I love a cleaning kind of day. My brain feels fresh and useful, and I get to see my bedroom floor again. Huzzah! It amazes me how much neater my room looks when all I've done is DO MY LAUNDRY. What amazes me more is how long it takes me to get to the point where I want to do it. It probably doesn't help that I now have a big enough wardrobe that it doesn't become a problem for about a week or so, heh.
At least recently though, I've had a little bit of an excuse for neglecting my laundry. In fact I've had a big, exciting reason! You ready to hear it? ...I have gotten back into writing!! Huzzah! Hurray! *cue jumping and shouting and general merrymaking* ... *oh yes, cue confetti also*
To tell the truth, I never really 'got out' of writing. If I stopped writing completely my brain would probably explode. The thing is, for the last year and a half at least, I really haven't been doing much more than brainstorming, puttering around with story outlines, and writing the occaisional 'super angsty and depressed' poem in runic viking... hehehe... What's funny is you probably think I'm totally kidding about that last one.
Anywho, I finally decided to buckle down on my writing. I even went down to B&N's and picked up a copy of the brand new Novel and Short StoryWriter's Market. Whoo! Ohmygoodness what an AWESOME book that is! I mean, there is a huge list of magazines, what kind of writing they take, how to send it in, and all that good stuff. And not only that! There are also advice articles on all kinds of awesome things. I've not yet read each and every one, but so far my favorites are Critique Groups and Reading With A Writer's Eye.
Other proactive kinds of writing things I've been doing involve picking out the best of my currently completed short stories to further edit and send out into the wide scary world. And I finally put together a sort of idea of how I want the TFG chapter I've been stuck on for so long to go, and hopefully flow. ^-^ Huzzah! I sent it out to my trusted writing friends for some thoughts and critique. Hopefully I'll hear back from them soon... (Yeah, you know who you are! *directs big shiny kitty eyes upon her kindly frienditors*)
Oh yes, and I also wrote a nice middle-length note for my blog. ^-^ Yup, things do indeed seem to be picking up.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
A Happier Post Script
I just realized that my last post is rather long, sorry. I'm also sorry that the first post in sooooo very long had to be so very melancholy. It has been so much on my heart of late that I really couldn't write about anything else; even though I have definitely been up to some fun stuff recently.
I would like to leave you with something happy though; something bright that always flashes into my mind when I find myself drawn to these particular birthday memories. Just one little sweet story before I finally go to bed...
Last year on my birthday, after a mostly blah night of bad ideas, disapointments, and holding back sad thoughts, I was riding in the car with Lucas. Leaning against the window, I smoothed a ruffle on my pretty, practically wasted, birthday dress and said something like, "I really just wanted to dance somewhere... I can't believe they didn't have any dancing," in a half-sighing, forlorn kind of voice.
To this, my wonderful Scholar replied, "Well, I can't think of anywhere else the might have dancing... Want to go walking somewhere?" It was too late to go down to our usual spot by the bridge though. Somehow we ended up at Wal-Mart, walking up and down the aisles and talking. I guess it's sort of funny to go strolling around a store late at night, all dressed up; but it was fun.
Then Lucas said something like, "You know, I bet the music sample board in that one aisle has some slow songs on it. We could go dance to that."
"Really? You wouldn't mind?"
And he smiled that special smile that's just mine and said, "Course not."
So we went to the aisle and we picked an album with lovely, slow love songs off the board... and even though it only played about 10 seconds of the same four songs every time we pushed the button, he held me close and we swayed slowly, round and round. In the middle of an aisle at Wal-mart, we danced. I cannot think of a more perfect way to end one's birthday.
I would like to leave you with something happy though; something bright that always flashes into my mind when I find myself drawn to these particular birthday memories. Just one little sweet story before I finally go to bed...
Last year on my birthday, after a mostly blah night of bad ideas, disapointments, and holding back sad thoughts, I was riding in the car with Lucas. Leaning against the window, I smoothed a ruffle on my pretty, practically wasted, birthday dress and said something like, "I really just wanted to dance somewhere... I can't believe they didn't have any dancing," in a half-sighing, forlorn kind of voice.
To this, my wonderful Scholar replied, "Well, I can't think of anywhere else the might have dancing... Want to go walking somewhere?" It was too late to go down to our usual spot by the bridge though. Somehow we ended up at Wal-Mart, walking up and down the aisles and talking. I guess it's sort of funny to go strolling around a store late at night, all dressed up; but it was fun.
Then Lucas said something like, "You know, I bet the music sample board in that one aisle has some slow songs on it. We could go dance to that."
"Really? You wouldn't mind?"
And he smiled that special smile that's just mine and said, "Course not."
