Down to the single digits

There are 9 days before NaNoWriMo kicks off. And I'm chomping at the bit. I'm ready to go, not in 9 days, but now. And the tension is driving me nuts.
Mostly because friends are asking me if I'm available some days in November. And when I reply with "nope, booked till December 1st", they look at me askance.
My family is trying to make family plans, preparation for Thanksgiving, as well as some home projects that they need help with. And I've had to be firm with my responses of "I have plans, I am not available. Period." Somehow, i think something has gone missing in translation.

Maybe I haven't laid this out clearly enough.

• NaNoWriMo is an online challenge to write 50,000 (FIFTY THOUSAND) words in the form of a novel.
  
• Now compress it down into 30 days.
• This breaks down to approximately 1,667 (One Thousand, Six Hundred and Sixty-Seven) words a day.
• That's approximately 3 pages, single spaced, 12 pt font, standard margins, in MS Word.
• The total is about 90-95 pages with the above specifications.
• The total is about equivalent to a 200 page book.
• All THAT....in just 30 DAYS!
  

• And to answer your question...yes, all of us are just a little bit nuts!

The site is set up kind of like a writer's guild. There's tools to help you write and develop your idea, people who have been doing this for all manner of years for advice, and a global friendly competition to keep you going at this breakneck speed. It's free, but the donations are aimed at A) keeping this going, and B) to develop writing curriculum in schools aimed towards creative writing.

There are no physical prizes for finishing. Just a "You Won!" notice on your profile. You don't get a trophy, no balloons and confetti, you don't get a check on cardboard which is bigger than you are.
What you do get is personal. It's internal satisfaction that no one can understand but you.

And that's worth it for me.