30 December 2010

List of Books

Oops, I forgot to add the entire list of books. Here it is.

01. Heat Wave –“Richard Castle” (1-3)
02. About a Boy –Nick Hornby (1-8)
03. Pirate Latitudes –Michael Crichton (1-10)
04. Rebecca—an American Girl (1-15)
05. Pretties –Scott Westerfeld (1-17)
06. Anthem –Ayn Rand (1-25)
07. Rest You Merry –Charlotte MacLeod (1-29)
08. Specials –Scott Westerfeld (2-9)
09. Ice Palace –Edna Ferber (2-15)
10. The Hand of Mary Constable –Paul Gallico (2-20)
11. One for the Money –Janet Evanovich (2-24)
12. The Forgotten Garden –Kate Morton (3-4)
13. The Secret Life of Bees –Sue Monk Kidd (4-25)
14. Beastly –Alex Flinn (5-10)
15. Mistborn –Brandon Sanderson (5-23)
16. Love of Seven Dolls –Paul Gallico (6-27)
17. A Kiss in Time –Alex Flinn (7-17)
18. Wuthering Heights –Emily Bronte (7-28)
19. The 10 p.m. Question –Kate de Goldi (8-8)
20. The Nanny Diaries –McLaughlin and Kraus (8-15)
21. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson 1) –Rick Riordan (8-16)
22. The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson 2) –Rick Riordan (8-24)
23. Electric Literature #2 –et al. (8-25)
24. The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson 3) –Rick Riordan (8-28)
25. The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson 4) –Rick Riordan (8-29)
26. The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson 5) –Rick Riordan (8-30)
27. Jane Eyre –Charlotte Bronte (9-6)
28. The Hunger Games –Suzanne Collins (9-15)
29. The Catcher in the Rye –JD Slinger (9-28)
30. Gods Tomorrow –Aaron Pogue (9-30)
31. Light of Eidon –Karen Hanock (10-6)
32. Portal –Imogen Rose (10-19)
33. The Blue Sword –Robin McKinley (10-30)
34. 100 Cupboards –ND Wilson (11-26)
35. Elantris –Brandon Sanderson (12-8)
36. Code Blue –Richard L. Mabry (12-16)
37. The Lost Hero –Rick Riordan (12-29)

Books of 2010 in review

have read a total of thirty-seven new novels during the year of 2010. The entire list is printed below for your perusal, with the numbers at the end of each being the date I finished them. But I’m only going to talk about some of them here—the ones that impacted me the most. That’s not to say that the others had no impact on me at all, just that I have to pick and choose in this review.

First, let’s talk about Anthem. It’s a short book, barely a hundred pages long, and yet it impacted me even more than Orwell’s 1984 or Huxley’s Brave New World. This dystopian novelette is based on the theory that our society will digress if we begin to see ourselves as a collective unit rather than unique individuals. I haven’t read Ayn Rand’s longer works, but I can see how this theory could prove to be true if put into action. So much of a child’s development stems from competition. It’s so much easier to be selfish and push yourself to be better than your siblings or your classmates rather than take yourself out of the picture and strive to make others better. If you’re working for someone other yourself, the motivation is gone. Anthem is similar to Brave New World in that these people have been conditioned since birth to believe in the greater cause, to squash that individuality and creativity within them. And that is much scarier than the idea that Big Brother is always watching.

The only thing I have to say about Specials is that it made me regret wasting my time on the entire Uglies series. The other books were thoughtful and interesting to read, as well as packed with some nice action. This one just made me want to throw it across the room and slap someone’s face.

Let’s talk about the Bronte sisters for a moment. Bella says in Twilight that she reads Wuthering Heights for fun when the rest of her life is dismal and depressing because Edward is not paying enough attention to her. This leads me to believe that Stephenie Meyer knows even less about Wuthering Heights than I did before I read it. Nobody in their right minds would read Wuthering Heights for fun, especially not some shallow girl who has nothing better to do than moon over some random guy she hasn’t even met yet. The story is told in this stupid flashback sequence like an awkward, contrived movie, there is no protagonist because all the characters are insipid and whiny, and Heathcliff isn’t even dashing or witty to make up for how horrible he is to everybody else. At least Edmond Dantes ruins everyone’s lives with style. Heathcliff is just a jerk. So anyway, since I’d heard more people talk about Wuthering Heights than Jane Eyre, I figured that meant it was the better of the two novels. I don’t know what possessed me to attempt Jane Eyre based on that reasoning, but I am glad I did. Jane is a truly likeable character, and Mr. Rochester rivals Mr. Darcy in witty banter (although not in chivalry, sadly). And their relationship wasn’t the only thing driving the story, either. I loved reading about Jane’s childhood at the orphanage, the encounter with the gypsy woman, and even her awkward relationship with St. John and his sisters. The ending was a little corny, but the rest of the book made it worth it.

The Percy Jackson series obviously was a big deal to me, as I read all five books in less than a month. I think I finally noticed them because of the movie release, and of course, I went to the text first to see what all the hype was about. Now, when it comes to writing, plot, and character development, Rick Riordan is no JK Rowling. And yet that doesn’t stop me from greedily flipping the pages of his novels, desperate to find out what happens next. I love the way he re-invents mythology, and I especially love the modern characterization of the gods. Poseidon wear a fisherman outfit. Ares is a tough biker dude. And even though Riordan makes sure that there is plenty of mythology being retold in each book, the overarching plot still is different and exciting to read. I’d recommend it to any one who is a young adult fantasy fan, and even some people who are not. My final book of this year is another Riordan, The Lost Hero, which I think I actually liked even better than his first series just because the main character, Jason, is way cooler than Percy.

Elantris is worth noting because I loved it so much more than Mistborn. Sean went on and on about how great Brandon Sanderson was, and so I read Mistborn, but I couldn’t really get into it. Now I think that it is primarily due to his main character in that series. I loved both the male and female main characters in Elantris and also the world, the magic system, and the plot. I was gripped until the end. I had no idea how it was going to work out, but I had undying faith in Raoden’s abilities to figure it all out. I will be reading more Sanderson from here on out.

I also have to give a nod to a book that didn’t make it on this list—Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I’m ashamed to say that I thought I could make it through the unabridged version, and I couldn’t. Thirteen hundred pages is just a bit too much for me. Although it wasn’t really the size of the book that daunted me, overall, it was the amount of the book that was dedicated to the history of France. Yes, the novel is about France. That is why I chose to read the unabridged version, so I could get at what Victor Hugo was trying to say about his country. But all I got was an extremely long and boring history lesson. It was during the hundred-or-so-page description of the Battle of Waterloo that I knew I was never going to finish.

22 December 2010

The Young Adult Series Conundrum


It bothers me how many young adult novels are part of a series. I guess this is great for you if you’ve been in the young adult section for years now, perusing its shelves with eager anticipation as each now tome is produced. You know which authors you like and you know that what they come out with next will be worth your time and money. You know which ones are bad and to avoid. But I’ve been out of the book scene for four years, and am only just now daring to inch myself out there to see what’s available. After years of assigned reading and another year of trying to catch up on some classics (and polishing off the entire Percy Jackson series in a couple of weeks), I’m finally ready to being reading the new stuff. Since I’m planning to review books for the Consortium starting in January, it kind of makes sense that I stay on top of the books that are coming hot off the presses. Nobody wants to read a review of a book that is a few years old. Most everybody has already read it and reviewed it by that time. That’s where these series really do me a disservice. When looking at the “hot new” books that are coming out in 2011, almost all of them are part of a series. I don’t want to have to go back six years or so to find the first book. And what if it turns out to be good, I don’t have time to waste on reading all the subsequent books. Whatever happened to stand alones? Even if they turn out to be dismal books, at least I can read them by themselves and not feel guilty for not picking up the sequels. I don’t have to wait and see if the series will improve.
As it is, I am going to be trudging through the young adult (my genre of choice) and other novels of 2011 with care, searching for ones I feel worth my time. And who knows, maybe I’ll come across a series I find worth reading through the entire thing.

16 December 2010

Books I've Read Survey

I got this survey from a friend on facebook. I thought it was a good way to end the year. In most of the questions I tried to pick books that I've read in 2009-2010 so that it was like a year in review. By the way, books read for this year total thirty-five so far. I'll give you a real overview of them next week or so.

