Last Friday Night

Last Friday Night

I ended up working almost until closing, so I didn't get home until it was after midnight. Then I ate, watched some television, and passed out only to come to sometime in the mid morning on Saturday to realize that I had work again.

I realize that I am very much the wimp. Anything dubbed "work" that does not involve me and Mendel or Charlie for hours tires me so easily that it becomes unimaginable in my mind. So, thank you to those workers who go through the daily grind, because when this seasonal stint ends I'm not sure if I can go back even if I'm asked.

Also, I am sure that I haven't mentioned either Charlie or Mendel on here before. Charlie is my guitar, Mendel is one of my laptops [Kelly is the older, nearly dead, one], and in case you're into very lame science jokes, Gregor [my phone] is the counterpart to Mendel. For me, naming things helps me remember where they are and with the exception of Kelly they are always named after a scientist, discoverer, philosopher (ask me about my flash drives), or some character/writer.

So, speaking of unpaid work that involves Mendel, I've started writing something new, if only to distract myself so I don't over edit the other projects that are finished for now. So for now that shall become my main focus. Well, not right now, because right now the hunger is really getting to me and I must eat. But after that and some sleep it shall become my main focus.

Also, first day of winter is tomorrow. Oh autumn, I barely knew ye! And then there's Christmas. And then New Year's Eve and Day. Goodness. Well, Happy Holidays. I'll be back with regular posts and essays mid January.

Waiting

Oh New York, you disappoint me so.

In other news...Well, this isn't actually news so much as me talking about waiting as I said I would in Tuesday's post.

Now, I know a fair bit about the publishing business, but all in the theoretical sense. I'm unpublished as far as fiction is concerned. Once a poem of mine was submitted to be included in a student anthology in high school, but the teacher had missed the deadline. Aside from that, every work of mine that has ever reached the eyes of others has been either in newsprint or on the internet, the former being the more legitimate of the two.

I've been in the newspaper a number of times, always in the Local section of course. There was one time just over a year ago that a short column of mine was published in a county wide newspaper. Mainly though it was through the school paper that I got any real writing discipline.

Journalism II was fast paced and there was always a sense of urgency whenever the deadline was looming. I know how to plan ahead to meet any deadline now so I'm not scrambling at the last moment, and I basically learned all of that from Journalism II. Sure, I would set deadlines for myself before, but when I didn't meet them there were no consequences. If I didn't meet my deadline there then my story didn't run and I probably wouldn't be able to write another assignment similar as I would have labeled myself as unreliable.

True, sometimes the paper itself didn't meet it's deadline, but I did my best to make sure that I was never a contributor to that.

There was however a certain time that it wasn't so fast paced and all hustle and bustle. That time was known as the time in between issues. It could be viewed as both the best and the worst time. It was the best because you got to catch up and relax. The tension wasn't on. It was that much needed breath before another plunge into that ocean known as Deadline. It was the worst because after a while it got boring. Waiting became the enemy. All you wanted to do is just write something for the new issue. When that break became a painfully stagnant period no amount of gossip or casual conversation could take my mind off of what was next.

Not knowing the exact when of things drives me nuts.

So, naturally, I want to get involved in publishing.

Publishing is full of waiting. So far I'm on the unpublished side, as previously stated. I'm also on the unagented side, which is a little bit worse, but either way, it happens. I know you're supposed to query agents and then wait for their replies. And then if one offers representation you're supposed to wait and think it over, so as not to make any rash decisions. Once you accept an offer you're supposed to wait until they find an editor for it and then you have to wait because you're doing more revisions. Once it's the best it can be you have to wait to have it sold. Once that happens you have to wait for it to be actually published. Of course other non waiting things like publicity and marketing happen in there, but waiting is a major factor.

So far I've waited a lot. Not nearly as much as some, but still a significant amount of time. Waiting blows. I have my query up to the standards that I think is accurately representative of my writing capabilities and the story's plot. I have the story in as close a place to the final incarnation as I could get to on my own. Now it's the holidays almost, which is the quite possibly the worst time to query. So, I'm waiting until half way into the first month of the New Year until I send it out.

For now I am content to say that the book is finished. I just have to wait to do anything with it.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Weblog

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Weblog

Long story short: too much work, not enough sleep, and a fender bender as a result of the other driver.

I have to work tomorrow too, almost right after school.

Anyway, it is raining now and it is supposed to keep on for the next few days. The good news is that I get to wear my wet weather gear.

