Maledicte

Argh, more than a month has gone by since I last posted. I was going to be better than this! So, lessee, what's new this month?

• School still goes. So that's not exactly new. I was feeling like I was drowning in homework and work in general last week (and possibly the week before), but I seem to have gotten my head above the water again. I am so incredibly thankful that this is my last semester.

• Myth, Archetype, & Fairy Tale is still by far the best and most awesome class. We all have to do a final project, and since the class is mostly filled with Writing Majors most of us are writing. I'm going to be writing a small collection of retold tales. Red Riding Hood the Werewolf Slayer, Maleficent's Curse, the Love Story of Hades & Persephone, Cassandra of Troy: Modern Day Prophetess are all the things that I've sort of got a handle on so far. I want to do something with Captain Hook but I'm not sure what yet. So we'll see. I'm pretty excited.

• J and I moved furniture around the house last week, putting the TV, Wii and cable box in the bedroom and making space for a small desk/work nook in the corner of the living room for me. Both of these changes have made life much easier and more enjoyable in this teensy apartment we call home. Plus, watching movies (like The Lone Ranger, LOL) in our bedroom on the big TV is much nicer.

• I have a doctor's appointment a week from tomorrow! This will be the first time I've seen a doctor (other than the dentist or my optometrist) in much too long. I'm definitely not looking forward to having bloodwork done—tattoos have not exactly made me fond of needles, but I think I might be past the post of spontaneously bursting into tears at even the sight of a syringe—but I am looking forward to having a reliable someone to prescribe birth control (rather than my school nurse) and possible someone to prescribe sleeping pills. This sleeping-poorly bullshit has got to stop.

• Plus, also, I need a doctor's note in order to go to Israel this February. Free trip to Israel because I'm Jewish, woo! I've gotten them everything they need except the doctor's note (because I don't currently have a doctor, whoops) and I really, really hope that the Culinary trip hasn't been filled by the time I get it to them because it seems like that might be one of the only trips I would really enjoy. So, fingers crossed and all that.

• This fall's TV is so far awesome. I'm watching Sleepy Hollow (and hiding from all the scary parts behind my hands), Downton Abbey (how much do I love Mary? a lot!), Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which I am really loving to bits and pieces), Once Upon A Time (which continues to be full of awesomeness and their Peter Pan is my new favorite), Castle (because I can't give up on it now), Masters of Sex (which I am watching entirely because of Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan) and Elementary (because, Sherlock Holmes. duh.)

• On a totally different note: I really dislike how DW's tagging works, in that I really like it when LJ will show you all the tags you have that start with L if you type that in. DW only shows you one option, and since I don't remember all my tags, it's less useful to me. I always have to cross check my tags with LJ when I post here.

ETA: Oh oh oh! One more thing!

• J and I are going to the east coast for the weekend after Thanksgiving! (Which is when my mother's family gets together to celebrate Thanksgiving, since there are six of them, and they all have significant others so they go their separate ways on the actual holiday.) This is exciting because it's going to give us Friday evening and some of Sunday in NYC together. He's going to bring his camera and I'm going to take him to some touristy places and feed him real bagels and real (fake) Chinese food and real pizza. And maybe a falafel sandwich from a cart. And he'll get to meet Aaron on Sunday, and maybe Mira and Em depending on what those two are up to around then. So that's exciting too!

It's a shame y'all over at LJ can't see my awesome Mary/Downton Abbey icon. :p

• So, school started again. Yesterday. That's a thing. I am reservedly excited, or perhaps just content, with my schedule and classes for this (MY LAST) semester. It's light enough to allow me a life outside school, but involved enough and interesting enough to keep me entertained enough to get through it with relative ease. Or at least, that's the working theory. Classes this semester are:

» Myth, Archetype, & Fairy Tale: By far my most exciting class (for me). Also, I seem to be my teacher's go-to person to answer things she can't remember well enough to explain. Which is to say, I explained the plot of Reign of Fire, Elektra's actual role in Greek myth and why "Elektra Complex" is inaccurate mythologically speaking, what the Greek word eidos means, and what little I knew of Mithraism. This is my field, okay? I have feelings, and I will not be ashamed.