1. Best book you read last year?
in 2009, Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobbs. In 2010, Elantris by Brandon Sanderson.
2. A book you've read more than three times.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
3. Your favorite series.
Harry Potter. It's one of the very few series I've made all they way through. I usually stop around book four or five.
4. Favorite book of your favorite series.
Probably Prisoner of Azkaban. Although Half-Blood Prince was pretty good, too.
5. A book that makes you happy.
Beastly by Alex Flinn
6. A book that makes you sad.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. It's like Vanity Fair in that there's no hero, and that makes me sad.
7. Most underrated book.
Nick Horby pre-2007. I think people (in the US at least) are just starting to notice him, and he was great all along. Or maybe that was just me not noticing him. Hmmm.
8. Most overrate book.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
9. A book you though you wouldn't like but ended up loving.
Jane Eyre by CHarlotte Bronte. After what her sister wrote I unnecessarily set myself up for disappointment.
10. Favorite classic book.
Emma or Pride and Prejudice
11. A book you hated.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover
12. A book you used to love but don't anymore.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini (I still like it as a book written by a 15yr/o, just not love.)
13. Your favorite writer(s).
Jane Austen, Orson Scott Card
14. Favorite book of your favorite writer.
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card (since I already listed my two fav Austen books)
15. Favorite male character.
from 2010, Raoden from Elantris
16. Favorite female character.
from 2010, Jane Eyre
17. A book that disappointed you.
Specials by Scott Westerfeld.
18. Favorite book turned into a movie.
Holes by Louis Sachar
19. Favorite romance book.
from 2010, Love of Seven Dolls by Paul Gallico, although I don't know if it actually classifies as a romance book. I don't have a general romance book because that would imply that I read them on a regular basis.
20. Favorite book from your childhood.
I shouldn't pick just one, but I'm going to go with Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. I must love it if I bought it for Sean to read last year.
21. A book you've wanted to read for a long time but still haven't.
Lord of the Flies
22. A book you wish more people would read.
Gods Tomorrow by Aaron Pogue. Read it, people!
23. A character you can relate to the most.
Henry from 100 Cupboards by ND Wilson
24. The most surprising plot twist or ending.
Specials by Scott Westerfeld.
25. Favorite title.
This question is too vague. Is it my favorite because I like how it alludes to themes within the book? Because it sounds clever? Because it's clear and to the point? Because it uses a funny word like eponymous? I generally don't have favorite titles.
26. A book many people hated but you liked.
THe Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Well, I think it's about even between people hating it and liking it, but the terrible movie gives the book the aura that everybody hates it.
27. Your favorite book of all time.
No idea. Why limit myself to one, anyway?

07 December 2010

Post NaNoWriMo Plans

Now that the frenzy of NaNoWriMo is over, most people like to breathe, take a step back, and then delve into revision everything that they've just spewed out over the course of November. For me, while Bracken may one day become his own novel, nanowrimo was more the process of understand Bracken's backstory so that I could more richly develop his character in Into the Flames. December is a busy month, and I'm feeling starved for some good reading, so here's my personal game plan for my writing:
Christmas and finishing a good book in December and looking for more good books to read
Easing into working on Into the Flames in January, filling in a few scenes
Forcing myself to finishing writing the extra scenes in February and March
And then printing out my story and really cracking down on that third draft in April and those sultry summer months.
Oh, and let's not forget those book reviews I should be writing for the Consortium. Know any good recently published Kindle books for under $10? Let me know and I'll read and review it. And hopefully my blog will be up soon (hint hint, Sean) so that I can start reviewing books on there as well. Wow, just writing all this down makes me feel so busy. I better get started reading!

-So many books, so little time.-

29 November 2010

NaNoWriMo: the home stretch

Well, friends, I've got 47182 words to my name this month, which means I have less than two days to crank out the remaining 2818. Impossible? I think not. The best part is, I'm in the last chapter of my novel. THe worst part? I changed a lot of characters these past few days and I'm not sure how I feel about the effort it'll take to go back and rewrite them. Bleh. But that's what writing is all about, isn't it? You're never going to figure out where the story is supposed to go or even how it's supposed to begin if you don't at least try to get it out there. I'm also really sad that my story ends on a depressing note. But if Bracken doesn't have a ton of disappointment in his life now, then how will he be able to find redemption in the next novel? And that's the story that I am really excited to finish writing. I was distracted from writing Into the Flames while I was thinking about Bracken's backstory, but now that I"ve written it this month, I can focus my full attention back on Rahab. Yay!
And congratulations and thanks to Aaron Pogue, Becca Campbell, Courtney Cantrell, and all my other friends who participated in NaNoWriMo and helped me stay on track this month. They were truly an inspiration for me.

21 November 2010

week 4 of NaNoWriMo

My main character may have the power to see the future, but I sure don't. Here's some recent story developments that I totally didn't see coming:

The wallet that was empty and did not carry the mark of Superman
The Pact of the Pop-Tart
The Skirt in the girls' locker room that was not Analiese
Two trips to Dean Sanders's office (named after Sean)
The admiration of Bracken by the elusive and desirable female character as well as the formerly grumpy and undesirable leader of the surfer tribe


Now I should be coasting into the final acts of the drama with approximately 16k words left to write before midnight on 30 November. 33,623 and counting!

15 November 2010

Week 3 of NaNoWriMo

Into week three and now only four thousand words behind. What with some new characters I didn't see coming, an interesting rivalry between the surfers and the basketball players (I'm siding with the surfers, of course), and Analiese's new boyfriend Mercer (I know, you can tell from the name he's a jerk), things are starting to shape up.
Even with all these developments, though, I'm tempted to start from the end and work my way backward. I know where I want to end up, and sometimes I'm afraid that my character's personalities will keep me from getting there. Well, I've got two more weeks to see what they can come up with before I take matters into my own hands.

11 November 2010

week 2 of NaNoWriMo


I hate to admit it, but I'm not doing so hot this year. I'm a week behind in writing (I'd have to write 8k tonight to be on the right track, and that's not happening) and Bracken's not being the great character driving force that my plot needs right now. He kind of just letting things happen to him, and that's not cool. :( And if that's not bad enough, I'm behind on my reading at work. Anyway, I'm hoping that I can get some writing done tonight to jump start me into tomorrow social writing event.
Random thought: Harry Potter 7 Part I next week. I hope it's good. And now back to the grindstone.

05 November 2010

NaNoWriMo update--meet Jamison, the chauffer

"The cars were still lined up in their pristine condition—a 2000 Cadillac Eldorado taking the place of the wrecked Porsche, but every other vehicle still the same. Mr. Jamison still lived above the garage and polished the cars each day without fail, even in the middle of winter. Mr. Jamison kept mostly to himself; sometimes his work seemed that of a ghost. Bracken wasn’t really sure what Jamison did in the free hours of the afternoon when he wasn’t polishing the cars, tending the lawn, or chauffering the Carnagies to elaborate dinner parties, but he often pictured the elderly Brit sitting in a leather wingback with a thick cigar and a selection of Shakespeare’s poems, tapping his polished shoe to the crooning tones of Rosemary Clooney."

01 November 2010

First post during NaNoWriMo 2010

Well, fellow writers, November is now upon us, and the writing frenzy is begun. Last night's writing party was very successful (in my opinion). I managed to crank out 1500 words, although who knows how terrible they may sound now in the daylight. Since I know my characters pretty well (although, who of us, even me, can say that we will ever truly know Bracken Carnegie?), I'm not too worried about him driving my plot forward toward the stunning final scene. My main concern right now is coming up with a working title so that I can stop referring to it as Bracken. While it does describe the book pretty well, being the main character's name and all, I am not as a general rule very happy about such mundane book titles.
Books that I formerly had called after their main characters, for example, are now pleasantly dubbed Into the Flames, Jumpin' Jehosephat!, and The Letter to Santa. See how much more intriguing those sound, as opposed to, for instance, Jane Eyre, David Copperfield, or Emma? Now don't get me wrong, those are all delightful books, but the titles don't really tell you that much about them except that their main characters have very common names.
Leaving you with these thoughts to ponder, I shall bid you adieu and make my way back the creative recourses of my brain where Bracken awaits his next move.

17 October 2010

Long Awaited Book Review!

Pogue, Aaron. Gods Tomorrow. OKC, OK: Consortium Books, 2010.

“He used to say, ‘Peddlers today, Gods tomorrow.’ It was like a mantra for him….We have some amazing technology, but we haven’t made any gods yet” (144).

It’s a world not very hard to imagine for us who live in the twenty-first century: a world where the cyber world knows everything about you, knows what you’re going to order for dinner, and has every minute of your day recording onto the big database in the sky. Privacy is dead, and that means that every criminal will be brought down and delivered justice.
Or does it? Some people, called ghosts, have managed to slip through the system. Now someone is dead, and there’s worse things at stake than just an unpunished murderer. Katie Pratt, new to Ghost Targets division of the FBI, is on the case. She will not rest until she finds the ghost behind this senseless murder and threat to modern society.

I am all about the character development, and Gods Tomorrow does not disappoint. As intriguing as the story and the world were, it was Katie Pratt and the other characters she meets along the way that really made me want to finish the book. The thing about these characters was that they weren’t just cookie-cutter stereotypes slightly changed to fit into the roles that Mr. Pogue made for them. They were real, and their emotions were real. They all had a little bit of good and a little bit of bad. Sometimes I wasn’t sure who was supposed to be the antagonist, and sometimes I wanted the antagonist to win. Through it all, Katie’s character is strong and I rooted for her every step of the way. I can’t wait until the next book comes out and I can see her continue her journey through Ghost Targets.

I give it a four star rating because I found the beginning and the techno-jargon a little slowing. It was necessary for the plot and to understand the world, but the how of the whole thing didn’t interest me nearly as much as the characters and the story.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Gods Tomorrow is now for sale on Amazon and in every format of e-book reader. Grab your copy today!

08 October 2010

Office Observations

So the IT director just came into our office and asked how to spell "finagle" while also managing to mispronounce it. Jordan helped him out, but Laura just asked, "Doesn't he know how to use the internet?"

