Happy (not so) New Year!

Ok, so January is almost over and you all haven't heard from me since at least September but I'm here now!  It's a new day in the new year and for a lot of people, myself included, that means trying some new things.

Some of you may be familiar with the forum on the NaNoWriMo website called The Year of Doing Big, Fun, Scary Things Together.  This is where all of the Wrimos can post the list of big, fun, and scary things that they want to do this year and find other people that may have the same things on theirs.

I made a BFS Things List for myself this year, a lot are reading and writing related and some are not.  I'll share my writing/reading related ones.

WRITE-I have many different projects that need to be finished or started
Read 30 books- Some of my friends told me that Goodreads can help with that.  They have a thing where you can set you goal for the year and they'll keep track of the books you read and how many.  It's pretty nifty!
Go to at least one writers conference- I don't know which ones yet.  RT Booklovers is where I'd like to go but it doesn't seem to be within my reach yet.  Perhaps I'll find something that's local?
Enter some contests- That's more of a morale booster than anything.  I haven't really let anyone see my work outside of the writer's group I go to.  And who knows, maybe I'll actually win something too.  That would be a bonus!
Blog more- Yes.  I have been gone for far too long.  My goal is to post at least twice a month.

I have a little white board that I have decided to dedicate to my BFS Things List.  I'm going to break my goals down every month into smaller goals or things that will help me on my way to a bigger goal.

Not too shabby so far this month.  Using every color, for the win!

So that's my year so far!  Tell me, what are some of the big, fun, scary things that you have already done or will do?

Library fines on fines on fines....

I've been quite the procrastinator.  Quite a few things have not been done.  (Yes, that includes making posts on my blog, smarty pants.  :P )  I went through a spell where I wasn't writing and I sure wasn't reading.  I kind of blame it on my new job.  But more on that later.  I am writing again!  On a regular basis even.  Go me!  But I haven't been reading much...

Please don't go all Simba's Pride 'You are not one of us' on me yet!

Schedule changes are hard.  Especially when it messes with your sleep.  I usually read when I'm in bed but lately I start to feel guilty about staying up anymore.  I'm kind of hard to get going in the morning.  But just before I got this job I got a stack of books.  Like six books.  That I haven't started.

I'm not even near done with the first one.

These books are late now.  Really late.  They put a hold on your account so that you have to be under so many dollars to check out anything else.  They raised this amount from $5 to a whopping $25.  Surely I could never reach such an unattainable and high price in fines.

I reached that unattainable and high price in fines.

Now this could EASILY turn into a rant about how the books should be 'totally free'!  Why should I pay for a book that I kept too long.  Three weeks and being able to renew it twice for a total of 6 more additional weeks is NOT enough!

But I could also look at it practically.

I have six books all of which are hardcover.  Let's say that I bought those books from my local bookstore.  Hardbacks could easily cost $15-$20 depending on the popularity of the book and other things of course.  Buying one of those books would almost be the entirety of my fines.  Let's say that they each cost $15.  That would be $90 for six, not including tax.

I'm not going to pay that much for books.  That's too much like college.

So please, library, take every little cent that I owe you.  You may have it as long as you keep giving me access to free books.

Failure?

It's May!  Meaning Camp Nano and the A to Z Challenge is over.

This was a harsh one.  I'll be honest.  I kept up for the first week or two and then I let myself get behind and I more or less gave up.  I told myself I would keep going but as each day passed and I got busier and busier even my optimistic self thought 'Huh.  Well, maybe next year...'

Final tally came to about 9000 of a 30000 word goal for Camp and 10 out of 26 letters for A to Z.

Not even quite halfway.

Do I wish that I had done better?  Of course.  But do I count it as a fail?  NOPE.  Not entirely.

Of course, if you didn't succeed to do something then you have failed to do it.  Kind of the only two options.  But when I look at things like NaNo and this A to Z Challenge I find that trying at all is a win in and of itself.  I have 9000 words on a pretty decent story thanks to Camp and I have a few more followers/blogs to follow thanks to A to Z.

