tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62482272679387840162023-11-15T09:44:04.523-06:00The Closet Nerd NetworkBecause normal is just a setting on the washing machine.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.comBlogger126125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-83723519048667601392011-04-09T09:49:00.003-05:002011-04-09T09:57:38.948-05:00Nerd LoveI found my best friend in the whole world and in 21 days I'm going to marry him. We're complete opposites, him an introvert, me an extrovert but we're both huge nerds. I joke when I call us a nerd power couple but its pretty true. D&D/WoW fanatic meets aspiring fantasy writer/critic and con-runner aficionado, we're pretty awesome together. I'm super excited about our future and this next big step.<br />Tonight is my bachelorette party and it looks like they'll be a good turn out. It seems like almost every post on here says something to the effect of, "I haven't written in a long time, but that's going to change". So this time I'm not going to say anything. I'm just going to do it.<br />Robert's really helping encourage me to start writing again and I want to. Real life is just so hard to set aside. But I'm going to make a serious effort and keep up with it. Here's the declaration now hopefully I can live up to it. Better clean up the house since the rental company is showing it this afternoon.<br /><br />Until later...Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-15620002027899702192011-01-06T01:25:00.003-06:002011-01-06T01:30:28.726-06:00SF Movie Experiment Part 1: Epic FailCopied from livejournal account I stupidly created last summer and will now delete.<br /><blockquote>Alrighty. I used to have a blog and it was whiny, boring and pretty much just me talking to myself. It had no purpose. So! I came up with this idea, helped a little by the movie Julie & Julia as well as an interview I heard on the radio about a girl similarly inspired by that movie to listen to the top 100 records ever made. She's already doing records and I'm not such a great cook. So when I found the Rough Guide to Science Fiction Movies at work, written by none other than John Scalzi (I met him at ArmadilloCon two years ago), I thought PERFECT! Scalzi is the master of the blogosphere himself and what better way to expand my SF repertoire than by watching what he says are the top 50 science fiction movies ever. Growing up my family watched Star Trek, but that's about as far as my young science fiction education went. Not a bad place to start though. I read a lot more than I watched movies or tv and most of that reading was fantasy. So here are the terms:<br /><br />I will watch at least 1 of the movies on Scalzi's list a week. (I'm going to try to do more but we'll see how that goes with working full time and applying to graduate school.)<br />Then I will blog about it within 24 hours of said viewing. (Best to keep it fresh.)<br />After that I'll tweet and facebook about my entry hoping that this can start a discussion amongst my friends and colleagues! <br /><br />Stay tuned to find out what my first pick will be!</blockquote><br /><br />So obviously none of that happened. I did watch Blade Runner, I never posted about it and my full time job/applying to grad school did get the best of me. But! My grad school applications will be in soon(-ish) and then I will try this experiment again. So stay tuned for that. Why am I blogging again you might ask? -My nonexistent readers. Well I'm procrastinating working on my writing sample for graduate school of course! This is my last desperate cry to put it off though. Back to the grinding stone. I sure hope all this stress is worth it. :/Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-1710113697279932982010-09-07T10:24:00.002-05:002010-09-07T10:52:26.711-05:00Taking the LeapSo I really want to go to graduate school. But I graduated early from college which was a huge stress my last semester and I didn't have time to get my applications in for this year. Then when real life set in and I started working on my fiction I thought maybe I'd take some time off to work on my novel. But I've recently realized that maybe I was just being a big fat chicken. That part of my future is so important to me that it's hugely scary. What if I don't get in? I never went through this stress in high school but the top 10% rule was still in effect and I knew I'd get into A&M. But I'm going to take the plunge. Although after a few hours research this morning made me realize how really little time I have!!! I have to take the GRE next month!!! Geeze. So I'm gonna get to work on my statement of intent right away. Also I now have to decide which essays to send and get them ready. SCARY!!! I'm going to get to work on all that right now in fact. But maybe the immediacy of it will kick my butt in gear!Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-28750867870512920902010-08-11T14:08:00.002-05:002010-08-11T14:17:51.310-05:00Packing Time!I'm supposed to be packing right now. I'll get around to it. But I did get my Blood Elf hunter to 50 today! Now I'm on the long hard road to 80. It's going to take forever. :/ I'm trying to fight my alt fever and just stick with this one for now. But my ADD is screaming at me that's it's sick and tired of using Volley and then Aimed, Arcane Shot followed by Serpent Sting. It needs variety. But hopefully moving into a new place will sooth it's roving nature. Yes my ADD is a thing. Ask anyone else who has finally confronted it instead of ignoring it. Maybe this should be my topic of the day. Ironic since I'm using this blog as a way to procrastinate. Ha! <br />So about... wow I guess two years ago now. Crazy. I finally submitted to the test for ADD. I had been in denial about it although most people who were closest to me could probably tell I had it just from the way I tell stories. Well you read these blogs you probably could have guessed too. Lol. Ever since then I've been having this on going revelation about how much ignoring it has hurt my life. You would never guess the random things it can affect. Like being able to cook (or not in my case). Because I can and I love cooking but its so hard to concentrate on it. I always missed steps or didn't read the recipe right. Or even something as innocuous as running into things a lot. That can be a side effect of ADD. I do not have the Hyperactive part of ADD so growing up being smart was usually able to cover up my struggles. But I've come to realize that it's a part of me and I'm not ashamed to talk about it. It's just like having red hair or a big nose. It's there, its a part of me. I'm learning to deal with it, yes sometimes it makes me stand out to people, but I deal with it the best way I know how. Usually by making an awkward joke. <br />Ok! Enough blogging for today. I should really get some laundry and packing done before the bf gets home. Lol. Until next time.