I'm back again! And this time I am actually in possession of my notebook, having cut a deal with my best friend to get it back early. So I don't feel the need to cheat anymore since there's nothing to cheat on.

I also come with a character change of sorts. You know how characters tend to draw their own path once you start writing? Well, Marcus the Publishing Man, founder and CEO (?) of Bradley Publishing, Inc. has decided that he is an angel. That's right. White robe, halo-bearing, wings and all angel. Lacey's guardian angel to be exact. It seems random, but I had actually been considering something along those lines for a while. It fits in with the whole "story parallelling her life" part of the storyline. I can make it really subtle, but descriptive enough that people can pick it out. It's not a blatant, in-your-face "LOOK! This guy's an angel! Let's mention it at every possible moment!" but more of a "Hey, this guy's got some peculiar traits.... Wonder if it means anything...." At least, that's how I see it. Hopefully it will end up that way.

Now, I could put an excerpt of the (fairly edited, but still not perfect) first chapter, but I'm not sure if anyone is actually reading this besides me. So, if you're interested, let me know. The angelic revelation was all I really had for this time around, so I guess this is it. Maybe it will take me less than three weeks to post again. You never know.....

So, days turned into weeks yet again. And I'm still coming up with excuses. NaNoWriMo, college apps, homework, work, college apps, getting my notebook for the Lacey/Max story taken away by my best friend for two months, college apps... You get the idea. But! I have good news. The Lacey/Max story finally has a title:

Situational Irony

Yeah, it's kinda shitty. But at least it's something, you know? It also fits in my head because of the whole plots-of-her-books-now-parallel-her-life thing. It's ironic.... Ok, you probably don't care. I'll stop talking about the title now.

On to personal matters... I have no life. I'm aware of it. I like it. And yet.... it sucks. I want a boyfriend, but I'm not outgoing enough to put myself out there. I want a social life, but I'd rather sit at home and read than deal with social dramas. So, my friend (the same one that stole my notebook for two months) decided that she was going to be nice and try to find a way to get that guy that I've liked for a few years to finally stop being oblivious. Only problem? He just got a new girlfriend. Awesome..... So now a few of my other friends are trying to find ways to set me up with guys they know... I don't know if I'm good with that or not. I really can't decide.

And now back to the wonderful world of Lacey and Max. (Don't even try to tell me you didn't see it coming. It's basically all I write about on here.) So, despite not having the notebook I write it in, I still have everything I've written saved on my computer. Convenient, no? But I promised my friend that I wouldn't write it.... I might have to cheat. I'm having a hard time focusing on the story she wants me to work on. Actually, I think I already have been cheating. I've been going back and editing stuff, so I think that might count as cheating. Well, if it is, I can't go back now. She'll just yell at me when she finds out... Great.

So, I've decided that I really have trouble posting on here on a regular basis. I promised myself at least once a week, and here it is, eight weeks later with only a few posts besides this.

Starting now, I'm going to keep that promise and post more often.

Not much has been happening lately except for one major thing: NaNoWriMo. It's taken over my life for the time being. I decided to use the Lacey/Max story for it which means, in exactly 15 days, I will have over 54,000 words written for it. But then I have to give it up for two months because of a deal I made with my friend. My notebook with all the stuff I have written for the Lacey/Max story is being confiscated until February 1st, effective the second NaNoWriMo ends. Instead, I'll be working on the story that I'm writing with said friend. So, I'll end up writing about that one when the time comes.

And I only have one work story. But it still makes my day whenever I think about it: Last week, I was vacuuming in the toddler room, just like I usually do. And when I finished, completely out of the blue, one of the kids (the same one as last time) looks at me and says, "Miss Kaylee, you're doing great." Now, keep in mind, this kid is two. Two years old. He's basically the reason I go to work now. Even if I'm not working in the toddler room, I still go visit in there for a few minutes, just to see if he'll do something else ridiculously cute.

