Hello folks. I'm new(ish) to the area.... was from San Jose, and did Nano for several years with the SoBa folks, but we moved to Redwood City in August. Spouse works at Shutterfly (back behind the Oracle buildings) and the commute up from Alum Rock area was just killer.
My name's Beth, I'm principal cellist of the Palo Alto Philharmonic, which is a very good amateur group if I do say so myself. :) I'm a stay at home mom with an 11 year old daughter, a spouse and a dog. Had carpal tunnel release surgery on both wrists summer before last, so if you have any questions about music or that surgery/recovery/therapy, don't hesitate to ask!
Song
----------
"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be." - Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night
2004 - Leena's Tale
2005 - 50K or Bust! (winner!)
2006 - Circling the Glen (winner!)
2007 - What Now?
2008 - You want me to do what?
54,013 / 50,000
Oct 15, 2008 - 06 15
I'm Moshe Zadka, I'll be in the Bay on the second half of November for work reasons. I work at VMware in Palo Alto (across from the Xerox PARC complex), though I'm usually in Israel. In my previous visits, before B-hive was acquired, I was staying in San Mateo, which feels like a second home to me :)
And one funny anecdote -- I visited the Shutterfly offices a couple of times during my last visit -- they are pretty. Does your husband know a Hubert Chen?
----------'07 - Digital Watches (Won!)
'08 - Digital Watches 2 - Spells (working title)
50,225 / 50,000
Oct 15, 2008 - 07 45
Hi! I'm Jenna, and last year was my first year really participating in NaNo. I kind of kept to myself, and my novel was crap, but I FINISHED.
This year, I'm much more prepared, and I am ready to throw myself into the NaNo experience!
I'm in Pacifica; I live right by the ocean with my cat and my little dog in a 100 year old farmhouse. I work in the city, which gives me plenty of people-watching time to get ideas.
I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
--GLADOS, Portal
NaNo 2007 - Twelfth Night - WINNER
----------ScriptFrenzy 2008 - HeroCorp - WINNER
NaNo 2008 - The Third Sister - ???
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
--GLADOS, Portal
NaNo 2007 - Twelfth Night - WINNER
ScriptFrenzy 2008 - HeroCorp -
13,431 / 50,000
Oct 15, 2008 - 23 20
Hi, I'm Sarah. I'm just wondering if I've found (geographically) the right group. I'm a freshman at Stanford, but I'm from New York, so I don't know California that well.
----------*****
NaNoWriMo 2006: pirates, ninjas, and a mad scientist bent on world domination! - Winner!
ScriptFrenzy 2007: conspiracies, explosions, anarchy! - flashdrive wiped @ 7000 words; abandoned
NaNoWriMo 2007: epic fantasy, death and destruction! - Winne
50,016 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2008 - 19 57
My name is Danie, I've lived in Redwood City for two years now, and this is my first year. I'm so excited to be involved!
76,440 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 12 08
My name's Elizabeth, I'm also new to the area; just moved to Menlo Park from Chicago for Genetics Grad School at Stanford. I'm also a circus nut -- go up to SF each week for aerial dance lessons.
I've done Nano three out of the past four years, with success each time. Last year was somewhat disappointing, I lost interest in my plot halfway through and barely finished in a 60-words-each-minute three hours or so rush until midnight on Nov 31, but I was applying to Grad School while I did it, so I'll use that as an excuse. This year I'm all outlined to begin with, so hopefully that will help.
50,179 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 15 52
I'm new to NaNo, but I've lived in Palo Alto for twelve years, and I think this is the right group. Geographically, we should fit right in.
Welcome to Palo Alto!
50,179 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 15 54
Sorry, that was in reply to:
Hi, I'm Sarah. I'm just wondering if I've found (geographically) the right group. I'm a freshman at Stanford, but I'm from New York, so I don't know California that well.
And my name is Leslie.
36,041 / 50,000
Oct 18, 2008 - 16 13
Hi, I'm Cordelia. Greetings to everyone and thanks to Song for starting the thread.