I did learn a few things though.  First of all, I will probably not combine Camp and A to Z again!  Lol.  Writing and putting up complete chunks of a story might have been biting off more than I could chew.  So I'll probably do A to Z in April and Camp in their other month.  I will definitely do posts ahead of time (which was part of the problem this time because I felt like I'd be 'cheating' at NaNo if I wrote posts before April).  I didn't give myself nearly enough of the time I should have had to go to other blogs and comment and such so planning ahead will give me that.

All of that being said I will DEFINITELY be doing A to Z again and I'm really excited for it!  I had a secondary idea that I thought of using this year that I think would be really good for next year.  I better write it down so I remember it....  Lol.

So with this post we will return to our regularly irregular posting schedule!  Later!

Jayreel - Digging Up Magic #10

Nikki heard the guy sigh.  “I’m not here to start any fights…  You have her attention now.”  She heard a barstool scrape against the floor and could only assume that he was gone.

The one that she had her eyes on now met her stare.  “A true lover’s fate.”  He turned out of his chair and began to walk away.  “I’m sorry if I ruined your date.”

Nikki watched him go until she finally came to her senses and followed after him.  Though she hadn’t thought about what she was going to say before she caught up.  He was already pulling a chair out from a table that was luckily one of the furthest ones away from the bull.  Away from Ian and away from Jenna.

He sat down and looked at her as if he wasn’t surprised to see her, but was merely waiting for her to speak, receptionist at his desk.  When she didn’t, he did.

“I can help you with all that I’m able.”

This snapped her back to her distorted reality and she pulled out her own chair and sat.  “How do you know I need help?”

“By all means sit…”  He laughed.  “You’re the one who chased me to my table.  If not help, then what is it?”

Nikki opened and closed her mouth a few times like a suffocating fish.  Well, she already embarrassed herself so she might as well get to the rest of it.

“What happened yesterday.  That wasn’t…  It wasn’t normal.”

His look of smug amusement turned quickly to a serious intensity.  “So did you did feel it?”

“It was hard to miss.”

“And so you found it…”

Nikki tried to be careful to keep any sign of recognition off of her face.  How could he know about this?

“Beware the wrist that this band fits…”  He muttered almost to himself, his gaze studying her.

She crossed her arms over herself and tried not to squirm under his scrutiny.  “What are you going on about?”

“I think you know good and well.  Why don’t we find out?”

He waited for me to speak but I sat there like the perfect picture of stubbornness.  “You first.”

Now he laughed.  An actual laugh as if something humorous had just happened.  “You’re the one who needs answers, sweetheart.  Come back to me when you’re not quite so tart.”

Horrified, Nikki watched him get up from the table and she tried to think of something to do, to say, to make him stay here.  Insult him, make him angry enough to start talking.  Or she could just call a do over and start talking herself.  But before she could decide on either option he stepped closer to her and leaned down close to her face.

“Put it on.”

“What?”

“Put.  It.  On.  You know why you’re here.  Put it on and things may become more clear.  It’s more than jewelry and not a toy.  It holds a power that most would enjoy.  If you need me you’ll find me, but only if you’re ready.”

He sat his empty glass down and strode off toward the front door.  He was a couple of tables away before Nikki called after him with the first thing that came to mind.

“But what’s your name?”

He turned and smiled kindly.  “They called me Jayreel back in my day, but I think that you can simple call me Jay.”  He turned his back on her again and was gone.

Inconceivable - Digging Up Magic #9

Nikki had to get back to that bar.  Maybe there was something about the man that was different.  She innocently gave Jenna a hug before they turned in for the night with Nikki’s bag, and the bracelet, right in between them.

Nothing.

Maybe if she could talk to the man again something would click.  So Saturday night she was ready when Rodney started the bus.  Jenna gave her a meaningful look but both she and Ian chose not to say anything.

They could tell that it was even more crowded than last night.  If it was like this now Nikki didn’t know if she could take it when they really started getting busy.  She just hoped she could still find the guy.

Jenna only rode the bull once before she sat down with her and Ian to eat.  Ian also seemed to want to walk on eggshells around her, always being the one to go get drinks or anything else.  Was it so obvious that whatever happened last night shook her up enough that even someone who was almost a stranger to her could tell?

