The Writer's Poke

When I was 35, we vacationed in Europe for a week, and it was the first time I had left North America. I realized that I was closer to 40 than I was to 30, and I quietly made a goal to visit every continent by age 40. Two years later, I'm no closer to completing that goal, although I still think about what it would take to make it happen. Sometimes I think the goal is unrealistic, and I know that this is an attitude that makes it just that: unrealistic. Others have even more ambitious goals, like seeing every country in the world. The dude at this link claims he's 149/192 countries into his goal, which he hopes to complete by 2013, his 35th birthday: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/places-ive-been/ Bottom line: the world won't come to you. If you want to see the world, go see it. Make it happen. And with the purchase of a 6-continent ticket, it looks like most of the goal could be knocked out in one trip. Cost for such a ticket: about $7000.

I voted today, and it turns out that my polling place is a church? I suppose that's pretty common, but this is the first time that I can ever recall voting in a church. And when I put my ballot in the vote box, guess who was watching me -- or at least guess whose picture was above the box? Yep. The J-man. I don't have a problem with that, actually, but I did find it a bit odd. In Connecticut, the Attorney General threatened not to let people wearing WWE t-shirts, but in Minnesota, and I assume everywhere else in the country, it's completely okay for Jesus to be presiding over the voting area??

I first heard about NaNoWriMo in 2008, and the idea intrigued me. Unfortunately, I had a trip to Europe planned, and that kind of got in my way. Last year, November came and went, and again, the opportunity slipped away. The idea behind National Novel Writing Month is simple: Put up or shut up. It's a chance for aspiring novel writers to say, this is the month that I will write a novel. After all, 50,000 words is just about 1,600 words a day. Who can't do that? This year, 175,000 people worldwide are expected to participate. Of those, around 30,000 will probably complete their novel by month's end. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Don't let another November pass you by. http://www. nanowrimo.org