More Lore

Happy Halloween!

After middle school, I was never a tremendous fan of Halloween. I felt silly trick-or-treating and, as high school progressed, found that I'd rather dress as Frodo Baggins than a hooker.

In college, turns out students are nutso about Halloween. Crazier than I ever was as a kid.

I also learned in college that I'm not a huge fan of holidays where I feel socially obligated to do something. I'm not talking about doing good for the sake of the world. I'm talking about big, public plans that will provide fodder for Facebook photos and OMG that night was the best lulz.

In the aftermath, the subtle implication: if you weren't doing it up like us, you clearly weren't having fun. And if you weren't having fun, well, you just don't know how to enjoy life.

But eventually I decided to roll with it.

Turns out I was meant to bond with these girls:

Beth will kill me if she sees this. Hi, Beth!

...

As the youngins gear up to head out, I wonder which story I'll tell tomorrow.

I have several novel ideas in mind, but I can't stay that one is winning favor over the others.

Last year, I was very clear on the story I wanted to pursue. This year, there are options:

1. YA novel
2. Adult novel
3. YA fantasy novel
4. Novel in short stories

I've never done the latter two, which intrigues me. However, I feel that the fantasy novel deserves more planning and thinking than I've yet to grant it.

I really liked the "novel in short stories" idea last night and this morning. There would be a common theme and connections from story to story. Except the theme started to depress me, and I haven't even begun writing it yet. Hmm.

Then there's another option:

     5. A collection of creative nonfiction essays, also on a common theme.

Is that considered cheating?

I've actually thought about this collection (there's a list in a notebook somewhere) and felt quite excited about it. However, as with much of my recent writing, I've been poking around rather than digging in.

What sayeth the bloggerverse?

...

#307: "Tubular Bells," Mike Oldfield

And in honor of the holiday: Rocky Horror Picture Show, "The Time Warp"

Whose line is it, anyway?

I know it's still October, but my mind's already in January.

Wake up, wake up, wake up.

...

Signs of a productive evening: changing profile photos on my various Internet locales. Spent far too much energy reducing and reducing a photo for the NaNoWriMo profile page, and after successfully doing so, the page's view box cut off my head. Sexy.

But I don't think I will change this blog's avatar. Not the large photo on the right, but the small photo that appears when I log into the Dashboard and comment on blogs. The girl in the purple leotard, upside down on the low bar.

I remember the exact competition and the precise skill. I never loved uneven bars. It was something to get through rather than to savor. Not like floor, which I loved to compete, and beam, which I loved to practice.

In the photo, I am in the midst of a skill I sometimes missed in the season. Didn't make it up high enough and had to swing back down and turn around quickly. My teammates would clap but the judges knew it was a mistake.

But that night, with my friends cheering from the front row of the bleachers, as one of the first girls to compete, I hit that handstand and knew I would make it over to the other side. Just the way I intended.

And when I landed, there was applause.

...
#305: Toby Keith, "Red Solo Cup," in honor of college students everywhere
#306: AWOLNATION, "Sail"

Life advice at 7 a.m.:

"Don't drive too fast, but don't drive too slowly."

...

From Twitter:

"Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied." - Zadie Smith

...

Sounds from the sideways rainforest in honor of a rainy day:

...

#304: Amy Winehouse, "You Know I'm No Good"

The satisfyingly slow sound

in the quiet night of your just-repaired car exhaling. But this is no normal sigh. This is the continuous whoosh of all the air seeping out, quite literally.

It's too late. But you crouch down anyway, wrap the sweatshirt over your fingers, begin working your way out of this.

...

#296: Katie Herzig, "Lost and Found"
#297: Katie Herzig, "Wish You Well"
#298: Katie Herzig, "I Will Follow"
#299: The Killers, "Boots"
#300: Yes, "Arriving UFO"
#301: The Killers, "Tranquilize"
#302: The Killers, "Shadowplay"
#303: Sea Wolf, "Winter Windows." I found this song by typing "hipster music" into the search.