Nikki could see nothing from where she was sitting.  She needed to walk around and see if he was here.  The only thing that was keeping her in her seat was the thought of what she would say if she did find him.  What did she want from him?  She couldn’t really explain it to him.

Excuse me, but I have this bracelet. Nikki thought to herself.  I think that it might be releasing some sort of energy that reacted to you the other day.  Would you mind holding on to it and seeing if you feel anything?

She couldn’t stand it anymore.  Crazy or not, she had to get answers and she wasn’t getting any here.

“I’ve got this round.”  Nikki got up before she could lose her nerve.

“You sure?”  Ian asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”  Jenna was already at another table and Nikki wanted to be gone before she ever knew she was leaving.  She was going to have to work on her poker face around these people.  No more hearts on her sleeve.

The bar was packed again.  She ended up just hanging out on the far side and found out why the crowd was so thin there.  The bartenders were so busy with those pushing to the front that they rarely thought to check over there.  She was perfectly content with waiting though.  Most people who came in would end up coming this way anyways so she had a greater chance of catching the guy.

Eventually, a chair cleared up next to her as disgruntled drinkers went to brave the crowd.  She sat down and waited.

And waited.

Why did she think that he would come back anyways?  Usually people don’t go to bars every night and at least not the same one if they did.  This was stupid.  She was being creepy.  She should let the idea, whatever it was, go.

She started to get up when a man, definitely not the one that she was looking for turned toward her in the chair next to her.  His eyes were glassy looking and he had a slightly crooked smile.

“So which version of ‘you come here often’ have you not heard yet tonight?”

He took Nikki so off guard that she actually laughed.  She decided to indulge him.  “That one.  Good job.  You get an A for straightforwardness.”

He fist pumped. “Yes.  I knew my obnoxiousness would get me somewhere some day.  So I ask again, what brings you here?”

“A school bus full of strangers.”

“Ah.”  He looked like he wanted to be impressed.  “I see.  An adventurous life you lead.”

“Quite.”

“Any particular reason you chose to ride with a bus full of strangers here?”

She explained the metal detecting and a little about the group.

“Find anything yet?”

“Trash and pocket change.”

“Really?  No diamond rings or old lady’s necklace?”

Or a bracelet that I’m inexplicably attached to?

“Nope…”

“What are you looking for up there anyways?”

“You know, you seem really interested in metal detecting.”

“Well, forgive me for showing interest in your hobbies.”

“It seems that your interests are not quite the same.”

They both turned to the man that spoke from behind Nikki.  The exact man that she had been looking for this whole time.

“And…”  The new stranger took a sloppy drink from his cup.  “Who asked you?”

He shrugged.  “A gift is a gift no matter from where it came.”

Nikki’s new bar buddy might have been looking to her to interrupt or tell him off for being rude but she couldn’t be sure.  Now that she found exactly who she was looking for she didn't want to take her eyes off of him.  The question was, now what?

Hints - Digging Up Magic #8

They had to all but drag Jenna away.  She had ridden the bull at least four times and had been chatting with a group of people of people near our table.  They managed to not be the last ones to get back to the bus.

Nikki tried to pay attention to the conversations going on but all the way back to the cabin she found herself spacing out and looking at nothing out the window.

“Hey,” Ian tightened the arm he had around her shoulder, giving her a little squeeze.  She jumped a little.  Had he been there this whole time?  “We’re here.”

She couldn’t sleep.  That jolt, or whatever it was that that man had made her feel, it was different.  More than the obvious though.  It wasn’t every day that you just bumped up against someone and felt like you touch an electric fence.  But more in the way that it didn’t actually hurt.  It was like an almost intense heat and a muscle tensing like a Charlie horse.

It was almost like the feeling she got when she touched the cuff that first time.

She rolled out of bed and grabbed her satchel on the way out of the room, being careful to be as silent as she could be.  She passed the bathroom and gently pushed the backdoor open to the patio.  She sat in the big rocking chair that was off to one side and, tucking her feet underneath her and her bag in her lap, let herself rock.  She took the cuff out and ran her fingers across it, back and forth.  She felt like she was on the verge of discovering something. Something about her interaction with that man told her something about this cuff.  Now if only she could figure out what.

