The Sad and the Glad Today

Sad news today:  we lost Maya Angelou, poet, writer, and activist.  She was a strong voice for change and equality.  She will be greatly missed.  Rest in peace, beautiful lady.

 

Angelou reciting her poem, "On the Pulse of Morning", at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, January 1993

Angelou reciting her poem, “On the Pulse of Morning”, at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration, January 1993

Image:  Office of the White House PD-USGOV-POTUS / Wikipedia

 Today is my birthday!  No one hit my car!  Of course, I still have to go to the rink later, so let’s hope it stays that way.

 

Birthday mall haul!

Birthday mall haul!

Photo:  Elizabeth West

I went to the mall and got a REALLY REALLY EXPENSIVE pair of walking shoes for my holiday.  The scarves were on sale at Charming Charlie’s, so I got two for less than the price of one.  I don’t typically wear scarves, but I’d like to start.  Now I need to practice tying them so I don’t look like a complete fashion fail.

My favorite food truck gave me a delicious pie for my birthday.  :D

My friends have all wished me a happy birthday.

Back to work tomorrow, but today has been a good day.  Think I’ll mail another query.  Hope your day is splendid as well!

A Notable Birthday and an Update

Sir_Arthur_Conan_Doyle_1890

Image:  Herbert Rose Barraud (1845-1896) / Wikimedia Commons/PD: US

Happy birthday, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!  Born May 22, 1859, died July 7, 1930. Creator of our favorite high-functioning sociopathic detective, Sherlock Holmes.  :)

So what have I been up to since the A-Z Challenge?  Well, I’ve finished the semester of course, and I’ve queried Tunerville  twice (and been rejected twice). Yeah, it sucks, but rejection is part of the process.

Hat Sherlock

Of course it is.  Now get back to work.

Image:  benedictcumberbatch.co.uk

There’s something in the book that’s been bothering me–I’m not sure I got it quite right, so I’ve reached out to an expert for assistance.  Since no one’s asking me for pages or a manuscript, I can take a bit of time to check it.

This upcoming holiday week, I’ve taken some extra PTO and will begin chucking crap out of The Crumbling Albatross (my house) and get some research and outlining done on the RH sequel.  Look for another vocabulary post coming soon; I’d like to finish that series.  I think we left off with S before the Challenge, didn’t we?  So T will be next.

I’ve got two things bouncing around in my head that are dying to get out.  One might be novel-worthy.  It’s been in there for a long time and may be literary in nature.  I’m not sure.  Nearly everything I write has some weird component to it, so we’ll see.

 The other one is only a vague, half-formed notion at this juncture but will probably end up being my fledgling attempt at a screenplay.  Part of my self-imposed curriculum this summer is to learn how to write those.  I’ve got some study materials recommended by a screenwriter friend, so I’m ready to go.

BUT FIRST:

I’m taking a long-needed break, during which I’ve started the UK version of The Office (hilarious), watched the world’s saddest movie (you can rent it on YouTube), and become enamored of Irish singer/songwriter James Vincent McMorrow and the world’s saddest song (it plays over the credits of the world’s saddest movie).

Seriously, get back to work. 

Seriously, get back to work.

Image:  imageevent.com

Of course, Mr. Holmes.  I promise.  :)

Net Neutrality Takes a Hit

Well, shit.

The FCC voted 3-2 today to let Big Bidness make deals with websites for faster internet.  That’s basically going to kill net neutrality (see more about that at the link).

Read this article at the Washington Post for shenanigans.  I don’t believe Wheeler for one second that this won’t become the slipperiest slope of all slopes ever.  We’re already paying way too much for internet in the U.S.  This only reinforces my opinion that we’ve become an oligarchy already and the corporate assholes are running the country.

I kinda want to leave. But where to go?

I kinda want to leave. But where to go?

Image: Ktrinko / Wikimedia Commons

Write your Congress critter and contact the FCC here to protest.

Update:  Here is a comment email you can use to send a comment.   openinternet@fcc.gov 

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

BLARGH!

I just turned in my research slide assignment.  I only have to comment on other people’s slides (apparently, that’s our final) and take a test and then I AM DONE with the World’s Worst Semester.

Haaaaaaaallelujah!

Haaaaaaaallelujah!

Image:  samarttiw / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There will be time off.  I must begin The Great Purge, in which I divest my dwelling place, nicknamed The Crumbling Albatross, of an excess of crap that has piled up over time.  I have also decided, when I’m ready to begin the next book, to do a mini-NaNoWriMo.  There is a little bit of organization to do first, because I haven’t looked at it in ages.