I promise that the next post- which will probably be in a few days- will be about the Lacey/Max story. Now that I have a bit more of a developed plot, it will be easier to write about.

Posting here may actually become my outlet for everything. I'm not completely sure, of course, but that's what it looks like. And I have a feeling it will be mostly on crappy days (like today), so get used to seeing that avatar.

Reasons for today being crappy? Let's see if we can go in order here.... First period: gym. Outside, walking the track. Temperature? Forty-two degrees. Fahrenheit. Freakin' cold at 8 in the morning. Then, during English we were assigned to do drafts of college essays. Not fun when I would rather spend my time online. And my oh-so-wonderful parents will totally make me do it before I can procrastinate. Next point, Latin. The people in my class are stupid. It's like they can't grasp anything that doesn't coincide with what they know about English. Hell, they don't even know that much about English. Then to wrap up the school day, we had a pep rally. Want to blow out your eardrums? Go to a high school pep rally. They're really not that fun though. But that wasn't the best part. On my way home from work, I almost got into two accidents. TWO! In less than five minutes! With the same car! I believe there's even burnout marks from my tires if you want to get really technical. All I have to say about them, though, is thank god for amazing brakes.

Now, on a happier note, there were some highlights to my day. Like the fact that I got paid. And snack time at work when one of the kids randomly broke into song (it's a daycare). I handed him his crackers and I hear him humming something. Then he starts to sing the words. "The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell..." It was absolutely adorable. Of course, I already love this kid to death. The other day, when I walked into work and I said hi to one of the other girls, he heard my voice and perked up. His head popped up and he started looking around the room going, "Where's miss Kaylee?" I was standing a few feet away and he couldn't see me because his head was whipping back and forth, looking for me. It was wicked cute.

On to more important matters...

I do want to dedicate an entire post to my stories (I believe there's three that I'll mention, but tons more in process), but I was thinking about one of them a lot today. I'm trying to fiure out a decent way for the two main characters to meet besides the basic plot point I have figured out right now. I need more detail. And maybe a way to tie together all the mini plots that I have planned. I should probably actually plot it out on paper instead of just thinking about it.... I'll try to get a new post up either tonight or tomorrow with details on the stories.

Now, I must watch Zoolander because I have this insane need to watch brainless comedy. It was either Zoolander or Office Space, so.. Yeah....

So, after over a year of deliberating, I took the advice of one of my friends and decided to start posting on here. She is a very reliable source and said that this could help with my writing skills, something I definitely think needs improving.

Anyway.. I don't really know what I'm going to write about a lot of the time. My life is very routine at this point. I get up, go to school, come home for an hour and get on the computer, go to work, come back home again, do homework and get on the computer, then go to bed before doing it again the next day. Believe me, I know it's not that interesting. I know I should be more social and find a boyfriend and get my first kiss before I graduate high school, but I don't see it happening. Not at this rate. Especially considering the guy I've liked for five years now is currently in a boarding school three states away and has no idea how I feel... And I'm too much of a chicken to do anything about it.

A big part of my life is my writing. I'm constantly coming up with new ideas for stories, but I have yet to finish one. I want to start a fanfiction too, but I have a feeling I'd never update because I'd be convinced no one would like it. I have no idea what I'll do if I get anything of mine published. My friends insist that that should say when I get something published, but I'm a realist with cynical and pessimistic tendencies and no self-esteem, so I stick to believing that it's probably not going to happen.

I spend most of my time online roleplaying. Mostly ona Harry Potter/X-men type mixed-fandom forum that my friend and I started. We used to have more members, but now there's really only two or three of us active. It's a little sad, but we love it, and we love our characters. We're thinking of turning it into a book. Of course, we'd need to take out the Harry Potter and X-men references, but that would be pretty easy.

I'd say this is a decent length intro post, so I'm going to leave it at that. I don't know when I'll post again, but it should be within the next few days... probably while procrastinating on finally finishing my summer reading work.