Well, I made it.

I just got myself verified. At 11:55 tonight, I checked my word count.

50,120 words. 38,000 of which were written in ten days. I feel like I need to either pass out or go and dance in the streets, maybe both.

Of course, the worst part is that I'm not actually done with the novel yet, just verified. I figure I've got a good way to go still, but the important part of the contest is over. I have a nice PDF certificate to put my name on, and a purple bar next to my name on the NaNo site that says winner. It feels good.

I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported me and offered kind words as I tore my hair out.

Special thanks go to my wife and family, who believed in me when I didn't think I was going to make it.

Also a big thanks goes to all of my online friends, particularly Shocker Dan, Greg(Legacy), MaestroKen, Brendan(Shaddax), and Llakor, whose friendly competition and encouragement was a big help. And also to everyone and ITVR and DV who gave me encouragement.

Next year, this will be that much easier.

I go sleep now.