I have found on multiple occasions that Grammar Girl is very helpful with her quick and dirty tips. Of course, I already know the rules that she is teaching, but sometimes I like to look them up just to reassure myself, because I live in a world that is plagued by incorrect grammar, and we all know that if the majority of people are doing it, then it must be right. Today I looked up the difference between bad and badly. The way I've always remembered it is that badly is an adverb (obviously, because it has an -ly), and adverbs, as their names denote, modify verbs. Therefore, in what way am I feeling? I feel badly. But bad is an adjective that defines a noun, in this case, I. So if we want to know how I feel, we would have to make it an adjective. But I find that her transitive and intransitive section is even more enlightening. Read and enjoy.

03 October 2010

What is your superpower?

As many of you know, I have a world where most of the inhabitants have superpowers. The point is that it is the people without superpowers who are different, and they have to find their way in a world where being normal isn't considered normal. Did I also mention that this is a world of unicorns, gryphons, and dragons? Anyway, I decided to come up with a comprehensive list of all the different powers that people in this world could possess, and realized that I only have thirteen different ones. Even if I come up with twice that, this world isn't going to be very diverse. So I beg your aid to come up with more. What are some common powers super heros have, some uncommon ones, and what power do you really wish you had if you lived in a comic book world? Tell me all your ideas!

So far I have:
Telepathic
Telekinetic
Super Hearing
Create objects (I guess it'd be kind of like alchemy)
Super Voice
Can locate anything
Invisibility
Super Jumping
Wall-Crawling (like Spider-Man)
Healing (they don't have great medicine)
Speak/understand any language
Fire manipulators
Lie Detectors

25 September 2010

Dark and Stormy Night Publishing

I just want to say that I am so proud of Sean for finally working on my new blog and getting it to look like an actual blog--although not anything like the finished product. In light of these actions, i'd also like to officially announce that Sean is making me a new blog that should be up and running by October, and I will be moving over there as soon as I can. In case you were wondering the difference, this one is going to be on wordpress, and since it is coded by Sean it means I can do lots of extra stuff that I haven't been doing on here--hopefully. I have grand plans for it, including book reviews, tidbits of my writing, things that I learn about writing from my own experience and from others, a list of books that I plan to read, and perhaps occasionally anecdotes from my authors at work. But more on that later!

23 September 2010

Teaser Two!

One of my failed attempts to start this story. I got stuck here and realized that it was not going in the right direction.

Bracken Carnegie. Not much thought went into that name. Bracken, a type of fern. Also the name of my mother’s grandfather, who was a lord of something or other in England. Carnegie, my father’s surname, of course. Passed down from the unknown generations. We’re said to be cousins to the famous Andrew Carnegie, the steel guy, and that’s why we’re rich, but not as rich as he was. And that’s all there is. No middle name, no nicknames, nothing. Just Bracken Carnegie. My parents consistently told me that their expectation of me were very low. Everybody else in their family had already done everything impressive. All I had to do to make them happy was play the violin like an angel, attend Harvard or Oxford, and marry a Kennedy.
Harder than it sounds.

19 September 2010

NaNoWriMo 2010 teaser

"She had told me, three months ago, that she could breathe underwater, and I had believed her. But now, waiting for her among the cattails, glancing at my watch every two seconds, I realized that I hadn’t, not really. Despite the years of repression, my hero instincts wanted to take over. My heels kept lifting off the ground, allowing me to peer into the murky brown water, wanting to save her. Needing to save her. She had done so much for me, and now, here I was, still standing helplessly by. She told me to trust her, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to protect her. Why didn’t she ever need protecting?"

This isn't going to make it into the final draft, because I decided that the time frame for the story is going to be restricted to before he met Rahab, but I did this as a little pre-writing to get into Bracken's head. (Also I decided to make the story 3rd person.) Only 42 days until NaNoWriMo...

14 September 2010

NaNoWriMo 2010 goals

So I feel much better now that I've chosen what project to work on for November 2010. And what project is that, might you ask?
Bracken's novel! Something I've always wanted to write, but never really sure how to. I didn't know whether I should basically re-write Into the Flames from Bracken's perspective (chose not to do that as soon as Midnight Sun came around), write about his childhood, or about his relationship with Rahab after the events in Into the Flames. Well, I still am not completely sure of the answer to this, but I do know that I feel I have a very solid opening scene, set a few months before he meets Rahab. The craziness of NaNoWriMo will hopefully drive the plot along. I mean, it's not like I have nothing to work with, I basically know everything about Bracken's life, it's just deciding which part of his life to document, and in what way. First person, or third person? Retrospectively (since we all know what's going to happen) or from a more active stand-point? Any suggestions along these lines would be welcome. But I'm just glad I know who my specimen is going to be for this year! *sigh of relief*

Now excuse me while I go update my nano profile.

09 September 2010

Non-fiction works at Tate

You know it's going to be a bad day when you have to read this:
The practice of students dropping out and re-enrolling in high school or General Educational Development (GED) programs has recently gained the interest of researchers, public officials, and school administrators due to the low academic achievement of high school students across the nation (Berliner, 1).

Then you force yourself to get through 7,000 words of this:
Zechariah’s second and third visions are closely tied together. In them, God is still dealing with the Gentile nations. He is still “sore displeased” with them because they have “helped forward (increase) the affliction” of his people. Zechariah sees the four empires (“four horns”) which have increased the affliction; and then he sees the “four carpenters,” which represent God’s power (and method) of destroying these four empires. The Lord says that the carpenters have “come to fray them, to cast out the horns [power] of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn [power] over the land of Judah to scatter it” (Zech. 1:21).

Only to find that what you've been waiting to "reward" yourself with later is this:
The book explores how a company can successfully alter its strategic policies and organizational methods in response to or anticipation of environmental changes without provoking instability or increasing the undue stress experienced by people.

**Copyright 2010 Tate Publishing and/or their authors.**

01 September 2010

Ode to September

A new month means:
A new set of books to read at Tate.
A new book to review for the Consortium.
My birthday is almost here!
Bouquets of freshly-sharpened pencils.
Sneakers with shiny white shoe-laces.
It is almost not summer anymore!

28 August 2010

Book update for August

Number of books read for 2010: 23
I know, terrible, especially for someone who claims to love reading as much as I do. But give me a break here, people! Not only do I read for a living and am trying to write my own novel, but I got stuck trying to finish Les Miserables for four months (and I still haven't given up hope that one day i will finish it, I've just put it on the back burner in favor of more interesting things). So thanks to Mara and me going to the library at least once a week, and agreeing to read books for Aaron, I've picked up the pace a little this month.

August's accomplishments:
The 10 pm Question by Kate deGoldi
The Nanny Diaries by McLaughlin and Kraus
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Electric LIterature #2 (a magazine of short stories)

Next on the list:
The last three in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin

Check me out on good reads if you want to recommend any books or see what I'm reading.

23 August 2010

San Antonio


Highlights from our trip to San Antonio:
Five people simultaneously chanting "Bless You" when I sneezed at Sea World.
Flying off the tube at the bottom of the water slide and hitting my elbow and the lifeguard not believing me when I said I was okay.
Sitting on the far side of the stage at Azul so we could see one of the trainers chatting with a beluga whale behind the stage for twenty minutes before the show.
The fajitas at Hard Rock Cafe, even though we had to wait twenty minutes for more meat because our waiter didn't actually give us a double order because I guess he thought we weren't that hungry.
The little kid with the stuffed orca that we met at a stop light in Burnet (see Sean for full story).
Getting to visit with James and Tonya on the way home Sunday.

I'm sure there's more but I've slept since then so I can't remember.

20 August 2010

Lessons from the office

Today I learned:
Patrick is a big fan of strapless bras.
James turns 30 today.
The movie Friday the Thirteen was released the day James was born.
The Knights Templar are the reason why Friday the Thirteenth is unlucky.
"Anybody" can pull off a dramatic reading of Tantacles of Destruction.
My earrings make great wind whistlers.

18 August 2010

It's Wednesday. What else is new?

Today I learned that:
Replace All isn't caps sensitive. Which sucks for me because now I can't just find and replace all Heavens with heavens and all CHAPTERs with Chapters. I have to find next for each one and change it myself. Oh well, it keeps me busy.
The office's most exciting revelation today? That CMOS changed the color scheme of their website in honor of their 16th edition release. Kalyn was ooh-ing and ahh-ing for minutes on end.

15 August 2010

the Consortium

What is the Consortium? According to the site, it's "a nonprofit organization based out of Oklahoma City, OK, which supports the arts, encourages the development of local artists, and generates high-quality works of art that directly benefit the local community."
So what does that really mean?
It means that they are an organization of writers, painters, photographers, musicians, and other artists who work hard so that they and other artists can be free to pursue what they really love--their art! It's just starting up, but the goal is to let artists make their art their full-time job-instead of having to find those pesky, real world jobs to pay their food and board.
As a long-time aspiring author myself, this sounds like a really great idea. (Even though, at the moment, I really enjoy my real world job.)
The Consortium was thought of by my friend Aaron Pogue. Thanks to him and many of his artist friends, it is slowly being realized. Now that I have a good job that doesn't make me want to kill people at the end of the day (ie I don't work at Sonic), I felt that it was my turn to volunteer my time toward this cause. Sean has already been involved with the Consortium for a while, implementing his programming skills.
Aaron actually used to be Sean's technical writing teacher at OC. But, as we all know, Sean has a way of finding friends in the most interesting of places. Before the semester was out, Sean and Aaron were meeting for lunches and nerd-ing it up big time. Since then, Sean and I have also had the pleasure of meeting Aaron's wife and two kids.
So anyway, here I am, promoting Aaron and the Consortium. Click on the links above to find out more about who he is and what he's been working on. and don't forget to support the Arts!

