As Karen said in her comment earlier, another week slips away. This week has been one of those crazy ones, and I did the bare minimal I had to in order to keep things going. My two other blogs need updates almost daily. Although my review site is slowing down some because the television season is almost done for the year, I still have things to do. I'll pick a few of the summer shows to review, but it won't be nearly as busy as it is for me during the year.
The temperatures here in Arizona zoomed up to past 90 and nearing 100 this week. This usually doesn't bother me at all, but when you live in a building that controls when you're air conditioning and heat go on, then you have a problem. When I called back on Monday, they told me it wouldn't turn on until this coming Monday.
As soon as I heard that, I knew this week would be one to just get through. It's hard to do much of anything when you're hot. You can't think much. It is hard to sleep. It's hard to concentrate. It was pretty unbearable for the most of the week. I told myself once things cooled off, and I was able to do things without complaining about how hot I was every ten minutes, I'd start to get more things done.
I half a list of things I want to get back to regularly. I want to get back to blogging here more. Perhaps not everyday but a few times a week at least. I actually have had ideas for blog entries, or things I wanted to say in here, but my mind just hasn't been clicking all that well lately. I also want to get my current work in progress out the door to some places and submitted. I wanted to do that this week, but I wanted to give it another read through for edits before I sent it off.
I also have an idea for Phaze's latest contest. It is a departure from gay erotic romance I'm currently writing. It is back to the good old male and female meet and fall in love, having some hot sex along the way. I haven't done well in writing those type stories in awhile, and I might end up switching my head to a male/male if I can't manage it, but I'm up for at least trying to see how it goes.
I thought of the idea for it this week. I had a manuscript that I started and went nowhere that I might try pulling out and re-working it. If not, I can start from page one with my characters because they story's plot fits the Latin angle Phaze wants this time around. So in a way, I did get some done this week. I just need to focus now.
The good news is the air conditioning was switched on early. It came on Friday, which was a welcome Easter surprise. It is supposed to be hitting the 90's again this week, so it is definitely nice to have our air working. I knew this weekend would be a bust because of the holiday. I had family come in yesterday to spend the weekend with us. We actually celebrated Easter last night with dinner. So I'm not sure what we're doing today. We have a lot of leftovers!
I feel bad this blog has slipped a little, but it is just hard to find the time to get everything in when I'm doing so many things. I'm going to work at getting better because I have the time to do it, and I have the ideas to write about it in here. It is just a matter of doing it.
To everyone that comes across this blog, I want to wish all those that celebrate a Happy Easter. I hope you have a wonderful day spent with family and friends. While you're here, check out my all-new Blog of the Week, Saturday Night at the Movies. This is the blog of Lee, and he writes a great deal more than just about movies. Hop on over there to take a look at his site!
291. Happy Easter
290. Where did the week go?
I'm not sure how time moves by so quickly, but it does. It doesn't feel like I last updated in this blog on Monday. Here it is already Saturday night, and a new week is about to begin. I'm keeping busy as always, and it seems summer is already starting, even though for most its only Spring. It was pushing ninety today. It is supposed to do that again tomorrow. Some nights this week I was unable to sleep because the heat, even in the middle of the night, is so unbearable.
Most of my writing this week has been worked related. I did write the finale scene back on Monday like I wanted, and then I had my former mentor look at it. The Divas mentor program is now over, but we plan to keep working together beyond it. She's been wonderful, and I really did learn a lot from her in the short time we were able to work together.
Now all I need to do is go through the manuscript and submit it off. I submitted this story before in an early form, and it was quickly rejected. I've done a lot to the story since then. It's doubled in size and it went from a straight erotica piece to an erotica romance story.
I guess I'm a bit nervous to throw the story back out there. I worry it'll only get rejected again, and I've spent so much time working on this story. Most of my time is devoted to my entertainment writing that what little time I've had for fiction writing has gone into this story. I know I need to resubmit it, and I know it is a much better story than what I had originally. Every writer fears rejection.
I think most of my stalling on this project now is the whole what to do next? Once this project is out the door so to speak, I need to pick something else to work on. Is that one of my other works in progress or is it something entirely new? I know of at least two contests that grab my interest. Both are relatively short pieces and one of them has a due date of June that is certainly workable. I'd need something new though because nothing I have in the works currently will fit.
