I haven't been reading enough in the past year or so. I know it's true and I know it's bad, but there just hasn't been time. I'm making time now. It appears that I'm getting sick, so I've spent the last two days in bed, reading. I took my nephew to see Twilight, and while I thought the movie could have been much, much better, it was entertaining and interesting enough for me to want to know more. So I bought the books and read all four of them in two days.
They're pretty good, really. There's a complex world with great history and all kinds of interesting rules and exceptions. To me, that's the sign of a story that was well thought-out. And it's good to experience how other writers handle world building when you are struggling to build your own world, so I really enjoyed that aspect of it.
So I've been reading a lot and I remembered why I love it so much. It's back to writing now, though - and I have some interesting ideas about a certain direction I want Draha to take.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
dazed and confused
I'm not entirely sure what to think about a certain situation, so this is going to be a fairly incoherent post. I think I'm too old and have been around too long to ask this question, but there you go. You see... there's this guy. And I'm not sure how he feels about me. Geez, I feel like I'm 13 years old again! It's stupid, isn't it?
So yeah, I like a guy - or I think I could like him. I actually really love the "just getting to know each other" stage of a relationship, but it's so much easier if I know what they are thinking the relationship could become. It's possible he only wants to be friends. I've been down that road many, many times. Not that I would trade anything for my male friends - I have more of those than female friends, actually, and they are really great. But this guy - I think there could be more to it than that.
So there's the situation. It's exciting and fun and frustrating. All the things relationships should be, I guess!
So yeah, I like a guy - or I think I could like him. I actually really love the "just getting to know each other" stage of a relationship, but it's so much easier if I know what they are thinking the relationship could become. It's possible he only wants to be friends. I've been down that road many, many times. Not that I would trade anything for my male friends - I have more of those than female friends, actually, and they are really great. But this guy - I think there could be more to it than that.
So there's the situation. It's exciting and fun and frustrating. All the things relationships should be, I guess!
Journaling: Rejection
Describe a time when you felt rejected.
Well, this one is easy. But I don't think I'll talk about the "ultimate rejection." I think I'd rather go somewhere else.
I packed the envelope so carefully, including only what they requested, nothing more and nothing less. I had worked on the contents of that envelope for nearly a year, although it was in my head longer than that. I was sending more than a query package, I was sending a dream. All my hopes were pinned on that one envelope. I sent it off with a quick prayer and a kiss for good luck - and then I waited.
About two months later, a letter came with the publisher's address on the outside. I was excited and freaked out - what would it say? The moment I opened the envelope, I saw the words, "regret to inform" and knew. It was the most devastating moment of my life, even after dealing with an ugly divorce only a few years before.
My first reaction was total depression. I cried for about an hour, holding the letter close to my chest, rocking back and forth on the couch, just crying. Then the rage came. I was furious that they rejected my work when they had published so much that I considered inferior to mine. I crumbled the letter into a ball and threw it across the room. I screamed at it. I left it on the floor in the corner for a few days. It took about that long for me to realize that this was a learning experience and that by receiving my first rejection letter, I was a REAL WRITER. All writers deal with rejection and you have to develop a pretty thick skin or you will eventually just give up. Since I don't want to give up, I decided to deal with the rejection and move on. It made me want to write more - and write better. Rejection doesn't have to be a negative experience. Sometimes it makes you spring into action.
Well, this one is easy. But I don't think I'll talk about the "ultimate rejection." I think I'd rather go somewhere else.
I packed the envelope so carefully, including only what they requested, nothing more and nothing less. I had worked on the contents of that envelope for nearly a year, although it was in my head longer than that. I was sending more than a query package, I was sending a dream. All my hopes were pinned on that one envelope. I sent it off with a quick prayer and a kiss for good luck - and then I waited.
About two months later, a letter came with the publisher's address on the outside. I was excited and freaked out - what would it say? The moment I opened the envelope, I saw the words, "regret to inform" and knew. It was the most devastating moment of my life, even after dealing with an ugly divorce only a few years before.
My first reaction was total depression. I cried for about an hour, holding the letter close to my chest, rocking back and forth on the couch, just crying. Then the rage came. I was furious that they rejected my work when they had published so much that I considered inferior to mine. I crumbled the letter into a ball and threw it across the room. I screamed at it. I left it on the floor in the corner for a few days. It took about that long for me to realize that this was a learning experience and that by receiving my first rejection letter, I was a REAL WRITER. All writers deal with rejection and you have to develop a pretty thick skin or you will eventually just give up. Since I don't want to give up, I decided to deal with the rejection and move on. It made me want to write more - and write better. Rejection doesn't have to be a negative experience. Sometimes it makes you spring into action.
Monday, November 24, 2008
UFO pictures - Dragon Scale Shawl
Above: The progress on the Dragon Scale Shawl.
Below: A closeup of the shawl to show the beading. The color is a little washed out in the closeup, it's closer to the color in the above picture.
UFO pictures - Log Cabin Blanket
Two squares down - a lot more to go! But see how pretty they are turning out?!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
UFOs
In knitting, when you have unfinished objects, they are often called UFOs. I have a TON of UFOs right now and my new knitting goal is to finish most of these projects before starting a new one. A couple of them will be ongoing projects for awhile, but there are some that must be finished! Here's the list and the progress so far:
Ribbed Wool Scarf - about 25% finished
Dragon Scale Shawl - about 20% finished
Kool Aid skinny scarf - just started, may not continue.
Christmas Throw - about 50% finished
Log Cabin Blanket - 2 blocks complete, not sure how many it will take
The two I want to finish are the scarf and the shawl. Before I start anything else, I will finish those two items. I'm sure other knitters have more UFOs lying around, but for me, this is way too many!
Ribbed Wool Scarf - about 25% finished
Dragon Scale Shawl - about 20% finished
Kool Aid skinny scarf - just started, may not continue.
Christmas Throw - about 50% finished
Log Cabin Blanket - 2 blocks complete, not sure how many it will take
The two I want to finish are the scarf and the shawl. Before I start anything else, I will finish those two items. I'm sure other knitters have more UFOs lying around, but for me, this is way too many!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
framing is fun
We did a Women Build project today and it was a blast! It was the first day of our framing blitz and we got so much of it done! I was really impressed. The coolest thing about it was that it focused on women over 50, so we had about 30 women over 50 out there building all day. It was great - and I think they had fun too.
About halfway through the day I had a moment of panic. I couldn't find my cell phone. It's funny how much you depend on things, but don't realize it until they are not there. I literally felt naked until I found it. It was horrible!
We're out on the work site again tomorrow. I love working out there, it's a great break from office duties and it's really helpful for us to actually build sometimes, especially when we work together. It's been a tough time for all of us lately, so it's really important for us to have some bonding time.
Tomorrow is a big press conference about the build. I feel very prepared, but still have a fear in the back of my mind that I've forgotten something. It's always this way, though, and things always come out right.
About halfway through the day I had a moment of panic. I couldn't find my cell phone. It's funny how much you depend on things, but don't realize it until they are not there. I literally felt naked until I found it. It was horrible!
We're out on the work site again tomorrow. I love working out there, it's a great break from office duties and it's really helpful for us to actually build sometimes, especially when we work together. It's been a tough time for all of us lately, so it's really important for us to have some bonding time.
Tomorrow is a big press conference about the build. I feel very prepared, but still have a fear in the back of my mind that I've forgotten something. It's always this way, though, and things always come out right.
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