» The Writer in the World: Didn't know what this class was until this morning, but I guess it's sort of just about exploring our writing, and what writing can be, and where writing (and language) came from and how it effects us as writers. I guess. Idk. It's an interesting group of people (about 10 I think, of which I am one of four fiction writers, that's so weird to me) and a fun teacher, so it should be interesting and fun at the very least.

» Intermediate Poetry: I don't know if I ever mentioned, but my academic advisor used to really annoy the crap out of me. I wouldn't get complete answers from her or she would send me form emails that 99% didn't apply to me, numbers (like, this one time, how many credits I would need to graduate) would change, and I once had to give her the same answer three times in a row before it seemed to penetrate that the words I was saying were actually an answer to her question. All of this is to say that this advisor (who is no longer with the school, gee I wonder why) failed to mention that my last four credits not only needed to be an Upper Division course, but they also needed to be in a writing genre that wasn't one of the two I had chosen to "specialize" in. So that's how I ended up in this class. Same teacher as Writer in the World so I'm hoping that I will be able to deal with poetry (and, let's face it, my fear of it) because he's awesome and fun.

• Every time I read a school book on my Kindle I love it a little bit more. I recently swapped my mom my Kindle (the one with the keyboard) for a Paperwhite, and I love it a lot. Like, "I want to keep it at my side and in sight at all times just in case" a lot.

• General writing wisdom tells the writer to put a draft away for a bit (if the writer has the time and isn't being crushed by a deadline) before coming back to revise it, in order to get fresh(er) eyes. I think this sounds like a great idea. So the rough draft is with some readers, and now I am thinking about what I want to write for the next little while.

• Read: I'll be starting the next novel sometime soon. Ideally sometime this week. Idk what it is, yet, but I'm definitely starting it.

• If you haven't been watching HBO's The Newsroom, you should totally get on that. Because even though this season's plot is sort of meh, the writing and the characters are amazing. (It's Aaron Sorkin, and I know you all know that I worship at the altar that is Aaron's Sorkin's TV writing, but seriously. Watch the damn show. P.S. Sloan Sabbith.)

• I made almond milk and cashew milk last week. Tasty and easy and, particularly, dairy free. I'm going to try making my own coconut milk this week, and here's hoping it's just as tasty and easy because shredded coconut is actually cheaper than almonds and cashews. By a lot. I'm also going to try making my own granola bars, since it is apparently easy and could produce a healthier and cheaper alternative to the store bought ones. (And bulk rolled oats are like 69¢/lb at the store. Super cheap.)

• I've been having a weird breathing/swallowing issue today. Which I have been ignoring because doctors what are those. (But if it gets any worse or weirder I'll totally go to the school nurse.) Mostly I think it's just because my body isn't used to getting up before noon anymore and it's protesting. And my ankle was aching today after I got home. I might have pulled something in it a little yesterday. My body is falling apart. Seriously. I'm too young for this crap.

• Huh. DW paid account expired... sometime. I'll re-up it sometime in the coming month for all the icons that I love and can't do without.

Less than a month has gone by and I'm posting again already? Is the world ending? What's going on?

Nah, it's just me and time on my hands.

• I gave my LJ a new look. I like it, though the names on my friends list are light gray and really hard to read, so idk about that. Still, it's pretty and summery. So I am satisfied.

• To use a horse racing metaphor: I’m rounding the far turn and coming into the home stretch down towards the wire. That is, I've hit the climax, so now I just have to resolve it all, and then finish things. Actually, I should be done (by which I mean the whole plot will be laid in, even if there will be extensive revisions) by the end of this month. Which is exciting! I've never finished a novel before! Short stories, yes, though those are few and far between.

• And once I finish with the first draft, I'm going to start revisions. Part of my Independent Study this summer is revisions, which makes sense. The way I've always written my academic papers was to just start writing and write through the end, then once I was done go back to the beginning and make the beginning jive to how the paper ended. Which is similar to how this book is turning out.

• At least it's working, though! Writing novels! Funtimes.

• I'm catching up on TV shows, podcasts, movies, and audiobooks. I can knit while I do all these things, which I haven't been doing much of lately. Not for any real reason except that so many of the things I do can't be done at the same time as anything else. Like... I can't write (either on the computer (typing) or in a notebook) and knit at the same time. I would need four arms. And I can't read and listen to a podcast at the same time and pay attention to both.