So I need to figure out what's next, so I can work towards it. Sounds easy right? Sounds like a plan in any case. I have a new Blog of the Week, Ripple Me This. Click here or on my sidebar to read the thoughts of Michael.
289. And its Monday already?
Another week begins, and the month began over the weekend. Spring is here, but I know summer is not far behind, especially here in Arizona. Its already been hitting over eighty here for days now, and some days it is just completely miserable. Living in a building that controls the time that the air conditioning and heating turns on every year certainly makes it for a few miserable days at the beginning of the hot and cold seasons. It has made me a bit restless really.
Things seem to keep changing around me as well, and it is a bit unsettling. Words seem to flow from the fingertips and mouths of others, and that is all they feel like really. Just words without no meaning behind them. Some do, and those are the words that I latch onto. The ones that I know don't come easy to say. Others seem to throw around words of love and friendship so damned easily, and after awhile you wonder if those words are really coming from the heart or if they are just so easy to say by now that you wonder if they are based on anything real.
I know I'm tired of hearing or seeing the words that don't really mean a thing. They are just words. It kind of reminds me of that line from that Rob Thomas song, Lonely No More. "Words are only words. Can you show me something else?" Words don't mean much without the meaning behind them.
As a writer, we want our words to mean something even. We want our readers to feel something both during and after they read whatever words we put forth for them. If they don't feel anything at all, then we really haven't done our job. So words bear importance both when it comes to our writing and our personal lives. With our writing we want our writing to touch the hearts and minds of our reading, and in our personal lives, at least in mine, I want to feel the realness behind the words being spoken. If the feeling isn't there, it starts to show through eventually, but sometimes we hold onto that hope that the words do mean what we want them to. Sometime though we need to stop believing and just let the words go.
On the writing front, I'm not sure what it is about Monday's lately, but that seems to be the only day of the week where I can find myself in the mindset to pull out one of my works in progress and write. The rest of the week is so busy and I have a set schedule almost. I know Tuesday through Thursday, I'll have things to watch and review on television. Fridays, my brain has usually turned to mush, especially since Wednesday and Thursday are my craziest nights. Saturday I have my two weekly features to prepare for my media village blog, and Sunday is usually known as a day of rest, so I take it. That is until Grey's Anatomy airs that night. all this on top of my standard news items appearing each day, once again on my media village blog.
It seems Monday is the only day of the week where I don't have much demanding of my time. I need to find another day though, and I need to find the time today to take out my work in progress and write this one last scene. I want to hopefully have it submitted by the end of this month. I'm also pondering other plots for other stories at the moment, but one thing at a time.
Also an update on the protest here at the school next door I mentioned in my last entry. Turns out the students were instead giving written warnings with suspensions forthcoming if anything else occurred. This was a much better solution. My Blog of the Week also had some thoughts on student protests following my last entry. Hop on over there to take a look. You'll have to scroll down a bit to find her entry, but why not take the time to look at some of her interesting entries the past few days.
288. Suppressing the voices of tomorrow
Living in Arizona, a border state, there is a law currently being battled about in Washington that will have some affect here. That is the law on immigration, and it would make being an illegal citizen a crime. I've listened to the debate and discussion on the topic in my own house, and while I think some regulation is needed this might be going too far. The law has no provisions for day laborers that come here to work during the day in the border cities. These individuals would also be breaking the law.
I think what has caught my interest most of all in this situation in recent days are the student protests. Students are walking out to protest the law, and today I had my own experience with this. As I've mentioned before, I live next door to a junior high and there is an elementary school right next door to that on the other side.
Earlier this morning, I was standing in my kitchen talking to my brother when I heard some hollering outside, I looked and dozens of junior high students were walking past my apartment building. They had walked out in protest. It reminded me of a similar walk out I had done during my junior high years in protest of Desert Storm. It lasted all of half an hour, but I did something.
Later on this afternoon, my brother told me that one hundred and five students had walked out, and they were all going to be suspended for doing so. This bothered me. Yes, they walked out, but when I did the very same thing about fifteen years ago, I wasn't suspended for the action. I believe they have the right to peacefully protest. The school feels otherwise I guess.