The only bad news I can see is that I didn't have time to read all of my library books and they go back tomorrow. I've already renewed them, and since they're from the school I can't keep them over break. Also, since I'm wide awake now and still have some things to take care of I probably will be running strictly on caffeine and that wonderful beast known as car sleep.

Another thing, I kind of forgot that it was the holiday season and December first, meaning Unofficial NaNoQuery Day. I almost lost my mind and sent out the query for my non NaNo manuscript. I've finished all the revisions on it that I've wanted to and it's to the point that I can't do anything else to it without input from an outside source. I haven't found a critique group and everyone I've asked to look at it has agreed to, but hasn't looked at it. It's annoying. I'm kind of leary of posting any of it online for online critique groups, and that won't change. So that only leaves me with that one step. And I need to wait to send it out until at least the new year.

I hate waiting, but I'll write more on that on Thursday.

Good News//Bad News

Good News//Bad News

The good news is that I'm back to editing the manuscript that I'm going to start querying. Also, I'm almost done with that editing with roughly 3-7 more scenes to add and a "final" read through. Final is in quotes because if it still doesn't read up to my standards after adding those scenes or it's still too short in my opinion, then it will just be a read that leads to more edits, but I have a feeling that it won't.

The main problem that I can see is that I keep on switching between present and past tense, which may not be that noticeable to some and is something I don't notice when I'm doing it, but it's something that I'd like to work on either way.

Okay. In more good news, I finished NaNoWriMo! I finished my NaNoNovel with roughly 54k words and a few days ahead of the deadline. Still, there is even more good news. I only work two days a week next week, one of them being on the days that I go to school. Ergo, I've only three days where I actually have to do something next week, so me and my very super best friend Sleep and I can spend some quality time together.

So, now it's time for the bad news. When I said that I finished my NaNoNovel it was kind of a lie. Kind of because I finished the NaNoWriMo requirements of it being a novel and at least 50,000 words, but it's still not done. Actually, I'm not even halfway through.

See, the funny thing is that when I got one fourth of the way through the storyline I pretty much went, "Oh snap, this doesn't work." Not, "this doesn't work" in the way that the story itself doesn't, but in the way that the story didn't start where I started writing, but before.

That is not the end of the bad news though. It gets better. I've got a project for school that I have to do tomorrow because it's due on Monday.Yes, it's my fault for not doing it before, but in my defense I feel that the project is boring and the class is useless. Also, because of work I'm going to miss A Prairie Home Companion on NPR.

However, I've saved the worst news for last. Ready? Okay, take a deep breath.

...

I'm going to miss Glee.

I know, I nearly cried when I realized this too. It's okay though, because they show them online too, but it won't be the same. There are only two new episodes left of this season. Tension is rising. The only other chance I'll get to see it on television in the near future is if I get season one on DVD this December.

Oh well. I'll end this with more good bits of news I suppose. I won't be missing any of my other television programming for one. For another, I bought two new hats this past Black Friday (for myself) along with a cool looking V-neck t-shirt. I also bought a scarf I've had my eye on for maybe two months today.

That Thursday In November

That Thursday In November

Two in the morning is closing in on me which means a couple of things. It means that I'm re-watching all of the vlogbrothers videos on YouTube while playing FFXII and debating whether it is too early in the morning to start straightening my god awful hair [debate outcome: it isn't].

Save for one of my siblings, the family has yet to arrive, which is wonderful seeing as they're only coming for the dinner. Yes, it is that certain Thursday in November. Thanksgiving. I will end up sitting at a table and trying to come up with things that I am thankful for in front of people who I am closely related to and are also starving.

All of it is very nice and well and good, and I love Macy's Day Parade, but it's possibly my least favorite holiday.

That and NaNoWriMo and I are not the best of friends right now, and football and tofurkey really don't do anything but hinder my word count.

Dick Clark?

Dick Clark?

So, because it's Monday, and my day isn't the best, I might as well show my ignorance of things outside of my bubble. For future reference, things inside my bubble include and are generally limited to the following: House M.D., The Big Bang Theory, Glee, John Green, Hank Green, dead authors, dead artists, fashion, and music (JUST the music, not the history beyond it, not all the lyrics, not even who it's by half the time).

So. Last night the AMAs happened apparently. And there was some controversy over Adam Lambert's performance being censored on the west coast. I only found out because he was a trending topic on twitter and I wondered why.

