tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73945964470460758642024-03-05T05:08:11.796-06:00Scribblings of a MadmanBecause if you've read my writing, you wouldn't call it anything else.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.comBlogger239125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-22897750961960486862010-10-07T07:00:00.000-05:002010-10-07T07:00:05.597-05:00State of the SoaMI've been doing this blog for a long, long time. It's the longest running thing I've ever done. Tomorrow is the four year anniversary of this thing. I started it when I was a Senior in high school, and here I am, a senior in college. I'm married, I'm just about to become a teacher, and I am no longer a teenager.<div><br /></div><div>Because of my change in life status--marriage, college senior, future teacher--running this blog is becoming more and more difficult. I have put a lot of thought into this, and I feel like this is the right move. As of today, I am retiring Scribblings of a Madman. It's been a long and good run, and I feel this is the right moment.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't take this to mean I am giving up on writing. Far, far from it. I have stories currently out and under consideration at lots of places. However, I feel like I've just been limping this thing along for a while, and I'd much rather spend what little spare time I have working on my craft than plunking out an entry here. It's been a ton of fun, very therapeutic, and I've met a lot of really cool people. But since this has become more of a chore and an obligation, I feel the time is now, let's end this puppy on a high, as it were.</div><div><br /></div><div>I want to thank you all for reading this for so many years. For caring about what a silly, lonely, high school senior had to say. Thank you for the support in my writing, and I wish you all the best luck in the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>(I reserve the right to pick this back up at any moment without warning. I am King here at SoaM. I have the right. Nya nya. :P But I don't see that happening right now.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Good luck with everything you do. I wish you only the best.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thank you, and goodnight,</div><div><br /></div><div>Jason Rayburn</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-85666404105068454492010-09-03T11:10:00.003-05:002010-09-03T11:31:26.618-05:00Therapeutic Ramblings.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.savagechickens.com/images/chickentherapyhut.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 401px;" src="http://www.savagechickens.com/images/chickentherapyhut.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />So, things have been going very well for me. I finished a short story and I've mailed it off--regardless of whether it's accepted, that is something that I very rarely do and I'm proud that I've accomplished my goal. I have another story I need to edit, but I've got the itch to be creative, so I'm trying to write another short story first. I've got an idea, but it's a bit difficult to pull off so far. I had a bit of luck yesterday--if I didn't break through my writer's block, I at least shoved it a few yards away from me.<div><br /></div><div>Besides writing, though, things have been going very well for me. Last semester was an exercise in torture, depression, endurance, and...just...bad things. I was still recovering from car accident, I probably should have taken a semester off, but I didn't want to fall behind--I wanted to make sure I could graduate on time so that I could take care of Darling Dearest. Because of my decision, I was basically taking two semesters at once. I took all 3 of my major education classes in the same go, so I was loaded down with a full schedule, PLUS make up work from the previous semester, PLUS another extra 20 hours of teacher observations due by the end of the semester. It was...hard, to say the least.</div><div><br /></div><div>After all of that work, I still only failed one class. I have never failed a class. This was a devastating blow to me.</div><div><br /></div><div>This semester, however, I am doing much better. I'm re-taking the class I failed, and with my other classes, I owed 1 more extra credit hour. I worried about that one hour--I was afraid I'd have to stay an extra semester and graduate late and become what they jokingly call a "super senior" (a senior who has stayed an extra semester or year--which apparently happens A LOT here). It was nothing to worry about, though. I checked with my adviser, and I am now working on our university's literary journal. WHOO! This is fantastic because 1) it's work I really love, and 2) it's exactly 1 hour--just what I need.</div><div><br /></div><div>Financially, despite a rough summer where I worked at a fast food restaurant, burned my hand, burned my eye lid, and had to buy expensive new shoes that worked no better than the ones I had, we are now much better off. I lost my scholarship (because of the 1 failed class...ever...) but I got enough other financial aid to not only take care of my debts, but also give me much much money in a refund.</div><div><br /></div><div>With all of that said, I'm still worried. Things have been going to so well, but I still have to take a few tests that will qualify me to get my license to teach. This worries me because the one that's vital for my internship next semester is my content knowledge. If it were English--writing and grammar, I wouldn't be <i>too</i> worried, but it also includes literature. Since the English literary world is <i>thousands</i> of years old, I'm starting to panic. I've already read Catcher in the Rye, so now I'm going through and reading/rereading classics that I don't feel I read well enough for my exams. Jane Austen, I'm about to get to know you very well. Mark Twain, we're gonna become chums. F. Scott Fitzgerald, you and I will boogie our way through the Jazz Age, and I better get my hands on some William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck soon, too, I guess. I'm also gonna read Dracula, possibly the Invisible Man, and Lord of the Flies. So...much...reading.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, this is my panic state. Probably an over-reaction, but I feel so vitally unprepared for what I'm about to undertake. I'll probably calm down in a few days/weeks, but then I have another heap of problems and that's where I'll be living when I become a teacher. Originally, the plan was to stay here where my wife could continue her education, but we're thinking of transferring to a slightly bigger town/metropolis area where one of my best friends lives. I'd LOVE to move there, but I'm nervous I won't get hired, and where I get hired dictates where I'll live, and where I live has to be decided before school restarts in the fall and AND <i>AND--</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>*sigh* </i>Deep breath, dude. We can do this.</div><div><br /></div><div>Right...so...that's where I stand right now. This is mostly just therapeutic ramblings on my part. I'm sure (read, I hope) I'll figure everything out and everything will turn out okay.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay...I better sign off before I make this any longer. Cheerio!</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-90104598541662523432010-08-16T15:26:00.004-05:002010-08-16T15:51:33.304-05:00Something I forgot to mention...When I posted that about Scott Pilgrim yesterday, I meant it. It is a phenomenal movie, especially to my generation. I hope it goes down as one of my generations classics, like The Breakfast Club in the 80's and Clueless in the 90's. Scott Pilgrim, of the 2010's, is absolutely awesome. Stylized? Oh yeah. But it was a nerd's paradise of a movie.<br /><br />However...I may have OVER praised it just a little when I said it and Inception were my two favorite movies of the year.<br />It's funny. It's amazing. But...Inception has one contender for favorite movie of the year for me...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.reelmovienews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/toy_story_31.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="http://www.reelmovienews.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/toy_story_31.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>TOY STORY 3<br /><br />In 1995, history was made when the first CGI animated movie was introduced into the world--also the first movie in a, what is now famous, animation company. I'm, of course, talking about Toy Story and Pixar respectively.<br /><br />I had to put into perspective how old Toy Story is. See, the thing is, it doesn't seem that old to me. However, think about this: I am a Senior in college. When Toy Story came out, I remember being in the second grade and reading my class the Toy Story children's book. SECOND GRADE! I saw 7. Now I'm 21.<br /><br />Of course, when I saw the trailer, I couldn't help but feel a sort of chest-tightening fear. A sequel? Oh great. Spider-Man 3...Shrek 3...I had not had great experiences with "3" movies. But, of course, it was Pixar, and they are sort of the last word on touching, heartwarming family movies.<br /><br />Toy Story 3 is about what Toy Story 2 leaves laying far in the distance. The toys know Andy will grow up some day, but they're perfectly happy to be there for him for as long as they could. In Toy Story 3, Andy HAS grown up, and is moving away to college. It's really powerful to see how many of the old toys have gone away--the gang has been whittled down to a lonely few. One toy in particular (I won't spoil which) I found particularly sad to be missing.<br /><br />I'm sure you know the rest of the idea from the trailers: *do not read if you haven't seen the trailers and don't want ANY idea of what it is about at all* the toys are donated to a daycare, the daycare is not so good, and the toys learn that Andy does, in fact, want them.*end spoilers*<br /><br />This movie has so amazing. I catch myself using the word powerful a lot, but there's something you don't understand. When I read a really good story--not just good but REALLY GOOD--I get this feeling in my back and chest. A sort of tinging sensation that two parts awe and one part jealousy. This movie, from first moment to last, did that to me. It gets surprisingly intense, and that's one of the best things about it. It doesn't pull punches. It explores what it means to be a friend, and what true loyalty is. It tests things, strains partnerships, and really digs into the meat of what it's like to be human, all while telling a beautiful final chapter to a story that many have literally grown up with.<br /><br />Go see this movie. I honestly think it's better than Inception, and I LOVED Inception. If you have to see three movies this year, THIS BETTER BE ONE OF THEM.<br /><br />The fact that Andy is going to college at the start of the movie is one of the things that tugged at me the most. I knew exactly what it felt like to have to look through my old toys and decide what they're fate should be--and that feeling was only heightened by the acute awareness that they might worship me like their own personal god (thanks Pixar! :P).<br /><br />The ending of the movie is one of the most satisfying conclusions to a story I've ever witnessed.<br /><br />In closing, the three things on your mind, movie-wise this year:<br /><br />1. Toy Story 3<br />2. Inception<br />3. Scott PilgrimJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-27116924648413690952010-08-15T12:26:00.010-05:002010-08-15T18:31:32.867-05:00Scott Pilgrim<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.azreporter.com/news/media/admin/20100805-scott_pilgrim_vs_the_world.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 468px;" src="http://www.azreporter.com/news/media/admin/20100805-scott_pilgrim_vs_the_world.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Do you like video games? Do you like punk rock music? Do you like stories about personal growth and the value of experience and how those experiences help us in our growth? Go see this movie. Go see it now. This movie and Inception are my two new favorite movies of the year.