I did it!

So, for the first "real" time in Ashlee Estep history, I won NaNoWriMo!  I began writing on November 1 and reached 50,000 words on November 27.  I was bending a slight rule and continuing a novel I had started writing on October 23, however, so that particular stretch of words reached 50,000 in less than a month, as well.  Total, the novel has about 70,000 words, so it's about 10k less words than Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, just to give a little size comparison.  But yay!  I'm excited.  People keep asking what I'm going to do with it when it's completely finished, and here is the official answer for everyone: nothing.  Will I let you read it?  No.  It's nothing against anyone, it's just not something I'm going to share with people.  It's kind of personal, actually.  I still love you all!

What else has been going on?  The French play was performed a couple of weeks ago, and it went really well!  Thanks to my mighty brain power, the cast party after the final performance was held at Lauren's parents' house here in Kirksville, and there was much pizza and soda to be had.  This play was definitely my favorite so far, despite the fact that I had such a small role and the fact that people sometimes bleet like a sheep at me.  Oh, well.  'Tis the price one pays for fame.  Another bonus of the play is that I don't have to write the final paper for my French Literature I class!  Ah, the benefits of being in the class of the play's director.  So that's one less stress.

Speaking of stress, finals week is approaching.  I cannot believe how quickly this semester has gone by.  It felt like the last two simply dragged.  I've got two papers to write (in English, thank God), a PowerPoint over Dracula: Entre l'amour et la mort (obviously not in English), as well as four finals to study for.  I am so ready for this semester to be finished.  Just two days after I leave the dorm, I'll head to St. Louis to fly home!  This time I won't be staying for only a week, however.  I'll be in Pikeville for three-and-a-half weeks, and as much as I dislike the town, I cannot wait to see my family.  It's been about a year since I've seen  them, which is rather torturous.  I'm really excited to see them, as well as some friends in Kentucky.  Should be fun?

We also registered for classes for next semester?  It'll be difficult, just like this semester, but at least I won't have trigonometry.  So what do I have, you ask?

Phonology & Advanced Grammar (French)

French for International Business Communication

English Grammars

British Victorian Literature

World Civilizations: Since the 17th Century

American Institutional History (online)

Won't this all be exciting?  Okay, so I'm looking forward to three of the six classes, so that's not too bad.  Y'know what I'm really looking forward to?  Québec!  It's becoming more and more real as time passes.  Lauren and I will start filling out applications for the school in January, and then in February start applications for foundation scholarships.  It's all so surreal.  It will be from July 8 to August 9, which really does not seem like enough time.  I wish there was a semester program in the south of Québec (I'll be in Québec City, which is about three hours from the beautiful Montréal), but there isn't.  There's another program in Chicitoumi, but that is quite far up north.  No, thank you.  Still.  There are semester and year-long programs in France.  I wish there was one in Québec; I'd spend a year there any day.

One last thing: I'm getting new glasses!  They should arrive in a little over a week.  They're much like my current ones,  except they're purple and they don't have transition lenses.  What's odd is that the prescription in my left eye improved one, but the prescription in my right eye decreased.  Quite odd, if you ask me.  Oh well.

Toast and noodles!