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Monday, November 9, 2009
Hello! I'm getting my first puppy next Monday, and need to find a great vet in the Ann Arbor/Ypsi area. But I'm also pretty short on money, so an affordable one would be really really nice. I need to get her spayed in a few months, so if anyone has had a really good experience with someone in particular, who didn't clean our your wallet, I'd really appreciate it!
Thanks!!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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Thinking about buying tabi boots. These are especially cool, and it's only $2 more to have them dyed instead of having to do it myself. (Dye costs more than $2.)
But also there are some cool boots on eBay. I love this brand, and I even have short sneakers of the exact same design, only in purple. I know they'll be comfortable and give some ankle support and also be cool-looking.
I missed the black boots on ebay - they got bid up too high for me.
If we suppose that I will buy only one pair of boots - the dyed ones or the black ones - which should it be?
Poll #1482123 boots
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 9 Which boots do you like better? What color tabi boots? (I may draw designs on them with sharpies.)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
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I would have the will to kill a planet of people, let's say 17 million people, for the man I loved, if I had such a man. Seriously, I am not joking. I read about it and felt it in my very bones: yes. I take my loyalty and devotion very seriously. I don't know to whom I will be allowed to devote myself next, but I hope he appreciates it. We Scorpios want to be appreciated for our devotion.
Story reference: Trancendental by astolat. Highest recommendations for a novella-length story. I have read it several times.
Ah, I've been drinking, but that merely lends authenticity to my entry. I see charred bones and soot as far as the eye can see. Make it not be so. Come back to me. I love you.
10:30AM
1. Where could I find a roll, but at the bare minimum just a square yard, of vintage wallpaper?
2. Where can I find really tasty loose red raspberry leaf tea?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
I am looking for a place in Ann Arbor where I could go for a facial treatment. I used to go to Douglas J. Aveda Institute in East Lansing, but in Ann Arbor it somehow didn't feel right. I would appreciate your suggestions. If you could mention the price range of your favorite place that would also be helpful. Thanks!
That's a draft.
I drank so much caffeine to push through this that I wonder if I might not be best served by jumping into my pseudo NaNo project, but maybe I should *try* to lie down first. I do have Magical Dormouse Sleeping Powers at my disposal about 358 days a year. (The other seven days a year when I "can't sleep" do not actually count as true insomnia, the true insomniacs inform me.)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Number 62:
The hardest-won revelations on the part of a writer in a book are the ones that will be most satisfying to the reader.
Well, I can hope, because I just had a hard-won revelation, and it felt soooooo good having that little piece fall into the narrative just so, shink, just like the wedge going into a pie token in Trivial Pursuit...
It probably feels so good to the writer because it's a release of tension. "HOW AM I GOING TO GET THIS TO MAKE SENSE?" --> "OKAY, THAT'S HOW, NOT TO BE DYING NOW."
Whereas, to the reader, it's probably just a gentle, "Ah. That makes sense." If that much.
*sigh*
Monday, November 2, 2009
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My birthday is 10 days away now, so I thought I'd share my wishlists with all of you. Obviously I'm not so vain as to expect everyone to buy me a gift, but if you feel inclined, please do so. I also welcome second-hand stuff if you think I might like it.
Amazon.com: here
ThingsIWant: here
Sephora.com: here
Thank you for listening.
p.s. Thanks again to my secret gift-giver!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The half-book I wrote for last year's NaNo is what I plan to finish this year in November. However, if I add 50,000 words, it will probably be too long, so I'm only gonna write 40,000-ish--"ish" because when it's done, it's done, and that might be at 30k--and do some editing. Ultimately, no, I'm not doing NaNo, I'm just doing what I have to do so that I will have a book draft done in 2009 and not feel like a total loser because I have first-drafted exactly one piece of fiction this year ("Fine-tuning the Universe")--which I did manage to sell to Nature, but seriously, what? It was flash. I only finished one 999-word story this year.
Now, I've not been slacking, as you know. I've rewritten The Herbalist's Apprentice three times this year: pre-agent, post-agent, and then post-agent again. Each time was successively less intensive, and I have learned a CrapTonne from doing that. But rewriting does not new fiction make. (I've also rewritten a few short stories, but--repeat last sentence.)
