Well this is unexpected....

I had heard from the very earliest days of my introduction to nano, that the community of writers can form lifelong friendships. These are people that you share a rare side of yourself with if you're not a writer by trade. You reveal your hobby to them where you might not reveal it to a random acquaintance you just met. You share it, and they live and breathe the excitement of Nano with you.
Since i started Nano, i've made a couple friendships which have lasted. Given my limited involvement last year, i'm not really surprised that i made so few. However, it is only my second year.
With my leadership-esque role that I took upon myself this year it forced me to open up further and to really get to know these people. To greet wary and unsure people with a smile and a firm handshake, to crack jokes and be the driving energy behind what could be very dull and boring meetings. To check in with everyone to make sure they're doing ok, and to try to help them around roadblocks.
Not only do you develop these amazing friendships, but they have a tendency to happen in a short space of time. We're only just over 3 weeks of having met and gotten to know eachother and yet i can say i hope these people are in my life for a very long time.
I've met several people along the way that really have made this Nano an amazing experience.
There are two specific people i'd like to mention, but by no means are they the only people with whom i've found a connection of some kind.
Annie, i started calling her Anne squared because of the similarities of our names. An amazing woman with a heart of gold and mind in the stars of the federation. A Star Wars nut and a Trekkie to boot, we've become almost convinced that we're sisters separated at birth. She is also amazing because of all the trials and hardship she has endured yet still turned out as sweet as honey. A pillar of strength and compassion with a sense of humor and a smile.
And the other is my new boyfriend.
Yup you read that right. After....a long time, I have a boyfriend again.
My inherent nerdyness has pretty much always been deeply buried during relationships. I'm happy now that i can let my nerd flag fly.
I can be in love with star trek even though it's scientifically inaccurate. I'm allowed to know pretty much every line in all six star wars. The freedom in being with someone who makes me laugh non-stop and accepts me just the way i am right now, is something i've never experienced before. I'm amazed at how fast things progressed between us, considering I only really got to know him just three weeks ago.
I can only hope this continues for the foreseeable future.

The only negative for right now about this change is that my Nano progress has taken a hit given that we talk all the time when we're together. And very little progress is being made. Nothing detrimental, i haven't fallen behind the standard daily quota yet. But my lead has started narrowing.

So i created an incentive to write more.
One of the few "girly" things that i absolutely love is a manicure and pedicure. As soon as i cross the finish line...i'm going to get one. And considering the current state of my cuticles...that's a good kick in the pants.