More snow and terror

I am sick. With mono. Ugh.

I was feeling really tired during the first couple of weeks back at Trinity in an unusual, past-the-jetlag kind of way, even though I was getting nine hours of sleep, so I went to the health centre. A blood test and week later, I got a call from one of the nurses. Yes, it's mono. Quit your physical classes, and sleep lots. No alcohol for four weeks.

Le sigh.

Of course this is all past the add/drop period, so this past week has been a medley of emails to all my professors, a meeting with the Dean of Students, and trying to withdraw from ice skating. But it's done, and I'm more or less sorted. This could also be way, way worse. My roommate got mono last year and at one point she had to go to hospital to have throat abscesses drained, which sounds not at all fun.

Anyway. We've still got a ton of snow - in fact, we're due some more tomorrow! And Wednesday! It's really pretty from the inside, and every weekend feels like a special snow day, which helps to keep me productive.

On the terror front, I'm still working out what I want to do and where I want to live, as well as figuring out who will actually employ me. I wish I had some hardcore advice about what to do (art school? France? Publishing?), but I guess I'm more or less on my own for this one. Trying very hard not to think about that.

On a slightly cheerier note, I'm still working on TA, and I'm on track for my first draft deadline. It's been tricky trying to balance it with all of my other work, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

So much snow! (and terror)

SPRING SEMESTER SENIOR YEAR.

Man, there is so much terror in that. I'm trying very hard not to think about it, while still applying for jobs, internships, etc. etc. Mostly, what I'm doing is going, "LOOK AT ALL THE GLORIOUS OPPORTUNITIES - I MUST HAVE THEM ALLLLLL", which is not really that productive. I'm trying to keep my options as open as possible, though, since I don't really know where I want to be next year.

We've had at least a blizzard per week since I've got back to uni. It has been beautiful and glorious, and I'm really hoping that my French professor will cancel class this morning. It's not that I don't like her class... but I'm not a fan of Mondays.

In other news - I finished The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon! I enjoyed it immensely. It was everything I wanted in a sequel and more, and while I was not as crazy about the first book, I wholeheartedly recommend the series as a whole. I am very much looking forward to the next one.

Anyway, back on track with TA. It's actually my senior thesis right now, so... yeah. Scary stuff. Right now, I'm aiming for a first draft by 31st March, and I think it's doable. This semester, I've deliberately made my schedule as easy as possible to focus on my thesis. So far, it's working.

Is this thing on?

So I've been away for a while... like half a year.

I know. I said I wasn't going to do this.

But at the beginning of the summer, my computer died, and I lost about 20,000 words of various projects, including TA. Which, as you might imagine, set me back a little. Although I tinkered around a bit, I didn't really start anything until September, by which time college had started, etc. and I got busy.

Anyway, I'm back now!

Catching up

I haven't been on for ages, so I thought I'd give some updates.

1) I've started training for Tough Mudder.

Currently, I'm jogging like a very old person, but I'll get better at it, for sure. It's actually sort of nice to wake up early and head to the gym; I feel like I'm accomplishing something. Once I get home, I'll be running around the park behind my house.

2) Finals are here!

Ha… haha. *sweats nervously*

No, I'm kidding. The workload is light this semester, and I'm much more comfortable with what I'm expected to do than I have been in the past. I want to try and finish as much of my work this weekend so I can spend the rest of my time here basking in sunlight and reading.

3) I've resumed work on TA.

This is something I've wrestled with in my head more than on paper in the last month or so, but I've finally plucked up the courage to delve back in. I'm revising and making changes to the beginning of my story so I can move forward. I hope to have a draft done by the end of the summer so that I can hand it to my critique partners. There are definitely a lot of other stories on the mental coffee table, but some of them are still percolating, and I know how important it is to finish creative work.

Anyway, that's it for me now. After finals, expect to hear more from me.

Note to self:

When candy corn stops tasting good, it probably means you should stop eating it.

(I didn't and now I am full of queasy feelings and regret)

In other news, plodding along with TA and getting things in order. I submitted a part of it to my creative writing workshop three weeks ago, and got really helpful comments, so that's good. We've had a couple of snow days, so I haven't felt particularly motivated to do anything except binge on reruns of Lost, but now I'm getting back on track with things.

Also, I hope you have a happy Valentine's Day, even in this terrible and snowy weather.

Keeping myself accountable

I'm getting on with my novel (TA) pretty slowly, and I thought I'd check in. To tell you the truth, it could go faster. I could be writing more. I've deliberately organised my schedule this semester so that I have swathes of time to go to the gym, work on my art, and of course, writing. Yet somehow I'm only getting one of the three done.

Yeah, I didn't think it was going to be the gym, either. I think it's mostly because I've signed up for Tough Mudder in August and I am screwed unless I start training now. One of the things I have to particularly work on is my upper body strength, which is abysmal. At Tough Mudder, I'm expected to climb and haul myself over ten foot walls, and right now, I'm not exactly prepared for that. My roommate has lent me five pound weights to start off with. Five pounds is the equivalent of a newborn, and a small one at that. Here's the thing: five pounds is heavy. I am struggling to lift up small newborn babies, never mind myself. But I'll get there in the end.

With writing, I don't really have the same concrete goal. There are no consequences for me if I never finish TA, apart from a lack of novel. It's harder to keep myself accountable. I know that if I don't write 1,000 words a day, it will still be okay. Nothing will be there in the distant future to punish me if I fail. It's easy to think: I'm tired, I don't need to write. It's harder to think: I need to write because I've got to get this novel out of me and the only way to do that is to put pen to paper (or hands to keyboard).

So I guess my goal for today is to keep trucking. Even if I don't make it to 1,000 words today, I still have words down. The story's still in my head. I can work with what I've got, and after all, anything's better than a blank page. Onwards and upwards!

Introduction

Hi, I'm Georgia, in case you haven't guessed. First, a little bit about me:

I'm an English Creative Writing major.

Fantasy is my shit. However, I will also read most things you throw at me. Because, hey, free book.

My current project is a novel called The Assistant. It's about two magicians who find themselves under the same roof in unlikely circumstances. As I write more, you might hear more about it.

Beyond literary passions, I like cats, drawing, Adagio tea, and destroying my enemies.

On this blog you'll find musings, ramblings, book reviews, and writing. So come in, take a look around, leave a comment, read some things - enjoy! If you want to drop me a line, you can always reach me at georgiasummers@me.com, or simply comment somewhere.