Well, that went easier!  I'm up to 27,266 words after today's session (just over 2 hours) and I got in 2,051 words without hardly breaking a sweat.  I took a time out at the beginning to tidy up my timeline and that really helped a lot.

It resulted in the excision of a paragraph that will have to go later in the novel, when Lenn and his friends see the posting declaring that they have 48 hours to evacuate.  But hey, that's a paragraph ahead for me by the time I get to that part of the story.

On the one hand, it is hard to read (let alone write about) the anti-Japanese sentiment at the time.  On the other, I can understand some of it because of what I've witnessed in my life.  The most obvious parallel is the abusive, prejudiced behavior I heard about and read about after 9/11.  Including an incident where a Sikh man was beated nearly to death at a convenience store near us by people who mistook him for muslim.  And including my own discomfort soon after that date with flying on a plane where anyone looked mid-eastern.  Unreasoned prejudice is most discomfiting when we find we are the ones wearing it.

Anyway, we're off to see our friend in prison tomorrow.  (There's another place where unreasoned prejudices abound.)  I hope to pack the right clothes.  I'm taking along the p.c. and the novel's "bible" so I have it to refer to.  Wish me luck for 1800 words on the road.

Ciao.

Well, I snuck over the line today in a writing session that was like pulling teeth...my first real grind since I started.  Part of the reason for the difficulty, I think, is that I'm writing about a period during the novel that's highly dense in terms of historical fact.  So I found myself wrestling between historical accuracy and writing flow.

It took me about 3 hours to write 1,859 words...well, off my usual two hour-2,000 word pace when I'm writing free flowing, strictly creative stuff.  Tomorrow looks like it will be more of the same because it's still in the same time period (when people of Japanese ancestry were being put under curfews and told to prepare for evacuation within 48 hours).

So how did I celebrate you want to know?

Mindless video games. I bought myself the new Luxor 3 game and played it for a couple of hours after I finished today's session.  Nice change of pace!

Official Nano total?  25,215 words and counting.

I didn't do much besides write yesterday...which would be fine, I guess, if I'd written all day yesterday...but I didn't.  Ah well.  Guess I had part of a day off...and the good news is I DID write.

Today's shaping up to be more productive.  I've at least got a to-do list going and the first item, NANOWRIMO! had already been crossed off.  I wrote over 2,600 words today and am feeling very optimistic about hitting the halfway point tomorrow.

I scrambled and uploaded the novel into the website's word counter today and it counts me 700 words short of my running total.  Word counters are, at best, flakey.  (Javascript has me at 24,106, MS Word has me at 24,063.)  So I'm taking the official Nano count as the "right one".  That puts me at 23,356 words so far.

I was worried when I first started out that I'd run out of novel before 50,000 words but since I wrote 9 pages on one outline paragraph yesterday, I think those worries are off.  Now I'm hoping that the end of Nano and the end of the first draft of the novel coincide.

Off to tackle that to-do list!  Feeling pretty self-satisfied, I might add!  Nothing like hitting goals to make one feel upbeat!

It was a bumpy flight back to the mainland but we arrived safely at 9:58 last night.  Strange little dip of the wing right before landing that put a jolt in most of the passengers, judging by the relief when we coasted to a stop.

I ended up taking the day off of Nanowrimo yesterday as a reward for excellent Island discipline.  Felt good and not too anxiety inducing.

Until this morning when, after having breakfast with Shari, unpacking, and doing various other sorts of procrastination I finally settled down in front of the keyboard.  I felt a bit daunted by resuming a daily goal of 1800 words, so at about 650 I was regretting yesterday's break.

But the next time I looked up I was at 2,046 and calling it quits for the day.  So the grand total now is 21, 368 words, just a few days shy of my half-way there celebration.

It was great fun to spend time in Kona with Shari and Lynne.  They're amazing friends and excellent helpers, cooks, mothers, thinkers, shoppers.  I am truly blessed. 

While I am going through snorkel withdrawals, it's nice to be home.  It was so good to see Dan's smiling face at the airport.  I miss him when we're apart.  That's a good thing after 25 years, yes?

The weather has definitely changed here...the night air is downright cold (especially after the Big Island) so it was good to snuggle into bed last night.  Back where I belong...at least until I persuade Dan to move to Hawaii!

Off to the gym!

Yesterday was so full of shopping, munching and working that I didn't get the chance to blog.  But those following my Nanowrimo progress will be pleased to know that I logged in another 1200 words, pushing my total to 19,642.