So we went to the aisle and we picked an album with lovely, slow love songs off the board... and even though it only played about 10 seconds of the same four songs every time we pushed the button, he held me close and we swayed slowly, round and round. In the middle of an aisle at Wal-mart, we danced. I cannot think of a more perfect way to end one's birthday.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Memories of 21
What's this? Is it an actual NEW POST!? Fear not, your eyes are not deceiving you... and you aren't crazy either! Isn't that nice to know? ^-^ A new post indeed!
I have been having a hard time sleeping lately. I think it's been 3 weeks since it started. Can't say why... well I could, except that the 'reason' would probably change tomorrow. Honestly I can't seem to pin it down. I just can't sleep. So I find myself sitting up late into the early morning, playing silly but time consuming flashy-type games, and thinking about all kinds of things. And one of the things I've been thinking about is my birthday, last year. Well, sort of the whole time around it really.
My birthday is the 23rd of March, in case you didn't know. That was just last week. I'm 22 now, and I even managed to plan some really fun stuff to do by way of celebration. (I'll probably post some stuff about that later) I was so excited the whole week leading up to my big plans. It was like I had frothy, plotty bubbles in my head. That's exactly how is was last year too. I had so many plans, and I was sure they were all going to turn out just amazingly.
But they didn't really.
It started the day before my birthday, March 22nd. We had a family party at my Aunt's house. I know for a fact that the cake was delicious and that all 10+ members of my close-about family sang to me in various keys, pitches, volumes, and accents... all at once... because that's how birthday parties always are with our family. ^-^ Beyond that however, things are just a foggy haze of smiles that I wanted to mean but didn't really, and sneaking off to the bathroom to cry.
The reason for this had nothing to do with my family at all. I just so happened to have opened an email right before we left for my Aunt's... I am trying my level best not to be too Anne-ishly dramatic, so I will simply say that this was how I found out that a very good friend of mine had died.
I have been having a hard time sleeping lately. I think it's been 3 weeks since it started. Can't say why... well I could, except that the 'reason' would probably change tomorrow. Honestly I can't seem to pin it down. I just can't sleep. So I find myself sitting up late into the early morning, playing silly but time consuming flashy-type games, and thinking about all kinds of things. And one of the things I've been thinking about is my birthday, last year. Well, sort of the whole time around it really.
My birthday is the 23rd of March, in case you didn't know. That was just last week. I'm 22 now, and I even managed to plan some really fun stuff to do by way of celebration. (I'll probably post some stuff about that later) I was so excited the whole week leading up to my big plans. It was like I had frothy, plotty bubbles in my head. That's exactly how is was last year too. I had so many plans, and I was sure they were all going to turn out just amazingly.
But they didn't really.
It started the day before my birthday, March 22nd. We had a family party at my Aunt's house. I know for a fact that the cake was delicious and that all 10+ members of my close-about family sang to me in various keys, pitches, volumes, and accents... all at once... because that's how birthday parties always are with our family. ^-^ Beyond that however, things are just a foggy haze of smiles that I wanted to mean but didn't really, and sneaking off to the bathroom to cry.
The reason for this had nothing to do with my family at all. I just so happened to have opened an email right before we left for my Aunt's... I am trying my level best not to be too Anne-ishly dramatic, so I will simply say that this was how I found out that a very good friend of mine had died.
She was one of my writing ladies, and she was wonderful. She had a big heart, and a hearty laugh. I could tell when I first met her that she dearly loved to laugh. She was a very candid person. Whether it was constructive critizism and questions about someone's writing, thoughts or feelings about her struggles with cancer, or just something scandelous and giggle-worthy; she was not afriad to share what was on her mind.
I just remember thinking over and over, "How could such a woman no longer be in the world?" But, I think the thing that shocked me the most, that rocked me to my core, was the fact that she had died in January... and I had no idea. I hadn't even been thinking of her, or my other writing ladies, even though I knew she had been having a bit of trouble with her cancer returning. I was too busy with work, with my brand new boyfriend, to look beyond my own little happy bubble.
About two weeks later, somewhere around the 3rd of April, my dad's family called to tell us that one of my older cousins, one of my dad's nieces, had gone into a coma. Three days later we learned she was braindead, she died. We'd sort of lost contact with my dad's family, but this cousin would sometimes email me, or comment on my Elfwood stories. She used to talk to me online about favorite books and my plans for my writing. I remember she was so excited about us moving back down to California... she wanted our address to send birthday cards to, she kept saying she hoped we would come down and visit her in Sacremento... that I would visit her. I never did, I never even spoke much with her after we moved down. I was too... busy.
These are some of the things I've been thinking about during these recent nights of not-sleeping. In fact, these are the things I think about when I realize that I haven't talked to my Mom in nearly a week, or called my sister-friend in months... that I don't even know what is going on in my own sisters' lives. What a terrible thing it is to be too busy. What a waste it is too spend precious time avoiding and being angry at each other.