Do you think suspending the students is right? I know they left campus, but they seemed to return just as quickly. The fact is they did what they could to make their voice heard. I think that's important. To me it almost feels as if by suspending the students it is suppressing their rights to speak up and be heard. They might be only in junior high, but I've met some teenagers that age who are quite intelligent. These youngsters will be voting in just a few years time.
On another note, I have chosen a new Blog of the Week. This week, I'd like you to hop on over and say hello to Lisa at Fragile Industries. She is another writer working in several genres from nonfiction and poetry to BDSM. She emailed me this afternoon shortly after placing her bid, and after taking a look at her blog I knew there was not one doubt that it would be chosen for this week's Blog of the Week honor. I'm sure you'll find her thoughts quite interesting, so please take a moment to hop on over to her blog and say hello! Tell her Gina sent you over.
287. Editing and a sick Mikey
Mikey wants to say hello to everyone. He is actually sitting in front of monitor as I type, watching the letters as they appear on the screen. He is doing a bit better. As I mentioned in my last post, he had come down with a cold. We thought he was on the mend Thursday, but he had a really bad day on Saturday. So bad that I was ready to take him to the 24 hour vet if need be.
The poor little guy was so congested it sounded like a freight train in my room. I kept an eye on him, and Sunday he woke up a lot better. We went to get him some meds to help the congestion, and today he's doing even better. He just needs to get rid of his sneeze. That is taking a bit longer, but the meds we got do seem to be helping. He isn't sneezing nearly as much today.
I think I even developed a sympathy cold because I had the sniffles all weekend too. I was so worried about my little guy that I didn't get much done at all. I have gone through another round of edits on the short I've been working with my mentor on. While working on it today, I had an idea for another scene. My mentor had mentioned the short possibly needing one more scene involving the heros having sex, and I think I found a way to do it and throw in a twist as well. I'll try to work on that later on tonight or during the week at some point.
My main priority is making sure Mikey gets all better from his cold. He's so tiny he had me worried. I hope you're all well. More soon.
286. Blogiversary
It's been a few days since my last update. I've been playing nurse to a sick kitten. Yes, Mikey came down with a case of the sniffles. He looks to be on the mend, but he wasn't feeling all that great. It looked like it was a reaction to one of his vaccinations. Just as when humans get their flue shots, they get a little bit of live virus in order to combat a worse outbreak of the disease. The same happens with kittens, and he came down with symptoms on Monday. Yesterday, looked to be the worse of it, but today he woke up and he was his old self again.
I knew I couldn't let this day go by without posting though because it is a very important today in my blog's history. Today is my first blogiversary. It is also the one-year anniversary of my now oldest cats arrival into our family. A very special day on those two accounts.
JJ is a little over a year old, and he is enjoying his new companion. JJ has actually quite taken with Mikey. He acts like a big brother or father to the little guy. It isn't shocking to find Mikey actually lying curled up on top of the older cat, and yes I did take a picture with my camera. I'll post that when I get the roll developed.
A year ago when I began this blog, I wasn't all that sure how long it would last. I didn't know if I could find content to fill it with. I didn't know if anyone would even care to read anything I had to say. I thought it would be something I started, and it would die off as many other blogs have done.
Well, here I am a year later, and I am still blogging. Now I know I don't update every single day like I used to, but when you manage three blogs that becomes harder to do. My review site and my blog at Media Village both need daily updates for me to stay on top of things in regard to the entertainment world, so sometimes my personal ramblings need to wait a bit.
I've changed a lot in the last year. I know from time to time I might have a post full of cryptic ramblings about people and events in my personal life, but I figure writing about things troubling my mind is better than letting the thoughts sit and fester there. I have changed though. A year ago, I was in a much different place than I am now. Both personally and professionally. I know I have a long way to go, but I know I'm getting there.
I've made so many wonderful friends since I've began blogging, and I know I need to be a better blogger and get back to commenting more again. I still do comment where I can, and I read a good number of blogs daily. Sometimes I wish there was more hours in the day to get all I want and need to get done completed, but there isn't. I've learned so much about the world and those in it by reading the blogs of others, and I don't see myself stopping blogging anytime soon. So Happy Blogiversary to One Writer's Rambles!
