The 3 R's - Repetition, Revving, Relaxation

(81% edited...must keep writing)

The 1st R: repetition 

Today I woke up nice and early at 3.30am. I did wait until 4pm before heading down to my laptop, and editing my wip. It was a long session. 

I really loved the content, but how the writing was executed left a lot to be imagined. I mean, hello Muse - why repeat the same sentence in 3 different ways? By the end of that paragraph, I was bored. So words were axed. It was so much fun finishing chapter 22 and marching on to 23. Or is that 24? I can't remember. I'm now 81% through the editing process! Slowly but surely each writing session the number rises (and now I'll probably come up against a super tough page which demands hours of work for 0.1% of an edit complete percentage. I like my wip. I'm really hoping others will like it too :) 

After editing, and watching my cat chase her tail 5 times (with a break in between each chase), I scooted off out for some pampering. I didn't get further than my car. 

(This isn't my car, but I think it's cute!) 

The 2nd R: Revving

I got in my car, put the key in the ignition, foot on the break (I have an automatic with durashift), gear in neutral and....nothing. Well, it sounded as though it wanted to click in (my term for a car starting), but it just wouldn't do it. I stopped, and looked at the car. Tried it again. And again (ok so repeat works for this R too). Nothing. I checked the manual, and the symbol on the dashboard was for the engine. It was in trouble. 

Armed with my details, I went and made the call (lower case used as it isn't The Call in the literary agent type of call). First I called my garage for advice. They said they had a free slot today if I needed it, and it shouldn't take too long to get parts if I needed them. They were having the showroom painted, and the person I spoke to had paint on their keyboard - it sounded like fun chaos. Anyway, I phone up the RAC. It was 10.05. They took my details, heard the problem, and promised someone would come by 11.20, phoning me 10 minutes before arrival. 

10.30 I get a call saying they would be 30 mins. 10.45 they arrive. A whole 35 minutes early! I don't know if this is usual or not - I think that because I'm a motability customer, that they try extra hard to get my car seen quickly because I rely on it to get anywhere - public transport isn't that much of an option for me. 

Anyway, I'm thinking 'no car for a week'. I demonstrate what my car wasn't doing. It's under 3 years old, I don't do excessive mileage and it's always been healthy. The mechanic knew what it was at once. Apparently, in considerably older cars there was this thing called a choker. Or choke. At that point I lost the mechanic, so upon asking if I'd used the car for a short time (yes, to reverse out then back in outside my house so family could park). The engine had flooded - apparently modern cars need a longer run to avoid engine flooding. He revved the car for a bit, then it started up fine. I was left with the recommendation of taking the car for a drive . Car drama was solved in an hour. I dutifully went out. I now know what to do if it happens again (hopefully not). 

(this will be me tonight) 

The 3rd R: relaxation

I'm not very good at this one. I tend to feel I have to be 'doing' something. This afternoon I watched a lot of Bones episodes and was attemptig to detangle a ball of yarn. Now, the cat hadn't played with it, I'd used a bit, then it had unwound itself and got knotted. I'd battled for a least 3-4 hours previously. Several  hours in and my patience runs out, so I just snip out the extremely knotted part, and keep the newly re-wound part. I love the yarn, but I hate the way the brand is wound. It always seems to get tangled. 

So in essence I was relaxing with dvds. They were really funny episodes. I'm watching more episodes tonight for relaxation - this time with a knot free yarn. Sometimes I can really feel waking up at 3.30am - and I never figure out why I'm so tired until I hit the 12 hour mark (usually 4pm) and remember how early I was up. Brain can't focus on reading, so I'm going to focus on my knitting and being entertained. 

Family have helped make that entertainment even more fun! At the beginning of the month, an awesome nommy-nom toffee sauce was created courtesy of some baker's recipe (can't remember who). It's dead easy to make, and family made 2 jars. I had some of one, then held off eating it. I now get told there is still 1 whole jar in the fridge, which needs eating by the end of the month (give or take a few days). 

So tonight's pre-bed snack will be xmas pudding with toffee sauce! It'l keep me awake enough to stay up until bed time. I can't ever go to bed early because I have medication to take throughout the day, and they need several hours between doses. If I went to bed say 9pm, I'd wake up around 2-3am. So it's not worth it. 

Phew! It was a more dramatic day than anticipated. I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll actually get some more reading in, and editing. I don't plan to go anywhere, so my car can rest itself. I will take it out at the weekend, out of fear it won't work come Tuesday morning. 

Disclaimer: I'm no mechanic, I might have misunderstood the problem with my car - do get in touch with a garage if your car does anything weird. Use the manual to decipher any symbols on the dashboard. I'm not responsible for anything which happens to your car if you choose to follow the steps I took.