United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

[STICKY]Your Daily Quote

Crash — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:56:54 -0700

"The beginning is always today."
- Mary Wollstonecraft
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- Crash
Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

[STICKY] Write-in & Event Schedule

traevoli — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:32:02 -0700

Hi, all.

We have finished booking venues for the official write-ins for November. We have put these (and some of the unofficial write-ins, as well) up on the regional calendar. Below is a list of the write-ins (official and unofficial) planned to date.

Weekly Write-Ins

Monday:
5:30-10:00 pm Wild Boar Coffee
1510 S. College. in the basement

Tuesday:
2:00-4:00 pm, Front Range Community College
4616 S. Shields, in the Student Center

6:00-9:00 pm, Moxie Java
2815 E. Harmony

10 pm-2 am, Alley Cat
120 1/2 W. Laurel, downstairs

Wednesday:
6:00-11:00 pm, Cups Coffee
1033 S Taft Hill, upstairs

Thursday:
2:00-4:00 pm, Front Range Community College
4616 S. Shields, in the Student Center

7:00-10:00 pm, Dazbog north
401 N. Mason, in the basement

10 pm-2 am, Alley Cat
120 1/2 W. Laurel, downstairs

Friday:
6:45-9:00 am, Alley Cat
120 1/2 W. Laurel, downstairs - first person to arrive should get the key from the main desk

6:00-11:00 pm, Scimoria
see regional calendar for address, bring your own food/ drink - this is your MLs' home

Saturday:
11:00-1:00 pm, Panino's
310 W. Prospect, this is a brunch write-in/ eat-in

Sunday:
4:00-8:00 pm, La Dolce Vita
2555 S. Shields, next to the Pulse

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SPECIAL EVENTS

Kick-off:
10:00 pm-1:00 am, October 31
Scimoria, see regional calendar for address. This is your MLs' home.
Please do not arrive early, as there is no guarantee we'll be here before 9:55. :)

Election-free write-in:
7:00 pm-12:00 am, November 4
Contact Crash via NaNoMail for address.
for more details, check the election-free write-in thread.
*The regular Tuesday night write-in will also take place this night. Feel free to come to one or both.

Stanley Hotel write-in and ghost tour:
10:30 am -1:15 pm - write-in, November 15
1:30-3:00 pm - ghost tour, $10, November 15
333 E. Wonderview Ave., Estes Park
please rsvp about ghost tour to powerwoman
for more details, check the write-in & tour Stanley Hotel thread.

Horse write-in:
1:00-5:00 pm, November 22
for more details, check the horse write-in thread.

Thanksgiving:
details TBA, November 27
if you have ideas, let us know in the write-ins (planning). thread.

Mad dash to the finish:
8:00-11:50 (so there's time to upload your word count), November 30
Scimoria, see regional calendar for address. This is your MLs' home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also, Niassa, who was part of LocoFoCo last year, is has invited us to her weekly write-ins in Denver.
Wednesday:
5:30-10:30 pm, Metropolitan at Lincoln Station Apartments
10185 Park Meadows Dr., S. Denver, in the main office building

Please keep in mind that, if you are unable to come to a previously scheduled write-in but know you will be writing at a certain time and place, you are encouraged to invite others to join you. Spontaneous write-ins have all the benefits of planned write-in. And if you let me or shmoo know about it before hand, we might even be able to add it to the regional calendar.
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Simmon/traevoli
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Municipal Liaison, Fort Collins, 2007, 2008
NaNoWriMo winner, 2005, 2006, 2007
NaNoWriMo Daily Q&A guest, 2006
Script Frenzy winner, 2007

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Fort Collins v. Greeley annual war of the words

shmoo — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:54:56 -0700

Participation is now closed. No more may join, and none shall be allowed to retreat.
LocoFoCo has 40 participants. Greeley has 16.

LocoFoCos!!!!!! (It sometimes takes several minutes for the site to update, so don't worry if your word count isn't reflected immediately.)

50,000+

On our way!

Remember, this year there are two ways to win:

#1 - We'll take a percentage of how many team members are also 2008 NaNoWriMo winners (those who write a novel over 50,000 words). Whichever team has the highest percentage will win.

#2 - Highest average word count per region's team member.

- REASONS WE JOINED: There is an incredibly high finish rate for those participating in this contest. Much, much higher than the win rate of NaNo as a whole, which is only 14% (last year, 85% of the LocoFoCo folks who officially participated in the challenge won). So, basically, there is a positive correlation between being part of this battle and writing a novel of 50k or more. Also, Greeley needs to be trampled upon because we know Fort Collins is the best. Plus, it's always fun to work towards a common goal and get to know people in both regions.

