Posts
I guess I wrote so much yesterday that today kind of stalled out. I still managed to crank out 1,110 words, which puts me over the 46,000 mark. I almost wasn't going to bother, but the more I sat on the couch and vegged out, the more disappointed I knew I would be if I didn't at least make an attempt. I then decided that the attempt had to be at least 1,000 words. So I typed--on my story, too!--until I made that count, and then tossed in the towel for today.
Tomorrow I shall make 50,000! Yay me!
Friday, November 17, 2006
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Took the day off today to have a break and also to take DD to school and pick her up. I wrote a little over 4,000 words in 3-ish hours (wrote from 9:30-11 and from 1-2:45), and have surpassed the 45,000 mark. Yay me! Sometime this weekend, I will have reached the 50,000 word count for Nanowrimo. My story may not be finished, but I will try to get it complete by the end of the weekend, even if it takes over 50,000 words.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Thursday 13—#14
 |
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Renewal
Wow. No "Lost" tonight. I hardly knew what to do with myself. Instead of watching "Lost," I decided to work on my NaNo, but I seem to have come to a plateau. The initial excitement of getting started is wearing thin. I have a little over 40,000 words and there are still two weeks left to write! I think that I will get much closer to the end of my story by the weekend, since I've been writing about 4,000 words on each weekend day. Maybe I'll even gain the 50,000 mark by then. I'm not sure if my my story will be finished by 50,000. I'm not stopping with 50,000 even if my story isn't finished. I'm in chapter 9 of approximately 14 chapters (I ended up combining two planned chapters earlier in the story, and it looks like chapters 9, 10, & 11 may be combined also.)
So as I was saying, the initial motivation is waning. I sat here earlier this evening trying to get the fingers flying across the keyboard, but it was a difficult slog. I cleared out a bunch of stuff today, old emails that I had saved from years ago; old stories; old notes. Sure, maybe I shouldn't have gotten rid of those old stories, but I decided that I could (and would) write better ones. I'm a different person now than I was years ago--thankfully. I was calculating up how many journals I've written in this year, and my total page count came to 2760; that's 860 more pages than I wrote last year. I was amazed at my progress when I added up all the numbers. Not all of that is wonderful stuff by any stretch of the imagination, but each volume is like a new me. When I leaf back through them, I remember who I was then, at a certain point in time. This year has been a real turning point for me. I have been very stressed out lately, and remembering where I was in November 2005 as compared to where I am now in life, I gained a new perspective: everything is as it should be. I should stop fighting against the current of my life and go with the flow.
2007 is going to be my year of victory.
So as I was saying, the initial motivation is waning. I sat here earlier this evening trying to get the fingers flying across the keyboard, but it was a difficult slog. I cleared out a bunch of stuff today, old emails that I had saved from years ago; old stories; old notes. Sure, maybe I shouldn't have gotten rid of those old stories, but I decided that I could (and would) write better ones. I'm a different person now than I was years ago--thankfully. I was calculating up how many journals I've written in this year, and my total page count came to 2760; that's 860 more pages than I wrote last year. I was amazed at my progress when I added up all the numbers. Not all of that is wonderful stuff by any stretch of the imagination, but each volume is like a new me. When I leaf back through them, I remember who I was then, at a certain point in time. This year has been a real turning point for me. I have been very stressed out lately, and remembering where I was in November 2005 as compared to where I am now in life, I gained a new perspective: everything is as it should be. I should stop fighting against the current of my life and go with the flow.
2007 is going to be my year of victory.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Ebay & Me
Last night, I ended up quite resistant to writing, so I ended up rambling on and on just to make 1,667 words so that I could log off the computer and go write in my journal instead.
Speaking of journals, I love to look at some of the ones for sale on ebay. I really like the leather ones. But let me pause for a moment and talk about descriptions:
Number one, I want the measurements to be standard, i.e., 5x7 or 8.5x11; none of this millimeter and centimeter crap.
Number two: when listing a journal, give an approximate number of pages.
Number three: give as many details in the description as possible: lined or unlined? Leather? Cloth? Paperback? Size? Page count? Do not just write: BRAND NEW! and then expect ME to figure out from the picture the stuff I really want to know.
Number four: if posting an item for sale, take a picture of the actual item you're selling, in halfway decent lighting. Do not use a stock photo.
One time I emailed a seller wanting to know something about a journal, if it was a particular size, I think it was, and the seller emailed me back repeating something idiotic that s/he had written in the description. I say idiotic because I wanted to know the dimensions, but not the way s/he had written them because the dimensions didn't make sense. *shrugs*
Half the time, that's why I pass on the auction. I also prefer "buy it now" and/or Paypal items. But you have to watch the shipping and handling charges. I nearly bid on a journal last night that I liked; the price seemed right--until I looked at the shipping and handling charge. The charge was going to be half the price of the starting bid! I ended up not bidding because that seemed ridiculous.
I have usually been satisfied by the things I've purchased on ebay. One time I bought a journal that I hoped would have approximately 400 pages, but it had only about 144 (I thought it was the same as one I had bought in a store; only in a different color). That was my fault for not asking, and the description didn't say how many pages it had. Another time I bought a journal thinking I was getting what was described, but it ended up not being not what was described. Silly me had forgotten exactly what I was supposed have purchased, and by the time I realized it was the wrong item, it was like two months later. What had happened was that the item's description said one thing, but the picture was another thing, and I got what was in the picture, not what was in the description. But like I said, it was like a month later when I realized my mistake, and it was only approximately $5, so it wasn't worth putting up a fuss over.
People should always check their descriptions for sense before hitting submit. Nothing worse than an excellent title description without a photo that makes it sound like a really great item, or just what I'm searching for, but when I click the item, it's nothing like what I was looking for at all. I hate those too, for making me click. I haven't shopped on ebay since earlier in the year. What I bought then were a couple of cheap journals with cheap shipping and handling. I absolutely HATE the listings that have an item for like 22 cents, and then the shipping cost is $20.95. And S&H on ebay is one huge scam anyway, because I know what it costs to mail something media mail, and it's only a couple of dollars--at the most--and I've shipped overseas and to FPO/APO boxes and here in the U.S.
If you're buying a book and the S&H is over a couple of dollars, go buy the book at the bookstore or check it out from the library.
Speaking of journals, I love to look at some of the ones for sale on ebay. I really like the leather ones. But let me pause for a moment and talk about descriptions:
Number one, I want the measurements to be standard, i.e., 5x7 or 8.5x11; none of this millimeter and centimeter crap.
Number two: when listing a journal, give an approximate number of pages.
Number three: give as many details in the description as possible: lined or unlined? Leather? Cloth? Paperback? Size? Page count? Do not just write: BRAND NEW! and then expect ME to figure out from the picture the stuff I really want to know.
Number four: if posting an item for sale, take a picture of the actual item you're selling, in halfway decent lighting. Do not use a stock photo.
One time I emailed a seller wanting to know something about a journal, if it was a particular size, I think it was, and the seller emailed me back repeating something idiotic that s/he had written in the description. I say idiotic because I wanted to know the dimensions, but not the way s/he had written them because the dimensions didn't make sense. *shrugs*
Half the time, that's why I pass on the auction. I also prefer "buy it now" and/or Paypal items. But you have to watch the shipping and handling charges. I nearly bid on a journal last night that I liked; the price seemed right--until I looked at the shipping and handling charge. The charge was going to be half the price of the starting bid! I ended up not bidding because that seemed ridiculous.
I have usually been satisfied by the things I've purchased on ebay. One time I bought a journal that I hoped would have approximately 400 pages, but it had only about 144 (I thought it was the same as one I had bought in a store; only in a different color). That was my fault for not asking, and the description didn't say how many pages it had. Another time I bought a journal thinking I was getting what was described, but it ended up not being not what was described. Silly me had forgotten exactly what I was supposed have purchased, and by the time I realized it was the wrong item, it was like two months later. What had happened was that the item's description said one thing, but the picture was another thing, and I got what was in the picture, not what was in the description. But like I said, it was like a month later when I realized my mistake, and it was only approximately $5, so it wasn't worth putting up a fuss over.
People should always check their descriptions for sense before hitting submit. Nothing worse than an excellent title description without a photo that makes it sound like a really great item, or just what I'm searching for, but when I click the item, it's nothing like what I was looking for at all. I hate those too, for making me click. I haven't shopped on ebay since earlier in the year. What I bought then were a couple of cheap journals with cheap shipping and handling. I absolutely HATE the listings that have an item for like 22 cents, and then the shipping cost is $20.95. And S&H on ebay is one huge scam anyway, because I know what it costs to mail something media mail, and it's only a couple of dollars--at the most--and I've shipped overseas and to FPO/APO boxes and here in the U.S.
If you're buying a book and the S&H is over a couple of dollars, go buy the book at the bookstore or check it out from the library.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Xmas, Already?
So I was putting DD to bed just a few minutes ago, and I came back downstairs to clean up the supper dishes and things, and I heard the Planters Peanut commercials, with the baby Mr. Peanut and Christmases past, with the song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," as the theme.
I could hardly believe it. I walked into the living room to look, and yes, it was *that* commercial. It's November 13th. There is still a week and a few days until Thanksgiving.
I am not ready for that most wonderful time of the year. I'm not even prepared for the cold weather. In fact, last week, we had a few 65+ degree days.
I noticed that there were a few commercials dealing with Christmas about a week or so ago; mostly they reminded people that Christmas was coming, and to be planning for gifts. I suppose that in another couple of weeks, we'll really be getting bombarded by advertisements.
I am cutting back this year on gift-giving. Last year, DD got so much stuff that we still have some toys that we didn't even open. (Plus, her birthday is a month after Christmas, so she gets more stuff then.) So, Santa will be bringing probably a few smallish gifts and clothes, because she's outgrown nearly everything. As for my other family members, I already told my sister and my sister-in-law that we're buying for the kids only, so that's four nieces and one nephew.
I went crazy last year trying to bake cookies and give them out to my family members and I felt so let down afterward—I know they enjoyed eating them, but my mom had also made a slew of cookies. And DD seemed completely overwhelmed with all of the stuff she received. I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving and spent too much money on junk and then felt major guilt for the rest of the year afterward. My post-holiday depression finally let up around February.
I don't want to have to feel like that again this year. I've already been planning the few gifts to buy for my nieces and nephew, so that I don't end up spending way too much money on something that ends up being crap.
I would like to enjoy the holidays this year instead of feeling like nothing is ever good enough... so I guess I should quit watching tv now, huh? ;)
I could hardly believe it. I walked into the living room to look, and yes, it was *that* commercial. It's November 13th. There is still a week and a few days until Thanksgiving.
I am not ready for that most wonderful time of the year. I'm not even prepared for the cold weather. In fact, last week, we had a few 65+ degree days.
I noticed that there were a few commercials dealing with Christmas about a week or so ago; mostly they reminded people that Christmas was coming, and to be planning for gifts. I suppose that in another couple of weeks, we'll really be getting bombarded by advertisements.
I am cutting back this year on gift-giving. Last year, DD got so much stuff that we still have some toys that we didn't even open. (Plus, her birthday is a month after Christmas, so she gets more stuff then.) So, Santa will be bringing probably a few smallish gifts and clothes, because she's outgrown nearly everything. As for my other family members, I already told my sister and my sister-in-law that we're buying for the kids only, so that's four nieces and one nephew.
I went crazy last year trying to bake cookies and give them out to my family members and I felt so let down afterward—I know they enjoyed eating them, but my mom had also made a slew of cookies. And DD seemed completely overwhelmed with all of the stuff she received. I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving and spent too much money on junk and then felt major guilt for the rest of the year afterward. My post-holiday depression finally let up around February.
I don't want to have to feel like that again this year. I've already been planning the few gifts to buy for my nieces and nephew, so that I don't end up spending way too much money on something that ends up being crap.
I would like to enjoy the holidays this year instead of feeling like nothing is ever good enough... so I guess I should quit watching tv now, huh? ;)
Sunday, November 12, 2006
NaNo Update
I'm excited the way my story is coming together. The writing finally feels less forced; all the pushing on through to the other side (aka typing no matter what the resistance is) has really been helping. I've been able to write a little over 8,000 words this weekend, breaking up the writing. I can generally push through 2,000 words in two hours, so what I did yesterday and today was write for a couple of hours in the afternoon and then for a couple more hours in the evening. It seems to work well.