13 August 2010

A day in the life of.....a copyeditor :)

Alarm goes off at 6:30. I think it's part of my dream, but then finally startle myself awake by yelling, "Sean, it's time to get up!"
He agrees, then rolls over and hits the snooze.
Two snoozes later, Sean gets up and gets ready for his new job. I remind him his lunch is in the fridge; he goes to work.
I let Bella in from her morning romp in the yard and play on facebook. Then I get up, get dressed, and stare at the fridge for something to eat. I sit around the house looking for something to do until Mara picks me up at a quarter to eight.
Today, Thomas picks me up. Sun is shining, temperature is already in the eighties.
Get to work a little early, grab my water bottle from my cubby and fill it from the water cooler in the cafe. Mmmmm, coffee smells good. Sit across from Brittany, plug in my computer, get to work. The two Laurens come in a bit later; one is my boss and is in the adjoining office a few feet away, the other Lauren sits next to me and also gets to work.
At ten, every single employee from Tate trickles into our office (because it is the biggest) and we have to shove our table back to make room for them. It's time for the monthly meeting. yay. Meeting stuff happens, Ryan inspires us, and we have awards and announcements and all that jazz. Then we get to move our table back and try to kill time for an hour before lunch.
Lauren asks Brittany (because Brittany's been here the longest) about a grammar question and we talk about our manuscripts and discover mistakes we've been making (surprise, we going to have to go back and fix our work! Even grammar nazis aren't perfect).
Lunch rolls around, we all scatter.
Eat, play on our computers, talk, do some work, paychecks are handed out, we talk while we work.
Boss Lauren, per my request a couple days ago, has gone over my previous manuscripts. Oops, I made some mistakes. But it's okay, it's only my first week so it's good we've caught these early on! I go back and fix them and then do PPCs for Kalyn. I used to do PPCs as an intern, but I still have the email and have been keeping up with it, and probably will until a new intern turns up. I know Kalyn is too busy for it and plus I already have a good system worked out for it.
"Bye, have a good weekend," resounds around the office as people start to leave. There's only about five or six people left in the office by four because Ryan said we could go home an hour early today and most editors have flex hours and get off at four anyway. I'm staying because Sean can't get me until five, and Brittany and Lauren are trying to get in a couple extra hours. So we sit around and work a little bit until five and Sean is here to pick me up.
Sean shows me his new security cards and we go home.
Peek in the freezer and find some pork steaks.
Dinner is cooked, eaten, and leftovers put away by 6:30. Reading, playing on the computer, and catching up with each other's days. If this were a weekday, I would be making Sean's lunch and maybe ironing a pair of slacks for him. Instead, we're waiting for Caleb to arrive from Tulsa.
And that is what I did today!

12 August 2010

Many magical musings


"If you must know, I didn't know he was the fiance when he plopped." --Alex
In this movie, Emma is confused how Alex's plot and characters can develop even while he's in the middle of writing the story. Two pages before, the main character meets John Shaw. Then he conveniently finds out that Shaw is planning to marry the main character's new employer. Coincidence? Definitely not!

Although it's a bit contrived in Alex and Emma, and the plot ultimately reflect's Adam's past and poor life descisions, this spontaneous working of the plot with convenient results often happens in real life. I was just thinking this morning about my character Mr. Lukas from my nanowrimo 2009 novel. By the year 1194 in the land of Pocatello (when this novel was set), it's very, very unusual for someone to not have magical powers. But I had already developed the character of Lukas without detirmining what his power was. When I got to his part of the story in November, I had to quickly come up with some passive power for him that wouldn't detract from who he was or his function in the plot. I couldn't give him charisma, because that would make his rise to fame seem fake, and I wanted him to be a strong character who worked his way up the social ladder. He couldn't have anything active (like tekenesis, fire manipulation, or even telepathy) because then the enemy would take him way too seriously and lock him up tight, or even kill him after they had all the necessary information from him.
So I decided to make him an Earwig--I have idea where I got the idea that one could have super hearing, but that's what I gave Mr. Lukas. And suddenly, it solved some problems.
It explained why the Flubberians had left him locked up alone (so he couldn't hear any enemy plans).
It explained how he found out that Phillip was still alive (the two assassins who didn't know where Mr. Lukas was held slipped into a back corrider to discuss the operation where King Carlos wouldn't hear them).
It explained how he managed to escape the castle and get out of Flubber (he could hear their footsteps in the hallways in enough time to go down a different corridor).
And it didn't take away from his natural leadership abilities, it didn't hinder his loyalty to Phillip, and it didn't make him sympathize with the Greens (Lukas' three main character traits).
In fact, I like this power so much that I gave it to another character Last night I indulged myself in looking through my other stories from Pocatello (yes, sigh, there are more) and realized that my hero from another time didn't have any powers yet. The main character trait of this man was that he was a war veteran from the Flubberian civil war, but even by the year 382 (the year of the war), many people had powers, and it would be just ignoring the whole point of the war not to give him one. So what do I do? I make him an Earwig. Now he's essentially the same person, didn't really improve his fighting all that much (maybe even hindered it if the sound of all those bullets gave him a headache) and then the introduction scene to the other main character doesn't have to be an awkward outburst in a bar, instead he can just overhear her heated conversation with the bartender in the back.
Don't you love it when things turn out like that? Unless you're a writer, probably not :)
*For more information than you ever wanted to know about magical abilities and the Flubberian civil war, feel free to ask me, I love rambling about my made-up world*

In other news, first two PAID days at Tate went very well. Working on reading more slowly and getting to know the other girls at my table without sounding intrusive. Sean is trying to get temporary security clearance so that he can start working on stuff at his job, and then I'll never get to know what he's working on because it's a SECRET.

06 August 2010

Dream On (The Neil Patrick Harris/Matthew Morrison version, of course)

So now that I have a new job as a copyeditor at Tate Publishing (!!!!) I'll be sitting at a desk reading books for 27 hours a week. This means a lot of time that I can listen to music.

Here's what I've been listening to recently:
Anberlin
Owl City
3 Doors Down
Glee Soundtrack
Keane

As much as I like all these bands and have no intention of stopping listening to them anytime soon, I'm ready to throw something new into the mix. Would anybody like to suggest some new bands and/or get me an iTunes card? I'm open to suggestions!

05 August 2010

Words for the day

Lauren: "Would you like the job?"
Me: "Yes, please."
Lauren: "Okay, it's yours."

04 August 2010

Goodbye and good riddance



Due to Sean getting a job at Tinker and me hopefully getting a job at Tate, I quit Sonic this week. Sean has been busy filling out paperwork for his fancy Security Clearance with Abacus Tech, a subcontractor with Tinker AFB. I have my official interview with Tate for a copyediting position tomorrow. I can't forsee not getting the job, but then let's not count our chickens before they've hatched. So after three years working at different locations, sometimes only a few hours a week, and sometimes over forty, my last day with Sonic was Today. Here are a few of the things I will NOT be missing:
*Waking at 4:30am to open the store
*Running out of food or cups or lids or straws or napkins almost daily
*Having to go to Northstar for will calls when we ran out of stuff, especially in the summer when it's a hundred degrees outside and I had to sit in my car for an hour at a time.
*Customers complaining to me about everything, including things I can't fix and things that aren't even wrong.
*Employees whining about their jobs.
*Being short-handed and having to do five things at once.
*Continually sending back the headsets to their company and still only have two that work, instead of four.
*Roller skating and having customers ask me, "Are you skating? Have you fallen yet?"
*Smelling like stale tater tots every day
*Rushes where my blood sugar goes low and I can't find time to drink a coke

29 July 2010

Book update for July

Just finished Wuthering Heights last night. Now my currently reading list consists of:
Les Miserables
Jane Eyre
The 10 PM Question
The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English

also, I'm almost done with my first draft of Into the Flames. Just about two thousand words to go, really, if I end it where I think I'm going to. THen it's time for a complete re-read and mock-up/brainstorm to get motivated for the second draft!

My last day of work at Sonic is next Wednesday. Hopefully will be hearing more about my potential job at Tate today or tomorrow.

23 July 2010

Jeggings and other thoughts on pant trends.


I'm sorry, but Jeggings? Really? In a society where almost two-thirds of the population are obese, who thought that these would be a good idea?
Also, just let me say a few more things on fashion while I'm here. I am so glad that long shirts are back. I know that they make my hips looks as big as they are (and let's be thankful I finally have hips), but that is a welcome change to the continual tugging I endured to keep my gut covered a few years ago. And why are skinny jeans back? I hate to envision myself as an old person with over-the-belly-button pants with tucked in t-shirts, but that's going to be my equivalent if skinny jeans continue in this way. I refuse to give up my ankle-flappers (flares and boot-cuts)! Not only do that flap, plus they're a lot easier to roll up if you find yourself spontaneously wading through a muddy creek bed without a change of pants in the foreseeable future (as I did a couple of weekends ago in Copperas Cove).
Lunch break almost being over, I will now return to my delight work.

