7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 8)

1. I’m having a horrible time finding a good Advent calendar to keep at my desk. When I was kid, I had about three different calendars: One of a Santa which I got to add a cotton ball to his beard each day, one 3D cardboard one with various doors and windows to open, and one from a children’s book that revealed different animals behind the flaps. The book was my favorite, and I’m sure it’s still down in the basement somewhere, but I’d really like one that can sit at my desk at work and actually has a religious theme.

2. It’s amazing how many Advent calendars aren’t religious. You can even get a Lego’s Advent calendar. And even though it looks fun, it makes me think more about preparing for a Lego’s pirate ship for Christmas than preparing for the birth of our Lord. Just a tip: If the 24th or 25th box/door on your Advent calendar isn’t of the Nativity, it’s not an Advent calendar; it’s a December calendar.

3. I lost my jumpdrive. This is devastating to me, because all my writing (college essay, NaNoWriMo novel [at 18,000 words], all my detailed notes for my stories, and all my in-process blog articles/pictures) were on it. I’ve lost more sleep over this than I care to admit. First world problems. But I’m getting closer to St. Anthony because of it.

4. I did successfully find about the first 9,000 words of my novel saved in the recycle bin of my work computer. But I still miss all my notes and blog articles the most.

5. Despite this major setback, since I knew how many words I lost, I’m continuing on with NaNoWriMo and am determined to meet the goal this year. Then, in December, I will go back and rewrite the parts that are missing and flush out parts that I needed my notes for. I’m at about 26,000 words, which is a bit behind, but much better than I actually expected from myself.

6. The worse part of losing my jumpdrive is imaging someone actually reading my work. I would rather have rolled over it with my car, crushing it into dozens of pieces and knowing it was gone forever than to have it out there, still working, in someone else’s hands. I'm very protective about my writing.

7. I almost, almost have everything in order to go to school next semester. Praying registration goes well on Monday. Two of the classes I need still have openings, so I'm optimistic, even after the week I've had.