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Ah Sunday! It’s a day to sleep late, a day to hang out with friends, a day to relax everything that may have tensed up during the hurry hurry hustle bustle days of the rest of the week. Some people use it to cram in even more errands, and therefore Sunday becomes the least of days when it could be a paragon to compare to the other six. I am hereby granting all readers of this blog permission to take the day off from anything that doesn’t involve fun, friends, or relaxation. If you start to feel guilty for having a good time, just blame it on me. I can take it.

See you tomorrow!

Joy is for all

The other day I wanted to send a greeting card to a friend of mine, and I wasn’t able to do it. I know his address. I’ve been to his house, but I don’t know his last name. I met his partner first, and that’s how we met and became friends. They’ve been together for umpteen years, and are in most respects an old married couple. But, since they are two men, and cannot legally be an old married couple, I realized that I’d never learned his last name.

Seemingly small incidents like this one demonstrate why I think gay marriage should be legal. Life for a queer person who is open about his or her sexuality is full of these little moments. A while back I asked at a video store if they had a gay and lesbian film section. I wanted to see a romantic film someone had recommended, and I was not currently in Capitol Hill, Seattle’s gay neighborhood. The clerk said: “Why on earth would we have that?” and looked at me as if I’d just requested a porn video about babies and zebras. I’m used to it, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel the ugliness.

A lot is going on right now in this country, and more than ever I believe that we need to accord the same civil rights to everyone. It’s bad enough to know that every year some gay or transgender people are murdered because of who they are, and every queer person knows that if we give our dates a tender look in the wrong neighborhood it might happen to us, too.

Despite all this, I remain joyful, because I refuse to give away my power. I can write to my legislators, I can spread the word on my blog, and I can continue to live the best life I know how. As the saying goes, living well is the best revenge, and it’s better to do something about a problem than to just complain about it. I try to do both.

See you tomorrow!

Not even a latte

Most people know that yesterday was an American holiday, and we’re probably all still feeling stuffed in remembrance of its observance. Today, too, is a holiday, and one that I’ve been celebrating for about ten years. I’d like to tell you about it so that maybe you can join me.

Today is Buy Nothing Day, a celebration which falls annually on the day after Thanksgiving. Today is also a commercial extravaganza informally known as Black Friday, and it’s the biggest shopping day of the year. Observance of Buy Nothing Day is pretty simple—you don’t need any fancy decorations, and there is no traditional meal to prepare for. On Buy Nothing Day you simply buy nothing. It truly is that simple. Its simplicity is also challenging, as I usually find that there is something I would have bought had I not been observing the holiday.

Despite the challenges, I find great joy in its celebration. It feels good to not to spend money in these tough times. There is so much I can buy that I do not strictly need, and it’s nice to focus on the simple things. I also appreciate the awareness I gain. I find that this awareness carries through into my every day life. I try to observe at least one day a month without spending as a way of maintaining that mindfulness around money.

I plan to enjoy the holidays. I love the lights, the music, and the general air of festivity that pervades the city. I’m looking forward to seeing the horse carriages multiply, and I’m sure to sample a hot mulled cider here and there. I’m also going to remember that there are many joys out there for me that do not have to be bought with my dearly-rationed dollars. The most important things cannot be purchased, and joy is free for the taking. That’s another reason I start my holidays with the celebration of Buy Nothing Day.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:

202. Celebrate Buy Nothing Day. If you read the blog too late and have already spent something, start now, or pick another day to try it. If you like it, consider making it a monthly or even weekly event. What did you think?

Link, should you desire it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Nothing_Day

And sing Alice’s Restaurant

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is about food, friends, family, and gratitude. These are all joyful things, and I’m celebrating by making a list of some things I love and am therefore grateful for. I’ve made these joyful lists before, and it’s always been a cool thing. So here, in no specific order, and not promising to be in any way complete, is my list of approximately seventy-five things I’m grateful for (and I’m going to look back to my old list and not repeat).

Challenges. Edward Hopper. Coleslaw in any of its permutations. Random snippets of overheard conversations. Seagulls. Squash. Thanksgiving dinners with friends. Steamy bathrooms after long showers. Brat Pack movies. The smell of wet dirt. Conservatories. Plants that I don’t have to grow. Pine trees. Apples. Walking meditation. Kitsch. Odd people. Burlesque. The sound of birds flapping their wings. Modern art. Windows. Blue jeans. Swishy skirts. Magenta. The moment when chocolate dissolves on the tongue. Random acts of kindness. Falafel. Hands. Corn casserole. City lights. Ferry rides. Monk. Phone calls from friends. Tactile mail. Free internet at the library. Accordions. Stars. Rubber ducks. Aprons. My cute little blue teapot. Chuck Palahniuk. Neil Gaiman. Holidays. Carnations. Question marks. Frisbees. Flylady. Elbow-length gloves. National Public Radio. Bill Cosby. Glitter. Rubber bracelets. Mushroom gravy. The flickering of candles. Forests. Campfires. Finger paint. Popcorn. String. Purring. Lavender-scented dish soap. Headphones. Juggling. Diners. Gelato. Belly dancing. Drag performances. Soft blankets. Bagpipes. Yellow paper. Balloons. Tanglefoot. Grammar. Ikea. Lists.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:

201. Forget about doing homework and really enjoy the company of whomever you are lucky enough to spend the holiday with. Be where you are, and be grateful for it! If the mood strikes you, you can also make a list, too. Enjoy the moment and enjoy the holiday.