I can't turn back time and send more emails, make more calls, laugh more laughs, or put off some other plans to pay a visit. I can, however, strive to never make that mistake again. That was one of my two New Year's resolutions actually, to keep more in touch with my friends. I pray that God will help me keep that resolution too... he certainly knows the best how prone my mind is to wandering and getting lost in its own little worlds. ^-^
Monday, May 18, 2009
Cue Musical Interlude
Interrupting my not-so-regular and very unschedualed posting to share something from my favorite early-morning addiction, vh1 music videos...
Reasons I love Gravity: Firstly, the music video itself is just... classic awesome. Everytime I watch it I see something that I missed before. Secondly, I just love this lady's voice! And the song, ohmygosh soooo lovely and forlorn, and kind of haunting. I have been humming and singing bits of it for weeks.
Reasons I love Gravity: Firstly, the music video itself is just... classic awesome. Everytime I watch it I see something that I missed before. Secondly, I just love this lady's voice! And the song, ohmygosh soooo lovely and forlorn, and kind of haunting. I have been humming and singing bits of it for weeks.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Happy Hearts and Tunnel Vision: A Return to Backposting, part 1
Ah, procrastination. Have you ever noticed that it gets easier the longer you do it? "Hmmm, I should do this and this; but, it's already been six months since I SHOULD have done it... what's another day?" What a devious, clever, wicked little trap it is. No wonder I fall for it every time. Seriously though, a November-May gap isn't so bad for me, just ask my poor neglected diary. I have a couple entries in there that skip YEARS from one page to the next.
So let's see, where was I? Oh right, November... November was interesting. In case anyone is wondering, no, I did not even get CLOSE to finishing my NaNoWriMo project; although I did learn that Kimi-chan makes characters that are very fun to write! ^-^ You may hear more about WotS as a result... I am still working on plots and characters for it.
Other cool things that happened in November? We got a house! That's right, I am currently typing this post from my OWN computer in my OWN room (well, technically I share it with Tetsu-chan, but still...), in a house that we are renting. Also, I believe it was sometime in November that I started playing D&D with my cousin and Lucasa. Don't be too shocked now. I know there are a LOT of stereotypes about D&D, but I'm here to tell you that it's basically just an RPG video game minus the box, and plus as much roleplaying as you want... and it's waaaaay fun! Expect to hear more about it, as well as tales of my awesome cleric character. ^-^
And so we move to December, wherein I got a job! Wait, let me add some more exclamation points onto that... I got a job!!!! I hardly need to tell you how excited I was. Not only because it is a GREAT job, but because I no longer had to go out LOOKING for a job.
Honestly, looking for a job is almost the worst part of not having one. You fill out all these applications and things, give them to people, come in every few days to check up on them, pray that they'll call you, and then if they do call you, pray that they like you and your 'credentials' enough to hire you. To me it feels rather like I would imagine being in a slave market to be like. Everytime I walked in somewhere to turn in an application I could see it like a scene in my mind:
[The gathered crowd of nobles and merchants watched, some with mild interest and others with barely concealed boredom, as two amazon-esque women dragged the tiny red-head up onto the auction block. Just a little while before she had been painstakingly dressed to best advantage, and yet she still felt totally naked beneath the piercing stares of the people with pasted on smiles. Were they deciding her fate already?
"Remember to smile," the auctioneer whispered fiercely. Oh, right, how could she have forgotten? Somehow she managed to force her quivering lips into the very timidest of smiles.
The auctioneer scowled a little, but continued, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Up next on the block we have this lovely 20 year old high-school graduate with no degrees! Look at those nice clothes, and that happy smile! Wouldn't you like to have such a well-dressed and cheerful girl as part of your workforce? Of course you would!"
The red-head tried a slightly brighter smile, hoping that the crowd's silence was somehow a good thing... she also steadfastly attempted to ignore the auctioneer as he hurried on.
"She has no criminal history, and she has never been fired! Past jobs include summer camp, preschool, and a short stint as temporary office staff!" The red-head's eyes darted frantically to the amazon women. Temporary what? She had addressed and stuffed envelopes with advertisements. She hadn't even been in the office!
"It sounds better..." one of the amazons whispered. "You want people to bid don't you? Now smile!"]
I have to admit, I kind of love how dramatic things always sound in Writerese. ^-^ In reality, I know it wasn't all that bad; but it certainly felt like it. Eventually though, I did get a callback for a job at a little store in the mall called 'Candy Tyme'. That's right people, I work at a Candy Store! Probably the sweetest job ever... hehehe Besides that, I have this huge sense of accomplishment knowing that I'm helping pay the rent and utilities and all that important stuff.
