My priorities: slightly flawed

[blamebrampton]

My one goal for today: 
* Finish Fathers.

What I actually did: 
* Bought very nice underthings for half-price at DJs (50% off Simone Perle!)
* Went to four places looking for the perfect under-eye concealer that would mask dark circles without looking like I had little pale grey puffy pillows under each eye instead (failed to find any, damn my non-yellow-toned skin!)
* Purchased a nice Kala tenor ukulele for $100 off! 
* Learned to play a scale and two chords on said ukulele.
* Hatched plans for one-woman Vera Lynn Tribute Show (am semi-serious!)


If I can stay awake for another 120 minutes and type very fast, I might still be able to hit my first priority ... Though it is already 1am ...

Comments

[leaf-light.livejournal.com]

Dear one please, please, for the love of all good things, type very fast. Though I am of course glad that you enjoyed the rest of your day and sorry it's one am for you already. but Fathers, the end in sight, so near and yet...

I wait with a patience I hardly knew I possessed for the end of this piece.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I am going to get as far as I can tonight. The Championships are on, so I can stay up for a bit with Rafa and Djokovic to keep me going. And then it will just need a beta and ... IT COULD ACTUALLY BE UP THIS WEEK!! MADNESS!!!!

(I have put the ukulele back in its box and am not allowed to open it again today.)

[leaf-light.livejournal.com]

What very excellent news (and the ukulele will wait, yes it will). Fathers finished! And soon, really? I shall have to have a celebration of some kind when it's done (and reread it all from start to finish again). Followed by feasting and rejoicing and etc.

Enjoy the match, but keep writing! I'm reduced to exclamation marks to show excitement.

I shall wait with even more eagerness than before.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Have sent off all but the last scene to beta. It will be sad to see it go, but such a relief to have it done!

And thank you so much for your generous encouragement -- it's really lovely of you!

[leaf-light.livejournal.com]

I am happier than I can say to know that within just a few days I shall be reading new words from you. And the last scene will be following very shortly after yes?

My encouragement is merely a delight in finding such a truly excellent writer who is wasted on whatever job takes your mind away from such talent. I fear that the knitting patterns you mention from time to time in no way make full use of such a gift.

And I hope you get much pleasure from your ukulele when Fathers is *finished*, though not so much that you forget to finish certain other equally good pieces.

Seriously, you write frighteningly well, and I hope you continue to do so because you are too gifted not to.

As for your comment lower down about wishing to be hit if you mention writing sequels or some such nonsense, the answer is clear - just finish them faster. Everyone will be happier that way *g*, (and you'll have more guilt free time to play the ukulele).

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

Yippee! A ukulele!

I hope you get to finish what you need to do, though.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Eh, it was meant to be finished three years ago, an extra day or two means little at this point ;-)

BUT YES! AND I LOVE IT!!!

[jadzialove.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you how much it made me smile to see the ukulele on that list. It was just so random. I love it.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I have ALWAYS wanted to play an instrument, but Dad never taught me, because I could sing, so he would just say 'Your body is your instrument!' which is true to a point, but it's a lousy accompaniment.

Last year I went to the Clerkenwell Vintage Fair with Rai, Pin and Cal and we saw this great chick wearing a WAF uniform and singing 40s hits, with a little soprano ukulele – and I was unsure if I wanted to take her out for a drink or be her.

Since then, ukuleles keep appearing randomly in my life. On Friday, I mentioned this to a friend who said 'I LOVE UKES! I want to learn how to play!' So I said that I would pop into the music shop and see what sort of prices things were going for and if there were any good teach-yourself books and ... well, a bit of a dent in the credit card later, I can play a scale! And two chords!

Of course, the horror of learning is that I have perfect pitch and I can hear every single missed-fingering so very very clearly ... but I will get there! And then I will get a WAF uniform! (Pulls out the Gracie and Vera songbooks ...)

[jadzialove.livejournal.com]

What an excellent image! That 40s style, a woman in uniform - I understand your dilemma. *nods*

And I'm completely jealous that you can sing. There's a painful irony in loving music and being utterly tone-deaf. Though I sound fine to myself, the broken glass gets expensive...

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I believe she may even have been wearing tapshoes!

And it compensates for my uselessness at tennis. I could have married a QC if only I could play tennis!

[subtlefire.livejournal.com]

I think you should write it while sitting in your glorious new underthings, ukulele near at hand.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I am wearing the French knickers, but with a hoodie, old legwarmers and sheepskin boots, because it is cold, so it's not quite the Sexy Writer Lady Look I was planning ...

[subtlefire.livejournal.com]

Well, if the knickers are on display, I think that's close enough :)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

They're red! But I had to throw tracky daks on because it is not warm in here. Sydney houses are the same temp inside as out, alas!

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Pictures of you playing the ukulele or it never happened! *g*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

You know, there are hardly any pictures of me at all, so I may not actually exist! But I will try to sort something out this week, it will probably be of one hand holding the uke out just far enough for the camera to be able to focus ... (I am nearly as wretched a photographer as I am unwilling subject!)