What I need to do is write some wordage during my lunch break. I could probably bust out 500 or 600 words or more in that half-hour of lunch. And I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Who would have thought last year that I'd be sitting at 34,000+ words at this position in the month? Last year, I barely broke 13,000 words, and that was generous, because some of that was just mind spew, and not on the story I was working on.
As I mentioned before, though, without my chapter breakdown, the writing would be HARD. No plot, no problem Nanowrimo may be, but this being my fifth year attempt, it has definitely been an advantage to have something to go from. I actually expect to finish this story this week (which was my main goal), and start another one. I may not get that second one completely finished, but I'll have a good start.
It's really nothing when you put your mind to it.
What I need to do is write some wordage during my lunch break. I could probably bust out 500 or 600 words or more in that half-hour of lunch. And I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Who would have thought last year that I'd be sitting at 34,000+ words at this position in the month? Last year, I barely broke 13,000 words, and that was generous, because some of that was just mind spew, and not on the story I was working on.
As I mentioned before, though, without my chapter breakdown, the writing would be HARD. No plot, no problem Nanowrimo may be, but this being my fifth year attempt, it has definitely been an advantage to have something to go from. I actually expect to finish this story this week (which was my main goal), and start another one. I may not get that second one completely finished, but I'll have a good start.
It's really nothing when you put your mind to it.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Productive!
Very productive day today. I made 20 artist trading cards; I'll try to scan some later. Even DD made one, with my help.
I wrote approximately 4000 words on my Nanowrimo story, bringing my total up to a little over 30,000. That means there are only 20,000 more words to go. Yay me. Tomorrow I'll try to do another 4000. What I did was write in two bouts today, from 12 to 2 and from about 7:30 to 9:30. I can write about 1600 words per hour, if I'm in a groove. I also took a nap today and washed a load of dishes in the dishwasher. DD and I played a few rounds of Go Fish.
I wish all my days could be as productive as today.
While I was working on the ATCs, I discovered that working on them fights the Crazies. Usually on the weekends, I feel like freaking out a lot of the time, or feel irritable. But today, I was creative, and ended up feeling accomplished rather than nutty. It feels good to get stuff done. And it feels even better to be over halfway finished with my Nanovel, even though I still have a long way to go. Oh, and that doesn't even count the fact that I have to majorly rework a chapter in the editing phase because my main character has to get pregnant, and she can't do that if she and her lover had protection. Hehe. And here I had been so concerned about writing that protection into the story. LOL
I wrote approximately 4000 words on my Nanowrimo story, bringing my total up to a little over 30,000. That means there are only 20,000 more words to go. Yay me. Tomorrow I'll try to do another 4000. What I did was write in two bouts today, from 12 to 2 and from about 7:30 to 9:30. I can write about 1600 words per hour, if I'm in a groove. I also took a nap today and washed a load of dishes in the dishwasher. DD and I played a few rounds of Go Fish.
I wish all my days could be as productive as today.
While I was working on the ATCs, I discovered that working on them fights the Crazies. Usually on the weekends, I feel like freaking out a lot of the time, or feel irritable. But today, I was creative, and ended up feeling accomplished rather than nutty. It feels good to get stuff done. And it feels even better to be over halfway finished with my Nanovel, even though I still have a long way to go. Oh, and that doesn't even count the fact that I have to majorly rework a chapter in the editing phase because my main character has to get pregnant, and she can't do that if she and her lover had protection. Hehe. And here I had been so concerned about writing that protection into the story. LOL
Friday, November 10, 2006
RIP
Jack Palance died today of natural causes. He was 87. Seems like he was 87 back in the 1980s when he was hosting "Ripley's Believe it or Not." I always liked him in that series. He freaked me out, actually. He seemed scary, and that persona went quite well with some of the topics of discussion on that show. I watched him win his ("gimme") Oscar for his role in "City Slickers," and the following year when he read Marisa Tomei's name for Best Supporting Actress. Everyone thought he was addled and had read the name wrong, but he didn't. He will be missed.
As will Ed Bradley, who died yesterday from complications of leukemia. He was 65. I have always admired his news stories. He would do the hard news and the fluff pieces the same exact way. I loved his interview recently with Bono. I think that you could see that he really enjoyed his work in all of the interviews he did. He also never seemed to come off as being a jackass, like so many reporters do when trying to get the hard questions answered.
They will be missed.
As will Ed Bradley, who died yesterday from complications of leukemia. He was 65. I have always admired his news stories. He would do the hard news and the fluff pieces the same exact way. I loved his interview recently with Bono. I think that you could see that he really enjoyed his work in all of the interviews he did. He also never seemed to come off as being a jackass, like so many reporters do when trying to get the hard questions answered.
They will be missed.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Thursday Thirteen—#13
|
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
The 20,000 Mark
Hit it tonight, writing 3057 words. Yay me. I finally finished that atrocious chapter four, in which the main characters get it on. I realized earlier today that the reason it took me like 8,000 words for that chapter was because I was avoiding writing the "jumping into bed after one meeting, especially since male got hit by female's car" scene. But I got through it, since DD had a Brownie scout meeting. I sat down at the computer at 6:30, opened a fresh file, and just started typing--for an hour, until I had to pick her up; then for another half-hour when we got home, because she went to bed as soon as we got home since it was past her bedtime. Some stuff will probably need to be added later on to that particular chapter, but I finally FINISHED chapter four. I got a good start on chapter five as well. Oh, and I was able to multitask, watching "Lost" and typing on my story during commercial breaks--of which there were many.
That episode of "Lost" tonight was a doozy. I was so dying inside when Sawyer and Kate were, ahem, doing the nasty, and then later, when she was begging him to fight, but he was just going to let the guy execute him--to save her. The two actors have great chemistry together. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until February 7, when new episodes are supposed to premiere, something like 16 new episodes without interruption or reruns, at least according to the previews. It sucks that it will take that long to come back on the air, but I hope it will be worth it.
That episode of "Lost" tonight was a doozy. I was so dying inside when Sawyer and Kate were, ahem, doing the nasty, and then later, when she was begging him to fight, but he was just going to let the guy execute him--to save her. The two actors have great chemistry together. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until February 7, when new episodes are supposed to premiere, something like 16 new episodes without interruption or reruns, at least according to the previews. It sucks that it will take that long to come back on the air, but I hope it will be worth it.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
NaNo Update
Way to go, me! I am up to 17,425, well surpassing last year's grand total of somewhere around 13,000. Here is a short excerpt of Chapter 4, which is turning out to be REALLY long.
So what do you think? :) (You can also read part of the first chapter here.)
Celia laughed.
"You are so pretty when you laugh," he said, looking at her intensely.
"Now you are hitting on me," she replied. "I think I'd better just sit over here."
"Oh, come on. You know you want to." He grinned mischievously.
"Who's to say that I'm not the serial killer?" She smiled back.
"Really. You could ravish me, then ravage me, and no one would believe that I got killed by such a beautiful woman."
"Oh, man, the shit's getting deep in here now," Celia said. But she got up from the chair and sat down on the bed, leaving plenty of room between them. Owen flopped back on the pillows, and she did the same. The tv's sound was low, and after a few minutes, Celia felt like nodding off. She rolled over on her side, facing Owen.
"I think we both know what we're doing here," she whispered.
"Oh?" he said, smirking a bit.
"Yes. I mean, in spite of the accident."
"Oh, in spite of the accident…" He reached for her hand, and she let him take it. He began to rub his thumb along the pad of her hand, and she felt shivers go up and down her spine.
"I shouldn't have come in your room," she said, moving closer to him, to feel his warmth. The air conditioner had finally cooled down the room, and now she was cold.
"Maybe you shouldn't have," he said, looking into her eyes. She could not take her gaze away from his. He moved closer to her, and now they were inches apart. She looked down at his lips. She could see his tongue every time he spoke, and she wondered what it would feel like to kiss him.
"Can I kiss you?" he asked. She nodded, and he took her in his arms, embracing her.
Celia had never been kissed like that before. Owen easily leaned in toward her, parting her lips with his tongue, and then she knew what he tasted like. She could taste a bit of coffee and cherry pie on his breath, but she didn't care. She kissed him back like it was the end of the world.
Finally, breathless, she broke the kiss. Below, she could feel what the kiss had done to him.
"Um," she sighed, looking at him once more. She reached up and caressed his face, feeling a day's worth of beard stubble under her fingertips.
"Um is right…" he said. "It's been a long time since I felt that."
"That? That what?"
"That kind of response." He grinned.
"Oh? Surely a hot motorcycle stud like you gets plenty of free sex whenever and wherever you want it."
He shrugged. "Not usually. I'm pretty picky."
"And tonight?"
"Am I going to get free sex?"
"Hehe. Nothing is ever free."
"Ain't that the truth." He paused.
So what do you think? :) (You can also read part of the first chapter here.)
Monday, November 06, 2006
I've Been Converted!
I don't like sports. I was forced to be in track and basketball in junior high, and I hated them both. I wasn't good at any kind of athletics. I used to think that most people who watch sports must have nothing better to do.
But now I find myself watching "PTI" (Pardon the Interruption) every day at 4:30pm on ESPN. (We watch it because it's just about the only interesting thing on at that time of day, when I get home from work.) Ick. I very nearly hate myself for watching a sports news program. However, it's like watching a blog. The commentators talk a little bit about every sport imaginable. I am able to keep up with sports news by watching PTI even though I hate sports. By watching PTI, I can at least appear knowledgeable, if I need to.
I even find myself sitting through nine hours of interminable football games on Sundays, because DH is a fan. His favorite team is the Chicago Bears. We follow the Indianapolis Colts occasionally. Since DH and I have few things in common, I try to watch and know what's going on so I can discuss teams with DH.
It's a huge turnaround for me, an avowed sports hater, to pay attention to sports news. Does that mean I'm mellowing out? No, I don't think so. I just know a lot of useless information.
But now I find myself watching "PTI" (Pardon the Interruption) every day at 4:30pm on ESPN. (We watch it because it's just about the only interesting thing on at that time of day, when I get home from work.) Ick. I very nearly hate myself for watching a sports news program. However, it's like watching a blog. The commentators talk a little bit about every sport imaginable. I am able to keep up with sports news by watching PTI even though I hate sports. By watching PTI, I can at least appear knowledgeable, if I need to.
I even find myself sitting through nine hours of interminable football games on Sundays, because DH is a fan. His favorite team is the Chicago Bears. We follow the Indianapolis Colts occasionally. Since DH and I have few things in common, I try to watch and know what's going on so I can discuss teams with DH.
It's a huge turnaround for me, an avowed sports hater, to pay attention to sports news. Does that mean I'm mellowing out? No, I don't think so. I just know a lot of useless information.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Schadenfreude
Yet another evangelical Xtian pastor, supposedly (at least formerly) one of the most influential pastors in the entire United States, with the ear of the prez, was brought low this week. He was fired today by the board of directors that oversee his church. Just as former influential preachers like Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker, this guy is alleged to have committed some "moral indiscretions."
I couldn't help but laugh at the man's plight. It's bad of me, I know, but who honestly comes to believe in these people? Sometimes I think that the certain sects look for charismatic leaders, willing to ignore certain behaviors, in order to gain converts to their sects. It's wonderful to find something to believe in, some kind of faith in this world. But when you put all your faith in your leaders, and then the leaders admit to some sort of moral failure, how do you go on? Is your faith shaken? Or do you realize that these leaders are human too? Do you find the next leader, who seems to be everything you were looking for? Do you reexamine your own imperfections?
I just don't think that I could put my faith in such a person, so completely. I know that a lot of these groups are out to make money. They see a populace looking for answers, and the tax-free status of churches probably attracts a lot of flim-flam men (and women). No one is perfect. I don't think church leaders have to be perfect. But if you are claiming to be a high and mighty, holier-than-thou, all sinners should go straight to hell and should never be forgiven kind of preacher, then practice what you preach.
There is nothing I can't stand more than a hypocrite, and I love to see hypocrites brought to their knees, especially hypocrites of faith.
I couldn't help but laugh at the man's plight. It's bad of me, I know, but who honestly comes to believe in these people? Sometimes I think that the certain sects look for charismatic leaders, willing to ignore certain behaviors, in order to gain converts to their sects. It's wonderful to find something to believe in, some kind of faith in this world. But when you put all your faith in your leaders, and then the leaders admit to some sort of moral failure, how do you go on? Is your faith shaken? Or do you realize that these leaders are human too? Do you find the next leader, who seems to be everything you were looking for? Do you reexamine your own imperfections?
