Did I say this was a 'humiliating exercise'?

At the time, I had more faith in myself. Not exactly sure why, given my track record thus far. Maybe it has something to do that I've never failed at something I put my mind to...

And therein lies the rub. I haven't made my writing a priority. It still lies somewhere out there in a distant fantasy land.

But with the start of the New Year, I'm once again bucking up and plodding on. Last Saturday, I opened up my latest NaNoWriMo effort and wrote... all of 16 words. (Hey, Tony came home quicker than I expected, and we had to leave.) This morning, I dragged myself out of bed at 6 and forced myself to write 656 words.

Not the daily quota of 1,000 that I'd like to achieve, but I can't keep beating myself up for not meeting my ideal. Better to get it done than to get it perfect. For now.

I've got some new obsessions occupying my time these days, including a renewed passion for tea--discovered during a trip to Taiwan over the holidays. (At one point, I thought I'd chronicle the entire trip with a brand-new blog. Yeah, right... I did take some lovely photos, though.)

In a way, though, the tea seems to support the writing. It just feels right to sit down with a pot of tea, my journal and a good pen--or even my laptop. It's a lovely respite from the madcap pace of everyday life.

The other new obsession, also picked up in Taiwan, is getting my aging fanny into shape. Somehow, I managed to shed those last few pounds I picked up over the holidays last year, and I'm determined to keep them off. So this afternoon, we forced ourselves to get to the gym--despite the piles of work awaiting us.

And you know what? It was still there when we got back.