19 July 2010

Time changes everything

Through some weird twist of scheduling, I don't have to go to work at Sonic tomorrow until 9:30, which means I don't have to go to bed at some unreasonably early hour. It's funny how the world looks different when you're not sitting around just dreading the time you have to go to bed just to get up insanely early to go to a job you're not particularly fond of. When I got home from Edmond today, I make beef teriyaki for dinner, spent time with Bella, washed a few dishes and wiped down the counters, read my book, and cleaned the toilets. This was all accomplished an hour before I normally go to bed. And yet, if I had to get up early tomorrow, instead I would have spent the evening feeling like I had no time to do anything and so just play on facebook and watch some tv. Isn't perspective weird?
And then, with all this free time I had left, I browsed goodreads for over an hour and found way too many books that I don't have time to read. So sad. So instead I will go back to reading Wuthering Heights, because if I finish it then I can move on to another book in my very large pile beside my bed. Hope you all are having a productive day and a hopeful start to your work week.

16 July 2010

books books books

Why has no one told me about goodreads before? I know it's just another social networking site, and there's probably a lot of them out there for just books, but it's so exciting! The girls at Tate were playing on it this morning so I decided to check it out. Apparently you can also win free books there.
Some other thoughts from Tate:
Why are there twenty books of matches in the bathroom? There are no candles or anything else flammable. Seven weeks and this still confounds me.
Shadow editing with James this week. I have grown in confidence as I have read over some of Kalyn's edits so I hope I'm doing well.
I've become distracted. I don't know what else I was going to say. So back to work!

04 July 2010

Independence

I wonder if people realize just how amazing our government is. Sure, we don't like our presidents or our judges or a lot of the people in our legislature. But at least we still have the same system of government since the inception of our country. Others can be voted in and things can change. I've been reading Les Miserables lately, and in a single person's lifetime, the government in France changed four different times. Monarchy, an age of terror while the people tried to rule, then Napoleon took over, then another King, then another uprising of the Republic. That is the norm, and we are the exception. Even if it feels like everything is going to hell in a hand-basket, we haven't had a civil war in over a hundred and fifty years. I find that very encouraging.
In other thoughts, Sean and I joined the neighbourhood and set off some fireworks. Now I'm watching 1776. Nothing like a musical to make one feel patriotic.

01 July 2010

Chronicles of Narnia

Today I listened to the soundtrack to Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe. Then I embarrassed myself over how excited I got over the new trailer for Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Then I decided to reread the whole Chronicles of Narnia before December. Some people *coughCalebcough* think the series to pedantic and shallow, but I find both the stories and the metaphors to be right at my level. I always come away from the books with something new to think about. Maybe that just makes me the shallow one. So be it.

24 June 2010

How may I help you?

Trying something new:
put on receptionist duty in the Editing department at Tate. So far have answered the phone three times, and once it was actually for me! Don't misunderstand that exclamation point, that was more terror than excitement. Plus neither of my bosses are in the office today so I am not getting my questions answered promptly enough! Must needs go now and get back to work.

23 June 2010

Shark Teeth.

Today I learned that...
in medieval times people thought shark teeth were fossilized dragon's tongues. Somebody else thought that they fell from the sky during eclipses. They were used in magical potions and worn as good luck charms. Nicolas Steno sadly enlightened the common populace in 1667. Now they're just known as shark teeth.

21 June 2010

Summer's in full swing in Mustang

This week's source of entertainment:
Thomas' second draft of the the Last Prince.
Simon and Simon, a recently discovered 80s PI show.
An exciting twist in Les Miserables.
The development of Bracken's character in Into the Flames.
Anticipation of this week's Family Reunion.

And that's not even counting the 45 hrs. I'll be working this week.
btw, Mara, I don't look tanned at all! We should go swimming this weekend A LOT.

15 June 2010

I see you.

Today's challenge: trying to weave together the disappearance of Jean and Hawkins with Rahab confronting Bracken about his powers. The two strands are inseparable in the story line, but it's hard to balance Rahab's desire to find her friend with her concern and compassion for Bracken's inner struggle. It's taking too much out of me. I've written a few carefully chosen sentences, but I think I must put off the rest of this scene for tomorrow.
Okay so I know that Avatar is a terrible movie plot- and character-wise, but I *might* have watched it again last night. (To make fun of it, of course!) But today I'm haunted by the phrase "I see you." In Avatar, this greeting sort of means, "My spirit connects with your spirit." (It really has to do with their religion, but that's not important right now.) "I see you" seems so appropriate with this scene of "Into the Flames" that I'm writing. Bracken's power (spoiler alert!) is being able to see through both objects and time. He has spent his whole life trying to hide this behind a rough exterior, but finally, everything is stripped away. Rahab gets to "see" Bracken. He's been trying to see through Rahab the whole novel, trying to figure out what makes her different from others. Maybe now he'll understand? Maybe, when he allows himself to be seen, he can see more fully?

10 June 2010

Sol Stein, who's he?

The essence of dramatic conflict lies in the clash of wants. (Sol Stein)

There's so much that I could write about today. The above quote is from "Stein on Writing," a book I picked up during lunch today at Tate. Nothing that he said seemed very revolutionary, and really nothing that I read was any that I didn't already know. But somehow, as I turned the pages, I found thoughts sparking within my head about my novel that had never really appeared there. Mostly they were thoughts that made me realize just how much work I have left on Into the Flames. I've really merely scratched the surface of Rahab's character and I can't believe how quickly I've moved through the plot without showing everything that needs to be said. Needless to say, I've opened Scrivener and started re-organizing the whole plot and each character so that I make sure that no point in the story is left behind. For the past fifteen years (about how long I've been scribbling) I've given little thought to the structure of my novels, letting the characters carry me into and through the plot (or lack of plot). Now I see that if I don't write out exactly where I want each scene to go, Rahab won't let me write exactly her thought process and how she ended up to be the person she is at the end of the book.
Stein writes that everybody wants something, and it is the protagonists' desires that propel the story forward. The protagonist has to want something badly enough to fight for it. This afternoon I asked myself, "What does Rahab want?" She wants to be normal, she wants to be special, she wants to understand Bracken, she wants to be understood. Not only is Rahab clashing with herself and her desires, but her parents, Jean and Hawkins, Bracken, and, ultimately, James. All these people, in turn, have their own desires that they are striving to meet. The simple statement that I quoted above brought to light all the different subplots I have unconsciously woven throughout my novel and the different conflicting desires that have to be resolved before my story can end.
I can't wait to get started!

03 June 2010

Tate: Editing Division

Finally! I have been taken "across the street!"

I'm not really sure why I put that in quotes, since it literally is across the street. I'm speaking, of course, about the room full of copy and conceptual editors where I will be working at Tate from now on. I know that my boss, Curtis was much too busy to find things for me to do, and I was getting tired of listening to marketers talking on the phone to book distributors and authors all day. Curtis finally brought me over to the Dark Side, where I will be answering to Lauren and Kalyn,who have more than enough work for me to do.
The editing room is full of desk shoved up against each other and girls (and a couple guys) hunched over laptops reading manuscripts. So far I have met three other girls who recently started here and were previously interns. Not sure if that means there is hope for me, or if it means that they are now fully restaffed and don't need me. I guess we'll see; either way, it's a pleasure to be working here, while Sonic becomes more and more stressful each day.

Also, this office abuts the music department, so we have been assaulted (no, NOT a-salted) with deep bass boomings on and off this morning. I don't mind it at all. This office seems much more vibrant and exciting than the main office. And it's not so cold here, either.

28 May 2010

[insert yet to be renamed Christian gardening book title here]

Today I learned that:
Gardening books always have boring titles, and most of the time they're ridiculously long, too.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found that my supervisor called me to his office not to tell me what I did wrong or right (which would have been nice) but to ask me my opinion on how to "fix" an author's manuscript. Then he sent me off with the task to think of a better title to the manuscript. In case you were worried, earlier today he did critique my work, telling me what he thought I did well and an area where I could improve. Yay! I must say that I like my boss pretty well, except that when he's talking to me half the time I think he's mumbling to himself. But I guess I can't be too upset since I do the same (Sean can attest to that).

24 May 2010

Penn Square Mall

Today I learned that:
A trip to the mall can be at once terrifying, exciting, tiring, and satisfying.

This evening Sean and I decided to finally fill out his wardrobe with a few more dress pants and shirt for his "real" job. Those suit racks at Dillards can be intimidating! However, we summoned our courage and prevailed. Success!

20 May 2010

First Day at Tate

What I learned at Tate Publishing today:
Well, I spend most of my day doing conceptual editing for a book titled "Gardening Enhances my Faith." I learned a lot about composting, planting potatoes, and how the government is trying to take over all farming in the US so that...well, I'm not sure exactly why, but apparently they're perpetuating lies that organic farming is evil so that all farming and gardening will be under their control! [insert evil laugh here]
So here's hoping things get a little more interesting in the coming weeks.
Oh, and they stuck me in a room with a teeny tiny little desk and a bunch of empty file boxes. All alone. One lady stopped by and said to watch out, if the boxes started talking to me I was in trouble.

In other news, I'm babysitting Penny Noel and Nadia tonight. It's crazy what these kids come up with. Penny was pretending to have stuffed animals be her children, so I asked her why her stuffed bear didn't look like her, since the bear was supposed to be her baby, and she said, "I'm just a Penny, but I'm the guy who takes care of the bears." Seriously, it sounds like something Sean says in his sleep. Speaking of which, last night when I bumped Sean he rolled over and said, "You know, Guy Fawkes." And I said, "What about Guy Fawkes?" And he said, "That Guy Fawkes is my favorite."
Also, in the bath tub, Penny and Nadia were pretending that their water gun fish had a snotty nose like I did. Nadia filled him full of water and said, "Bless me!" when she squirted it out. Then Penny would say, "Wow! That's a lot of snot!" and they would both scream laughter and do it again.