I just don't think that I could put my faith in such a person, so completely. I know that a lot of these groups are out to make money. They see a populace looking for answers, and the tax-free status of churches probably attracts a lot of flim-flam men (and women). No one is perfect. I don't think church leaders have to be perfect. But if you are claiming to be a high and mighty, holier-than-thou, all sinners should go straight to hell and should never be forgiven kind of preacher, then practice what you preach.
There is nothing I can't stand more than a hypocrite, and I love to see hypocrites brought to their knees, especially hypocrites of faith.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
You Can't Cure Stupid
Let me just tell you about my day.
It started out pretty good. DD got up early, but that was okay. I spent some time writing in my paper journal; then I took a shower. I still had to go shopping for a baby gift before that baby shower this afternoon. So DD & I got ready and went uptown to get the stuff for the gift. (I bought a blanket, some socks, a rattle, spoons, and a plastic wipeable bib.)
Then we went to the grocery store. I live in a small town, where the bag boys at the grocery store will still load your groceries into your car for you, IF you choose that option. I have shopped there for over 9 years without any problems. I usually end up shopping there once or twice a week. I carry my bags out if I don't have very many groceries, but today, I had quite a few, so I opted to drive up to the door and have them load my car.
It took all of two minutes to get in my car and drive back to the door. In that two minutes, they LOADED SOMEONE ELSE'S CAR WITH MY SIXTY DOLLARS WORTH OF GROCERIES.
IN TWO MINUTES.
I was spitting mad. Sure, mistakes happen, and I really don't blame the bag boy. I blame the dumbass in the SUV WHO PROBABLY DIDN'T EVEN GET OUT OF HER F'ING CAR TO CHECK AND MAKE SURE HER GROCERIES WERE GETTING PUT INTO HER CAR.
I was so angry that I couldn't see straight. DD & I had planned on going home and FIXING LUNCH with some of the groceries we had purchased. They were going to go round up all the groceries for me--again.
But that would have been pointless because I had already taken the last four loaves of sale bread off the shelf, and the last bit of pepper jack cheese they had available. So I told them to refund my money. It took about ten minutes for the cashier to refund my entire list.
We left, and I was still quite angry. So angry that when I came home, I had a breakdown. Thankfully, DH came home soon after and took my receipt back to the store and had them get all my stuff for me. However, they had to give us a raincheck for the sale bread because those were the last couple of loaves, and they gave me a $10 gift certificate for a future purchase because of the mistake.
I was like WTF? Apparently, this happens quite often at that store.
Guess what lesson I learned?
--Load my own groceries next time.
Hope that dumb bitch likes my orange juice, bananas, pepper jack cheese, and raisins.
Gawd, people are so f'ing stupid--especially around here.
It started out pretty good. DD got up early, but that was okay. I spent some time writing in my paper journal; then I took a shower. I still had to go shopping for a baby gift before that baby shower this afternoon. So DD & I got ready and went uptown to get the stuff for the gift. (I bought a blanket, some socks, a rattle, spoons, and a plastic wipeable bib.)
Then we went to the grocery store. I live in a small town, where the bag boys at the grocery store will still load your groceries into your car for you, IF you choose that option. I have shopped there for over 9 years without any problems. I usually end up shopping there once or twice a week. I carry my bags out if I don't have very many groceries, but today, I had quite a few, so I opted to drive up to the door and have them load my car.
It took all of two minutes to get in my car and drive back to the door. In that two minutes, they LOADED SOMEONE ELSE'S CAR WITH MY SIXTY DOLLARS WORTH OF GROCERIES.
IN TWO MINUTES.
I was spitting mad. Sure, mistakes happen, and I really don't blame the bag boy. I blame the dumbass in the SUV WHO PROBABLY DIDN'T EVEN GET OUT OF HER F'ING CAR TO CHECK AND MAKE SURE HER GROCERIES WERE GETTING PUT INTO HER CAR.
I was so angry that I couldn't see straight. DD & I had planned on going home and FIXING LUNCH with some of the groceries we had purchased. They were going to go round up all the groceries for me--again.
But that would have been pointless because I had already taken the last four loaves of sale bread off the shelf, and the last bit of pepper jack cheese they had available. So I told them to refund my money. It took about ten minutes for the cashier to refund my entire list.
We left, and I was still quite angry. So angry that when I came home, I had a breakdown. Thankfully, DH came home soon after and took my receipt back to the store and had them get all my stuff for me. However, they had to give us a raincheck for the sale bread because those were the last couple of loaves, and they gave me a $10 gift certificate for a future purchase because of the mistake.
I was like WTF? Apparently, this happens quite often at that store.
Guess what lesson I learned?
--Load my own groceries next time.
Hope that dumb bitch likes my orange juice, bananas, pepper jack cheese, and raisins.
Gawd, people are so f'ing stupid--especially around here.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Resistance is futile
Resistance to the blank page is strong this evening. I sit here watching the old "The Longest Yard," starring Burt Reynolds, with half my attention; the other half of my attention is on this entry. Wonder how much I will be able to get done? The dishwasher is washing a load of dishes. All the toys and junk on the living room floor needs to be picked up. I'll get around to it--eventually.
Tomorrow, DD & I will be going to a second cousin's baby shower. I haven't bought a gift yet. So, I guess we'll be going shopping beforehand. I should decide what to buy the baby, though. Otherwise, I'll end up going to at least three different stores, unhappy with whatever I end up buying, and having spent too much money.
This will be the second baby shower I've went to this year. My cousin is having a boy, so it should be easy to find something. But, I can't help but feel a little annoyed, because when I had my baby shower, she didn't buy me anything; instead, her mom put my cousin's name on "their" gift, and it was a cheesy plastic baby tub. LOL So, it's like, why buy her anything? But it's expected, so I have to get her something. I still have the baby tub. I never used it. I am considering giving it to my cousin, along with some other new stuff. :) That would be cheesy. Don't worry; I doubt I do that. That would be really cheap--and ungenerous.
So what would be a good gift? I was thinking maybe an outfit and/or some useful items like bottles or wet wipes. She is registered at Babies R Us, but I don't have time to drive 45 minutes to the closest one, and it's too late to order online. I'll just have to wing it.
For my friend's baby shower back in May, I got my friend a baby outfit and some bibs or something. I hardly remember. LOL She got so much stuff, it was insane. Baby showers can be like that.
I don't think I even used half the stuff I got at my baby shower, other than the blankets and onesies. Some outfits DD never wore because she was so tiny at birth, and by the time she grew into those sizes, it was the wrong season.
I think I'll get useful items. They'll get used and take up less space. I remember wishing that people had gotten me some diapers for DD at my baby shower. Diapers would have been way more useful than the baby wipe warmer I ended up returning to the store. :)
Tomorrow, DD & I will be going to a second cousin's baby shower. I haven't bought a gift yet. So, I guess we'll be going shopping beforehand. I should decide what to buy the baby, though. Otherwise, I'll end up going to at least three different stores, unhappy with whatever I end up buying, and having spent too much money.
This will be the second baby shower I've went to this year. My cousin is having a boy, so it should be easy to find something. But, I can't help but feel a little annoyed, because when I had my baby shower, she didn't buy me anything; instead, her mom put my cousin's name on "their" gift, and it was a cheesy plastic baby tub. LOL So, it's like, why buy her anything? But it's expected, so I have to get her something. I still have the baby tub. I never used it. I am considering giving it to my cousin, along with some other new stuff. :) That would be cheesy. Don't worry; I doubt I do that. That would be really cheap--and ungenerous.
So what would be a good gift? I was thinking maybe an outfit and/or some useful items like bottles or wet wipes. She is registered at Babies R Us, but I don't have time to drive 45 minutes to the closest one, and it's too late to order online. I'll just have to wing it.
For my friend's baby shower back in May, I got my friend a baby outfit and some bibs or something. I hardly remember. LOL She got so much stuff, it was insane. Baby showers can be like that.
I don't think I even used half the stuff I got at my baby shower, other than the blankets and onesies. Some outfits DD never wore because she was so tiny at birth, and by the time she grew into those sizes, it was the wrong season.
I think I'll get useful items. They'll get used and take up less space. I remember wishing that people had gotten me some diapers for DD at my baby shower. Diapers would have been way more useful than the baby wipe warmer I ended up returning to the store. :)
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Thursday 13—#12
|
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Sitting at the Blank Screen Is Terrifying
I have been waiting all day to be able to sit down at the keyboard, but now that I'm here, my mind has gone blank. Isn't that how it always goes?
I managed to write my first chapter last night on my NaNo work-in-progress. Yes, even through "Bones" and "Lost," I wrote 3335 words. Not bad for a first day's work. It took approximately three hours of almost constant typing. Creating is hard work. I took one break for about ten or fifteen minutes around 9 p.m. I'm lucky that DD goes to bed early.
DD has always been a pretty easy sleeper. She will tell me when she's tired, and practically beg to go to bed, like she did tonight. (Her usual bedtime is 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., sometimes earlier.) But, she was up early today, around 6 a.m., and I'm sure that going to school all day is tiring for her. Her perpetual cold isn't helping matters, either. She may have another loose tooth, so she hasn't been eating very well. Sigh. Poor kid.
Thank the gods it's Friday tomorrow! Another new episode of "BSG," and the weekend is completely free... the only thing I have to do is attend a baby shower for a cousin on Saturday afternoon... oh, and write my word count, of course.
I probably could have written faster last night if I hadn't been watching two of my must-see shows. I was multitasking, with eyes on the tv and writing with the hands. It's like turning off your monitor, except the monkey mind is kept entertained by what's going happening on the tv screen. Quite effective really, but I think it did slow me down a bit. Tonight I'm trying something different: listening to instrumental music. We'll see how that goes.
I'm still trying to figure out that episode of "Lost" anyway. As with the other episodes this season, I didn't think it was very interesting. Sure, we learned a few new things, but not much. And they killed off another character--in a particularly strange yet gruesome and gory way--one who didn't "repent" for his supposed sins. Same as with the character of Ana Lucia, from last season. *shrugs* All I can say is that it had better pick up, or I'll find something better to do on Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
I was looking at my list of 43things (over there in the sidebar) and realized that at the end of the month, I should be able to cross off several things on the list. That will be an accomplishment in itself, considering that I've had most of those things on the list for a long time, but haven't been working toward any of them. I'll feel great when I can mark some of them as done. :)
I managed to write my first chapter last night on my NaNo work-in-progress. Yes, even through "Bones" and "Lost," I wrote 3335 words. Not bad for a first day's work. It took approximately three hours of almost constant typing. Creating is hard work. I took one break for about ten or fifteen minutes around 9 p.m. I'm lucky that DD goes to bed early.
DD has always been a pretty easy sleeper. She will tell me when she's tired, and practically beg to go to bed, like she did tonight. (Her usual bedtime is 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., sometimes earlier.) But, she was up early today, around 6 a.m., and I'm sure that going to school all day is tiring for her. Her perpetual cold isn't helping matters, either. She may have another loose tooth, so she hasn't been eating very well. Sigh. Poor kid.
Thank the gods it's Friday tomorrow! Another new episode of "BSG," and the weekend is completely free... the only thing I have to do is attend a baby shower for a cousin on Saturday afternoon... oh, and write my word count, of course.
I probably could have written faster last night if I hadn't been watching two of my must-see shows. I was multitasking, with eyes on the tv and writing with the hands. It's like turning off your monitor, except the monkey mind is kept entertained by what's going happening on the tv screen. Quite effective really, but I think it did slow me down a bit. Tonight I'm trying something different: listening to instrumental music. We'll see how that goes.
I'm still trying to figure out that episode of "Lost" anyway. As with the other episodes this season, I didn't think it was very interesting. Sure, we learned a few new things, but not much. And they killed off another character--in a particularly strange yet gruesome and gory way--one who didn't "repent" for his supposed sins. Same as with the character of Ana Lucia, from last season. *shrugs* All I can say is that it had better pick up, or I'll find something better to do on Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
I was looking at my list of 43things (over there in the sidebar) and realized that at the end of the month, I should be able to cross off several things on the list. That will be an accomplishment in itself, considering that I've had most of those things on the list for a long time, but haven't been working toward any of them. I'll feel great when I can mark some of them as done. :)
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Baby Steps to Fight the Crazies—The Beginning
Wow. November first already. Where has the time gone? The weather sure does reflect November. It feels like about 27 degrees out there tonight. I let the dogs out earlier, and the sky was clear; the moon is nearly full. They rambled around the yard, while I stood at the door and froze my butt off. :)
If only that were really possible! Hehe.