285. Kittens are like babies ...
They are on their own schedule, and they don't care what time you went to bed the night before either. So the past few days, I have found myself getting up earlier and earlier. I think I was up at 9am today, and I already find myself getting sleepy now, and it is only 11pm here. I had wanted to edit today, but I've been tired all day.
Today I attended a chat over at Divas, and I won one of the chat giveaways. I'm excited to receive a copy of The Prey by Allison Brennan. She led a wonderful workshop this past week in the Diva's classroom, and I plan to print out and go over her lectures tomorrow or Monday.
Tomorrow, I will be going to the annual fair at my family's church. It's a family event we go to every year. My dad and I spend a few hours together eating junk food and going through the bake sale and white elephant sale. All the money goes to a good cause, our church, so it is an afternoon well spent. My going though means Mikey and JJ get their first test alone for a few hours. I'm hoping I come back to two happy cats and my room in tact.
Check out my new Blog of the Week. I had a number of blogs to choose from this week, and I wish I could have picked them all, but this week I went with Confessions of a Stuffed Lamb. I went for the cuteness factor! The blog tells the tales of a stuffed lamb as it travels the globe, going from person to person. I think its an inventive idea, and everyone should go take a look! Tell them you saw them on Gina's blog!
I'm tired now, so I'm heading off. Maybe even heading off to bed. Busy day tomorrow!
284. Update on Mikey and Writing
First off, Mikey says hello. I took this a couple of hours ago. I found a different web cam capture program that worked a bit better than the one I was using. He's been here at home over forty-eight hours now, and he's doing well. Other than one accident, a little eye muck, and an upset tummy because he had been digging into the older's cat food, Mikey has been completely fine.
He was too young to give him some of his vaccinations. Some you can't give until he's at least ten to twelve weeks old, so I was told to keep an eye on him since he's only going to be seven weeks old. What people don't know is I'm the type of person to look at my cats if they even sneeze. So every thing Mikey has done over the last couple of days has me heading over to google and reading several sources. I know you can go overboard, but I'm just making sure everything will move along well with the new addition to the family.
He's an active little guy though. No sneezing, and the eye muck is a normal color. He is always near me, and he is getting along with the rest of the family just fine. This morning he woke me up at 8am biting and scratching my head and other places. He wanted attention. Little did he know that I went to bed at 3am.
Last night, I put the last period on the current work in progress I've been working on since September's failed submission. I took the suggestions the editor made, and it turned into totally different story. I would have had it done sooner, but I was working on another work in progress, and my non-fiction writing took precedence. Things are finally slowing a bit with the season of the television nearing its end soon, so I'm hoping to really tackle things this summer.
I've been working with this current work in progress with my mentor the last month and a half, as I've mentioned before, and she's giving me some great suggestions as well. Now that I have sort of have an end, I can work on polishing it and submitting it again. I've already decided which of my two works in progress left to tackle, and I did a little editing on it today.
So I'm hoping now that things finally seem to be settling down on the cat front, the writing front can take off. I still miss Bobo, and he's only been gone six weeks. I still haven't given up hope though.
283. Meet Mikey
Meet the newest addition to my family, Mikey. He is a seven week old red tabby male that my family brought home from the local animal control today. We first saw him on Saturday morning with his momma and two sisters. They had been brought in together last week. He became available for adoption yesterday, and we were fortunate enough to be able to grab him before another family could.
He's feisty and a bundle of energy already. That kind of surprises us because he just had surgery to have him neutered this morning. When we picked him up at 12:30 this afternoon he was raring to go. My other cat, JJ, seems to be getting along with him fine. JJ wants to play already, but Mikey is still a bit unsure of his surroundings still.
This picture doesn't give you a true sense of how adorable he is because it was taken with my web camera while I was holding him. The little guy wouldn't stay still. I do have a roll with some free shots, so expect better pictures soon.
The kitten business has distracted me from my writing the last week or two, but now that we have found our perfect match and he is home, things should pick back up in no time.
282. Coming Clean
I love when things go as planned. When you develop some kind of routine really. You know when things happen, and when you need to do something. I may not be the most organized of people. My room is a bit of a mess. Clothes more than anything because I keep everything. I have some clothes I've probably had since my high school days in my closet somewhere. I just don't throw much out. I guess that makes me a bit of a packrat.
