General Update

I thought I would make a general update along with my pottery post. A lot of things have been going on and you, constant reader, deserve to be informed! What kind of blogger would I be if I didn't tell you all about everything? Let's start with how the running thing is going. Michelle and I have continued our pursuit of fitness. In fact, we joined a local gym for the winter months and ran a week and a half ago in the Jingle Bell Run in Huntington, West Virginia. I posted 28 minutes and 42 seconds (This was the accomplishment of another of my 43 Things as well! To run a 5k in under 30 minutes) and placed 114 out around 180. Michelle was about 10 seconds and three people behind me. It was 25 degrees and snowing. 5K in the cold and snow is definitely a new experience for me. Next year, and I will run it again next year, I plan on having a full balaclava. My face wasn't working when we finished. I raced the guy who placed 115 neck-and-neck for the better part of two blocks. At the end I had a little more than he did and pulled ahead, but I went to congratulate him and such, and as I was shaking his hand all I could get out was "Conssazhhalahyan...goofinsh." It was then I realized that my jaw muscles were too cold to function. I have to say that I had a good time with the other crazies, running in the snow. I've always prided myself on being a little odd, and I think this falls right in line with that assessment. Ok, what else...the novel! Not too much to report here, with the exception that I have done some work WITH it, but not exactly ON it. See, the last two times I have started to write, I have ended up working on the world building and magic system. Two things that Brandon Sanderson touched on at his signing in Dayton. I started thinking things through and ended up realizing that I needed to understand the world I was writing in a little better before I could progress much further. It is tricky to write in a world of your own making, because you really can't take anything for granted. Everything from the geology to the political climate can effect your writing. (Robert Jordan is perhaps the best world builder I have ever read. I don't intend to go into nearly as much detail as he did, but I love the idea of it. I get the feeling that when RJ wrote about a broken teapot, he knew when it was broken, and who did it, and why, even if he never told you.) Most of the writing I've done in the past two months won't be in the novel itself, but it is the framework on which the book must rest, and for that reason is it very important. Possibly more important than the book itself. Let me leave it at the fact that Merrick is progressing, however slowly, but progressing nonetheless. In other news, Michelle and I actually went on our Vesuvius Backpacking Trip! I think I can be brief and just say that we had a great time, and found our equipment to be sufficient for the kind of weather we'll be expecting on the AT, but the trip itself really deserves its own entry to do it justice. Though, you can view 39 pictures from the trip with comments by going HERE. You know, looking at the gallery, it's kind of a photo blog in and of itself. Let me know what you think! Lastly, I would like to say that I really appreciate you, the readers. It's cool to know that you're enjoying reading along with me here. It keeps me looking for the next post in my day to day life! :) Additionally, It is amazing enough that friends and family read what I write, but I was particularly jazzed (I know what you're thinking. "Jazzed? Who talks like that?") to get a comment from someone I've never met! Thanks for the note of appreciation! I'll close this entry before it gets too much longer. More to come, guaranteed! Talk to you soon! -J