Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Smacked down so soon!

Bow your heads in shame, Catvibe, Diane J and Janey.

And we're about to have some fun. Luckily for one of the three above, The Koala has just received a last-minute sign up to the Challenge, who assures me she is already replete with points. I await confirmation, but she has made The Koala happy.

Therefore, to celebrate, I will show mercy on one of the above. And we get to decide who it is. All three must write an apology to The Koala, explaining why they were unable to fulfil their writing obligations in January. We will then vote and decide which one of the three is most deserving of mercy. That person will join the brave-for-at-least-admitting-her-points Iasa on one point. The other two...smackdown. No apology...smackdown. Deadline for apologies: Friday night, US time.

PS - I have ways of reaching Catvibe and Janey V, heh heh, but if anyone knows Diane J, please could you point her this way...thank you!

One, two, three...go!

14 comments:

JaneyV said...

Dear McKoala, during January I wrote approx 10,000+ new words on my WIP and I also entered Jason's contest. I think that's worth a couple of points.

This however is not the only thing I was writing.

Over the course of the last two weeks of the month I also wrote over 6000 words in letters of communication with my former car insurance company who took out insurance on my behalf in November without my permission (I renewed with a different firm) then 18 days after the renewal date (and many cross words later) when I thought it had been sorted out they billed me for 25% of the annual premium for a policy I did not take out. When I refused to pay put debt collectors on me. They refused to acknowledge any communications (letters/ email/ calls) and the threats escalated to my being taken to court. If I had a judgement against me, I would not be able to work in a school so I could have lost my job. When I wrote that I was involving the Financial Services Authority and my MP, I finally got a result and I am happy to report as of February 3rd, they suddenly found all my letters, the proof I sent them of alternative cover and are happy to tell me that all demands for payment have been dropped and they've called off the hounds.

So very sorry McK but I was a little bit distracted with the whole - y'know - being branded a criminal and possibly losing my job thing. I'll be a much better minion in February. Honest.

Mother (Re)produces. said...

What? but if Janey wrote 10,000+ words, that gets her least one point, and though McKoala is I'm sure displeased, Janey isn't actually on smackdown is she?

Robin B. said...

Oh, Janey! What a damn hassle!

Catherine Vibert said...

Janey gets my vote for forgiveness. I am deserving of the smacks, all of them. I spent too much time social networking to get anything productive done at all.

I also had a little 'episode' of intense drama that means the only thing that got written was poetry to process said drama. All of that is passed now. However, I picked up my mom and will be very busy with her this month, and I joined an art tour and will be insanely busy with that, and I'm afraid, I'm very very sad to admit, that I already know I'll be on your smackdown list this month because I'm suffering from armitis from computer use, and I have to use it to make art, and I just can't do it all no matter how hard I try.

So I know I will be smacked. I don't know what I was thinking putting myself here on the list with all these awesome and dedicated ones such as yourselves when I'm such a slacker. I am ashamed. Since you Shona are all the way in Australia and can only smack me virtually, I have already gone ahead and pulled out my toenails and sliced off several layers of skin with the edges to save you the plane fare.

Honestly tho, when I signed up, I was not thinking. Art promotion and creating has to be my highest priority for now. And though it is kind of fun being smacked by the likes of you, I'm afraid it's going to happen month after month. Even there I need a little smacking, and I have to crack my own darned whip.

Speaking of which, DO come and limerick your way into the drawing Shona! I love a good limerick.

writtenwyrdd said...

Oh, Janey, that's awful! I say forgive Janey and cat.

Laurel said...

JaneyV vs. INSURANCE CO. I vote Janey gets three points for being one of the few that fought the system. Those slimeballs operate on the assumption that you will just give up and pay them and trouble is, a lot of people do.

Go, Janey! Striking a blow for consumers everywhere!

And Catvibe: It happens to the best of us. Good luck with the art!

Merry Monteleone said...

Go, Janey!!! Sorry you had such a rotten time with the insurance co. but soooo happy you won.

And that's five points without the insurance company letters, and personally, I think those should count :-)

Catvibe,

I could never do both visual art and writing, it was always one or the other for me... when I was in a zone with drawing and painting, I barely wrote a thing... I've been writing regularly for, jeeze, I think nine years at least.. and have only done a handful of sketches in the last decade...

I envy you going on an art tour... you're making me itch to get paint under my nails.

Diane J. is in my writing motivation group for article and essay writing and submissions - and she regularly contributes there. I just dropped her an email to remind her to check in here.

Diane J. said...

Oh my! I'm already in trouble, guess I have no where else to go but up.

I wasn't completely off, I did submit three different pieces this month.

Do cover letters count? If so, I did two cover letters as well, but honestly, they were short.

Thanks Merry for the reminder. I had tucked aside my McKoala reminder email and then promptly forgot (eeks!).

Kate said...

Oh Janey, I'm SO glad it all worked out. Now you should send them a bill for all those letters you had to write - a pound per word - to deal with their mistake.

Aniket Thakkar said...

There's no way Janey would ever get smacked down. She'll talk her way out of it every single time!

Though I too, feel sorry for the mishap. I used to work on the other side you know. Used to be the one force-placing an insurance on the collateral and all. Glad am out the whole insurance and health sector now.

But Cat deserves a point or two for the paintings!

I have faith in Koala, she'll choose wisely.

JaneyV said...

You're such a suck-up Aniket - it's why we love you!!!

Sarah Laurenson said...

Um, so, Janey (you go, girl!) and Diane both have points and shouldn't be on Smackdown, but they were late reporting in? And Cat would have points if creating art was included in this challenge?

Is anybody really getting smacked down?

I can already tell this year is going to be interesting between the peri-menopause and the submission/rejection cycle. Oy!

Mother (Re)produces. said...

Pfff... No contest. Janey gets a reprieve, Cat goes on perma-smack because she likes it :)

everybody happy?

Cat, you could start something for the artists- point for completed projects and stuff?

JJ,you got a perma-smack button for Cat? I'm thinking dangling in a net just over McKoala, so she can give her a whack between leaf munches?

>:)
feeling evil today. I'm sure I'll get my comeupence.

Angie said...

If JaneyV wrote 10K+ words in January, that's good for four points right there. It sounds like the only thing she's actually guilty of is failure to report in a timely fashion, and I think she has a pretty good reason for being distracted. :/

Catvibe seems to have signed up for the wrong challenge -- maybe someone here can find her an art challenge the year instead? She'd probably do really well at that. I approve of focusing creative effort, though, especially when one has issues which limit ones personal resources. Feel better, Cat. {{}}

It sounds like DianeJ got at least three points for submissions, and like Janey just didn't report. She zoned on the deadline, though, rather than having a legitimate distraction, so I vote she gets at least half a smack. ;)

Angie