Nice People

Happy Halloween! Today I am dressed as something truly scary: a work-at-home writer. No, there will not be pictures.

I finally made it to that museum yesterday. This time, I was able to catch the train, so I did some brainstorming and outlining on the way. I need to learn not to wait until the last week of a major exhibit because it was very crowded, enough so that I didn't stay long after I'd seen what I wanted to see. I keep saying I want to check out the permanent collection in that museum, but then I only go there for big exhibits, and then I get overwhelmed and flee. Now that I know the train/bus combo for getting there, I may give it a try again. As it was, I reached the point where if I left then, I could catch one train, but if I didn't I'd have to wait an hour and a half, so I left.

In general, it was a lovely day. The weather was gorgeous, the leaves are just starting to turn, and the train goes through some wilderness, so much of the scenery is nicer than you get driving (it also goes through some nasty industrial areas). I got to see lots of Renoirs and Monets up close. And I kept running into extremely nice people -- not just not-unpleasant, neutral nice, but above-and-beyond nice. The bus driver from the train station to the museum was a real sweetheart. There were some older people on the bus who didn't seem too sure of themselves, so when he found out where they were going, he not only paused to give them good directions from the bus stop to the museum, but also to show them exactly where to catch the bus back to the train station. Then I had the same driver on the return trip, and he remembered me and asked me how I enjoyed the museum. The line for the museum restaurant was really long, so I waited until I got to the train station and went to the Subway there for lunch, and the ladies at the Subway treated me like I was a long-lost relative at their home for Thanksgiving dinner. And then when I went to Kroger, I got a cashier who was that friendly, too. I wonder if I somehow looked especially vulnerable, like I needed that kind of treatment, or if I was just lucky in running into wonderful people all day. Seriously, if you're ever in downtown Fort Worth and need to feel special, go to the Subway in the ITC station for lunch.

I also got my flu shot yesterday. After last year, I didn't want to risk it. I'll admit that there's an odd part of me that kind of enjoyed the week of being really sick. Not that I enjoy being sick, but there's something about being sick enough to have no guilt whatsoever for spending a week huddled under a blanket on the couch, drinking hot lemonade and watching Doctor Who. Then I reminded myself of the three weeks that followed the acute illness, during which I didn't feel sick enough to justify more couch time, but I also didn't feel well enough to really do anything. My head was foggy and I was weak and tired. That was the miserable part. So, I got the flu shot, and I think I may institute Fake Flu Day as an employee benefit for myself. That will be a floating holiday, to be taken on a dreary January or February day, when I get to act as though I have the flu, even if I'm not really sick. I can stay in my pajamas, huddle under a blanket on the sofa, eat soup and drink tea, and watch movies or TV DVDs, with no guilt whatsoever for not doing anything worthwhile or productive. I think this could catch on as a trend.

I'm still revising that book proposal, but then the NaNoWriMo thing starts tomorrow. I may not do it officially, as in signing up at the site, posting my word count and submitting the finished book for verification so I can say I "won." I suppose there may be some publicity value to it, especially if I sell the book, but it also looks like it could be a time-eater (and I don't like the idea of having to submit the finished book). I can post my progress here, and I don't need the external validation of being able to say I'm a winner. I know I can write a book in a month. That's not why I'm doing this.