Reminder

[clauderainsrm]

That the mini season sign up is still happening - https://therealljidol.livejournal.com/1171952.html

PLEASE spread the word!

If anyone has any specific FAQ type questions, I can answer them here. Heck, if you have any questions at all, I can make something up! :D

Comments

[rayaso]

As much as we love Idol, neither halfshell nor I may be participating in this version. Unfortunately, on 12/30 our garage and part of our house burned as a result of an electrical fire that started in our garage. No one was hurt, but our cat is still missing. Dealing with the aftermath has been very time consuming. The three strikes idea sounds wonderful, so if we can join, we will.

[clauderainsrm]

Wow!!! Yeah, that's A LOT.

I'm glad that the two of you are OK, even if your house isn't!!

(and it's going to be a couple more weeks before we get started, hopefully things will at least start to settle down for you by then - and the cat needs to show back up SOON!!! Per cat logic, they probably think YOU are lost.)

[rayaso]

I hope that in a few weeks things settle down and the cat returns, but right now things are a mess.

[baxaphobia]

So sorry to hear this. I hope your kitty returns and things can get as settled as they can be.

[majesticzaichik]

Still thinking about joining this round. I like this 3 strikes idea. At least I'd last for 3 rounds!

[clauderainsrm]

It's true! I'm hoping that will be an incentive for people to sign up, knowing that you will, unless you decide to drop, make it to Week 3. :)

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Oh look, an unofficial GR ;)

As much as I'd like to, I'm not signing up. I'm tired of having to bow out because of a $&@#^@# work schedule. Instead, I'll be, as usual, the GR elf and cheerleader :shakes pompoms:

[clauderainsrm]

There's more leeway with the 3 strike rule. Just saying. ;)

I get it though. I appreciate that, if nothing else, you will at least be around to read and encourage! (even if I, not so secretly, want to be reading your entries)

[xo_kizzy_xo]

And I greatly appreciate the leeway :) I know I cannot be the only person affected by deadlines so having that as only one strike takes some, but not all of the pressure off. (I say "some" because those of us who have the self competitive gene will still express agony of defeat upon getting any strikes. Not that I'm talking about anyone I know *ahem*)

Somebody on DW asked me why I'm not playing. Their response was, "I was hoping to see more of you". That touched me very much.

What was it you said at some point, something about older vets like me at some point run out of things to write about? I feel like that a lot of the time. I try to write something every few days even if it's a mundane DW/LJ post but anything more than that and I'm like ehhhhhhhh. Winter doldrums? Maybe. I don't know.

[clauderainsrm]

"What was it you said at some point, something about older vets like me at some point run out of things to write about? I feel like that a lot of the time. "

I don't recall saying it, but it sounds right. People throw their best/most interesting personal stories out there early on and then it hits the point of "What do I write about NOW?" It happens with fiction writers as well. Honestly, I think that's a good place to be in, because it becomes a challenge of what happens when you hit that wall. But I can also see where some folx might be "there's no where to go from here"

[adoptedwriter]

Do we have a start date?

[clauderainsrm]

I do not. Still looking at "before Feb 1st", but a LOT of that is going to depend on the sign ups. I'll be spending the next couple of days putting the word out in other areas of LJ/in general. It used to take a lot to pierce through all of the chatter - but I've found it takes even more effort to pierce through the silence these days. :O

[bleodswean]

"pierce through the silence" - I like that, G!

After much mulling, I'm going to sign up. The numbers may seem modest, but it's a formidable group of names. Just sayin'.

[messygorgeous]

Is that really the case? That you run out of stories as you age? I really don’t want to believe that is truth.

I mean, we are older but life is still happening, we are still LIVING. A LOT has happened to me in the years since I entered Idol the first time (*ahem* 17 years ago). I find doing one season right after another leaves me feeling a little spent but giving it a few years in between means new stories, new perspectives. And there’s always fiction in addition to the autobiographical pieces - and those options are endless!!

[xo_kizzy_xo]

I think you're onto something with the "one season after another" bit. It DOES become draining after awhile both in "what do I talk about now" and having to actually sit down and write. At least that's what I've found. OTOH some people keep pushing on because they still have stories to tell and/or they're afraid they're going to miss out on something. Not that I know anyone like that *cough*

[messygorgeous]

Lol! I’ve definitely missed the excitement! But, yes, by the end of the last season I was in, sitting down to write became harder and harder what, six?…nine? months in. I was writing on family road trips, waiting for my daughter to get out of dance class. I think this mini season will be good to get involved and stay motivated!

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Meant to add this to my other reply, whoops!

Is that really the case? That you run out of stories as you age?

I have a couple of *older than me* people on my FL and neither of them post as much as they used to. When they do, they both state in their own way that they have nothing of interest to discuss that hasn't already been discussed before. Neither of them are active elsewhere. I can't tell if it's a disdain of today's social media in general, a genuine feeling of having nothing noteworthy to post, or a mixture of both. I once tried getting them interested in Idol but they both felt at the time it was "too much work".

Kind of reminds me of my MIL. If she didn't have as many kids/grandkids as she does to keep track of, she'd have very little to talk about.