I live in San Bruno, CA with my husband, 7 birds, and 1 Greyhound (Jack Thunder Pants).
This is my first year doing the NaNoWriMo. Sounds like a new dance.
I am an intermittent nature blogger, so you will see many animals in my novel.
Gertrudis_Crow
----------Gertrudis
65,331 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2008 - 12 21
Hi everyone,
I'm Lisa and I teach high school history and English in Redwood City, though I live in San Mateo. I write every day and type really quickly, so I'm hoping to make all 50K. I've only just heard of nano and am thrilled for the motivation. Lord only knows what I'll come up with, but it'll be interesting to have something to look at over winter break. Have been walking around with a rough outline for a couple of years. Here is the perfect opportunity to flesh it out.
Good luck everyone!
Lisa G
PS challenges to my time will include: grading papers, son's football games, and artist husband in general... :-)
51,791 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2008 - 11 49
Shane here. 23, San Bruno-based, go to College of San Mateo. Nano-ing on and off since I believe '01.
Always looking for folks to novel with, give me a yell.
51,791 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2008 - 11 52
P.S. College is Monday and Wednesday, so anyone who goes to school here, we should set up something at school. That view out of the library is very conducive to noveling ^_^
51,791 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2008 - 11 54
Oh, Portal. Jenna, if you or I end up getting a Nano group together, we must indeed have some cake.
51,535 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2008 - 14 27
I'm shocked that this is such a small group -- tiny compared to the south bay and east bay. Too many people with high-powered, all-consuming jobs, too few kindred artistic souls?
Though I have dabbled in a few different professions both for remuneration and for free, writing is the only skill I seem to have. Although I made a living for a few years doing tech writing (never again) and have numerous magazine and newspaper pieces to my name, I have yet to achieve even a mote of success with my fiction. I have written four never-to-be-published novels, none of them as part of a group or with time constraints. I don't do well with pressure or deadlines, so I expect that the intensity of the Nano experience will push me to new levels of greatness...or find me in a fetal position gulping Zoloft.
Looking forward to getting to know you all.
50,179 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2008 - 20 03
Don't believe her. The cake is a lie.
50,082 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2008 - 20 17
Welcome aboard, everyone.
For those of you pondering geography... if you're between Mountain View and Brisbane inclusive, you fall into the Peninsula region. However, if you live or work in or near San Francisco, the South Bay, the East Bay, or any other region, you're almost certainly welcome to participate in those regions too. I find myself in three regions again this year, MLing for San Francisco (where I work), writing a lot on the boundary of Peninsula and South Bay (where I live), and occasionally pumping out a few thousand words at 40+ miles an hour on Caltrain.
Wonder if this will be the year of the epic Caltrain write-in of legend.
Anyway, I've handed the ML baton for the Peninsula region to LindaC, and I think now that she's back from an epic family trip, she'll be making some noise again here. And I'll hope to see a lot of you at the Peets in San Mateo next month.
Rob/Gallifreyan
----------Rob/Gallifreyan * Mountain View/San Francisco, California
ML for San Francisco Region, Bay Area Writers Retreat coordinator
Keeper Emeritus of the South Bay Bars of Power
51,119 / 50,000
Oct 22, 2008 - 20 23
Hey everyone, I'm Glenn. I work at EA and live in Redwood Shores. I've done Nano for the past two years and managed to make it to 50k both those years. I hope to do it again this year but it feels like the distractions this year are much greater than last time.
BTW, I'm a software engineer, so if your story has something to do with computer jargon maybe I can help you out. :)
-Glenn
50,186 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 12 33
Hey everyone!
I'm Shuai, a graduate student at Stanford, and this is my very first nanowrimo! I am really excited about this adventure (:
I want to go to Night of Writing Dangerously, does anyone want to be fundraising buddies?
Thanks! and hope to see some of you at write-ins!
15,673 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 19 57
Hi all:
My name is Deb and I live in Mountain View. I'm a communications consultant who works for high-technology companies and non-profits. This is my fourth Nano, although I must admit I haven't been able to drag myself over the finish line the last two years. I'm hoping to go to more write-ins this year and get a better sense of my story before Nov 1 hits.