When it comes to getting things done, I like to know my schedule. When I add responsibilities in my life, I even like to know when I'll have time to focus on those as well. I like to fit things in, and when I know something isn't going to work I can easily take it right back out. I know sometimes things can come in and screw up your schedule, so some flexibility is always good. My family always wonders how I get anything done with the messiness of my room. I just do.
I guess I do the same process when it comes to other areas of my life. If something isn't working and I know it isn't, I figure out how to make it work. I always hear the only one that can fix you is you. Before I used to depend on people to fix me, but they never really did the job. You're the only one that can pull yourself back up when you're spread on the ground.
Sometimes I've felt that I was on a train going in circles. It was moving, but it wasn't moving forward. The people around me were all sitting there on this train with me, and all I wanted to do was get off. I got off the train about a week ago. I knew things were making me unhappy, and I knew something needed to change.
My focus is on other things now. Things kept pulling me away, forcing my focus elsewhere. I knew that couldn't keep happening. I've said this before - in life sometimes you need to make the unpopular decision in order to find your own happiness, in order to get things done. Only you can make your life work. I guess it took me a bit longer to figure out what had to be done.
281. Sick kitty and the Oscars
Well, I got some bad news on the kitten I was planning to adopt today. We were supposed to bring home our new addition yesterday, but he wasn't feeling all too well. They asked us to leave him there until today. Well, when we called this morning, we were put through to the pound vet and told the kitten has an irregular heartbeat, and they weren't sure he was the best fit for us because of it.
They know we just lost a cat recently, and while the kitten might live a full and happy life, there is a chance he might not. They don't want us to go through the pain if something happened to him. I appreciate them being honest with us. We do still plan to make that addition to the family. We just need to find the right kitten for our family.
The pound said they have some new kittens available tomorrow, and my brother has a girl on the team he coaches whose family just had a litter of kittens too. There is no lack of kittens looking for good homes. It just takes finding the right one for you. We want one that will fit with our family. Our cat JJ needs the perfect best friend too. I'd have hated to adopt the cat we had originally planned to, and then put JJ and us through the loss of another family member.
In other news, all you Oscar buffs out there, come join me today over at the Media Village forums to dish all about the Oscars. I will be holding a live discussion with a fellow Media Village forum leader starting with the Red Carpet coverage and moving through the final curtain drop tonight. Head on over to here to join Libby and I. She's already there talking, and I'll be joining her soon! Join us!
280. Changes
First of all, I've changed the backdrop and colors on my blog here. I had been meaning to for the last couple of weeks now, but I just hadn't done it yet. I was actually pondering doing a complete overall to my blog's look, but I haven't really found a template that I like that someone else doesn't already use. I want to be a bit unique.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Things have been changing. As odd as it might sound, every few months or so I make these changes in my life because things change. People drift away, or I lose touch with them. It isn't because of any negative reason. Change just happens. It's a part of life.
This time around the change was sort of forced on me with the disappearance of my cat. The day it happened it was actually the day that would have been my mothers 68th birthday. I found it a bit odd he chose that day to run off, but he did. My cat was truly my best friend. I used to be with him almost 24/7, and I thought if I ever was to lose him for one reason or another it would destroy me.
A year ago, I was in much different frame of mind. I honestly thought there was a chance that I wouldn't be here. I didn't want to be on this planet anymore. I'm not sure what changed my outlook. I started this blog, and I got a kitten. You really can't be sad and depressed when you're taking care of a six-week-old bundle of energy. It's impossible really.
I thought if some major change was to come to pass, it might take me right back down into that well of despair I found myself last year. If any major change could do it, I thought it would be the loss of my cat Bobo. Sure, it was hard to lose him, and I still hope he returns. However, by losing him I learned how much stronger a person I now was. I didn't break. I didn't shatter into a million pieces as I suspected I might. I'm dealing with it.
Seeing this strength in me that I didn't think I had made me think about my life. I'd been feeling everything was perfect except in one front. No matter what I did I knew I wouldn't be totally happy by not changing things on this one front. I know I might not be the easiest of people to get along with. When it comes to my friends, I want people to be there that I know think of me more than just this person they know through so and so.
