Sekrit Santa II -- Let's Do This Again

[jastius]

we were basically broke growing up, and if it wasn't for school programs i wouldn't have learned any extras. i got music, swimming, diving, fishing, canoeing, climbing, sword fighting, skiing, skating, soccer, badminton, tennis, gymnastics, french german and italian and dance lessons all through the school. we aren't in the city, we are in the country and there literally is nothing to do out here and nowhere to go. and no way to get there.
we have one tiny library with less then a thousand books that i had read through by the time i was ten. because of the school programs i learned jitterbug swing dance the fox trot waltz minuet and square dancing as well as jazz and basic ballet.
as for what life skills it gave me, when i had to relearn to walk after a car accident, i already knew how to find my center of balance. and because i did have that motion training, when i was in that accident i managed to get both cars stopped before serious damage was done to others. a friend was in a catastophic car accident and the skills he learned in a grade five first aid course literally saved his life and the life of another person.
perhaps you do not realize it and perhaps it shall never be otherwise acknowledged, phyrebrat, but your job places you as one of the everyday heroes of this earth. everyday everything you tell those kids is absorbed by them and contributes to their view of the world. to how they will make their contribution to it.

 

[Phyrebrat]

I know this is very naughty (as it's not about our Sekrit Santa Stories) but all this:

Or just like the rest of us and, y'know, need to eat... Don't be hard on yourself, your principles will make a difference (and survive.)

For what it's worth, I'm not too bothered if the characters decide to take my story (the one being written for me) somewhere unexpected. I could cope with jazz hands and everything, if it had to be that way.

Phyre -- what springs said. I also like money. It buys food and shoes and all sorts of useful household items. Also: I bet you're making a difference anyway -- the kids have a teacher who cares. And you can be examining the system from the inside, to see why it's like that and the best ways to change it

I agree with Hex and Spring.
When I took compulsory dance, I understood that I was being taught something that everyone expected we would never use. But it opened up a world I feel in love with, and would otherwise never have known was there.

just sayin.

we were basically broke growing up, and if it wasn't for school programs i wouldn't have learned any extras. i got music, swimming, diving, fishing, canoeing, climbing, sword fighting, skiing, skating, soccer, badminton, tennis, gymnastics, french german and italian and dance lessons all through the school. we aren't in the city, we are in the country and there literally is nothing to do out here and nowhere to go. and no way to get there.
we have one tiny library with less then a thousand books that i had read through by the time i was ten. because of the school programs i learned jitterbug swing dance the fox trot waltz minuet and square dancing as well as jazz and basic ballet.
as for what life skills it gave me, when i had to relearn to walk after a car accident, i already knew how to find my center of balance. and because i did have that motion training, when i was in that accident i managed to get both cars stopped before serious damage was done to others. a friend was in a catastophic car accident and the skills he learned in a grade five first aid course literally saved his life and the life of another person.
perhaps you do not realize it and perhaps it shall never be otherwise acknowledged, phyrebrat, but your job places you as one of the everyday heroes of this earth. everyday everything you tell those kids is absorbed by them and contributes to their view of the world. to how they will make their contribution to it.

Makes me feel so blessed to be a member of this community and I daresay privileged. Without getting into any lovey-jazz-handery I just wanted to say these comments really made a difference to my week. Thanks.

Back on topic:
I'm now re-re-excited about writing my story and can't wait till 10 tonight when I finish work, to get down some more. I'm going to be cutting it fine for the deadline, I think, so I'm hoping my piece isn't a grammatical (grammatic?) minefield.

So no more worries needed regarding an impending chronicide

pH

 

[ratsy]

I am still on 1000+ words, but I have some idea of where I am going with it. I hope to actually have a few min of free time this weekend where I can sit down with a cup of coffee and my laptop.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

If I could stop making and decorating cookies, it would help. Somehow, my son's birthday has stretched to nearly a week now, as his actual birthday was last Friday and I'm still going to be working on (I hope) the last of the cookies tonight. I made a cake on Friday, and the first, test, batch of cookies because he wanted one on each corner of the cake. Then Sunday I made two more double batches of cookies and started the decorating, for him to take to his classes at school (he had a track meet on Friday and wasn't in all of his classes, so we decided on Monday for that). But I didn't get done, and did some more last night but I was sick and still didn't get done, and now it's into tonight to finish up. The point of which is, I can't write and make Eye of the Ender cookies and Minecraft cakes at the same time! So my story is still on hold. Arrgh.

 

[Mouse]

I'm still on 20ish words.

 

[ratsy]

I'm still on 20ish words.

That is hilarious...your story theme was probably longer than that!

 

[Mouse]

All right, don't rub it in!

 

[ratsy]

All right, don't rub it in!

Mouse did an edit, she is now down to 19 words...

(I tried to be funny, then I realized that Mouse's 20 words are probably more impactful than my 1000)

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Mouse did an edit, she is now down to 19 words...

(I tried to be funny, then I realized that Mouse's 20 words are probably more impactful than my 1000)

Depressing, innit?

 

[Mouse]

Doubtful, you lunatics.

 

[ratsy]

Depressing, innit?

In a small way..yes..but I don't sweat the small stuff. I will write as many words as I can...Its about quantity not quality right?

 

[stormcrow]

Mouse -

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu.

Your 20 words? I'll bet they're more than "a single step"!

 

[Mouse]

Well, one of those twenty words is 'doughnut.' So...

I can tell you that, cos these words won't be staying at the beginning.

 

[hopewrites]

I just got 500! and an evil laugh. A real evil laugh! not one of my usual diabolical giggles, or a sinister snicker. but a real true evil laugh!

 

[ratsy]

Hope, I take it you are writing the story about the fluffy rabbit that rides a unicorn through space and leaves rainbow trails where ever Princess flufferton the third travels? That could be the only explanation for all the diabolical laughter

 

[hopewrites]

close but no. and after bragging, i hit a wall.

let that be a lesson to me, never to brag again.

 

[ratsy]

Running out of time and have not written a word since my first flurry...I did reread it once though....

how is everyone else doing?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Running out of time and have not written a word since my first flurry...I did reread it once though....

how is everyone else doing?

Whistles and swings legs.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Ratsy,

After myinitial splurge of words when I finally nailed my idea down, I have been tiedup with work. Oh, did I say work? I mean torture in the penal colony of Hackney Anyway, I have about 1500 wordswhich is just the intro.

I willget it done though as it is one of the things keeping me sane at the moment! Iwill probably have finger stumps from hammering the keyboard so fast but it’llbe done.

pH

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Up to 3000 words. Just winging it, with no thought as to plot resolution, so who knows what will happen.