Joining the Fun

Ten Instant Dopamine Rushes

1. A new Diet Coke in my hands

2. A big twist in a book, movie, or show that I didn't see coming

3. Getting hit by a great story idea

4. Jet Li's smile :P

5. Getting a new sweater

6. Finding a new book

7. Having an epiphany that solves a sticky plot problem

8. Walking into Barnes and Noble or Borders

9. Creating a new character

10. Receiving any kind of gift

Ten Instant Irritants

1. Open cabinet doors

2. People with colds who snort

3. Parents who yell at their children in public

4. Parents who ignore their children

5. Rugs that aren't straightened out

6. People giving incorrect advice

7. Manic channel-flipping

8. Trash in the sink, including plastic cutlery and stir sticks

9. Being interrupted or talked over

10. Habitual tardiness

Four Favorite Sounds

1. Pop fizz

2. Wylie purring, Pip making her little happy noises

3. "Have some chocolate." :P

4. That little click on Facebook that means someone wants to talk to me--and the ding on Gmail

Four Most Irritating Sounds

1. A metal sprinkler dragging across concrete

2. A ticking clock in an otherwise silent room

3. Fire alarms

4. That white-haired guy's voice on Dateline

Five Favorite Smells

1. Cinnnamon

2. Cloves

3. Carnations

4. Lemon meringue

5. Chocolate

Nine Goals for 2009

1. Read 100 books again

2. Get a full-time job

3. Edit and send out a novel to publishers

4. Finish a novel outside of NaNoWriMo

5. Create a language (Um, yeah. Maybe. We'll see.)

6. Deal with the box full of recipes that's sitting on the couch (And when I say "box," I don't mean "recipe box full of 3x5 cards." I mean "packing box full of recipe books, pages ripped out from magazines, whole magazines, 3x5 cards, and pages printed from the internet."

7. Be a little more sociable

8. Get more involved with my teen writers

9. Learn some chemistry