This month is the start of a new phase in my life. Last month, I had the Crazies to an insane extent. Like the subtitle of this blog, it's time to get busy living or get busy dying. I feel like I've been dying for far too long. I have a whole series of goals that I hope to accomplish this month. But I am trying not to get overwhelmed. I am taking baby steps. First up, positive progress in NaNoWriMo. I have two different ideas outlined, so wish me luck. I plan to go week by week. This week, the little steps include paying some bills (instead of ignoring them until they're late), record my daily moods so I can keep track of how they fluctuate over the month, blog daily, reduce the amount of tv I watch weekly (9 hours on Sundays is so totally draining me!), and reduce the amount of sugar I've been eating lately (hard to do since we just got a ton of candy trick-or-treating last night).
So far so good, but it's only Wednesday. :) I also want to integrate at least three times per week exercising, but I have to find my walking videotape. It's somewhere around here. I always get these motivations close to the beginning of the month, but then my resolve falls away. I can't let the monkey mind break my resolve this time, because the Crazies are driving me nuts, and my family too.
Today I'm feeling pretty good, since it's the start of NaNoWriMo and I've been looking forward to NaNo for like two months. I put it on my calendar every year, and at long last, it's time to begin. So with that, I will sign off here and get to the "real" work. After I've gotten something written, I may post an excerpt.
If only that were really possible! Hehe.
This month is the start of a new phase in my life. Last month, I had the Crazies to an insane extent. Like the subtitle of this blog, it's time to get busy living or get busy dying. I feel like I've been dying for far too long. I have a whole series of goals that I hope to accomplish this month. But I am trying not to get overwhelmed. I am taking baby steps. First up, positive progress in NaNoWriMo. I have two different ideas outlined, so wish me luck. I plan to go week by week. This week, the little steps include paying some bills (instead of ignoring them until they're late), record my daily moods so I can keep track of how they fluctuate over the month, blog daily, reduce the amount of tv I watch weekly (9 hours on Sundays is so totally draining me!), and reduce the amount of sugar I've been eating lately (hard to do since we just got a ton of candy trick-or-treating last night).
So far so good, but it's only Wednesday. :) I also want to integrate at least three times per week exercising, but I have to find my walking videotape. It's somewhere around here. I always get these motivations close to the beginning of the month, but then my resolve falls away. I can't let the monkey mind break my resolve this time, because the Crazies are driving me nuts, and my family too.
Today I'm feeling pretty good, since it's the start of NaNoWriMo and I've been looking forward to NaNo for like two months. I put it on my calendar every year, and at long last, it's time to begin. So with that, I will sign off here and get to the "real" work. After I've gotten something written, I may post an excerpt.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
NaNo Will/Will Not for 2006
I will...write every day, at least 1,667 words per day, even if I'm depressed, premenstrual, hating the world, feeling suicidal, ready to jump out the window, or prefer to sleep 24/7. The Well of Self-Pity will NOT suck me dry this year.
I will not...spend too much time dwelling in self-pity instead of writing, doing dishes, doing the laundry, or sleeping instead of writing.
I will...like my story and characters enough to carry me through 30 days of writing frenzy.
I will not... stop after 5,000 words, feeling that it's too much to keep working on.
I will...avoid the "I hate myself and want to die" Nano forum like the plague.
I will not...spend too much time surfing the Nanowrimo forums instead of writing.
I will...remember how Jane Austen wrote in the sitting room among her family members, and despite constant interruptions.
I will not...yell at my family because I am trying to concentrate on the latest wrinkle in my story.
I will...believe in myself.
I will not...think I am the next Charlotte Brontë.
I will...love myself and my writing, no matter how bad the writing seems.
I will not...worry so much about stupid things that don't matter.
(repost from October 21, 2005)
I will not...spend too much time dwelling in self-pity instead of writing, doing dishes, doing the laundry, or sleeping instead of writing.
I will...like my story and characters enough to carry me through 30 days of writing frenzy.
I will not... stop after 5,000 words, feeling that it's too much to keep working on.
I will...avoid the "I hate myself and want to die" Nano forum like the plague.
I will not...spend too much time surfing the Nanowrimo forums instead of writing.
I will...remember how Jane Austen wrote in the sitting room among her family members, and despite constant interruptions.
I will not...yell at my family because I am trying to concentrate on the latest wrinkle in my story.
I will...believe in myself.
I will not...think I am the next Charlotte Brontë.
I will...love myself and my writing, no matter how bad the writing seems.
I will not...worry so much about stupid things that don't matter.
(repost from October 21, 2005)
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Thursday 13: #11
|
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Howmanyofme.com
(Don't know how accurate it is; I tested my daughter's name and it said there were 0 people with that name, and when testing my hub's name, it got 6 matches.)
Monday, October 23, 2006
Movie Review: "The Shaggy Dog"
The second movie we watched this weekend was "The Shaggy Dog," a Disney film starring Tim Allen. I remember being taken to see the original "Shaggy Dog" movie when I was about 4 or 5 years old (I think it was at a movie theatre showing older films; I'm not sure what year the movie came out). My aunt took me to see it, but when we got to the theatre, the tickets were all sold out, so we couldn't see it.
In the movie, Tim Allen plays an assistant district attorney working on a very important case. The case could make or break his career, and possibly a future election to district attorney. But as with Sandler's character in "Click," Allen is spending too much time at work to the detriment of his family life.
He hardly knows his children; his relationship with his wife is becoming distant. The case is whether a social studies teacher set fire to a laboratory because the lab was experimenting on animals. However, no one believes the teacher that animals are undergoing experimentation. The bad guy, Kozak (Robert Downey Jr.), denies that there are any animals in the lab.
But Kozak has acquired a seemingly magical dog, a dog that is purported to be over 300 years old, from Tibet (a Tibetan spaniel, but in the movie, they say it's a sheepdog). He and his assistants are trying to isolate the genetic mutation that is causing the dog's long life, supposedly at the behest of his boss.
The dog breaks free of the lab, and the daughter in the movie, Carly, just happens to be outside the lab when the dog escapes, and she takes it home. She has no way of proving that the dog was in the lab, though. Allen, meanwhile, has made it abundantly clear that he hates dogs, so when he arrives home and sees the dog sitting in the kitchen, he goes ballistic. Carly tries to explain that the dog is from the lab, but he won't listen. The dog brings him yesterday's paper, and Allen just won't believe that the dog is sentient. So, the dog bites him.
His genes begin to mutate, and afraid the dog might have rabies, Allen has animal control officers pick it up, to wait out the rabies quarantine.
A day or so later, Allen turns into a Tibetan spaniel. He does so when his heart speeds up. When it slows down, like when he's asleep, he returns to human form.
So as a dog, he learns much about his children--things they wouldn't share with him because they were afraid of his wrath. For instance, his son wants to be in musicals, but Allen wants him to play football, "just like the old man," even though he hasn't been able to attend any of the football games because he's too busy at work. In fact, he was supposed to attend a parent-teacher conference, and missed it because of work.
So, in the end, he discovers that Kozak is planning to take over the lab by incapacitating his boss. Kozak discovers that Allen can turn into a dog and captures him. But by this time, Allen has convinced his children that he's their dad, not the dog.
So a mass lab breakout ensues. Kozak gets bitten. Somehow, Allen manages to make it to the courthouse in time to tell the judge that Kozak was the real villain all along.
Then they all live happily ever after, taking a vacation to Oahu.
My only problem with this movie was there were a few scenes that were obviously fakey-like at the end when the dog is hanging ten on a surfboard in the ocean. CGI animation can only do so much. The dogs in the movie were gorgeous, but I wouldn't want to have to maintain their coats. All that long hair probably had to be brushed constantly.
I think that most families would enjoy this film. I would say it was all right; however, I don't know if I would want to pay $19.99 to own it. DD enjoyed it, although she was tired and couldn't stay up to watch it all. (She's 6 years old, for the record.) For older kids, they might think it's boring. I thought Tim Allen did a fine job of finding the right doggy mannerisms. Robert Downey, Jr. was good, but he's good in just about every movie he's in. Danny Glover's part as Allen's boss was so small that he was wasted in the film, and so was Jane Curtin as the trial judge.
Rent it if you have nothing better to do on a Sunday night.
In the movie, Tim Allen plays an assistant district attorney working on a very important case. The case could make or break his career, and possibly a future election to district attorney. But as with Sandler's character in "Click," Allen is spending too much time at work to the detriment of his family life.
He hardly knows his children; his relationship with his wife is becoming distant. The case is whether a social studies teacher set fire to a laboratory because the lab was experimenting on animals. However, no one believes the teacher that animals are undergoing experimentation. The bad guy, Kozak (Robert Downey Jr.), denies that there are any animals in the lab.
But Kozak has acquired a seemingly magical dog, a dog that is purported to be over 300 years old, from Tibet (a Tibetan spaniel, but in the movie, they say it's a sheepdog). He and his assistants are trying to isolate the genetic mutation that is causing the dog's long life, supposedly at the behest of his boss.
The dog breaks free of the lab, and the daughter in the movie, Carly, just happens to be outside the lab when the dog escapes, and she takes it home. She has no way of proving that the dog was in the lab, though. Allen, meanwhile, has made it abundantly clear that he hates dogs, so when he arrives home and sees the dog sitting in the kitchen, he goes ballistic. Carly tries to explain that the dog is from the lab, but he won't listen. The dog brings him yesterday's paper, and Allen just won't believe that the dog is sentient. So, the dog bites him.
His genes begin to mutate, and afraid the dog might have rabies, Allen has animal control officers pick it up, to wait out the rabies quarantine.
A day or so later, Allen turns into a Tibetan spaniel. He does so when his heart speeds up. When it slows down, like when he's asleep, he returns to human form.
So as a dog, he learns much about his children--things they wouldn't share with him because they were afraid of his wrath. For instance, his son wants to be in musicals, but Allen wants him to play football, "just like the old man," even though he hasn't been able to attend any of the football games because he's too busy at work. In fact, he was supposed to attend a parent-teacher conference, and missed it because of work.
So, in the end, he discovers that Kozak is planning to take over the lab by incapacitating his boss. Kozak discovers that Allen can turn into a dog and captures him. But by this time, Allen has convinced his children that he's their dad, not the dog.
So a mass lab breakout ensues. Kozak gets bitten. Somehow, Allen manages to make it to the courthouse in time to tell the judge that Kozak was the real villain all along.
Then they all live happily ever after, taking a vacation to Oahu.
My only problem with this movie was there were a few scenes that were obviously fakey-like at the end when the dog is hanging ten on a surfboard in the ocean. CGI animation can only do so much. The dogs in the movie were gorgeous, but I wouldn't want to have to maintain their coats. All that long hair probably had to be brushed constantly.
I think that most families would enjoy this film. I would say it was all right; however, I don't know if I would want to pay $19.99 to own it. DD enjoyed it, although she was tired and couldn't stay up to watch it all. (She's 6 years old, for the record.) For older kids, they might think it's boring. I thought Tim Allen did a fine job of finding the right doggy mannerisms. Robert Downey, Jr. was good, but he's good in just about every movie he's in. Danny Glover's part as Allen's boss was so small that he was wasted in the film, and so was Jane Curtin as the trial judge.
Rent it if you have nothing better to do on a Sunday night.
Movie Review: "Click"
"Click" stars Adam Sandler as an architect who is angling for a huge promotion to partner within his architectural firm. (His boss is played by David Hasselhoff.) In the movie, Sandler never has time for his family, instead needing to work on important projects to get ahead, to give his family the life he always dreamed of as a child.
So one day, he goes to Bed Bath and Beyond, looking for a universal remote control, but he falls asleep on one of the sample beds. When he wakes up, he sees a doorway that says "Beyond." Walking through the door, he goes into the workshop of Morty (Christopher Walken). Morty gives him a state of the art universal remote control, so new it doesn't even have a barcode yet. Morty offers him this remote control for free, but Sandler is suspicious. However, eventually he takes it, assuming that it will run all of his electronics.