<br /><br />My wife loved this movie more than any other movie she's seen. She loved it more than Shaun of the Dead--another Edgar Wright movie.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-66842980429947832082010-05-17T18:03:00.004-05:002010-05-17T18:26:48.114-05:00I Have News!It's been a long time, and I have a ton of news. Lots of news.<br /><br />The last time you heard from me was Spring Break. Darling Dearest was in rehab, I was concerned with make up work and finals, and I wanted to write some. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to write. I spent most of Spring Break reading the last two books of the Twilight Saga because of Darling Dearests urgings. I didn't work on my make-up papers (which I should have) and then I returned to school.<br /><br />A couple of weeks later--April 1st--I turned 21. It wasn't a big deal. I've never really cared about drinking one way or the other. I had never had a drink up until that point (except for an accidental sip when I was little and thought it was Peach Nectar and not a peach wine cooler), so I didn't rush out and celebrate with a giant bash. As a matter of fact, I stayed in all evening and frantically worked on my make up work.<br /><br />The next day, however, was much more eventful. Darling Dearest got out of rehab! Thankfully, it was before the 10th of April, which is our anniversary of the day that we started dating. We had a lot of fun, and then the big day came. April 10th, 2010. One year from the day we started dating. 1 year of ups and downs, comedies and tragedies. And it happened. We got married. It was a very small ceremony at my grandparents. She looked beautiful in her little white dress we got.<br /><br />The same day we got married, we moved into our new apartment. We are now completely on our own.<br /><br />We've been married for a little over a month, and it's been amazing. I never thought I could love someone so much.<br /><br />I don't want to get too mushy and such, so I'll just say that this was literally the best decision I have ever made.<br /><br />Darling Dearest still has a few problems--she walks with a limp, her left hand isn't QUITE as steady as the other, and she can't really raise her left foot up. However, she's come SO FAR in such a short time that I can hardly complain. Also, she's been playing Guitar Hero to help her coordination in her left hand, and we're going to the gym at our apartment complex to build strength and help her work on her walking more. In addition, we're looking into some outpatient rehab.<br />So...that's how things are. You are now up to speed. Thankfully, I managed to make it out of the semester alive...although not without a few problems involving my scholarship. But that is all going stuff that we'll deal with as we can. I'm so glad to have the summer to spend with my new wife.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media.onsugar.com/files/ons1/351/3516804/34_2009/ea8dad7be6b0bea1_wedding-cake-toppers-01.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 417px;" src="http://media.onsugar.com/files/ons1/351/3516804/34_2009/ea8dad7be6b0bea1_wedding-cake-toppers-01.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-73853717148097053172010-05-04T00:11:00.005-05:002010-08-30T20:53:36.792-05:00FINALS WEEK!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdn.worldcupblog.org/italy.worldcupblog.org/files/2009/05/finals.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 389px; height: 386px;" src="http://cdn.worldcupblog.org/italy.worldcupblog.org/files/2009/05/finals.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://greenlondoner.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/final_exams.jpg"><br /></a>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-60029650773049887912010-03-18T17:12:00.003-05:002010-03-18T17:22:02.398-05:00Goal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://shadowwar.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/relax.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 482px; height: 386px;" src="http://shadowwar.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/relax.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Before I do anything else, I just wanted to let you guys know how Darling Dearest is doing. She's doing great. She's been moved to Stage II rehab, and she's making a fast and amazing recovery. We're hoping she'll be out by early April...but it might take a little bit longer. Even though she's able to walk with a walker with amazing accuracy, they only just let her do it full time, and she still has to have someone watching her inside and touching her outside. She feels that a bit unnecessary, and since I've taken her out a few weekends, I would agree to a certain extent.<br /><br />Okay, so update over, onto the original reason for me writing this:<br /><br />Tomorrow is the first day of spring break. (I always count Friday evenings. Why wouldn't you? that's quality time to stay up late and not worry about class...as opposed to normal weekdays were I stay up late and not worry about class...) So what does the first day of Spring Break mean? Well for one thing, I get to see Darling Dearest, for another thing, I get a chance to hopefully wipe out the remaining make up work for my classes last semester, but also it's a chance for me to relax away from the pressures of class and the demands of teacher liscenship.<br /><br />I've got big plans for this week. As I've already stated, I'm going to wipe out my make up work. I also plan to sleep and read a lot. And write. Yes. Write. Something that has been eaten by the pressures of reassembling my life after my accident. I want to use this week to finish a short story. I want to have a short story done, edited, and ready for mailing off when I get back to school. Will it get accepted--probably not. It'll probably suck. But I want to use this prime opportunity to WRITE.<br /><br />Wish me luck.<br /><br />On a side note, wish me luck on finding an apartment as well. Darling Dearest and I are looking for one for when she gets out of rehab. Fingers crossed.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-34633731840371499292010-02-02T15:26:00.002-06:002010-02-02T15:30:53.712-06:00Good News!Actually, it's great news! ...actually, it's fan-freakin'-tastic news!<br /><br />Darling Dearest has gone to a two week rehab session, and has successfully finished. Now she moves on to the more intensive and prolonged rehab. But that's great! Because she's out of the hospital! Wahoo!<br /><br />Other than that, I really nothing to add. I've been trying to make up my finals and essays and final projects from last semester.<br /><br />I do have some pretty cool news though: Author John Green has had a baby! Henry Green was born a few weeks ago.<br /><br />Other than that...I've finished reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Looking for Alaska</span>. I liked it very much. Not as much as <span style="font-style: italic;">Paper Towns</span>, but very much indeed. Now I'm working on <span style="font-style: italic;">Catcher in the Rye</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Children of Jihad</span>. Strangely enough, I started reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Catcher</span> before he died.<br /><br />That's all for now.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-66079939151047622802010-01-18T07:00:00.000-06:002010-01-18T07:00:00.817-06:00Martin Luther King, Jr. DaySo, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post. At first I was waiting for my second day of classes so I could give you a first impression run down of how those were. Then I was waiting because I had so much make up work. Then I was waiting until I got back for the week from my trip home. Now? Well...now I'm writing the post, so all is good!<div><br /></div><div>So, I'll start with my classes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Systems of Grammar: This is easily the classes I'm the most disappointed in. I mean, while it's fascinating to learn how all of the different dialects of the country have a specific reason for their language being structured the way it is, and while it's interesting to learn how languages--specifically English in this case--change through the years, it's mostly Hippy Dippy Grammar Part II. One of my biggest fears about entering the teaching field as a high school English teacher is that I won't know enough about grammar to be an effective teacher. I'm afraid that I won't remember what participle phrases are, what prepositions are, or how to recognize passive voice. I really wanted Systems of Grammar to be a back to basics teaching of the mechanical workings of English grammar...but it's not. I guess I'll have to go ahead and buy some grammar books to refresh myself on the subject before I graduate.</div><div><br /></div><div>Classroom Application of Educational Psychology: This class seems to be an exercise in redundancy. It's supposed to point out things that are obvious, but that we just haven't given time to think about them. To me, though, it seems like a waste of a class. I realize that kids from strict, authoritarian families are going to be more likely to be passive and prefer structure and being told what to do, while kids from neglectful families or families who make the rules together are going to want fewer rules and less structure from the teacher. I realize that I, as a teacher, have to be sensitive to each student's need as an individual. So...this class makes me sleepy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Adolescent Development: Is taught by the same teacher as the previously mentioned class, so it's just as boring, and, for now at least, is covering the same material as the other class. I know that the other class is reviewing this a little before moving on to other stuff, but both seem to be a bit redundant. Nevertheless, they're required for my major, so take them I must.</div><div><br /></div><div>Adolescent Exceptionalities: This class is much more interesting than the other two classes about adolescence. For one thing, the teacher is much more engaging and entertaining. For another thing, the class doesn't point out the obvious, it's about the out-of-the-norm cases. My only beef with this class is that I have to have 10 hours of observation time with an "exceptional" child, which is going to put me in a bit of a crunch with my other class--"Application of Educational blah blah blah"--because I need an additional 10 hours of observation with a high school teacher in the field I will be teaching, AND two videos of me student teaching a class. In addition to the 10 hours with the exceptional student, I'm also expected to write a 15 page paper about the experience by the end of the year. BLARG!</div><div><br /></div><div>British Literature since 1800: It goes without saying, I enjoy this class. We're starting with Jane Austen's <i>Emma</i>, which I like so far. I've had this teacher before, so I don't think I'll have much to complain about in this one class.</div><div><br /></div><div>Besides all of the work I'm expected to do for the classes listed, I also have to make up two final exams, finish my poetry portfolio from last semester, write two final papers (6-8 pages each), and make up all the assignments I'm missing for my Technology class. I have a LOT of work to do. Stupid car crash.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the good news front, I've had two of the most amazing days with Darling Dearest ever. She's not in rehab yet--she developed a little fluid on the brain, so they did a procedure to drain it. However, she's since recovered and is doing leaps and bounds better. She's regained memories that I didn't think she'd every remember, and her personality is finally almost completely back. For example, she misses me, which is something I haven't heard in a while. She calls me all the time now, and that makes me happier than I ever thought I would be ever again.