I had a great writing night tonight. I finished the day with 2229 words to bring my NaNoWriMo total to 55,025 words. I also finished the first draft of one of my short stories which I am really happy about.
Unfortunately, the night finished with a bit of a sour note.
Without going into any details, I was accused (in jest or not it was still an accusation) of being anti-social because I haven’t attended any meet-ups the past two years. I thought about that trying to understand if the accusations were valid or not.
I thought about my several recurring weekly commitments that essentially eliminate my availability Monday – Thursday. Monday is often a meet up day as, I believe is Wednesday so I can’t help those. This week there is a Saturday meet up from 1PM to 1AM. I have a Children’s Book Fair and Conference I have volunteered to help at from 10AM to 4PM. That kills 3 hours of the 12.
Then I have to pick my daughter up from work and get ready for the office Christmas party that goes from 6:30PM until ???. That pretty much eliminates the rest of the 12 hours. Sure I could TRY to get half an hour or so in between, but the meeting place is almost 20 Km from where I live. Just looking at the time, I don’t see how I can make it.
Am I making excuses? I don’t think so.
So what is the problem? Quite honestly, I have quit taking anything else on because I simply can’t add any more to my schedule. I would love to go and meet all the people I have met virtually, but I just can’t.
Does that make me anti-social? I hope not. I know it has made some of my NaNo friends angry. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything to fix it short of making someone else mad at me.
So I am essentially stuck between a rock and a hard place. So, who do I leave angry? My virtual friends or my family who I live with. If I am forced to make a choice, guess who it will have to be.
I will say that if a friend is angry because you’re prioritizing the more important things in life (Family vs a Hobby), than they are really not friends.
I’m sorry that your night ended on a sour note. I think you’re doing an excellent job all around! 🙂
Pffffffft! Screw those whiners. Some people have an exaggerated sense of how important they are. Being part of a community is one thing, but bending over backwards to cater to people caught up in the heady throes of a power trip is quite another.
I don’t think it makes you anti-social – I think it makes you smart, to not burn yourself out. *hugs* Hard decisions, but ultimately up to you. I don’t think it’s a wrong decision at all – I haven’t hit a write-up yet, and this is my 5th year in NaNo.
Michell,
I have only been able to get to one meet this year for the same reasons you have described. I have also had the same problem of being criticized by my friends due to my obligations at home. In my own experience, the people who become annoyed with me because I’m not available at their whim are usually folks who have very open schedules themselves, with very few obligations or responsibilities apart from work. So it’s easy to see why some might take on this perspective, depending on their own situation and outlook.
Of course, there is always the chat, where I have seen you a few times. That’s the great thing about the internet; you can now “be” somewhere without acutally being there! And sometimes in our lives, that will have to do, and everyone else will just have to suck it up and be a little understanding.
Congratulations on your Nano win!