It's late

I have work tomorrow and I should be sleeping. But I am not. Instead I am typing this while listening to my brother help a friend with uni work.

Just wanted to say that I experienced a moment of impulsiveness today when I watched some of the YT videos regarding NaNoWriMo*. Even though I decided ages ago I wasn't going to be writing this year, I changed my mind. Roughly five minutes later, I changed my mind again. As fantastic and valiant as this challenge is, it takes a lot of mental preparation. And with just under 2 days to go until it starts here, I'm way underprepared.

I mean, 50000 is a lot of words. And I'm not the kind of person who can just dive straight in and run with it. I need to think about it for ages, settle on an idea I like, and outline it pretty thoroughly ahead of time if I have any hope at all of winning**. So not this year.

Having said that, I fully support everyone who is embarking on NaNoWriMo in a couple of days time. Good luck to you, I wish you all speedy fingers and wordy minds. Type like the wind!

But yeah.

I was contemplating taking on a different month-long challenge... Vlogging every day, perhaps? I reckon  maybe a video, and a blog post each and every day of the month of November. Because there are blog post ideas and video ideas circling in my head, and they need to see the light.

So what should I do? Leave a comment.

Have a good night/day/afternoon guys.

L


*for n00bs: NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month. It happens every year in November, and it's huge in these parts of the internet. So, if you're here reading my blog, you should have heard of it. If you haven't heard of it, where have you been, n00b? Living under a rock? (I'm kidding. I love you :D)
**for n00bs: winning = reaching the prescribed 50000 word count.

It's not "Pass" or "Fail" anymore...

Hey guys.

I just got back from retaking my driving test. You'll know already if you are friends with me on Facebook or Twitter that, again, I didn't pass.

I know I already mentioned that I failed my driving test last time (obviously*, otherwise I wouldn't be retaking the test) (derp) but I didn't tell you guys how it went down. In short, it was probably one of the worst experiences of my young life. I had high hopes, I had worked hard, everyone pumped me up, I felt good vibes, and I honestly felt I was ready. Not to mention, I had a whole host of things planned for the rest of the week; all involving me being able to drive. So basically, the whole run-up was setting me up for a win, but I had no safety net.

Ten minutes into the test, we were back at the testing centre and the driving tester asked me if I knew what I did to make myself fail. Naturally, I had no clue. "Do you think I would have done the wrong thing if I knew it was wrong?!" is what I thought. Going over the speed limit is a critical error. I didn't see a 40 sign, and since unmarked roads are 50, I figured 47 was a safe speed. Instant fail. Basically, I crashed unceremoniously back down to earth. It hurt. I cried. It took a good week or two to get back on my feet.

So, what was different this time around? Well, my failure was not due to a sign that could have been more visible if they'd actually thought about where to put it. It was due to my own mistakes. My own shortcomings. Basically, this time, I was in control.

I think that was the biggest thing for me today. Last time, I felt like the carpet had been pulled out from under me. Like something else had pushed me over the edge. This time, I jumped. I also did a glorious swan dive on the way down, Pocahontas-style. It was more important for me to feel in control than to win. At least I failed on my terms. Now I have a mission; I have something to fix, and to build on, and improve.

Coming up to this one, I was really unsure how I would do. Well-meaning friends encouraged me, saying things like "You'll do great" and "You're a good driver, you'll pass", but my knee-jerk reaction was "You don't know that". Nothing was certain. After the first attempt, I couldn't find my grip.

What I'm trying to say is, although failing sucks, it was exactly what I needed to so. Successful people say that you need to fail in order to succeed. Failure is good for success, because failure teaches you what you need to know to succeed. So now, when someone says "You're gonna rock that test" I fully, 100% believe them, because I know what to do now.

I mean, it's still going to be a while before I can drive myself around, but I am now confident that I can work around it. Everything will be fine.

Thanks, btw if you're still reading this. It wasn't the most interesting or entertaining post. I just had to write it and share it. And I dunno. Maybe you got something out of it too. Or not. Whatever's cool.


*Is it weird that I can't hear the word "obviously" anymore without following it up with "we have a rapist in Lincoln Park"? I didn't think so...

HI EVERYBODY :D

I don't even need to start by saying it's been a while. You all know that. Right. Point acknowledged. Moving right along.

So, you're probably wondering, "what's been going on in Lucy's life all this time?", I mean, because that *is* why you read my blog, amirite?

And I intend to fill you in. In point form, because there's too damn much to type otherwise. 

So, in the past few months, I:

• Went to China. Best 11 days or so of the year. The Great Wall was amazing, the Terracotta Soldiers were amazing, World Expo was amazing. There's not much that can top performing on the world stage. 
• Did not continue studying. The funny thing about travelling is it tends to cost a lot of money. So by the time enrolment came around, I'd run out. :-/ Don't take this the wrong way though. I don't regret my decision in the slightest. I mean, I'd love to go back and study and get my diploma, but I'm also happy to do other things in the meantime while I scrounge and save. 
• Moved out of home. Best and worst thing ever. Best because my mother is no longer breathing down my neck every second I'm in the house. Worse because financially, I've been far better. My current work situation isn't helping. But I won't bore you with the deets. I am looking for a new job though.
• Finished my 100 hours of driving practice (finally). Also, in the same category, I failed my driving test. I won't go into it, but it made me angry for a while, but I am getting over it. I have my next test in a couple of days, so here's hoping all the extra money i'm outlaying won't be wasted this time. 
• Performed one of the best concerts ever: comprised entirely of music from Video Games. All of the music was new, so to get a good ten or eleven songs learnt in three months is a stellar effort. It *could* have been more polished*, but hey, considering the circumstances, we did a bloody good job. If you want, you can see video footage from the day here. There were loads of important people in attendance. People from our state professional orchestra, people from the gaming industry. And loads of gamers, of course. It was a big deal, because we're the first youth orchestra in our state to perform this kind of repertoire. Such a thrill to be a part of. Also, since I helped out with the visuals, I was given a Mario figurine. I'll post a pic later**

I think that's pretty much it. Doesn't sound like a lot, but time still seems to slip by. 

Anyway, glad we had this chat. Now I can stop feeling guilty every time I look at the Blogger bookmark at the top of my screen (I use chrome). I might actually come back and do this more often. Would you like that?

I thought so. 

Seeya soon :)

*I'm allowed to be critical, since I was there every step of the way.

**I'll probably just insert it into this post. Check back later?