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also, in my infinite wisdom, decided to purchase a camcorder. I'm very excited that it will be arriving soon (might already be here...although I may have to wait until Tuesday to get it if the Post Office is closed tomorrow...boo...).</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's the news so far. I plan on spending my Martin Luther King, Jr. Day working on all of my make up work and praying that I can get it out of the way before the work piles on from my other classes. Then, if I make significant enough progress, I'm going to see Darling Dearest in the hospital because I have no classes tomorrow! Whoo hoo with going to see loved ones.</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's all for now. Remember to leave cookies and milk for Martin Luther King, Jr. so he can leave you presents and freedom under your tree.</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-74240257428615779082010-01-10T10:00:00.001-06:002010-01-10T10:00:00.894-06:00Moving Day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/awh/lowres/awhn178l.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 394px;" src="http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/awh/lowres/awhn178l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div>If you're reading this, then it's moving day and I'm on the way back to college. The hilariously sad part of this particular moving day is that, should things work out the way I want them to, I'm moving up to college today, and I'll be moving again at the end of the month to my awesome new Apartment of Awesomesnaps <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">(TM)</span>. So, yes it is a bit of a wasted effort, but I also need to have a place to stay for the next two weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>I gotta say, it's a bitter sweet feeling going back to college. I do like college, I like living on my own (no offense to my family. They're fantastic and have been amazingly supportive during for the past month, but I do like having my independence back), but I will also miss my family. We've kinda reconnected a bit since my accident. It's the kind of experience that brings any family together. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of the most surprising (and strangest sounding surprises) is that I really like my brother. I mean, I've always loved him, and I've always been there for him, and he for me as well, but I caught just a glimpse of the man that he's turning into, and I'm very pleased. I think he'll do great in this world. He graduates this may, can you believe it? Well...I mean, I'm sure you can. You don't really know him at all. But trust me, if you knew him, and you were his brother, you would not be able to believe how fast he's grown and you'd probably be astounded that he's going off to college in the coming August as well. I'm very proud of him.</div><div><br /></div><div>The other bitter taste to the sweetness of independence is independence without Darling Dearest. She's not going to be there, and even though I've gone to college for several years without her, I can't imagine how I did it, and I definitely can't imagine how I can go back. The one cooling salve to that sting is that she will only be an hour from me because she got accepted to a very exclusive rehab program and will be soon getting training in all of her physical and mental skills. It's a 2 week program that is pretty hardcore, and then she'll be sent for a more prolonged stay at another rehab institution. But the fact that in just a little over a month, she's already come back this far is astounding and I'm impressed more everyday by how amazing she is. [/awestruck]</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, so as I was saying, I'm moving today. And then moving again at the end of the month, but to my Apartment of Awesomesnaps (which will eventually get a much cooler name).</div><div><br /></div><div>On resolutions news, I'm doing okay. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Health wise</b>, I almost don't even need my cane anymore. I darted across the room the other day without it to clean up a spill in the living room. It was a little uncomfortable afterward, but it means I'm aaaalmost ready to be totally caneless.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Reading wise</b>, I have started on the <i>Twilight</i> saga, which is much, much better than I first gave it credit for. Of course, the movies are vile pieces of garbage that should never see the light of day, but the books are pretty good. It is kinda creepy that Edward is so very old compared to Bella...who is but 17 (*coughpedophilecough*), but I guess love comes in all forms. And I am...shamefully...Team Edward. There I said it. I have finished <i>Twilight</i> and <i>New Moon</i>, and since I do not have Eclipse or Breaking Dawn (or as my brother so elegantly retitled it, <i>Breaking Wind</i>), I have moved on to <i>Stardust</i> by Neil Gaiman. </div><div><br /></div><div>I didn't think I'd like it as much as I liked <i>American Gods</i>--and I really liked <i>American Gods</i>--I'm not hooked into <i>Stardust</i> as well, and look forward to finding out more about Tristan Thorn and his adventures in Faerie. So, two so far with number three closing in fast. After <i>Stardust</i>, I will move onto a non-fiction book called <i>Children of Jihad</i> in my ongoing efforts to read outside of my norm (fiction), and in my ongoing efforts to keep myself informed.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Writing wise</b>, I've been doing okay. Just working on notes, and came up with an idea that should have been obvious from the get-go, but was not so obvious for some reason (I don't understand my thinkings!!). I have trouble nailing this one down, and just thought of more things this evening that I missed in my earlier drafts of my outlines. Don't want to talk about it too much. I always wind up not finishing them.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Homework wise</b>, there is nothing to report. I have not been back to school yet.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, anyway, that's how my Sunday is going to be going--moving, unpacking, tidying up, etc. How has your weekend been?</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-40841101920819924772010-01-08T20:54:00.005-06:002010-01-08T21:18:43.238-06:00A Frigid, Soggy Friday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ihasahotdog.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/128886883455392231.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://ihasahotdog.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/128886883455392231.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />So, how about this weather, eh? Well, those of us in the south, anyway, are experiencing the craziest winter in a while. It's currently 12 degrees Fahrenheit (I can never get that on the first try...yet another reason why we should switch to Celsius!) outside. It's been a long time since it's been this cold, and the wind chill factor is making it as low as -5 degrees outside. Now, I find this a tad bit unfair. All these years, when I was in school and praying to any deity in control of the weather that would listen, it would never snow. Or it would snow a smattering--enough to make the roofs and the grass white, but never touch to roads. This year, when I DO NOT want it to snow because my fiance is in the hospital in a town several miles on a curvy, woodsy road away, the weather threatens to snow every other frickin' day. This shows a cruel sense of humor on Nature's part. Surely she should realize that I've got important places to be--I already missed my check up on my pelvis thanks to this ridiculous weather.<div><br /></div><div>On the other hand, this weather sort of cheers me up. I worry about global warming, and looking at the thermometer and seeing "12^F" is a nice little assurance that we're not quite as far along to Hell in our hand-basket as I thought.</div><div><br /></div><div>On another note, I think that our family is cursed. I don't know if our house is on an Indian burial ground, if maybe we hit an old gypsy with our car, or maybe denied some crazy old lady an extension on her house payments, but somehow we have crossed some spirit we should not have crossed. </div><div><br /></div><div>Just when things start settling down, I learn that my scholarship was revoked because I "didn't complete the number of hours necessary to keep it." Nevermind that I contacted everyone and told everyone important that I was in a wreck, could not return until the next semester, and contacted all of professors thusly. Thankfully, with a little persistence, I managed to get it back.</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition to that, my brother came home to see water gushing from the house. Since our house hasn't been on anti-depressants in years, he figured it wasn't crying. Nope, turns out a pipe burst in the ceiling in one of our rooms. Hooray flooding! It flooded the kitchen as well as the laundry room. So we'll have to get that fixed tomorrow.</div><div><br /></div><div>C'mon 2010, you gotta do better than this. Don't you want all of us to talk about how much better you are than that crappy 2009?</div><div><br /></div><div>On a much brighter note (and the third edit so far) I am pretty much positive that I will transferring dorms. The cool thing is, this is less a dorm and more a private apartment. It has a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and a bedroom, and is the bomb-diggity. It'll still have the luxury of a meal plan should I have no food in the house, but also have the advantage of being able to cook super healthy meals for myself whenever I want. I don't have everything squared away yet, but I'm very, very excited.</div><div><br /></div><div>So how has your week been?</div><div><br /></div><div>(By the way, how do you like the new template? I think a new year is always a nice time for some redecoration. I also have a new template for the main site as well, although I was looking for one a bit snazzier, but it's hard to find good free website templates. Oh, if only I had a web designer.)</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-36837379099399491162010-01-05T23:00:00.004-06:002010-01-05T23:24:51.484-06:00An Attempted Look into 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://edgewatertech.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/new-year.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 389px; height: 295px;" src="http://edgewatertech.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/new-year.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>I was reluctant to write this post. See, last year my life was very clear. I was going to school, trying to get healthy, trying to survive in school...it was sort of high school all over again, but with some adult training thrown in for good measure. Not very much to think about, just doing. My life was already sort of planned for me...at least...for the year...<div><br /></div><div>This year, so much has changed. I'm engaged to be married. I always thought I understood the bond that a husband and a wife share. I romanticized it, and sometimes even envied those with significant others to faun over. It's only now, with Darling Dearest in the hospital, that I realize how much that other person gets under your skin, gets inside of you in every way, and how incomplete you feel without them. She's only in the hospital, but I can't go see her everyday, I can't be there all the time, and I classes start back Monday. And even though I've been doing it for years, I can't imagine going back to school without her. In addition, since so much of me is wrapped up in her, the whole year feels up in the air. How fast she gets better, how fast she recovers, how fast she regains movement and cognizances...it's all up to her.