Jayeless

NaNoWriMo is an annual event in which, over the course of November, people all over the world buckle down and try to write a 50,000 novel (or novella, really). I’ve been a participant in this event every year since 2005, winning twice and losing once. (Damn sophomore slump!) Perhaps it goes without saying that I’m planning to participate again this year.

I never doubted that I was going to participate this year. I contemplated taking a year off for year twelve — since, you know, I’ll have five exams that November and all — but this year? I’ve only got one year twelve exam, and eternally optimistic as I am, I figure it can’t be too arduous to study for. Not arduous enough to preclude me from writing a novel, at any rate. In fact, writing a novel might even be beneficial — I’ll get to take a break from studying once in a while and return much refreshed. Right? Read on…

Last night I was plagued by the insomnia that often plagues me each school holidays. I tossed and turned for hours, willing myself to just fall asleep, and finally (at 3am) I had to give up. Then I had to find an alternative activity, and a nice quiet one, so I might still stand a chance at falling asleep. For some reason, I decided that my best option was therefore to read a book.

Two hours and 234 pages later, I emerged having read a good, meaningful book and in no mood to go to sleep. The book I chose was one that had been waiting for me since I was a year eight: I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier. The title is silly, which is what drew my sister’s eye to it in the first place. “Hahaha! Some guy wrote a novel about cheese!” In response to her laughter I picked up the book and read the blurb, and although distinctly devoid of cheese, it intrigued me enough for me to purchase the book. Just… not actually read the book. Until today.

Briefly, I really liked I Am the Cheese. Perhaps it was inevitable that I would like it. Read on…

Being impulsive and skilled at procrastination as I am, I decided this morning¹ to switch my keyboard layout over to Dvorak for left-handers. I was persuaded to do this by some vile, callous individual who had left a link to the Dvorak zine. If I recall correctly, they carelessly left this link lying around in a Dvorak advocacy thread on a forum. (I mean, really! How dare they?)

Foolishly I clicked this link and was bombarded with facts about how QWERTY was inefficient and likely to cause RSI, and how learning to type on Dvorak wouldn’t make me “forget” how to type on QWERTY. Hook, line and sinker! Realising that Windows made it obscenely easy for me to switch over to Dvorak², and that it offered left-handed Dvorak (which had to be good for me considering my left-handedness, right?), I switched over right away. And moved all the keys around on my laptop. I have to say I was amazed by the levels of cat fur wedged under my keys. What does my cat do, use them to scratch her back?!

It was then I remembered all the actual typing I wanted to get done today. Oops. Read on…

1. Well, actually, since I woke up at 2pm today I am highly doubtful that it was the morning. However, that little fact is of no relevance to the rest of this story. Please continue reading. [↩]
2. I’ve actually thought about switching in the past, but couldn’t work out how I was supposed to go about doing that with Fedora. My sister accidentally worked it out and switched her keyboard to Chinese, though. Then she couldn’t work out how to get her English keyboard back… [↩]