Another chapter
I’m officially done with the second level of Chapter Nine of Blood Bound. Now, this may sound like it’s taking a long time (and actually, it is. I’m furious with myself over it), but I do believe I can practically guarantee that I’ll have it all over and done with by the middle of April. Well, the second go anyway. Yay!
The more I look over the early chapters though, the more I see I’ve missed – while it may be up for querying, it wouldn’t be quite up for publishing, so I’ll give it another go over, all in one shot. This’ll mean setting aside a single total day. Should be fun.
So, let’s just have a bit of a general update, shall we?
The other day, s92a (the ‘guilt upon accusation’ clause) of the New Zealand Copyright Amendment Act was scrapped, with the government officially announcing that it would look into more alternatives. Let’s all give a great declaration of ‘Yay!’ 
Catherine started up another blog. On the Nightstand is a fun book-recommending blog. It’s also a shameless excuse to read as much as possible. I’ve been added as a guest blogger, so I expect I’ll have to read more books. Harder than it sounds – I love books, but recently have been reading more and more online than onpaper.
I’m still trying to get this whole avatar-in-wordpress thing to work out. I’ll let you know how it goes.
My honours list letter came in the mail the other day, which was cool. Now I’d like my Firearms information, kthnx.
I have to go and walk the dog. I’ll go to that as soon as I’ve finished with this post.
The music for the Graduation seems to be coming along nicely. Not. If anybody’s reading this and actually wants music that they think they can put up with, let me know what you want! Otherwise, welcome to my MIKA and Nickelback collections. 
Seriously, I actually love that stuff. I’ve also started gathering background music for the dinner itself. Inordinate amount of Beatles in there, may need to fix. I think I’ll try to sneak in some ABBA (Fernando springs to mind…) too, and a bit of Jazz maybe some Brian Wilson, and let’s see what I’ve got in my soundtracks, and ooh, classical, and hey! Doctor Who music, that’ll do it, yeah, now, what’s this stuff buried under there- Ooh it’s-
I think you get the picture.
Right. Doggie. With a woof, and off we go!
Just gimme the chocolate and nobody gets hurt!
From my NZPolice email alerts, this one’s too good to not be shared:
ALL FOR EASTER EGGS
New Zealand Police National News Release
12:33pm 24 March 2009
——————————————————————————————-
On Monday 23 March 2009 at 7.50pm three offenders, one male and two females entered the Bishopdale Discounter in Leacroft Street Bishopdale.
The male was armed with a long barrelled rifle possibly a pump action shot gun which he pointed at the lone proprietor.
They demanded money and cigarettes and when they were not immediately handed over, one of the females took a container of chocolate eggs from the counter and the three fled onto Leacroft Street and are believed to have left in a waiting vehicle.
Police are concerned by the actions of these offenders as it could easily have resulted in serious injury or death to the proprietor.
Anyone who can provide information about this offence is asked to contact Detective Richard Quested at the Papanui Police Station on 3741 700.
Will Cinderella go to the Ball?
So here’s the thing: I didn’t go to any of my High School Formals – and given as I’ve technically managed to have three pass me by, instead of the seemingly-standard Canadian one and my New Zealand school’s two, that’s actually quite a feat.
And I’m graduating from college this year. Apparently, that’s kinda a big deal. And while I’m not on the Grad Committee, I keep finding myself doing unexpected work for them for free (fear my mad GIMPing skills, my mad playlist skills, my absurd amounts of spare money and the oddly full wine cellar).
I’ve signed up and stuff, and I’ve paid part of my ticket already, but I’m not quite sure if I really honestly want to go.
There’s a fundraiser in a coupla weekends (where my GIMPing skills came into things), and people keep asking me if I’ll be going. Just looking at the timeframe, I can practically guarantee that I’ll be working that night, so that’s actually okay. But it’s like the first time that any of my classmates here have actually suggested – and possibly meant it – that I come along to some kind of social event (the dinner-thing I went to the other week was… awkward).
Note that I use the word ‘possibly’. Another of my classmates pointed out that they just really want to see me drunk. Which, while a hurtful yet probable concept, did get me rethinking – and not for the first time – my even attending this graduation ball thing.
Pros:
I have a dress for it
I have a different dress for the afterparty
I have appropriate accessories
I’ve already paid for it
They may need me around to fix some things during the night
There’s going to be a raffle
Cons
I don’t look good in dresses
I may need to get more shoes that aren’t Converse for it, and I’ll never have anything else to wear them with
I’ve only paid a tiny amount of things
Someone will ask me to dance, and that’s a disaster waiting to happen
I cannot trust that nobody will have spiked the drinks
I’m probably ineligible for the raffle because I’m providing at least one of the prizes
I’m one of maybe three people out of over 200 who wouldn’t be going with anybody
They want to get me drunk (I’m either morbid or mellow, there is no in-between)
I’ll probably have to go to the afterparty, and maybe some kinda before party, and I really don’t do parties like that
I’m perfectly aware that I’m looked upon mostly with disdain by the majority of my classmates
I can just about guarantee that I’ll be working both on the day, and the day after – probably on the night itself, and if I ask for any days off, they’re taken out of my six remaining days of vacation time for the year, and no, I don’t appear to get rollover-time
-hangs head- I think the cons outweigh the pros, but, and here’s the thing…
I’m not sure if I want to miss another ball.
Silly, I know, but it’s true.
Here’s a simply terrifying thought…
And I think the article itself speaks far better and more eloquently on the subject than I ever could.
I have four jobs
–and I only get paid for one of them.
It’s not literal, but it’s a form of thinking that I feel I should adopt.
For money and suchlike, I work in a coffee store. This leaves my hair reeking, my arms aching, and strange and painful chemical burns on the backs of my hands (one of which seems to be currently bleeding. Huh, that’s odd… No, false alarm, only looks like it’s bleeding…)
That’s for the money and for being able to say, once I get back to New Zealand, that I am twenty-one and have indeed worked before, just not in the country (don’t think that paper route when I was twelve and thirteen counted).
My second job is of course my schoolwork. I’m a Police Foundations student, and I love that to teeny tiny little pieces. But I should probably start treating it less as the bundle of sheer awesome I feel it to be, and more as a highly important aspect of my life. Yeah, a little depressing that.
Third, and the most important currently regarding other people, is the Beta work I do. Intellectually I know it’s nothing like real editing – I don’t often do deadlines, and I’m incredibly slow these days – time was when seven or so pages would take me half an hour, and that’d be a chapter all ready to go. I’m disappointed in myself that I can’t do that anymore.
Last of all, I’ve got all my poor neglected webcomics. I really do need to work on them. Colour up Sequence, draw up Vampire Inn, polish up High Kick, and get Protectre out into the ether (-”mutters I will not colour that until I’ve got ALL of Sequence done…”-
Tonight? I’m working on Job Number Three (almost done this chapter, then I’m going to go to bed… or fall asleep where I lie, whatever).
Happy Pi Day, everybody.
New wordcountbar thingies!
As it appears my previous ones have broken, have a new BloodBound Wordcounter:
Cunningly made with the help of NaNoWriMo tools.
Actually, this isn’t strictly accurate, as I’m somewhere in chapter six right now.
I’m thinking of enterin NaNoWriMo this year, but not in the traditional sense of the word. I was considering more along the lines of as a beta: My goal being to beta over 100,000 words in a single month. Sounds simple? Actually, it’s not.