Other cool things in December included more D&D... also Christmas was fun. ^-^ Just having that much family around at Christmas, and somehow managing (with my very little budget) to find all of them a little something that they really liked, was such a blast. I love the look on people's faces when you give them something they really wanted, or didn't even KNOW that they wanted. It's totally priceless.
Oh yes, and I also got some neat presents myself.
I think December was when I really started coming out of the horrible zombie-esque state into which I had fallen after our move. Probably because I had things to do. People should never underestimate the power of things you have to do when it comes to helping you actually feel up to doing the things you like to do... also hanging around with friends. Mhmm, friends are good medicine.
Lookit that, two months covered! Nice. Now, now, I know what you're thinking: "But Jenn, where is the dishy gossip you promised us? This is... nice, but it is hardly dishy gossip!" Okay, so maybe you weren't thinking that... but just in case I would like to say, "Fear not! We still have four more months to catch up on! So tune in next time..."
So let's see, where was I? Oh right, November... November was interesting. In case anyone is wondering, no, I did not even get CLOSE to finishing my NaNoWriMo project; although I did learn that Kimi-chan makes characters that are very fun to write! ^-^ You may hear more about WotS as a result... I am still working on plots and characters for it.
Other cool things that happened in November? We got a house! That's right, I am currently typing this post from my OWN computer in my OWN room (well, technically I share it with Tetsu-chan, but still...), in a house that we are renting. Also, I believe it was sometime in November that I started playing D&D with my cousin and Lucasa. Don't be too shocked now. I know there are a LOT of stereotypes about D&D, but I'm here to tell you that it's basically just an RPG video game minus the box, and plus as much roleplaying as you want... and it's waaaaay fun! Expect to hear more about it, as well as tales of my awesome cleric character. ^-^
And so we move to December, wherein I got a job! Wait, let me add some more exclamation points onto that... I got a job!!!! I hardly need to tell you how excited I was. Not only because it is a GREAT job, but because I no longer had to go out LOOKING for a job.
Honestly, looking for a job is almost the worst part of not having one. You fill out all these applications and things, give them to people, come in every few days to check up on them, pray that they'll call you, and then if they do call you, pray that they like you and your 'credentials' enough to hire you. To me it feels rather like I would imagine being in a slave market to be like. Everytime I walked in somewhere to turn in an application I could see it like a scene in my mind:
[The gathered crowd of nobles and merchants watched, some with mild interest and others with barely concealed boredom, as two amazon-esque women dragged the tiny red-head up onto the auction block. Just a little while before she had been painstakingly dressed to best advantage, and yet she still felt totally naked beneath the piercing stares of the people with pasted on smiles. Were they deciding her fate already?
"Remember to smile," the auctioneer whispered fiercely. Oh, right, how could she have forgotten? Somehow she managed to force her quivering lips into the very timidest of smiles.
The auctioneer scowled a little, but continued, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Up next on the block we have this lovely 20 year old high-school graduate with no degrees! Look at those nice clothes, and that happy smile! Wouldn't you like to have such a well-dressed and cheerful girl as part of your workforce? Of course you would!"
The red-head tried a slightly brighter smile, hoping that the crowd's silence was somehow a good thing... she also steadfastly attempted to ignore the auctioneer as he hurried on.
"She has no criminal history, and she has never been fired! Past jobs include summer camp, preschool, and a short stint as temporary office staff!" The red-head's eyes darted frantically to the amazon women. Temporary what? She had addressed and stuffed envelopes with advertisements. She hadn't even been in the office!
"It sounds better..." one of the amazons whispered. "You want people to bid don't you? Now smile!"]
I have to admit, I kind of love how dramatic things always sound in Writerese. ^-^ In reality, I know it wasn't all that bad; but it certainly felt like it. Eventually though, I did get a callback for a job at a little store in the mall called 'Candy Tyme'. That's right people, I work at a Candy Store! Probably the sweetest job ever... hehehe Besides that, I have this huge sense of accomplishment knowing that I'm helping pay the rent and utilities and all that important stuff.
Other cool things in December included more D&D... also Christmas was fun. ^-^ Just having that much family around at Christmas, and somehow managing (with my very little budget) to find all of them a little something that they really liked, was such a blast. I love the look on people's faces when you give them something they really wanted, or didn't even KNOW that they wanted. It's totally priceless.
Oh yes, and I also got some neat presents myself.
I think December was when I really started coming out of the horrible zombie-esque state into which I had fallen after our move. Probably because I had things to do. People should never underestimate the power of things you have to do when it comes to helping you actually feel up to doing the things you like to do... also hanging around with friends. Mhmm, friends are good medicine.
Lookit that, two months covered! Nice. Now, now, I know what you're thinking: "But Jenn, where is the dishy gossip you promised us? This is... nice, but it is hardly dishy gossip!" Okay, so maybe you weren't thinking that... but just in case I would like to say, "Fear not! We still have four more months to catch up on! So tune in next time..."