Likewise, I've noodled around on and half-heartedly begun a number of other things. (In one case, whole-heartedly begun, but that's for after November.) But starting things does not new fiction make, EITHER.
So, yeah. NaNo 2009 = "Personal Novel Completion Month, So Help Me God."
Or: PeNoCoMo SHMeG.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
It was pretty much after I made my second panflute of mini-Twizzlers that I realized I needed to institute the 15-minute rule again. The one where you set a timer for 15 minutes and you write for that long, and THEN you can dork around for a bit (5 minutes), but you have to work for the 15 minutes after that, and so on until it is time for sleepies or you finish your project.
Because. Srsly. We can't have more of this.
Also, when a people thought that maybe there were just possibly too many herbs in my book, except for the fact that the book is called The Herbalist's Apprentice, I did not think much of this assessment, until I started making a list of all the herbs mentioned, and had to start a new sheet of paper by chapter 5.
I wasn't sure if collaging a book at this late stage of the game was going to net me any insights, but it was a good break from the slog. And, as it happens, yes, it did net me some insights. The gold woman with her arm extended and the gold man pulling his sword--why, hello! So that's how those two characters relate to each other. ( Spoilers for an unpublished book plus spoilers for an unwritten book? )
(If you click through, there are Notes.)
So, why book collaging? Jennifer Crusie does it. She does it a bit more elegantly than I do, apparently, which I only vaguely remembered after I finished mine. I've mostly been paying attention to Stephanie Burgis's book collages instead, which seems like a much more practical way to go about it for me--paper and glue--rather than building a dollhouse/shadowbox. In any case, I've always been intrigued by the notion that different plot and character connections than you knew might show up in a collage, and I confess, I'm a little surprised by how simply/accidentally that happens. I slapped two of the bigger pictures down, and immediately realized they were facing each other, and a whole 'nother dimension of backstory dropped into the book. Something that will only show up in maybe two sentences of this book, but is probably the lynchpin of the next one.
Anyway. Back to writing.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Got a haircut.
It's cute and sassy, but I am not sure what I was trying to prove. Mostly, I thought my hair had gotten too long and lacked vigor. This is about an inch shorter than I really was thinking, maybe 2, but on the other hand, it does not lack for sass.
Also, you know how they say your nose never stops growing? They are not lying about that. I am shocked by the nose-size in image one.
Also, I can't wait for the day that someone introduces me to my nose-twin at a convention. It happened to Cat Rambo at ConFusion last year. I saw the nose-twin again at Penguicon. I almost shouted, "HEY, CAT RAMBO'S NOSE TWIN!" but thought maybe she was having too good a time with the dude she was canoodling with, so I didn't, but trust me, it was hard not to do.
Also, I am far too pink for my own comfort. Like a little piglet. Ew. I am heartened by the notion that if I were a Vulcan, though, I'd be loads greener.
PS That's ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) dannimal's office, with the navy blue flowered curtains. There are no other curtains in this house from the previous owners. Just his office. Yep.
In conjunction with EMU's Explore Eastern event tomorrow, the City of Ypsilanti, MSU Extension, and the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors have coordinated a city-wide open house, featuring 30 houses currently for sale in the City.
The open houses will be from 10am to 2pm; maps and information on schools, neighborhoods, etc, will be available at the SPARK East business incubator at 215 W. Michigan Avenue, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. (Cookies and coffee, too.)
More information, including a map of the houses included in the event, is available as http://openhouse.ypsi.com.
A can't-miss event for anyone interested in living in a town that Drew Barrymore thinks is in Texas.
Had a hard conversation with my stepdaughter last night. She thinks poorly of one of her teachers because the teacher does not seem to be showing the appropriate (to her mind) kind of emotion about the teacher's dying mother.
I said, "People show emotions differently."
I said, "I certainly wouldn't feel safe or comfortable expressing my sorrow and grief at work, particularly in front of teenagers."
I said, "Most people in a bad situation just do what they can to keep functioning."
I said, "Grief does not look the same on all people."
I didn't feel like I got through to her, but I often find I think that, and discover years later that she took everything I said to heart. --Because people do not always show comprehension in the same way, eh?
