A Day in the Life: Nutschell Anne Windsor

As I recover from food poisoning and a cold, busy Nutschell graces my blog with her packed Day in the Life (cat lovers will rejoice at her photos)!

A Day in the Life: Nutschell Anne Windsor

Nutschell (pronounced new-shell and not nut-shell) is a middle grade/ young adult fantasy writer who hails from the Philippines and now lives in sunny Los Angeles. She is an SCBWI-LA Board member, and the founder of CBW-LA (Children’s Book Writers of Los Angeles). A Jane-of-all-Trades, Nutschell’s interests include photography and travel. She enjoys sketching, playing the guitar and drums, playing basketball, badminton, billiards, and singing in the shower. She also practices the Filipino martial art of Escrima, and bakes yummy desserts.

You can find Nutschell at the following sites:

Blog: www.thewritingnut.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/nutschell
Facebook: http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/the_writing_nut
CBW-LA: http://www.meetup.com/CBW-LA/

TUESDAY

6:50 AM

My alarm goes off and I automatically snooze. Muffin, alerted by the sound now knows I’m awake. She hops on my chest and headbutts me, demanding scratches. Still sticky with sleep, I oblige.

Muffin all stretched out

7:00 AM

My alarm goes off for the second time. I have no choice but to get up. Muffin refuses to leave her warm spot.

7:05 AM

I finally get Muffin of my chest. Millie sees me get up and starts demanding food. She knows I’m about to stagger downstairs and tries to hurry me onward.

Millie waiting for food

I switch on the TV and listen to the news while I wait for my brain to function.

The latest news feature gives me a story idea. I jot it down on a post-it I find nearby. Millie, hungry and annoyed, decides to chew on the paper.

7:05 – 7:30 AM

I finally head downstairs, much to Millie's delight. I cram a breakfast bar into my mouth and down it with warm water. I'm making a mental checklist of all the things I have to do for day.

While I try to prepare today’s lunch, Millie stalks me. After tripping over her for the tenth time, I give in and refill the cats’ bowls. I finish packing lunch and do some quick chores. I head outside to water the plants, or clean the litterbox, or put away dishes. Sometimes I do all three.

7:30– 7:40 AM

I shower, dress and iron my shirt for the day. I go downstairs, pick up my lunch bag, lock the house and get in the car.

As I’m driving out the garage, I begin to doubt whether I’ve unplugged the iron. I inch out the driveway, trying to convince myself that the iron is unplugged.

The overwhelming need to check if I’ve unplugged the iron builds to a crescendo when I'm halfway to the freeway entrance.

image from claybaboons.com

I turn the car around and make a mad dash back to the house. I run upstairs and, for the 3^rd time, check that the iron is standing and unplugged. I run back downstairs, lock all the doors and leave. For real.

7:45 AM – 8:45 AM

I commute to work on the 405. To keep from going insane, I listen to an audiobook.

Traffic on the 405, photo from townhall.mednet

8:45 AM – 9:05 AM

I wait outside the office for one of the managers to arrive and open the shop doors. While waiting, I read a book.

Reading while waiting

9:05 – 9:30 AM

The manager finally arrives ten minutes later. I rush upstairs to my work station and begin my morning ritual.

My work desk

I make myself some tea and munch on a 100 calorie snack bar.

Breakfast/snack

Like any other modern day writer, I defer writing in favor of logging on to my various social networks.

image from unrealstudio.com

I check my email, spend a few minutes on facebook, check my blog for comments and surf the web for some interesting news to share on twitter.

Finding nothing of value, I finally get to work.

9:30 AM – 11:00 AM

I write my blog posts for the next few days and schedule them, or I work on my assigned CBW-LA/ SCBWI tasks. If I’m lucky, I don’t have anything else to do but write.



11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

I file, I calculate, I process, I calculate some more, I photocopy.

I check when the next holiday is.

My trusty calculator

12:30 PM

I eat my lunch while watching Futurama or some other 30 minute sitcom on my smartphone.

1PM – 5PM

I alternate between working and writing.

I usually finish my daily work assignments in two hours, but occasionally the bosses will dump more work on my desk. I set aside my writing of course, as work always comes first.

5PM

I relish the fact that it’s Tuesday and I get to go home an hour early. I hop in my car, plug in my phone, and continue listening to my audiobook on my way home.

Listening to Audible on my phone

6:30PM

I have only enough time to get the mail, grab a quick bite, change into my martial arts uniform, play with the cats and rest before I’m off again.

7:10 PM

I spend five minutes using the lint remover. Getting cat hair off black clothes is always a chore.

More audiobook listening as I drive to my martial arts class. The story is getting so good and giving me tons of ideas, I almost miss my stop.

7:30 – 9:00PM

I have fun training in the Filipino Martial Art of Escrima. While I train, I visualize how my character will use the various moves I'm learning.



8:30 PM

I accidentally whack myself with the stick and suffer a big bruise. I decide one of my characters will experience the same fate.

9:05 – 9:20 PM

I drive home, eager for a shower.

9:20PM

I delay my shower in favor of watching the latest show I’ve recorded on DVR.

My inner critic makes me guilty for watching TV instead of writing or reading. I ignore her and continue to watch anyway.

10:30 – 10:45 PM

I finally shower and get ready for bed.

11:00 PM

Muffin and Millie refuse to let me sleep. I pick up a book and try to chip away at my teetering to be read pile.



Soon I’m reading the same line ten times. It's a sign that my brain has overheated.

11:50 PM

It's quiet now. The cats have worn themselves out and now they're sleeping at the foot of the bed.



I switch off the lights, and turn on my side.

Just when I’m drifting off to lalaland, I hear a loud purring and feel cat feet walking all over me. Millie finds her favorite spot and drapes herself over my thigh.

Millie, the snuggle kitty

I smile, give her soft head a scratch, and finally fall asleep.