*****It should be noted - friendly trash talk (especially about how much Greeley stinks) is absolutely encouraged, but keep it friendly and clean. Also, LocoFoCos have an additional challenge each year - try to include the phrase, "Greeley stinks" somewhere in your novel.

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~shmoo
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Municipal Liaison, Fort Collins, 2007, 2008
NaNoWriMo winner, 2005, 2006, 2007

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

TGIO (Thank Goodness It's Over) Party [planning]

traevoli — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:35:08 -0800

Hi, all.

It's time to start thinking of a time and a place to have our TGIO party. Any suggestions?
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Simmon/traevoli
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Municipal Liaison, Fort Collins, 2007, 2008
NaNoWriMo winner, 2005, 2006, 2007
NaNoWriMo Daily Q&A guest, 2006
Script Frenzy winner, 2007

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Some statistics

ToyKeeper — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:27:03 -0800

Hi there. I just wanted to share some current stats for our region.

339 authors.
172 with non-zero word count.
3125769 words.
18173 words per active author.
Word count histogram (each * is one author):0 k: ***** 1 k: ******* 2 k: ********* 3 k: ********** 4 k: *** 5 k: ******* 6 k: ******** 7 k: **** 8 k: ** 9 k: * 10 k: ****** 11 k: *** 12 k: * 13 k: **** 14 k: ******** 15 k: ****** 16 k: **** 17 k: ***** 18 k: ***** 19 k: *** 20 k: ********** 21 k: ***** 22 k: ******* 23 k: ***** 24 k: *** 25 k: ********** 26 k: *** 27 k: 28 k: * 29 k: * 30 k: ** 31 k: **** 32 k: ** 33 k: 34 k: * 35 k: * 36 k: 37 k: 38 k: 39 k: * 40 k: *** 41 k: 42 k: ** 43 k: 44 k: 45 k: * 46 k: 47 k: 48 k: 49 k: 50 k: **** 51 k: 52 k: * 53 k: 54 k: 55 k: 56 k: * 57 k: * ... 73 k: * ... 131 k: *
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United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Yurt Report!

Crash — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 18:37:19 -0800

As most of you know, apotheon, medulla oblongata, and I spent this last weekend off in the woods. We stayed in a yurt near Pearl Lake, north of Steamboat Springs.

We're DEFINITELY going again next year.

For pics go here: http://cstuck.livejournal.com/112685.html
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- Crash
Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

And We Have a Winner!

Kerushi_Mangetsu — Wed, 5 Nov 2008 18:59:42 -0800

I'd like to congratulate my father, Rancid_Pickle, for beating his 50k. How you do it is beyond me. I'm barely at 6k!

Congrats, Dad!

<3
Keru
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--Kerushi/Kelsey
"it makes more sense with hand gestures, but i think you are smart enough to get the gist." --From a crazy girl breaking up with her boyfriend (and for the record, it wasn't from me)

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Stanley Hotel Sunday 11/16

slythrn_barnbum — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:46:39 -0800

So, I already posted it on the Stanley thread, but I just wanted to get it out here, too.

I'm going to be up in Estes on Sunday the 16th for most of the day, and I'll be doing a bunch of writing up at the hotel that day. If you guys can't make the event on Saturday and still want to come meet me up there on Sunday, that'd be great! I'm going to be going to lunch at this awesome sandwich shop in town, then hauling my butt up to the hotel for some serious writing. I'm betting I'll get to the hotel around 12 or so and stay until around 5 to write and wander about. I'd love some company! If you'd like to join me for lunch, too, before hand, that'd be awesome!

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---
It's a big rock. Can't wait to tell my friends; they don't have a rock this big.

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Stanley Hotel meeting place today

powerwoman — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 07:21:16 -0800

Coffee Shop on lower west level is open at 6AM (not as cozy as upstairs, but a good place to begin).

The Cascades lounge upstairs in the actual hotel opens at 11:30...first come first serve, but the guy I spoke with yesterday said that if one of us went up around 11Am and told them how many of us there are, they can have a space available for us when they open the doors at 11:30. Then we can schlep our laptops up there to continue the write-in

We need to meet at the front counter at 12:45 for them to take us to the beginning location of the tour and to pay ($10 per person). The tour begins at 1:00 and goes for 1 1/2 hours.

The lobby near the fireplaces is a good place to write as well if people want to continue the write-in after the tour.

