Round here, we call it Bread Co.
So it's happened. I am in official rebellion. I have chucked my vampire high school romance and have decided to just continue on with The Grand Project. Despite my planning and outlining and researching of the Russian Revolution, Soviet Famine, Romanian castles, British accents, and canonical vampire lore, it all came to naught. Largely, I think, because I didn't have the time to devote to really get to know and flesh out my characters before I started writing, and they ended up being stale and uninteresting to me. They never took on a life outside of my notes, which is too bad because some of the things I was planning would've been fun(ny) (including having Lilybeth, who is an nth generation Dhampir, mistake her violent reaction to her first encounter with a vampire being the stirrings of true love). But alas, there's really no time for me to remedy this issue, and if writing it isn't fun (which it hasn't been), then there's really no point in continuing.
In any case, switching back to the Grand Project is the more productive course, and it has been going well. It also doesn't hurt that I've actually got time to write now.
On the plane ride to St. Louis, I managed to pick out about 2,000 words, which isn't so bad if you take out time spent boarding/deplaning and when they prohibit you from using electronic devices. I had wanted to get more done on the train ride from the airport, but oh wow, that turned out to be a near impossibility. My flight arrived at about 11:15, which was actually half an hour ahead of schedule, and I was actually pretty relieved since I was afraid of missing the last train to Shiloh-Scott. When I made arrangements with my mom, she reminded me to double check the MetroLink schedule, which I did online... Unfortunately, nowhere did it say that the Eads Bridge (over the Mississippi) was under construction and that I'd have to get off at the Arch/Landing and take a bus into Illinois and get back on the train on the other side of the river. Which wouldn't have been that bad had I not been lugging around a huge ass suit case along with a smaller carry-on and a purse.
I was standing there like an idiot trying to figure out how to get it all in the bus when this kid--couldn't have been more than 18/19, dressed in your stereotypical black, "ghetto/hood" outfit--asked if I wanted some help. And I'm like, "yeah, that'd be appreciated. So he take my heavy bag up the steps for me, then proceeds to berate his friend who had boarded prior for not offering assistance, then yelled at said friend to move to the back so I could take his seat. It was simultaneously the funniest and nicest thing a stranger's ever done for me, and I had to stop myself from laughing because I felt bad for making the other guy give up his seat. (I would've been okay standing, but then, I didn't have time to protest. Lol.)
On the way down, another guy helped me take my luggage down and up the train platform (and making fun of me because he had initially offered to help me out the first train and I had said I was okay--this was before I was confronted by the steps on the bus) where we stood for another twenty minutes because the train (which was already there) had to wait to get the okay to switch to the right tracks. Anyway, there must have been a chicken place nearby (*insert joke about being in East St. Louis here*) because I kept smelling fried chicken, and considering I hadn't eaten anything in twelve hours as I didn't have any time to get anything before my connecting flight in Phoenix, I was getting pretty hungry. The guy though was having a rough night. He worked for Delta and was on his way home to Belleville. It was almost 2:00 a.m. and he had to be back at work at 6:00. The commute by Metro from Belleville to the airport is roughly an hour and a half.
He was sitting behind me and on the seat behind him, there was this drunk guy who lost his lighter and spent the remainder of the ride trying to find it. I was sad to see Delta Guy get off because as it turned out, Drunk Guy's lighter had rolled under my seat and I found it and gave it back and then he spent the next five minutes repeating how grateful he was, that I had saved him a trip because he wanted to smoke a cigarette before he got home (where he wasn't allowed to light up) and if I hadn't found his lighter, he would've had to walk to the convenience store several blocks away, and yeah, he was really grateful. Talking to drunk strangers can be pretty awkward unless you happen to be drunk too, which I wasn't.
But anyway, by the last leg of the ride, I was the only one left on the train, but that took all of another five minutes. I was just glad I didn't have to wait around for my ride since my dad was already waiting in the parking lot. Got home and didn't even bother with food at this point. Just went straight to bed and didn't wake up until noon the next day, after which I played Angry Birds for about an hour, the sent out texts to Jess, Jessie, and Angelia about when we would get to hang out. Made plans for that evening and the rest of the week and was generally feeling pretty proud of such an accomplishment. Lol. (Though that reminds me: still have to text Katie and see when she'll be down so we can go tom the zoo or something. Also considering getting in touch with lukertin whom I keep thinking is either dead or dying from his course load at Wash. U. I'm wondering if that would be kind of weird of me, though.)
Anyway, after that, I think I managed to take a shower, do some shopping, drop stuff off, then went to Panera to bang out another 2k while I waited to meet Jess for dinner. The place we'd agreed on was right next door, so I walked over when she got there and we had food and drinks, and after four martinis, I managed to convince her to take me to this local watering hole I'd never been to because it's apparently the place to run into old classmates and I'm morbidly curious about how people turn out. Jess... Not so much. Unfortunately for both her and me, the only familiar places were familiar only to her, and they were all from work, none from school. We only stayed for one drink, during which she (prompted by the Jets/Patriots game on the big screen) lamented over Auburn's dismal season. (She is optimistic about the Iron Bowl, but I think she's just being delusional at this point.)
After that, she drove me back to Panera and we said good-bye. It was past 11 at this point, but that's several hours from dinner and I was feeling kind of peckish. And since the grocery store (in that same shopping center) closes early on Sundays, I headed through the empty streets of O'Fallon (this place is a ghost town on a Sunday night) intending to go through the Steak 'N Shake drive thru for a burger and fries and a milkshake. I circled the restaurant twice and decided--nah! I'm going to go sit inside for a while. Which I did. For over two hours.
But I managed to get a good chunk of writing done, so that worked out. Went home and went to bed (I'm not the only night owl in my family, btw; my brothers were both still up playing Skyrim), then got up again at noon this morning. Originally, I was supposed to meet Jess and her new boyfriend (a Marine who's scheduled to leave early Tuesday morning) for lunch, but due to family drama on his end the night before, it wasn't gonna happen. She also asked for a rain check because her roommate had left the door open and one of her cats was missing. A few hours later, though, she texted me that he was coming over for a short while to help her look for the cat and he still wanted to meet me. So I took a shower and headed out, sat through ridiculous traffic because Lebanon was doing some street work and the two two-lane streets in and out of town were completely clogged, and arrived just in time to help her change her blown out tire... With a half flat doughnut. (Not that I actually did anything but offer helpful suggestions--her boyfriend and his friend did most of the work.) Stuck around at her place till about five, then went back home to throw on a sweater since it had gotten colder before installing myself again at Panera first for coffee and then for dinner until just half an hour before they closed. Got lots mo writing done and now here I am, completely content with my progress.
Tomorrow, I'm going to St. Louis to do some grocery shopping with my mom in (what passes for) Chinatown (around here), but after that I don't have any specific plans with anyone and I'm considering driving to Collinsville for a NaNo write-in. Wednesday, I'm meeting with Jessie and her kids (bought both of them Pillow Pets and everything!), and Thursday I'm going out with Angelia to some bar in Belleville that she swears I'll run into old classmates, and Friday... Not sure about Friday. At some point while I am here, I have to get my driver's license renewed and schedule a dental check-up. I don't want to do either and I'm horribly apprehensive about both, but... I really should do them sooner rather than later. Also have to figure out if Bank of America will cash my paycheck out here. Of these three things, I don't know which I'm looking forward to the least. :(
And this post has turned hella depressing. And super long. I'm gonna go back to writing for NaNo. At least verbosity serves a purpose there.
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