Happy Mid-Autumn Festival my darling yellow people!
Due to our horrific work schedules (we get out after 9 p.m.), Jifo and I have to miss his family's mooncake gathering. But...one of my students' parents gifted me with a box so we'll be having our own 2-person celebration tonight.
One of Japan's Chinatowns made a 3 foot mooncake that was eaten in 30 minutes. (It's so weird to see Chinese people speaking Japanese! And why the reporter sounds Slavic I have no idea...)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Heather Says...And I Wrote It Down
We have our first 30 After 30 contest winner!
And I talked in REAL LIFE with a blog friend for the first time. (You people are real...)
When I emailed Heather over at Unlikely Oilfield Wife to tell her she had won the contest, she immediately responded with her phone number.
Who does that?
So of course I had to call. My Angeleno butt rang her up in Texas and we chatted, guffawed and snarked for almost TWO HOURS. You know you've found a member of your tribe not when you like...but when you hate the same things. (And by things I mean people.)
Since we're both PC chickens on our blogs who are afraid of offending our readers, I won't share exactlywho what we love to make fun of. Instead, here's a little bit about Heather followed by my interview with her...and go read her blog!
"I'm Heather, live in the Houston 'burbs, originally from southern Louisiana. I'm an aspiring author, blogger, and retro housewife. Where I come from there are a lot of oilfield wives and families, and husband and I aren't like them at all. We're liberals, we listen to indie music, we watch Wes Anderson movies. We don't hunt, I've never fished, and we hate Louisiana State University football (if you lived here, you'd know why that's strange). I come from a strange back ground of a Creole mother and German father, the most hilarious people I know. I graduated from cosmetology school, craft up a storm, helped start a roller derby team, and my new obsession is hula hooping. And trying to decide if going to Burning Man is a good idea. I haven't slept past 8:30am in 10 years, and while once I was the girl who at 17 took a bus from Louisiana to New York City to meet a boy, I'm now the woman in bed at midnight threatening to call the police if the neighbors don't turn down the music. That does NOT make me a square! :)"
52 Faces: You won this contest because I resonated so much with the following suggestion: "Get rid of the negative people. life is too short to hear people complain all the time. no one can be positive all the time, but no one should be negative always either."
What made you write this?
Heather: I spend way too much time on social networking, and it seems the running themes are blatant bragging about one's house, husband, kids, friends, job, whatever (followed with the most annoying phrase of 2010, "be jealous!") or constant negativity. Facebook and Twitter give people an outlet to bitch about things that are so minuscule, that it seems to fill up so much of my life, because I check updates on these sites too much. The older I get, the shorter I realize life is, and time spent complaining could be spent appreciating. Releasing negative people from my own life (even if it just means blocking them on facebook) has greatly improved my own attitude. Misery loves company, and I would just rather not be on the guest list.
52 Faces: I've struggled my whole life with internalized negativity inherited from my parents. Any tips for being more positive ourselves? And please don't say "gratitude journal" - if I hear those words one more time from a blogger...:P
Heather: My dad is German, and I inherited one of the worst traits of the German people, and that's always assuming the worst will happen. My dad often tells me he was the same way, but living in the south has cured him of that. Unfortunately, it didn't cure me. I don't know if I have an answer to this really, other than making a conscious decision to eliminate the things that cause negativity, when it's possible.
If a job or a relationship has you crying at night, you have to exit the situation, for your own sanity. Friends who do nothing but dis you, have to be let go as well. And while I don't want to suggest a "gratitude journal" (LOL!), putting pen to paper and writing down those things that make you happy, even things like hearing a song you forgot you loved on the radio, CAN help. Seeing it in writing is often the kick in the pants people need to realize that things don't suck nearly as much as they think. Also, people have got to turn off the news. God knows I love the news, but it does nothing for anyone's mental health.
52 Faces: Random love advice time: how do you know when you've found The One?
Heather: I don't think anyone ever knows they've found the one. My husband and I have been together for nearly 8 years, married for nearly 5, and while if anyone were to ask me "is he the one?" I'd say "yes, of course". But I've heard that from people only to see them divorce a year later. I guess when someone is the one, the relationship is easy. People say marriage is hard, but for my own marriage, it's not. We get along very well. When one of us has a concern, we bring it up, fix it, then move on. I think if you can hang out with your significant other for a couple weeks, day in and day out (as my husband and I did when he was working offshore and would be home for 2 weeks straight), and not hate each other, then that's someone you can be with forever.
I'm not a fan of the term "the one", because it implies that there is only one person for everyone, and that is terrifying. I don't want to equate a relationship to alcoholism, but the mantra of "one day at a time", not worrying about the future, is something I think a lot of women, and men, need to repeat to themselves. And to just be cool and not take everything so seriously. Enjoy the person and have fun, and they just might turn into "the one".
And I talked in REAL LIFE with a blog friend for the first time. (You people are real...)
When I emailed Heather over at Unlikely Oilfield Wife to tell her she had won the contest, she immediately responded with her phone number.
Who does that?
So of course I had to call. My Angeleno butt rang her up in Texas and we chatted, guffawed and snarked for almost TWO HOURS. You know you've found a member of your tribe not when you like...but when you hate the same things. (And by things I mean people.)
