the end of October

I've been in a whirl preparing for NaNoWriMo...character profiles, floor plans, plot outlines (which have gone through several versions by now), experimenting with point of view, structure, and opening lines. And November is fast approaching! I'm very excited and a little bit apprehensive, which I guess is good for novel writing. The support of my writing group is essential.
Since I know someone will ask, I'll put up the little blurb I have on the NaNoWriMo website:

Our Halcyon Days [Yes, it even has a title!]

Sebastian and his cousin Antonio live in the nicest house in a college town rental neighborhood. They lead an eccentric and unpredictable life, whose pitch only increases when an intriguing girl and her family move in next door, Antonio discovers a secret his parents have been keeping from him, and a girl from school disappears. Could it all be related?

In other news, Isabel came for a visit last weekend, yay! 

While she was here we carved pumpkins.

 I submitted my entries for two essay contests this past week. Also I submitted my application to the Thomas Aquinas College summer program...yikes I'm so old!

Accomplishments

They've been rolling in at a good pace this past week.

We had our first choir concert on Monday.

I also finished the first draft of my book on Monday! I can't believe it's finally done, after over two years of planning and writing. Now I'm planning to do NaNoWriMo, after which it'll be time to put on my editor's hat! I sadly don't have a photo of this momentous occasion, but I will say that in my excitement I forgot to type the words THE END.

Oh, and in passing, I received a 100% on my first chemistry exam.

On Tuesday was our first quiz bowl of the season. It was a success, and as usual a ton of fun!

And then yesterday I took the PSAT/NMSQT. The English part was very easy, but the math part was harder than the ACT in my opinion. I was exhausted for the rest of the day. I always like checking the boxes at the beginning, though, saying both my parents have a graduate degree!

I hope things keep going this well!

Various October Things

Played piano at the nursing home for the third time on Friday morning. 

Obviously mom took a picture.

Last weekend Gus came for a "sleepover" visit. It's so nice that there's at least one sibling close enough to do that! 

He came on Saturday afternoon and left on Sunday morning.

Things have been pretty slow around here...well, for me. Tessie has been insanely busy (got back from a band competition at 2am so she and dad are at late Mass). Speaking of which, I sang for Mass last night without Tessie due to said band competition, then got home and Dad was here, back from Kyrgyzstan and Turkey! I had a writers' group Skype session which lasted over two hours, which was fun. I was the first one up this morning, and I didn't go downstairs until 8:45!

Pro-Life

*Sigh* it's good to be pro-life. You don't have to fight logic, medical evidence, or good people. Or babies. Because who wants to fight babies?
Anyway, this past week I sent in the form and deposit for going on the March For Life with the diocese! I'm so excited! I know a multitude of people, from classes, groups, etc. who are going. It will be great if I can meet up with some of them in D.C.
I was thinking about it the other day, and to me abortion bears some similarity to the slavery issue of the Civil War. Women consider unborn children "part of their bodies," they like to think that they "own" them. You cannot own a person. The Union fought a war with the Confederation in the 1860s because it knew the truth of this statement. No person can own another, because that implies that somehow some people are better than others. God created all of us in His Image, so what right have we to assert ourselves over other people? And this is especially true for those who are most innocent and vulnerable.
Only God has the power of life and death over a human being. No person is worthy to determine another's demise. It's like Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees in John 8:7, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." Who is perfect enough to say who should live and who should die?  If anything, a baby has more of a right to kill an adult, since he's the sinless one. It's funny, because on the one hand, no one has the right to kill another, but on the other hand, God instills in each of us such sublime dignity. But really, this only confirms it. Since every person has infinite dignity as a son or daughter of the Creator, the King of kings, how can anyone else presume to decide whether that person should be allowed to live?

Enough rambling for now. I'm entering an essay contest for the South Dakota Right to Life organization, so it's on my mind. 

That's all for now! Stay lovely!