In which I get over-excited and post too many photographs

NEW DRESS NEW DRESS NEW DRESS. New, beloved vintage dress! Is another Rejection Dress bought to cheer myself up. My closet has a few of those.

And now I am facing sideways. I curled the front pieces of my hair for the first time today - I like the silent-film look it has.

Here I get delusions of grandeur and try to look sultry. Instead I look like I am mid-yawn.

And here I crack up because, really, I cannot pose to save my life, and I look like a chipmunk.

Back to normal again! Or what passes for it.

Skirtzilla

I found this gorgeous green crinoline in an op-shop on Friday for $15 ... one of my favourite finds yet! It was actually one of those magical thrifting days that unearthed many treasures ... they'll all make appearances soon. LOML calls it Skirtzilla and pretends to be attacked by it.

Now that the book is finished and sent off, the usual post-book blues have set in. I'm looking forward to continuing work on New Book while I wait, but I've also become painfully aware of things that went to the back of my mind during the final weeks of rewrites. Things like my healthy eating and exercise regimen, which suffered somewhat in the final stages of the book. Housework. Money. They all took a back seat to the book, and now they're jumping up and down in the front seat saying "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" I suppose now is a good time to concentrate on all those neglected things. I feel a bit yukky at the moment, because I haven't been eating well and my hair is driving me completely mental, so those will be the first things to tackle.

Another Friday the 13th

Work is going swimmingly today, after a rocky start. I was getting mired in details and lost sight of the big picture - the big picture being the new, revised structure of the novel. So I opened up a blank document and started writing a synopsis of the new version. I am actually really surprised by how helpful this was. Writing the plot down in such a truncated form really highlights the direction in which it should go; what works, what doesn't, what slows the pace down or goes off on a tangent. I feel a million times clearer on what I'm doing, and I've made some really good decisions, as well. Have also drunk seven cups of coffee, and the caffeine and work-satisfaction has produced a dizzying high.

On a less happy note, I didn't realise how helpful it was to have a supervisor last year, someone to whom I could email my chapters and who could point out problems ... or just say "You're doing fine, keep going." I miss having a group to talk to, people whose opinions I respect, who will read my work. And whose work I can read, as well. I miss having a tribe. I feel very alone, and I don't know where to find people. I'd join another course, but I don't know of any that haven't already started. I'm so used to staying positive and working through problems rather than dwelling on them that I haven't acknowledged, even to myself, how discouraged I've felt. Now that the comforting framework of the Masters is gone, I'm adrift. Oh well. Hopefully the Universe will provide.

We are off to the theatre tonight - can't wait. Quite apart from the play, people-watching at the theatre is always very interesting. And what they are wearing is equally so. Some people take the opportunity to dress up in evening wear, while some go in jeans and a T-shirt (or a wifebeater vest, shorts and sandals, as one man seemed to think was appropriate last time we went to a play). I think as a culture we've lost a lot of our sense of occasion ... people seem very worried about being over-dressed for things here in Christchurch, so that even if you go to a show or out to a fancy restaurant, the sartorial choices of everyone there hardly ever rise above smart casual. Do you find this where you live? I get a lot of weird looks and comments about being 'very dressed-up.'