</div><div><br /></div><div>With that said, when I sat down to make resolutions, I had no idea what I wanted to resolve. With Darling Dearest...nothing feels as bad. My life was almost absolutely perfect. If I gained a little weight...so what? She loved me. If I didn't read as much as I wanted to...so what? I spent time I wasn't reading with her. If I didn't do my homework as promptly as I should have...so what? I had more important things to do--like spend my time with her. Now, it's a similar, but starkly different feeling. Now it's almost pathetic. If I gain weight...so what? The person I care about is miles away from me. If I don't do my homework...so what? I'd rather be with her in the hospital.</div><div><br /></div><div>I realize this is not the mindset to have. And so, with that, I have decided on my resolutions.</div><div><br /></div><div>1) Try to eat healthy and get my weight down. It's a problem that runs in my family, and I want to nip it in the bud. I'm trying to create good habits that will carry over into the years when losing weight will be a real problem. Obviously I can't exercise...because I can't do any real lifting or running until my leg heals, but I can control what I eat, portion size, snacks, etc. This will also be good for me, because it will force me to work through my depression in a way other than eating--which is what I notice I do when I get depressed.</div><div><br /></div><div>2) I'm going to try to do my homework promptly. While this shouldn't be a problem, I get bored with it easily, and I would rather go and do other things. But without Darling Dearest, I don't have to desire to go out much. I figure maybe I can use this to my advantage to get my homework and studies done. The better I do in school, the better chance I have at graduating sooner, and regardless of when Darling Dearest goes back, the better chance I'll have at getting a job and securing my life with Darling Dearest.</div><div><br /></div><div>3) I going to try to write more. This is a staple resolution. I love to write, and on those days when the writing is fresh and new, I get this thrill that I can't get anywhere else. But eventually, whether because of school or other important things, the writing falls by the wayside, and when I try to go back to it I've lost interest in the project. I have the same problem with a lot of things--homework, working out, writing, reading--I lose interest and lack the drive to get myself motivated to do it when I don't want to. So that's gotta be fixed. As for the specifics of the writing goal, I really don't know what I want to do. I don't know how much I can write a day, because I've never really written everyday despite of my schedule.</div><div><br /></div><div>4) I'm going to try to read more. I like to read, and I notice that I put it aside because TV is mindless and easy. I don't like that I settle on mindless and easy. I think I'd like to read an hour a day. That should help with multiple things, including the Lit classes I will be taking. Also, it means that can try again to read 50 books this year. 23 is a disgraceful number. Not even half. Ha ha. I would like to do better than that this year.</div><div><br /></div><div>5) I'm going to try to keep from wallowing in depression. It's easy to slip into that mindset. To start blaming myself for what happened, and to get depressed about how good things were compared to how crappy they are now. I can't do that. I don't want to do that. So I'm going to try to keep my mind off of things and be hopeful and strong. I have to be hopeful and strong, for Darling Dearest, for me, for our future together.</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's my resolutions. To be healthy, to do my homework, to write, to read, and to be strong. It seems like such an easy to do list written out like that. Here's hoping I'm up to the task.</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-69130468455324492312010-01-02T17:34:00.005-06:002010-01-02T18:16:15.127-06:00One Last Look Back on 2009<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(99, 67, 32); line-height: 18px; font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I figured before I go on to posting about relevant things that have happened in 2010, I should look back and see how I did this last year, and what I can improve on in the year to come. So let's have a look, first, at my old resolutions:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1) Continue to work on getting healthier -- cutting out junk food, working out, running, drinking mostly water, etc.</span></span></span></b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*I did pretty good with this...in the first half of the year. The problem was going home. Where I'm away from the school's carefully portioned meals and healthy ingredients. I gained a bit of weight over the summer...and then I met Darling Dearest, who's greatest passion is Taco Bell. And then I had the wreck, which caused a month of inactivity, and going to and from the hospital means a lot of eating out, which means I've gained somewhere between 15 and 30 pounds. Gotta do better in the year to come.*</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2) Manage my money better. I was way to loose with it last semester, so my resolution is to budget it out better so that I don't blow through it with thoughts like "Oh...it's only $5..."</span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*This was a complete and utter failure. Just trust me.*</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">3) Try to get out more and meet more people. This is one that will be really hard, as I'm usually content just hanging in my room when there's nothing going on. The biggest problem will be that I don't know how to meet new people.</span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*This was actually a major success. I've met tons of people. Switching to a new dorm helped a lot--I met lots of nice people--and I started dating Darling Dearest, who introduced me to all of her friends. So I've met lots of people. Go me.*</span></span></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4) Try to write more. What I'm thinking about right now is 2000 words a week, and a short story a month.</span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*Another dramatic failure.*</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">5) Work on doing my homework early rather than procrastinating.</span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">*Semi-success. I'm gonna say I got a little better, but didn't improve as much as I wanted to.*</span></span></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Besides that, what else happened? Why, I was taking part in the 50 Books Challenge of 2009. Did I succeed?</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">No.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I only read 23 books in 2009. That's seven less than in 2008, and three less than in 2007. Not quite half of the books I was supposed to have read. But I did succeed in part of the challenge--to broaden your reading scope. In that regard, I was a success. Just because it might be interesting here's a list of the books I read during 2009.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;font-size:100%;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(228, 228, 228); font-family:'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1. </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Smoke Thief</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Shana Abe</span></span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2. </span></span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Blaze</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Richard Bachman</span></span></span></span></strong><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></em><strong><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">3. </span></span></span></span></strong><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Song of Solomon</span></span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Toni Morrison</span></span></span><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></em><strong><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4. </span></span></span></span></strong><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Go Down, Moses</span></span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - William Faulkner</span></span></span><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></em><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">5. </span></span></span></span></strong><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The House of Mirth</span></span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Edith Wharton</span></span></span><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></em><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">6. </span></span></span></span></strong><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas</span></span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Gertrude Stein</span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></span><strong><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">7. </span></span></span></span></strong><span style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Douglas Adams<br />8. </span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Hawkspar</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Holly Lisle<br />9. </span></span></span><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Restaurant at the End of the Universe</span></span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Douglas Adams</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">10. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">American Gods</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Neil Gaiman</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">11. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Golden Compass</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Philip Pullman</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">12. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Create a Plot Clinic</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Holly Lisle</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">13. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Women and the Family in Chinese History</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Patricia Ebrey</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">14. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Precious Records: </span></span></span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Women in China's Long Eighteenth Century</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Susan Mann</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">15. </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Cinderella's Sisters : A Revisionist History of Footbinding</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Dorothy Ko</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">16. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Beowulf</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Seamus Heaney</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">17. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Northanger Abbey</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Jane Austen</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">18. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Subtle Knife</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Philip Pulman</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">19. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">An Abundance of Katherines</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - John Green (which is, ironically, a very fitting number on the list)</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">20. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Create a Character Clinic</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Holly Lisle</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">21. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Paper Towns</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - John Green</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">22. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Emerald Tablet</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - P.J. Hoover</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">23. </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Secret Lives of Great Authors</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> - Robert Schnakenberg</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande';color:#006600;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(99, 67, 32); font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So what did I learn from this list? I really like Toni Morrison. I would like to read more books by her. A lot of the books were for classes (like the Chinese history books). Actually, though, they really got me interested in Chinese culture. In addition, I've learned that I really like John Green's books. I haven't, until now, read them, though I've been a fan of his YouTube show for a year or more.</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Also, I finally read </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Emerald Tablet</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, which I really enjoyed. It has a Rowling-like prose style, but the world is totally original and interesting.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">By far, the most interesting book on the list was </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Secret Lives of Great Authors</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> by Robert Schnakenberg. I learned lots of very interesting things.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(99, 67, 32); font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Louisa May Alcott was addicted to opium, but it was for medical purposes.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(99, 67, 32); font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Emily Dickenson was so reclusive she had to have doctors examine her from behind closed doors. She also chose to wear nothing but white.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(99, 67, 32); font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ernest Hemingway spent a lot of time trying to affirm his masculinity because when he was little his parents dressed him up like a girl and called him Ernestine because they wanted a daughter so much.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(99, 67, 32); font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">T.S. Elliot loved practical jokes a lot, and idolized Groucho Marx so much he kept a portrait of him up in his house. The two actually had dinner once, and while Groucho expected them to talk about literature, Elliot just gushed about how much he loved his movies, and constantly quoted the comedian.</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(99, 67, 32); font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">F. Scott Fitzgerald went through several titles for his novel </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Great Gatsby</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. He finally decided on </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Under the Red, White, and Blue</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, but it was too late the halt production, and so </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Great Gatsby</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> it is.</span></span></li></ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Interesting stuff, to say the least. There was a ton of stuff about authors from Shakespeare to Ayn Rand to J.D. Salinger. From Lord Byron to Mark Twain.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And last but not least, I have one more thing to post about. To ring in the New Year, I am proud to announce that I have purchased a replacement car (Not without a certain pain in my stomach, though. Too bad we couldn't afford full coverage on the old one.) I am the proud owner of a (slightly used) new 2007 Pontiac G6. Whoo hoo! *confetti flies* *horns blare* *"Auld Lang Syne" starts to play* I really am glad to have a new car. This one apparently has airbags on all sides, which I was quite happy to learn. I don't have a keyless fob though. Too bad, because I want a clicker, ha ha. I'll try to post a picture of it later, but just know I am pleased to be nearly fully mobile again.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I'm still coming up with resolutions, so that'll come later.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;color:#634320;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So, how did you do with 2009? Did you have any successes? Any...not-so-successes?</span></span></div></span></span></span></div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-48633809392392484682010-01-01T00:01:00.001-06:002010-01-01T00:01:01.132-06:00Happy New Year!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/1happy-new-year.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 501px; height: 324px;" src="http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/1happy-new-year.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />From me at SoaM to you, I hope you have a happy new year. May the coming year bless you with as many blessings as the old one and much more. May you find love, keep love, or help your love burn stronger. May you live in the moment, with many exciting adventures, and may you find that balance between living the exciting, while still finding the time to slow down and enjoy what you have.<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#33CCFF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Happy New Year.</span></i></b></span></span></div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-41523050738177828192009-12-31T11:05:00.004-06:002009-12-31T11:24:30.720-06:00Goodbye 2009!Well, 2009 is drawing to a close. And I gotta say, this year, I'm glad to see it go. It's hard to classify this year. On the one hand, I want to say the year was a success. After all, I met the girl i want to spend the rest of my life with--something I never thought that I would do, but especially not so young. And yet, I have, and it's fantastic.<div><br /></div><div>With that said, in the same year that I met my beloved, I almost lost her. Twice. I met her at the beginning of the year--one year ago today, as a matter of fact--and I almost lost her in April. A tornado hit and destroyed a good portion of my hometown. Several months later, I was in a horrific car crash that my girl and I are still recovering from.</div><div><br /></div><div>So where does 2009 lie? Is it a draw? Or should it be packed up and shipped out with a "good riddance" to follow it out the door. These are questions I don't have the answer to.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I talked about the bad things--a tornado, a car wreck, various drama's a college involving regime changes, major drama in the summer from my fiance's crazy family--now I need to talk about good things.</div><div><br /></div><div>I met my beloved. We began flirting, and the first several months of dating-but-not was awesome. We talked on the phone for hours. It was amazing. We started dating, which was even more amazing. We had tons of fun over the summer, despite drama, and our relationship grew. We went to college, where things were nearly perfect. I was fortunate enough to come into a bit of money so that I could some things I've always wanted and a new car. I got engaged. I began planning the rest of my life with my girl. My fiance has made a dramatic recovery from the wreck. The doctor's said she's 3 months ahead of schedule. She's doing amazing, proving, once again, how awesome she is.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think if there were a theme to 2009, the theme would be change. So much has changed this year. My brother is in his senior year, I got engaged, we both got new cars, friends moved across the country, others drifted away, some drift back and forth. I got a bit of money to start planning a life with. I walk with a cane. My town has been rebuilding itself. Hundreds lost their homes, and yet, I've heard some say that the tornado saved a drowning town--now many of the companies that had no work have work to do again.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whether they're good or bad changes, they were changes nonetheless.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, goodbye 2009. I really won't miss you that much. You gave me some tough love, and I'm not sure I've forgiven you for everything you've done. But you brought me some really good things, too. I extend a firm, curt handshake to you. Welcome 2010. I hope you bring twice the fortune, with none of the tragedy.</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-33169171334419574002009-12-21T22:56:00.005-06:002009-12-21T23:30:30.560-06:00News, Good and Random<div>French the llama, is it only 4 (almost only 3) days until Christmas!!!??!!!??!?!?!</div><div><br /></div><div>(For an explanation about the "french the llama" thing, visit <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_hF4whnBt4">this video</a>. It's nothing bad, I promise.)</div><div><br /></div>Okay, so, some good news.<div><br /></div><div>Darling Dearest is doing great. She's gained significant movement back in her left side since last I saw her. She has a slight case of "word salad", which, in case you don't know, means that sometimes she gets the words she means confused with a different word. However, it's much better than it was when she first woke up.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the down side, she's very, very angry, but that's also understandable. She hates relying on other people, so I totally expected her to be pissed off at the nurses and such when she can't do what she wants.</div><div><br /></div><div>They're going to start physical therapy with her soon, and she'll probably really like that. She's been trying to crawl out of the bed for a while anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm doing good, myself. I've upgraded from crutches to a walker, and hopefully I'll be upgraded to a cane before I head back to college. It'll be hard to get to room on the second floor with a walker.</div><div><br /></div><div>My Christmas shopping is done, I believe. I just got the last thing today. It's a great present for my mom.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, I've been very interested at cryptograms. They're very interesting and fun...but I'm rubbish at them. So...hopefully I'll improve. Also, I'm trying my hand at crossword puzzles. I'm rubbish at those too.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've found myself not writing like I should be. I'll want to, I'll get on the computer...and then start surfing the net instead. I've been trying to make myself. Gotta get that discipline ready for next year.</div><div><br /></div><div>I participated in an amazingly awesome project a few days ago. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Green_(author)">John Green</a>, YA author of <i>Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, </i>and <i>Paper Towns</i>, is also known for his video-blog project <i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/vlogbrothers">The Vlogbrothers</a></i>, which he does with his environmentalist/musician brother <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Green">Hank Green</a>. They're both very funny, and both promote ideals that I hold very dear myself, including green technology, reducing your carbon footprint, and promoting to charities.</div><div><br /></div><div>Every year the brothers Green head up a project -- which they have dubbed the Project for Awesome. It's a great project where all of their viewers (dubbed "nerdfighters") get together to take over YouTube. You make a video promoting a charity that you really like. Then everyone spams the crap out of the comment sections, rates the videos, and favorites them, so that most popular, most discussed, and most viewed pages are all Project for Awesome videos. This is meant to raise awareness about charities to the average YouTube viewer, instead of them watching videos about water-skiing squirrels.