So, it is party time again, folks!

[wiseheart]

Each year this time, we launch my virtual birthday party, which starts on October 1 and ends on October 9 at midnight, sharp. The goals of the party are to post as many comments and collapse as many threads as possible, on as many new pages as we can. It is always great fun, as you can see if you check out the similar entries of the last few years.

This year, I'll also throw the real party at mid-time - and post the recipes of all the food that will be there for you, so that you can all participate if you want to. Virtual food has no calories.

Fandom-related discussions are as welcome as the ones about coffee or chocolate (just to name a few favourites from previous years), and, of course, pictures and recipes of birthday cakes. ;)

So, drop by, tell your story, post your pics or silly poems, ask questions you always wanted to ask and have a good time!

Soledad, in excited expectation




Oh, and by the way, to provide birthday gifts hobbit-style, I've got a revived story and a Kansas 2 update for you.

Enjoy!

Comments

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I've just got home from work, less than an hour ago, and am a bit drained. But it was a useful day. I managed to commandeer one of the computers in the teachers' room, and in the three otherwise completely useless hours I have to rot there between shifts, I typed up the nearly finished 14th part of Kansas 2. Go me!

Not that i'd have a rat's chance to gain back the once steady following of that story - a ten-year-hiatus is simply too long - but getting it on tha roll again is fun. Despite the idiots I have to block regularly. I've written seven chapters in a row, usually ten to twelve pages each, and I am determined to bring it to the end (which would mean Chapter 54, according to plan. Even if I will get nothing but grief for my efforts. I love this story. Somebody has to, right? :)

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

It's nice to be paid to type in fanfiction ;) How easy is it to commandeer a computer?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

You just lurk near one of the shared computers until it becomes available, then sit down in front of it and don't leave until you are finished. *g*

And I don't get paid to type in my fic. I get paid to rot in the room uselessly, in case someone gets sick or has to leave on some official business, and then I have to go and hold the lesson for them. If there is no such case, I simply waste my time there.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a pest - although at least it sounds like they let you get on with fun things while waiting around.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I've stitched a lot of cards in these fruitless hours, too.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

It does seem a very odd thing to want you to do, but good for catching up on non-work projects.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Our government, in its eternal wisdom, decided this year that we lazy, useless teachers have to spend 32 hours a week at school, whether we have to give any actual lessons or not. The most stupid part of it is that we have one teachers' room, in which, thanks to the new regulations, there are now at least 8-10 people all the time. So, preparing yourself for your next lessons is out of the question, and correcting tests also isn't easy - it's never properly quiet for any actual work.

In exchange, we no longer get any paid overtime (which used to be an important part of our income), since we already have to be there in case someone falls out. So, financially we're all worse off, but at least we can waste hours at work and still have to do the preparation and corrections at home, where we can concentrate.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

That does sound batshit insane. Noise-cancelling headphones? Earplugs?

Meanwhile I think this might be the 700th comment?

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Actually thinking about it, a similar thing was why I ended up going freelance. I had an office shared with one quiet person, which got removed in favour of having almost all the writers in one open-plan office. This meant one person on the phone, or having a 'meeting', or chatting whilst making coffee could disrupt the creative work of twenty or more others, and meant most people did their writing -- which is what we were paid for -- first thing in the morning/after most people had gone home/at home in the evening.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a really bad plan of theirs - but I suppose that doesn't distinguish it from a lot of other government plans.

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

Having to be somewhere, and not having anything sensible to do while there is mind-numbing! I really feel for you. I had a job one summer, where after the people who could actually fix things had left on their holiday, the equipment I was meant to use broke down. So I had nothing useful to do for weeks until they came back; it was one of the most boring times of my life! I am pleased to hear you have found some things that you can do in that environment to pass the time, even though it would obviously be much better if you could either go and do useful stuff where that was possible, or not have your work so fragmented in the first place.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I try to hide in the library and get in the odd hour of actual writing when I can. Of course, writing in bits and pieces isn't really good for continuity.

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Great progress.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I am relieved I could do it. Typing on a laptop for an extended amount of time kills my back and my wrists, so having a real keyboard is a blessing.

[sammydragoncat]

Good for you! There is nothing worse than to have nothing to do at work for a long block of time.