First things first. I promised an update about how Saturday’s write-a-thon went. I did not achieve as much as I hoped I would. I really thought in 4 hours I would be able to hit 3 chapters. Unfortunately, since I don’t usually write in a busy coffee shop, I found myself distracted by unimportant things… things I usually don’t worry about. I thought that the chair was uncomfortable, I thought about if I should take my laptop with me if I wanted to order food and a drink. I thought the jazz music was too loud and ultimately had to throw in my earplugs and listen to my IPod… but I normally to write to music. 

Once I finally got settled to begin writing I got 2 sentences in and got stuck. When I had been setting up, I quickly changed my chapter guide because it no longer follow the path I was taking for my book and I didn’t know what to write. I took me a little while to get words on paper but slowly ideas started flowing, page by page, the chapter was finally getting written. I took me over two hours for that first chapter. The second chapter I wrote was a little bit easier, but I took a break to order lunch and then another short break to eat my lunch. I finished the second chapter with about 7 minutes to spare from my 4-hour pledge. So, I completed two chapters and wrote just over 5,500 words. I had hoped to write more, but I am satisfied with what I achieved.

What’s the most you’ve ever written in a single sitting?

I know the point of the write-a-thon was to write continuously for the entire day, but my husband had planned a party at out house beginning in the early afternoon, so after leaving the coffee shop, I was done writing for the day. I did write another full chapter yesterday though… I’m only 2000 words shy of being 1/2 way done and that is very exciting. So far, if I keep writing like I am, it is projected I will finish my novel on November 22. That will leave me over a week to edit and re-write anything. I’m astounded by well my first NaNo is going!

And now: Happy Veteran’s Day to all those who have served and are currently serving.

I am a Veteran as well… I served 6 years active duty in the Navy and deployed twice: once to the Philippines and once to Afghanistan. I know a lot of Veteran’s share my sentiment, so I’ll share that with you now. I have a hard time accepting thanks from people. I go to places like Sea World and on a Carnival cruise and they want the military members past and present to stand up so we can be acknowledged and thanked. Most times I would rather stay seated and clap along with everyone else. To me, I haven’t done anything worthy of being thanked. I was really great at my job, but that is all my service was to me: a job.

When I was 18, my Dad gave me to options. I could go to college or I could join the military, but I wasn’t staying home. I didn’t get into the college I wanted and I had already participated in 4 years of Naval Junior Reserve Office Trains Corps program at my high school, so joining the Navy made sense. I was in Intel, meaning that I was a glorified Google searcher and I made A LOT of powerpoint presentations. It was my job to keep the Commanding Officer and staff updated on every threat to our battalion or give them the specifics of an area we were traveling to. I had a desk job, that is all. I didn’t drive on the roads rigged with explosives and I didn’t shoot at things. Yes, my desk was sometimes in a war zone and sometimes I had to hide out in a bunker while our base was threatened with rockets, but nothing bad happened to me on deployments. My Commanding Officer and staff were always pleased with my work ethic and sometimes they said the safety of our battalion (no casualties) was in part thanks to what I did. But I just can’t see it that way.

Looking at pictures of me with a rifle slung across my back just seems strange. I was definitely not one of those girls that liked to shoot. I am in the Navy Reserves now, but I still consider myself to be a civilian. I am proud of the work I did in the Navy, I just don’t think it is deserving of thanks. If you look through my photos of deployment you would see people having a good time, and that is all I really remember, I don’t dwell on the bad. Here is my Afghanistan: Sundays we played Volleyball and went shopping at the boardwalk, for Christmas I decorated my room and my workspace, one night Carrabas and Outback cooked up restaurant quality food and it was AMAZING! I remember the night it flooded and me and my roommate had to jump over small rivers to get out laundry, but it was too flooded to go get dinner. I remember countless hours of watching TV shows on my laptop and being excited when we got satellite TV in our room. My favorite night was our over the hump party. We had a DJ come and play us music, and we danced and sang on the back of one of the trucks. I had fun in Afghanistan, though I’m sure you never hear those stories…

I don’t mean any disrespect to those that did have a hard deployment and suffer from it’s effects, you are the ones in my mind who deserve all the thanks. I was lucky, and I know that, and again that is why I have a hard time hearing the thanks.

For those of you who still wish to express me thanks, YOU’RE WELCOME, I’m just a girl doing a job to the best of my ability and I appreciate that you appreciate what we (the military) are doing.

 

-Christina