Photo Hunters Theme: Sweet

I thought this was a very sweet moment. My little niece walking with her big brother and her grandpa. It was one of the many nature walks we take my sister's children on, and you can tell by this picture that this little girl is the princess of the family. Being the only girl, you would expect that, wouldn't you?

another rough day

Yes, it was another rough day in my life. I am so happy it's the weekend because I can really use some rest. People are now asking me if I've been getting enough sleep. One lady in my office even asked me if I was anemic. I'm fairly certain I'm not, but that says something about the way I look, doesn't it? Maybe I need to lie in the sun or something, get some fresh air and a little color.

Tomorrow is the lighting workshop and I'm really looking forward to it! I'll find out what I'm doing for Hamlet tomorrow too, which is very exciting.

First square complete!

Finally, I finished my first square! I know, I know... at this rate, I'll never finish the blanket. Seriously, I've got to start knitting faster! The pictures are not the best, sorry about that! I used my little camera and the flash tends to wash out colors, so it's actually a lot brighter and prettier in person. One thing that sort of shocked me about this blanket is that it's a lot thinner than I expected. I guess I thought it would be a little more blankety. I know that's not actually a word, but oh well! So the first picture is of all the four miters and how I think I'll arrange them for the blanket and the second picture was my attempt to be a little artistic. Yeah, I know... it didn't work!

Work was rough today. I had to work with a budget today, which always gives me a headache. It's not difficult for me and I know it's something that has to be done, but it always gives me a headache. I have about 16 projects going on right now and while I don't have any problems juggling all of them, I think I'm internalizing everything too much. I keep having this odd dream during which I drive my car into a flooded area and drown because I can't get out of the car. Obviously, this dream is my brain telling me I'm stressing about things. I should stop doing that.

I checked out some freelance job sites (thanks, Devon!) today and am really excited about the prospect of possibly starting a freelance career. I've been thinking about it so much lately, and I have so much to do in order to get things started. I think I'll redesign my web site to make it look more professional. It's very pretty right now and I like it a lot, but I don't think it says what I want it to say. Not at this stage, anyway. It's a tough decision, though, because my best friend designed it and we're currently not in contact with each other (I'm not sure why) so I don't want to change it and have her thinking I did it because I'm upset with her or something. That's not the case at all and I'm probably being paranoid, so maybe I should just forget it and start looking into alternate designs. I'll do some research and see what I can come up with on my own. I did this blog, so hopefully a site won't be too difficult. Of course, the site will be a lot more professional than this blog!

Have I mentioned my recent obsession with beading? I really want to learn how to make jewelry. I blame all my trips to Michael's for knitting and mosaic materials. I kept walking through the bead aisle and going "ooo" and "ahhh" at the pretty beads. I can never find necklaces and earrings that I like, so I think it would be fun to try to make my own. At some point, I'm going to buy a book about making beaded jewelry so I can I'm so craft-obsessed lately! It's odd. I feel like I'm starving, you know? Like I haven't eaten in weeks and the only way to satisfy the hunger is to create something. Writing, knitting, creating mosaics... these things fill me and get rid of the starved feeling. I want to find more and more ways to satisfy that hunger. I know that sounds odd, but it's just how I'm feeling right now. I'm doing more writing these days than I ever have, and it's all because I need to create. I like it. It makes me more productive! I think this whole starving for creative activities has something to do with how not creative my job is right now. Or maybe it's something else. I don't know...

This week, I've been working on a few short stories. I didn't put them on the sidebar because they are mainly an experiment. I haven't written a short story in awhile. I thought I might write a few so I can enter them in several different contests that are coming up. There's a writing conference in my area in October and I'm finally going to go to it. They always have a short story contest associated with the conference. This year will be the third annual and I've never been able to go. This year, I'm making my reservations as soon as they announce the dates!

Wow, this was a long post! I'd better go now... time for bed!

Close the Curtain

I am ending my involvement with Script Frenzy. It's just not working right now. I think I'd like to go back to it sometime later, but I don't think a marathon writing contest is the best way to learn the complexities of writing a script. I didn't write my first novel with NaNo, so why did I think I could write my first script with Script Frenzy? Anyway, it was a learning experience.

Here's something interesting... I submitted bids on some freelance grant projects. I could really use some extra income right now and there's no time like the present to start working on that freelance dream! I eventually want to do other types of freelance projects, but I found so many grant proposals that I had to bid on a few of them. Don't worry, I didn't overdo it. I looked at my time and figured out how many I could do even if I got all of them. I only submitted 3 bids because I know that even if I get all of them I can do it! I think this will be a good test (on a small scale, of course) to see if I can cope with freelance writing. If I don't get any of these, I'll bid on some other projects. I'll keep bidding until I get something! I'm really excited about this!