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-58427933092222172722010-08-04T03:13:00.003-05:002010-08-04T03:22:22.484-05:00Lax about blogging...I've been pretty derelict in my blogging duties as of late. Real life has taken over this past year. It has been an interesting one to say the least. But finally I'm doing something I love, working at a bookstore and can work on my own writing as well as my relationship with my significant other. Next weekend we're moving to a real house we'll be renting instead of this little shitty ass apartment in the ghetto. I'm very excited to have my very own office to decorate and write in. All those real life things really kept me from finding time to write but I got my butt in gear enough to send in the first chapter of my novel for the ArmadilloCon Writer's Workshop. I just found out today that I was put in the critique group with the Guest of Honor Rachel Caine (check out her Weather Warden series, it's awesome) and the amazing Patrice Sarath (writer of Gordath Wood, also super cool series). This was a huge surprise and I'm elated to have gotten chosen for this group. The only thing that could have been cooler was if I was put in the group with the Editor Guest of Honor. Although I would have been terrified! So I think this worked out for the best. My friend and fellow con-runner Katy Pace will also be in my group. I'm thrilled to know someone and hopefully won't feel as awkward as the last time I did this workshop. I also can't wait to see my friend Phoebe Kitanidis who just had an amazing young adult paranormal called Whisper come out a couple months ago. Anyway this has really kicked me in the pants and I want to start writing/blogging/tweeting more often again. So here's the beginning of many more! I should really go to bed now since it's past 3 in the morning. Lol. I just had a lot of pent up energy tonight. Btw. I just finished Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton and loved it! Really have no desire to read the Anita Blake series but I really like these erotic dark fantasies. Check them out.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-75350405963287647332010-03-26T10:11:00.002-05:002010-03-26T10:28:33.047-05:00The CB, Health Care Scare, and FearsNo I can't write a blog post about just one single thing. I have ADD. This is what you're gonna get. Enjoy it. :D<br />The CB is what we employees called Cracker Barrel for short. I no longer count myself among their ranks. I really enjoyed (most of) the people I worked with there but waitressing turned out to be too taxing for me to do what I'm supposed to be doing right now, and that's WRITE! It did give me some interesting experiences and the opportunity to meet some interesting people. I was that waitress who wanted to hear all your gossip or would laugh at your funny stories. But I kept telling people I was a writer and working on a novel, which isn't really true. I am a writer and I want to be working on a novel, however I don't seem to be writing much. Part of that is that I was too effing tired all the time when I wasn't working (which was more than I signed on for). The other part that was holding me back I'll cover later so stay tuned. My manager understood and was pretty nice about it. He even left me eligible for rehire if I wanted to go back. So I'm looking for new jobs again but not in so much desperation.<br />To interrupt this regularly scheduled ramble about my personal life: some political thoughts. I'm at Chic-Fil-a right now, while I ate my breakfast I read the paper and heard about the recent threats against legislatures both red and blue over the Health Care Reform. First can I say form the POV of someone who may need national health care I support it overall. Everything has flaws when it starts out and they're already ironing out the kinks. But I'm fascinated by the anger some people have inside them. I just don't understand the kind of fuel someone would need to draw a noose and pick a representative's name to put on it or to come up with all the awful things they've said on phone calls. It's just a kind of anger I don't understand. I really need to write about this somehow. It's always boggled my mind. When I took a seminar on violence in the American Renaissance (the literary period right before the Civil War) we talked about it. My professor said that he thinks some people have anger closer to the surface than others. I guess my common sense or inherent laziness usually wins out over such fits of anger. Something to chew on...<br />So the other part of what's been holding me back from writing is fear. Fear holds me back a lot in life. My old boss once told me my fear was like a really big rock I didn't have a carry around. (He's a very dear friend now.) Phillip is also the person who pulled the blinders from my eyes and confronted my about whether or not I was writing. I'm a perfectionist and I know a lot of other writers have this problem too. That internal editor who looks down her horn-rimmed glasses at you and tells you you're not good enough. Well that bitch can stand aside now. I'm going to confront my fear and challenge myself to write just a little bit everyday. And it can suck! I've always remembered the advice John Scalzi gave us at the '08 ArmadilloCon writing workshop. That you can't be afraid to suck. Because everyone sucks in the beginning and if you keep trying one day you won't suck so bad.<br /><br />Here's to sucking! Now I'm going to get to work. Until later! You'll be hearing more from me. I know I always say that but I mean it this time!Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-20253471804524462502010-02-18T23:44:00.002-06:002010-02-19T00:22:30.772-06:00"Country Fresh"I think I want to start using the phrase "country fresh" like "Don't make me go country fresh on you" or "Don't get country fresh with me". Btw "country fresh" is what Cracker Barrel calls what they want their employees to look like. During training we keep making jokes when we do bad things like, "that's probably not country fresh." The group I was training with was pretty goofy. It was fun! I graduated tonight from Cracker Barrel training and can I say that I'm going to be a bad ass server. Tomorrow is our friends and family day. My parents are actually driving up to support me. How cool are they? I'll let you all know how my first day goes tomorrow! Next week I work 4 shifts all started at either 6 am or 5 am. Am I like totally screwed? Yes. I'm going to have to mainline some caffeine before work. But my new friend Lindsey S. and I are wondering who the hell is even open at 4:30 in the freakin' morning? Btw my new friend Lindsey is awesome and I'm so glad I finally found someone else that managed to slip past Cracker Barrel's "country fresh" standards. We're both not gung-ho Aggie and totally not country at all. So we can commiserate! Woot. We talked about tattoos tonight while waiting in line. How awesome? I had to get rid of my tragus piercing to be able to work at Cracker Barrel. So now my only subversive body alteration is gone. My boyfriend even had to cut it out with pliers because it wouldn't come undone. I haven't taken it out in 2 years. Hopefully it doesn't close up. But I think I'm going to eventually get a tattoo somewhere just to spite Cracker Barrel. Ha! Maybe on my calf? My mom would probably flip out. I heard the top of your foot really hurts so I'm not sure I could do that. I wish I was bad ass enough for full sleeves. Oooo. That would be awesome! Also the first thing I'm going to do after I move and don't work at Cracker Barrel is finally get the monroe lip piercing I've been wanting.<br /><br />Ok but I'm super excited about my new writing project. I'm hoping it can help me get a regular pattern down so I can work on this and start working on my novel finally at the same time! This new project is a screenplay I was asked to work on with an old friend of mine Jeff Turner. Jeff had a huge role in the beginning of my writing career. I'm so honored that he asked my help on his screenplay. He's already got actors interested in helping him sell it after we're finished. So this could be a huge break for me! It's a thriller which is a little out of my comfort zone but a good experiment for me. I'm going to be doing some research this weekend. Any suggestions of good thrillers I should watch? Think a la Sleeping with the Enemy (according to Jeff). I'll give a review of the movies I watch this weekend!Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-70494913890442273512010-02-09T17:26:00.003-06:002010-02-09T17:48:01.691-06:00Con, Sickness and my new JobAggieCon is over. Thank the celestial beings whoever the hell they are. I've decided not to be as involved next year. I graduated from college and now I feel like I should graduate to helping with bigger conventions. I'll still help out if they ask me, but not as much as this year. Overall it went really well though. We had great feedback, especially about the programming and panels (which is what I did)! One lady even said it was the best AggieCon she'd been to in years. I wish I'd had more time to spend with my writer friends but they understand. Too bad I can't go to ConDFW this weekend. I was going to try to make it. But right now I really to take care of myself. Have some time off. <br />Because moving to my second topic, I'm SUPER sick. Not as sick today as last night (burning up, couldn't hardly move I ached so bad). I spent over 2 fucking hours in the doctor's office this morning. Don't they understand that most people in the doctor's office are not in the best moods because they're SICK! Geeze. Oh and I went through all that just to find out that I have a virus that will go away on its own. He just gave me a decongestant to treat the symptoms. Bull shit.<br />Oh and great just as I get sick I need to start my new job. Which is serving food to people! Luckily this week and next week is just training. The doctor said as long as I wasn't running a temperature I wasn't contagious. Hopefully I feel better tomorrow. I also have to go shopping for my loverly "country fresh" uniform. Oxford shirt, dark colored or khaki pants (cotton or cotton/polyester blend that can keep a crease), and I have to get rid of my beautiful manicure too. It's "Give me Moor" btw. We can only have clear nail polish. How lame? Oh well. I'm going to pretend that I'm going under cover. I'll probably end up falling into my old east texas accent too. Lol.<br /><br />Well that's the update for now. When I get better I'll start writing again and then I'll have more stuff to blog about. *cough, cough* I'm gonna lay down again. Bleh.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-67404475798439372842010-01-22T12:37:00.003-06:002010-01-22T12:44:19.368-06:00Unemployed, Still...So I graduated in December. Woo! Go me, right? Then why was I so scared? Oh yeah. That's right I didn't have a job already lined up for me like most people. That whole English majors will work at McDonald's. I'm trying REALLY hard to avoid it but it's looming closer and closer. I interview at the Temp agency next week. *forehead slap* But hey it's something until I can find a more permanent job. I joked that I wanted a SAJ (shitty ass job) after I graduated so that I would have time to concentrate on my writing! But now... I really don't want to end up in that SAJ. I just want a normal everyday job. Like as a receptionist. I sent out 11 resumes today. It's getting pretty depressing. But my boyfriend and I can get a washer and dryer next week! Woot. Clean clothes are definitely a plus. <br /><br />I'm watching Project Runway re-runs while I send out resumes and work on AggieCon stuff. This weekend we'll be planning all the programming and panels. Yay! My favorite part.<br /><br />And I know I promise this a lot. But I'm going to keep up with my blog now. Since I'm all out of school and supposed to be on my way to being a writer. So. Watch out world! Lola's on her way. Finally.