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
High Adventure on Highway 99
Warning, parts of this post may confuse you since it's been well over four months since my last update. You're just going to have to wait for catch-up stuff though, because I'm feeling lazy... Which is okay, cause it's totally juicy gossip, I swear! *winks* Although, can you call it gossip if it's about you? Hmmm...
Alrighty so, we set our story laaaaast tuesday... at least I'm pretty sure it was tuesday. It was bright and sunny and very, very hot. Pretty much an average April day here in Redding. My Scholar and his brother came to pick me up at elvenish, so I could ride-along with them to Chico. Whoo! I'd never been to Chico before, so I was pretty excited.
The trip down was pretty uneventful, but interesting. Highway 99 has lots of cool stuff along it. Little towns with little businesses that all have someone's name attached like, 'Lucy's Diner', lots of really pretty trees, and some awesome spots where it looks like the grass runs right along the edge of the sky. We did some chatting, but didn't talk a lot. Clay was pretty happy in the backseat with his music or his computer, and the Scholar and I are pretty content with silence until we think of something to talk about.
Chico itself was really cool. Somehow, from hearing people talk about it I kind of got the idea that it was this huge sort of metropolitan city with huge buildings and lots of pavement and all. But that's not how it is. It is big, but I found it pretty cute... at least the parts I saw. There were trees EVERYWHERE. And I mean big, leafy, lovely trees all along the sidewalks and just everywhere. Way more than in Redding, except for places like Turtle Bay.
The three of us weary travelers (and yes, you can be weary after only about an hour and a half of driving if the temperature is over at least 70) went to a mongolian barbeque place called Hula's. Mongolian barbeque is not my favorite, I have decided. Of course, maybe I just got too much meat and noodles and not enough veggies, who knows. I am willing to give it another try certainly... definately with less noodles. They had this weird texture and taste to them... blech. Not even a quarter as good as the ones my Scholar made for me. ^-^
Anywho, we continued on to a comic store. I found some cool Dragonlance stuff there! But, they had a reeeaaally small manga section. *sigh* Not that I had any money, but it's always fun to browse around. ^-^ After that we hit the college out in Butte, which was actually the point of going to Chico, so some photos belonging to the Scholar could be retrieved from a teacher there. This involved some walking around in the oppressive heat, which I must admit I did not appreciate, and then lots of waiting around in the heavenly cold of the place of photography classes and working of photos... which I totally did appreciate.
There is just something about the heat here which makes me sort of wish I was one of those girls who could dramatically faint and have to be carried around. My problem is really that I have too much pride to just collapse. I must push myself, try to keep up, and when asked say things like, "No, really I'm okay. I can go a little bit more." until there is absolutely no other option. Which is silly I guess, and yet somehow gratifying when it's all over and done. Certainly gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Pride goeth before a fall' though, doesn't it?
But I digress, which is pretty horrible of me when I'm coming up the most exciting part of the story!
After procuring aqua goodness and icey-delicious juice pops (curtesy of Clay), we headed back towards Redding. At first it was pretty much like the before. Pleasently quiet, with much scenery gazing and a smattering of conversation... mostly centered around how many juice pops we could eat before they melted or we started feeling sick. heh. Then, I heard "What's that?" and I looked up to see what looked like a black plastic bag sort of bouncing down the road towards us. It only took a couple of seconds for us to realize that it was neither plastic, nor a bag, but a large square metal thing heading right for us! Gasp!
The Scholar tried to go around it, didn't quite manage, and then there was this horribly loud 'CLANK!', accompanied by what a seemed a very large jolt of the car. Clay thought we had hit another vehicle. I am not ashamed to admit that I totally screamed. Not like, histarically; but it was super startling and scary! You would have screamed too, if it happened to you...
We pulled over on the side of the highway and, lo and behold, we discovered that the left front tire was flat. Did I mention that it was really hot out, windy too, and Clay was feeling kind of sick from eating so many juice pops? We kind of just stood around for a little while, trying to figure out what had happened, what we'd hit, and where it had come from. Everything had that dazed 'well what now?' kind of feeling to it; which is a pretty good sign that you're having an adventure. People in adventures tend to have those moments when they haven't the slightest clue what's going on...
Eventually however, things got sorted out. The guys set about getting out the spare tire and replacing our flat with it. Meanwhile I, not wanting to be totally useless, decided to go treking along the highway to find out what was the black thing that we hit. I feel this part of the tale is best rendered in writerese.
[The warm wind whipped my hair around like a wild-thing as I set out upon my quest. Ahead of me I could see my goal: a black spot shimmering in the afternoon heatwaves radiating from the tarmak; mere echoes of the oppressive intensity of the sun beating down upon my head. My progress seemed insanely slow, each step a great effort that got me nowhere at all. Compared to the vehicles whipping by every so often, so close I actually held my breath each time I saw a new one coming, I might as well have been crawling.
