Day 4: A Hard-Won Weekend

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Helloooo out there!!  😀

The first weekend of camping left me tired, but happy!  At first, I had trouble getting my stride; the mountain was tall, and I kept stumbling over rocks.  I was getting irritated, frustrated, and weepy; I felt like giving up.

But then, INSPIRATION!  Late last night, I remembered something!  Something that I had been meaning to include in this story for a long, long time!

And include it I did!  😀  Though writing a chat log in novel format is somewhat challenging, I can definitely see it becoming a staple of modern novels.  Interactions with others via online services has become such a staple in the past decade that I can definitely see it becoming part and parcel of regular story-writing.

What’s more, I actually managed to make my word count goal!  I was severely behind, and feeling really down about it…but I made it!!  So, yay for that!  😀

If anyone wants to look for me on Camp NaNo, my name there is chinalizard.  My novel:  “Sichuan Salad”.

Which I, for some reason, always thought was spelled ‘Szechuan’ for some reason.  (I don’t know why I keep wanting to add a ‘z’ to that word..)

Day 21: Garglblargl!

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Yesterday, I only wrote 151 words before midnight.  And that was in the 15 minutes right before midnight.

There was two reasons for this:  One, Mother Nature’s gift hit me harder than I expected.

Two, my adventure to McDonald’s did not go as planned.

In our region of the world, just about everything closes around 7 PM on Sunday nights.  Coffee houses, malls, stores, even some grocery stores.  So, if one wants Internet and coffee….or really, just the coffee and a public place to sit and write….McDonald’s is pretty much the only option.

I had been impressed by their Peppermint Mochas earlier in the week, so I thought this would be a good place to sit and spin a couple thousand words.

I was sadly mistaken.

First, I waited forever to get the coffee.  Normally, I could do with this, but I was already feeling weirded out by that McD atmosphere that always makes one uncomfortable when one is alone.  (The only time I’ve ever felt completely relaxed at a McD is when I was overseas in China.)

Once the cashier finally got around to not only TAKING my order, but MAKING it, I decided to sit in a secluded booth in the back where I would not be bothered and could spread out a bit.  But as soon as I walked into the area, a smell accosted my senses that I’ve only ever associated with dead animals or something extremely spoiled.  So there went THAT idea.

Not to be undaunted quite yet, I tried sitting at a high-top table at the front…only to hear loud clattering and noise at the drink machine and counter.  Plus, the smell….that horrible, gut-wrenching smell!!!…was wafting from where I just was to attack me all over again.

Not only that, but there were no outlets.  NO ELECTRICAL OUTLETS!!!!  AT ALL!!!!

I decided that now was the time for me to make my escape.  I took my things, including my skim milk mocha, and left.  As I was driving home, I opened the mocha to taste the wonderful goodness I had first tasted the week previous….and was likewise disappointed.

It was bitter, and not sweet at all.  Now, as far as I know, sweetness has nothing to do with what kind of milk you use.  And I’m fine with artificial sweetener; I’ve been drinking diet and “zero” drinks for a long time now.  I use Equal in anything requiring sugar.  I’m used to aspartame.

But this…this wasn’t EVEN aspartame!  It was an assault on my tongue!

When I got home, I poured a liberal amount of Equal into it, and it finally tasted right!

Needless to say, after this experience, I shan’t be venturing out to McD to stay late on a Sunday night again!

Where is your least favorite place to write?  Why is it a horrible place to try and be creative?

Daily Post: What should you do when sick on vacation?

What should you do when sick on vacation?.

I remember a time in China when I got incredibly sick half-way through our journey.

Every year, the Chinese school system takes two months off for Chinese New Year.  My second year teaching English over there, my friends and I decided to travel.  Extensively.

Somewhere between climbing mountains and taking a break in a rural village, I came down with a terrible cold and slight fever.  (It had been raining, and we had been travelling by train, bike, and taxi nearly non-stop for a while at this point, and were actually nearing the end of our journey.)

All I clearly remember of it is being given a bed upstairs in the home of a rural restaurant, and trying to sleep a little in one of the coziest niches I’d ever seen.

Had there been central heating, it would have been even cozier.

Fortunately, someone got me some medicine and some juice.  Unfortunately, there was little choice other than to soldier on.  I couldn’t stay in the lady’s house; she was kind enough to lend me the bed for as long as she did.  And, at the time, the idea of trying to find my own way home in a strange land where I barely knew the language didn’t seem like that attractive of an idea.

I was very glad to be home a day or so later, so that I could actually sleep in my own bed and recover.

And even though I went on a myriad of such adventures even after that, I will now always remember to pack cold medicine with me if I ever end up on a journey like that again.

Have you ever been sick on vacation?  What was your experience?

(Word count:  294)