When I hear someone say AMA I think American Medical Association, not Music Awards. And so, I looked it up, and apparently it was created by Dick Clark some time ago. And it's been going on for a while. I did not know about this and I watch ABC kind of regularly. Did they advertise for this?

It's kind of a terrible feeling to wake up, go on your computer, and wonder why people are talking about Adam Lambert and the American Medical Association.

Oh well. I'm going to chalk up my not knowing the dual meaning of the acronym AMA to the fact that me and live television don't mix. I mean, heck, I didn't even know about the Oscars until I was in maybe seventh or eighth grade. Kind of sad, seeing as I knew that whole Sally Fields, "You like me, you really, really like me!" when I was about three. There will probably be some other crazy live award show that happens that I don't know about until after the fact. I'll give it a few months.

Last Friday Night

Last Friday Night

I went to work for the first time. Then, when I got home I pretty much passed out, woke up and realized that I had homework, and passed out again.

I woke up another hour or so later, forgot about my homework, and started playing video games, which is when I started drifting in and out of consciousness. This was around the time that Bravo was showing Inside the Actor's Studio.

So, naturally, I looked up that little questionnaire that James Lipton asks everyone and the original one, and I decided to answer them. So, since I have work again tomorrow and homework to finish tonight, I figured that I would fritter away this little window of free time answering questions that many a professional actor has answered along with questions that Marcel Proust himself answered.

First, the Inside the Actor's Studio Questions

What is your favorite word? It's a tie between ampersand and haberdashery.
What is your least favorite word? Moist.
What turns you on? Depends.
What turns you off? Ugliness, mainly non-physical.
What sound or noise do you love? A sitar playing.
What sound or noise do you hate? Silence.
What is your favorite curse word? Golly gee, they're all so good.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Professional lecturer.
What profession would you not like to do? Manicurist.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Sorry.

And I'll take on the others later.

Too Much Hype?

Too Much Hype?

The wonderful thing about Glee is that Glee is a wonderful thing...

And that's where I stop plagiarizing A. A. Milne.

But seriously, I really do like the show.

My Very Best Friend and I had one of our characteristically long, long talks and it came across that he doesn't like Glee. Well, he doesn't watch Glee. Mainly because of the hype.

This I can understand, because when you don't watch something, having everyone around you never shut up about it is annoying. There is such a thing as too much hype in my opinion. I think he would absolutely love Glee [or at least like it], but having everyone talk about it all the time is very off putting. This is for anything, like music, television, music television, and even books.

See, I like discussing things that I like with other people, but the majority of things it seems that you can't really discuss them so much as freak out about how awesome they are. Besides, even if you do pinpoint what makes them so awesome, discussing how awesome they are isn't going to make them anymore awesome [but could possibly make them less awesome to other people who don't care who awesome they are in the first place].

The upside of hype is that people who want to get your references to whatever you think is so awesome will get into it. The down side is that it will drive away those who are really tired of hearing that high pitched squeal a lot of people seem to emit to express how super they think something is.

Think of it this way: you hear you favorite comedian tell the funniest joke in the world, no lie. But your friend wasn't there to hear it. Oh no! So you tell them it, but you're laughing during half of it and you get the set up punchline wrong twice that by the time you finish it properly you are laughing to the point of tears and everyone thinks you're insane.

And your friend? Well, they're sitting there, not amused at all, and not just because you screwed up the joke, because even if you told it correctly it would have only been a pale comparison to the original. That special thing is missing. I'm willing to bet that special thing is voice.

I think voice is the thing that makes a book ask, "How awesome am I?" and the fans of it go, "OHMIGAWD you are *so* awesome!" Even if the book has no literary merit. Even if it's full of plot holes. Even if there is some massive duex es machina at the end. None of that matters if pacing and voice is right because while voice makes you read pacing keeps you reading. They're two halves of a whole.

Too much hype ends up drawing certain people and repelling others, but either way typically speaking hype dies down. Sure, people still like it, but not as many people are freaking out about it. Plus, there is an upside to the hype dying down, and that is having all the people who were repelled by all the hype in the first place get into the show/book/song/whatever and really enjoy it.

Journal Writing

Journal Writing

For one of my classes we have to keep a journal, writing at least four entries a week. The entries can be about anything really and the teacher doesn't read them, just makes sure that they are done every week. The entries can also be any length whatsoever.