He returns home and starts to get some work done. The dog starts barking and he picks up the remote and presses the volume control. Lo and behold, the dog's volume goes down, and then up when he presses the opposite button.
Days pass, and he is able to fast forward to many unpleasant or "annoying" chores. Every time, he chooses work over family.
Eventually the remote control fast-forwards him one year, until he received his promotion. He's excited at first, but wonders what he missed. Then, without his prompting, the remote control auto fast forwards him another few years, when he receives a promotion to CEO, then six years, then to the end of his life. Hardly without realizing what has happened, he is on his deathbed, finally understanding at the end, that family is more important than work.
Is he given a second chance to make things right? You should rent the movie and find out.
In some ways, this movie was a lot like "Family Man," with Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. In that movie, Nicolas Cage's character wonders what it would have been like if he had chosen to have a family instead of drowning himself in work.
I enjoyed "Click," and for a somewhat sentimental Saturday night, you might enjoy this movie also. Thankfully, Sandler doesn't do a lot of the cheesy schtick he is known for. In fact, Kate Beckinsale (his wife in the movie) and Christopher Walken outshine him. I am not a Sandler fan, but I did like this movie.
So one day, he goes to Bed Bath and Beyond, looking for a universal remote control, but he falls asleep on one of the sample beds. When he wakes up, he sees a doorway that says "Beyond." Walking through the door, he goes into the workshop of Morty (Christopher Walken). Morty gives him a state of the art universal remote control, so new it doesn't even have a barcode yet. Morty offers him this remote control for free, but Sandler is suspicious. However, eventually he takes it, assuming that it will run all of his electronics.
He returns home and starts to get some work done. The dog starts barking and he picks up the remote and presses the volume control. Lo and behold, the dog's volume goes down, and then up when he presses the opposite button.
Days pass, and he is able to fast forward to many unpleasant or "annoying" chores. Every time, he chooses work over family.
Eventually the remote control fast-forwards him one year, until he received his promotion. He's excited at first, but wonders what he missed. Then, without his prompting, the remote control auto fast forwards him another few years, when he receives a promotion to CEO, then six years, then to the end of his life. Hardly without realizing what has happened, he is on his deathbed, finally understanding at the end, that family is more important than work.
Is he given a second chance to make things right? You should rent the movie and find out.
In some ways, this movie was a lot like "Family Man," with Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. In that movie, Nicolas Cage's character wonders what it would have been like if he had chosen to have a family instead of drowning himself in work.
I enjoyed "Click," and for a somewhat sentimental Saturday night, you might enjoy this movie also. Thankfully, Sandler doesn't do a lot of the cheesy schtick he is known for. In fact, Kate Beckinsale (his wife in the movie) and Christopher Walken outshine him. I am not a Sandler fan, but I did like this movie.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Back On!
Well, the computer guy got the computer fixed, I think. He said that the video card had somehow got deleted. What I think happened was a power surge fried both that and the modem port. He replaced the display driver and updated everything. The reason why I say the modem got fried was because he told DH that one of the ports where you can plug in the phone jack (yes, we're still on dialup) was dead. As far as I know, it wasn't dead before. *shrugs*
I hooked everything back up and after several restarts, I have been able to function okay. I wouldn't say it's functioning "normally" but I was able to get online tonight to update the blog and such. :) I also FINALLY got the darn thing to recognize my USB drive and copied everything from "My Documents" and "My Pictures" to the USB drive. Now the thing can die for all I care—although, I really don't want to have to replace the computer yet. I hope that whatever the computer guy did keeps it limping along for awhile longer.
Ugh. I look around this room at an absolute mess. I recently took over one side of the computer room as a craft area, and since I was doing some ATCs (artist trading cards) this week, that side of the room is rather unkempt. I still have stamps, stamp pads, and other accoutrements sitting out on the table. There are little scraps of paper all over the floor. (I won't even mention all of DD's toys behind me in boxes, spilling out everywhere.)
Not much else has been going on this week. I feel less anxious with internet access regained. Hehe. I'm such an addict. It's not that I'm an addict, at least not as much as I used to be, because I used to be on every night for approximately four hours straight playing Ultima Online. That was addiction. Now I mostly surf writing.com, fmwriters.com, Nanowrimo, or I'm here at Blogger. I have other things I need to work on also, like my website and my online journal. Whatever I work on, I try not to spend as much time online as I once did.
What made me anxious was not having the access. I don't get online every night, but I like for that access to be there if I want to get online to read forums, or whatever.
I live such a thrilling life, don't I? :)
Oh, and in case you were wondering, I moved the Nanowrimo progress icon to a "sticky" post at the top of the blog, so that it wouldn't break the sidebar layout. It will go away after November. :)
I hooked everything back up and after several restarts, I have been able to function okay. I wouldn't say it's functioning "normally" but I was able to get online tonight to update the blog and such. :) I also FINALLY got the darn thing to recognize my USB drive and copied everything from "My Documents" and "My Pictures" to the USB drive. Now the thing can die for all I care—although, I really don't want to have to replace the computer yet. I hope that whatever the computer guy did keeps it limping along for awhile longer.
Ugh. I look around this room at an absolute mess. I recently took over one side of the computer room as a craft area, and since I was doing some ATCs (artist trading cards) this week, that side of the room is rather unkempt. I still have stamps, stamp pads, and other accoutrements sitting out on the table. There are little scraps of paper all over the floor. (I won't even mention all of DD's toys behind me in boxes, spilling out everywhere.)
Not much else has been going on this week. I feel less anxious with internet access regained. Hehe. I'm such an addict. It's not that I'm an addict, at least not as much as I used to be, because I used to be on every night for approximately four hours straight playing Ultima Online. That was addiction. Now I mostly surf writing.com, fmwriters.com, Nanowrimo, or I'm here at Blogger. I have other things I need to work on also, like my website and my online journal. Whatever I work on, I try not to spend as much time online as I once did.
What made me anxious was not having the access. I don't get online every night, but I like for that access to be there if I want to get online to read forums, or whatever.
I live such a thrilling life, don't I? :)
Oh, and in case you were wondering, I moved the Nanowrimo progress icon to a "sticky" post at the top of the blog, so that it wouldn't break the sidebar layout. It will go away after November. :)
Sunday, October 15, 2006
The Weekend
It is Day Three of the ongoing Computer Saga. I feel disconnected without my internet access!
Today was supposed to be about nine hours of football watching with DH, but instead, he was exhausted from his outing with DD yesterday to the Pumpkin Patch.
While I was gone with my mom and my sister, DH took DD to a local pumpkin patch to buy a few pumpkins to carve for Halloween. He told me that they only spent a couple of hours there because it was crowded. When I got home, I saw a huge pumpkin and two smaller pumpkins on the back porch, waiting to be carved. He thought he might get to it today, but like I said, he was tired.
So, what did we do today? I was in a foul mood. DD bugged me about carving the pumpkins, but I was not up to doing that. She had a book to read for homework, so we read. She read the book; I followed along. (She is in first grade and learning to read.) I almost took a nap because I was tuckered out from the long day on Saturday, but I somehow stayed awake. Instead of sleeping, I wrote in my paper journal. I tried not to worry about the computer failing me, or feel even worse about not making backups of the stuff I wanted to save.
TV was boring so I flipped over to one of the music channels and had that on as background noise. DD wanted to watch cartoons, but there is only so much Spongebob I can deal with in a day.
Oh, I was domestic! I washed four loads of laundry, and one load of dishes. The laundry took approximately all morning, and the dishes took an hour around dinnertime. I had an egg salad sandwich for supper. DD ate some toast, and DH ate leftover barbeque ribs.
We did watch some football during the afternoon. In the evening, we watched an episode of "Mythbusters" we had not seen before and an episode of "Iron Chef America." At 9pm we watched "Food Network Challenge: Cartoon Cakes." It was a thrilling day.
On Saturday, I went to the Covered Bridge Festival in Parke Co., Indiana. It was a beautiful day, starting out rather cool, but warming up to about 60 degrees by the afternoon. My sister drove my mother and I to Bridgeton, a tiny town south of Rockville, IN. In 2004, some stupid prankster burned down the town's covered bridge (he went to prison for it), and last year, it was awful to see the empty place where the bridge had stood for so many years. But this year, we were glad to see that the bridge had been rebuilt, with monetary contributions from the public of donations and fundraisers. The red and white bridge looked just like the old one. The only differences could be seen on the interior, where modern techniques were used in the structure. It was great to see it rebuilt.
Many vendors had set up their wares. The first thing my mom always does when we arrive is buy a cinnamon roll for us to share. After that, we started to look at everything for sale. We like to go to Bridgeton because people still make their own stuff. Other places with similar flea markets seem to attract vendors with junky stuff. In fact, in Bridgeton, some of the vending spaces are only allowed to go to vendors who make their own stuff.
We spent almost the entire day walking from one end of town to the other. I have always wanted to return to Bridgeton in the off-season, to see what the town looks like, because during the festival, tourists pack it to the hilt.
We also spent nearly all of our money. I bought some homemade doggie treats (which the dogs loved, by the way), and a glass paperweight with a sun face on it. My sister got some of her Christmas shopping done, and my mom bought a couple of festival mementos. This year is the 50th anniversary of the festival.
Today was supposed to be about nine hours of football watching with DH, but instead, he was exhausted from his outing with DD yesterday to the Pumpkin Patch.
While I was gone with my mom and my sister, DH took DD to a local pumpkin patch to buy a few pumpkins to carve for Halloween. He told me that they only spent a couple of hours there because it was crowded. When I got home, I saw a huge pumpkin and two smaller pumpkins on the back porch, waiting to be carved. He thought he might get to it today, but like I said, he was tired.
So, what did we do today? I was in a foul mood. DD bugged me about carving the pumpkins, but I was not up to doing that. She had a book to read for homework, so we read. She read the book; I followed along. (She is in first grade and learning to read.) I almost took a nap because I was tuckered out from the long day on Saturday, but I somehow stayed awake. Instead of sleeping, I wrote in my paper journal. I tried not to worry about the computer failing me, or feel even worse about not making backups of the stuff I wanted to save.
TV was boring so I flipped over to one of the music channels and had that on as background noise. DD wanted to watch cartoons, but there is only so much Spongebob I can deal with in a day.
Oh, I was domestic! I washed four loads of laundry, and one load of dishes. The laundry took approximately all morning, and the dishes took an hour around dinnertime. I had an egg salad sandwich for supper. DD ate some toast, and DH ate leftover barbeque ribs.
We did watch some football during the afternoon. In the evening, we watched an episode of "Mythbusters" we had not seen before and an episode of "Iron Chef America." At 9pm we watched "Food Network Challenge: Cartoon Cakes." It was a thrilling day.
On Saturday, I went to the Covered Bridge Festival in Parke Co., Indiana. It was a beautiful day, starting out rather cool, but warming up to about 60 degrees by the afternoon. My sister drove my mother and I to Bridgeton, a tiny town south of Rockville, IN. In 2004, some stupid prankster burned down the town's covered bridge (he went to prison for it), and last year, it was awful to see the empty place where the bridge had stood for so many years. But this year, we were glad to see that the bridge had been rebuilt, with monetary contributions from the public of donations and fundraisers. The red and white bridge looked just like the old one. The only differences could be seen on the interior, where modern techniques were used in the structure. It was great to see it rebuilt.
Many vendors had set up their wares. The first thing my mom always does when we arrive is buy a cinnamon roll for us to share. After that, we started to look at everything for sale. We like to go to Bridgeton because people still make their own stuff. Other places with similar flea markets seem to attract vendors with junky stuff. In fact, in Bridgeton, some of the vending spaces are only allowed to go to vendors who make their own stuff.
We spent almost the entire day walking from one end of town to the other. I have always wanted to return to Bridgeton in the off-season, to see what the town looks like, because during the festival, tourists pack it to the hilt.
We also spent nearly all of our money. I bought some homemade doggie treats (which the dogs loved, by the way), and a glass paperweight with a sun face on it. My sister got some of her Christmas shopping done, and my mom bought a couple of festival mementos. This year is the 50th anniversary of the festival.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Curse of Safe Mode!
Where do I begin? I got home tonight with every intention of doing some writing, and DH tells me that our home computer will only boot up in safe mode.
