i sent two stories to a competition today. it felt like a huge achievement, even though i'm not sure the stories were up to scratch. i might post them on the site eventually, as that section has been static for a while and my legions of fans must be hungry for more. ;)

it feels like i'm getting back into the swing with the writing, which is a great relief. it makes me feel a bit more secure in my abilities and my desire to write, and enables me to cope (just) with encounters such as the following...

i was at the supermarket today and these two people stood behind me, talking very loudly. why is it that people whose opinions are facetious and who are incredibly annoying are always the loudest, and talk in confined spaces like supermarket queues, coming out of the movies/play/live performance, on the bus, etc? this girl said, in an extremely world-weary voice:

"I started a book last night."

Her male companion said, "Reading?"

"No, writing."

"That's cool."

"Yeah, well I've got five thousand words."

"Wow, that's heaps!"

"Yeah. And now everyone's like, 'I don't want to see myself in there!' And I mix it up a bit, you know, but all my friends are worried they'll see themselves in there."

"You can use me."

"I can use you? Excellent. I just don't know what'll happen when it gets picked up, you know, with people recognising themselves. It could be embarrassing."

No, honey, I think you're plenty embarrassing on your own.