Not gonna lie, sometimes in my entries I only write one sentence. However, on other entries I end up filling up pages of my notebook. Most of my class isn't too keen on the assignment though, and they end up only writing one sentence per entry. What is it that makes journal writing so appealing to some and so repulsive to others?

My classmates that aren't too fond of the assignment all say the same thing: Well, I don't do anything. The thing is, neither do I. Our days are largely identical, so what's the difference between us?

Over the years I have managed to amass a vast collection of spiral notebooks, composition notebooks, loose leaf papers, and various websites where I have cataloged years of my life. Why? They are for the most part very boring even for me to read. When I die they will probably be recycled. Plus, my time writing them could be spent writing stories or spent with my family or my friends. So why do it?

Initially, I could only really think of two reasons, the first of which mainly just applies to me. 1) the people I prefer to spend time with don't live very close and 2) it's so much easier than paying a therapist.

However, I did come up with a new theory consisting of two parts. The first part is how people who enjoy and avidly write journal entries are most likely introverted [in my opinion, I have no science to back this up]. The second part is that these introverted journal writers probably think better once their thoughts are outside of their head, and since talking to yourself has that whole, "You're crazy," stigma, journal writing is not only the next best thing, but an accepted form of talking to yourself [or an inanimate object for those of us who start entries with, "Dear Journal"].

Now, I'm not saying that people who write are introverts, just that those who write journals are. But hey, I could be wrong, and in that case, it's just a theory.

Last Friday Night

Last Friday Night

I went to part of a poetry slam and did absolutely no writing whatsoever. Well, that isn't entirely true. I didn't do any writing in relation to NaNoWriMo, but I did do some writing. Mainly journaling and a fictionalized account involving nonfictional persons.

More writing is to be done later on today. I've a paper to write involving an unfortunate physical ailment. After I do that I'll probably give the computer a rest...Well, writing wise. I'll probably still end up watching YouTube videos and listening to music afterward. Hmm, maybe I should look into playing video games.

Anyway, all of that aside, I am told that Thanksgiving is coming up. The Food Network is all a buzz with histories and specials. I'm particularly fond of Thanksgiving Unwrapped. I love watching that sort of thing, even though I don't eat meat or dairy products. Thanksgiving is...unique at my house, to say the least.

Here's to another great week.

Day 13 of NaNoWriMo

Day 13 of NaNoWriMo

So it is day thirteen of NaNo and I have pretty much petered out at 30,000 words. This will not become much of a problem until about, say, the seventeenth or eighteenth, but I just cannot foresee myself getting any writing done for that in the next twenty-four hours, so another wordless day shall pass.

I knew there was a reason I was getting so much of it done so fast.

As far as other projects are concerned, I've been contemplating deleting an account I have on one certain writing site, and I've been deleting various flash fiction and short stories I have floating around on the interwebs. I've been thinking about reworking those as well, but I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with them afterward.

In regards to another project, I'm basically done with it. I'm just giving it the final once over before I end up doing anything with it. I know I've got the deep down crazies to start querying now, seeing as Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays are coming up, and I'm trying to stop myself from pushing that send button everyday.

Frustration, it's what's for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner.

(And um, beef council or whoever used to run those ads, please don't sue. I don't even eat beef anyway.)

November

November

The eleventh month means NaNoWriMo of course. And this year's NaNo has left this WriMo 9,080 words ahead of the daily goal and with a mild case of unofficially diagnosed case of CTS. And the weekend is nigh upon us, meaning more typing. Ah well. I'll manage.

I've a mid term coming up soon though...Hmm. How does one balance studies (which will eventually lead to a steady job and steady income) with one's passion (which could eventually lead to being published)? Tis the oldest question in history. Well, not the oldest, but old enough.

TLC is very distracting though. King of the Crown and Flowers Uncut, I'm talking to you.

An Open Letter

An Open Letter

Dear Mark Brunetz,

I love you. You're pretty great. If my house was very messy and in the L.A. area, I would want you to decorate it.

That is all.

xxoo

-Frank

Speech Impediments

Speech Impediments

I read actual newspapers. I know I can get news online faster and all that, but I like the physicality of them and pay more attention to print. If it was up to me, the newspapers would never go out of business [which I don't think they will anyway because much I like to think of papers like phones. Mobile phones were thought to entirely replace land lines, but there are people who have and use both, and even those who just have land lines. I think this example is relevant to newspapers and even ebooks].

