No, I have not turned into Colonel Cathcart. I have just managed to drag my sorry, literary-minded ass through 50,000 words of drivel in an effort to cross the 2005 NaNoWriMo finish line! I think "1:4" is the most productive thing I have done since my 2001 finish in the Decker Challenge. Yes, I think that is correct.

Although I would much rather again write 50K in words than run 20K on some of the hilliest terrain in Austin. See the above graphic? See the sharp incline right above the "D" in Decker? Yeah. That was about mile 8 when I started walking and realized that 2 hours and 15 minutes of running was perhaps a bad idea...

I digress.

I am super-duper-psyched that I have finished NaNo, and now can return to my usual hours of procrastination working on my secret blog.

I also feel the need to let everyone know that the Roomies were reunited a few weekends ago when Shirikins was able to make a rather hasty trip to the ATX for some pre-Thanksgiving partying. I think it was because I sang "Come Back To Texas" on her voicemail, but some say she might have just been homesick. Whatever the reason, I for one was glad to see her, so glad in fact that we all got dressed in black and went downtown and were apparently looking cute enough for the Austin2Night people to take a picture of us. It was nice to have a vodka tonic with two limes once again, and hopefully LA will not turn Shiri into too much of a California girl.

Speaking of world travel (or contiguous US travel as the case may be), JHann is on her way back home for the holidays and has told me that her father AHann wants to see Mean Rachel so badly that "he's going to break out the good stuff!" I am looking forward to what is becoming an annual (although it sounds like this year a somewhat buzzed) visit with the Hann's.

And. On a lesser note. I have a black eye. Oh yes, really.
For details on how the accident occured, please go ahead and find something stretchy and elastic and attach a metal swivel snap to it. Then hook the metal snap loosely around an object. Pull on the elastic until the metal snap breaks free and aim it at your right eye at Mach 1.

All in all, moral of the story: Life is good. Life is great. I am smiling. But--ow!