16 May 2010

Menu for the week

My newest goal is to plan meals so that we actually eat well and don't end up eating cereal all the time. I planned this week with the thoughts that I had lots of leftover meatballs from today and I also have a dozen brown eggs from John and Jayne:

Mon: Leftover Pasta with Chicken Alfredo
Tue: Egg Salad Sandwiches
Wed: Omelets with left over chicken
Fri: Beans, hush puppies, and guacamole

There's no dinner plan for Thursday because Sean will be hanging out with friends and won't come home until late night.

Lunches:
Mon: leftover spaghetti
Tue: meatball sandwiches
Wed: leftover egg Salad
Thur: Deli Meat sandwiches
Fri: Deli Meat or Omelet guts

As for life, I start my internship on Thursday, Sean is working hard, and Sonic is eating my soul.

12 May 2010

Goals for May

Short term goals:
Drink/eat a TON of vitamin C and stop being sick!
Read two more books (at least) by the end of May. (Book count to date an abysmally low 14)
Eat all the random food in the back of my fridge and freezer.
Spend more time with my animals.
Wash my blankets and get ready for summer by putting away my long sleeves.

11 May 2010

Sonic ServSafe class yesterday

Yesterday I learned that:
Botox is an injection of Botulism under your skin. Botulism is a bacteria that paralyzes you. If you eat it, it's pretty much fatal.
Now, I guess there are lots of different things that we use in everyday life that could kill you if you eat it, but I'm a little disquieted by this paralyzing thing.
Anyway, just thought you should know.
I didn't learn anything today except that my car is broken and it's going to take a while for them to figure out how to fix it. :(

05 May 2010

Lessons Learned This Week

What I learned Monday:
If you're trying to shove something down your cat's throat, you should probably be wearing some kind of protective armor. Or, just don't shove something down your cat's throat.

What I learned Tuesday:
You can think you're doing everything right, and it's still your fault. Also, I should triple check how many boxes of large cups we have so that I don't tell the other manager that he didn't order enough and then I get criticized because somehow that's my fault.

What I learned Today:
Too many employees at work can be almost as bad as having too few...if only because you're all dying of boredom!

02 May 2010

Congratulations, Graduate!



Hello, real world! Here we come!

30 April 2010

Graduation day

Two things about this week:
1. Breezie's baby was born, Wednesday, 28 April, 2010. This lovely boy is yet to be named, but Mom is calling him Harper in honor of his being born on Harper Lee's birthday. Can't wait to go down to Lawton to welcome this new addition to the Oldham family!
2. Sean graduates from Oklahoma Christian University today. It was supposed to be nice and sunny, but it's turning out to look a lot like last year when Mara and I graduated. The president of Rwanda is speaking at Sean's commencement, so yay for heightened security and speeches in thick French accents. I look more forward to time afterward and before which we will be spending with much family.

Can you believe April has gone by so quickly?

21 April 2010

Mid-week musings

Yesterday I learned:
the first ten "letters" of the Japanese alphabet. Arigato, Elyssa Dolinger!

Today I learned:
That sometimes I can tell people what to do and they will do it without complaining and then we will all have a good day.

I wish it were Friday, but other than that I'm cool.

18 April 2010

Plans for this summer

Plans for things we can do in/around Mustang this summer with either my family or just Sean:

Trips to Lushberries in Yukon
Skating Rink in Yukon
Go to the Library and walk around Wild Horse Park
Nightly Carnival in Mustang

Comment if you think of anything to add to the list!

17 April 2010

April updates

Let's see...where am I right now?

Only a third the way through Les Miserables.
Another pile of books to read is forming around my bed, and that's not even counting the other books queued up on my Kindle.
Need to wash dishes.
Need to wash Sonic clothes.
Need to get away from Sonic!!!! I could spend a very long post just talking about everything that went wrong at work this week...but I shall refrain.
Just got a summer internship with Tate Publishing which will start next month.
Trying to be supportive of Sean who will be graduated by two weeks from today.
My house smells like wet dog right now.

And that's what you've missed on.....the life of Jessie!

03 April 2010

Time to eat

You know they always say that you should never go grocery shopping hungry, but I've found that I shouldn't go shopping when I'm well rested and feel like I have plenty of time to cook. Today I bought salsa, ice cream, eggs, chips, yogurt, and a TON of fruit. I got kiwi, nectarines, plums, and pears. I'm just so excited about this sudden onslaught of new fruit choices. Yay spring! My mind was filled with ideas about sack lunches, snacking on carrots, and boiling eggs.
So this whole week was really boring because all I did was work, sleep, and watch television. I didn't have anything to talk about on here and my brain was dead because I was so tired of dealing with the drama at work. But now that I got a chance to sleep in and do nothing today, I finally have something to talk about, and maybe I really will get to work on Rahab today!
Today I got up, made waffles, read Les Miserables on my patio, vaccuumed, discovered that Bella had ripped her claw off, cleaned up all the blood that this created, welcomed Cory Giles, went to the store, come home and ate a Klondike bar. Mmmmmm.....now I'm ready for some chips, salsa, and hard core typing.

It really sucks that I still am coughing and have a runny nose when it's so nice outside. Maybe all this fruit will help.

25 March 2010

Buddies

Today I learned:
How to "program" the headsets at work. We have four headsets and three channels that they run off of. This means that two of them are "buddies," and you can hear them on each other. THe point of having buddy headsets is so that a person new to taking orders can hear a experienced person take an order, or so that a more experienced employee cann butt in and save you if you don't know what's going on. We never use them that way, so usually the buddy just ends up being an extra that somebody might use every once in a while if the other person's hands are busy and they can't take the order. Anyway two of the headsets have stopped working recently and the two left were buddies, so we could essentially only take one order at a time. I called the help desk and learned how to assign different channels to the different headsets so that the two working ones would be on different channels and buddy-ed the two broken ones. It made me feel so smart! No one else was impressed. That's all.

21 March 2010

Boggle

Yesterday I learned that:
I really enjoy playing Boggle. I know that the only reason I won was because John can't spell and Sean was out of practice, but it still was fun. Sean and I spent the snow storm of Saturday at John and Jayne's house, eating and playing games. Today we are resting up for a long week of work and school. Five weeks 'til Sean graduates! And now it's time to make fun of my brother.

Yesterday John learned that:
Galley is not spelled "galy" and sheath is not spelled "sheeth." I mean, really, John, when was the last time you read Treasure Island?

18 March 2010

Happy Hour and forgetting what I learned

Today I learned...
something, but I already forgot what it was. Somebody at work said something and I said, "What does that mean?" and then she told me and said, "You learn something new every day, and that's what you learned for today." But so much for that.
Today was my first day as a manager working happy hour. Fortunately it was very slow and I was able to send two people home and still have really good times. Then after work I spent the evening with my mom, whom I have not seen in a while. My mom is the best mom ever. I thought I would just put that out there on the internet in case there was any doubt. She helped me wash my dishes, some of which were moldy because I had forgotten to rinse them out.
I don't think I'll have time to read or write at all the rest of this week, until maybe Saturday. Tomorrow we are having guests for dinner and then Friday I think we are going to Norman for dinner with Sean's dad because his mom is out of town. I had no idea Spring Break was going to be so busy! But that just means only six more weeks until Sean graduates from college (cue Pomp and Circumstance).
I think that now I will go to sleep. It has been a long and full day. I am just sad that I did not have time to go to house church and see my sister :(

12 March 2010

Friday.

Today I learned that:
the top of the steamer is REALLY HOT. I learned this with a yelp and a burned finger. I hope that coney was worth it.

In other news, I had a really good day at work today, and I look forward to a great afternoon and evening and I can't wait for Spring Break to start! I'm still working five days next week, but I'm getting my hours cut back so that I can have some fun. It's going to be great.

11 March 2010

Spring Break 2010

The ides of March are fast approaching as are the warm winds of Spring! Spring Break is next week at OC and Sean and I have some great plans of taking off work and spending time with family and friends!

Time continues to pass and my life continues to go on. It is full and tiring, but nothing of note to pass on or remember. Right now I am pretty tired and sleepy because I didn't get very much sleep last night and work was very dramatic.
In the literary world, writing is pretty much non-existent, but I am slowly plowing through the classic French novel, Les Miserables.

Today I learned:
I don't know. But it was good, I'm sure, whatever it was.

01 March 2010

my weekend

This weekend I learned:
a little bit more about the roller derby. went to see the okc "red dirt rebellion" skate against...some other team. then went home and watched the movie "Whip it."

Today I learned:
one should really double check which end of the seasoned salt one is opening so that one doesn't dump a ton of salt on the meat and then have to end up eating it cause one doesn't want it to go to waste and having to drink a gallon of water to wash it down.

In other news:
life is pretty good. had a relaxing weekend, went to work and practiced being a manager, came home and made dinner and watched the dishes, and now I'm going to read my book because I can!

Quote of the day:
"Jessie is the chore girl. She loves to hand out chores." --Tasia
"Yes. Pretty much. And your chore is going to be..." --me

21 February 2010

Getting the creative juices flowing

So here's where I stand on Into the Flames, the novel I WILL settle down and finish this year.