Someone in a forum, in response to a mini-rant about crap, said my world is about to get bigger in a bit.  Let’s hope so—I placed a pretty tall order to the Universe.  It can wait just a little, like my Eddie Bauer raincoat I won’t get until July, but not much longer.  For a change, I’d rather not see this:

 “Universe here.  Your order has been canceled.  We shipped it to someone else.” 

W-what?  Noooooo!

W-what?  Noooooo!

Image:  David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 When it could just do this:

“Universe here.  Your requested item is no longer on backorder and has been shipped to you.  Enjoy!  :D” 

Much better.

In the interim, I’ll occupy myself with taking numerous Buzzfeed quizzes (I got Captain Kirk, people!) and planning what to do on my vacation.  I’ve already bookmarked so many things that I’ll need another month to do them all.

Fine by me. Not gonna want to leave.

Image:  David Dixon / Wikipedia.com

 

Reflections on the A-Z Challenge 2014

A-to-Z_Reflection_[2014]

And so we’ve reached the end of another Blogging from A-Z Challenge.  Thanks to Arlee Bird and the A-Z Team!  I’m posting my reflection early because I can.  And because I’m behind on homework (again).

Doing these character posts has been more difficult than I imagined.  When I create a character, I don’t always think about these elements consciously.  Writing the blog posts forced me to dissect the process.  I’m not entirely sure that’s how I even do it.

It’s magic.  No, really.

It’s magic.  No, really.

Image:  eofdreams.com

Now I sit here eating fancy avocado toast with sea salt and Old Bay and sipping a cup of tea (seriously, I should just move to London already–I drank a whole damn pot) and wondering what to write about next.  I suppose I could finish the Vocabulary series.  I should think up something else.  I’ll study on it and get back to you.

I’m very glad I made a plan.  Without it, I couldn’t have kept up with a post a day.  I only had to double up twice—that makes me rather proud of myself.  Especially considering that I’ve been in two of the most insanely insane classes this semester.

  • A document design class (I suck at this)
  • A healthcare writing class (I could not possibly care less about this)

Learning to work with InDesign has been interesting, but I doubt I’ll ever use it.   I don’t use it at work now and if I suddenly had to, I could have learned it online for free.  With school more expensive than ever and less return on that investment, I’m not sure I want to throw more money at it.

I’m already in indentured servitude to student loans. 

I’m already in indentured servitude to student loans.

Image:  Wikipedia

I’ve decided to take the summer off to write the sequel to Rose’s Hostage.  You’ll be kept up to date on my progress; I might do another mini- NaNoWriMo of my own for it.  I may not go back in the fall, depending on what happens.  If I do return to school, I can do it in the spring semester and not face any issues, according to my adviser.

My plans for the next five or six months include:

  • Doing another edit of Tunerville: my last reader bailed (she’s having a baby—yay!), so my sister has stepped up and is working through it now
  • Hopefully getting my Rose’s Hostage critique back from Brian and doing those edits
  • Querying Tunerville
  • Working
  • Working out
  • Going to London and Cardiff to:
    • Visit some friends and family
    • See Riverdance (!!!)
    • Attend the Doctor Who Experience
    • See the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studios
    • Nom on as many delicious things as I can stuff into my face (hey, I’m going to be walking everywhere)
    • Do whatever else I feel like doing that won’t get me thrown out of a pub or arrested, heh heh

I’m driving everyone crazy because this trip is all I can talk/think about.  Sorry, but it has been so long since I had a real vacation, where I actually get to go somewhere far away for EIGHTEEN COUNT ‘EM EIGHTEEN days instead of just taking a day here and there.  Weekend trips don’t really count.  And you have no clue how badly I need to get the hell out of here.

This was starting to look pretty good.

This was starting to look pretty good.

Image:  fanpop.com

Speaking of which, about those Sherlock pictures in every single post in this series?  It started as a joke in my chat room, so I decided to put one in each post and see if anyone would call me on it.  Nobody did.

YOU HAVE FAILED ME, PEOPLE!

YOU HAVE FAILED ME, PEOPLE!

Image:  Dave Buchwald / Wikimedia Commons

Just kidding.  It was fun.  If you have any thoughts about a series you’d like me to do, feel free to make suggestions in the comments.  I’ll be pondering.  I keep having this weird feeling that something major is going to happen and it has nothing to do with school, so maybe whatever that is will give me extra goodies to post.  In the meantime, I’ll try not to go AWOL while I finish these final school projects.

Thank you for stopping by during the Challenge, and thanks to those of you who have been reading on a regular basis.