#269

Another busy week has ended, I finally have a life back again, at least until the pre xmas and RJ birthday rush begins in December. Yesterday was Finn's school fete, worked my arse off the past month making more Harry Potter stuff as I did for his party, to sell at the fete - at least this time I had help from another mum at school, and we killed it. Brilliant success! And, as you saw, on Friday, I had a birthday. What a year. Wow I have come a long way. I was just looking at a video taken 12 months ago and was gobsmacked at the changes both outside and in. I have hope for my life again, you can't imagine how that must feel. From despair, hopelessness and just existing to hope, passion and excitement about the future. Enormous. Exciting!!!!

So, I wanted to talk about my favorite birthday present this year. It's my new tattoo.

What does it mean? Well, in the simplest way to explain it, 269 was a tag on a calf sent to slaughter, it became representative and provided individuality to the millions that go through this all the time. It's personalising the cause, I suppose. You can read more about it on this link and this one. For me, it serves as a reminder for my passion and beliefs, and for where I want to be. The V is for vegan, and I will keep going. I feel more strongly than ever that pursuing a vegan lifestyle is what I want to do and need to do. This provides an opportunity to promote that as well, as I explain what it means when people ask. Giving a voice to the voiceless is becoming more and more important to me every day. I'm excited to have that reminder on my skin now forever. Solidarity!

Living!!!!

I feel alive, I feel that familiar burning in my fingertips, it's an itch. It means WRITE, and don't stop!

It's been ages since I wrote anything that really motivated and inspired me like this. In fact, the first time I have ever felt it like this. I have this mental block about word counts, they scare me terribly. Is there a way to turn off my word doc at the bottom of my screen? So that I can only see it if I manually go Tools, Word Count... ?

Anyway, as I just said on twitter - of all my pieces of crap, this is now the longest. Longer than my masters thesis story, longer than anything else I have ever written and what is exciting is that I know it's not over yet, there is still so much to fill in, still so much to write. It's kind of exciting! Of course, this only makes up about 18% of what I need to get to. But. Still. :/

It's funny how that passion feels. Yes I am passionate about books, about animal rights and infertility and loyalty and friends and family... But the action of doing it, that is what makes life fun to live. I need to disappear into their world and tell their story. It's screaming at me to do so and it's a wonderful sound.

Steven Spielberg's got nothin on Finn.

So, my boy likes making movies. Seriously into it. He's written a script with a few scenes, filmed it, edited it and refined it. He uses computer software to import sounds, and to create effects. His dad helped him to build a huge set for his latest Western epic too, you can see it in the pic, it's pretty awesome. Those saloon doors are real - hinged and all. Very swish. Finn went to a one day movie making class run by Buzz Movie Makers, and had the opportunity to use professional cameras, to act, and to direct, and to use a green screen. He worked with far older children, and loved every moment of it.

He opted not to get a camera for Xmas, preferring an iPod touch instead, which surprised me, he mostly uses the laptop webcam for his filming, but I think he may be surprised by what he can film with the touch. He asked to enrol in the Buzz holiday course which is a full week long thing. I ummed and ahhed - it will mean 4h of driving a day for 5 days for us, but he has little else arranged for the holidays and he will get bored so I caved and enrolled him. Gotta cherish their passions right? Who knows? He might be destined for this. And even if he isn't, he'll know we value what he does.