She is safe for one more week...

Somehow Angela squeaked by again! If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you are just not "hip and happening", but since I'm not about exclusion I will fill you in. (Also, you can read my previous post, that should help you figure out who Angela is). I am talking about Project Runway, of course.

Their challenge was to design for fashion's hottest accessory of the moment... dogs! They each picked a dog and created an outfit and story for the owner of that dog. They also had to create an outfit for the dog to match (which for reasons of pedantry, Keith refused to do, which almost got him kicked off).

The winner, and Poncho and I both agreed she deserved it, was Uli. Her dress was very wearable and sexy. Of the rest, there wasn't any disasters--except maybe Vincent, who again insisted that his models wore hats, including the dog who was not pleased. Also worth mentioning is Laura, the supposed mother of 5 kids (is this for real... I wonder. If it is, who is with the kids now?), made something that looked like what she has made for the last two challenges. Can she be innovative?

The bottom two were Angela and Katherine. Angela had created an awful skimpy and, as per the judges, skanky outfit that she said belonged to an art teacher who worked with six year olds--completely inappropriate. And Katherine's dress, though sweet, was too simple. Still, they somehow thought that it was better to be skanky and creative than sweet and boring.

Angela, it will be your turn soon (and from Nina's comments, I think she agrees). Your style is just, well, not stylish.

The saddest departure

So, this past Wednesday, on Project Runway we saw I think the saddest departure to date. (For a funny recap of the whole episode, in case you missed it go to Lipstick Mystic) The challenge was to make an evening gown for Miss U.S.A. Malan attempted to make something that ended up looking too puffy and heavy and was Auf'd. I know some people saw Malan as the potential villain, but I would vote for Jeffrey. He is always negative about everyone else's work and seems to think very highly of himself.

That same episode Malan had related a story about showing his mother his design sketches at the age of thirteen. His mother's reaction was to tell him to throw out the sketches and to tell her son to never do that again. He felt that his participation in Project Runway would prove to her that he did have what it takes to be a designer. Then, he was asked to leave and the first thing he said was, "I am so ashamed." Later, he confessed that he had not had many friends in his life and that he liked feeling part of something. The whole thing just broke your heart.

Bye Malan, and do not give up your dream to work in fashion. All the best to you!

Meanwhile, I thought Angela should be Auf'd because she did nothing but complain and was a negative presence in her group. I am sure that Vincent is not easy to work with but still you have to make the best of every situation. Her critiques did not help make a better dress. She is not long for the show, I suspect. I mean, when she went to pitch her design to Miss U.S.A. she didnt' have any sketches and suggested gloves!!!

I DID IT!!!

I'm done! I have finished, concluded, completed, accomplished, fulfilled, effectuated, wrapped up my novel.

Well, not really, not yet. There is still a lot of re-writting, re-thinking, re-composing, re-tooling, re-vamping and all the other re's you can think of. But, I can now say proudly and triumphantly that I have written a complete first draft of my young adult novel.

It feels amazing.

Next step, print the 159 pages of written text and start reading what I wrote when I began this project (which was all the way back in October of last year), while repeating to myself the mantra: "It is only a first draft, It is only a first draft." I plan to appease my inner critic this way...trust me, she is no one you would like to contend with. I hope she finds it in her heart to go easy on me. It is, after all, my first attempt at writing a novel.

How fiting that today's word of the day is raconteur--a relater, a storyteller. I guess I am now oficially a raconteur.

Dilatory

Today's word of the day is dilatory--inclined to defer or put off what ought to be done at once; given to procrastination; delaying; loitering. This is definitely me now. I am being completely dilatory.

I am one chapter away from finishing the first draft of my young adult novel and I am able to come up with 100 things I should be doing instead of writing. I just went down to the kitchen and cleaned out the fridge. Next, I was thinking of using Fifi as an excuse because even though she is nestled asleep on my lap, she is really needing a walk right now. And then of course, there is the ever so popular, I must post something on my blog and I should do it right away.

You see, the excuses, the reasons, the explanations of why I am not writing that last chapter are endless. But really, maybe it is just because I'm scared. Scared that what I will write will be no good. Scared that what I have written to date is garbage... And yet, I have to remind myself, this is just a first draft and I have my own permission to write the worst prose, the cheesiest dialogue, the most cliche scenes, and that I can worry about fixing and polishing it later. And yet this elusive later is now right around the corner. After this chapter is written it is time to begin the RE-WRITING.

And, in the end, maybe I should take Oscar Wilde's words to heart ("Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.") and claim all my mistakes, my shoddily written paragraphs and predictable plot lines as invaluable experience for a beginning writer. Either way, most writers claim that only about 10% of their first drafts make it to the final project. Oh my, I better get to work if I want to have a showable, readable draft finished before the baby comes. Okay, enough delaying, stalling, temporizing, time-wasting, filibustering. I have a chapter to write.

Going for third place

So, Portugal lost against France 1 - 0. What was so dissapointing was that the only goal scored was a penalty kick, and that Portugal had so many shots on goal.... but not one of those was able to make it in. Either way, I think they did a great job for a team that had not been in the semi-finals for 40 years. There is always 2010 in South Africa!

Yes, Adrianna, I am now for Bella Italia!

But before Sunday's final match, Portugal faces Germany for third place on Saturday. Come on team, one last chance for glory.

My team did it!

Unbelievably, on Saturday my team (and by that I mean, Portugal) made it to the Semi-Finals. They beat England in a 0 - 0 match that was decided by penalty kicks in which Portugal came on top with a 3 to 1 lead. It was an exciting game.

It isn't the Portuguese speaking team that people thought they'd see in the semi-finals. We were all sure that Brazil was the shoe-in, and yet, on that same day, France eliminated Brazil with a 1 - 0 win. It was a sad moment, as this is Poncho's team and that of all those congregated to watch the game. It was a bit demoralizing.

Still, I can't wait for Wednesday's game against France. I know you are in love with them at the moment Adrianna, but this is because you haven't been to Portugal. What a country! What a people! Hurray for the underdog!