Hilary Moon Murphy

January 25, 2001

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I've Been Reading:

The Petticoat Affair:
Manners, Mutiny and Sex
In Andrew Jackson's
White House
by John F. Marszalek

Liberty and Power:
The Politics of Jacksonian America
by Harry L. Watson

Forgotten Household Crafts:
A Portrait of the Way
We Once Lived
by John Seymour

The Patent Office Pony:
A History of the Early Patent Offices
by Kenneth W. Dobyns

Assorted credits:

Trey for web design
Tim Pratt for the Ganesh image
Bryan Andersen for the photo

Ling the Merciless for my
Clix advertising banner

IvyCat Graphics
for the cool arrows

Loyal readers like you
for nagging me!

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The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown!

January 25, 2001

In lieu of our (ir)regular content, I submit an e-mail exchange between myself and Samantha Ling, aka Ling the Merciless.

Ling:

So....I want a head count of how many people are on top of their dares and how many people aren't.

I am guilty of not keeping up with the 500 words a day. HOWEVER; January isn't over yet, and I'm not giving up. Not when there's seven days left. I know some of you are waaaaaaaaaaaaay behind. You know who you are! (Hilary...Karina...)

So have you given up on your dare? Will you finish what you've started? Are you going to try your darnedest until the 31st?!

You don't want to be one of THOSE people do you? One of those people who join dares, but never get to their goal. Are you going to be one of THOSE? I THINK NOT!!!

So. How far are you on your dare and how much do you have to do until you get there? I have to write 1700 words a day for the next seven days an I'll hit 15.5k. My goal for this month. What about you?

Sam

Hilary:

Verily, I must admit my shortcomings before my esteemed colleagues in webratdom.

Where I am: 5500+ words.

Okay, here's where I should be: 700 x 25 = 17,500.

Yikes! That's 12,000 words to go, plus 700 each day for the remaining 7 days. So, 4,900 + 12,000 = 16,900 words. Divide that by seven, and you get approximately 2,415 words a day.

Urk. If I make that, you'll need to canonize me. Yeah, I know that they don't canonize the living, but after a word count like that there might not be enough of me living to qualify...

So, the gauntlet has been thrown. The sensible thing would be to duck, but I think I'll let it clunk me on the head instead. Over 2000 words a night? God help me...

Hmm

Ling:

Yikes! That's 12,000 words to go, plus 700 each day for the remaining 7 days. So, 4,900 + 12,000 = 16,900 words. Divide that by seven, and you get approximately 2,415 words a day.

Tsk, tsk. Aren't you the one who started this January Dare?

Urk. If I make that, you'll need to canonize me.

Oooh, do you get to wear a skin tight outfit? Can I light the fuse? What? You mean canonize doesn't mean I get to shoot you out of a cannon? Dang. I was so looking forward to that.

I think I'll let it clunk me on the head instead.

Bonk!

Over 2000 words a night?
God help me...

I think you can do it if you sit down for like an hour and really concentrate on what you're doing. I'm doing 1700. 300 more isn't that tough. Look, I'll write 2000 a night for the next week and I'll see you at the 17k line. You up for that?

Sam

Hilary:

Tsk, tsk. Aren't you the one who started this January Dare?

Yes, but I thought that I was getting better...

You mean canonize doesn't mean I get to shoot you out of a cannon? Dang. I was so looking forward to that.

Don't worry. If I try to do 2,415 words tonight something --most likely my head-- is going to explode...

2k/night together? How can I resist an offer like that? You're on. And I'm insane. Fortunately, I don't see anybody around here in a white coat. So long as I act normal, maybe no one will notice....

Sam
Sam
Sam

What's with all the multiple posts of your name? Are you already trying to get us cheering for you? Okay, okay you talked me into it. For full effect, imagine one of those dorky little outfits with short skirts and the pom-poms...

Sam, Sam, Sam
If she can't do it,
No one can!

Hmm

Ling:

2k/night together? How can I resist an offer like that? You're on.

(fratboy)WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!(/fratboy)

And

I'm insane. Fortunately, I don't see anybody around here in a white coat. So long as I act normal, maybe no one will notice.... In a room full of crazies, everybody looks normal.

Sam
Sam
Sam

Ooops. hehehhhehehehehe

2000 words now! Go!

Sam

Did you catch that? I'm insane. I think that my illness has gone to my head. As Andy noted: "Our entire family sounds like a clan of barking seals."

Cassie has an ear infection, a lower respiratory infection and an upper respiratory infection. Poor kid. Mom and Dad aren't doing much better, either. We're all looped on way too many cold medicine drugs. That must be what has impaired my judgement like this. Oh well.

Now, I'd best go off to write or Sam will try to fire me out a cannon tomorrow, and my sinuses just could not take that kind of abuse right now.

I need a vacation. Instead, I'll go to ... Washington in 1836! Yeah. Andrew Jackson, here I come!

Hmm

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