What will you choose?

A few weeks ago I engaged in an act of recycling that I am dubbing “creative littering.” I’ve wanted to do this for quite some time now, but only just gave it a try recently. I had purchased a baggie full of plastic farm animals from a flea market for less than a dollar, and I was really excited about the zebra. It has an intriguing shape, with blocky legs that move. The zebra is really nifty, and it’s sitting on some of my books right now. The other animals were okay, but not nearly as exciting to me as the zebra. If I had kept them they would have become clutter. What to do? Creative littering.

It worked like this. I took a nice walk around my neighborhood, and as I did, I left farm animals behind. A pink plastic pig peered out over a brick ledge. I stuck a goat onto a branch on a bush, and a horse decided to rest on the seat of a parked motorcycle. I placed each and every animal with care. I wanted them to all go where someone would find them, and perhaps be delighted by the little bit of magic that it added to their day. I heard one person laughing as they saw the sheep I had left behind. My mission had been successful.

I don’t believe in the regular sort of littering, but I do believe that it’s my job to be part of the magic I wish to see in the world. I created some fun for my fellow Seattleites, and that’s something worth doing. I also got rid of clutter, and that’s a joyful thing in itself. I never would have gotten as much fun out of those animals as the people who found them did, and I had fun in the process of gifting the toys into the universe. I’m looking forward to future opportunities to do some creative littering. Who knows what I’ll choose to give next time?

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:

200. Engage in an act of creative littering. You can label your gifts with little signs or simply let people see what they will in what you leave behind. How did this act make you feel?

Post-game analysis

I’ve finally crossed that line. Here’s my last NaNoWriMo post for quite some time. I’m definitely going back to blog topics as usual tomorrow. I certified my win today, and got my new winner badge. Since my techno-damsel side is still whimpering in the corner from earlier battles, she did not get up to fight me. I got the new badge posted quickly. She may not recover from my string of technical triumphs.

I’m glad I took on this challenge. It proved to me that I can write fiction on command, and that my muses will provide for me if I keep my butt in a chair and face the demons of the blank page. That is a valuable lesson. I also enjoyed the community spirit of the whole thing. Seattle is still beating every other region doing this, and that includes international ones. We have a higher word count than lots of small countries in Europe, and we’re beating higher population centers as well. We are far ahead of New York City, currently in 7^th place, and our rivals to the south, Portland. Portland is in ninth place. I feel proud of my adopted home.

I plan to keep on challenging myself, and I’ll probably use the buddy system to enforce my goals. I wrote my first whole novel as homework for some friends of mine. I call them the Evil Homework Twins. I think I may enlist one of the twins for a daily poetry assignment in the near future. I truly believe I can rise to the challenges I set for myself. That belief helps me to succeed. I approach these things with a good attitude, and that helps no matter what the task is that approaches.

Since I’m going back to my usual format, I’ll give you some homework, too.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:

199. Set yourself a challenge today. Make your goal something a little bit harder than you would normally attempt. Then tell a friend, enlist support and just do it!

Please Note

If you’re scrolling backwards looking for more Yay! Pigeons goodness, you should be aware that there was a temporary format change in this blog.

During the month of November, this blog was a little different in format because I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). (I won!) For more of my usual sorts of posts, look backwards a bit to October. Welcome to all fellow NaNoWriMo writers!

I won I won

I succeeded in my NaNoWriMo challenge on Friday, when I reached 50,055 words. That was day twenty-one. I think I’ll probably add a few more, just to even out the end, but I am proud of myself. I wrote all those words in twenty-one days, which means I can do it again. Hurray! My regular blog should be back tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll have more of a chance to hit the internet next week. Be well!

See you tomorrow!

Exceeding the pace

Here it is, day eighteen of the National Novel Writing Month challenge. I haven’t written today’s words yet—that’ll probably happen tonight—but I am currently at 44,448 words. I’m feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

The pace is requiring me to come up with things whether I feel inspired or not, and I think that’s good practice. I’ll probably change some details during the revision process, but I’m sure I’ll also keep quite a bit of what I’ve written.

As much as I’m enjoying the intensity of the challenge, I’m also looking forward to getting back to my regular blog writing. I’ve seen some things that want to go into the blog in my usual way, and I have not had the chance to include them yet. At this pace, I expect to be able to start back to my regular blogging by next week.

In the meantime, I’m going to let my fingers fly across the keyboard!

See you tomorrow!

He also likes Bacos

16 November 2008

Well, the writing party is winding down here at the Seattle coffee shop where I’m sitting, and here’s my latest total—I am currently at 40,180 words. I added 1767 words today, 2627 on Saturday, and 2568 on Friday. Now I’m going to go home and bake cake, because it will make my apartment seem homey. Of course, the cake will be tasty, too, but what I’m really going for today is the warm scent of fresh baked goods in the air. I’m feeling a little run down, and I want to cuddle into my apartment with a cup of tea and a fluffy blanket.

We had quite a few people at our write-in today, and discovered the Maryland is slightly ahead of Seattle in the word count now. We will surpass them again soon. I have no fear, but in the meantime we have decided to invoke a special Seattle saint, Saint Archie McPhee. It is rumored that if you propitiate him with coffee and microbrews he will give you a high word count. Who am I to discount these rumors about the saint who had the miracle of the devil ducks?

See you tomorrow!