The sound of the backdoor startled Nikki so much she nearly lost hold of the bracelet.  Getting spooked by the slightest noise was starting to get old to her.  She managed to stuff it back into her bag before the footsteps stopped beside her.

“You weren’t planning a late night adventure without your best friend, were you?”  Jenna sat beside her on the little side table that was next to the rocking chair and leaned her back against the wall.

Nikki snorted.  “Of course not.”

Jenna smiled and was silent for awhile.  “I heard you get up.  So I did what best friends do and waited five minutes than came in after you.  What happened tonight?”

“If you’re referring to tonight, then I don’t know since this technically morning and tonight hasn’t happened.”

“And if I were referring to last night, smarty pants?”

“Then I would still not know what you were talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with me now.  I heard that glass drop.  I saw that was you and some guy and then we were running out of there like the place was on fire.  What happened?”

“Nothing.  Honest.  The guy just bumped in to me on accident, I dropped my glass, and he bought me a new one…”

Jenna watched her for another quite moment.  “You’ve seemed pretty distracted for a couple days now as a matter of fact…  Does this have anything to do with Ian?”

“Ian?”  Nikki was afraid before that if she looked Jenna in the eye that she would be able to tell that she was hiding something.  She looked directly at her now though.  “What would Ian have to do with anything?”

“Well, he isn’t bad to look at…”

“What?  No!  Jenna!  I haven’t even known the guy a week.”

“I’m just saying you hit it off pretty quick…”

“No.”

“Don’t try to protest too much.  Ow!”

“Protest that.”  Nikki sat her satchel back on her lap and tried hard not to laugh.

Nikki could just barely see Jenna stick her tongue out at her and laugh.  Another moment passed.  “You know that whatever it is you can tell me, right?”

“I know.”  Nikki’s hands subconsciously went around her satchel.

When she didn’t say anymore Jenna didn’t press her.  And they sat in another comfortable moment of silence.

“You know,”  Jenna finally broke it.  “This would be a great place for you and Ian’s wedding- ow!”

Guessing Games - Digging Up Magic #7

She stuffed the bracelet into her duffel as soon as dinner was over.  Nikki was barely paying attention to the conversation at the table so she was thrown off when Jenna told her they were ready to go.

“Ready to go where?” She asked.

“With Rodney…?”  Jenna waited for Nikki to remember then continued when all she did was give Jenna a blank look.  “Into the city?  Oh come on, Nikki.  You said that you would go with us yesterday.  Don’t break your promise now.”

“No, I, uh, I’m not trying to do that.”  Though she might have if she thought she could have come up with a good enough reason.  Everyone was going and she could have used that time to figure more out about that bracelet.  On the other hand, she couldn’t really look forward to staying in a cabin in the middle of the woods by herself at night.  “I’ll be right back.  Tell them I’m coming.  Just let me grab my purse.”

Nikki went to her room after seeing that everyone was out in the bus and went quickly to her duffel under the bed.  She may not have had a choice but to leave the cuff behind while she went detecting but she wasn’t going to leave it in this empty old shack all night.  She dug it out from its hiding place under layers of her necessities in one of the side pockets.

She stayed up last night waiting for Sylvia and Jenna to go to sleep so that she sneak into the bathroom with it.  She wanted to get some more of the dirt off of it to be able to see the markings better.  Nikki didn’t want to do too much to it.  She was afraid of the damage that might be underneath since it was right next to the pond.  But the more that she cleaned the more surprised she was that she couldn’t find any sign of damage at all.  It wasn’t shiny by any means, but it showed no sign of the corrosion that she had expected.

She stuffed the bracelet into the bottom of her satchel bag and raced back out to the bus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a quicker ride into town than Nikki thought it would be.  Rodney pulled the bus to the curb in front of what looked like it could be this town’s main square.  There were several shops clustered together and several restaurants as well but it didn’t look like they were too busy.  They must be about to close for the night.