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-31961799327228596822009-07-30T12:39:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:43.943-05:00Character Problems Solved..I think.So I've been having some difficulties getting past the beginning of the Muse novel, which I've rewritten like a million times. First she was too much like me, because the original piece this was inspired by was somewhat biographical. So I tried to make her really different and made her a little too bitchy for what I had in mind. On the advice of Rosemary Clement Moore from her blog about characters, I realized that before I could write from her point of view that I needed to flesh out her personality a bit more. The latest beginning I've written is better, but the "Save the Cat" moment was lost when I changed up the scenes. Plus, the writing wasn't coming out as punchy and snarky as I wanted. Probably because her personality was so wishy-washy. While trying to explain all this to le boyfriend, I summed it up like this: I'm a Piper, and that's what she was like before. When I tried to change her I ended up making her a Pru, BUT I need her to be a Phoebe! After I said that, I was like, oh! That's exactly it. (Because it didn't make much sense to me before either. I just knew something was wrong.) So currently I'm trying to do some character building (on all my characters).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Book Report</span><br />Also I finished Rosemary's book <span style="font-style: italic;">Prom Dates From Hell</span>. It was great fun to read and her main character is so pithy. Maggie's attitude/personality really comes out in the style/tone of the writing. Basically, I thought it was brilliant! Go out and order it. I can't wait to read the next one. Also another thing that's great about her series is the age she picked. In this book, Maggie is a senior in High School and in the next two, she's a freshman in college. This is the perfect! age. Because I know I enjoyed even though I'm in college, because high school wasn't too far away that I can't remember what it was like. Plus younger kids the say 12-14 age range are all about growing up and wanting to be the big dogs on campus, then being cool college kids. Genius. Anyway, enough adoration. Lol. How embarrasing. But anyway. I'm going to try to some other reviews of books I've read this summer. That was the most recent. I'll go back and do others!<br /><a href="http://web.mac.com/rclementmoore/readrosemary/Home/Home.html">Here's the link to Rosemary's website!</a>Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-70889831459764476292009-07-20T11:39:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:43.955-05:00Mythcon Part III: The EndI had a wonderful weekend here and met amazing people. Unlike the rest of fandom, the Mythopoeic Society sincerely wants to further the works of the Inklings and fantasy writers/critics everywhere, plus they put in the effort to actually do it. I can definitely identify with the heart and soul they put into all of their work. That's how I do everything in life and most certainly how I approach my career. I could tell from the speech, founder, Glen Goodknight gave last night just how much he loves this society and what it stands for. These people have touched my heart and I have made some very good contacts and new friends while here. This was a great step for my career I think and has really helped me focus on the future. Going into my last semester I'm ready to buckle down and steer myself toward what I want to be doing for the literary community. I am sure that I will stay involved with this society and I know that this opportunity was a blessing. It wasn't just a coincidence that I had written a paper that coincided with the theme, I was meant to come here to see and meet people who are already doing what I want to be doing. It was inspiring. I think I might have inspired a few people too! One fellow water myth scholar who gave a paper right before mine told my mom that she should be very proud of me. Which delights me to no end. I was terrified I would get here and not live up to my own or other people's expectations of myself and my research/analytical skills. But I think instead, I've been galavinized that this is what I'm supposed to be doing.<br /><br />Philosophical ramble over. We're going to Santa Monica pier, Venice Beach and before that we're going to Craft, Tom Colicchio's restaurant, for lunch! Our plane leaves LAX at 6 and we should arrive back in Texas around 11. Too bad I have a Botany test tomorrow morning and will get no break! Such is the life of an academic. lol.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-74872346467272698732009-07-19T23:56:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:43.965-05:00Mythcon Part IISo I gave my second presentation this morning. It went much better then Friday's even if there weren't as many people. *shrug* You win some, you lose some. I did get called the Queen of Mermaids tonight at the banquet. So that was pretty sweet. I mean I did enough freakin' research on it. Lol. I have met some amazing people here, gotten lots of good advice on grad school from people who are actually interested in fantasy and respect it. Farah Mendelson is my new literary idol. Lol. I met amazing new writing friends Emily, Shweta, Julia and everyone else!! It was overall a great weekend. Today I got to join mom in some sight seeing. We went down Rodeo Dr and bought one of those maps of the stars' houses off the side of the road. Ha! We drove around and found some of them, took some pictures. I probably won't remember which house was whose but it was fun regardless! I'll put up a few photos when I get them on my computer. I might twitter them too. I'm doing much better about twittering more often. Maybe I can blog more often too. I promise I'll do better about blogging about interesting topics too instead of just boring life stuff. Ok. I gotta go to bed. It may only be 10 here but back home it's midnight and WAY past my bedtime. I'm already an old fuddy duddy.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-31068536595472820002009-07-18T11:00:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:43.974-05:00Mythcon Part II said I was going to be better about updating this thing. And I haven't been! But I'm going to get Sarrah and Lindsey to join the CNN with me and maybe it'll liven up the place. They might think the new layout is a little girly. We might change it up when they start writing here too.<br /><br />But on to business...<br /><br />I'm at Mythcon! I've signed my first autograph (it was just the lady who put together the program and she wanted all the presenters to sign, but still I felt special!). And got some good feedback. Obviously, my survey sucked because I'm an English major who tried to do something semi-science-y. But whatevs. I think as a trial it turned out ok and if I ever did this study again I would change it a lot. Oh! In case you didn't know (which you couldn't have unless I told you irl) yesterday I presented the paper I had written about my Linguistics directed study here at Mythcon in Los Angeles. Btw. The weather here=AMAZING! It's sunny but cool and breezy in the shade. I don't want to go back to Texas. My mom's going sight-seeing today while I listen to papers and what not. I also have to work on the paper I'm giving tomorrow. ACK! I might be up all night working on it.