</div><div><br /></div><div>I participated in it--a 48 hour event--and I am proud to say that not only were all but two of the videos on the most discussed page Project for Awesome videos, but on Twitter, Project for Awesome trended above everything, including the movie Avatar, which made it's debut during the project for Awesome. John Green's goal was to trump Avatar, because it cost $250,000,000 to make, and, as John said, the Project for Awesome is free.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, so that's what I did with my weekend. It was fantastic. I was very proud to do it. John also auctioned off a pair of what he called his "nerd glasses"--the proceeds went to charity. In addition he's donating $1000 to his favorite charity from the list.</div><div><br /></div><div>On a tiny sidenote, should you want to help with a charity, but have no money to do so, go to <a href="http://www.freerice.com/">freerice.com</a>. There's a vocab quiz there, and for every question you get right, they donate rice to starving nations. Totally free, and totally helpful in "decreasing world-suck," as the Brothers Green put it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, that's all I've got for right now. Tomorrow my brother will be putting up Christmas lights and our tree. I'll be there for moral support mostly. And then we're going to see Darling Dearest before coming back for Christmas Eve with mi familia. Then it's back up to the hospital the next day to spend Christmas with Darling Dearest--because we will have our first Christmas together, dammit!</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you and yours are having a very Merry Christmas, a very happy Hanuka, a very happy Kwanza, or whatever it is you celebrate. As long as you're a live and you've got people to celebrate with, then you've got the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>Happy Holidays all and Best Wishes!</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-34383456804440735852009-12-17T00:15:00.004-06:002009-12-17T01:17:44.897-06:00It Was a Very Black FridayWhat I'm about to tell is bad. Very bad. But I'm not telling you this for sympathy. Of course, prayers and well wishes and such are appreciated, and in one place encouraged, but I just wanted you to know that I'm not posting this to further my pity party, but because I respect everyone that reads this blog, and I can't just ignore what happened despite my not wanting to have to think about it. The truth is, I've been avoiding posting this because I'm so very tired of retelling what happened, but I think it will cathartic to admit what happened to not just you guys, but to myself. To fully realize what I did, what the consequences are, and what I can do to get through this.<div><br /></div><div>Let me take you back to Thanksgiving. Darling Dearest and I went to my family's annual Thanksgiving get-together, which is really more of a Christmas warm-up. Virtually the same food, but it's been a lot longer since we've seen each other all together. This is the one where all the latest news is revealed--big news doesn't really crop up much between November and December 25th.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, the evening didn't end well. We had plans on going out of town later in the evening to see one of our college friends and keep him company as he stood in line outside of Best Buy for a doorbuster. It was a computer, and he needed one--his crapped out--and we wanted to take advantage of the good deals anyway, so we decided we'd go. When the time came, the evening hadn't improved much, but we did the best we could to perk things up a bit, and then we left.</div><div><br /></div><div>The line standing was uneventful, really, except that it was long--horrendously long, and in the freezing cold. The doors finally opened, and we were among the first 50 to get in, which means we had access the best deals the earliest. We grabbed a lot of movies--admittedly, most were for ourselves, but I was also there to get some late (for me, anyway) Christmas shopping done. Then, we checked out. We went and got breakfast, and then, at like 7 AM, we went home.</div><div><br /></div><div>This next part is the part that's the hardest to write. Bear with me.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was fine for an hour. Not bothered at all. Then, I started getting sleepy. That was when I started falling back on the thing that usually keeps me awake -- singing. I sing loudly (and more than likely out of key) when I'm in the car alone. Darling Dearest is one of the few to hear me sing totally unbridled like that. She loves it, and I'm flattered, even if for the life of me I don't know why she loves it, but I digress. </div><div><br /></div><div>The second hour was much harder than the first, and even singing wasn't keeping me alert and awake. I started looking for a place to pull over. I wanted us to be save, and the towns between the city with the Best Buy and my hometown are very <i>Deliverance</i>-ish. So, I wanted to look for a place where we'd be out of the way, but safe from getting raped by hillbillies before we woke back up. This is the most horrific and ironic part -- I was looking for a safe place to pull over. Some place where we would be safe and I could catch a few Z's to recharge. I'm sure you know what happened next, but please, I'm trying not to jump the gun.</div><div><br /></div><div>The last thing I remember thinking was, "I need to find a place to pull over before I fall asleep. I don't want to crash." The next thing I new, I heard the sound of the rumble strip and the sound of my car in the grass. I couldn't get the car to get back onto the road--it wouldn't hop the curb-like edge of the highway. Finally, I cut the wheel, but when the other tire gripped the road, it sent the car flying across the road faster than I could correct--the road was only a two lane, it wasn't very wide. I slammed on the breaks to slow it down and give me time to correct it, but it wasn't enough, instead the wheels locked and I was sent into a fishtail. The last thing heard was Darling Dearest scream, "Baby!" An almost separate memory was of the impact. It was more of a single frame and a sensation of the world flinging onto it's side.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next thing I can remember, I was sitting in the passenger's seat. Darling Dearest was lying on the ground just outside of the door, which was open.</div><div><br /></div><div>I know what happened, thanks to police reports and what my family has told me. When my car started to fishtail, another car--an SUV--came flying over a tiny hill. They saw me, but when they tried to avoid me, they wound up turning into me instead. This next part may sound like me trying to shirk blame, but that is not it at all. It's merely a hypothesis and a guess for why things turned out like they did. They must have been going very fast--well above the speed limit--because when my car was hit it split into two halves, the front half looking fairly untouched, and the back half sent sprawling into a fence as a massive ball of twisted metal. The police report stated that my car split, but really it was more like my car was gutted from the back half. This image is sort of helped by the fact that everything from the door frame on teh passenger side back is gone, safe for the back door on the driver's side, and a tiny, thin strip of metal that used to be a part of the trunk. Apparently the front part of the car was sent airborne, because there were no tire track marks leading to where we stopped.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't know how I got in the passenger seat. I was wearing my seat belt. As a matter of fact, I clearly remember making Darling Dearest put her's on before we left.</div><div><br /></div><div>My mom says that I told her, when I was drugged up on pain killers and sedation medicine, that I saw Darling Dearest and I tried to get to her, but every time I would move my hip would hurt really bad. So apparently I crawled my way out of the driver's seat and over into the passenger's seat to get to my fiance before I passed out.</div><div><br /></div><div>First of all, the easiest to post, were the injuries in the SUV. They were fine. Although the police report says that someone was transported, being on the scene, and having talked to one of the first responders, I know that no one has. Everyone was fine, although out a car, now, but then again, so am I.</div><div><br /></div><div>I remember, at some point, talking to a man who I thought was a first responder, but who actually was a reporter for a local newspaper who drove up on the accident by chance, and who was sent over to make sure I was okay and to keep me calm and keep my mind off of my fiance. He said, "I know it'll sound stupid, but...how's your day going?" I believe my response was, "Pretty shitty."</div><div><br /></div><div>On a side note, I don't begrudge the man at all. As a matter of fact, I'm very very thankful to him. While he was there, he talked to me about Darling Dearest -- about how I proposed to her, what I wanted to do, what I actually did, and a ton of other memories. It was good, calming, and kept me from coming out of the shock and realizing what a horrible mess this actually was. I read his editorial later, where he kicked himself for not having anything better to say. He said he led with something stupid, and finished with something weak. "Well, I'll be praying for you guys, hard." In retrospect, he wanted to have said something better. Being a devout catholic, he wanted to have broken out the rosary beads, or said Psalm 23, or something. Instead, he kicked himself for "I'll be praying for you guys, hard." In my opinion, that was the exact, perfect thing to say. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's what I wanted. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's what I was doing. </div><div><br /></div><div>When I wasn't answering questions, every fiber of my being was going into praying for the survival of the person I care for more than anything else in all of existence. More than my own injuries, more than my own life, the thing I wanted most was for her to be okay. I remember telling her as the first responders worked on her, that had to fight. She had to get better and make it through this, because we had a wedding to plan, we had a life to start, so she had to get better for me.</div><div><br /></div><div>Out of the accident, my injuries were: a fractured pelvis...well, technically two fractures, but they're on the major and minor pubic bones. It won't require surgery to fix, just time to mend itself. I also had a minor contusion on my lung, which has since gone away, and a ruptured disc in my back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, the next part will sound bad, but what I'm telling you is good news. It shows significant progress, which is why I'm glad I waited to post this.</div><div><br /></div><div>Darling Dearest got: a broken leg, broken ribs, a punctured lung, trauma to the back of the head, a fractured pelvis, a broken clavicle, and a fractured neck. She also had internal bleeding. I was told later, much later, that they didn't expect her to live. She had to be air-evacuated with a chopper, and they didn't think she'd survive the helicopter ride. She did, but she was hooked up to a ventilator.