April 23rd Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good morning. It has been a frustrating morning already. Instead of writing for the past two hours like I should have been, I’ve been fighting with my computer. I’m about to pull my hair out, what little is left of it.

Every time I try to do any kind of search or even try to pull up a new page, I get a pop-up saying my Goggle or my flash player or my media player is out of date and it needs to be updated. This has been going on for almost two weeks now. I have tried running the updates. The first time, it loaded all sorts

of other junk onto my computer, and we needed to back everything out. That’s when I realized they now tack on all this other crap you really don’t need during the update process, and you have to hit “decline” until you get to the update you really need.

I thought we uninstalled everything, but now Bing has taken over my internet explorer and Conduit has taken over my Google Chrome. Annoying, but I can deal with it. What I can’t stand is all these stupid ads that keep popping up any time I move my mouse, then, if one inadvertently gets clicked (because the system manages to stick the ad right under my mouse when I try to navigate a page) a second window pops up saying “ad cannot be found”. SO WHAT THE HECK IS THE SENSE??? Not that I want to see the ad anyway, but I’m trying to get work done and I keep getting delayed.

So, the last time these MUST UPDATE things popped up, I said, okay, one last time. I try to run the update and it either tells me I have the most updated file or it puts the run button so far down on my screen I can’t click on it. I ran a virus scan. I ran a malware scan. I ran a download scan. EVERYTHING comes back clean. I am {this} close to throwing my laptop across the room.

The final straw this morning was I needed to give CreateSpace the final approval for the proof on A Second Chance – I added the “Also available” and “Reviews” pages to the book. I can see the proof just fine, but when I try to hit the “approved” button, it won’t register. Until I hit the “approved” button, the book is not available for purchase, so now all these dang computer ads, pop ups, and tag ons have cost me money, because my computer is no longer working the way it should be. I’m pretty sure, if I could locate the person responsible for creating this lovely feature, and could get my hands around his or her neck, it would be deemed a justifiable homicide.

So here it is, one week until the end of the month, seven short days, four of which I will be able to do very little, if any, writing, and I still have 8,400 words to go. I’m starting to twitch, my jaw is hurting from clenching it, and my throat is getting sore from me growling at my computer; a state of mind not exactly conducive to creativity.

I’m leaving for Vermont between five and five thirty tomorrow, so I very seriously doubt there will be a blog post before I leave. However, Lys’ day is pretty full tomorrow, so all I’ll be doing is dropping off her packing stuff, and then heading to my hotel. Hopefully my nephew can find something quiet to occupy himself for an hour or so, so I can get a little writing done. (I’m bringing my 22 year old nephew with me as muscle. There’s no way Lys and I would be able to wrestle a fridge into my van on our own, plus all the other bins and junk from her dorm.) Then, Friday, I don’t think we are leaving until around noon, so I may get some writing done before my nephew wakes up. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Okay, I’m going to take a five minute break, go get another cup of coffee, and try to let some steam out of my ears so I can write. I hope y’all have a much better day then I’ve been having, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Once upon a time, in a small town far away, lived a young girl named Tabatha. Tabatha was

a beautiful child, had parents who loved her very much, and provided her with a good life, but she was not happy. Tabatha was incredibly lonely. She prayed every night for a brother or a sister, someone with who she could share her life.

She dreamed of playing tag, building snowmen, late night camping under her covers with a flash light, giggling and trying to keep quiet so their parents wouldn’t hear, and come in and yell at them that it was time to go to sleep. She even imagined the fights they would have, as all siblings do.

She had asked, begged, her parents, time and again, for a little brother or sister. She had even told them it could be her only birthday or Christmas present. Her parents smiled sadly at her, and told her they were sorry. They would love nothing more than to be able to grant Tabatha’s wish, but they were unable. They would buy her fabulous gifts and take her to magnificent places to try to make it up to her, and although she appreciated all they tried to do, she was still sad and lonely.