<br /><br />So now I'm going to do some research on the other presenters and then go here GoH Diana Pavlac Glyer's keynote speech. I'll write more later to keep everyone updated!Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-27068800670287469342009-06-06T14:54:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:43.983-05:00SoonerCon, so farI'm at SoonerCon in Oklahoma. Some highlights of the trip:<br /><br />1. Sarrah getting hit on TWICE last night.<br />2. Helping film the upcoming Bubbas of the Apocalypse short. (I'll post the link when it goes up on youtube!)<br />3. Meeting awesome writers and getting ready for AggieCon.<br />4. Buying too many awesome books to keep me well occupied in Liberty this summer.<br />5. Not having to be in Liberty this weekend. :D<br /><br />And that's all I'll write for now. I'll be posting some thoughts from panels and impromptu discussions later this week. STAY TUNED!Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-33591180080240029002009-05-21T20:38:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:43.992-05:00Start of SummerSo. I moved home. For the first time in three years I'm living at home. So far it's felt like winter vacation. I predict that by the end of June, I'll be ready for school to start again. But in the meantime:<br />I'm sending off abstracts of papers I've written to Mythcon. (Which reminds me I should email those tonight. Dur.)<br />I'm substituting at the local elementary and middle schools.<br />I applied for a summer job at the local library, which I might be REALLY depressed if I don't get it. If I do get it I'll explain why I want it so badly.<br />I'm gonna keep writing. SoonerCon next weekend! I'll be driving up there with my writing partner, and we'll be meeting our OTHER WRITING PARTNER! A pro-screenwriter!!! Jeff Turner, my buddy and now our writing partner. And he asked us! He liked our movie idea and asked in. Of course we said yes in a heartbeat.<br />Also my boyfriend has infected me with WoW (World of Warcraft) obession. I currently have a level 13 human 'lock (that's a Warlock if you don't know the terminology, I'm just learning it myself), a level 4 tauren hunter, and a level 7 undead rogue. Apparently this obession with creating chracters is called Alt fever. lol. I'm still on the trial account but I think this weekend we're gonna upgrade me! Sah-weet. Then I can make a dranei and a blood elf when I get the Burning Crusade expansion, also I can be a jewelcrafter. Ok, I'm finished. Sorry! It's a disease this game is!!!<br /><br />And this weekend I'm meeting the bf's parents. I'm a little nervous. But parents usually like me. I just really miss my bf. We'd only been dating for a month and a half or so before I had to move down here. Long distance sucks. But we'll manage! Ok. Enough personal stuff. Here are my current obessions:<br /><br />Kaboodle.com<br />Polyvore.com<br />Damsel (blog)<br />Redecorating Middle-Earth in Early Lovecraft (blog)<br />Whatever Martha! (TV show I'll be talking about A LOT MORE! It's amazing.)<br /><br />That's it for now! Next blog, upcoming movies I want to see.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-61741077734487802182009-05-01T13:57:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:44.005-05:00X-men Origins, or I WANT MORE RYAN REYNOLDS!<object width="853" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GV2qtCSk9rc&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GV2qtCSk9rc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="853" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />The scene it briefly shows in the above clip where he cuts a bullet in half, WAS AWESOME! After it was over everybody in the theater cheered and I yelled, "Fuck yeah!" really loud. It was the highlight of the movie for me. Well... maybe not the highlight, that would have to be seeing my FAVORITE X-men character, FINALLY in a movie. Here's......<br /><br />GAMBIT!!<br /><br />Damn. I couldn't find his X-men origins character spotlight like Wade's above. So instead you get this:<br /><object width="640" height="505"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/y0f3vp5FZPU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/y0f3vp5FZPU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br /><br />Totally made the movie for me. The Wolverine parts got kinda slow sometimes but Gambit totally made up for it. I was sad that Wade Wilson wasn't in the movie more. Overall, definitely bad ass and if you like super hero movies it's worth seeing just for the few amazing fight scenes.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-30329235288295927692009-04-30T13:41:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:44.014-05:00If this semester is ever over...I will celebrate by finally getting my lip pierced. The past few days have been PURE HELL and my lovely boyfriend has been the only thing keeping me from falling apart. Also frequently being the object of distraction, but I'll forgive him for driving me around while sleep deprived, making sure I ate at least 2 meals a day and that I didn't have a full blown panic attack, although I came very close last night. Not a good week. But right now I am finishing (well about to be finishing after I write this) a paper and then I'll have another one to write by next week... if I get the extension I asked for. We'll see.<br /><br />So, news on the home front:<br />New look for blog. Not sure how much I like it. The other one was more simple... I might change it again soon.<br />I was chosen to be the Programming Director for AggieCon 41!!! Woot! I've already got a huge spreadsheet of ideas going and so far the committee is looking like this will be the best AggieCon ever! I want us to do a Zombie theme. It would be AWESOME! Zombies are very in right now. I'm sure you'll hear more about AggieCon in the coming months. Which leads to...<br />This summer I'm going to be doing a huge convention marathon trying to make relations with regional guests and convince them AggieCon will be worth their time again. Plus getting ideas for programming and like last summer, I'll be applying to some writing workshops as well. So far on the line up for sure are Akon, ApolloCon and ArmadilloCon. I'm considering Fourth Street Convention, FiestaCon and ConQuest as well but there's a bit more traveling involved in those so we'll see which ones pan out.