Word Count: 18,526

I think I'm about half way through the plot right now, maybe two thirds, but I'm pretty sure I can add some scenes and embellish throughout to make it a "real" novel length.
I don't have any chapters right now, but I do have breaks where I can make them into chapters later if I so choose. I think I have about six chapters right now. Tonight I'm trying to finish a scene I'm adding to Before the Revelation (can you tell I'm procrastinating though?). I think this part, before the big secret reveal, is really important, because I want to completely define these characters apart from their powers. Yeah, their powers are essential to who they are, but they can't be shallow, two dimensional characters with their personalities hinged on what their super power is. This is also very important to the relationship between Rahab and Jean and Hawkins. I want her to want to be their friend even without having this bond between them. My favorite line from my novel, and a theme that I want to bring out even more, but am not sure how, is this:
"Rahab decided that it wasn’t so much their powers that brought them all together, as the fact that they had each bared their darkest secrets to each other, and had found understanding. And that was all that they really wanted."

Somebody in my creative writing class brought up the fact that now that Rahab was in on their little clique, Jean might get jealous that somebody else is talking to Hawkins telepathically. It wasn't something that I ever would have thought of, but of course she's right that it's probably the most likely thing to happen in that situation. I know I would get jealous if somebody encroached upon my and my friend's inside means of communication. This can also expand and deepen the section between the revelation and Christmas break (which is the scene before things start to get really hairy).

I could make this discussion with myself last a lot longer, but I should probably get to writing. That's the important part, getting it on paper first and foremost. Listening to 3 Doors Down to keep me in the mood.

"If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman? If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand? I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might, Kryponite."

(In case you didn't know, the title of this novel comes from the 3dd song "Going Down in Flames.")

20 February 2010

Book list for 2010

Book Count so far for 2010: ten
1) Heat Wave by "Richard Castle"
2) About a Boy by Nick Hornby
3) Pirate Latitudes by the sadly defunct Michael Crichton
4) All six of the Rebecca books in American Girls series, but just counted as one book because they're so thin.
5) Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
6) Anthem by Ayn Rand
7) Rest You Merry (a Peter Shandy Mystery) by Charlotte MacLeod
8) Specials by Scott Westerfeld
9) Ice Palace by Edna Ferber
10) The Hand of Mary Constable by Paul Gallico

Onward and Upward!

19 February 2010

manager

Today I learned that...
I start my managerial duties on Monday! I'm going to be opening weekdays for now on. Let's hope this turns out as well in reality as it did in my mind.

18 February 2010

bleh.

Today I learned that...
if I don't get any snuggle/sleep time with Sean, I wake up cranky, and the whole day goes downhill from there. Probably not the best supportive wife for the stressed student.

16 February 2010

carhopping and stuff

So after taking my poll and having two people vote (thanks mom and mar!), I have decided to rededicate my life to that which is the ultimate goal in my life: finishing a novel. Since it feels like I spend about eighty percent of my life in Edmond, I decided that whenever I'm in Edmond but not at work, I will be writing my novel Into the Flames. (Until it is done, which should be sooner rather than later.) Usually this is like three or so hours a day. However, ever since I made this goal for myself, I have been staying late at work so I haven't gotten any writing done at all! I worked for eleven hours today, not even a break. It wasn't really that bad except my feet started to hurt after about eight hours. It didn't feel like that long; I had clocked out at four so I could clock back in as a carhop (different hourly wage between carhop and drive-thru, which is what I had been doing all day), and when my time card read eight hours I was surprised! I had honestly expected it to say five or six hours. Anyway, so lots of tips and hours today. Maybe tomorrow, though, I will get some writing done! I know, I know, I could just make up for lost time by writing now, and maybe I will. But I also want to set some time aside for reading great novels, too. Can't be a good writer without knowing what's out there.

Today I learned that:
The sun may be shining, but it can still be cold.
I can work for eleven hours and still consider it to be a good day.
The brown sugar in my pantry is all crusty.

13 February 2010

come to the poll!

I think one of my originals purposes in this blog was to do post bits of my stories on here, like I used to do on myspace. But I keep putting it off becuase I know that I can post a lot more story than I can write, and I don't want to get to the end of what I've written and leave everyone hanging. So I've told myself that I will wait until I finish one of my novels to publish it, one chapter (or half a chapter) at a time, on this blog. I don't know why I'm posting this except maybe that it will make it a more concrete goal. So here I am, committing to finish a novel for you, my few readers. Now, I have two stories that are my most complete, and I have most of the plot of both worked out in my head. I just need your votes on which to dedicate myself to, because I can't decide!

Vote! Either:
1) City of Orphans. Affectionately mentioned in conversation as "Pocatello," this story has been ruminating within me for over a decade, undergoing so many changes that you wouldn't notice anything similar about its current and present forms except the name of the countries Umberland and Windswept. I worked on this story this November to win NaNoWriMo 2009 and have been slowly revising it for the past three months.

2) Into the Flames. Also a story I've been working on for at least eight years, although Rahab was originally a secondary character, Into the Flames is near and dear to my heart. I worked on this story during Creative Writing in the Spring semester of 2009, and was very pleased with the positive response I received among my peer reviewers.

If you need any more info (such as plot elements) to make a decision, ask me. But you must vote! It is your duty as a supporter of the Arts!

08 February 2010

snow "storm"

Today I learned that...
it can snow and I still have to go to work!

06 February 2010

A story with a little change

As most of you know, I am a carhop at Sonic. When I come home at night, it is customary to empty the contents of my apron into a half-gallon pitcher next to the couch. This is usually a couple or more dollars in change; I never bother to count. The change in the pitcher has been accumulating for about six months now and last night it finally reached the top of the container. I decided that rather than find another container to put next week's change in, it was time for me to turn it into cash. I've actually thought about doing this several times over the past few weeks, but I'm never home when the bank is open, but this weekend, I was determined. Therefore, on the way out of town on Saturday morning, I gathered up my pitcher of change in both arms and carried it into Midfirst. It weighed more than my border collie and I could almost hear my old boss from the Chamber ask me "Do you want a dolly for that?" I felt a little silly when I saw the long line of customers staring at me as I entered the bank lobby. This moment of awkwardness increased as I attempted to locate the change machine. Then, when I did find it, I was confused because it told me "Do NOT put change in machine" with very formidable "Prohibited" signs on either side of the notice. I looked around the bank in dismay. What was I supposed to do? An eldery gentleman with a plaid flannel shirt called out to me, "Can I guess how much you have in there?"
"Sure," I said.
"Six hundred."
I laughed. "I doubt it." I had stopped counting at a hundred and fifty or so dollars months ago, but I didn't believe that the pitcher could contain more than two hundred and fifty. But the man's banter caused me to relax. I turned back to the machine and decided to push the "English" button that I now noticed on the touch screen. It instantly popped up with the next screen: "Mid-first customer, or non-customer?" I selected the correct option (non-customer) and then the bottom of the machine started spinning. Time to put in the coins!
In my own clumsy way, however, I couldn't figure out how to open the top to pour in the coins. A second customer, this one with a long gray beard, saw my helpless look and came over. He showed me the latch and I gave him a grateful smile.
It took a long time to pour the coins in. The opening was large, but the spinner seemed to get stuck if I put too much in at one time, so I had to keep pausing and making sure everything went through correctly. I had thought that the rest of the customers had lost interest in me, probably because I became so engaged in the coins disappearing down the chute that I forgot about them. The last of the change went through and I looked around the bank in triumph. Then I noticed three people in line shouting at me, "There's some coins in the bottom!" with along with the appropriate finger wagging.
I looked down and gathered up the small pile of change that the machine had spit out back at me: A bent quarter, two Canadian dimes, and a Canadian quarter. "They're Canadian," I explained to my rapt audience, shoving them in my pocket.
"They didn't want them foreign coins," someone said, while the man in the plaid asked, "What's the damage? Three hundred sixty-seven?" He had read off from the big red total on the touch screen. "Well, I was going to guess 365 after I saw how many pennies you had."
I shrugged, not believing him, took my receipt from the machine, my empty pitcher under my arm, and got into the back of the line.
After that none of the customers in the bank took notice me. I was just another customer in a long line of people waiting to receive money. My little show was over; my fifteen minutes of fame had run its course. But at least I had gotten $367.58 out of the deal. I think that was worth it.

*This story brought to you courtesy of the suggestion of Aaron Pogue, www.unstressedsyllables.com*

31 January 2010

Look Alikes.

For doppelganger week on facebook I went to myheritage.com to see who I looked like, and it kept telling me Rogue from the x-men movies. I don't believe it, but find it funny considering my twin dressed as her for Hallowe'en.
I also learned that I look like Shiri Appleby, Robin Wright Penn, Lindsey Lohan, and Steve Buscemi. The most interesting thing I learned today was the Shiri is Hebrew for "Sing." Now I don't think her mom was just some hippy trying to misspell Sherry.

29 January 2010

Inside of the snowglobe

Stats so far for this winter storm of Jan2010:
Meals cooked: 3
Loads of Laundry washed and folded: 2
TV shows caught up on: 3
Pictures taken: 7 (Bella wouldn't sit still)
Hours spent on facebook: too many
Pages read: 210
Hours worked: 00000

Still have plans for more reading, more cooking, and a lot of family-time-spending!