Work has been okay lately. I'll be sending a grant off Friday and then I'll start on a new one Monday. I'm seriously averaging about one a week these days. Anyway, I'm still training the guy who is going to be doing my job in Florida. It's interesting, almost like training a replacement, only he's not replacing me.

Anyway, that's enough of that! It turns out that I'll be on the other side of the stage for Hamlet and I couldn't be happier! I'll either be assistant stage manager or I'll be in the light booth. I honestly don't care where they put me, I'm just excited to do it. I'm participating in a lighting workshop on Saturday, so I'll be prepared for either job.

Speaking of Saturday, I'm doing an anti-rain dance because I want to do some outdoor photography after the workshop. Keep your fingers crossed that it's a pretty afternoon!

Photos from Vacation

Finally, I'm posting some photos from my vacation! There are just a few here, but I thought I'd share.

ugh

I hate to be a downer, but that's just how I feel. Things are not going well with Script Frenzy. I am fairly certain I won't finish. I'm going to try to catch up this weekend, but I don't have high hopes. It's not just Script Frenzy either. Everything is a little difficult right now. I'm just trying to get a handle on things. I have so many projects going on right now and everything is just so crazy. Luckily, the weekend is coming and I can just relax and write and work on some other things.

Some things are up in the air right now. I'm waiting for the phone to ring and I don't like it!

I have a query out for the first time in about a year and I'm very nervous about it. I want to get in the habit of always having a query out, like some people I know and admire! I just need to do some research and see what comes up.

Another phone call I'm waiting for is about Hamlet. I know that I'm not going to get a big part and I'm sure I probably won't have a part at all, but they call whether you have a part or not, so I know that call is coming. If I didn't get a part, I'm going to run lights or work backstage if they need it. I want to be involved in some way, so I'm going to do whatever they need! The theatre is having a lighting workshop in a couple of weeks and I've already signed up because I want to learn how to do everything. I swear, sometimes I can be so obsessive!

Also, I sent out a resume, the first in a very long time. It's for a job that I would really like to have. It's in an ideal location and is more in line with what I want. It would cut 40 minutes from my commute. It would save me 80 minutes a day and about $150 a month in gas! I like my job, but this is a really great opportunity so I hope it works out.

All day today, I kept pulling my cell phone from my purse, checking to see if it still had battery power. Despite the full battery indicator, the phone never rang. Tomorrow I'll do it again, I'm sure!

Need a vacation from vacation

Well, I'm back. The vacation was great, and offered a much-needed change of scenery. Now, however, I need a vacation from my vacation! But, alas, it's back to work tomorrow. Actually, I find myself wondering how things went last week and if anything interesting is going on. I guess it's a sign that I still love my job! Everyone gets a little burned out now and then, especially in nonprofit work. That's why taking a trip every now and then is really important, in my opinion.

I'll be posting Script Frenzy progress tomorrow. I didn't write while on vacation. I just didn't have the opportunity to do it. I thought that would be the case, so it's fine. I planned to miss a week. So it's back to the writing routine tomorrow. I'll be getting up early for writing, then going to work.

After work, I have auditions for Hamlet. I know there isn't a major role in that play for me, but a small part is fine. I would just like to do it, since I've always loved the play, and since I'm a great lover of the Bard.

I bought a book today, "No Way to Treat a First Lady" by Christopher Buckley. I've read two of his other books ("Thank You for Smoking" and "Little Green Men") and absolutely loved them, so I have high hopes for this one. Satire is always so much fun!

I also pre-ordered my copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." I am very much like other fans I've encountered... so excited to see what happens, but also dreading the end because it means there will be no more books. I've always been the kind of person who imagines what might happen after the story is over, and the rich and detailed world of Harry Potter is so full of possibilities even beyond whatever end Rowling chooses. Unless every single character dies (which I seriously doubt will happen) there will always be people like me who will want more. I guess you could say I get a little too attached to characters.

That's it for now... pictures from vacation to come!

Script Frenzy Day 6

Current wordcount: 4,481
Today's wordcount: 676
Time spent writing: 30 minutes
Time spent on SF Boards: just a few minutes
Today's soundtrack: Dreamgirls soundtrack
Today's mood: Okay

Short post today because I need to finish packing. We leave Friday evening, so only 1 day, 19 hours and 52 minutes to go! (I have a countdown clock on my desktop... can you tell I'm excited about this vacation?)

Dona Nobis Pacem

I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.

