so many amazing things my eyes glazed over and I scared the locals with my glassy stare. Maybe that’s why they didn’t give me water. Also, I got to speak the little bit of French I know and felt insulted when I was somehow NOT mistaken for a local. Whatever. The most majestic sunset award goes to Paris. The best meal I had in Europe? Indian food in Barcelona. Go figure.

Come to think of it, this was a really jam-packed year. Good thing I don’t make a lot of plans. I hope this teaches you obsessive planners a lesson.

PARTICIPANTS
bsolah – http://benjaminsolah.com/blog
DavidZahir – http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/
RavenCorinnCarluk – http://ravencorinncarluk.blogspot.com
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com/
shethinkstoomuch – http://shethinkstoomuch.wordpress.com
Lady Cat – http://www.randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.com
truelyana – http://expressiveworld.com
misaditas – http://misaditas-novels.blogspot.com/
laharrison – http://lesleyharrison.wordpress.com/
beawhiz – http://beawrites.wordpress.com
razibahmed – http://www.blogging37.com
FreshHell – http://freshhell.wordpress.com
AlissaC – http://alissacarleton.blogspot.com