<br />Also! Not really related to AggieCon specifically, except that I'll probably get ideas for programming while I'm there, is that I'm submitting two abstracts for MythCon this summer. So if chosen I could go to LA to present a paper I've written! How cool would that be? Which reminds me I need to get back to my paper asap.<br /><br />Oh sad news! Jenny Rappaport the literary agent of my dreams I wrote about previously got accepted to Odyssey. If only I had applied I could have met her! This sounds so silly but I'm very sure that we would get along great. Curse the fact that I'm graduating in December and really need to concentrate on applying to grad school. I'll meet her another way if it's meant to be. :/<br /><br />Other than all that I'm just REALLY ready for the semester to be over. I'm moving home this summer, going to community college and hopefully working at the city library. I'm actually really excited about the prospect of working at the city library. It would be a childhood dream come true! I spent so many hours of my young child life in that library reading, good memories. Plus I've ALWAYS had a secret fantasy of being an awesome librarian. Now I can live it out!Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-48256174286527291422009-04-20T10:43:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:44.036-05:00For Future ReferenceI will return soon. This summer I plan to keep up better with this blog. Especially since I'll be working on a screenplay and my novel. But at the moment school has again taken over. I have an exam and an essay due tomorrow (the exam was actually due last week but I'm taking late points for it). Then Thursday I have a research paper due that I already got an extension on, but I'm about to ask for another extension until next Tuesday. But next Thursday I have another research paper due. And I'll have another exam due soon too... Fml, right?<br /><br />In the mean time, go read The Looking Glass Wars. It's decent. Not brilliant, but entertaining and I can actually pay attention during the fight scenes which is really saying something. <- Exact reason I could never write epic fantasy, I hate fight scenes. 'One lunges, the other parries... blah blah blah.' I just skip to find out who won. I know lame right?<br /><br />But back to work. Also you should listen to Queens of the Stone Age, as I am right now. It has the most amazing calming effect on me. It's bizarre. But I'm as gentle and relaxed as a kitten when it's on.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-87518677774601445862009-03-13T11:27:00.000-05:002009-09-24T16:01:44.043-05:00Spring Break is here, so is MonoSo I have mono and it sucks horribly. I slept 12 hours last night. I didn't even want to. Not to mention that yesterday I had to take a nap because after my morning classes I went all crazy and cried. I was really worried about my trip to Washington D.C. to see my best friend because I've been planning it since CHRISTMAS!!! and now I've had to push it back to next weekend instead. But I feel really bad I cost my mom 300-something to change my ticket. She was really worried about me leaving today and not having any fun because I'm so sick. Boo to the universe that always makes me sick. Bleh. I should be packing to go home right now but instead I'm making playlists for the ride home and writing this blog entry. I promised I would keep this more updated.<br /><br />But Spring Break means.... WRITING TIME!!! Hopefully I can at least revamp my Merlin story for the Gordone Award. I don't think that new creative nonfiction piece is going to get written... I have this really old piece from high school actually that I could rewrite into something better... Now that I think of it. It was our senior english final project. He never told us we were writing creative nonfiction but it totally was. Anyway I'm going to get back to making some playlists. Have a good spring break! I'll keep you updated on the progress of those stories.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-4293759878948614182009-03-02T12:53:00.000-06:002009-09-24T16:01:44.026-05:00AH!! This has totally galvanized me.I already know how my dream agent is, her name is Jenny Rappaport and I've been following her blog Lit Soup (see sidebar). Well... following as in infrequently reading the most frequent post. I'm a really bad blog follower. Feministing.com is probably the one I stay most current on and I only check it every couple of weeks. That's besides the point! Today I checked her blog and look at <a href="http://litsoup.blogspot.com/2009/03/books-im-looking-for-now.html">this post</a>!!!!<br /><br />I'll quote the things that are what got me so excited and explain why.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">"I want the next John Green. By which I mean, I want funny, poignant books about intelligent teenagers. Mainstream YA novels, obviously. But I want to read books about teenagers like me, in high school. I don't want to read about the always popular bitchy sluts, because you know what? I wasn't a popular bitchy slut, and that type of story never has and never will appeal to me as a reader. I know there's a market out there for it, but I am not the right agent for the Gossip Girls series, unless *your* Gossip Girls series is written so well that I fall instantly in love with your writing. (Never say never.)"</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);"> </span>I have a YA in the back of my mind about a girl transported to a medieval indie music inspired world where all of her really random skills somehow make her the perfect candidate to save the kingdom. (Yes this is cliche' in YA but I won't do it super cliche' like. If you know my writing at all you know I like to play on archetypes and I think I do it pretty well.) She is much like me in high school. So I have a story idea that falls into this category.