Friendship is one those things that I've noticed changes all the time too. I don't know why it does. People drift apart and then come together. People sometimes totally drift apart. Sometimes one changes and the other stays the same. When that happens, sometimes the friendship just ends. It's hard when you try to talk to someone and nothing clicks anymore. Their interests are no longer your own. It's all a part of life though.
I've spent a lot of time on my own lately. I've spent my time writing, and in some of my downtime I've returned to a hobby I used to once enjoy a great deal. I found a way to make it new again, and I'm finding myself enjoying it again. This hobby is role-playing, the act of putting yourself into the mindset of a character and then portraying that person. I've done this for years, and I see it as another form of writing. You talk to people as your character, and you don't who it is truly on the other side. You just know them as this character. I'm having fun though, and I'm not letting it interfere with my work or my writing. It's a nice little release at the end of the day.
This weekend and this month I know I need to tackle some more on my work in progress. I want to get it done, and then submitted somewhere. I need to do one thing at a time though. I'm trying to get back into blogging again. I need to be a better commenter too. I still read. I just went into my little shell for a bit. Hope you're all well. More soon.
279. Dry Spell
Where does the time go? Here it is already the first of March. Sometime this month is my one-year anniversary with this blog. I'm not sure exactly when, but I know it is this month. I know I don't update this blog daily like I used to, but I haven't had all that much to say lately. Perhaps, I'm going through some type of dry spell. I'm busy working on my other sites, and things are also moving along fiction wise. A bit slow, but they are moving forward.
I'm up to the point of confession in my work in progress. My one guy has to tell his best friend that he wants him, and I have a great way to do it. I wrote the scene that leads up to it a few days ago, and now I just need to write the confession. My plan is to hopefully tackle that this weekend.
I know Sunday will be crazy. I'll be hosting a live Oscar discussion over at Media Village with a fellow blogger and forum leader. We'll start with the red carpet and go through the last award. It'll be an all day event, but I'm looking forward to it.
No word on my cat. Thanks to those of you that keep asking on him. Today is actually his tenth birthday, so I'm missing him a bit. This weekend, my family has decided to adopt a new kitten. We're prepared if my cat is found or decides to come home to take care of all three. My brother found us an adorable kitten at the local pound. We just needed to wait for the waiting period to end for his family to come claim him. They found him in a box with his littermates outside of a school a week or two ago. Sad story. Six weeks old and dumped. I'm sure he'll enjoy living here. We look forward to bringing him home Saturday at the latest.
I hope to put an end to this dry spell with this blog soon. I'm just dealing with a lot of changes, and it is making me think a lot. While you're here make sure you check out my Blog of the Week. I have a new one this week, and I'm sure you'll find this week's choice interesting!
278. Checking in
This week has been nice and light. I actually liked the bit of a break I found myself having this week. With the Olympics on-going, many of the television programs I cover were not on, so this allowed me some freer nights. The only shows I covered this week were American Idol and Dancing With The Stars. For you American Idol fans that start watching when the vote goes to the public, check out my blog each week for my thoughts on what happened each and every week. Also over on my entertainment news blog, Thoughts from the Couch, check out there for breaking American Idol news as it happens!
On the fiction writing front, things are moving slowly along. I am now working on the ending to my current WIP while I impatiently wait to hear back from my mentor on the changes I made to the rest of the manuscript so far. I think I'm taking her suggestions and the things she's taught me and applying them to my writing now. I think she's made me a stronger writer in just the short amount of time we've been working together.
On the personal front, no word on my cat. Thanks again to all of you keeping him in your thoughts. The other night a neighbor had heard about Bobo's disappearance and brought over a kitten of hers she couldn't find a home for. She gave him to me, but it wasn’t meant to be. He just seemed to have a bit of an attitude, and I could quickly tell it wasn't a match. He hissed at me, my brother, and he got into a bit of a fight with my baby cat.
My brother has told me he has put a new kitten on hold for as well at the local animal control. If all goes well, I'll have him soon. I just wish my cat would come home. My brother says with our luck, we'd get the baby and then our cat will come waltzing home. I'd take him in a second. I know I have enough love to give three furballs if that happens.
