There’s a kind of magic in a Holiday eve

Christmas Eve is one of those days on the calendar that is defined by a sense of anticipation, of being there to wait for what’s coming. It doesn’t have to be fixed on the calendar, either. I really like the sense of anticipation from the day before I leave on a really great trip, or some other event that I think I’m going to love.

This sense of being almost there has actually taken over Halloween for me. It’s been a while since I’ve dressed up or gone to a theme party, and I don’t get any trick-or-treaters at my apartment. October the 31st is just filled with the knowledge that it’s the day before National Novel Writing Month starts. And every year, I can hardly wait to start.

Merry Christmas to everybody. I hope it’s an occasion worth the wait.

That Holiday feeling

I’m just a bit frantic at the moment trying to make sure that I’m ready to leave for Dragon*Con in the morning, but I wanted to share a few things.

I took the day off today, kinda relaxed in the morning and pretended that I was getting ready to pack without accomplishing too much in that direction. 😉 I also went for a walk, and realized it was getting warm, so on the way back I went to the parking lot to put the sunshade up in my car. Locked the car, got halfway to my building…

…and realized that I’d locked my keyring in the car. With my apartment key on it. I had a spare key to the car – inside the apartment. Along with my cell phone and presumably, a laminated CAA roadside assistance card that I’ve lost track of.

It turned out okay. I was able to call the roadside assistance people from the pay phone across the street, they were able to lookup my membership based on my phone number and other info, and a nice gentleman drove up in ten minutes or so, checked my driver’s license to be sure I was who I said I was, and open up my car. I’ve tracked down the little temporary roadside assistance card that I printed out for myself before they mailed me a laminated card, just so I’ve got my CAA number in my wallet, and I may try keeping the two car keys in different pockets for a while again, unless that drives me nuts.

And I had a great family reunion this afternoon, including some cousins from my mother’s side of the family that I hadn’t seen in ages. We chatted at my Mom’s condo, played in the building’s pool, and went out for dinner at Swiss Chalet. 🙂

What’s your favorite ‘day off’ memory?

A writer’s community Holiday giveaway

Happy holiday season, everybody!

I’ve decided to start a holiday giveaway contest as part of my recruitment drive for the Stringing Words writer’s community. YOU could win a twenty dollar Amazon.com email gift card. Want to enter? It’s simple.

1. Go to Stringing Words
2. Register for the forum, if you don’t already have a membership.
3. Wait for me to activate your membership and email you that it’s active.
4. Find the ‘Holiday Giveaway thread’, which I will make sure is always in the ‘Latest Active Forum Threads’ on the Stringing Words home page.
5. Post a reply to the thread, saying that you want to enter the contest.
6. Also, optionally mention up to ten interesting things about you.

I’ll announce the winner in the Holiday Giveaway thread on Jan 1st, 2012. Hope to see you all there!