Jibber Jabber - Q1 - 29

Clearly, from the posts above, all of the contestants have been driven to madness by the wait.

Yes, they've gone crackers. Ha-ha! Sorry. That was inexcusable. Those results better come soon!
Preston Dennett
(HM x 2)

I'd say to expect results either tomorrow, or this weekend, because I'm going to be on a plane where I can't get phone calls... and then at an event where my phone probably won't have reception.

And then, if by some offshoot I am a finalist, I'll get the final results back when I'm flying home.

(This is how things went with mah finalist last summer...so if it does this time I'll be tickled and a little amused, bemused, and the rare cemused...)

How do chocolate cookies work in a land with no chocolate chips?

They don't bake them here. Truly bizarre in a country with about fifty different kinds of chocolate to eat with your bread for breakfast and lunch -- chocolate paste, chocolate jimmies, chocolate curls, and so on, in pure and white and milk and mixed.

Clearly, from the posts above, all of the contestants have been driven to madness by the wait.

Yes, they've gone crackers. Ha-ha! Sorry. That was inexcusable. Those results better come soon!
Preston Dennett
(HM x 2)

Kary, could you lob a few marshmallows at Preston?

Up until this thread, I'd never even heard of Marmite/Vegemite before. What exactly does it taste like?

Ever chomped a raw oxo cube? It tastes like that!

I think I've had these. If so, they're a bit stiffer than a saltine, and slightly less crispy, and there's no salt at all, not on top nor in the dough (ok, there probably is but I couldn't taste it). But they're not sweet, either.

So what you're really saying is:

Yeeeah . . . That was my thought.

How do chocolate cookies work in a land with no chocolate chips?

They don't bake them here.

I do not understand. How can you not have chocolate cookies? I could never live there. I eat at least one chocolate cookie (chips, dipped, dough made with coco powder--something) a day.

I've tasted marshmallows and I found them uneatable. It's probably due to the fact . . .

It's probably due to the fact that marshmallows are uneatable.

*dresses in camo and facepaint*

*sleeps in the middle of the sandbag pit surrounding the marshmallow launcher*

*waits until dawn to lull her target into a false sense of security*

*sees Preston amble by on his way to get his morning coffee*

A-HA!

<POONKA, POONKA, POONKA, POONKA, POONKA, POONKA,POONKA, POONKA>

*Assesses her handiwork, noticing a stray marshmallow floating in Preston's coffee cup*

*nods sharply*

That'll teach 'im.

The Duotrope list is getting shorter and shorter as the older entries drop off with no recent updates...

Q1 is usually the longest wait (about six months from due date to winner announcements), but this quarter has been epic.

I just thought I'd mention that I got my "hold" e-mail on 26th April which said "You will be notified in the next month where you stand." So... bearing in mind it's the 24th tomorrow theoretically I ought to hear something this week... though of course it's all theoretical...

Yep. Same here, but they could have meant the calendar month which means another week...
Of course I think they are going to do the other three quarters and then spring it on us a week before the Gala.

This is the Lost Quarter, never to be decided!

This is the Lost Quarter, never to be decided!

<POONKA POONKA POONKA POONKA POONKAPOONKAPOONKAPOONKAPOONKFfffztclick click click>

Dang, it jammed!

I had a girlfriend in the 90s who vacationed in Australia and brought back a jar of Vegemite...and I was all about trying it due to my being a huge Men At Work fan (RIP Greg Ham btw ) - but man, I could not get past the smell. I never brought myself to even trying a dab of it..!

I just consulted an astrologist (read as googled webpage) who said that the Transit of Venus moving through Gemini on June 5th and 6th should clear up any communication problems (as well as spark a spiritual and scientific revolution).

So get ready kids! June 5/6 results will be rolling in!

In less humorous news the Transit of Venus will be visible by East coasters, so here's your chance to view one of the most rare astronomy events...way better than a solar eclipse in the world of science. And a second place Super Moon on June 4th.

From my horoscope (The onion):
Just take things one day at a time this week, even though you're up against a race of impossibly advanced aliens who can move through time at will.

First horoscope that I truly believed in.

From my horoscope (The onion):
Just take things one day at a time this week, even though you're up against a race of impossibly advanced aliens who can move through time at will.

First horoscope that I truly believed in.

That's my horoscope, too. *cue Twilight Zone music*

This is the Lost Quarter, never to be decided!