277. Pimping and Writing
About a year ago, my then critique partner, Laura Bacchi, asked me to take a look at a story she was working on to send to Amber Quill. I took it and read it, and offered my suggestions to her. A year later, the story is now available for purchase. It was accepted by Amber Quill, and she now has four stories out with that publisher. I remember reading it a year ago, and it was truly a wonderful story. I haven't had a chance to read my copy of the finished result yet, but I plan to soon. I just wanted to let you all know to check out Chosen: The Chronicles of Winter from Amber Quill now!
In personal writing news, I finished another round of editing on my current work in progress, and I sent them off to my mentor earlier today. Now all I have to do is wrap up the story by writing a few ending scenes. I have an idea of what is going to happen next. I just need to actually write it down, or in this case, type it.
I hope you're all well. Thank you for all the comments wishing me luck with my cat. No news yet, but I'll keep you all posted. Check out my sidebar for my newest Blog of the Week!
276. A renewed outlook ...
You never realize how one small thing can change your mood. I've always been one to believe in dreams. My mother had this uncanny ability to tell what things might happen by her dreams, and she has passed this ability on to me, in a somewhat milder form. The week before my cat ran off I mentioned having some disturbing dreams, and they left me a bit unsettled. I knew something bad was about to happen, but I didn't know what. That is until my cat ran off that next week.
Well, last night I dreamt again. I usually only dream so vividly with a purpose in my mind, and in this dream my cat came to me and returned home. I know it’s a bit silly to allow a dream, even one of this nature, to get my hopes up. I am a bit through. The dream was just so vivid and real. Most of my dreams of this nature are.
So I'm hoping that my cat will return to me soon. If not, my brother has mentioned getting a kitten next month. However, in my heart I want my baby back more than anything. He's just been going to our local pound three times a week, and he says there are so many baby kittens that need good homes. I see no better way to help treasure Bobo than open my home to a new fur baby needing of a home.
In writing news, my renewed spirits allowed my muses to peek out earlier today, and I was able to edit the second third of the WIP my mentor and I are working on. I'm hoping to get to the last third tomorrow. The words were just flowing, even if I was cutting and editing more than actually writing. I'll have to see how things go tomorrow.
Work wise, things with television are really slowing down right now because of the Olympic coverage. I think a good many of my shows are off air this coming week, so that should give me even more time to work on my WIP with my mentor. The past couple of weeks have really slowed me down, but things should pick up soon.
I hope you're all well.
275. Going through the motions
Do you ever feel like you're just going through the motions? Just a bit disconnected from it all? That's how I've felt lately. I'm trying to be creative and work on my fiction, but with all that has happened the last few weeks, the words just aren't coming. I had a good start with the mentor program as well, and I know I'll get back on track. I never really realized how a much a huge part of my life my cat was, and now that he is gone, it is a bit weird. I'm still hoping he finds his way home, but with each day that passes I'm feeling a bit that is going to be less likely to happen.
With the Olympics, my schedule is a bit lighter work wise, and I am taking advantage of that. I'll only have one truly heavy night this week, and that is Wednesday night with a lot of good shows on with new episodes. Lost, Bones and American Idol.
Am I the only one that isn't all that thrilled with this season's American Idol. I'm just not enjoying it as much. I'm hoping things improve once we know who the top twelve are and the competition goes to the American public for their votes. That is tomorrow night. I do have a few favorites, and I was glad to see most of them included.
I'm really trying to get back into things. 2006 just hasn't worked out as I hoped it would so far. I hope you're all well.
274. Death, Taxes and blog wars
I haven't been the best of bloggers lately. At least, not in my mind. Since the beginning of the year, I haven't been quite sure what to say in here. January was just a tough month, and then my cat, which is more like a child to me, ran off. Still no sign of him yet, but I'm not giving up hope yet.
Yesterday, I did my taxes, my federal ones in any case. For the first year in many, I actually had reportable writing income. It was a nice feeling, but I really didn't make enough to make it worth actually filing for the less than stellar return. My father always said there are two things in life you must do – die and pay taxes. Well, I don't have any taxes to pay – this year. We'll have to see about next year when that happens.
I've been slacking on my blog reading a bit lately, but I've kept up as much as I possibly could. It seems I missed a bit of battle this week with inspirational author, Brenda Coulter. The battle started when she limited her contest to only U.S. readers, which is her right. However, the way she went about things, and some of the things she said in her blog posts about erotic romance authors is really bothering me.