PowerWoman
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PowerWoman
'Books choose their authors; the act of creation is not entirely a rational and conscious one.' Salman Rushdie
‘There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately no-one knows what they are.’ Somerset Maugham

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Teeny Little Super Victory Thread!

Christopher Stuck — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 09:35:27 -0700

Reveling in even your smallest of writing victories can really help you stay motivated and pleased with what you're putting down in November. Here's a thread in which to bounce around and scream and grin about whatever it was that gave you a glorious writing moment.
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Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Horse Write-In

surprisephoenix — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:23:26 -0700

As discussed in the Write-In Planning thread, I am up for hosting a write-in at my barn, with the writing to be done there, if the weather is good, or at another establishment if the weather is not. Regardless, we'll play with some horses before we write.

Let me know who's interested and which Saturday works best. I'm thinking maybe November 8th in the early afternoon. Want to steer clear of the 15th for the Stanley, and later in the month, we have a better chance of the weather being worse (though this IS Colorado, after all, and I could be wrong!). But, it's up for discussion, so please post your input, and we'll make a decision in the next few days as to date and time.

More details:
The barn is near Wellington, so you'll need to drive/carpool a little ways. (unless you're me or megfuzzle!)
Dress warmly if it's cold, since we will be at least petting some horses before heading to warmer climes.
We might be able to use my house as the cold-weather-alternative, as I MAY have my kitchen at least partially reorganized/put back together by then. If I do, there will be room for several people at my house (and I'm sure my husband would *love* seeing a bunch of crazy writers at work!). If not, we can go to the Chocolate Rose Coffee Shop (closes at 3) or the T-Bar (closes whenever... 10 or 11 pm, I think!); both are in Wellington. Or we could go to Camacho's, the Mexican restaurant--I know the owners, and they're super nice.
Once we know who's interested in coming, and we pick a date and time, I'll nano mail everyone directions.

Let me know what you all think!
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United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

vim and Vigor

Makyo — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:40:26 -0700

Oh man, you guys are my heroes :D Where else can one geek out about stuff like this?

I'm another die-hard vim user. I'm using plain text files for each subsection in the novel, which makes word-counts easy (cat *.novel > full; wc -w full; rm full, though maybe I should look into this conkyness), and in order to pull everything together into prettypretty output, I've got a LaTeX shell that just includes all those files when compiled, all of which is kept in a subversion repository. That way, not only am I not distracted by syntax highlighting, but I have something to procrastinate with when writing escapes me.
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Ein jeder Engel ist schreklich
-- R. M. Rilke

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Fort Collins LITERARY NOVEL Writers Critique Group

traevoli — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 09:19:44 -0800

Hi, all. I found a flier at yesterday morning's Alley Cat write-in which I thought some of you might be interested in.

the flier posted at Alley Cat wrote:

NOVELISTS
Fort Collins LITERARY NOVEL Writers Critique Group

SEEKING NEW MEMBERS WHO ARE:
Writing a novel: Any stage of writing or revising a literary novel (no genre or religious fiction).

Dedicated to learning: We read and discuss classic and contemporary literary fiction, teach ourselves writing techniques, and regularly present topics on narrative craft to each other.

Committed to investing time to reading and critiquing other members's chapters, and to attending every meeting. Meetings are every 2 weeks, Thursdays at 7 p.m., in Fort Collins.

Ready to submit chapters about once or twice a month; group is also open to critiquing short stories, creative nonfiction essays, queries and cover letters, novel synopses, etc.

APPLICATION PROCESS

1. LETTER OF INTEREST (1 page) including):: a). Your name, address, phone number, and e-mail.; b). A little bit about yourself, your writing, other work; c). Why you'd like to be in a novel-writing critique group; d). Experience, skills, and qualities you would bring to the group.
2. WRITING SAMPLE from your novel, 5 - 10 pages paper-clipped together. Make sure your name is on your writing sample.

Deadline is Thanksgiving, 27 November, 2008.
Please submit application packet by mail to:

NOVELIST GROUP
P.O. BOX 497
FORT COLLINS, CO 80522

We will contact you by phone or e-mail within 3 weeks of receipt of application packet; send us a postcard if you haven't heard from us by then. Applicants who seem to be a good match will have an opportunity to chat with current members before attending a Thursday critique group meeting.

We welcome applications from adult writers of any age, from any writing tradition and experience level, any professional, educational, or economic background, any race, religion, country of origin, mother tongue, gender, gender identity, or sexual preference. In the interest of nurturing the creative spirit, we prefer writers who embrace open-mindedness. We value diversity and encourage novelists with non-mainstream views, lifestyles, and stories to apply. There's no application fee.