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now the good parts: the internal bleeding was only from her spleen, which has been removed. No other bleeding. A rod has been surgically placed in her left leg, and they said they're not gonna even cast it, because the rod is holding everything fine. Her chest tube has been taken out, which means her lung has been fixed. Her neck fracture was, apparently, very minor, and with no spinal injuries at all. </div><div><br /></div><div>They kept her in a medically induced coma for a week, but now she's awake, her breathing is stable, and she's very lucid. The one downside is she has difficulty moving her left side--not just the broken leg, but her arm, which was not broken. She can move it a little, and she's gaining more movement everyday, but she's still going to need some rehab. She can't talk, but not because she's not actually able. They put a tracheal tube in because the breathing tube was causing her to gag. So, unfortunately, she can't talk. But she can write and do sign language (something I didn't even know she knew!) and that's enough for me, for now. I do, however, look forward to the day when they take the trache out so that she can start telling me everything that sucks. I don't care how much she complains, just to hear her voice will be such music that God and his choir of angels couldn't match it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I just wanted you to know that things have improved significantly. If you want to, I highly encourage prayers, good thoughts, good vibes, or whatever you happen to believe in and want to send our way--particularly her way. She needs it, because I want her well ASAP.</div><div><br /></div><div>Please don't pity me or her, as the news is very good and getting better everyday. Also, please, if you're outraged by this event, and think that I should be strung up for being a terrible and neglectful driver, please don't comment. Believe me when I tell you I'm well aware of my mistakes, and I would go back and fix them in a heartbeat. I would spin the car the other way and take the full brunt of the blow. I'm sure none of you would put anything like that, but I thought I'd get it out there just in case. Everyone I know has been sympathetic, save one waitress who asked me why I was on crutches, and then proceeded to politely and sadly drive what little self-respect I'd managed to gather back together into the ground.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I don't want this post to get pitiful, sappy, melodramatic, or anything like that. I've tried to keep to the facts, and I just wanted you to know. I know I'm not the most prolific of bloggers, but I thought I'd let you know, my presence on the blog might or might not be scarce. It could be that when I go back to college this semester, since Darling Dearest won't be able to be there, that I blog a lot with nothing to fill my spare time. Or it could be that I'll throw myself into school work or writing or something, or I may be busy with Darling Dearest, should they move her nearby or should I have the time to leave off to be with her during the week.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I've taken away from this is, no matter what happens, you have to take your time to understand and adjust to the situation--grieve, laugh, whatever you have to do--and when the moment passes and you have clarity, you have to set your shoulders and keep pushing through until you make it out the other side. There is an "other side," and Darling Dearest and I will make it, and we will be all the stronger and closer for having gone through this. Maybe, though, with your prayers, we can make it just a little faster, though.</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-8404703135288915752009-11-15T03:10:00.002-06:002009-11-15T03:12:51.561-06:00Some NewsFIRST: Up until this post, I had 222 posts, which I just thought was awesome.<div><br /></div><div>SECOND: I'm typing this post on my brand spanking new Sony Vaio laptop. I can feel the power radiating beneath the keys.</div><div><br /></div><div>THIRD, AND THE BIGGEST AND GREATEST NEWS EVER: I'm engaged! I asked Darling Dearest to marry me, and she said yes!</div><div><br /></div><div>The wedding won't be for a while, because I want to be graduated and have a job before we jump into marriage, but just the fact that we are now engaged is hugely amazingly awesome and I'm so super excited!!!</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-92129744332688387642009-11-07T00:31:00.002-06:002009-11-07T00:38:51.991-06:00Story UpdatesI didn't post it on here, but I sent in a short story to a fantasy/sci-fi magazine last month. Unfortunately, it was rejected. However, I'm not bummed. Not just because I'm keeping my chin up, I'm really really proud. Last time I mailed out any stories, on top of a lot of really, really dumb mistakes, they were all form rejections. This time, I received a more personal rejection. I'm not sure if it was just another form of form rejection or not, but it was addressed directly to me, and mentioned my story by name. Regardless, it was a different rejection than the one I received from the same magazine previously, possibly because it was from the Assistant editor? I'm not sure. I just know that any change is good, and I'm taking this as a plus. I'm gonna send it back out into the world come Monday and keep my fingers crossed.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-52798509187252094002009-11-03T11:04:00.003-06:002009-11-03T11:20:45.589-06:00Happy NaNoWriMo!Today is November 3rd, which means that NaNoWriMo has begun. Even such writers as John Green knows that it exists, and I really wish I could partake this year. Someday...ah...someday.<br /><br />Anyway, so I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween weekend. I sure did. I went to a masquerade ball a couple of days before -- with a mask I made myself. It looked pretty damn good, too, if I say so myself. The best thing about it -- and really the best thing about being in college surrounded by fellow nerds -- was all the Star Wars themed costumes. At one point a Sith Lord and Luke Skywalker got into an epic lightsaber battle before Luke had disarmed the Sith Lord of his two lightsabers and thrust his lightsaber into the Sith Lord's chest. Ah...nerd-dom!<br /><br />The only thing better than a Sci-Fi movie based costume is a literary nerd costume! Someone came dressed as the Ghost of Christmas Past!!! I wanted them to win the costume contest so bad, but the winner was someone who came dressed as an urban gangster...yawn.<br /><br />Back to the Star Wars stuff, though. At one point, Luke walked up to a girl dressed in white and asked, "Are you Leah?" She responded with, "No. Padme." He responded, "Sweet." The flirting was pretty obvious, and I almost shouted "Incest! Incest!" but I didn't want to be that guy.<br /><br />Halloween night I watched a couple of horror movies -- really good, cheesey ones, including <span style="font-style: italic;">Zombie Strippers </span>(yes, that is a real movie, no, it's not a porn, and no, you shouldn't watch it if you're easily disturbed. I thought it was funny as hell, though.), and <span style="font-style: italic;">Trick or <span style="font-style: italic;">Treat</span></span> (a movie featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons about the evil spirit of Rock, so you know it had to be freakin' funny) -- and played Apples to Apples with a couple of friends that came up from my hometown and Darling Dearest. She beat me...of course.<br /><br />Now we have three gigantic bowls of candy and only me and my Dearest to eat it all. I wanted to give a lot away, and she almost strangled me for suggesting it.<br /><br />So, it's after Halloween, and you know what that means...<br /><br />WE GET TO FORGET THAT THANKSGIVING EXISTS AND JUMP STRAIGHT TO CHRISTMAS!!!!!<br /><br />I may have already done most of my Christmas shopping... I love it that much. Darling Dearest will love her presents, and I really can't wait for all of my friends to get their gifts. I love giving gifts.<br /><br />I also may be hinting heavily for several books in the near future (including the most recent addition to the Hitchhiker's Guide series).<br /><br />Speaking of gifts, one of my good friends was nice enough to purchase the <span style="font-style: italic;">Rent</span> movie soundtrack, a rare find indeed. I have yet to find it in any music store. My friend heard me lamenting about my lack of funds, and soon he was insisting to buy it for me. I am now a very happy fellow.<br /><br />Sorry for the sporatic nature of this update. I've had many essays to write, many books to read, many poems to create, and not a lot of freetime. Hopefully things will slow down soon, although I doubt it. It's creeping up on the end of the semester, things will only get more hectic from here.<br /><br />Anyway, good luck to those who decided to participate in NaNoWriMo. I'll be rooting you on from the sidelines.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-45338822276416480912009-10-13T11:23:00.005-05:002009-10-13T13:14:02.728-05:00A Little News on Goings-On and Musings on Plans for the FutureSo, over the past few weeks, I've been procrastinating. I have (or rather, had) three essays to write (two now). One for Mythology, one for British Literature, and one for Women in Chinese History (due the day before yesterday). I did get the Chinese one in, but I have yet to start on the other two. This procrastination can be blamed on two things (besides laziness, which should be obvious).<br /><br />Number the first: I have had an absurd amount of drama at my dorm. My girlfriend and I ran an amazing campaign for such short notice -- we were only told two days before the election that the election was coming up. Usually, we have two or three weeks, this time, we had only just signed up to run when it was already time for the election.<br /><br />After some amazing campaign posters done by yours truly, and some good promises, which we intended to keep, we sat back and waited. I got the position I wanted -- Vice President. However, my girlfriend did not win President. Then, we discovered a series of fishy circumstances where ballot boxes may have been stuffed and the Resident Director may have rigged the results to put one of his friends in office instead. Regardless, we decided to stick it out. Until we saw the rest of the results of the election...or rather..the consequences.<br /><br />The entire government was outrageously one-sided, with virtually every position filled by one of my Resident Director's friends. No matter what any of my fellow government members decided to do, it was vetoed instantly if my RD didn't like it. Beyond that, he began lying to us, making threats if we didn't do what he wanted, <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> doing things that were way beyond what power his position as RD is capable of.<br /><br />I have taken steps to report him to the people in charge of all of the dorms, and I would like to start an anonymous letter writing campaign of complaints, but as of yesterday, I have also resigned my position. I refused to be berated by someone who was my equal in power <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> an underclassman and had no idea how the dorm community worked.<br /><br />Number the Second: I might have stumbled upon one of the greatest things in the history of my entire life. A video blog on YouTube known as Brotherhood 2.0. They're known as the Vlogbrothers now, and they're fans are...Nerd Fighters. How cool is that?<br /><br />I decided, one day, to start watching from the beginning up to now. I'm only about a quarter of the way through, I've already experienced so much with them -- new jobs, new books being published, having to move, the drama of your house almost being sold out from under you, and through it all, they greet these challenges with a great sense of humor.<br /><br />Beyond that, though, they do more. They realized, after a few posts, how popular they were becoming, and not only set up a "scholarship to decrease world suck" which went to help one of their friends' family who died of cancer, but they also began donating money to help people in poverty stricken nations start up small businesses. They share many of the same causes I do, but they also differ from eachother enough to have actual, and interesting, discussions.<br /><br />The thing that has me hooked the most? One of them is a literary aclaimed YA author. John Green, author of <span style="font-style: italic;">Paper Towns</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">An Abundance of Catherines</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Looking for Alaska</span>.<br /><br />The other, his brother, Hank Green, is a computer programmer, and a writer for magazines like <span style="font-style: italic;">Mental Floss</span>.