Last night I went to the Ani DiFranco / Erin McKeown show with Libby and it was amazing! The acoustics at Symphony Hall are unbelievable. We were talking about how you’re never ever disappointed by an Ani show, but at the same time – the chances that you’re going to hear your favourite song are so small. Her repertoire is just too massive. She did play Little Plastic Castle as the opener which was nice. Also, a fantastic performance of Evolve was one of the final songs closing the show.

I will say this – why go to a show if you are going to be running to the bathroom? You can’t hold it for twenty minutes? Honestly. It was distracting. Same thing with people who go to a show, take pictures [even though cameras are supposed to be a no-no] and then sit and review the photos while the artists are still performing.

It’s nice to have one or two pictures – but let’s be honest, that’s all you need. The performer looks the same on stage the entire show – unless you’re seeing someone like Britney or Christina and there are a gazillion costume changes. I don’t go to a concert to leave with evidence of my concert-going. I go to a concert to enjoy the music and experience the show firsthand, not through the lens of a camera.

Ani also performed a song dedicated to President (Elect) Obama. It was amazing. The entire room was just vibrating with energy and you could just feel the positive outlook that has sprung from his election.

My favourite quip of the evening was how Ani felt sorry for that “poor girl, Sarah Palin” and how she was told to look cute, wink, shut up. Smile, wave, shut up. She’s a beauty queen with a [no pun intended] apparatus behind her.

Definitely an amazing night. Always a good show. Ani DiFranco makes me proud to be a Buffalonian. We’ve got such a creative spirit and there is just this huge community underlying this depressed rust belt city that we’ve got to buck against the stereotypes and this idea that we’ve got to stay in this rut. It’s changing, but it needs to change more. Yes we can.

Congratulations to Jami at Carmine Magazine for winning a giveaway goody bag packed with fun stuff!

I just taught my first class at Spark! It was a really wonderful experience and my students made some beautiful collages. I asked each student to choose a word that represented what they wanted to focus on in their lives.

Some of the words that were chosen: heal, friendship, messy, create, inspiration.

We worked on a few different techniques, specifically image transfer, background techniques as well as texturizing our images. It was a really interesting experience and I’d love to do it again. There’s just something so inspiring about getting your hands covered in Mod Podge and paint and having bits of magazine in my hair, on my jeans, stuck to my arms.

It was fantastic and I really loved all the creations that left Spark that day.

Started NaNoWriMo – four days in.

Obama is the next president, thank goodness.

Teaching two classes – one in creative journaling on Sunday, the other is an introduction to illustration in December.

Learned how to knit. Well, learned to cast-on, knit and purl. I still haven’t reached the end of anything so who knows what you do next. I’ve made one full scarf [just waiting to cast off and add fringe] and I’m working on a scarf made from lovely Malabrigo ‘Snow Bird’.

I got some great fabric to make some bags with – and some matching ribbon that really looks sharp. I might embroider them with some designs, we’ll have to wait and see.

Been making several crocheted necklaces lately. Still have yet to crochet anything other than a swatch here or there. Must have patience!

Reading lots. Still need to get a library card so I can take out copious amounts of books and then remember to return them before incurring inevitable fees. Any suggestions for what to read? I like fiction, inspirational non-fiction, satire, artsy things, media/graphic things, and anything really except romance novels.

For the past two years I have been writing a novel. Every November, I take a stab at finishing it and this year is the year. I have written 84,000 words with about 30,000 left to go. While I might not be writing a novel from scratch and thus defeating the purpose of NaNoWriMo, it will be enough for me to finish something that has been percolating in my brain for such a long time.

My goal is ultimately 110,000 – 120,000 words. The average debut novel is somewhere between 80,000 and 120,000 words. I want mine to be on the high side because after I complete the novel comes the truly exhausting part – editing.

Every time I walk in a bookstore, I run my fingers along the edges of the book, tracing the places where my last name will someday appear. In less than two months time, my book will be finished. If I write it on my website, it must be true, right?

Is anyone else writing a novel this November? Comment and let me know and we can share some of the insanity and become comrades in arms, slaving away in front of the computer screen or for the strong of heart – in front of a blank page.