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Simmon/traevoli
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Municipal Liaison, Fort Collins, 2007, 2008
NaNoWriMo winner, 2005, 2006, 2007
NaNoWriMo Daily Q&A guest, 2006
Script Frenzy winner, 2007

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Daily Q&A

zinniafire — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:47:07 -0800

Yay!!! We've been publicized to the world at large. Skyla was interviewed for the daily Q&A, and our epic battle made it in! Just thought I'd tell anyone who didn't know. It certainly made me excited to see that. ;)
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United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Write-in & Tour Stanley Hotel

powerwoman — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:01:25 -0700

I contacted the Stanley Hotel in Estes to see available dates and times for the tour/write-in. It turns out to be a popular tour and books up quickly, so I had to give them a date and time and approximate number (just guessing in order to hold our reservation):

Saturday, Nov 15. Tour begins at 1:00 PM sharp. $10 per person

I estimated 15 NaNo people...that's about all they have room for including the 6 individuals that have already reserved that time. I had to give them my credit card...which they will charge if most of us don't show without a 48 hr cancelation. So please keep me informed if you are seriously planning to come so I can give a more accurate number in the days to come (also if you are put on the list and need to cancel be sure to let me know by Nov 13). I asked to include Stephen King/Shining and ghost room in the tour.

Should be fun! Do you want to come up earlier, say around 10:30 or 11:00 and write before the tour (the tour is 1 1/2 hour long).

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Stanley tour write-in update list

powerwoman — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:49:53 -0800

As of now I have confirmed:

Niassa (hope your guest is okay from the accident)
Navillarreal
Traevoli
Toykeeper
Schmoo
theArcher & wife
blueminkbifocals
GrindhouseXian
PowerWoman & husband

I need to confirm with the hotel tomorrow afternoon (Nov 13) that we have at least 10 for the tour at 1:00 (each will pay $10 when you arrive). They are holding tour reservations with my credit card until each person pays on Sunday.

There is room for 3 or 4 more at this time.

See you there. Looks like the weather should be good. We were supposed to get 4-8" of snow the other night, but nary a flake appeared (except the high peaks got dumped on, so it is beautiful).

Be aware of animals on the drive up (especially just past Drake where the big horn sheep tend to hang out). There are also lots of deer. You probably won't meet any elk on the drive up, unless you choose to take the Glen Haven road....which is a beautiful drive.

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Technical Help Needed

Mental Midget — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:08:04 -0800

My computer froze and I lost 2000 - something words!!! (idiot girl does not save her work very much) Is there any way that I could possibly recover the lost 2K?
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United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Happy ML Appreciation Day!

fizzingwhizbee — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 12:01:41 -0800

As Chris Baty informed us on the NaNo home page, today is ML Appreciation Day. I thought we could use this thread to share our thanks :)

Thanks so much to shmoo and traevoli for planning write-ins and just being awesome MLs! :)
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mandy/fizzingwhizbee

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Attending my first write-in!

megfuzzle — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:58:47 -0800

I'm going to Moxie Java tonight at 6pm -- my first write in!

I'm woefully behind on word count, and if I go home, my laundry is just going to distract me! (Or I'll end up writing about how my character does HER laundry.)

Hope to see someone else there =)
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_______________________________________________________________
"the only page you cannot edit is a blank one"
Title: (working) Hazel
Mood: Anxious to write

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

For All My Nocturnal Homies

Crash — Sat, 1 Nov 2008 13:49:15 -0700

I've reserved the downstairs room at the Alley Cat from 10pm-2am on Tuesday and Thursday nights. We *can* reserve it for those same times on other days, should the be a demand for it.
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- Crash
Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Introduce yourself!

Christopher Stuck — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:23:44 -0700

Whoa, it's that time again! Yet another NaNoWriMo is looming closer. Another chance to beat those filthy cow-smelling people-shaped things from Greeley! AGAIN! (By, you know, doing our duties as writers and putting 50,000+ words down.)

Hello, wonderful people of Fort Collins and surrounding Colorado places! My name is Crash and I am NOT your Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo! (At least last I checked.)

What is a Municipal Liaison, exactly? They'll be organizing events during November as well as the Kick-Off Party (Midnight, Halloween/All Saint's!) and the End of Days Party, which will be in the first week of December. Not only that, but they will also be sending out pep talks and other craziness.

But like I said, I'm not one of them. I'm just another overly-imaginative person who likes to attempt to distill my brain droppings into sensical stories. This will be my second year of putting effort into this madness and I'm highly excited to get going. I'm 27 and will be wearing my red derby to each and every write-in I attend this year. I plan to be the beacon announcing the FoCoNaNo presence!