Is the year really running out? Already?

PR: Into the Rainforest

We headed out to El Yunque a little wiser and a little savvier. We knew that if we saw a time posted somewhere, we shouldn't believe it.

But could we trust signs with unicorns?

The road rose into the mountains. The lanes narrowed and the curves spun us in and out of thick greenery as we climbed up, up...

We were in the rainforest now.

The map showed dotted lines that indicated hiking trails. My goal for the day was to swim at the base of a waterfall, which we'd heard we could do. Thus we began to walk.

Yokahu Observation Tower.

The ocean, a world away.



As we walked, we heard the coquis chirping. But we saw little wildlife. No flapping of wings through the palms. No monkeys swinging from the vines. Turns out no monkeys live there. Instead, it was the trees that climbed over us and the fog that met us as we moved higher.

And the rain.

...

Blogger is a little feisty in regards to how many photos I'm attempting to upload, so I will pause here and instead catch up a bit with musics.

#291: "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See," Busta Rhymes
#292: "Gangsta Nation," Westside Connection
#293: "Guantanamera," Julio Iglesias
#294: "This City," Patrick Stump
#295: "Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia)," Patrick Strump

Yessss!

Just found the YA fantasy novel I started when I was ~16!

Dusting it off for NaNoWriMo? I think so, babycakes.

Intro to Puerto Rico, Part 2

There was no time to waste the next day. We woke up and drove to the east coast town of Fajardo, using our signals although others did not.

I'm glad we rented a car, for then we were able to see the Puerto Rico that, I suspect, is much more a reality than the sun-bathed hotels on the ocean.

Once in Fajardo, we scampered over to the ferry bound for Culebra.

The last ferry.

In Culebra, we learned more lessons:

1. On the mainland, the brochure in the terminal says that the return ferry times are 1 and 5 pm.
2. On Culebra, they tell you that it's actually 3 and 7 pm.
3. The ferry departed Culebra at 4 pm.

I also learned a life lesson:

1. Although I am not, by nature, a beach person (I'd rather frolic on the sand at night, or go swimming, than lie in the sun for hours), that can change under the right circumstances.

Flamenco Beach. Unreal.

We eventually paused for lunch:

Refueled, we made our way over to the Sherman tanker. The beach was once used by the U.S. Navy/Marines for "military exercises," quoth Wikipedia. The guidebook led us to believe that the beach was, in Lena's words, "littered with Sherman tankers." We saw two. But as Matthew pointed out, compared to a normal beach, "littered" works.

And so we frolicked until it was time to wait for the phantom three o'clock ferry.

...

Tonight on the radio, I caught bits of two stations meshed together. The mash-up of these particular songs was quite wonderful: "Just A Kiss" by Lady Antebellum, promoting chastity, and "Only the Good Die Young," in which our hero Billy Joel does his best to dissuade that Catholic girl.

#286: "Sexy and I Know It," LMFAO

#287: "Diamond Eyes," Deftones

#288: "You've Seen the Butcher," Deftones

#289: "I Would Do Anything For You," Foster the People

#290: "Dreamtime," Sunburns

Intro to Puerto Rico, Part One

Prior to journeying to the PR, you can see that I was up to all sorts of shenanigans.

Namely, watching The Office on Lena's iPhone in her car.

But we navigated morning traffic, slim seats, and small patches of turbulence for a new adventure. One that led us to Burger King chicken wraps, wild left turns, and a room with a view.

Not actually our room, but nearby!

From the get-go, we learned three valuable rules of the Puerto Rican highway:

1. Nobody signals.
2. Nobody is afraid to turn, switch lanes, or wiggle in front of you.
3. Few people seem to honk in protest. This is not NYC, lean-on-your-horn-into-the-night. They're comfortable with this aggressive way.

But there would be more of that in the coming days. For now, it was time to enjoy a calm, warm ocean. No stones in the sand. For the first time, real tropical warmth.

