That’s what I did. Late one night, about a week and a half ago, a friend and I were IM-ing and we got to discussing my writing or lack thereof. And she double-dog-dared me to finish the very short WIP that’s been haunting me for way too long. (And there’s nothing stronger than a double-dog-dare, so I had to do it.)

So, absolutely convinced that I could totally bang out a first draft with the threat of a deadline and a reward, I promised that she’d have a first draft delivered or she’d be allowed to do something really embarrassing.

The deadline? Tomorrow.

The first draft? Not even a third of the way done.

And we’re going to a taping of the Steven and Chris show tomorrow morning.

I’m in so much trouble.

So, uh, if you get CBC, and you tune into Steven and Chris, you’ll likely see a very embarrassed Grammar Geek. I heard rumours involving spray cheese.

Until today.

I’d been going through serious, serious withdrawal thanks to Sympatico Unplugged (my Internet provider) who don’t believe in a) providing the service I pay for, and b) actually answering their technical support phone lines. I spent the better part of a week and a half on hold (minimum four hours a night), only to find out that when I finally got through to a live person, having survived the violence-inducing hold music, the department I needed to get through to had already closed for the night. (funny that they always seemed to close *just* before I got through.) Of course, since they deprived me of almost half a month’s worth of service, I’m going to be depriving them of almost half their fee this month. See how they like it.

So, internet-withdrawal plus a last-minute offer to geek out for two days (and wireless access!), had me attending the Free Software and Open Source Symposium. I totally didn’t know what to expect from this… and I confess I spent most of yesterday feeling a little like Charlie Brown listening to any adult (wah-wah-wah-wah… )… but I realized that I am so not a geek. I’m geek lite. Semi-geek. I’m quasi-geek. I’m the margarine of geek. I’m the Diet Coke of geek. Just one calorie, not geek enough. (tho, I think the fact that I just quoted Austin Powers may make me a little more geek than I think. )
These guys? (and I say guys, cuz I was definitely in the minority gender-wise *grin*) They were hard-core. They threw around sayings like “dogfooding your access” (yeah, it was explained to me and I *still* don’t get it.) and.. you know, I was trying to remember other sayings, but so much of it went over my head, I can’t even tell you other things to prove my point. But Derek, who’s one of the instructors in the class where I TA has a great sum up of the two days, complete with some non-geek-friendly words.

Today went a lot better. The lectures I went to were things I could relate to (like a new javascript toolkit called dojo, which has some supercool features and how to build and participate in a strong community successfully.) And in all, I’m glad I went.

But I’m still nowhere near as nerdy as I thought I was.

Your biggest problem as a superhero: As with your normal life, people would continue to underestimate you

What Should Your Superpower Be?

I did warn y’all that I’d be scarce, I just didn’t realize how scarce.

The good news is I’m four days and one website design away from graduating from the webmaster program I’ve been taking all summer.

The bad news is that not only have I fallen completely behind on some projects, but my personal life went all to hell this weekend. So, the potential for non-scarcity is still quite possible for a little while longer yet.

That being said, stay tuned for a big announcement about a new project I’m starting in the next couple of weeks.

Find out your Harry Potter personality at LiquidGeneration!

Then, I’m gonna read. And read. And read.

The TV will not go on ’til I’m done. Neither will the computer, the radio, or pretty much any other type of media source that could possibly spoil the ending for me. I will not go near a Chapters so that some random idiot can yell out a car window who dies at the end of the book. I will *NOT* be spoiled.

Turns out? I’m not the only one. In a way? That’s kinda scary…

Dear Author has discovered this. I am*not* gonna click. I’m not. I hate being spoiled… I hate the sick feeling in the pit of my belly as I watch or read something I know the ending to, it just… ruins… it for me.

That being said, *not* clicking any time over the next month? Totally gonna be torture.

(and if *you* click and come back and tell me, I can’t be held responsible for my actions.   I even took the weekend the book comes out off work so I wouldn’t be spoiled by any news articles or early reviews…)

Now, do I tell the instructor in the course I’m taking that there are multiple apostrophe abuses on his web portfolio? *grin*

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtTHi1gBBak]

I’ve already re-read the first six books, and I’m planning a complete and total media blackout when my already preordered book 7 arrives on my doorstep. (and if anyone spoils the ending for me, you *will* face my wrath… ), but now I can’t wait to see this… So cool. When’s it gonna be July?