Deb
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 22 15
Welcome Beth!
My 12 year old son has just started taking cello lessons this year. It is a beautiful instrument. Is your daughter writing in the Young Writer's program this year? We have had quite a few YWP participants in the past. My son is writing this year for his third time. His goal is 25K words this year.
Hope to meet you at a write-in. I think there is someone working on an afternoon write-in at the RWC Main library, so keep an eye on the "Write Ins" thread.
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
0 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 22 48
Hallo all,
Name's Ruth - I'm a software engineer at Google, living in Mountain View, so I believe I'm in the overlap zone between Peninsula and South Bay. I think I met some of you at the South Bay getting-to-know-you dinner.
What's this about a Caltrain write-in?
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 01
Hi Moshe! We're glad you can join us. I love Fusion, use it on my Mac to get around stupid sites & apps that only work under Windoze.
There is a joint weekly write-in happening in the southerly part of Palo Alto you might want to check out, in addition (of course) to the San Mateo write-in on Thursdays.
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 04
Hi Jenna!
Wow - we definitely have to have a coastal group get-together! I'm in Montara, about two blocks from the ocean. Not sure about the Portal reference though. But cake anywhere sounds good to me. :)
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 07
Hi Sarah! You are indeed in the right group geographically, but we're all pretty close here in the heart of NaNo-land. There seem to be several of you in and around Stanford, so a get-together there would only be natural. There's a joint South Bay Peninsula write-in at Red Rock Coffee on Tuesday nights that you might like as well.
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 09
Welcome Danie!
We're excited to have you, really! Please make time for the meet & greet in San Mateo on the 30th if you can. The forums here at Nanowrimo are really great and have lots of good advice, but if there's a question you have that isn't answered, please don't hesitate to ask on the regional forum.
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 14
Hi Elizabeth, welcome to the Bay Area. You are going to LOVE not having to dig yourself out of the snow come January, and November isn't bad either. :)
I hope you can make it to the meet & greet and to some of the write-ins, although I bet your schedule is a bit wild. Orginization is a good thing in writing - keeps us from having to push ourselves at the last minute. I did 32K words in 48 hours to reach the goal in 2006. Good thing I could type fast.
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 16
Hi Leslie! Welcome to California. We are certainly getting a lot of writers from Stanford this time. Remember - anything you write in November is fair game for wordcount, so if you make one of your characters a freshman at university, everything you write for your classes can count. :)
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 20
Welcome Cordelia! I think someone talked last year about a write-in at Panera up that way, perhaps we can do it again (if I remember who coordinated it). Definitely worth looking into. Two years ago, my novel was told from my cat's point of view. I had a lot of fun writing it. Looking forward to meeting you!
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 24
Hi Lisa!
English and History, eh? What a great combination! Don't forget to really lock up your "inner editor" though or you could end up just re-writing the first 10 pages all month. There's an old NaNo saying to remember: "Edit in December." I hope you can join us at Peet's some time. How old is your son? Maybe you can get him to write something this month as well.
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 28
Welcome Shane! I hope to have write-ins in San Bruno this year (that's where the Panera is, right?). Haven't been to the CSM Library, but maybe we can work something out.
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)
15,593 / 50,000
Oct 23, 2008 - 23 33
Hi Rex, and welcome to NaNo! The reason we are so small compared to south & east bay is because we are a much much newer region. SF Peninsula only became its own region 2 Nanos ago. South Bay has been around for probably 9 years, and East bay not much less. But don't be fooled by numbers on the board - we have almost 400 members, and our words-per-writer rate is usually higher than those around us. Probably because we don't have very many social nanoers here as they do.
I know what you mean about technical writing though - I spent a bunch of years in the trenches myself. Now my "day job" is home schooling my son and painting. The key to getting through the month is to not let yourself get behind, and lots of caffeine for when it happens anyway.
Looking forward to meeting you.
----------~Linda/ lindac
linano@mac.com
ML, SF Peninsula (quack!)