25 January 2010

Anthem

[*DISCLAIMER*] I claim no authoritative interpretation, nor can I even boast that this is going to be at all smart. This is merely my first impression of this work of literature. [*DISCLAIMER*]

I just finished my first novel by Ayn Rand, a person who, I am ashamed to say, I had not even heard of until about a month or so ago. Although I had heard of Atlas Shrugged, but had never contemplated it with any kind of seriousness before. So anyway, about Anthem. This is an introduction to Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, but I'm not going to talk about that right now. Instead I'm going to talk about a character. The idea that struck me most was the role of Gaea (the girl). Throughout the novel, the main character, Prometheus, was in constant search of knowledge, and he knew the whole time that something was missing from his life (or rather, that something wasn't missing, and he needed to remove a lot of somethings to find that something). He wouldn't give up until he found the truth. That's what made him a perfect dystopian hero. However, I really admired Gaea, because even though she didn't completely understand at the beginning what Prometheus was all about, she realized that he was different, and that he had something that she wanted. Even needed. She didn't searh for knowledge or science or wisdom, but she recognized something good when she saw it. And because she wasn't afraid to break the rules for Prometheus, she was allowed to partake in his knowledge and join him in his quest of freedom, ad ultimately, find it herself. That makes me feel better. To know that even if I don't have all the answers, I can follow someone who does and learn from them until I am steady enough to stand on my own.
When I was young, my parents raised me to be a Christian, and taught me everything they could and showed me their pursuit of truth and knowledge. When I became older, I followed that path for myself, but I would never have found it if I hadn't been shown it by my parents. Okay, so I realize that the two aren't exactly parallel, since Prometheus fancied himself a god and my parents are more like prophets in that they speak on behalf of God, but you get the idea.

Or was Gaea being blind in her pursuit and had no idea what she was getting into? Throughout the novel she hardly says anything; did she really understand what Prometheus told her? Am I seeing her as a deep, thoughtful character, when in reality she's a shallow, over-trusting product of the "We" system? Should we shun her behaviour because she followed him even with no proof that his view was the truth
Did she follow him just because she was in love with him, or did she love him because she saw the truth in him? Tell me what you think. I want to know!

19 January 2010

Just open the document and start typing!

Today I learned that...
Even if I don't "feel" like writing, I still feel better when I write.
I've probably learned this before, but I'd forgotten.

18 January 2010

Happy MLK day

Today I learned that:
After this week I can't work at the Chamber of Commerce anymore.

16 January 2010

Six month evaluation

Now that I have lived in my new house for approximately six months, I think it's time to talk about its pros and cons. Before, I don't think I knew the house well enough. Later, and I would be more willing to overlook its flaws, and the things that excite me about it now will become commonplace and taken for granted. Now is just right for evaluating my new house. Let's start with the kitchen, shall we?

My favorite thing about the kitchen (other than the fact that it functions as a normal kitchen should) is the stainless steel sink. It doesn't stain, and it doesn't feel like it's going to chip or chip any of my plates in return. It's a lovely sink. I only wish I had another stopper for it, but that's not the sink's fault. In contrast, however, my least favorite thing about the kitchen is the stove. I hate electric coils. Especially after living with the gas stove at the condo, the smell of burning food on the coils is terrible. And they're so hard to clean! The burned food on the bottom things is impossible to remove. Also, I love my new pantry. Just the right size, a little too far away from the rest of the kitchen (across the dining area). But I forgive it. There's really no place to put the garbage can, not even enough space under the sink, so I put it in the cabinet under the coffee pot (maybe that's why there was no shelf there when I moved in??). It's the weirdest place to put a trash can that I've heard of yet, but it works, I guess.

The living room is a typical living room. It has nothing spectacular to offer me, but neither does it disappoint. I don't like the design on the front door and the windows take two people to open due to their rustiness, but both of these things are overlook-able.

The two back bedrooms are just as back bedrooms should be: goodly size, windows overlooking the back yard, and moderate closet space. I do like that they have plenty of electrical outlets so you can sit pretty much anywhere and still plug in your laptop. Or you humongous desktop, if you're Sean.

I could talk all day about the main bathroom. Let's start with its assets. The shower! It's not grout so there's no place for mold. It comes with two shelves, one on each end, at the perfect height for placing shampoo, and long enough to put like four bottle up there if your hair is really needy. The water pressure and temperature is divine compared to jet stream of cold water we got at the condo. Actually, compared to any other shower, it's still pretty awesome. And you can adjust the shower head without it falling off. It came with sliding doors, which aren't a bad thing, but I took them down because I like my shower curtain. They were really easy to remove, and if ever I change my mind, it takes like ten seconds to put back on again. Sadly, the good things end there. The sink area is too small, the cabinet is too small, there are no drawers, and there's only one towel rack (well, I guess that's not the house's fault, we've been meaning to put up another towel rack and just haven't gotten around to it yet.). The only cabinet is the wall cabinet, ad the shelves are too short to hold shampoo, so I have to put them in the other bathroom.

The Master bedroom and bathroom are much like the living room: they meet expectations. The closet is smaller than the condo's, but still big enough to hold all of our clothes. The sink is bigger and the cabinet is bigger in this bathroom. I just don't understand why they thought a bathroom without a bathtub needed a towel rack, and not a hand towel rack. This bumfuddles me. But whatever.

As for the yard, we have a lot of trees, which is nice, except that it means less grass because less sunlight. We also have this...this...THING in our backyard. It's called a storm cellar. I think it's for people who are afraid of tornadoes. Actually, I don't really notice it anymore, but I know in the summer when I want to play outside it will be annoying and in the way. Also, I hate not having a back fence, but that can be fixed. It just got too cold before we could put it up. Oh, and we have a tree growing into the foundation. Sean and his dad cut it off and put rock salt in the stump, but it still seems to be thriving. We're going to have to pay more attention to it this spring.

All in all, a goodly house. Huzzah!

13 January 2010

11 January 2010

Facebook photos.

Something somebody else should learn today:
If around nintey percent of the pictures you upload to facebook are of you and/or your friends' faces really close together and smiling, it tells me that you have no life besides pretending to have friends.

What did I learn today? I learned that I can get up to a $1500 tax credit if I make my home more energy efficient (e.g. installing good windows, getting a new eco-friendly a/c, etc.).

10 January 2010

American Girl

Today I watched the Kit Kittredge movie with Mara and then out of curiousity went to the American Girl website. So today I learned about all the new American Girls they have, namely Julie (1974) and Rebecca (1914). I also learned that they made a movie out of the 2009 Girl of Today: Chrissa.
And that's about all I learned today. Kind of made me want to play with my American Girl dolls, though.

08 January 2010

Dreams -->Stories

This isn't something I learned today, because I've already tried to do it before, but I will reiterate here because it is so frustrating. Sometimes I have dreams that give me such intense emotions that I when I wake up I want to recreate those feelings for others. But when I look back on my dream, what seemed so cool and sane in my sleep is just a jumbled bunch of nonsense, I know that there is no way anybody can ever make sense out of it. That's when I get stuck in this place where I'm trying to take the themes of my dream and meld them into a story that the waking world can understand, while still trying to retain the essence of what I felt while I was asleep. It's a delicate process, and one I am nowhere near perfecting.
Pocatello was created to make sense of a dream I had one time. But the main characters and plot from the dream have, through the years, been put on the back burner, and other characters from this world have arisen through the daylight and taken center stage. Someday I will go back to that dream with the real cool spaceship and the three troubled teenagers, and work it into something believable.
Crazy, huh?
Just another day (or night) in the life of a writer.

Yesterday I learned that...
I can spend a whole day without getting on facebook and not feel any less of a person because of it.

06 January 2010

You learn something new every day...

That being said, I'm going to try to post on here each day with something I have learned. Most of the time it's going to be stupid stuff, but hey, maybe I will come across something important along the way. No harm in trying, right? Eesh, two cliches in one post. Must move on.

Today I learned that...
The water pressure from my shower nozzle, while sufficient for a human, is not hard enough to rinse all the soap out of a dog's coat without ample manual assistance.

05 January 2010

Waiting for my muse

Thoughts of the Day:
A dirty Bella is better than a muddy Bella.
Nachos are a great way to end a cold, long day.
It's already the fifth and I've only read 1 1/2 books!

Somebody do something to inspire me to write. Without creative writing class or NaNoWriMo to spur me on, I've found my writing dwindling. And I don't like that. I just can't force myself to open a document and start typing. Apparently that goal of learning to write "with or without the muse" set for us in Dr. Gipson's class didn't work for me. Anyway, I'd really appreciate some encouragement in that area.

Song of the Day:
Soft kitty, warm kitty,
little ball of fur.
Happy kitty, sleepy kitty
purr, purr, purr.

03 January 2010

I still don't understand why the year starts in winter instead of fall.

So here's the burning question for the new year: will I be able to stick with writing on just one book long enough to see it to the end?
There are so many characters in my head, just waiting for their stories to be told. How can I hold the others back and pick one in particular to finish? Grr...I feel like Alpha from Dollhouse. Or like that one episode of SG-1. And now I just feel like a nerd.

new year's resolutions:
finish writing on one novel.
read more books this year than I did last year. (count for 2009: 28)
get my house more organized. a place for everything, and everything in its place.
clean the house more often.
read more Greek!

I'll keep you posted on the results as the year goes by.
Hello, 2010! Nice to meet you!