Since we're both PC chickens on our blogs who are afraid of offending our readers, I won't share exactly
"I'm Heather, live in the Houston 'burbs, originally from southern Louisiana. I'm an aspiring author, blogger, and retro housewife. Where I come from there are a lot of oilfield wives and families, and husband and I aren't like them at all. We're liberals, we listen to indie music, we watch Wes Anderson movies. We don't hunt, I've never fished, and we hate Louisiana State University football (if you lived here, you'd know why that's strange). I come from a strange back ground of a Creole mother and German father, the most hilarious people I know. I graduated from cosmetology school, craft up a storm, helped start a roller derby team, and my new obsession is hula hooping. And trying to decide if going to Burning Man is a good idea. I haven't slept past 8:30am in 10 years, and while once I was the girl who at 17 took a bus from Louisiana to New York City to meet a boy, I'm now the woman in bed at midnight threatening to call the police if the neighbors don't turn down the music. That does NOT make me a square! :)"
52 Faces: You won this contest because I resonated so much with the following suggestion: "Get rid of the negative people. life is too short to hear people complain all the time. no one can be positive all the time, but no one should be negative always either."
What made you write this?
Heather: I spend way too much time on social networking, and it seems the running themes are blatant bragging about one's house, husband, kids, friends, job, whatever (followed with the most annoying phrase of 2010, "be jealous!") or constant negativity. Facebook and Twitter give people an outlet to bitch about things that are so minuscule, that it seems to fill up so much of my life, because I check updates on these sites too much. The older I get, the shorter I realize life is, and time spent complaining could be spent appreciating. Releasing negative people from my own life (even if it just means blocking them on facebook) has greatly improved my own attitude. Misery loves company, and I would just rather not be on the guest list.
52 Faces: I've struggled my whole life with internalized negativity inherited from my parents. Any tips for being more positive ourselves? And please don't say "gratitude journal" - if I hear those words one more time from a blogger...:P
Heather: My dad is German, and I inherited one of the worst traits of the German people, and that's always assuming the worst will happen. My dad often tells me he was the same way, but living in the south has cured him of that. Unfortunately, it didn't cure me. I don't know if I have an answer to this really, other than making a conscious decision to eliminate the things that cause negativity, when it's possible.
If a job or a relationship has you crying at night, you have to exit the situation, for your own sanity. Friends who do nothing but dis you, have to be let go as well. And while I don't want to suggest a "gratitude journal" (LOL!), putting pen to paper and writing down those things that make you happy, even things like hearing a song you forgot you loved on the radio, CAN help. Seeing it in writing is often the kick in the pants people need to realize that things don't suck nearly as much as they think. Also, people have got to turn off the news. God knows I love the news, but it does nothing for anyone's mental health.
52 Faces: Random love advice time: how do you know when you've found The One?
Heather: I don't think anyone ever knows they've found the one. My husband and I have been together for nearly 8 years, married for nearly 5, and while if anyone were to ask me "is he the one?" I'd say "yes, of course". But I've heard that from people only to see them divorce a year later. I guess when someone is the one, the relationship is easy. People say marriage is hard, but for my own marriage, it's not. We get along very well. When one of us has a concern, we bring it up, fix it, then move on. I think if you can hang out with your significant other for a couple weeks, day in and day out (as my husband and I did when he was working offshore and would be home for 2 weeks straight), and not hate each other, then that's someone you can be with forever.
I'm not a fan of the term "the one", because it implies that there is only one person for everyone, and that is terrifying. I don't want to equate a relationship to alcoholism, but the mantra of "one day at a time", not worrying about the future, is something I think a lot of women, and men, need to repeat to themselves. And to just be cool and not take everything so seriously. Enjoy the person and have fun, and they just might turn into "the one".
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Chapter 1 Rewritten
I finally finished rewriting Chapter 1 of my last NaNoWriMo (and first completed YA) novel!
Whooooo!
It started from this awesome exercise I picked up on throwing up words:
I LOVE cutting things wholesale from my writing.
I know, who says that?
I think it comes from being a playwright (back in my more glamorous performing days). During workshops or marathons, I had to remove entire scenes and churn out new dialogue overnight. It's a great way to learn how to kill those darlings.
Most people fear the blank page. I LOVE it. It's a new start. I can forget about the crap I wrote before that weighs me down with parameters and character traits hastily written.
Just remember:
Start cutting!
Whooooo!
It started from this awesome exercise I picked up on throwing up words:
You’ve just found out you have to submit the first five pages of your newest novel to the administration of an elite Writing for Children and Young Adult MFA program.
Find everything that is good about your work. Smile. Bow your head modestly. Think, “I am brilliant!” Now set those pages aside and start the beginning again.
The flavor can be the same–as it is going on the other 421 pages of your novel–but what you should end up with is a New Beginning.
I LOVE cutting things wholesale from my writing.
I know, who says that?
I think it comes from being a playwright (back in my more glamorous performing days). During workshops or marathons, I had to remove entire scenes and churn out new dialogue overnight. It's a great way to learn how to kill those darlings.
Most people fear the blank page. I LOVE it. It's a new start. I can forget about the crap I wrote before that weighs me down with parameters and character traits hastily written.
Just remember:
FYI to everyone out there: Cynthia Leitich Smith writes a first draft of a book. When she gets the whole draft completed, she presses the delete button and the novel is GONE.
I’m just saying.
Start cutting!
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