...

Omg, less than twenty songs behind!

I won't get all caught up tonight. But I'll make a start:

#281: Andra ft. Pitbull, "Something New"

#282: Kaskade ft. Mindy Gledhill, "Eyes"

#283: Flo Rida and Avicii, "Good Feeling"

#284: Lil Wayne ft. Drake and Birdman, "See Right Thru"

#285: B.o.B. ft. Lil Wayne, "Strange Clouds"



lulls

So what's the next adventure?

...

In the interim, learning how to use the Snipping Tool has enhanced my p.c. experience.

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#280, "Storm Warning," Hunter Hayes

Return the favor

(That's what she...)

I've become annoyed when folks ask to read my work (namely Mexico, as many friends have been told of it), and then I send it to them, and the rest is silence.

At first, I thought this was because they read it and found it so terrible that they didn't dare mention it again. This is certainly possible. But there's another reality: people just haven't read it.

They're under no obligation to read the work, of course. Or to enjoy it upon reading. But now I will assert myself. If I send it, I will ask, "What part are you up to? What do you think so far?" The litmus test. I'm not going to wait around in silence.

But this means that I have to man up and read what's sent to me by friends. I too have been a slacker on this front. I receive attachments, and then I tend to forget about them.

So here we go. Building up the reader's karma.

...

Here's a cute chipmunk.

Nom nom nom

...

Here are less than twenty songs!

#277: Edens Edge, "Amen"
#278: David Guetta with Sia, "Titanium"
#279: Sia, "Soon We'll Be Found"

Sooner rather than later,

I'd like to try my hand at writing a love story. Of course, there will be complications and probably a lengthy courtship. But maybe there will be a better ending for this duo than some of my past pairs.

Like this happy, healthy, totally realistic couple.

...

How many consecutive days can I go without the need for a twenty-song-catch-up list?

#276: "Somebody That I Used to Know," Gotye

I know I'm a little late to the party on this,

but I'm slightly obsessed with Pam and Jim.

Judge away! I don't care!

...

Also, I'm now using Facebook's "ticker" to creep on what people are listening to on Spotify, though I don't use the service myself. Here's one:

#275: "Stay With Me, Baby," Terry Reid

Preliminary research shows that

my 2011 NaNoWriMo novel will likely take place in or around Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

As Deana would say, "So majestic."

I feel good this week. Making the time to make things happen. Running up that hill.

I'm also, finally, being proactive with the YA novel. Señor Tony did the first read-through and now the Bahlin' one has taken on the task. Though neither is the target audience, I know they'll have astute feedback.

I want to get that story out into the world.

...

And now, we dance:
#262: "Glass," Thompson Square
#263: "Getaway Car," Thompson Square
#264: "Find Out Who Your Friends Are," Tracy Lawrence
#265: "Helena Beat," Foster the People
#266: "Solar Sailer," Daft Punk
#267: "Raise Your Weapon," Deadmau5
#268: "I Might," Wilco
#269: "You and I," Wilco
#270: "Moving to Mars," Coldplay
#271: "Sing Out," The Grand Magnolias
#272: "American Dreams," Paul McDonald
#273: "Welcome to the Black Parade," My Chemical Romance
#274: "Tattoos On This Town," Jason Aldean

all work and no play makes Jack...

All of this work has helped me get a better grasp of what it is I like to do, and what it is I tolerate, and then the final category, what it is I do not want to pursue.

This comes in handy because I like to maintain the childlike sense that Well, I can do whatever I choose to do. That could be true, besides being a professional male basketball player or algo asi.

But I am honing in on the realization of which tasks I prefer over others within my fields of writing and living. That, although I succeed at them, I don't need to do the things that make me wake up in the morning and realize, Damn, I need to do that today and then Oh, God.

...