This year, I'm writing a novel intended for young adults in which a boy finds out his grandfather is a kobold.

If I recruited you, I apologize in advance for getting you into this. If you're back for more this year, I apologize for everything I did last year. If this is your first year and I didn't give you the idea, I'm not sorry at all and look forward to torturing you.

That said, it's fun, I swear! You wont regret it!

So let us know you're here!

- Crash

ONLY 35 DAYS, 3 HOURS, 37 MINUTES LEFT AS OF THIS POST!
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Crash, Fort Collins, CO.
"Why do I have this imagination? It's the only one I've got." - Neil Gaiman

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Lovelanders

theArcher — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 10:12:33 -0700

How many folks do we have coming up from Loveland? I'm thinking here of ride-sharing to some of the write-ins or even some Loveland-based write-ins if we have enough folks to make it work. Let's network, see if we can help each other out! I'm willing to drive up instead of taking the cycle if I've got passengers, and I know lilone posted same on the Ridesharing thread...

-- The Archer
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"Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule." - Stephen King

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Wizard Rock Concert - Nov 17

slythrn_barnbum — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:34:46 -0700

Alright, so, here's the deal:

I'm hosting a wizard rock concert at my work, The Discovery Science Center, on Monday, November 17th. I'd love for you guys to come, and it's going to be a blast. Here's the basic info:

When: Monday, November 17th
Where: Discovery Science Center (703 East Prospect, Fort Collins)
Time: Concert - 6-8pm
Dinner - 8ish-?
Who: The Whomping Willows
Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills
Price: $3 admission (goes to HPA and their car)

Come and enjoy a night of music before your midnight writings! Honest, it's a lot of fun, and it'd be a great thing to do as a break from writing, or to get some inspiration!

THE CATCH: We've got limited room at the center, so we're going to have to knock the numbers off at 40 people. If you RSVP with me (can be done through NaNo mail!), you're GUARANTEED a spot in the audience. If you don't RSVP and come anyway, you might be turned away. Don't let this happen!

lol, I just realized how much I sound like a commercial. Seriously, though, it'd be a lot of fun, and I'm already about half way filled on the RSVP list, so get your name to me soon! It'll take two seconds, and you'll have fun. If you want, you can come to dinner with us after the show. We're going to McCallister's Deli (next to Wild Boar), so you should come join us.

Remember to RSVP through NaNo mail, and if you've got any questions, concerns, etc, let me know.
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It's a big rock. Can't wait to tell my friends; they don't have a rock this big.

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Email from Chris Baty

geminifaerie — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:53:06 -0700

I just got my "Your guide to the month ahead" from Chris Baty. I cried. Is that pathetic? Or just the overwhelming joy and fear and anticipation of the upcoming month? I admit, I freaked out when I realized Friday is Halloween and then Saturday is Nov. 1st!

But I had to share my overwhelming feelings from that one simple email breaking down the month of Nov and all that it entails. I bought a T-shirt, so now I have to write all those words to justify my buying it. :D

-Erin
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"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in reading a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." Northanger Abbey By Jane Austen

United States :: Colorado :: Fort Collins

Veteran's Day Write In

Gene_o — Sat, 8 Nov 2008 08:53:56 -0800

I'll be at home writing for most of the day on Tuesday and would love to be surrounded by people with the same goal. I want to start writing around 10 am and keep at it until late in the night. So come on by anytime during the day and write, write, write. Seating is limited but cushions and pillows are plentiful. And now, some relevant information:

Who's hosting all this?
Gene_O or, as he is known to his friends, Gene.

Where does this Gene person live?
109 w. Myrtle Apt. #8. Just follow the alley north from Alley Cat and University Apartments will be the first apartment building on your left. Go to the bottom south-west apartment. If you cross a street you've gone too far.

When is all this?
Roughly 10 am to 10 pm on Veteran's Day; Tuesday, November 11th.

Will there be any refreshments provided?
I will definitely have coffee and I'll be making Moroccan red lentil soup for dinner. The house water is always available. I'll probably pick up some other snacks whose nature will be determined by the mood I'm in when I go to the store. Veteran's get a free drink.

R.S.V.P?
Appreciated, but not necessary.

Anything else?
Not that I can think of. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer as well as I can. Shmoo and Traevoli know me well and can act as a reliable references if necessary.

That's all I got. Tuesday is going to be a productive day for me and I hope that others join in the fun.

Thank you
Gene_O
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