<br /><br />It's so amazing, because to see they interact with the world, their jobs, their wives, life...it makes me think about how I'm going to be when I'm they're age.<br /><br />I will turn 21 in April, and then I really will be a man. I will have earned every right that you can earn in this country with the exception of lower car insurance, which won't kick in until I turn 25. Anyway, I digress. I'm in my Junior year of college. I've taken the Praxis I already. I aced it. I'm that much closer to becoming a teacher. I'll be graduating in a couple of years, and it scared the bejeezers out of me.<br /><br />I haven't told my mother this yet, because we're a very, very close family, but I'm thinking about moving out this summer as well. I've been looking at apartments. I've been calculating my budget, based on what I'll earn over the summer, my refund check when I return that fall for school, and other things. I've also been looking at where I want to settle down and spend my life. I would like to move to Chicago and experience the Big City Life for a couple of years. I'd like to get an apartment and a teaching job and just teach for a couple of years, and then move to a 'burb somewhere and get started on the rest of my life. I want to go to England sometime before I settle down so I can say I've been to Europe at least once, and I'd like to get married somewhere in there too.<br /><br />It's very interesting, but I feel like I'm staring at my own mortality. Planning out these steps for what will begin the real beginning of my life -- and not the safe "Real Life" that college creates, but the real Real Life that comes when you've achieved your goal of having a career and now you're stuck with it for the rest of your life.<br /><br />I think part of the reason this has been on my mind is because those guys, specifically John Green, are how I want to be when I "grow up." He's a full time writer, he's married, he has a few odd hobbies that keeps him busy, and he's also very worldly, intelligent, well-read, etc. His life is pretty much the goals I've been setting for myself since I was in high school. And seeing someone living the dream -- <span style="font-style: italic;">my</span> dream -- has sort of re-focused me on my dream.<br /><br />Yesterday, I was looking up cities I might want to think about moving to either after I leave Chicago or if Chicago doesn't work out. I found it. It's amazing. It's everything I want in my future town -- MUCH bigger than my home town, and actually even bigger than my college town. It's cold, it'll get lots of snow, it's not too big, either. It'll be a good break from the city life. It's also really close to some cities that will keep me entertained on the weekends. It's basically my dream place. <br /><br />And between shopping for apartments for the near future and looking at houses for the somewhat more distant future, I've been so excited I can't sit still. I've also been so scared I've had a hard time going to sleep. It's what I want to do with my life, and really look forward to it, but leaving my family and striking out on my own is...mind-boggling, terrifying, and foreign.<br /><br />Anyway, enough rambling. I just had stuff I needed to muse on for a bit.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-43176925371682376072009-09-25T20:03:00.003-05:002009-09-25T20:16:44.939-05:00College Update: What happened to my life?Let me lay out what I've been up to:<br /><br />Chinese History Reading<br />Girlfriend Time<br />Brit Lit Reading<br />Poetry Writing<br />Girlfriend Time<br />Mythology Reading<br />Girlfriend Time.<br /><br />You can see where my priorities lie, right? Heh heh. I've blown a lot of money so far -- way more than I intended. I'm a little worried, but most of the money was necessary stuff -- like clothes, since a lot of mine have destroyed themselves.<br /><br />But, Hastings was having a sale recently, and I love books, so I checked in. My newest purchases make me really happy:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Odd Thomas</span> in hardcover.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Forever Odd</span> in hardcover.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</span> in hardcover<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span></span>Stephen King's <span style="font-style: italic;">Bag of Bones</span> in hardcover.<br />Thomas Harris'<span style="font-style: italic;"> Red Dragon</span> in hardcover.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Einstein</span> in hardcover.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Tale of Despereaux</span> in hardcover.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Schindler's List</span> in paperback.<br />And the screenplay for <span style="font-style: italic;">Sleepy Hollow</span> (that one was for my girlfriend).<br /><br />Also, from one of our good friends, my girlfriend got Russell Brand's <span style="font-style: italic;">Booky Wook</span> for her birthday. So I'll borrowing that as soon as she's done.<br /><br />The one I'm most excited to read out of all of these...besides the <span style="font-style: italic;">Booky Wook</span>? <span style="font-style: italic;">Einstein</span>. He's such a fascinating character. But first, Chinese history, Brit Lit, and Mythology await!Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-59580752760922611622009-08-09T21:25:00.002-05:002009-08-09T21:35:24.825-05:00College is comingThis next week is going to be pretty busy. I've got to start getting things together, packing things up, and just generally mentally preparing for my triumphant return to college. My girlfriend moves up a couple of days before I do, and I'm helping her move up. I also have to take a very important test for my teaching degree this week. And my last hoorah with my friends and fam before I go back. So much to do...so little time.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-47626950178644178062009-07-26T16:34:00.004-05:002009-07-26T16:42:28.379-05:00A Quick Sunday UpdateFriday night I got around 2500 words, and last night I got 2217 words. The story has really come easily. I'm enjoying the quickness with which it's flowing. And the story is so unique and bizarre that it's keeping me wondering what's gonna happen next, even though I've already plotted it out.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bookcloseouts.com/images/large/isbn978076/9780765309945-l.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 107px; height: 164px;" src="http://www.bookcloseouts.com/images/large/isbn978076/9780765309945-l.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Anyway, besides that, I finished <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765348748/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=304485901&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0765309947&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1HZVH0MRXY0Y6ZWBQESA"><span style="font-style: italic;">Hawkspar</span></a> by <a href="http://hollylisle.com/writingdiary2/">Holly Lisle</a> a couple of days ago. Fantastic book. I couldn't put it down until I was done. It's the sequel to <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076534873X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=304485901&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0765309947&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1HZVH0MRXY0Y6ZWBQESA">Talyn</a>, which made quite a splash when it came out. If anyone hasn't read it, I recommend going out and getting a copy right now. You'll be glad you did.<br /><br />That's really all for, just wanted to pop in and update quickly. Hope everyone's been having a great weekend.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394596447046075864.post-85281656066132843542009-07-23T23:25:00.004-05:002009-07-23T23:50:28.402-05:00First ImpressionsThis isn't a blog post about first impressions in the business world -- although it would be a great subject: comparing first impressions in other areas to your writing. Not to self: get on that one.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://roddysrockinreviews.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/2008-11-14-harry_potter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 342px;" src="http://roddysrockinreviews.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/2008-11-14-harry_potter.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Anyway, this is just my first impressions on a few things. First of all, I got to see the new Harry Potter movie over the weekend. It was absolutely phenomenal. In my opinion, it was the best one out of all of them -- leaps and bounds better than the last one. You can tell that the original writer is back after letting someone else take over for the 5th one. The diaglogue, pacing, action, all great.<br /><br />I have two complaints off the top of my head. The final scene should have had Ginny in it. I understand that the scene was showing how the trio started together and would finish together -- sort of a symbolic scene summarizing their friendship -- but Ginny was built up so much in the movie, I felt she became sort of forgotten in favor of action scenes at the end.<br /><br />And, there was one moment where the cutting from one shot to the other was a little abrupt and awkward. But other than that? Amazing. Absolutely breath taking.<br /><br />And the man who did the score did a pretty good job. There were moments where I just noticed how fantastic the score really was.<br /><br />The movie did a great job of getting me excited for Deathly Hallows part 1 and 2. Especially since Steve Kloves is writing this one, too, and John Williams is returning to compose the score for this one -- he was the man who composed the score for the first three movies. And David Yates really proved his chops with this one, so I can't wait to see how he pulls off the final 2 movies.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://zentu.net/imgs/products/yWriter.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 83px;" src="http://zentu.net/imgs/products/yWriter.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>Anyway, and also, I've been trying out a program that I found and was very interested in a while back, but felt it was too big for me. It's called yWriter, and it's the free, PC answer to Holly Lisle's Scrivener. Everything that Holly says Scrivener does, as far as I can tell, yWriter does as well, and since I don't have a Mac, this is an answer to my prayers. Version 5 is actually the newest version out, but for some reason a run through Google only brought me the logo for the 4th version, but you get the gist.<br /><br />I was hesitant about downloading it, not because it seemed like a bad software, but because it seemed way too much for what I've been focusing on. I've been trying to write short stories lately to practice my craft and my ability to tell a story before I work on writing a novel and this software just seemed like way too much. Great for novels -- long sprawling things that they are -- but just too much for a tiny, little short story.<br /><br />I was wrong. This thing is great. In about 30 minutes I had worked out not only my main characters, I have my plot lined out, and it even has an area that keeps track of your writing goals. Input a start date and a finish date and the number of words you want in your story and it calculates how many you need per day to meet your goal.<br /><br />Pretty user-friendly once you poke around a bit. It can be very simple -- offering just a bare-bones notes area -- or it can be amazingly complex in helping you remember subplots, side characters, locations, dates, items that you introduced that don't need to be forgotten. It'll even help you remember that a character that died in chapter 17 showed back up across the country in chapter 22.<br /><br />All in all, I'm very impressed with this handy little piece of software, and look forward to using in all of my future projects. It may give me the kick in my pants I need to get writing sometimes.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17390976365608913886noreply@blogger.com2