In keeping with labor, a sudden fond flash to the RA life: "managing" the "Quiet Study Lounges." The lounges were used, on average, by about two people per semester. Tough times.

buckle down

(Buckle up? I suppose that's the appropriate metaphor for an adventure.)

Sunday morning. Back to work. But the kind of work where you don't need to leave, except if you want to, and you don't need the professional pants or the heels that ache after twenty minutes. You also don't need a bag full of your life for the rest of the day at 10 am: notes for here, notes for there, textbooks and essays, water and lunch and snack and possibly dinner, a change of clothes, a laptop charger. You feel a whole lot of things, including despair and anxiety and envy, but you don't feel exhausted.

This is a start.

contact solution, 1:30 a.m.

I am confident that tonight, I am the only customer here.

The soft whine of floor cleaners. Every lantern shut above every register. Even so, these aisles are comfortable. I move from mouthwash to toothpaste and wonder what they think, the few working tonight in their green uniforms: What is this girl looking for? Then: Where is she going?

.

Afterwards I dreamt of driving down a road without dotted yellows. Reeds lined the pavement and the fog and rain made headlights useless. I kept going, hoping nobody would come from the other direction.

Then something happened. The fog cleared. The rain came down more distinctly and the wipers worked to clear it away. But I could see the road now. I could see everything.

.

Read today about Oktoberfest: "refined bitterness"

.

#261: Thompson Square, "I Got You"

The curve and the clearing

Which do I do more of: working, or driving to work? Is it cyclical or am I moving upward (or downward)?

Regardless, I chose to drive by the bay this afternoon. I would take the extra two miles and the stop lights to see the sun on that stretch of water through the trees before the curve and the clearing, and I would do it again. She is singing out of one speaker in my car and so I stay tuned in.

I have to make this day count in some small way.

...

#260: Rascal Flatts, "Easy"

midnight cowboy

I hit that numbness on the drive home. That feeling when you've worked all day here there all over and you should feel relieved, maybe even a bit accomplished, but your mind's muted. Not a twitch in the hand or a foot. Pure stone at the wheel.

From somewhere in the night, a DJ presses "play" on the next song and it fills the car.

"It's all the same, only the names will change."

Windows rolled down a crack and the passing fields smell like bagels, and I don't know how that could be, but I do know that while this song plays, I am awake.

...

#259: Matt Nathanson, "Modern Love"

sudoku exposure

It makes me wonder: What's the story we're not telling?

I have posted about the story we're meant to tell. Is that the same one that, for whatever reason, we're not writing?

A friend of mine has primarily written poetry until recently. I told her several times that she ought to write a memoir, as she has the life experiences and the voice for one. Now she is. She says the writing is difficult for her, but when read, the words fly. It is an honest story, one that makes most sense in prose.

I don't know if it's necessary to bare it all. But are we keeping what makes us innately us from the page? If so, why? And will it one day find a way through?

...

"I used to play Sudoku. But a woman I worked with played it, and I hated her. So I stopped playing because I didn't want to have anything in common with her." - the D.Q.

...

#254: VNV Nation, "Genesis"
#255: Eric Church, "Homeboy"
#256: Eric Church, "Love Your Love the Most"
#257: Jason Aldean, "Big Green Tractor"
#258: Chris Brown and Justin Bieber, "Next 2 You." Yes, this just happened.

a day at the fair

The things we do for free T-shirts.

Soldier: "Are you interested in joining the Army?"
Me: "I'd like the exercise. I'm not really good with confrontation."

But I am good with size XL T-shirts.



///

#243: Journey, "Feeling That Way"
#244: Journey, "Anytime"
#245: Journey, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'"
#246: Sparks, "This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us"
#247: Sparks, "When I'm With You"
#248: Bjork, "All Is Full of Love"
#249: Bjork, "Army of Me"
#250: Sonic Youth, "Superstar"
#251: Sonic Youth, "Do You Believe In Rapture?"
#252: Beck, "Where It's At"
#253: Whitesnake, "Love Will Set You Free"