-Dwight D. Eisenhower - 34th president of US 1953-1961 (1890 - 1969)

Dona Nobis Pacem - Give Us Peace. It's an interesting concept, isn't it? That people have the power to promote peace. That individuals, coming together as a unified voice, can bring about peace on earth. Is it possible? I like to think so. Today, bloggers all over the world are displaying their own peace globes, like mine above. Today, these bloggers have called their posts Dona Nobis Pacem. It is a cry, in a unified voice, for peace.

Allow me a moment to tell you about my peace globe. I received an email from Mimi about Blogblast for Peace a few days ago. I didn't know about this amazing effort until then, and I'm glad she told me about it. I went to the site to get a peace globe, intending to sign it and submit it like everyone else. However, when I copied the one I liked and signed it, I wasn't satisfied. I sat at my computer for a few long moments, contemplating what peace means to me, and what kind of message I could put on my globe to help promote world peace. World peace. Obviously, if I want to truly display a message of world peace, I would need to say it in languages other than English, so I searched for translations. I found a wonderful site, World Peace, that has the word peace translated into over 270 languages, including braille, morse code, American Sign Language, and.. if you can believe it... Klingon! I didn't include the Klingon translation on my peace globe, but I tried to represent as many different languages as I could. It became an obsession, really. I wanted it to look perfect, I wanted it to be just right. I'm pretty happy with the results, and I hope you enjoyed looking at it.

As you know, I usually don't get political here on this blog. I prefer to keep it light. However, I thought this was worth doing. So today, I raise my voice with the others and say "give us peace." I will end this post with some other voices and their thoughts on peace.

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.

- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

We look forward to the time when the power of love will replace the love of power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.

- William Gladstone

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

- John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.

- Thomas Jefferson

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.

- Eleanor Roosevelt

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
- Mother Teresa

And here are the peace globes from others throughout the blogosphere. Beautiful, aren't they?

Script Frenzy Day 5

Current wordcount: 3,805
Today's wordcount: 1,375
Time spent writing: 2 hours
Time spent on SF Boards: none (can you believe it??)
Today's soundtrack: Keane and Coldplay
Today's mood: Good, although work was horrible

I sat down and really worked tonight, because I wanted to catch up. At this rate, my Excel tracking sheet tells me I'll be done by June 27. Of course, that's not taking next week into account. I'm bringing the laptop and will try to write as much as I can, but I may not get much done. That's okay, though. With NaNo, skipping a week is disasterous, but with Script Frenzy, there isn't as much pressure. Once you've written 50,000 words in a month more than twice, 20,000 words should be a snap. And it is!

Work was horrible today. It's almost like I'm being punished for taking next week off. There are so many projects that I absolutely must finish before Friday, and some of those have completely arbitrary deadlines. Some of the deadlines are concrete, but others are just totally made up. It's a little frustrating. But I'll finish all of the projects before Friday, like I always do. I really love my job. I really, really do! Sometimes I vent a little about it, but I really do enjoy my work. I'm totally dedicated to it. I'm just a little burned out at the moment, I suppose. I am absolutely ready for a vacation!

I worked on a video for my parents tonight. Next week is their 40th anniversary (which is really the reason for the trip) and I wanted to make a video of pictures from their life together set to their favorite songs. I ended up with two songs and a lot of really wonderful pictures. I burned it onto a DVD and will give it to them before we leave for the trip. I love doing videos like that, it's so much fun! I still watch the one I made for my sister last Mother's Day. It has photos of her kids set to this really pretty song, "The One Who Knows," which is just the perfect "mother" song. I have this sort of bizarre hope that someone will do a video for me when I die, to play at my funeral. It would be set to "Seasons of Love" from Rent and would have pictures of me and all the people I love. I told my mother once that I wanted this, and she said I would have to make it because she wouldn't be able to. I guess I should do it, huh? :)

Anyway, that's enough for tonight. It's early, but I want to go to bed soon. I have a big meeting tomorrow and I'd hate to go to it with dark circles under my eyes!

Script Frenzy Day 4

No writing yesterday due to migraine and worst day ever. (see below) Will have to catch up today. No worries, I'm not too far behind.

RANT

Yesterday was the worst day ever. Seriously, the worst day. Migraine all day, but still had to go to work. Couldn't wake up early because of the migraine and by the time I got home I couldn't stand to look at the computer screen. And on top of all that, I had to go to Walmart to get some things for work and went through the self check line. I got $40 cash back and my phone rang while I was completing the transaction and because I was distracted I walked away without getting my cash. On the off chance that someone honest came through the line after me, I called them when I realized what I had done, and they watched the video to see what happened. The next person in line put my money in their pocket.