Undaunted, persistant, and ignoring what sounded like omninous rustlings in the tall grass next to me, I continued on. After a while, I know not how long, the path before me began to shrink little by little, and the object I sought grew larger and larger. Finally it lay at my feet, a strange metal rectangle that burned my hand as I picked it up.
"But, what is it?"]
There now, isn't that much better than just saying that I walked back along the road, grabbed the strange metal thing we had hit, and then walked back to the boys to see if they knew what the heck it was? I thought so.
To finish off this little story that has somehow become longer than most of my other posts, I will say that the spare tire was successfully attached and we made it back to Redding in good time. None of us had a clue what the weird thing was that we hit; so we brought it back with us. I heard that it was later identified as a tie-down sort of deal off the side of one of those big semi's.
Thinking about it now, and the way it came from across the road boucning all crazy like, I have to say that it is probably a miracle, and definately a blessing that it only hit the tire. It could have easily smashed into the windshield or a side window, or hit something bad under the car. Praise the Lord for his great protection and mercy.
And that's the end of the story. Far off lands, bright new sights, near escapes, braving the dreadful heat and unknown peril, and living to tell about it... Truly, the very stuff that great adventures are made of!
(Thanks muchly for Scholarly editing notes involving names and directions. *hugs*)
Alrighty so, we set our story laaaaast tuesday... at least I'm pretty sure it was tuesday. It was bright and sunny and very, very hot. Pretty much an average April day here in Redding. My Scholar and his brother came to pick me up at elvenish, so I could ride-along with them to Chico. Whoo! I'd never been to Chico before, so I was pretty excited.
The trip down was pretty uneventful, but interesting. Highway 99 has lots of cool stuff along it. Little towns with little businesses that all have someone's name attached like, 'Lucy's Diner', lots of really pretty trees, and some awesome spots where it looks like the grass runs right along the edge of the sky. We did some chatting, but didn't talk a lot. Clay was pretty happy in the backseat with his music or his computer, and the Scholar and I are pretty content with silence until we think of something to talk about.
Chico itself was really cool. Somehow, from hearing people talk about it I kind of got the idea that it was this huge sort of metropolitan city with huge buildings and lots of pavement and all. But that's not how it is. It is big, but I found it pretty cute... at least the parts I saw. There were trees EVERYWHERE. And I mean big, leafy, lovely trees all along the sidewalks and just everywhere. Way more than in Redding, except for places like Turtle Bay.
The three of us weary travelers (and yes, you can be weary after only about an hour and a half of driving if the temperature is over at least 70) went to a mongolian barbeque place called Hula's. Mongolian barbeque is not my favorite, I have decided. Of course, maybe I just got too much meat and noodles and not enough veggies, who knows. I am willing to give it another try certainly... definately with less noodles. They had this weird texture and taste to them... blech. Not even a quarter as good as the ones my Scholar made for me. ^-^
Anywho, we continued on to a comic store. I found some cool Dragonlance stuff there! But, they had a reeeaaally small manga section. *sigh* Not that I had any money, but it's always fun to browse around. ^-^ After that we hit the college out in Butte, which was actually the point of going to Chico, so some photos belonging to the Scholar could be retrieved from a teacher there. This involved some walking around in the oppressive heat, which I must admit I did not appreciate, and then lots of waiting around in the heavenly cold of the place of photography classes and working of photos... which I totally did appreciate.
There is just something about the heat here which makes me sort of wish I was one of those girls who could dramatically faint and have to be carried around. My problem is really that I have too much pride to just collapse. I must push myself, try to keep up, and when asked say things like, "No, really I'm okay. I can go a little bit more." until there is absolutely no other option. Which is silly I guess, and yet somehow gratifying when it's all over and done. Certainly gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Pride goeth before a fall' though, doesn't it?
But I digress, which is pretty horrible of me when I'm coming up the most exciting part of the story!
After procuring aqua goodness and icey-delicious juice pops (curtesy of Clay), we headed back towards Redding. At first it was pretty much like the before. Pleasently quiet, with much scenery gazing and a smattering of conversation... mostly centered around how many juice pops we could eat before they melted or we started feeling sick. heh. Then, I heard "What's that?" and I looked up to see what looked like a black plastic bag sort of bouncing down the road towards us. It only took a couple of seconds for us to realize that it was neither plastic, nor a bag, but a large square metal thing heading right for us! Gasp!
The Scholar tried to go around it, didn't quite manage, and then there was this horribly loud 'CLANK!', accompanied by what a seemed a very large jolt of the car. Clay thought we had hit another vehicle. I am not ashamed to admit that I totally screamed. Not like, histarically; but it was super startling and scary! You would have screamed too, if it happened to you...