I plan to write on the plane home but am also considering a day off as reward for being 1,600 words ahead of goal at this point.  This makes me a bit anxious because it's not "part of the program" so I'm not deciding now.  I'll wait and see which is the stronger driving force--OCD or a desire for rest.

We skipped snorkeling yesterday but had a great time today.  The tide was WAY up (over the rocks by the entry cove for those who've been to Kahalu'u with us) so it was a bit silty toward the shore but when we got out past the surf line, it was gorgeous (and calm the second time).

Lynne saw her first blue fin trevally; her first La'wili'wili and we noticed two cornetfish hanging out above a sea turtle.  They used the turtle as cover for their hunting...pretty crafty.  We saw somewhere between ten and mondo honu...the count varies between us...but they were having fun getting to food that's normally above waterline.  Same with the tang, they were way in.

Our guardian angel was a Hawaiian man on a paddle board.  Every time we turned around, he was there and when we got way out, he kep his eye on us.  When I laughingly told him that Lynne was determined to run into him, he said he was our guardian angel, making sure we were okay.

Great snorkel.  Now for a light clean of the house (some washing and that's about it) and then we're off to the airport and our 2:15 flight to Santa Ana.  Lynne and I considered just not getting out of the water, but we thought it wasn't a practical solution.

We'll just have to come back again!

Aloha for this Girl's Work Week.  See you on the mainland!

I got up early again (yaay, me!) for my writing assignment.  Had fun describing the mother in my little imaginary family as she hung up the laundry and worried about the implications of events since the declaration of war (12/8/1942).  Before I knew what was happening, I had gone for nearly five pages.  The grand total now is 18, 442 words.

Lynne and I headed off about 7:15 for our morning snorkel.  Today was a mellow day snorkeling...we only saw a couple of honu, lots of tang, a couple of gorgeous sailfin tang (they're fun because when you scare them they put up their sail fins to look bigger), a juvenile yellowtail coris...which I'd never sighted before, and Lynne spotted a peacock flounder.  That finished off the snorkel in great style for me because it's only the second time I've seen one.  I spent a little time harassing the flounder to get it to swim...they're so cool swimming sideways.  For the fish activists out there, you'll be somewhat relieved to know I only shooed it along twice.

After some inventory work and general organizing, we were off to have lunch with Paul Maddox.  Paul is a commercial artist based in Kona (up in Holualoa actually) whom I met through the internet when I was looking for a designer to do some art for my mainland lanai cover.  We'd never met in person but he was such a joy to work with I wanted to get together while I was here.  We ate some amazing food at the Holua Koa Gardens and Cafe and then browsed through the art galleries in Holualoa.

Then we headed farther south on the Mamalahoa Highway to a fabric store (Kimura Fabric) where Shari, Lynne and I picked out fabrics for a quilt Shari's going to make for me.  A brief drive home, some spa-side libations, steak dinner on the bbq and we're all settled in for the night.

There's been some question about the calorie count of a certain tin of cookies.  Suffice it to say that we threw the calorie count part of the package away (Shari says calories don't count on vacation), we have frozen some of the cookies and we'll be freezing the rest tomorrow for future Hale Honu guests.  In the meantime, we're snacking VERY occasionally on Erik's delicious gift.

Aloha from the Big Island!

Another early morning...up at 5:30 a.m. (Now, before anyone goes and thinks I've turned over a new leaf, remember that it's two hours later here in Kona than it is in California...so really, I'm getting up at my normal time of 7:30 a.m.)  I finished off the chapter that I thought I'd finished yesterday but the characters still had more to do. 

SO much fun when that happened.  By the end of the chapter, I was quite surprised and a bit moved even.  My overall total is 17,256 words.  I'm 1,400 words ahead of schedule for the Hawaii trip...so that' feels pretty darn good!

Then Lynne & I were off to the beach for Mr. Toad's wild snorkel.  Lynne had an underwater camera and dashed off as soon as we hit the water to photograph some amazing fish. 

We were down to six honu sightings today (two of which Lynne missed because her mask fogged up).  Not seeing did not stop her however as she took me out into the open ocean for part of the snorkel.  She said, "Isn't this cool?"  I said, "Yes.  And scary."

The rest of the day really was girls work week at its most intense.  Kudos to Lynne for doing all the sanding (hence the 8 chairs and 4 tables).  I did all the oiling and Shari got started on the inventory.  Tomorrow should be more relaxing (I hope!).

Aloha!

