Aussie Expats Update – Writing Wins & December Socialising

Friiiiiiday!

AND December, the month of Santa, chocolate, eggnog, presents, a brief stint of holidays for both James and I (which is a serious change from Aus, where our long break is over Christmas) and maybe a white Christmas (come on Oklahoma, you can do it!). Needless to say, I’m excited. Part of that could be to do with the fact that I’ve submitted my Ancient History assignment (after a real struggle!) and I’m feeling a little more on top of my study—I had to pay the piper this week after our frivolities in Kansas last week—and we put up our tree together yesterday.

Okay, okay, it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it’s kind of amazing to be putting the tree up together on the 1st of December, and creating some of our own little rituals for this time of year. Plus, my dad told me yesterday that my step-mum mailed us a Christmas present earlier this week, and we already have a present for the big day from James’ family: hurray! Seriously, I thought we were just going to have two presents under the tree and I was fully intending on wrapping some empty boxes or something to make it all look a little more festive (actually… I may still do this).

So: what’s news?

This week, I actually have some doozies.

1. I received an honourable mention for my story, A Shattering, in the inaugural Fiction War which ran over 21-24 October 2016, and

   

2. I made the list of finalists for the Iceland Writers’ Retreat Alumni Award (this list was released at the same time as the winners were released).

I’m really excited about both of these things!! Of course, it would be amazing to win, but this kind of encouragement that I’m moving in the right direction was what I really needed at the moment (after recently receiving a few rejections from magazines). I mean, obviously, writing is an ever-evolving skill, so unfortunately making an honourable mention or finalists list doesn’t necessarily mean I’m any closer to winning next time around, but for me, I’m really taking this as a sign that there’s hoping for the future and while I’m not quite making the mark, it’s in sight and there’s hope for the future. I’m already booked in for the next Fiction War running in January (click on the link above and check it out!) and am fully intending to apply again next year for the Alumni Award, because hope springs eternal!

On that note, as part of the honourable mention for the Fiction War, I had to submit an author bio which, surprise surprise, I didn’t have. Tune in on Monday to read about my struggles in distilling myself into a short paragraph and some lessons and advice for anyone who hasn’t yet put their author bio together.

Tonight sees James and I headed to the Fort Sill St Barbara’s Day Ball: according to my wonderful British friend, Fleur, the food is crummy, so my expectations are really, really low… which hopefully means I’ll be pleasantly surprised when the meals mildly exceed those! Plus, I was fortunate enough to be taken care of by some of my other friends (thank you Anne and Silva!) who raided their wardrobes for a dress for me to wear tonight (I really didn’t want to buy one). I’ve painted my toenails bright yellow to add a bit of fun for the evening [Disclaimer: some people never ever get that much more proficient at applying nail polish. Consider yourself warned] and I’ll be with my favourite person, so hopefully we’ll survive the experience… Regardless, I’m sure there’ll be some silly photos for your delectation next week.

In less than a week from today, the new Aussies (Eugene and Lauren) will be arriving in Oklahoma to witness some of our beautiful skies and our truly less-than-memorable dining options in town (sorry guys). Exciting times! But the biggest problem with this is that it means that Dave and Lee are going to be heading home. Great news for them, but James and I are really going to miss both them and their two little boys. They made moving over here so much easier and more comfortable than it might have been otherwise and we’re really grateful (but also jealous that they’re heading back to Aussie beaches!). Dave and Lee will be having a farewell party tomorrow night and we’re hoping for the skies to stay clear, but after those two nights, I’m probably going to need to spend some time at home on the couch with James.

I’m really hoping to get out and do some archery this week… preferably without losing any more arrows, which I apparently I have a real knack for. I mean, sometimes I think my aim is improving, but we’re down to three arrows now, so we’re walking a dangerous tightrope on that front. Mostly, I blame the wind and the fact that there are areas of the hay bales (behind the targets) which are somewhat lacking in structural integrity. If you’re me, and you hit that spot, your arrow just *poof!* disappears into the bale… And can never be found again.

Let that be a lesson to you all: be careful around hay bales.

We have a lot of social events coming up in the next week or so (you may have picked up the vibe from above), which will doubtless tax our endurance, especially since I really have to finish my cross-stitch. Don’t tell her, but I’m hoping to send it to Australia to give to my grandma for Christmas: she’s taught me how, and I’ve been working on this one for about eight years—there was about a seven-year hiatus in the middle—so it’s about time I returned on the investment. I can do it!

Plus, there are some cool things happening in the ‘blogosphere’ at the moment: my amazing friend Nicole has gotten together with some friends (Joyce, Becky and Meredith—check out their blogs at the links: they’re all interesting bloggers that I also enjoy reading! Disclaimer: Full cred to Nicole for showing me the way to them) to create an awesome new venture called Muse in Pocket, Pen in Hand. I’ve linked it here because their description sounds fun and exciting, and I’m always keen for fun and exciting [Disclaimer: sometimes I have a REALLY different idea of what fun and exciting  means, and all I want to do is stay at home and eat pizza on the couch. But I think this particular instance should tickle other peoples’ fancy as well].

At Muse in Pocket, Pen in Hand, we will publish one prompt on the first Monday of every month, and each of us four will free-write based on the given prompt (you’re welcome to share your stories too!) every week. In between, there will be other fun stuff like music recommendations, link salads, guest features, and more.

You can’t try and tell me that doesn’t sound like fun, so duck on over to it and have a look at what they’re putting together, and let’s support them on this one!

Have an awesome weekend, do some readings, do some writing, have some fun and get your tree up if you haven’t already.

— Ana.

P.S — If anyone out there is an expert on static shocks, please let me know. We’ve really experienced a huge spike in the number of times we’re being zapped and though my theory is the decrease in moisture in the air is creating negatively charged particles, I’m sure someone out there knows more than I do. And if I’m honest, I’d love to know precisely why our house is viciously attacking us all the time and making us zap one another.