“This is where I’ll leave you and this is where I’ll pick you right back up.”  Rodney said.  “There are a number of restaurants and bars that will stay open long after I come back to pick you all up.  Just keep to this strip here and you’ll find them soon enough.”

They all piled out of the bus and onto the walkway.  Sylvia gave them a wave and Rodney barely waited for the last person to get out before he drove off.  The group set off as one but then quickly separated as they found different shops to go into.  Nikki, Jenna, and Ian stayed together, browsing different specialty shops, until they found themselves at one of the late night bars that Rodney was talking about.

“The Crooked Bull?”  Ian said, reading the sign on the front, and looking really skeptical.

“Cool!” Jenna took off toward the front door.

Ian, not knowing the Jenna that Nikki knew, looked confused and yet amused somehow but Nikki just smiled, shrugged, and took off after her.

Nikki was already halfway to the bar by the time they got inside.  Nikki was surprised to find that the place was fairly packed.  Ian went to find a table and Nikki went to tell Jenna where they were.

“Behold.”  Ian said as the two of them came to the table with drinks.  “The infamous crooked bull.”

Over to one side of the bar, not too far from the tables, was a sad looking mechanical bull.  It must have still been working though because there were a couple people in a line next to it and one in the ring being helped up by one of the workers.

Nikki saw the glassy eyed look of surprise on Jenna’s face and immediately took the drink out of her hand just seconds before she ran off.  Nikki shook her head and Ian just laughed.  They ordered some food and talked for awhile waiting for her to take her turn and come back, but again, Nikki knew better.  She timed Jenna knowing that she would ask how she did and watched her get right back in line after she got out.

“She ever ride one of those before?”  Ian asked.

“Don’t think so.  I think someone in her family owns horses though.  She’s not bad, is she?”

“Not at all.”  He downed the last of his drink.  “You need another drink?”

“Sure.”  She raised a hand to stop him from getting up and stood up herself, grabbing his cup.  “I’ve got this one.”

“You had the last one.  No fair.”

“Life’s not fair.”

He scrunched up his face at her like a five year old when he’s mad and Nikki was still laughing when she got to the bar.  It was awhile before she could catch the bartender, they seemed to get busier the later that it got.  When she finally got their drinks, she had to fight through a small crowd.  Just when she thought that she had cleared everyone, a guy turned to quick for her to do anything and bumped her arm.  It shouldn’t have made her do any more than spill a little of her drink but instead a jolt went through her arm that made her hand reflexively lose its grip on the glass.  As the glass shattered on the floor they both said ‘ow!’

“What was that?!”  Nikki gasped.

“But how…?”  The man said, looking curious.

“I didn’t do it!  Whatever it was.  What are you carrying?  A tazer?”

This seemed to snap him out of whatever thought that he was having and he sprang into action.  “Please accept my apologies.”  A worker came by to clean up the pieces of glass.  “Sir, please get her two more of these.”

He put his hand on the waiter’s shoulder to get his attention.  Nikki involuntarily flinched even though it wasn’t her that he touched and the man did nothing.  The man must have noticed this because he took back his hand quickly.

“Something wrong?”  Ian was next to her now, a hand at her waist.  Nikki was vaguely aware of how much better she felt with him there.

“No…”  Nikki just wanted to get out of here.  Something about what just happened made her come to a realization and she didn’t want to be here when she finally processed it.  “He just bumped me.  It was an accident.”

She and the man shared a look and while he seemed like he wanted to say something, wanted to question her, she tried her hardest not to let anything show.

The waiter that cleaned the mess up came back then with her drinks.

“I’ll see that the drinks are paid for.”  The man said, breaking eye contact.

“You don’t have to…”

“It’s the least I can do for knocking yours on the floor.”

He nodded and left them, turning back toward the bar.  Nikki watched him but went willingly when Ian gently guided her away.

“Are you sure you’re ok?”  Ian’s voice shook her out of her thoughts.

“Yeah.  Yeah, I’m fine.   What time is it?”

“11:36.”

“We should get going then.  Rodney will be back with the bus soon.”