I digress.

This wasn't supposed to be about my love of all things physically readable. This was supposed to be about one of the things I read there. It was an opinion piece, one of those write ins I think. Anyway. Point, I have one.

This person was writing about the founder/president/whatever of BET making fun of some political official/person for stuttering. The BET person was trying to say that it was a sign of ineffectual communication on the politician's part, but instead of saying that he mocked the fact tat they stuttered.

Now, excuse the language, but I have to agree with the writer that that person is a complete and total ignorant bitch. They're mean and really stupid, because everyone knows that if you want to make fun of a politician for not be a good communicator you don't even have to go after their personal flaws/weaknesses. Honestly. Besides, it's not like most of them write their own speeches, so you could go off of that.

My problem with the write in was how the writer compared speech impediments to disabilities such as paralysis and blindness. Now, while in some cases it can be severe a lot of the times it's not and can be cured through various processes or at the very least manageable. I still think that founder person was terribly wrong, but I think that the writer exaggerated to get a point across.

I mean, they said that Porky Pig wasn't funny because he made fun of people who stammer.

Really?

Come on. I'm tired of everything that is perfectly fine being called some kind of prejudice and for every little thing being turned into a disability. I've a stammer and I've a lisp as well. Neither of them is as prominent as they used to be, and most of my friends don't even notice (unless I get really excited and try to talk about something so much faster than I usually talk).

So...yeah, I said I had a point.

Bottom Line: people need to think about what they say before they say it, stop being unnecessarily mean, stop turning every little thing into a disability, and realize that Porky Pig is funny, even if he does make fun of people who stammer--which I don't think he does (I think it's just a character trait).

Poker Night

Poker Night

Last night was poker night. There were usually more people there, so I was told, but that night I was one of the five, host included. I don't know how to play poker, and after last night I still don't. I tried to learn, but much like football, tennis, and rummy, I could not figure it out. I was vaguely disappointed.

However, on the up and up, my voice may be going in and out of service, but my sickness is dissipating. I went to the store and bought lemon cough drops, Perrier, ginger ale, and Puff's facial tissues with Vick's and lotion. I still feel really hot thought. Then there's every time that I have to sneeze and that is just beyond gross.

Naturally, the thing that usually happens when I'm sick has happened: my room is a hellhole of sloppiness and confusion. I nearly collapsed into my bed last night after being regaled of tales of horror and college roommates. In the back of my mind, before I closed my eyes, I cringed for how out of order everything was.

I think I may go back to sleep until I feel better.

Last Friday Night

Last Friday Night

The neighbors on the street over do not understand the concept of noise violations, this time it being in the form of overly loud music past 10pm. And maybe it's just because I hate loud noises, but they're obnoxious like this all too frequently. Honestly though, I think after one infraction you should get the message.

On a different note, I went to the Poetry Slam last night. It was okay. I had to judge just like I had to do the last time, and of course I got booed whenever I gave my 7.5s and then later on when I gave my 8.8s and 9.3s. I was like that judge at the Olympics that never rates anyone a ten. Personally, though, I have a really big problem with these types of things, and none of it has to do with my dislike for poetry.

My problem is that before last night I've only been to one slam, and this time it was about half of the same people, and those people presented the same poems. And I have a problem with rating poems I've already heard before because the first time I heard them they were clever and epic and fresh, not just the poems, but the people. All of that gets negated when I hear the same things again. And then the other thing I kind of have a problem with is how many people use excessive profanity to "make a point" and I feel that it gets lost because of that.

I don't know. I guess I'm just kind of picky. And bitter. I went there with a couple of my friends, one in particular that I hadn't really been out with for about a month. And she mainly talked with her boyfriend. And my other friend brought another couple with him and spent his time talking to them, and then there was a new guy who I would have talked to if I hadn't been so horribly awkward, which I always am when it comes to new people. Plus, all my attempts to start a conversation ended approximately 4.3 seconds after they started.

Tonight was the dance party, which I didn't go to. It was good because I didn't have a ride, wouldn't have wanted to talk to or see the people I might have known that were said to be there, and my voice crapped out on me for most of the day. I really didn't even feel like going to CVS to get cough drops and Chloraseptic, but I did do that. Tomorrow I should be out with friends again, including the one from the slam and another one. Both should be sans their other halves. I don't know what we're going to do, but the weather should be nice.