Tomorrow I plan to start my latest idea: NaNoWriMo.  What is a NaNoWriMo you ask?  Let me try to tell you.  And yes, it’s as weird as it sounds.  NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It is a literary challenge started 11 years ago by a group of writers in the bay area.  Read more about it here. 

NaNoWriMo is designed to help writers turn off the inner critic and get their story out.  It’s a great motivator for wannabe writers like me who have always wanted to write a novel but are waiting for the perfect time to start.  The rules are simple (but also kind of kick-ass): write a novel in a month.  It can be about anything and it can even be a worthless piece of crap.  The only requirement is that it be at least 50,000 words long.  The point is to just do it which is what the nagging little voice in my head has been telling me for years. 

What month do you embark on this insane notion?  November.  What do you get if you actually complete your novel at the end of the month?  Um, I don’t know.  An email I think from the NaNoWriMo website saying “Congratulations!”  And maybe a badge kind of like this one only it says “Winner” instead of “Participant.” 

Yes, I am crazy. 

What is my novel going to be about?  Don’t you wish you knew!  So do I for that matter.  Actually I do have an idea which I have loosely plotted out.  Good taste and my own sense of humility prevent me from sharing too much but I will say this: a sex phone operator and a family of evangelical Christians will be involved. 

Here goes nothing. 

Yesterday he rescued me and then fixed the dead battery that left me abandoned in a Pleasanton beauty parlor parking lot.  Once at home he gave me a tutorial on a fabulous new remote that does everything but refill my wine glass.  Later that night he took me to a special birthday dinner at Horatios, sparing no expense. 

Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate my husband? 

Thanks for a great day honey! 

There’s this thing floating around the blogosphere called 30 Days of Truth.  I’m not sure where it all started but I first got the idea from this gal (who I like because we have the same first name and she gives good tweet).  Basically it’s a series of writing prompts that challenge you to write the truth about yourself. 

I think I’m going to try this because it may help with the nagging thought that plagues me now that I’ve started this blog which is: what the hell do I write about?  Of course this is immediately followed by the other nagging more bitchy thought: If you don’t know what to write about why the fuck did you start this thing?  To which the original thought comes back with: Shut up bitch!

And if that little revelation did not convince you I’m already crazy, maybe reading what I have to say about the proposed 30 days of truths will: 

Day 01 ? Something you hate about yourself.
Day 02 ? Something you love about yourself.
Day 03 ? Something you have to forgive yourself for.
Day 04 ? Something you have to forgive someone for.
Day 05 ? Something you hope to do in your life.
Day 06 ? Something you hope you never have to do.
Day 07 ? Someone who has made your life worth living for.
Day 08 ? Someone who made your life hell, or treated you like shit.
Day 09 ? Someone you didn’t want to let go, but just drifted.
Day 10 ? Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn’t know.
Day 11 ? Something people seem to compliment you the most on.
Day 12 ? Something you never get compliments on.
Day 13 ? A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough ass days. (write a letter.)
Day 14 ? A hero that has let you down. (letter)
Day 15 ? Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.
Day 16 ? Someone or something you definitely could live without.
Day 17 ? A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.
Day 18 ? Your views on gay marriage.
Day 19 ? What do you think of religion? Or what do you think of politics?
Day 20 ? Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21 ? (scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you two got into a fight an hour before. What do you do?
Day 22 ? Something you wish you hadn’t done in your life.
Day 23 ? Something you wish you had done in your life.
Day 24 ? Make a playlist to someone, and explain why you chose all the songs. (Just post the titles and artists and letter)
Day 25 ? The reason you believe you’re still alive today.
Day 26 ? Have you ever thought about giving up on life? If so, when and why?
Day 27 ? What’s the best thing going for you right now?
Day 28 ? What if you were pregnant or got someone pregnant, what would you do?
Day 29 ? Something you hope to change about yourself. And why.
Day 30 ? A letter to yourself, tell yourself EVERYTHING you love about yourself

The manner in which these prompts are presented suggests that they be done one a day for 30 days but from what I’ve seen on the blogs I read many people are writing them at their own pace. This is the route I have decided to take as well because there is no way I could address all this in a mere 30 days.  First off because I don’t blog everyday.  But secondly, I find this project a little unnerving because it puts me out of my comfort zone and if I were to devote a concentrated 30 days to this I think I would end up in therapy. Either that or possibly divorce court. 

So here we go!  Well, not now but in a couple of weeks. 

Tomorrow Jerry and I will celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary and surprise surprise Jerry will not be in Japan!  Not only that but I realized that this anniversary is a milestone because I’ve been married to Jerry longer than I’ve been at any one job.  Yes, that’s right.  Jerry has outlasted my devotion to any employer!  As I told him the other day, I think this means this thing we have together is for real. 

I think one of the secrets to a happy marriage is to appreciate the simple things you share on a daily basis that you otherwise might not notice.  (Another big one is to have separate bathrooms.)  So in addition to enjoying pure wedded bliss Jerry and I have together enjoyed the following for the past 7 years: 

• KGO morning news with Ed and Jen
• Feeding, brushing and vacuuming after Mrs. B
• Coffee from Java Bobs
• The carpool lane on 92
• (Until this summer) free rides over the San Mateo Bridge
• Separate bank accounts
• History channel and HBO
• Friday nights at Los Compadres
• Lots of free hotel soaps
• Google chat in the house

and best of all

• Jerry’s sarcasm

I love you Jerry Jessop!  Thanks for a great 7 years.  I’m looking forward to 70 more, at least. 

Remember that episode of Everybody Loves Raymond where Ray comes back from a business trip and leaves his suitcase sitting in the middle of the hallway where it remains for 3 weeks because neither he nor Debra refuses to put it away?  That’s what its like at our house all the time.  Only the suitcase (Jerry’s) sits in the middle of our bedroom floor. 

Unlike Debra I do not refuse to remove the suitcase due to a battle of wills but rather I am frightened about what lurks inside.  Because after every business trip Jerry comes home with more hotel soap booty to add to his collection.  A collection that, due to Jerry’s insane travel schedule, has grown to proportions so big that it no longer fits under the bathroom cabinet and has recently been transferred to a box and overflowing trash bag. 

Here’s the bar that started it all.  Pretty!  And from an exotic locale (yes, I consider The Netherlands exotic). 

I will admit, he’s brought home some pretty cool things.  Look at the outlay of free toiletries you get in Japanese hotels! 

Yes, that is a razor with shaving cream and a hair band! 

But it’s not all Anthony Bourdain.  More often than not Jerry’s travels are to not so exotic places.  Here are the slim pickin’s you get at the Laredo Doubletree: 

Unfortunately it eventually comes to this. 

Preparing for the eventual global soap shortage can be stressful.