Whee, what a month!

Had my first 5K yesterday at the OKC Memorial Marathon.  It was fun.  I did a lot more than 5K because I, a professional navigator, actually got LOST!  Then I got so intrigued at the part of town I was in, I just sort of....kept going.  Then I finally found the route, and was going the wrong way.  So I decided I'd do it, but backwards, so I could figure out where the rest of it went.  Then a co-worker in the pack saw me and called my name, so turned my tired stern around, and followed the pack to the finish.  I bet the rumours are going all over work today, so when I return on Wednesday (my Monday), I shall be fully prepared to larf at myself whilst everyone larfs and gossips about me.  I've been doing just that all day, so I'll make it fun.  According to my pedometre, I had done 5 miles by the time I crossed the finish, rather than 3.1.  Good enough, eh?

OK, how exactly did I manage to get lost in a venue with 16,000 runners???  Well, other events like this I've been to in the 80s (mainly AIDS walks/runs), it took =ages= to get everyone out and on the road.  I woke up at oh-dark-thirty to find the temps in the low 40s, a very stiff wind, and some rain.  I decided I would arrive at the 5K corral 5 minutes early or just in time, because normally (in my experience), delays run 20 to 30 minutes.  The last thing I wanted was to be standing in an urban street with zillions of other people in that brutal wind and rain, stiffening up from cold.  The gentlebeings that run the OKC Memorial Marathon don't work like that, however.  Everybody was turned loose =early=. WAY early!  By the time I got to the corral, =everyone= was gone!  Even the slowest walkers!  These folks really know how to put on a run, they are awesome.  So that's how I got lost, there was no pack to follow, not even a pack of walkers!

Next year, I'll be really early.  And I'll get some proper running clothing for colder weather.  My jeans, sweatshirt and hooded sweatshirt got way too heavy.  I only own one set of running clothes - a plain football (soccer) shirt, and a pair of long shorts made of a similar material.  (I am way too shy and modest  to wear the tiny singlets and running shorts of most runners).  I will be purchasing a 'track suit' before fall.  Though I did see another man, who ran the half-marathon, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.  Ironically, he was older, like me, and either part Indian (like me) or Hispanic.  We were the only two.  I also got to watch a 72-year-old finish that race (strongly!), a 67-year-old, a 65-year-old, and a 13-year old boy.  Saw two wheelchair finishers (speed daemons!), and the actual winner of the Marathon itself finish  Very fun, very inspiring, too.

My goal for next year is to run in the Marathon relay, at a serious pace, with my work relay team.  I'll be 47 then, and would love to show my 20-something co-workers that life don't end at 30.  Hee!

My first script.  Been doing ScriptFrenzy in this insane month, and a last-minute thing, too.  Over time, I have found I can crank out about 3.5 pages of script in two hours, even more if there's LOTS of dialogue.  The script is really crap.  It's really awful!  But, as I learnt in NaNoWriMo, you write the crap, and you just keep going.  I've learnt a lot with this experiment.  I've also decided, I'm stopping at 100+ pages, because I don't intend to finish, edit, or re-work it in any way.  I'm going to lay it aside for about 4 weeks, then go through and keep only interesting notes/ideas/dialogue, and delete the rest.

It's one of my stories that is so NOT suited to  the theatrical form!  But I've learnt the script format (at least I think so, still awaiting some feedback - though the sample I sent was from the first few days).  As I have submitted it formally for the first time today for 'offical' page count', I'm not likely to make significant changes to my format.  I was approved for 88 pages, 12 more to go!!!

I intend to run again next year (as mentioned), and I intend to do ScriptFrenzy again, too.  Next go round, though, I'm going to script a comic I want to make, which IS suited to the scripting format.

So, two 'firsts'.  Messy.  Hilarious.  Downright strange.  Definitely not 'Perfect' (thank your favourite God/s!) That's what happens in 'firsts'.  Better to try and do really strange (and fun!) things, than not.  I know better now.  I might hunt me up another 5K for Fall.  For now, back to the Mutant Garden, and trying to reach some folks I miss a lot.  At least I have some liveliness to share with them now.

Oh, yeah, still gotta work on getting those 12-plus pages done, and herding cats, etc.  Then time to pick some new trouble.  :-D

Nemo is a nutball. I encouraged a friend (rather strongly) to participate in ScriptFrenzy -- an undertaking in which a person writes 100 pages of script (TV/movie/stage/radio) within the 30 days of April. I, of course, begged off due to the OKC Marathon in April (I'm doing the 5k), and helping my brother move house later on in the month. I'm also horribly behind in correspondence and such things, trying to contact old friends. I also begged off because, though I am a writer, I am not a script writer. Then I felt bad. I hate the 'do as I say, and not as I do' form. 

I signed up. This evening. It starts at midnight tonight. What the heck, it's writing. Haven't a clue what I'll do, but it will be fun. Even if I don't get the 100 pages in, I'll have more at the end than when I started. Can't whinge about that.

Still, if ever anyone wondered what a madboy I am, well, this should clinch the deal. I care for an elderly parent. I have four felines of dubious habits and intelligence. I have a very demanding job. My house is, erm, challenging, and am trying to deal with severe ice storm damage (trying to save my last tree) and get my out-of-control garden into some kind of shape.

When you stop and think about it, what a fertile ground for a writing challenge like this. Might save my sanity in the end, after all.

Still, I really am a nutball. Hee!