What's Up Wednesday? June 26th

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up.  Should you wish to join, check out Jamie's or Erin's lovely blogs and sign up with the link widget at the bottom of the post.


WHAT I'M READING

Recently, I was working on a tiny blurb about some of my favorite books of all time. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy is probably very near, if not at the top of that very, very long list. It is such a singular work of perfection that if I had ever managed to write a book even half as beautiful, I could die happy. Not only is Arundhati Roy a remarkable author, she is an amazing and tireless activist. She's been jailed, she's gone on hunger strikes and yet her perception of the world possesses such remarkable beauty and grace. I decided I had to reread this book again. If nothing else, it will point out with great clarity what I am doing wrong.


WHAT I'M WRITING

Ready. Set. Write. is such a fantastic idea, that I just had to jump on board. (If you want the details on how to sign up, check out the blog links above.) 

Even though my time to write has be seriously curtailed of late, it's important to have goals. And even better, a fantastic support group to commiserate with and cheer from the sidelines. 

I managed to choke out about 3K this week and I am still on track to finish my rewrites by July 1st. Now all I have to do is go back and check all of my transitions to make sure they make sense. Because with all the little sections I've added, some of the things I inserted on page 43 may have seriously messed up the stuff I added on page 143. (Gahhh!) It's okay, I can fix it. I think the changes have made it much better. And I know my CP's were dying for a little more "quality time" between my main characters. *wink wink nudge nudge*

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

Six more months. SIX. 6. 

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

(You should probably skip this part if you are sick of me blathering on about kayaking. Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Well, if you've been reading my other posts, you might have noticed how much paddling I've been doing lately. It's all for a good cause, but man, I could barely lift my arms after that 11 hour paddle. So it's incredibly funny to me, that after taking customers kayaking ALL day, what do we decide to do for fun Saturday evening with friends?...Why go on a night paddle of course because 1) We are Crazy People and 2) SUPERMOON!! 

The largest full moon we are going to be able to see for a while, it's called "perigee-syzygy" in case you care, was Saturday, June 22nd. (The next time the moon will be closer to the earth at the same time as the full moon will be November 25, 2034, in case you care about that either.) So we roused ourselves from our fried, sunburned coma, loaded up the kayaks and headed out to make the most of it. I am so glad we did. It was so worth it!!

The moon coming up over the ocean was enormous. The water was lit silver and the waves looked like hammered metal. It was exquisite. It amazes me how different a section of water can look in the day verses at night. At one point when we were crossing the channel, a dolphin popped up next to my bow and scared the shite out of me. Everyone started humming the theme to jaws after that, because when a grey fin pops up right next to you in pitch black water, it's going to get your heart going.

My favorite parts of the evening included: Heat lightning on the horizon, fireworks in the distance, crazy night herons making these ungodly noises, the beautiful serene silence of the open water and paddling the roller coaster waves under the bridge. When waves hit the bridge pylons they ricochet in all sorts of directions, making these rolling swells that lift your craft up and then you slide down the other side like a roller coaster. It's interesting in the daylight, but try it under the pitch black shade of a bridge at night and its a total blind riot. As in, you better put the camera down and pay attention or you're going to end up in the drink. 

Here are my futile attempts at trying to take pictures. These blurry, flash-laden images don't even begin to do it justice. The last one at the end, without the flash, is the closest thing to what it really looked like. And the moon was about 80 times bigger than it looks in the photos.



22 comments:

  1. Kris....love the night kayaking photos! I can't even imagine what it must be like out there when you can't see what's coming. Loads of fun, I bet. :-)

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    1. Thanks Heidi! And yeah, it is a total riot in the dark. (Which sounds dirty, but it's not) ;)

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  2. Wow, 3K this week is awesome! CONGRATS! You have me curious about what will happen to you in six months. ;-) Best of luck with your revision!

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    1. Thanks! And it's 6 months until I quite my day job. (and we're breathing, and we're BREATHING) :)

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  3. That sounds like a book I should pick up and I loved seeing the supermoon!!

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    1. It is a fabulous book and I'm so glad you got to see the supermoon! :)

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  4. I feel like I've heard of this book/author, but I don't know it. I will definitely pick it up. We saw supermoon while camping. it was lovely.
    Congrats on the 3K-- sounds fantastic.

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    1. Camping sounds like the perfect moon-viewing opportunity! Also, have I mentioned that I LOVE it that your handle is the Insect Collector?! (I'm very fond of insects myself) :)

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  5. That sounds like a really great evening. I love nature, and stargazing.

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  6. Congrats on 3K. That's awesome! And I would love to go kayaking. Glad you are having fun with it.

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    1. Anytime you want to go kayaking, I'm your man....er gal...or whatever. :)

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  7. I haven't read THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS yet, but I've now added it to my TBR list...so thank you for the wonderful reco!

    Congrats on hammering out those 3k words, too! And a LITTLE more quality time? Pa-lease...sister, I am very much looking forward to what you've done with my little friend A. AKA as "NAKED BOY!!!!". And I can't wait to swap MS's within the next week!

    6 months, K. - it's almost here. :)

    And the supermoon! Would you believe of ALL friggin' nights that happens, it was overcast here in Seattle? Yeah, no moon. Nothing. And now you're telling me I'll have to wait until 2034? Well that's a bummer. But...your pictures are grand and I think a night kayak to see this amazing moon, would've been awesome (sore arms aside!).

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    1. Yeah, I'm thinking you are going to really enjoy the new sections. Couldn't even write them at work for fear that someone would catch some of the words over my shoulder. Eeep! *much blushing*

      And boo on the cloudiness in your next of the woods. There will be other Supermoons before 2034, they just won't be quite as super. 2034 is supposed to be super-duper supermoon. (I'll stop saying "super" now)

      And I can't wait to read your changes either. Though getting my transitions in shape might take me a bit. Today, I realized I messed things up more that I realized and I'm all.."Crap, now where does THIS go?!!"

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  8. Beautiful night for a kayak! I haven't read THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS either, but I know Kris rec's are good recs so onto the TBR pile it goes!

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  9. Hi Jaye!!! So good to see your beautiful avi on my blog. And I think you will love the God of Small Things. I'm probably too stingy with my 5 stars, but this one it's not even a question. :)

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  10. I love your kayaking photos! So pretty.

    Congrats on writing 3K this week! That's awesome. Good luck finishing up by July 1. You can do it!!!

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  11. Kayaking under the supermoon sounds amazing! Woooow! Beautiful photos too!

    Arundhati Roy sounds like such an inspiration. Wow. Thanks for sharing!

    Have an awesome week.

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  12. I love your kayaking pics. I went paddling while in Hawaii. It was incredible, even though I suck. July 1st is coming up fast, so I bet you're thrilled to be nearing the end of an edit round. Congrats.

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  13. I love reading your descriptions of kayaking! They're always so beautiful and make me wish I lived anywhere close to an ocean instead of in the land of never-ending canola fields. The photos are awesome too! Nice job on your word count and revisions! I'm glad you decided to join us for RSW. Good luck on your goals this week. Who knows? Maybe you can do some writing while you kayak. Kidding. :)

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  14. Your paddling sounds fun, don't appologize for it:)

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  15. WOW - how cool is that! What a fun way to experience the super moon. I'm pretty sure I was super pooped from a busy day with the kids so I totally missed it. ;)

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