• Speaking of audiobooks: I finished Fellowship of the Ring recently and started Two Towers. It's an interesting exercise. And I would watch Fellowship of the Ring in pretty pretty Blu Ray, but we got rid of our PS3 (because we never used it unless I was watching a movie that wasn't on my computer) and we haven't replaced it yet with a Blu Ray player. But we will! And then all the prettiness will be mine.

Lol, that awkward moment when you find a window hiding behind the one you've been using and find a finished but unposted journal entry. It's easily been 4 hours since I wrote this. I think I'm done now.

Today's various and sundries:

• I'm home from my trip. I mean, I have been for like... a week. But I thought I ought to point it out.

• I'm writing! Since my project this summer is to finish my novel (which I am getting school credit for, so extra win) I need to be writing about 500 words a day to bump my total word count up by about 40k words. So far I haven't been keeping a regular daily word count, but I've been binge-writing. I wrote 5 pages (handwritten, about 320 words per page) yesterday, and I'm about to get ready to sit down with it today. So that's fun.

• For those who actually care for the occasional insight into whatever I might be doing at the moment, you might check out my Tumblr, where I post about whatever TV show I happen to be watching, pictures of my cat, random thoughts, and random reblogged fandom-type things. Just, you know, in case you're curious. I definitely post there more than I post here.

• (Hm, I really need to start my writing blog up again over there. I should sit down and see if I can make a plan for that.)

• Now that school is over I'm reading again! This is marvelous. I'm starting with the newest Mercy Thompson book, Frost Burned, which so far is great. The POV is switching up a little in it, which is really interesting since the new POV is an interesting character. So yeah. The Mercy Thompson series and the October Daye series are my two favorite Urban Fantasy series, so I am really happy to start my summer reading off with something that is so dear to me.

• Plus, reading Urban Fantasy novels like this help me get back into the headspace for writing my own Urban Fantasy novel. (Did I mention that my novel is an Urban Fantasy type thing? I can't remember. But if I didn't, well, now you know.)

• J and I have plans to go to Phoenix in late June for Neil Gaiman's book tour. (It was either Phoenix or Denver, and J has family in Phoenix, so we're making a mini vacation out of it.) Apparently this is Gaiman's Last Book Tour Ever, so of course I have to see him and get the new book and have it signed. And it's a chance for my boyfriend to experience "my world" in a way.

That might actually be it for now. I ought to go write.

This month's post, because I always think I should.

• School is school. But it's almost done for the semester, and then I only have one left. So that's kind of neat. I think I actually wrote some good stuff this semester, so that's a bonus too. Some of that I can edit into a shape that might be useable for publishing. So I guess we'll see.

• Speaking of school, next week is kind of hectic. A bunch of things I had sort of vaguely planned for "the future" all ended up in the same week, and all next week. Yikes.

• Camp NaNoWriMo is not really happening. I got about 1200 words, and then life caught up. Even those words were really hard since I was trying to force them into third person from first. I might be able to find the time to get some more words down, but I am positive I won't meet my 15k word goal. Bleh.

• J got a nice desktop gaming computer and gave me his MacBook Pro because my MacBook was dying. It's nice having a computer that actually does what I tell it to do and with some relative quickness. Also: lighted keyboard!

Meh, life is pretty boring these days, so that's it.

Last night I:

• sent in my application to Clarion West;

• also sent a short story to a New Writer's contest.

So, uh... Fingers crossed and wish me luck and all that?

Since it's past midnight, it is officially the last day of 2012.

In 2012, I...:

♥ ...began dating The Boyfriend, henceforth known as J, and fell in love;
♥ ...got a fat cat named Dimitri;
♥ ...moved into an apartment with J;
♥ ...wrote a mediocre short story, 2 lousy scripts, and some awful non-fiction for school;
♥ ...started a novel that I actually think I'll finish and will be publishable;
♥ ...knit a scarf and 2 hats;
♥ ...read 63 books (possibly 64, depending on how I do with the "currently reading" list);

Which isn't bad, really. The only one of my "resolutions" from last year that I managed to accomplish is "get a boyfriend" which is sort of hilarious to me. (Though I wrote those resolutions after I met him, but before we started dating.)