Safe mode? I could not believe it. It had worked fine on Thursday evening, when I had posted some other writing. I shut down the computer as usual after I was finished posting, and nothing weird happened upon shutdown. So after supper, I spent two hours trying to fix the problem.
Why was it booting into safe mode? I followed the help instructions, but nothing was working. I gave up and told DH to call the computer guy on Monday. But I was devastated; I have been working so hard and making daily writing a real priority. And NaNoWriMo is coming up in November, and I am definitely doing that. I can still do that because I have a laptop, but it doesn't have a modem and I can't log on to the internet with it.
The bad part of the whole situation is that, although I have backups of my writings, we have a lot of family photos on the computer that are too large for floppy disks and the computer won’t recognize my USB drive, so I may lose all of them if the computer guy can't save anything and has to reformat the drive. Sigh.
I should have learned my lesson, right? But I thought with this brand new drive (in 2004), that it would last a long time. Perhaps it is just time to get a new computer entirely.
Withdrawal has been a pain in the butt. I wrote anyway, not willing to give up so easily. I am just so disappointed that this happened!
Safe mode? I could not believe it. It had worked fine on Thursday evening, when I had posted some other writing. I shut down the computer as usual after I was finished posting, and nothing weird happened upon shutdown. So after supper, I spent two hours trying to fix the problem.
Why was it booting into safe mode? I followed the help instructions, but nothing was working. I gave up and told DH to call the computer guy on Monday. But I was devastated; I have been working so hard and making daily writing a real priority. And NaNoWriMo is coming up in November, and I am definitely doing that. I can still do that because I have a laptop, but it doesn't have a modem and I can't log on to the internet with it.
The bad part of the whole situation is that, although I have backups of my writings, we have a lot of family photos on the computer that are too large for floppy disks and the computer won’t recognize my USB drive, so I may lose all of them if the computer guy can't save anything and has to reformat the drive. Sigh.
I should have learned my lesson, right? But I thought with this brand new drive (in 2004), that it would last a long time. Perhaps it is just time to get a new computer entirely.
Withdrawal has been a pain in the butt. I wrote anyway, not willing to give up so easily. I am just so disappointed that this happened!
Friday, October 13, 2006
In My NaNo Survival Kit
(Yes, you will be hearing a lot about NaNo on this blog in the next couple of months, so I apologize in advance.)
Inspired by this post on the NaNo Forums, here is what I deem as must-have items during November:
Inspired by this post on the NaNo Forums, here is what I deem as must-have items during November:
- my NaNo outline (currently residing on a floppy disk; other notes are in a steno pad)
- a floppy disk or my USB drive to make frequent backups
- motivation to do my daily word count BEFORE reading the forums
- my PC (duh!). Some people choose to handwrite their entire NaNo. I think they're nuts. I might make notes or jot down scenes if I have no access to a computer, but the hard work will be done on my PC.
- supportive buddies from the NaNo site (and words of encouragement from my loyal blog readers, of course!)
- generic acetominophen, for when my arms and hands ache from typing and my body aches from sitting in an old, once-ergonomically correct computer chair
- U2 CDs to listen to while I write
- 9 hours of Sunday football (I can get a lot done while hubby watches and I sit there with my laptop, and we're still spending time together!)
- a blanket, for when I get cold because I haven't moved from in front of the computer for an hour or more
- my dial-up connection, so that I can logon to the internet and the phone will therefore be busy and won't ring to distract me
- plenty of water to drink when I'm thirsty, and working at the computer makes me very thirsty
- my copies of "Writing Down the Bones" and "Bird by Bird" to remind me to not take my first draft so seriously
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Thursday 13 #10
|
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Monday, October 09, 2006
NaNovel Planning
Title: Sayonara Sweetheart
Genre: modern, contemporary (ok, if you really have to label it: "literary fiction")
Characters:
Premise: Family means no one gets left behind. OR No one is perfect, not even the "good girl."
NaNo To-Do List:
Genre: modern, contemporary (ok, if you really have to label it: "literary fiction")
Characters:
- Celia March
- Rica March XXXX (Celia's sister
- Josie XXX (Rica's daughter)
- Owen Ellis (potential love interest for Celia)
- XXXX XXXXXX (Josie's boyfriend)
- assorted other friends of Josie's
Premise: Family means no one gets left behind. OR No one is perfect, not even the "good girl."
NaNo To-Do List:
- Decide how many chapters (done, 15)
- Decide on word count needed to make chapters (done, 1667 per day; 1 chapter done every other day)
- Plan plot. (done, roughly)
- Research "scenes." (done)
- Do more character development (working on it)
- 10-15 page character bio (?)
- What does each character carry around with them?
- first sentence
- final sentence (done)
Sunday, October 08, 2006
9 Hours
Nine hours of football! Someone please deliver me from the insanity!
I actually got quite a bit of stuff done today. I created a layout for a traveling journal I'm working on. I took care of DD while she was still sick. I did two loads of laundry. DH did a load of dishes. I wrote about 5,000 words as part of a personal word count challenge.
My hands hurt now from all that typing! Tomorrow is a holiday for some people, but not for me. At least DD won't have to go to school, so she can try to rest up from this bug she has. She hasn't been able to keep much down. :(
I actually got quite a bit of stuff done today. I created a layout for a traveling journal I'm working on. I took care of DD while she was still sick. I did two loads of laundry. DH did a load of dishes. I wrote about 5,000 words as part of a personal word count challenge.
My hands hurt now from all that typing! Tomorrow is a holiday for some people, but not for me. At least DD won't have to go to school, so she can try to rest up from this bug she has. She hasn't been able to keep much down. :(
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Tooth Fairy
Setting: Burger King, Home of the Whopper
Characters: mother, father, 6yrold girl
Action: Family is happily eating, relaxing from a busy day of shopping.
Girl: My tooth!!!!!!!!!! [screams, holds out bottom front tooth that had been loose]
Mother: What? [puts tooth in napkin] Oh, sweetie! How exciting! Now the tooth fairy will leave you a dollar!
Girl: Is it bleeding? [crying]
Father: Calm down, honey. No it's not bleeding.
Girl: Can I go look at it?
Mother: [nods] Come over here so I can give you a hug.
Girl: [goes to bathroom, looks at self in mirror, returns to table] I'm not hungry anymore.
~fade out~
Yes, DD lost her first tooth today. We were so surprised because we were just sitting there eating, talking about nothing in particular, and suddenly she screams that her tooth is out and hands it to me. I can't believe she's old enough to lose a tooth. Time flies.
Characters: mother, father, 6yrold girl
Action: Family is happily eating, relaxing from a busy day of shopping.
Girl: My tooth!!!!!!!!!! [screams, holds out bottom front tooth that had been loose]
Mother: What? [puts tooth in napkin] Oh, sweetie! How exciting! Now the tooth fairy will leave you a dollar!
Girl: Is it bleeding? [crying]
Father: Calm down, honey. No it's not bleeding.
Girl: Can I go look at it?
Mother: [nods] Come over here so I can give you a hug.
Girl: [goes to bathroom, looks at self in mirror, returns to table] I'm not hungry anymore.
~fade out~
Yes, DD lost her first tooth today. We were so surprised because we were just sitting there eating, talking about nothing in particular, and suddenly she screams that her tooth is out and hands it to me. I can't believe she's old enough to lose a tooth. Time flies.
Shopping
DH, the kid, and I went shopping today. It had been a long time since we've gone shopping. I used to shop a lot for fun, but am now trying to pay down debt from my freewheeling youthful spendthrift days.
I still enjoy shopping, to an extent, but it's really no fun when I feel guilty for every purchase, even if I pay with cash (which is what I try to do these days). The dog got a new toy, since his favorite sheep is nearly torn to pieces. I got a couple of sale toys for DD, a doll and a deck of cards with 52 dog breeds on them. For myself, I bought a new pair of boots. Yep, boots are back in style. No, they are not snow boots. They are just a pair of cute black boots, flat, not high-heeled, and come up to about my knee.
Anyway, I didn't even set foot in a bookstore. Can you believe that? So no books for me. My To-Be-Read pile is a mile high.
The only downside to our day out is that when we got home, DD promptly came down with the puke plague. It never fails: whenever we go to Wal-Mart or anywhere that is not our house, DD gets the plague. I hate feeling so helpless! Hopefully, it will be fast and she'll feel better soon.
I still enjoy shopping, to an extent, but it's really no fun when I feel guilty for every purchase, even if I pay with cash (which is what I try to do these days). The dog got a new toy, since his favorite sheep is nearly torn to pieces. I got a couple of sale toys for DD, a doll and a deck of cards with 52 dog breeds on them. For myself, I bought a new pair of boots. Yep, boots are back in style. No, they are not snow boots. They are just a pair of cute black boots, flat, not high-heeled, and come up to about my knee.
Anyway, I didn't even set foot in a bookstore. Can you believe that? So no books for me. My To-Be-Read pile is a mile high.
The only downside to our day out is that when we got home, DD promptly came down with the puke plague. It never fails: whenever we go to Wal-Mart or anywhere that is not our house, DD gets the plague. I hate feeling so helpless! Hopefully, it will be fast and she'll feel better soon.
Friday, October 06, 2006
OMG, BSG!
So, as you may know, one of my must-see tv shows is the new version of "Battlestar Galactica" on the Sci-Fi Channel. Tonight was the premiere of season 3, and oh, what a tangled web the writers wove!
My favorite character, the Chief, Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) was prominently featured as a leader of the resistance movement. He, along with Anders and Col. Tigh, were planning bombings to distract the Cylons so that they would not notice if the Galactica returned to orbit. However, their methods were not very moral: they were using suicide bombers to do the dirty work. Now, this was painful to watch because of current events, but one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter (which they actually said in the episode, if I recall correctly!). The character of Tigh actually impressed me. Up to this point, he had been nothing but a drunken coward of a first officer. Adama kept giving him second chances. But as the leader of the resistance, Tigh stepped up to the plate and made the hard decisions, knowing that Adama would bring back Galactica, eventually. He never gave up hope. He also had reason to hate the Cylons; they held him prisoner and tortured him, tearing out his eyeball and showing it to him, like an egg, he said.
The most poignant moment came when (former) president Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and Tom Zarek (Richard Hatch) are being led away to what is supposed to be their deaths. Zarek asks her if she tried to fix the election, and she said yes, I did. He responds, well I wish that you had stayed president. They had hated each other so much; Zarek was actually a prisoner in the previous two seasons, a homegrown terrorist/anarchist. But now here they were, friends 'til the end.
The whole two hours kept me reeling. No new Cylon models were revealed, but it was revealed that in last season, when Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) was held prisoner on Caprica by the Cylons, they stole her ovary. Now she supposedly has a daughter, Kasey—half-human, half-Cylon.
The plot thickens. I can't wait to watch more! And if you're not watching it, you should be. The show has amazing characters with a depth of acting (in my opinion) that makes you feel like you are a part of what is going on. Every episode leaves me emotionally drained, but it so worth it!
My favorite character, the Chief, Galen Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) was prominently featured as a leader of the resistance movement. He, along with Anders and Col. Tigh, were planning bombings to distract the Cylons so that they would not notice if the Galactica returned to orbit. However, their methods were not very moral: they were using suicide bombers to do the dirty work. Now, this was painful to watch because of current events, but one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter (which they actually said in the episode, if I recall correctly!). The character of Tigh actually impressed me. Up to this point, he had been nothing but a drunken coward of a first officer. Adama kept giving him second chances. But as the leader of the resistance, Tigh stepped up to the plate and made the hard decisions, knowing that Adama would bring back Galactica, eventually. He never gave up hope. He also had reason to hate the Cylons; they held him prisoner and tortured him, tearing out his eyeball and showing it to him, like an egg, he said.
The most poignant moment came when (former) president Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) and Tom Zarek (Richard Hatch) are being led away to what is supposed to be their deaths. Zarek asks her if she tried to fix the election, and she said yes, I did. He responds, well I wish that you had stayed president. They had hated each other so much; Zarek was actually a prisoner in the previous two seasons, a homegrown terrorist/anarchist. But now here they were, friends 'til the end.
The whole two hours kept me reeling. No new Cylon models were revealed, but it was revealed that in last season, when Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff) was held prisoner on Caprica by the Cylons, they stole her ovary. Now she supposedly has a daughter, Kasey—half-human, half-Cylon.
