Hell Month

Good thing I enjoyed the long weekend because Hell Month has begun at work.

I'm a day early, but I'm stuck on the couch with a purring Bandit on my lap, so I'm writing it now. Tomorrow will be our one-year anniversary! In the first year of marriage:

• Matthew presented at two conferences and attended a week-long seminar by invitation.


• I ran a marathon and raised $1,300 for diabetes research.


• Matthew graduated from Loyola with his MA.


• I wrote a novel and started two more.


• Matthew was admitted to, and started, a PhD program.


• I've had lots of good work moments: a fantastic performance evaluation, recognition by higher-ups, etc.

Would we have done all of that separately if we weren't married? Maybe, but I think we complement and support each other very well, and being together sure hasn't hurt our productivity.

For two people who hate traveling, we've also traveled an awful lot in the past year. Matthew went to Philadelphia twice and Hawaii once for school stuff. I went to Boston and Ann Arbor for work. Together, we went to Ohio three times, Florida once, and Santa Barbara once. And there are trips to Milwaukee. Together, it was at least twice; Matthew alone is 25+ at this point.

So, in short, it was a very good year, except for Matthew's commuting. I'm still head over heels in love. And my mom will eventually get over her disappointment that there's no grandchildren on the way yet. :P

Now I just need to get my motivation back.

Wow. Writing fan fiction is much more difficult than I thought it would be. The words flew out of me for the original fiction novel. This is impossible; I keep getting hung up on little details. I've managed a whopping 675 words in two days. It could also be that all of my momentum went away once I hit 50,000. :)

I wrote a novel. :) Okay, it's a really short novel and probably in need of major editing, but hey, I did it.

It feels good to have accomplished something that major. And for the record, writing a novel (at least a first draft) is WAY easier than running a marathon. For me, anyway.

Sooooooo tired, and for no good reason.

Can anyone explain to me how I keep falling into leadership positions? I swear I don't go looking for things, but anytime I join a group, I seem to end up on the "board" or whatever within a year or two. It's almost enough to make me stop joining groups. Okay, so actually, I usually like being in charge; I just don't always know how it happens.

3,538 words (2 chapters). Must keep momentum.