The Koala Offers Summer Vacations

I have benevolently decided that all Koala Challengees may take a two-week summer vacation. You decide when to take it (all heart, me). I'm guessing Sylvia is taking a week right now, and Blogless, you've had yours, my friend, don't you go asking for more, oh Mr Two Weeks In The Sunshine.

Just post your vacation status wherever you usually post your stats.

And I'd like to welcome the lovely Precie to our victim, um, participant list. It's good to see you back around the blogs! Even better to see you volunteer for this (accidental volunteering counts, sorry). Just update me on your word count, or I can check your blog, which I usually do every week or two for those who have wordometers there.

Which brings me to...

Koala Warning!: The eucalypt goes on the market this week, so I am almost finished the branch primping, which means my slackness in checking up on your stats is over. Get 'em updated fastish, because I'll be visiting you all this week and I expect wordage my friends, big wordage!

I will also be officially ending my own End of WIP Break, so I'm back in the rankings. Don't say I'm not a fair bear. (Actually I'm not a bear at all, but I liked the rhyme...)

Werewolf Running into Print

The Koala takes a short break from her paintbrushes to let you know that 'Werewolf Running', written by that Shona Snowden person, will be appearing in Midnight Echo #3.

Midnight Echo is the magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association and they even pay. Although it's so little that she has chosen to donate it back to the mag in the hope that they may survive to publish more issues, and thus more of her work...

The Koala read an excerpt from 'Werewolf Running' for Robin's latest voice challenge, right here.

Many nice things were said in the acceptance note, so The Koala is feeling quite smug today.

The Koala Still Lives! And Punishes!

Glad to set your minds at rest on that one.

The Koala has been super busy, polishing and trimming the eucalypt, even painting where the Little Koalas' toys and heads have cracked the paintwork. It's looking pretty fab, especially where I've been rearranging furniture and ornaments etc; I'm a one-woman home renovator and decorator all wrapped into a single furry package. It goes on the Eucalypt Market next week. Nope, haven't chosen another one yet. So, just a bit frantic. Hence my lack of Koaling right here.

Nonetheless, punishment time... Aerin, first of all - thought you could write 5000 words in a day, eh? Let's see if you can do 5000 words in a week. Post the smackdown badge and this little missive on your blog so we can all yell at you, sorry, encourage you on. Completion of your punishment will get you straight back up on approval status.

Dear All

I have failed the Mighty Koala. I said I would write 5000 words in a day. I didn't. Now she has generously offered me the opportunity to redeem myself by meeting that total in a week. She is all kindness and loving. I will post my start date here so that you can all follow my progress. And she says there had better be progress, or else...

Aerin

And as for Blogless...he who rubbed his sunny holiday in all of our faces...I was going to double the standard 2000-word punishment, but realised he, um, might not reach that target. So Blogless, when you finally return from Paradise, it's the standard 2000 words and a funny internet link for you, plus, oh witty one, you are also to write your own punishment message to post on the side of your blog. And it better be good. And very complimentary towards The Koala. You have been warned.

I will be back; promise!

*oh and I forgot to mention that JJdeGoblin will be around shortly to pull out your toenails*

Punishments will be issued

Oh, yes. Quake in your booties, BT and Aerin, for the Koala is cogitating.

I love Aerin!

For she has just lain down and invited her own evisceration...

"I have a weird favor to ask of you. My birthday present from my fam is writing time - I have the whole afternoon. I'm setting the goal of 5,000 words.

If I don't reach it, will you dole out some McK punishment, as you did to Whirl? I know I'm bringing it on myself, but I have to get someone to keep me accountable and I'm more afraid of you than any of my other writer friends and I mean that in a very loving, admiring sort of way."

Oh, she knows what The Koala likes in her friends. *sets the wordometer* *chk* Go, Aerin!


*The Koala retires for a relaxing little claw sharpen and polish*

The parking ticket was an omen

After three hours at the bank, which gained me hundreds of thousands of dollars and a parking ticket, we bid on the house - twice - got beat - twice. Boo hoo. No tennis court for the Koalas.

Looking at some more places tomorrow and continuing to prep ours for sale. Will drop by when I can, but things continue frantic!

*Updated to add Koala stats... some up, some static, only one dramatic change...

BLOGLESS TROLL, CONSIDER YOURSELF SMACKED DOWN!

ah, that feels better...punishment details will follow...or Whirl can tell you...*

What was he thinking?

Still running around, chasing estate agents and banks and trying to figure out what to do. We now know the house we are looking at is structurally sound (I know Written, fingers crossed!) and the renovation options we are interested in (cash permitting) are all possible, plus that our house is probably worth enough to make the whole thing possible. What we don't know is if our bank would release us from our fixed rate mortgage - which only has a year to run - without penalty, even if we remortgage with them, and for more. The penalty is punitive enough that we don't want to pay it, even if it means we can't buy the new place. But, I hear you say, you're offering them more business in the shape of a bigger, juicier mortgage, plus you've already proved you pay regularly and are generally lovely clients. All correct. Banks are stooopid, it seems.

Speaking of stooopid, there are just so many reasons why this is a stooopid idea. A bear-proof hunting suit weighing a mere 147 pounds. Nippy. And does it work...?

Link courtesy of Whirlochre, and, yes, it made me laugh, so that, plus his 2000 words in a week raises him back up to Happy Koala level. It's all downhill from there, of course...

Thanks to those of you who have dropped in with stats updates, I hope to do a checkarama in a day or so, and saving me a few clicks and a lot of time causes me to look with some favour upon you and may even make the difference between dropping down and staying put. Hint, hint.

Voicing the werewolf

Robin is hosting another voiceover fest - here's my contribution, in the form of the first page or so of a short story about a werewolf.

Check out Robin's blog for more links!

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Something a little different

Mr Koala and I are contemplating the purchase of a new eucalypt. (In the middle of a recession, yay! Gulp.)

We live in a beautifully renovated eucalypt with four double bedrooms, two living areas, swimming pool and landscaped garden. It's seriously gorgeous. The eucalypt that has caught our eye is a dodgy old eucalypt with three small bedrooms, no pool and a wilderness outside the front door, complete with redback-riddled brick barbecue, plus a car port and shed that are so shonky the council has insisted that they be imminently demolished. So what is it about this eucalypt that appeals to us? My honeys, despite being located in the middle of a brick suburb, this eucalypt enjoys a land size of twice the size of most blocks around here, including a tennis court. There is some serious outdoor fun to be had at this place. And the renovation potential is massive - although, if we do purchase it, we will be so short on cash it's not funny and no renovation will take place for a number of years. Which will mean us living in what is essentially a three-bedroom place, with one not-particularly-big living area and a small kitchen. It does also have a downstairs/basement area, whose legality is questionable, but that could be used for storage and as a rumpus - however, with no internal stairs I would need something like a spy cam and a walkie talkie to keep an eye on the baby koalas! (Occasionally they claw one another. I know, I know, it's the parenting.)

So what with visits and valuations and stressing about who else is chasing our not-so-dream home, we're a little busy, busy, busy up here in the eucalypt. Nope, no writing. But that's OK, because I'm on a post-WIP break! As for the rest of you... I'll be checking up soon, so get those stats updated.