My mind is a jumble of emotions and images just reacting to this conversation. I grew up with a role model (my mother) who demonstrated constantly that the appropriate reaction to crisis is icy, emotionless, competent calmness. I tend not to be able to speak during moments of problematic emotion, and in my desire to remain calm, I've been called an ice queen, an emotionless robot, or just plain cold.
(For the record, those accusations hurt. And the bumbling conversations from the less emotionally-intelligent in the crowd, who decide that you must want to talk about all sorts of personal things because it doesn't appear to cause you any pain.)
It's a recurring theme in literature, the raging torrents of emotion beneath the smooth-faced character--your Elinors and your Darcys--but at some point, in spite of Vulcans, American culture seems to have bought into the notion that the only people feeling things are the people in tears all the time. (At least, I think it's the damn Americans.)
(No offense, but I can't stand the people in (edited to add:) incoherent tears all the time. How in Hell do you get any work done, if you're so busy emoting every feeling that comes across your brain?) (Further edited to add: Of course, I do recognize the hypocrisy here; it takes a lot of energy to repress, too. It's just a knee-jerk reaction to a certain type of person, one that I rarely meet with, but one who has impressed me a little too much over my lifetime./End edit)
Now, the flip side to being this kind of person is that when I meet a person who is genuinely less emotional than average, we run into a big disconnect. I can comprehend appearing emotionless. I can't actually comprehend not actually feeling things deeply or strongly. (So, maybe I'm just as bad as the ice queen haters, in a way, with the making assumptions and the wrong ideas about people?)
So, here's my wish. Don't have expectations on how people grieve. If you can't manage that, repress your expectations the way I repress my sorrows--at least, don't impose those expectations on others. Accept that if someone doesn't know you very well, they may not want to share their pain with you. And it is far better to assume that the emotionless robot is a mire of repression than actually an emotionless robot.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
First: I think cristalia (maybe buymeaclue) posted this a while back: A girl and a house: the gothic novel. Like whoever first posted it, this is here so I can remember it when I need to. I just realized that the sense of place is as valid a thing to write about as anything, and since I have my own problems with my sense of place, it might not be the worst thing to write about them. Wish-fulfillingly or otherwise.
Second: I have made up a writing exercise for myself. I am unhappy with a scene in my book. I decided to rewrite it from the POV of the second character (not quite the antagonist); I want to see if any different information is revealed, or not. Then I'll put it back in the first viewpoint. I'll let you all know how that goes. I may be onto something. I may be crazy.
Third: My office is very nearly clean, after a long flirtation with "the minefield" skin.
Fourth: I need to remember that caloric intake is non-negotiable. I was SO CRANKY this morning. I didn't eat breakfast. This was epically dumb. CalorieFail.
Fifth: There should be more. I have a lot going on. But I'm bounded by futility and annoyance and a need to just slog through. So, there won't be more. Even good days are tough days, on some level. I don't think it's anything bad; I'm sure it's all for the best, and there's growth in it.
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copied entirely from the_shoshanna. I do have several Dreamwidth codes - you only have to ask or email me privately using my LJ email account.
Why might you want a Dreamwidth account? Well, you may be interested in the ethos and ideas behind Dreamwidth Studios. You may like its multiple technical and usability improvements over similar sites, its active involvement with its userbase, or its absolute and unrelenting rejection of advertising. You may like the ease with which it lets you crosspost to and manage multiple journals (and its promise to let you read all your flists in one place, on your dreamroll, though that is not yet implemented).
There are two ways to create a Dreamwidth account: buy one (for as little as $3 for a month, and you can let it lapse to free status after the month ends and still keep it forever) or create one for free using an invite code. Of course, paid accounts have more goodies attached: this page details the differences between free, paid, and premium paid account levels.
If you would like an invite code to create an account for free, I have plenty to give away; just ask! If you prefer not to ask me, there is a codesharing community on LiveJournal: ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) dreamwidth. If you would like to buy an account and get the extra goodies, note that the we're-in-early-beta discount pricing levels will expire this coming Sunday, November 1! You'll still be able to pay just $3 for a month, but the cost of a year of Paid Account status will increase from $25 to $35, and the cost of a year of Premium Paid Account status will increase from $40 to $50. So if you think you might want to buy a larger chunk of paid time at Dreamwidth, why not create a free account now with a code, spend a few days exploring the system, and still have time to buy at the lower prices before they disappear?
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