The plot thickens. I can't wait to watch more! And if you're not watching it, you should be. The show has amazing characters with a depth of acting (in my opinion) that makes you feel like you are a part of what is going on. Every episode leaves me emotionally drained, but it so worth it!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Thursday 13 #9
|
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
So This NaNo Thing...
In 2004, I managed to make it to 50,000 words, the goal of National Novel Writing Month. Last year, I was all set to go, but got mired in confusion about 13,000 words into my story, and just gave up. (Don't even ask me about 2002 & 2003!)
This year, I have pledged to not only make it to the 50,000 words, but to actually FINISH the story. So I've been planning.
Sure, I know the tagline for NaNo is "No Plot? No Problem!" but because I've had no plan of where my story is going, I mostly just rambled on. When I made the word count goal in 2004, my story was only probably about half-finished. I haven't touched it since. :)
A great place to read some helpful articles on planning out a novel is Holly Lisle's website. She's a professionally published author, and her articles get down to the nuts and bolts of how to get a draft written. I have many "how to write a novel" books, but she breaks it down into easy, readable steps. After reading some of the articles on her site and then going back to the books, some of the stuff in the books makes more sense.
Join up with NaNo. I promise it can be fun.
This year, I have pledged to not only make it to the 50,000 words, but to actually FINISH the story. So I've been planning.
Sure, I know the tagline for NaNo is "No Plot? No Problem!" but because I've had no plan of where my story is going, I mostly just rambled on. When I made the word count goal in 2004, my story was only probably about half-finished. I haven't touched it since. :)
A great place to read some helpful articles on planning out a novel is Holly Lisle's website. She's a professionally published author, and her articles get down to the nuts and bolts of how to get a draft written. I have many "how to write a novel" books, but she breaks it down into easy, readable steps. After reading some of the articles on her site and then going back to the books, some of the stuff in the books makes more sense.
Join up with NaNo. I promise it can be fun.
Monday, October 02, 2006
30 Reasons for 30 Days
Yep, it's that time of year again. Signups and the forums are now reopened for the insanity that is National Novel Writing Month, more affectionately known as Nanowrimo. You too can sign up to write 50,000 words in one month; that's only 1,667 words a day. It's not too difficult. The key is to JUST DO IT! :)
(Reposted from 10/08/04; original taken from the Nanowrimo Forums)
Thirty Reasons for Thirty Days
Why you [yes, you!] should participate in National Novel Writing Month!
(Reposted from 10/08/04; original taken from the Nanowrimo Forums)
Thirty Reasons for Thirty Days
Why you [yes, you!] should participate in National Novel Writing Month!
- Completing a novel (or for some, even starting a novel) is one more thing to cross off the life goals list.
- Camaraderie with people are suffering the same pains at the same time as you are is so wonderful.
- Nanowrimo forums! Links to really awesome website, games, etc.
- It's another excuse to sit in front of the computer (or notebook) and gulp mass quantities of caffeine.
- The realization that, contrary to popular belief, you are not the busiest person in the world, even with Nanowrimo.
- If you've never written a paper in one night (or two, or three) before, you eventually will. Nanowrimo is good practice.
- If you're still in school, you can procrastinate writing by doing homework. The opposite procrastination technique works equally well. If you're not in school, you can procrastinate in this way by doing something that you should actually be doing, such as laundry or taking out the trash.
- Nanowrimo t-shirts to buy so you can declare your insanity to the world.
- If you break 50,000 words before 30 November and get it verified, you get a super-cool certificate and winner's icon.
- Even if you don't finish, you can still brag by saying, "I'm writing a novel this month. What are you doing?"
- Haven't you ever wanted to answer "How are you?" with a number?
- Most people [cough...teachers] say, "Write about this topic." With Nanowrimo, any imaginable topic can be your novel, even butt-kicking pirates from Jupiter. [Hey, there's an idea...]
- It's a chance to let your inner critic loose for thirty days. Let a typo become a part of your novel. Invent swear words for your characters to use. Watch what comes out when you don't have an inner critic to stop you.
- It only truly costs time, sanity, and social life.
- How long it takes for cyanide to kill someone? What kind of knives did the Greeks use? Get the answers from fellow Wrimos.
- The number one reason that people don't pass 50,000 words is because [surprise!] they don't begin. If you write just one measly word, you're ahead of more than half the Wrimos who signed up in 2003.
- Thousands of people around the world--different everything--participate. They share a love of writing...and their ideas with you.
- Just because your character is stuck doesn't mean that you have to be. Use a deus ex machina or a snide reference to whatever you want. Kill your main character if you want to. Just get your novel out of that block!
- Your participation will mock those authors who take a lot more time writing novels. Those novels are typically much better novels, but it really is possible to write a draft in a month.
- Allow others around you to question your sanity [assuming they don't already question it, that is.]
- You can become a hermit for thirty days...or at least while you're writing. This excuse will only work for a month at a time, though.
- You can threaten someone with, "If you don't [annoying action], I'll write you into my novel and kill you there!"
- It helps you to realize the value of sleep.
- Writing a novel is an excuse not to go out with friends or to that annoying event that you just can't stand going to.
- The adrenaline rush that comes along when you've just written 1500 words in an hour is wonderful. Nanowrimo should be a drug.
- Nanowrimo gives you an opportunity to improve your typing or scribbling skills without those boring lessons.
- Even though you're procrastinating on something, you're also learning the art of time management.
- There's a story in your head that must come to life. If it doesn't, those characters will hate you forever.
- It's fun!
- It really is possible.Are you convinced yet? Good. Go to http://www.nanowrimo.org/ and sign up today. Actual novel-writing begins 1 November 2006, local time. Good luck!
Ah, yes. Feel free to pass this list around. Just pass around the material in its entirety. And when you do sign up, do let me know so we can cheer each other on and bug each other about word count!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Thursday 13 #8
|
Past and Present, including Miniseries, in no particular order :)
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
You've come a long way, baby....
since September 25, 2001, when this blog started.
This is the third redesign. Entries were sporadic those first few years. I was writing more often over at my online journal back then. Also, Blogger was not as WYSIWYG as it is now. I was surprised in 2003/2004 when I returned to write here regularly that the post box had a WYSIWYG interface. It used to just be HTML and you had to type any links using HTML code. I learned quite a bit with Webmonkey's help, but there was certainly a steep learning curve. (It's handy to know HTML anyway, because sometimes those WYSIWYG editors leave codes in after you delete something that then mess up the layout or cause weird things to occur. If you know HTML, you can usually deduce where the mistake happened and delete or fix what is causing the problem.)
I obsessed over learning HTML and getting the template the way I wanted it and all the other stuff that goes along with setting up a website.
Then I promptly decamped to Diary-X (*sniff*) and set up a journal. The blog was more casual than the journal. Maintaining them both was difficult. But then Diary-X died and I started writing here again. In other words, I made my writing more of a priority. I still have no real focus on this blog, but that's okay. It's not really supposed to have one. I could have just imported all these entries over to my new journal, but I didn't want to give this site up. Plus, there is an even steeper learning curve with WordPress. So I will definitely continue to maintain this site and the other site, at least for the near future. :)
In September 2001, I was reeling from the events of 9/11, but I didn't want to clog up my blog with my thoughts. The blog didn't seem to be the place for it. Back then, I had a cutesy design with fat puppies, and they were too happy for such a depressing topic.
Now I just write when I find something that strikes my fancy. I still think there is a difference between a blog and a journal: the blog is chatty, whereas my journal is more reflective. *shrugs* Everyone has a different opinion.
I suppose my blog has been around a while, but I still feel like a newbie. Happy anniversary to me!
Oh, and I have two new journal entries posted, if you're interested in reading them.
This is the third redesign. Entries were sporadic those first few years. I was writing more often over at my online journal back then. Also, Blogger was not as WYSIWYG as it is now. I was surprised in 2003/2004 when I returned to write here regularly that the post box had a WYSIWYG interface. It used to just be HTML and you had to type any links using HTML code. I learned quite a bit with Webmonkey's help, but there was certainly a steep learning curve. (It's handy to know HTML anyway, because sometimes those WYSIWYG editors leave codes in after you delete something that then mess up the layout or cause weird things to occur. If you know HTML, you can usually deduce where the mistake happened and delete or fix what is causing the problem.)
I obsessed over learning HTML and getting the template the way I wanted it and all the other stuff that goes along with setting up a website.
Then I promptly decamped to Diary-X (*sniff*) and set up a journal. The blog was more casual than the journal. Maintaining them both was difficult. But then Diary-X died and I started writing here again. In other words, I made my writing more of a priority. I still have no real focus on this blog, but that's okay. It's not really supposed to have one. I could have just imported all these entries over to my new journal, but I didn't want to give this site up. Plus, there is an even steeper learning curve with WordPress. So I will definitely continue to maintain this site and the other site, at least for the near future. :)
In September 2001, I was reeling from the events of 9/11, but I didn't want to clog up my blog with my thoughts. The blog didn't seem to be the place for it. Back then, I had a cutesy design with fat puppies, and they were too happy for such a depressing topic.
Now I just write when I find something that strikes my fancy. I still think there is a difference between a blog and a journal: the blog is chatty, whereas my journal is more reflective. *shrugs* Everyone has a different opinion.
I suppose my blog has been around a while, but I still feel like a newbie. Happy anniversary to me!
Oh, and I have two new journal entries posted, if you're interested in reading them.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Thursday 13 #7
|
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Friday, September 15, 2006
A Fill-in Prompt
- I Am: alive
- I Want: to find inner peace
- I Wish: I was more patient.
- I Hate: feeling guilty
- I Miss: the way things used to be sometimes
- I Fear: loneliness
- I Hear: when I want to
- I Wonder: how my daughter grew up so fast
- I Regret: a few things, but the past is the past
- I Am Not: one for small talk
- I Dance: when the mood strikes (rarely)
- I Sing: with my daughter
- I Cry: alone
- I Am Not Always: insane
- I Make With My Hands: letters on a page
- I Write: whatever needs to come out
- I Confuse: my DH :)
- I Need: to be loved
- I Should: laugh more often
- I Start: many projects
- I Finish: few things I start
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Thursday 13 #6
|
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Weekly Check-In
Hello dear readers, all two of you out there! ;)
The past couple of weeks have been rather mundane, for the most part. I finished paper journal #63 and began #64 on Sept. 2, and have already written 135~ pages. It's a journal made by paperchase which I purchased at Borders earlier this year. It has rather wide lines and I write rather big. The book is about 5x7 so it probably won't take too long to fill. I also have new goals in filling it--instead of bookmarking my current place with the attached ribbon, I bookmark the page I want to get to by the end of the week. It helps to maintain a good writing pace.
I have also been reviewing some of my old journals this week, rereading what my feelings were on 9/11. I had forgotten so much about myself from that time. It was heart-wrenching to read some of the entries. I had so much self-hatred, even then. (For some reason, I thought it was a recent phenomenon!)
DH & I went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse last weekend. I had a southwest chicken sandwich and he had ribs and a ribeye combo. It was delicious, as always. DD was spending the night with my parents, so it was nice to have some one-on-one couple time for a change.
This weekend, DD & I are attending a wedding in Evansville, IN. My cousin (the groom) is getting married. We will be riding with my mom and sister, so it should be a fairly relaxing weekend, visiting with relatives. But I'm sure the traveling will wear me out anyway.
The Emotional Express reared its ugly head over the past weekend. I don't know if it was the weather, or hormones, or what, but I woke up feeling very crabby on Monday. Today is a lot better.
The past couple of weeks have been rather mundane, for the most part. I finished paper journal #63 and began #64 on Sept. 2, and have already written 135~ pages. It's a journal made by paperchase which I purchased at Borders earlier this year. It has rather wide lines and I write rather big. The book is about 5x7 so it probably won't take too long to fill. I also have new goals in filling it--instead of bookmarking my current place with the attached ribbon, I bookmark the page I want to get to by the end of the week. It helps to maintain a good writing pace.
I have also been reviewing some of my old journals this week, rereading what my feelings were on 9/11. I had forgotten so much about myself from that time. It was heart-wrenching to read some of the entries. I had so much self-hatred, even then. (For some reason, I thought it was a recent phenomenon!)