Another fabulous day at Hale Honu, beginning with a 5:30 wake up to do my Nano-writing.  After cutting up the pineapple and the dragonfruit, I sat down to write.

1,061 words later, I packed it in at 14,832 words (and began debating what sort of celebration will be warranted when I cross the 1/2 way mark of 25,000 words).

By the time I was done, Lynne and Shari were up and about.  I straightened out the kitchen and then the three of us walked down to Kahalu'u.  Shari didn't join Lynne and I for our 1-hour plus snorkel.  Truly amazing.  Today I saw a La'wil'iwili'nuku'nuku'oi'oi for the first time and also had my second sighting of a snowflake eel.  Lynne saw the eel also and was the official keeper of the honu count.  We saw 12 honu.  We are not sure if they were 12 different honu...but we figure at least 10 individuals including a wee nubbin of a honu.  Adorable.

Lynne also saw a mysterious, unidentifiable red fish.  We will go back tomorrow to explore further.

Upon return to the house, we straightened the garage (such a satisfying thing for two women with OCD) and then it was time to knock off for lunch.  We at up at Drysdale's Two--Shari and I split an ono fish sandwich while Lynne elected to try the "World's Best Chicken Sandwich."  After adding "Frank's Hot Sauce" to the sandwich, she allowed it was at least one of the best.

After a brief trip to the market, it was back to work for the girls.  Shari cleaned the stairwell of multiple luggage scuff marks while Lynne and I pruned up our fingers by scrubbing down the lanai teak with a mixture of vinegar and water.  It took us what felt like two days to complete the scrubbing.  Tomorrow, sanding (yaay, power tools!) and oiling.

Oh...and I almost forgot.  At about 2:30, the UPS man pulled up, bearing a tin containing 3 pounds of assorted cookies by David's Cookies.  The instructions said that since there are no preservatives in the cookies, we should consume them all within 48 hours.  Guess the sanding will be by hand!  (Just kidding.)

Thanks, Erik!  These three women are most grateful.

I was up WAY early this morning because the clock in the Master Bedroom here at Hale Honu was one hour and 43 minutes fast...so I was convinced dawn was moments away when I awoke around 4 a.m.  I finally got out of bed at around 5:15 having figured out that I wasn't going back to sleep.

It turned out okay though.  I puttered a bit figuring out my to-do list for the girl's work week.  Then I settled into writing and was already 800 words in by the time Lynne made it downstairs.  Shari came down around 7:00 and I continued pecking away at the keyboard until the end of the chapter. 

It was interesting to write about Lenn's experience of the angst, confusion and fear that comes after one's country is attacked.  I filtered in some of what I felt on 9/11 and some of what I've read about the reactions to Pearl Harbor (and in particular to Japanese Americans before the internment order).  I'm not sure I've got it just right yet but Nanowrimo is about getting words on the page now and editing later, so that's my modus operandi.

(And I'm sticking to it!)

After a quick bite, Lynne and I headed down to Kahalu'u and snorkeled for about an hour.  With a 10 minute walk each way and the work that's yet to come, I figure that's my workout for the day.  We saw 15 honu (including an adorable baby honu, tang, tons of parrotfish, a yellow trumpet fish, wrasse of many types, butterfly fish, sea cucumbers, a bunch of surgeonfish and some gorgeous parrotfish.  The bay was calm, tide was relatively low, and there were very few people in the water so we had a great snorkel even though Lynne's mask kept leaking (I fixed that) and fogging up (no help there). 

The water was pretty cold in spots (mid-60's) and then we would swim through some thermals that warmed us back up.  The honu seemed to prefer the warm spots too.  Maybe that's why we saw so many in groups of two or three.  I was laughing at one point because we literally were running into honu every time we turned around.

So now it's lazing for a bit followed by stocking up on cleaning supplies.  That's your report from the Big Island for Tuesday, November 6th.  Aloha!

Lynne, Shari and I have arrived safely in Kona...we landed about 1 pm local time and hit the Kona Inn for lunch and a mai-tai (or a mai-tai and a half in my case and a lava flow in Shari's case).  I felt zero guilt because I'd already logged my 1,000 words for the Hawaii day goal.  Actually, I clocked in at 1,421 bringing my grand total to 12,091.

We are enjoying a lazy afternoon/evening on the lanai now having completed our grocery shopping and unpacking.  Shopping consisted mostly of cookies, coffee and a few breakfast necessities.  The house is in pretty good shape but it's definitely time for a gir's work week.

So, that's the brief update.  Got a sunset to see.  Aloha!