We pulled over on the side of the highway and, lo and behold, we discovered that the left front tire was flat. Did I mention that it was really hot out, windy too, and Clay was feeling kind of sick from eating so many juice pops? We kind of just stood around for a little while, trying to figure out what had happened, what we'd hit, and where it had come from. Everything had that dazed 'well what now?' kind of feeling to it; which is a pretty good sign that you're having an adventure. People in adventures tend to have those moments when they haven't the slightest clue what's going on...
Eventually however, things got sorted out. The guys set about getting out the spare tire and replacing our flat with it. Meanwhile I, not wanting to be totally useless, decided to go treking along the highway to find out what was the black thing that we hit. I feel this part of the tale is best rendered in writerese.
[The warm wind whipped my hair around like a wild-thing as I set out upon my quest. Ahead of me I could see my goal: a black spot shimmering in the afternoon heatwaves radiating from the tarmak; mere echoes of the oppressive intensity of the sun beating down upon my head. My progress seemed insanely slow, each step a great effort that got me nowhere at all. Compared to the vehicles whipping by every so often, so close I actually held my breath each time I saw a new one coming, I might as well have been crawling.
Undaunted, persistant, and ignoring what sounded like omninous rustlings in the tall grass next to me, I continued on. After a while, I know not how long, the path before me began to shrink little by little, and the object I sought grew larger and larger. Finally it lay at my feet, a strange metal rectangle that burned my hand as I picked it up.
"But, what is it?"]
There now, isn't that much better than just saying that I walked back along the road, grabbed the strange metal thing we had hit, and then walked back to the boys to see if they knew what the heck it was? I thought so.
To finish off this little story that has somehow become longer than most of my other posts, I will say that the spare tire was successfully attached and we made it back to Redding in good time. None of us had a clue what the weird thing was that we hit; so we brought it back with us. I heard that it was later identified as a tie-down sort of deal off the side of one of those big semi's.
Thinking about it now, and the way it came from across the road boucning all crazy like, I have to say that it is probably a miracle, and definately a blessing that it only hit the tire. It could have easily smashed into the windshield or a side window, or hit something bad under the car. Praise the Lord for his great protection and mercy.
And that's the end of the story. Far off lands, bright new sights, near escapes, braving the dreadful heat and unknown peril, and living to tell about it... Truly, the very stuff that great adventures are made of!
(Thanks muchly for Scholarly editing notes involving names and directions. *hugs*)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Personality Signs
For as long as I can remember I have been jokingly telling people, "Oh yeah, watch out. I'm a red-headed aries born in the year of the dragon!" Might actually be where the whole 'crazy red-head' deal started. ^-^
Okay now, personally, I think that the whole astrology thing is a big load of bilge... however, the personlity traits that belong to certain signs have always fascinated me. Especially since sometimes I really don't seem to fit my as'sign'ed personality. (sorry could... not... resist... pun!)
For instance, in the western-style signs I am an Aries. However, everytime I read stuff about Aries personalities I always think, "Wow, that is not really me." Except for this one I read in a fashion mag once that said Aries girls have a thing for red lipstick... ^-^ I have always felt that Pisces represented my personality better. I'm not the only one either, my sisters agree with me. However, I will admit to having a few glaringly 'aries' traits... such as stubborness (to a fault at times XD), a little rebelish-ness, as well as being a tiiiiiny bit impulsive. (Loralin's totally laughing right now... yes I SEE you woman! Chortling...)
Anyways, I've sort of taken to calling myself an Aries with extreme Pisces tendancies. ^-^
Now the chinese astrology signs are a lot more interesting. Seriously, look it up on wikipedia. You get one for the year you're born, one for the month, and one for the HOUR. Supposedly the year sign is what other people see you as, the month is what YOU see you as, and the hour is what you really are. Not only that, but there are elements involved too, if you really want to go deep. I think have to do with the year cycle as well.
Pretty snazzy right? And you thought it was simple and stuff! ^o^ Yeah, I did too for a long time, and I was pretty excited when I looked more into it because, shockingly enough, I never felt much like a dragon either. Turns out that other people think I am a dragon and I think I am a rabbit, which is actually what I am. ^-^ Go me on the self-knowledge deal! Whoo! I'm an earth element, I think... with some watery tendancies.