I read her blog on a regular basis. I even link to her blog because I have found some interest in it. She has linked me back in return. However, right now after reading some of the things she said about erotic romance authors I'm a bit offended. I'm an erotic romance author, aspiring, but still I'm on my way to publication. It is just a matter of time. I don't hate anyone. I'm not controversial. I stay out of the line of fire so to speak. I'm also quite intelligent. However, according to Brenda, erotic romance authors are just out looking for a fight and they are selfish and stupid. That is where I got offended.
She has taken a simple matter of a contest and her reasons for not allowing non-US entrants and blown it into this huge debate. However, she won't debate it. Her opinion is the only one that matters, unless that opinion supports her side. I won't comment her entry. I won't email her. I really see no point in going in and saying anything. It looks like anything I have to say will fall on death ears.
As writers, when we decide to blog, it is a matter of promoting our writing and ourselves. That is what it really boils down to. Our blogs are our platforms to our readers. They can see what we think, feel and see our work all on one place. We blog in hopes of finding more readers. So this is what I don't get, how is being rude and mean and insulting to a whole genre of readers and writers promoting something good? I think it is actually more negative publicity. Then you have to remember the saying as well – any publicity is good publicity.
273. Trying to get back on track
It's amazing how one thing can change everything. Still no sign of my cat, and it is weird not having him around. This cat was literally attached to my hip 24/7. He was never five feet from me if I was home. I'm not giving up hope. I've heard stories of cats finding their way back to their homes months after they had run off. So I'll be patiently waiting for him to hopefully return. In a month or two, I know in my mind the chances will get slimmer, and I do plan on getting another kitten. Partially to keep my younger cat happy, but partially for me too. I'm used to having two felines running under foot.
I'm trying to get back into things. I'm working on my site first, and then I'll pick the fiction back up. With the events of the last week, I haven't been a very good mentee, but my mentor has been very understanding. I'm sure things will pick back up soon on that end. Linda has been very helpful, and she has already given me some great suggestions on how to improve my writing. I just need to get my head back into the game.
I also keep pondering Phaze's new Surge contest. An idea I had been planning on writing once I was done with my current WIP would be a perfect fit for the contest, but I'm not sure if I want to add yet another WIP on top of the others I'm already working on. I'm giving it some more though, and I guess I'll wait and see what happens next. The past week three has totally thrown me out of whack, but I think it really helped me focus my priorities as well. I hope you're all well. Have a great night.
272. Checking in
Hi everyone. I just wanted to check in since I know it's been awhile since I posted anything in here. My cat is still MIA. People think they have seen him here and there and everywhere, but I've not caught up to him yet. I thinking its possible someone took him in. We've even checked the local pound, which is not even five minutes from here. We plan to check again today, just on the off chance someone was able to catch him.
My poor kitten is moping around too. He's lost his playmate. I'm going to try to get back into gear with things this week. I just knew I had to keep looking for him everyday because the longer he's gone, the less likely he will be found. I'm putting more flyers up tomorrow and expanded the area with those. It looks like he might have gotten out of the complex area, which is huge really.
If he doesn't turn up in a couple of more weeks, I plan to go down to the pound and rescue a kitten, so that my younger one isn't so lonely. He's always been around other cats - first, when he was a baby with his litter of brothers and sisters, and then he had Bobo all these months. I just hope he isn't out there running around, and perhaps someone took him in. I'd rather him be inside where it is nice and warm and he has food to eat. Of course, I'd rather it be here with me. I just miss him.
I really haven't even been on the computer much. I turn it on, and leave it on to check email. I took the weekend off totally from writing. I didn't even work on my sites at all since Friday. I know I need to get back into the swing of things though. I think having my cat go missing opened my eyes to a lot of things too. I can definitely see some changes being made. Maybe I needed him to go away for a bit, so I could make some positive changes in my own life. I just wish he'd come home now because I see things a bit differently now. Funny how that works huh?
Quick note: I have a new Blog of the Week. Check out my sidebar for the musings and ramblings of The Rock Bitch! I promise I won't be gone as long this time. I just couldn't think to write anything in here. It was hard enough getting my necessary writing done.