Then one day, a knock came on her bedroom door. Her dad poked his head inside her room and asked if he could come in. Her dad had that look on his face, the one he got every time he had a surprise present for her. So, not wanting to make her dad sad, Tabatha smiled and welcomed her dad into her room. She was surprised to see her mom follow him in. Her mom also had the same look on her face, and Tabatha started to get excited.

Her mom sat down on her bed, put her arm around Tabatha, and Tabatha’s father said, “There’s someone here we’d like you to meet.” He went back into the hall way, and she could hear him talking with someone. A few seconds later, he walked in. Holding his right hand was a girl Tabatha’s age, and holding his left hand was a boy a few years younger. “Sweetheart, I’d like you to meet, Kirsten and Matthew. They would like it very much if you would be their sister.”

Your Next Challenge is:

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

April 2nd Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Even though yesterday was lovely, thanks to all of you making it so, today has started off with frustration. Last night I kept receiving pop-up saying my Google Chrome needed to be updated. I tried to shoo off the pop-ups, because I was tired and really not in the mood to deal with an install, but then I couldn’t post any comments, nor could I search for anything. So, I relented.

What a mistake that was! This morning I couldn’t get on email, a zillion more pop-up appeared, my computer was running as slow as molasses, all my screens had changed, and there were all these new icons and search engine buttons everywhere. I was NOT a happy camper.

I am happy to say, eleven uninstalls and computer reboots later, I am up and running again, and imagine this, Google Chrome is running just fine now that I UNINSTALLED their latest update. One of the programs was stupid enough to ask why I was uninstalling it from my computer. Let’s just say my reply contained the words “pissed”, “BS”, “unethical”, and “punishment”, and we’ll leave it at that. I wasted two hours when I could have been writing. To say I was annoyed would have been a gross understatement, and I let my poison pen fly, unchecked.

I’m getting worked up again just thinking about it, and that is defeating my purpose in writing the blog. I wanted the blog to calm me down enough to be able to get at least an hour’s worth of writing done on Faerie Tale Queen, before I had to get ready for work. I think I’m going to have to hold off on FTQ until I come home from work.

Work yesterday went well. I brought RV to a doctor’s appointment, helped her get dinner ready, did some light cleaning for her, and even helped her (and her daughter) pull off an April Fool’s prank on her husband. Hopefully he wasn’t too annoyed when he found his TV remote hermetically sealed in plastic wrap, and the batteries sitting next to it. Guess I’ll find out if I still have a job when I get there today. J

Okay, I should go. I hope y’all have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Oh No! Not again…

Oh for the love of Mike! I can’t believe this is happening again. How is it I always seem to manage at least two catastrophes at the same time? Not one, but two flat tires; keys get locked in the car while it’s running, and then the car runs out of gas; late for an appointment, heel of my shoe breaks and it starts to pour. It’s always something. Not to sound cliché, but I’d swear, if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.

I should have known better than to try and pull off a surprise party. I should have known some sort of calamity would have befallen the day, but, even in my wildest imagination, I could not have predicted what had happened.

Things were going smoothly. I should have taken that as a warning, but I was too excited. We had just placed all the food on the tables, every last guest had arrived, and the guest of honor was due to arrive in fifteen minutes. I was able to take a breath, and spend a few minutes chatting with friends before I was “on duty” again. It was so nice… while it lasted.

Suddenly, I hear a shriek from one of the guests, and then a scene began to unfold which would have made Alfred Hitchcock shiver. The food table was being plundered by crows. The first two or three that landed were shooed away by guests, but then more came, and more. Soon there were hundreds of squawking beasts everywhere, and they were no longer limiting themselves to the food table. They were on the lawn, on the chairs, dive bombing guests. People were running, screaming, and ducking for cover. In the commotion, candles were knocked over, and the festive decorations were now ablaze.

I put my hands over my eyes, drag them up to my scalp, and give my hair a good tug in frustration. As I turn my back to the mayhem, I spot the guest of honor, standing at the edge of the lawn, mouth agape; and all I can think is, Oh no! Not again…

Your Next Challenge is:

You’re stuck in an elevator…

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.