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">"I want an epic fantasy novel that thinks outside the box. This can be done in a number of ways, but the most obvious one is not to do a direct rip-off of Robert Jordan or George R. R. Martin. You don't need an innocent farmboy saving the world to have a wonderful epic fantasy novel. Epic fantasies can have different ideas and yet be incredibly good. I want you to write me one that's *different*. One recent epic fantasy that I adored was THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss, which has plenty of standard fantasy tropes, but totally twists them on their head, especially with his innovative narrative structure. Stories within stories within stories. I want your epic fantasy novel to completely surprise me and overwhelm me and make me believe in the power of the epic fantasy novel to sweep me out of my everyday world. Can you write me one? =)"</span> </span>Wow. Sounds like my future tour de force world politics epic fantasy might be right up her alley. Sometimes also referred to as Xavier world since I still haven't decided if it'll be an alternate universe or not. Just wait there's more...<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">"I want an urban fantasy. I don't have enough urban fantasies on my list, and I'd like one. Perhaps it would be better to say I want a contemporary fantasy. It doesn't necessarily need vampires or werewolves, because I think those are somewhat played out now."</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);"> </span>*Cough* Muse novel anyone? A very contemporary urban fantasy novel that isn't about vampires or werewolves. Oh and I'm still not finished.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">"I don't have enough romance, period. I want witty contemporary romances like Jennifer Crusie, who I adore. I want sexy historical romances. I want paranormal romances that make me love the characters and the worldbuilding behind them."</span> The Muse novel could totally go paranormal romance too. It's on that thin line between Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. I would just need to add a few sex scenes which I think I'm totally capable of and I can already think of where they would fit in the plot. Oh and my writing is SO witty. Not trying to be arrogant. But I think that's one of the strongest parts of my writing. Oh an the Amazon story could totally fall under this too! She might also like the Lewis and Clark story which falls somewhere between Chic Lit, Historical Fiction, and Romance.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">"I would love to see a slipstream novel. There are very few out there. I think there could be more. Show me what you've got."</span> and...<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">"I'm still looking for a great historical fiction novel to fall in love with. Haven't found it yet. Keep sending more."</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);"> </span>Making of the Treaty anyone? Hells yes. Zebulon Pike? Check.<br /><br />and finally:<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">"Because this is a baker's dozen list! Let's throw out a random book description, and see if anyone can write it for me: I want a superhero novel--give me your version of Dr. Horrible in book form with your own original villians and superheroes and plot. Be creative. =)"</span> the Xavier story certainly falls under this category since it's slightly x-men esque although that's not what I originally based it on, it's been pointed out to me multiple times the similarities. My favorite superpower'd character to create: probability manipulation. I had a character named Trix aka Fortune on a super hero rpg once I would love to write her into the Xavier universe somehow.<br /><br />Can anyone else imagine how perfect this agent is for me? Or actually how perfect I am for this agent. ;) She just doesn't know it yet. Hopefully by the end of this year I'll be querying her with the Muse novel and I have a feeling if it all works out in my favor she'll love being my agent for everything else I write too. It would be a brilliant match because her interests so perfectly match all of my very eclectic future body of work. *sigh* I'm in literary agent love.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-34700229456256728732009-03-02T12:31:00.000-06:002009-09-24T16:01:44.058-05:00Future ProspectsI'm skipping applying for the Clarion workshops. I already decided this over the break. I don't want to write short stories (or at least not primarily, they might crop up over the course of my career) and that's what that workshop is geared toward. I know they say you can send a chapter for Clarion West but they seem to discourage it. Anyway but here are my future writing plans for this year:<br /><br />1. Apply for the Gordone Award in the English Dept. I'm submitting two manuscripts. One creative nonfiction piece as of now still unwritten (lol) and I'm revamping Merlin for this specific purpose to enter in the fiction category.<br />2. Apply for Odyssey. It seems more novel friendly and is specifically geared toward fantasy writers. Also their 09 writer in residence writes books a lot like me. Maybe she'll be my friend. (Gosh I sound like a second grader.) I'm going to send Merlin or the first chapter of the Muse novel for my application. Most likely Merlin since it'll already be written. I want to work on the Muse novel while I'm there though and if I get accepted I'm going to send the first chapter as my second submission. (If you get accepted they want another short piece before you go to the workshop.)<br />3. Apply for Viable Paradise, even though I'll miss a week of school. Since I'm only gonna have to take 9 hours or so to finish I don't think it'll be too big of a deal. Really awesome writers are also going to be the instructor for this. I'm definitely sending the first few chapters of the Muse novel for this.<br /><br />I think if I can at least work toward all of these things by next fall when I graduate I'll be well on my way to having a manuscript to send out and really be in my stride as a writer. Ready to move where ever, become a dog walker and/or receptionist to pay rent and start my life as a semi-respectable writer.<br />These are my immediate future plans. I felt like writing them down. I'm going to try and keep up with this blog more often. (I know I say that a lot.)Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-89324617304525856462009-02-05T22:04:00.000-06:002009-09-24T16:01:44.065-05:00My Hero<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vQC0QVXa33o&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vQC0QVXa33o&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-30037698348711748732009-01-30T15:11:00.000-06:002009-09-24T16:01:44.051-05:00I'm Just Not That Into MyselfSo... first let me say how much I've been looking forward to the movie based on the brilliant book He's Just Not That Into You. It was a very liberating book and not negative towards women at all. It was actually very empowering when I read it. Their main message is that basically "you, the super fox reading this book, are worth asking out" and that we need to stop making excuses for guys who just aren't that into us. That we should value ourselves more and refuse to date guys who aren't going to treat us like the awesome, beautiful and talented women that we are. I was kind of irked when Jennifer Aniston said she wished the film was titled She's Just Not That Into You, that it would have made it more empowering. Obviously she hasn't read the book, which upsets me. Ridiculous these celebrities/actresses. *sigh*<br /><br />Anyway rereading parts of that book in anticipation of the movie got my mind moving. Not about relationships because I'm about to graduate and move somewhere and I'm not a place in my life to date anyone. What I wanted to write about is that maybe I'm Just Not That Into Myself right now. I makes excuses for my behavior and am really not living up to the person I want to be. I let my school work and regular work go by the wayside and then justify it later so I don't feel bad. I end up feeling guilty anyway. I'm letting myself down in life and I'm fed up with being stuck in the same horrible patterns. But I think it's good news that I've realized this. The only person holding me back, is me. Well I think realizing all of this will help me. This post sounds like I'm just downing myself but really I just needed a Come to Jesus meeting with myself and this is it.<br /><br />In similar news today I realized I haven't skipped a single class yet. I was late to one the other day but I forced myself to go anyway. How awesome?! Believe me this is a feat for me. I really want to keep it up throughout the semester. Really liking my classes helps I think. And knowing that they're all Tuesday/Thursday classes therefore if I missed one it would be really important helps too.<br /><br />From here on out, I vow to stop making excuses for myself and strive my hardest to accomplish the things I set out to do. Let's see if I can hold myself to it.<br /><br />Here's the trailer for that movie btw:<br /><object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wzt2Tsg_tGw&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wzt2Tsg_tGw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="295" width="480"></embed></object><br /><br />Ginnifer Goodwin, Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, and Leonardo Nam are who I'm excited about seeing. IMDB the last guy! He was in The Perfect Score and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I think he is a hilarious and adorable Asian man. lol. I want to see him in more! He was SO funny in the Perfect Score. Really made the whole movie for me. *shrug* Ok I'm going to go work out.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-88929158239805340372009-01-23T15:36:00.000-06:002009-09-24T16:01:44.074-05:00Oh! And I almost forgot...Today marks the one year anniversary of my first steps as a writer. This time exactly last semester one Karyn Smith, lecturer, starting teaching me that I didn't have to wait to call myself a writer.<br /><br />This is for you Karyn! One day when I'm finally published you'll be in the thanks. Otherwise I never would have published anything other than papers about Wainscot Worlds in Popular Fantasy until I was 40 and realized how unfulfilled my life was. Thanks for taking me under your wing and making me feel more special than the other kids in the class. (Other than Sarrah who is now one of my best friends.) Your endless goading and expert advice guided me toward taking the years off to pursue fiction that will probably save my sanity. Otherwise I would have gone straight into whatever second rate grad school that would take me instead of waiting out for what I really want. To Karyn, who was once my professor and mentor and I hope will always be my friend. When I'm famous I'll invite you to my birthday party. :D Haha.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6248227267938784016.post-19983266002501747642009-01-23T15:19:00.000-06:002009-09-24T16:01:44.083-05:00S' been awhile.So I'm gonna try to keep this up. Again... I know, I know. I've made this promise to my non existent readers before. Well I'm gonna try to keep it this time. A lot has happened since that angst-ridden post last Nov. Haha. I decided to give up dreaming about Clarion to work on my novel instead. I'm graduating in December now instead of the May or August I was hoping for. Sad day, I know. But I'm looking to try and study abroad this summer and next fall I'll only have to take like 2 classes. Which means lotsa writing time and hoping shopping out a manuscript to potential agents. We'll see how that goes. I think I can have a pretty good draft of the muse novel by then.<br /><br />Why did I decide against Clarion you ask?<br />Well... I don't want to write short stories. Or at least not really fantasy short stories. All my short stories are historical fiction type stuff. Or comedic. Every time I sat down over the break to work on stories they evolved into stuff more suited to a novel and I couldn't get my muse novel off my brain. So obviously my brain knows something I don't and is telling me to get my ass in gear on this muse novel. And that's what I'm gonna do.<br /><br />I'm gonna try to keep up with this and my treadmill journal better. Since maybe one day I'll have readers who'll want to read my random musings. Musings reminds me I need a catchy puntastic title for the muse novel. What about... Not A-Mused, nope. Musing and Using? Nope. Damn it. Oh well it'll come to me eventually. They always do.<br /><br />Also! Merlin is going to become a novel. As is Making of the Treaty (see that's a catchy title) and the Amazon story... nope no catchy title for that one yet. But the main character's name is Aggy (Agape) and she's part of the Muse universe. Awesome right? That's what I have on the back burners right now. Since I'm taking two writing intensive classes and a history class with a professor that would love to rape all of us when we turn in our essays. However I think he'll love my equally cynical view of history and American society. Oh right and that directed studies that will have me buried up to my eyes in library books. lol. Nope I'm not complaining. I like all of these classes so far and I'll MAKE IT WORK! In the wise words of Tim Gun.Lolahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16703047715602851233noreply@blogger.com0