<POONKA POONKA POONKA POONKA POONKAPOONKAPOONKAPOONKAPOONKFfffztclick click click>

Dang, it jammed!

I love that there's no build up before the sound effects. Perfect.

(You can tell I've spent the last week critiquing, right? Side Bar: Tina! I am going to get your crit to you! At. Some. Point. [Probably tomorrow.])

From my horoscope (The onion):
Just take things one day at a time this week, even though you're up against a race of impossibly advanced aliens who can move through time at will.

First horoscope that I truly believed in.

That's amazing. I had to go look and see what the Onion thought of my horoscope. Much to my horror:

You'll find to your delight that love at first sight is very real, and to your horror that revulsion and loathing on fifth sight is, too.

Yikes!

Up until this thread, I'd never even heard of Marmite/Vegemite before. What exactly does it taste like?

Ever chomped a raw oxo cube? It tastes like that!

Another food I've never heard of (I'm obviously in need of some serious educating). Though the wikipedia entry for that one is a lot easier to imagine. Beef stock and spices. Got it.

That's my horoscope, too. *cue Twilight Zone music*

This one was better:
Cancer: You will be caught utterly and completely off-guard by next week's events, causing you to wish once again that you had some sort of way to tell the future.

My Onion horoscope:

They say you're at the end of your rope and that you should just give up and resign yourself to failure, and they're board-licensed psychiatrists and therapists, so they should know.

I think it's probably a good thing I've already gotten my rejection ...

My Onion horoscope:

They say you're at the end of your rope and that you should just give up and resign yourself to failure, and they're board-licensed psychiatrists and therapists, so they should know.

I think it's probably a good thing I've already gotten my rejection ...

The Onion's amazing horoscopes that predict the past!

Side Bar: Tina! I am going to get your crit to you! At. Some. Point. [Probably tomorrow.])

No worries, I'm not in a hurry. I'm trying to finish Q3 before I go back to the novel anyway.

*dresses in camo and facepaint*

*sleeps in the middle of the sandbag pit surrounding the marshmallow launcher*

*waits until dawn to lull her target into a false sense of security*

*sees Preston amble by on his way to get his morning coffee*

A-HA!

<POONKA, POONKA, POONKA, POONKA, POONKA, POONKA,POONKA, POONKA>

*Assesses her handiwork, noticing a stray marshmallow floating in Preston's coffee cup*

*nods sharply*

That'll teach 'im.

Ow! Guess I deserved that! (picks Marshmallow out of hair)

I just opened up my e-mail to see a new message from Writers of the Future, and my heart pounded a few times before I realized it was a request to fill out a survey. Sigh.

I just opened up my e-mail to see a new message from Writers of the Future, and my heart pounded a few times before I realized it was a request to fill out a survey. Sigh.

That's almost the same reaction I had: I saw the message from the contest and that it was a survey; and then I saw a notice about this thread, and I said, "Oh, yeah, somebody else had a heart blib when they saw the message!"

I guess that would be the microscopic upside to a rejection at this point. No reaction to a WOTF e-mail.

Some trouble looms at work next week when first the boss decides to fire half the staff and then those people get mad and decide to murder everybody.

I can only imagine what it would look like to have my yoga/Pilates/dance coworkers go nuts!

Mine told me it was time to quit my job at the oil rig.

I guess that would be the microscopic upside to a rejection at this point. No reaction to a WOTF e-mail.

Since I paper subbed, I knew it was nothing. Also my rejections all came with Joni as the sender, not Writers of the Future. Plus They've sent more email's lately that were not results, so it broke the classical conditioning chain for me.

I'm becoming dead inside. I'm a WOTF results zombie. I eat brains. The brains of the past rejected. Beware. The only cure is results. It can come in an email, it can come in a blog. Heck, I'll take them by boat or take them by goat. Say, I'll take them anywhere.

Results are so good, so good you see. They are good for my sanity.

Just went back to look at my Semi-Finalist letter from Q4. It came on a Thursday evening, so maybe today is the magic day?

Just went back to look at my Semi-Finalist letter from Q4. It came on a Thursday evening, so maybe today is the magic day?

I remember exactly the time I got my semi-finalist email. It was just before 10 PM on a Thursday. I was just about to have supper and instead spent half an hour boogieing around the house. I didn't sleep much that night either.
I believe my last HM arrived at the same time too.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if I get another e-mail at 10 PM tonight...