[lisbet.livejournal.com]

Re: under-eye concealers...I swear by the Lift Concealer from Make Up For Ever. They have pink-beige! Not sure if it's available where you are, though.
http://www.makeupforever.com/products/lift-concealer.html


I'm definitely looking forward to Fathers, too. Glad to know it's almost here. I've loved that series since the beginning!:)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

ooh! That sounds good! And I am sure that I have seen them in Sydney somewhere ... one of the malls I never go to, I think. Google will help me! It's so hard to find things with a pink tone, and then they are always designed for young skins, so they tend not to be formulated to stay out of fine lines. But some of us are pink AND middle-aged! ;-)

And I have just sent all of the last act save the very last scene off to my lovely beta. Fingers crossed I can knock that off tomorrow night, at worst, I have Wednesday off work. If I ever say 'sequel' again, please hit me.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Found a supplier only a few miles away and on the bus route! HURRAH!

[lisbet.livejournal.com]

Good luck! Hopefully they will let you sample some before you buy it. I know how it is to have so many shades make us look as if we're slightly ill. Not godawful, just...how was it you described below...slightly seasick!:)

[lisbet.livejournal.com]

P.S. I went to a makeup/style event recently and a rep from the Bobbi Brown cosmetic line was saying how their foundation colors came to be created..."because people weren't pink!" (his words).

Note to self: avoid Bobbi Brown foundations.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

They're all pretty yellow, and most of their eye colours look best on yellow tones, too. Which is a shame, because they have some nice products.

Chanel is the same, can;t wear any of their foundations. Though their lipsticks are far broader in range and there are some lovely ones for non-yellow skins. They have such lovely pigments, I don't mind paying the silly prices, and they last forever!

[potteresque_ire]

But but but now you can play Vera Lynn on your ukulele while you write your fic... in your new underthings!!!!!

As to your non-yellow skin tone *blows raspberries at you out of jealousy* :DDD

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

HA! SO many of the best and most beautiful cosmetics only work on yellow-toned skin. I had to give up on everything Chanel except for lipstick as they were all yellow. :-( Also, yellow tones look lovely with so many wonderful colours, whereas those same colours make me look dead or seasick. Ah well, at least I have deep red.

And I can't do them all at once due to not having enough hands, but I have been doing that sequentially all evening! (but now to sleep!)

[symetric.livejournal.com]

lol, constructive day! i need new underthings but am feeling quite lazy lately so it might not happen until the end of summer.

the best of luck with Fathers! wips and i do not go hand in hand... XD

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Apparently WiPs and I do not go hand in hand, either ;-)

And I do recommend the sales -- half price is one of my favourite phrases!

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

I leave the country, get out of whipping distance, and you are completely out of control!

Although I am giving serious thought to that underwear. >.>

And then my brain went to you doing Tiny Tim's TipToe through the Tulips with a ukulele, wearing Simone Perle!

*pokes you*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Well, it was Mika's Grace Kelly (I was pants), but yes, you had the outfit right! (Alas, I realised quickly it was freezing and added an exercise hoodie, and then legwarmers, and then finally sheepskin booties. The Glamour had well and truly left the building by then. But I learned two more notes today!)

And I have everything except the last scene back from the beta -- to writing!!

[suttonwriter.livejournal.com]

I have to give you credit: that is the most convoluted writing procrastination technique I have ever heard of, including over a decade of teaching first-year composition. :) That said, it looks like it was helpful. Looking forward to seeing the end of Fathers. . .

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

If procrastination was an Olympic sport, Great Britain and Australia would be fighting over me for 2012! (Though I have to say that I have always been very understanding of people requiring extensions ;-))

And yes -- an excellent shopping day and VERY nearly there!

[chantefable.livejournal.com]

Nothing is more important than underthings. You can be wearing a sack, but you have to love your underthings! Yay underthings! And underthings + ukulele? Bohemian.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I thought you wrote underlings for a moment and was about to say 'YES! And how refreshing to have friends who are prepared to eschew PC democratic drivel and admit the necessity of minions in this day and age!'

But yeah, bras and knickers are good, too ;-)

My ukulele is a thing of beauty and a joy forever!

[chantefable.livejournal.com]

Well, you cannot very well rule over your underlings if you don't have awesome underthings! Think of your image! New underthings are the first step to acquiring minions and, eventually, world domination! Entrance the minions with the sounds of the ukulele!

[teganscrush.livejournal.com]

You bought a ukelele.

Seriously, what is there not to love about you? <3

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I am an appalling bed-hog and will sprawl into all available room. Also, lax housekeeper.

(In truth, my actual ukulele playing is not yet lovable, but it will be! And I mastered Twinkle Twinkle Little Star today, which is not too bad for Day Three ...)

XXX

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

If you can play a scale, you can play anything!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

But only anything in a C scale ...

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

That's what transposing is for *g*

[nenne.livejournal.com]

I noticed the ukulele the most here. Where did that come from? Have you played before or did you just wake up today (yesterday?) and decide that you wanted to play?

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I had been keen on the idea for a while, and on Friday I chatted with a friend at work about ukuleles and she was so enthusiastic that by the end of the chat, we had decided to form a ukulele duo.

I had gone into the music shop only to browse, but I am hopeless ;-)

[nenne.livejournal.com]

I think I am a little bit in love with you. ROFL You just chat with a friend and end up making a ukulele duo? It's brilliant!