• Oh, also: I saw The Hobbit! I thought it was wonderful! There were a bunch of things that actually really struck me as fantastic, but the main ones were the references to the Lord of the Rings movies. Also, I liked that it was different, since The Hobbit is a different story. I have all sorts of feelings, and I can't wait for the next movies. And all the extended edition DVDs.

I don't really have any resolutions for 2013 beyond: write (finish a first draft of this novel), love, live. And graduate. I get to finish school in December of 2013. So that's a big one.

Hopefully 2013 will be a good year. I've got my fingers crossed.

• I hope everyone had a good Turkey Day. I myself spent most of it with the Boyfriend and his mother, who made us a fantastic feast (and then sent most of the turkey home with us). I also got to play him at Mario Kart, where we discovered that I sort of suck at fake driving. I did improve slightly over the few races we played, though, so I suppose there's hope for me yet.

• I seem to have wrenched my neck in the night, and every time I think I've figured out where it's safe to hold my head so that I won't be in pain, the pain attacks. I would lay down and and hope that the pillow would work some sort of magic, but I actually have school work that I really need to get done before Monday. Still, ow.

• Since Turkey Day has passed, Holiday cards are now relevant. I'll be posting a call for addresses probably tomorrow. Keep an eye out, and give me your addresses so I can send you a card. :)

• I only have four more week of this semester. I am excite.

• I was very fail this NaNoWriMo and thus this year will still not be my year to win. Not entirely unexpected, but I did actually get a good novel idea out of this year, and most of the details for it. I am looking forward to writing more of it and hopefully finishing it. It's actually something that I could see being published. And with sequels! So that's sort of neat, too!

• (I ought to get a mood theme for my DW journal.)

Since the last time I posted, I...:

♣ ... finished Rosemary and Rue and its four sequels (A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses and One Salt Sea)—and really enjoyed them. Waiting for the next book—it comes out in September. Don't yet know what I'll be reading between now and then.
♣ ... adopted a cat. His name is Dimitri (because he's at least part Russian Blue and that was the first Russian name I thought of) and is fat and talkative and hopefully happy. (Technically this happened before the last time I posted, not since, but I didn't mention it in my last post, idk why.) He has very pretty light green (jade-colored almost) eyes. Eventually we'll get him a girlfriend and name her Anastasia—because it makes me LOL mostly.
♣ ... checked my school account and discovered that the last class without a listed teacher finally has one and that all my classes finally have their book lists on the school bookstore. None of the books look like they might cause me to drown myself in the nearest water source (the sink) so I'm tentatively hoping this semester won't either.
♣ ... stopped writing in my paper journal entirely. Bad Sky, bad!
♣ ... let my paid account here on DW expire because I am le broke. I plan on re-upping it as soon as I can, but at least the way that DW cuts back on your icons doesn't make zero sense at all LJ I'm looking at you, so that's nice.

That's about it. I'm boring these days.

• Went and saw The Avengers yesterday. It was totally amazing. There were a few things that I thought went unexplained, and a few things I would have like done better (or not at all), but overall I was impressed with the movie, and enjoyed it thoroughly. I'd like to see it again for a more nitpicky viewing, I think, as there were several moments where I remember thinking, "Oh, that's sort of clever," and I can only remember one of them off the top of my head. So yes, another viewing might be necessary. (I don't think the Boyfriend will go again with me, though. Mayhaps my dad.)

• Actually, I can't stop thinking about The Avengers from what I like to think of as a storyteller's point-of-view, and I think there are definitely things that could have been done better. But I didn't actually notice them as I was watching, so I guess that sort of means that it doesn't really make that much of a difference.

• Avengers icons! (Though, if you're reading this on LJ, you won't be able to see it/them.)

• Things in general are ok. School ends after next Friday. I'm really looking forward to this.

• I'm very seriously thinking about how to make a presence online as a writer, and considering making a blog for this. But I keep getting held up because I feel like I still don't have an identity as a writer—in that I don't yet have a name that I want to publish under. I have some ideas, but nothing I'm satisfied with yet. Which means that I keep not writing about things that I'd like to talk about. And that in turn is making me feel like I can't write about them, like I've lost the ability. (As an aside, I've also stopped writing in my paper journal. I keep swearing to fix this, and then I don't. I don't think I've written in it for about a month.) Anyway, I'll have to keep thinking about this name thing.

• I'm excited for summer vacation, and I've a feeling it's not going to be anything like I originally planned.