100th Post and I'm a Winner!

100th post right here. And what way could be better to celebrate it than "winning" NaNoWriMo? 50,479 words. I did it, and I am SO happy it is over.

*ETA: Official NaNoWriMo count is 50,077, according to their official word counter. It's still victory!

Despite how crazy NaNoWriMo made November I am really happy I participated. I now have a first draft of a novel that will hide on my hard drive forever. (No aspirations to get published here.)

I have been neglecting school work and such since I have written more than half of that word count in the last week. Just call me a comeback kid (stolen from a NaNoWriMo inspirational email). Now, it's time for me to polish up my philosophy paper then turn it in.

Cheers,
Alison

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for (in no particular order):

• my sister, Baby A, but you all knew that. I'm pretty sure she (usually) knows it, too.
• my education. Public higher education in California is going through some major issues that must be resolved, but through it all, I am here to get my degrees and I know that I am lucky. Baby A and I are particularly grateful for scholarships and grants this year, as we will be in the coming years as well, I am sure. I personally have met students who are either honestly unsure if they can continue their education in this university system or know that they must try to go elsewhere next year or face not finishing their degree at all. I am not taking my education for granted.
  
• our kitties. Pets are important, and our boys bring us joy. It's nice having pets in college. Money and time, yes, they require those, but pets reduce stress for everyone, even college kids. So worth it.
  
• my family and friends. Of course.
  
• the internet. Oh, what? You were totally thinking it too.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Alison

Separation Success

Trishna and Krishna, conjoined twins from India, were separated in an operation lasting 25 hours in Australia, according to this BBC article. Twenty. Five. Hours. The girls were brought to Australia by the Children First Foundation two years ago because they were extremely sick in an orphanage in Dhaka, and the operation was performed at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.

Both Trishna and Krishna are awake now and the outlook for both girls is very good. The girls were craniopagus twins, attached at the skull, so the surgery involved separating brain matter and circulation. That's some delicate and intensely technical surgery!

Wishing Trishna and Krishna a speedy and full recovery!

Cheers,
Alison

A Really Good Way to Tell Us Apart

Our new tattoos! They are entirely different and in entirely different locations. During summer, when sun dresses, tank tops, and camis are the norm, mine will be out there for the world to see.

The goosebumps and redness are sexeh. You know it.

For scale, here's the design transfer.

I'm hunched over a bit. Ignore the optical illusion of linebacker shoulders.

Baby A's tattoo is freaking gorgeous. And NOT as FREAKING HUGE as it looks. It's only 9 inches long and 2 to 3 inches across at the widest points.

It looks a little angry here. Like needles are irritating or something. Psssh.
Quote can be read here, fourth line down in the poem.

That's all the ink for now, folks. For a long time, actually. Mom made us swear to it. (She'd prefer never, ever, BTW.)

Cheers,
Alison

For Maddie

Today, Maddie, is your second birthday. Baby A and I, and so many people, wish with all our hearts that you were here to celebrate. Last year, on this day, you celebrated with a cream puff. This year, we think of you, how lucky the world is because you were here, being brave, being kind. Even now, you are still making the world a better place.

Darling girl, you are so missed, by those who met you and those who never got the chance. By close family and friends and complete strangers.

My continual gift to you is the spot in my heart that is yours. Love, always, to you, your mommy, your daddy, and your family.

Love,
Alison

Muni Brings the Funny

Public transportation is always an eye opener. This ad made us laugh.

(It's usually a shock when one finds out that she is carrying multiples. Mom got a huge shock when she found out there were two of us when she was seven months along.)

Cheers,
Alison

Twins: Universal Language for "Awesome"

I know this street so, so well now.

Yesterday involved a big city adventure in San Francisco. Baby A and I joined a friend in the Bay Area and set off to pursue that flighty temptress, adventure. (Name that mythical wizard!)

To make a long story short, we ended up having a Chinese mom for about 10 minutes. It was awesome, and she directed us to a bakery on the edge of Chinatown known both for its delicious pastries and entrees and for validating parking for the garage where we parked. (We walked and Muni'd around, as one should do if possible.) As we, the three college students and the middle aged woman, parted ways, she asked "Are you girls twins?" She told us that she has a twin brother.

Twins. We're cool in every language.

Cheers, Alison

I heart lanterns. The end.

I Only Wish I Could Juggle

It is true. I cannot juggle. I also can't whistle, and this is something that, yes, actually bothers me. And so many people have tried to teach me! I am slightly tongue tied (Baby A too); it was enough of a problem to make feeding a concern when we were just wee new humans but not enough of a problem to go under the knife. Like how I dramatized an outpatient procedure performed on many people with no complications? It's actually called a frenotomy, and it's just a little snip with a scalpel or a laser of the tissue that holds your tongue down. But in any case, Baby A and I can speak/eat/etc. normally. It could be why I cannot roll my R's so my Spanish SUCKS and I cannot whistle. These two reasons are not pressing enough to let someone take a sharp instrument to the bottom of my mouth.

And I digress. Hard. I should be a college professor, that's how awesome my digression skills are. Anyway: JUGGLING. Also, I hate the circus and I HATE clowns. Clowns juggle. Maybe my inability to juggle is my subconscious way of further distancing myself from them. And when did hating clowns become cool? It's become a part of pop culture. I, on the other hand, instead of wearing shirts that advertise such a phobia, just break out into a cold sweat when there is one around and duck behind the nearest object, animate or inanimate. Wait: a brief Google search reveals the phrase "Can't sleep, clowns will eat me" came from an Al.ice C.ooper song. So it's HIS fault I see clowns on shirts everywhere. Got it.

JUGGLING. I am currently juggling school, work, a few projects of the crafty variety, trying to not let the piles of clothes and papers in our room reach waist high, one intramural sport, a few clubs, and having a social life.

Nope, this post had nothing to do with twins. You know what else has nothing to do with twins? National Novel Writing Month. Go ahead and add NaNoWriMo to that list above. Word count as of last night: 2640. I am a little behind schedule, but I really want to do it this year and get 50,000 words of prose down before 11:59 the night of November 30.

And now we've reached the end and you are wondering "What the hell was the point of this post?" Here you go: I can't juggle when it comes to actual, physical juggling, but I do try my best to juggle the things in my life. And sometimes I drop a bowling pin (I decided my mental picture of juggling is going to include bowling pins because I LOVE BOWLING), but I'm trying.

Cheers,
Alison