I'm not entirely sure how accurate it is, but in Irish/Gaelic astro my tree is a hazelnut and my other sign is a raven. I have to look up the personality thing for that, as it's not as popular as the first two. Also, I want to find out my blood-type so I can go find my japanese personality type... cause that's what they do it by. ^-^
Now, you're probably wondering, 'Hey Jenn, why the signs spiel?" ...if not, I'm going to tell you anyways. Honestly? There's been a couple of things lately that have made me rethink some of my original ideas about my personality... I mean, I always thought the stubborness (and lipstick thing) was my only real Aries trait, but recently I've realized I'm a little more of a ram than I thought. XD
For instance, I've realized that I'm really impulsive. The other night my mom and I ran to wal-mart really late for like, household stuff... I was in it for the cheezits and a shonen jump really. When I went over to the magazine aisle to snag mah Jump, I saw, upon the book shelves crammed with Twilight and myriad other things I will never read... InkDeath, the conclusion to the Inkheart trilogy!! Ohmygosh, I have been waiting, and waiting , and waaaaaaaiting for this book to come out! (Loralin got in it german like, MONTHS and moths ago and I almost turned green, seriously.) I was so elated I snagged it right off the shelf and proceeded to buy it. Nevermind that it was 20 something bucks and I'd only come in for cheezits! The next day I ended up taking it back because I realized firstly, that it was a hardback and wouldn't match my other two books, and secondly that I had no time to actually read it. >.<
There are some other things, pressures and issues that can only really happen when you're crammed into a house with 9 other people, and they've made me see some things in myself that I never saw before... which was why I was thinking about signs and personalities.
Oh yes, and I've taken the choleric/melancholy/phlegmatic/sanguine test... and scored almost even in all of them. I'm just an odd, odd child.
Okay now, personally, I think that the whole astrology thing is a big load of bilge... however, the personlity traits that belong to certain signs have always fascinated me. Especially since sometimes I really don't seem to fit my as'sign'ed personality. (sorry could... not... resist... pun!)
For instance, in the western-style signs I am an Aries. However, everytime I read stuff about Aries personalities I always think, "Wow, that is not really me." Except for this one I read in a fashion mag once that said Aries girls have a thing for red lipstick... ^-^ I have always felt that Pisces represented my personality better. I'm not the only one either, my sisters agree with me. However, I will admit to having a few glaringly 'aries' traits... such as stubborness (to a fault at times XD), a little rebelish-ness, as well as being a tiiiiiny bit impulsive. (Loralin's totally laughing right now... yes I SEE you woman! Chortling...)
Anyways, I've sort of taken to calling myself an Aries with extreme Pisces tendancies. ^-^
Now the chinese astrology signs are a lot more interesting. Seriously, look it up on wikipedia. You get one for the year you're born, one for the month, and one for the HOUR. Supposedly the year sign is what other people see you as, the month is what YOU see you as, and the hour is what you really are. Not only that, but there are elements involved too, if you really want to go deep. I think have to do with the year cycle as well.
Pretty snazzy right? And you thought it was simple and stuff! ^o^ Yeah, I did too for a long time, and I was pretty excited when I looked more into it because, shockingly enough, I never felt much like a dragon either. Turns out that other people think I am a dragon and I think I am a rabbit, which is actually what I am. ^-^ Go me on the self-knowledge deal! Whoo! I'm an earth element, I think... with some watery tendancies.
I'm not entirely sure how accurate it is, but in Irish/Gaelic astro my tree is a hazelnut and my other sign is a raven. I have to look up the personality thing for that, as it's not as popular as the first two. Also, I want to find out my blood-type so I can go find my japanese personality type... cause that's what they do it by. ^-^
Now, you're probably wondering, 'Hey Jenn, why the signs spiel?" ...if not, I'm going to tell you anyways. Honestly? There's been a couple of things lately that have made me rethink some of my original ideas about my personality... I mean, I always thought the stubborness (and lipstick thing) was my only real Aries trait, but recently I've realized I'm a little more of a ram than I thought. XD
For instance, I've realized that I'm really impulsive. The other night my mom and I ran to wal-mart really late for like, household stuff... I was in it for the cheezits and a shonen jump really. When I went over to the magazine aisle to snag mah Jump, I saw, upon the book shelves crammed with Twilight and myriad other things I will never read... InkDeath, the conclusion to the Inkheart trilogy!! Ohmygosh, I have been waiting, and waiting , and waaaaaaaiting for this book to come out! (Loralin got in it german like, MONTHS and moths ago and I almost turned green, seriously.) I was so elated I snagged it right off the shelf and proceeded to buy it. Nevermind that it was 20 something bucks and I'd only come in for cheezits! The next day I ended up taking it back because I realized firstly, that it was a hardback and wouldn't match my other two books, and secondly that I had no time to actually read it. >.<
There are some other things, pressures and issues that can only really happen when you're crammed into a house with 9 other people, and they've made me see some things in myself that I never saw before... which was why I was thinking about signs and personalities.
Oh yes, and I've taken the choleric/melancholy/phlegmatic/sanguine test... and scored almost even in all of them. I'm just an odd, odd child.
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