DH & I went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse last weekend. I had a southwest chicken sandwich and he had ribs and a ribeye combo. It was delicious, as always. DD was spending the night with my parents, so it was nice to have some one-on-one couple time for a change.
This weekend, DD & I are attending a wedding in Evansville, IN. My cousin (the groom) is getting married. We will be riding with my mom and sister, so it should be a fairly relaxing weekend, visiting with relatives. But I'm sure the traveling will wear me out anyway.
The Emotional Express reared its ugly head over the past weekend. I don't know if it was the weather, or hormones, or what, but I woke up feeling very crabby on Monday. Today is a lot better.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Just an ordinary day...
Today is the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon (fondly known as 9/11). On 9/11/01, we as a country changed. Bad things could happen here.
Passing the buck and the blame game haven't stopped yet. Even after all the reports and the minute dissections by the various committees on the inaction of various agencies to recognize the threats, no one entity seems to be to blame. For nearly 3,000 people, their lives winked out, but their families remain behind, still devastated to this day.
For me personally, I knew no one there and no one immediately impacted by the attacks. For me, it was an ordinary day. I went to work—I remember that I was listening to a tape cassette that day rather than to the radio. Then someone at work flipped on the radio, and I sat transfixed, doing my work mechanically. I could have screwed up half of what I was working on for all I know. The news reports seemed unreal, as if in 2001, Orson Welles was narrating the "War of the Worlds" all over again, only with airplanes and skyscrapers instead of Martians and small country towns.
Even when my coworkers and I watched a few reports on an old black-and-white tv brought out from somewhere, I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like a movie.
DH called me at work to ask me if I'd heard what happened. I wished I could have come home right then. I remember thinking that quite clearly. What if that attack was only the beginning? But I had to swallow my fear and somehow make it through the rest of the day. I sat at my desk, trying to work, while listening to the radio as the world changed.
That evening when I got home, DH & I continued to watch CNN, to try and make sense of it all. But there was no why. Even now I still don't comprehend the depth of the insane hatred that drives fanaticism. I doubt I ever will. Perhaps that is my luxury of being born into a white, middle-class, rural Midwestern family.
For all the victims of that day, their day also started out quite ordinary. But none of us—no one—would ever be the same.
I won't be watching the memorial tributes, or CNN's all-day retrospective, or the documentaries. The fear-mongering is with us every day. No clear progress has been made. The politicos talk about improvements in national security, but it seems that we have fewer freedoms than before. Big Brother is always looking over our shoulder. I suppose that's the price we must pay to feel even a bit of the carefree attitude we used to have before 9/11.
Bad things can happen here, even on an ordinary day.
Passing the buck and the blame game haven't stopped yet. Even after all the reports and the minute dissections by the various committees on the inaction of various agencies to recognize the threats, no one entity seems to be to blame. For nearly 3,000 people, their lives winked out, but their families remain behind, still devastated to this day.
For me personally, I knew no one there and no one immediately impacted by the attacks. For me, it was an ordinary day. I went to work—I remember that I was listening to a tape cassette that day rather than to the radio. Then someone at work flipped on the radio, and I sat transfixed, doing my work mechanically. I could have screwed up half of what I was working on for all I know. The news reports seemed unreal, as if in 2001, Orson Welles was narrating the "War of the Worlds" all over again, only with airplanes and skyscrapers instead of Martians and small country towns.
Even when my coworkers and I watched a few reports on an old black-and-white tv brought out from somewhere, I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was like a movie.
DH called me at work to ask me if I'd heard what happened. I wished I could have come home right then. I remember thinking that quite clearly. What if that attack was only the beginning? But I had to swallow my fear and somehow make it through the rest of the day. I sat at my desk, trying to work, while listening to the radio as the world changed.
That evening when I got home, DH & I continued to watch CNN, to try and make sense of it all. But there was no why. Even now I still don't comprehend the depth of the insane hatred that drives fanaticism. I doubt I ever will. Perhaps that is my luxury of being born into a white, middle-class, rural Midwestern family.
For all the victims of that day, their day also started out quite ordinary. But none of us—no one—would ever be the same.
I won't be watching the memorial tributes, or CNN's all-day retrospective, or the documentaries. The fear-mongering is with us every day. No clear progress has been made. The politicos talk about improvements in national security, but it seems that we have fewer freedoms than before. Big Brother is always looking over our shoulder. I suppose that's the price we must pay to feel even a bit of the carefree attitude we used to have before 9/11.
Bad things can happen here, even on an ordinary day.
Friday, September 08, 2006
Flash Fiction Friday #3—Zombie Aardvark
Your assignment, should you chose to accept it, will be to write the very worst short story, between 750 and 1000 words, you can. Must contain at least three of the following words: putrefy, jewellery, encephalogram, aardvark, banana, and zombie. Extra points for using all of them.
Cliches are nearly required, as are excessive use of adverbs, sentence fragments, run on sentences... Extra points if you include the opening phrase "It was a dark and stormy night..."
The Tale of the Zombie Aardvark, a Children's Story
It was a dark and stormy night when Mama buried Fluffy, our pet aardvark. Her silver jewellry flashed a beacon at me as she dug under a light in the backyard. Actually, the storm was just heat lightning, but to my six-year-old imagination, it seemed to be a sign of great importance on this auspicious occasion of a beloved pet's death and subsequent burial.
Fluffy had passed away, the victim of a vicious neighborhood Rottweiler. We had taken Fluffy to the vet, but the when the encephalogram showed no brain life, we brought our pet home. Now, though buried, his poor body would still putrefy in the oppressive summer heat.
I was fascinated by the entire process. After all, what was death to a six-year-old?
A day later, I was playing with my older sister, Jenny, in the backyard near the burial site. She was swinging on the swing, while I nibbled on a banana left over from lunch. As she swung higher and higher, I stared at the grave.
"Hey Jenny. Let's dig up Fluffy!"
"Ewww. You're disgusting! I'm telling Mama!" Jenny ran toward the back door and disappeared inside the house.
I squatted beside the gravesite and poked it with a stick. The dirt was soft and squishy, how I imagined Fluffy's body would be. I wondered how deep the grave was. It couldn't be too deep; Mama hadn't been out there very long that night.
I decided to wait.
The next night, when everyone was asleep, I crept out to the backyard. There, in the faint moonlight, stood the silent grave. I shivered a bit, even though the night air was still warm from the heat of the day.
"Now I'm going to poke you with a stick," I thought as I dug through the softened dirt. I dug for what seemed a good long while, but never found anything. Sighing, I turned away from the grave toward the house. I decided to go back to bed before anyone found out I was missing.
Just then, I heard a shuffling noise from behind me-from the grave. I wet my pants and a shiver ran down my spine as a soft breath whispered along my neck.
I didn't turn around, but instead ran straight for the back door. I quietly went inside the house and took the stairs two at a time. I huddled under the blankets of the bed all night long. I didn't even bother to change my wet nightclothes.
"What's wrong with you?" Mama asked me the next morning as we ate breakfast.
"Uh, nothing," I mumbled, taking a huge bite of pancakes drizzled with "real maple" syrup. How does a big boy of six tell his mama that a zombie aardvark made him wet his pants in the middle of the night?
He doesn't. And he doesn't go poking at gravesites anymore, either.
Cliches are nearly required, as are excessive use of adverbs, sentence fragments, run on sentences... Extra points if you include the opening phrase "It was a dark and stormy night..."
The Tale of the Zombie Aardvark, a Children's Story
It was a dark and stormy night when Mama buried Fluffy, our pet aardvark. Her silver jewellry flashed a beacon at me as she dug under a light in the backyard. Actually, the storm was just heat lightning, but to my six-year-old imagination, it seemed to be a sign of great importance on this auspicious occasion of a beloved pet's death and subsequent burial.
Fluffy had passed away, the victim of a vicious neighborhood Rottweiler. We had taken Fluffy to the vet, but the when the encephalogram showed no brain life, we brought our pet home. Now, though buried, his poor body would still putrefy in the oppressive summer heat.
I was fascinated by the entire process. After all, what was death to a six-year-old?
A day later, I was playing with my older sister, Jenny, in the backyard near the burial site. She was swinging on the swing, while I nibbled on a banana left over from lunch. As she swung higher and higher, I stared at the grave.
"Hey Jenny. Let's dig up Fluffy!"
"Ewww. You're disgusting! I'm telling Mama!" Jenny ran toward the back door and disappeared inside the house.
I squatted beside the gravesite and poked it with a stick. The dirt was soft and squishy, how I imagined Fluffy's body would be. I wondered how deep the grave was. It couldn't be too deep; Mama hadn't been out there very long that night.
I decided to wait.
The next night, when everyone was asleep, I crept out to the backyard. There, in the faint moonlight, stood the silent grave. I shivered a bit, even though the night air was still warm from the heat of the day.
"Now I'm going to poke you with a stick," I thought as I dug through the softened dirt. I dug for what seemed a good long while, but never found anything. Sighing, I turned away from the grave toward the house. I decided to go back to bed before anyone found out I was missing.
Just then, I heard a shuffling noise from behind me-from the grave. I wet my pants and a shiver ran down my spine as a soft breath whispered along my neck.
I didn't turn around, but instead ran straight for the back door. I quietly went inside the house and took the stairs two at a time. I huddled under the blankets of the bed all night long. I didn't even bother to change my wet nightclothes.
"What's wrong with you?" Mama asked me the next morning as we ate breakfast.
"Uh, nothing," I mumbled, taking a huge bite of pancakes drizzled with "real maple" syrup. How does a big boy of six tell his mama that a zombie aardvark made him wet his pants in the middle of the night?
He doesn't. And he doesn't go poking at gravesites anymore, either.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Thursday 13 #5
|
|
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Monday, September 04, 2006
Weekend Update
Well, now that this three-day weekend has passed, I can safely say I was completely lazy. I ended up getting DD's cold, which she had all week long. Right now, I'm still having feverish hot flashes. I shouldn't be sitting here typing this. :)
On Saturday, DD & I went to the library. I owed 90 cents on two overdue books of mine and four of hers. We checked out a few things, and then I took DD to Subway to eat. She had her first spelling test on Friday and got 6 out of 6 words correct. I was so excited that she did so well. We practiced all week. I was so excited because it was her first test. I was unsure of how she might do on tests; sometimes, I think she hurries through things. I remember being a hurrier myself. :) So that was her special Saturday surprise.
On Sunday, we went over to the local state park again. There were a lot of people taking advantage of the nice weather, so it wasn't nearly as peaceful as last weekend. DH fished a bit, but didn't catch anything. We had a picnic lunch and DD collected acorns.
Today, DD & I went outside for awhile, but I got bitten by several mosquitoes, which seem to be out in force in our yard. Yuck. Even though I sprayed with bug repellant, I was still getting bitten. So we weren't outside very long. DD didn't get any bug bites, so maybe bugs just don't find her as tasty as they do me. :)
This evening, I had some laundry to do, and DD took a bath. We played some Go Fish and now she's asleep. It was a nice peaceful weekend that passed too quickly. I wish I hadn't been feeling stuffy all weekend. That would have made the weekend even better.
Hope everyone has a great week!
RIP Steve Irwin. You'll be missed.
On Saturday, DD & I went to the library. I owed 90 cents on two overdue books of mine and four of hers. We checked out a few things, and then I took DD to Subway to eat. She had her first spelling test on Friday and got 6 out of 6 words correct. I was so excited that she did so well. We practiced all week. I was so excited because it was her first test. I was unsure of how she might do on tests; sometimes, I think she hurries through things. I remember being a hurrier myself. :) So that was her special Saturday surprise.
On Sunday, we went over to the local state park again. There were a lot of people taking advantage of the nice weather, so it wasn't nearly as peaceful as last weekend. DH fished a bit, but didn't catch anything. We had a picnic lunch and DD collected acorns.
Today, DD & I went outside for awhile, but I got bitten by several mosquitoes, which seem to be out in force in our yard. Yuck. Even though I sprayed with bug repellant, I was still getting bitten. So we weren't outside very long. DD didn't get any bug bites, so maybe bugs just don't find her as tasty as they do me. :)
This evening, I had some laundry to do, and DD took a bath. We played some Go Fish and now she's asleep. It was a nice peaceful weekend that passed too quickly. I wish I hadn't been feeling stuffy all weekend. That would have made the weekend even better.
Hope everyone has a great week!
RIP Steve Irwin. You'll be missed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)