I understand how tempting that must have been, to just randomly come upon $40. But what happened to honesty? What happened to common human decency? What happened to knowing that the money isn't yours and realizing that someone needs it? I've always believed that people are generally good. Well, this incident has destroyed that belief. I know it was my fault for getting distracted and leaving the money in the tray, but I've found money before and I always turn it in. It's not my money so I wouldn't feel right about keeping it. I hope whatever this person buys with my money breaks immediately and they can't return it. Or if they buy food with it, I hope it tastes horrible and makes them sick. Unless they really, really needed it. If I believed in curses, I'd put one on that $40 so that it brings nothing but trouble to the person who picked it up. I do believe in karma, though, and I know that one day this person will lose $40 and someone won't give it back to them. I hope it happens soon.

I'm not normally so vindictive, but I'm sick and tired of encountering people without basic decency. I'm sick of people who take advantage of others and who are not honest. Sometimes I think the world would be a much better place without all the people.

Okay, rant over. Sorry about that. I'm just so frustrated and mad at myself and at the person who now has my $40. I know, it's not a lot of money, but it's the principle of the thing. I will survive without the $40, but I might have been someone else, someone who couldn't survive without it.

Script Frenzy Day 3

Current wordcount: 2,430
Today's wordcount: 688
Time spent writing: 30 minutes
Time spent on SF Boards: 10 minutes
Today's soundtrack: Thirteen Senses
Today's mood: Pretty good

Things are still going well. The script is coming along. I wrote the first really emotional scene today and I think it works. One of the characters went through a divorce when she was very young, and the scene I wrote today is the one where her husband tells her he wants to split up. So it's still flowing pretty well, and I'm really happy about that. I'm a little shocked that I'm not having more trouble with this. I've always been better at description than dialogue. It's a great exercise for me to have to focus on the characters speaking to each other. Hopefully I'll come out of this a better writer, even if my script isn't any good!

We had a play selection committee meeting this afternoon. It was great! We put blankets on the ground and lounged on them, each of us reading a different script. We talked about what we were reading, and if someone read a particularly funny bit, we would share it with everyone. It looks like we will probably recommend Misery for the thriller and Faith County for the light comedy. Both shows have parts I'm eligible for, so I'm happy about that! We're looking at Quiters, Honky Tonk Angels, Convenience or possibly Godspell for the musical. There may be some other choices for the musical. I'm not sure. We have to pick 4 shows, so we have our work cut out for us! It's so much fun, though! I brought two scripts home, Veronica's Room and The Kitchen Witches. I can't wait to start reading them!

I didn't finish the miter yesterday, so I'm going to try tonight. I did most of it, but just got tired and went to bed. I hate to leave something unfinished, but sometimes you have to put it down and go to sleep. I'll try to finish tonight.

Script Frenzy Day 2

Current wordcount: 1,742
Today's wordcount: 839
Time spent writing: 1 hour
Time spent on SF Boards: 30 minutes
Today's soundtrack: Death Cab for Cutie
Today's mood: Great!

I think the format I chose is working well. I hope it is, anyway. I can see it playing out on a stage, so that seems like a good sign.

I spent most of my day today doing laundry. How do I have so much laundry? The odd thing is, I obviously wear all these clothes, because they all need to be washed. Now that I'm finished with my writing for the day and I have finished the laundry, I'm going to relax a little and knit. Hopefully I can finally finish the last miter in my first square. I'll post pictures when it's finished!

Script Frenzy Day 1

Current wordcount: 903
Today's wordcount: 903
Time spent writing: 1 hour
Time spent on SF Boards: about 10 minutes
Today's soundtrack: my Broadway playlist (so fun!)
Today's mood: Great!

Well, I feel like I've gotten off to a good start. The knitting circle has been formed, and one of the ladies has already told a bit of her story. I like it so far. It seems to be flowing well.

Waking up early helped a lot! I got the required number of words done in about 30 minutes this morning and then did a little more when I got home from work this evening. My stopping point was a little odd number-wise, but it made sense to stop there so I did. Tomorrow I'm going to do about the same amount (or more) to stay ahead. I know I won't be able to consistently write while I'm on vacation, so I want to get enough done so that I'm not hopelessly behind when I get back.

Speaking of the trip, I went shopping for some clothes to take. I don't actually own very many casual outfits anymore. Most of my clothes are suits or other "professional looking" clothes, and that would be all wrong for a road trip! So I bought some shorts, for the first time in several years. So I'm all set there. I think I finally have everything I need. That's a relief!