Writing Again

My sister gave me a novel writing kit for Christmas. Ten years ago I started writing a young adult novel. My mentor critiqued my writing with such enthusiasm, complimenting the emotions expressed and felt as she read. I was unaware of how I had accomplished such literary genius, and eventually, after my semester class was over and the realities of adult life overwhelmed, I succumbed to laziness and put the writing aside. I haven't stopped buying writing prompt books, or listening to Natalie Goldberg and her lectures on writing, but actually writing has happened in sparse episodes, often years apart.

The kit, "No plot? No problem!", challenges the writer to complete a novel, albeit a rough first draft, in one month. Created by the founder of the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), the kit has you sign your life away to writing. It includes a contract to be signed by you and a witness, encouragement cards (one for each day of the month) to keep you in a positive mind set, and other tools to help you succeed in the challenge.

When I first looked through the kit, I said I would complete the challenge three times this year: once in January, once in May, and then again in November (the actual NaNoWriMo). Three novels in one year. It's the 19th of January, and I have one "okay" chapter written. I hate the way it ended, but no editing on the first draft. So what to do? Can I catch up? Should I change the one thing at the end of the chapter I've written so I atleast like where my story will go?

The Autodidact Course Catalog

The Autodidact Course Catalog

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Winter in New England

So, winter has only been official for about 8 days now, but it seemed to come early to Massachusetts. We had a terrible ice storm causing most to lose power for at least a day, and some lost power for about 11 days. Last weekend it started snowing on Friday around 2pm and didn't stop until sometime during the night on Sunday. And, yet, yesterday it was 60 degrees here. No wonder New Englanders have a reputation for unfriendliness. When you have to deal with this kind of dramatic change in weather within two weeks, frustration ensues and no one wants to talk to someone else when they're frustrated.

Happy Thanks Giving

Reading this with family and friends is going to become a part of my yearly Thanksgivng Day celebration. Enjoy (and don't overstuff yourself today)!



Thanksgiving Proclamation
A Proclamation of Thanksgiving by President George Washington

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:

"NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been able to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

20, 10, 5, 3, 1, and so on . . .

SO, I saw this on a friend's blog and thought, "Ooooh, fun." Yes, I am one of the ones who actually likes filling out forms and those semi-obnoxious "get-to-know-you" email forwards. So here you go:

20 Years Ago: 9 years old, Charlottesville, VA. I had just started my first year at Woodbrook Elementary school because my family was finally able to buy a house. I had no friends. My original teacher, Ms.Price, only taught me for about a week and a half. Her replacement, Ms. Cleveland, almost made me quit school. I had gone from being a gifted, creative student, to needing encouragement to complete homework in less than 4 months.

10 Years Ago: 19 years old, Provo, UT. I had just been offered the job of resident assistant at Brigham Young University. I had applied in the spring, but hadn't been selected. However, one of the RAs was leaving, so they needed a replacement, and I was chosen. At the time I was living south of campus in the Miller Apartments with 5 other girls, 4 of whom had been on my freshman floor in Hinckley Hall. It was also at this time that I declared my major as English after going through about five other majors (Music, Anthropology, Political Science, Food Science & Nutrition, etc.).

5 Years Ago: 24 years old, Chino, CA. I was serving as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the California Arcadia Mission. It was my second stint in Chino (I had started there, gone to Arcadia, then Rowland Heights, and then back to Chino) and the great foothill fires of 2003 were in full force. We would go out to our car in the mornings, having to brush off the ash. Our clothes smelled of fire, but we were sharing the gospel. Most people just thought we were crazy for being out in the fires, but that didn't keep them from not letting us in their homes. And really, those same people would have thought we were crazy even if it hadn't been all fire and brimstone outside.

3 Years Ago: 26, Charlottesville, VA. I was working full time at the University of Virginia Medical Center as a Health Unit Coordinator of 3 Central, a general medicine unit. I was also working part time as a mommy's helper for a beautiful family whose 22 month old son had just been diagnosed with autism. They were expecting their second child at the end of October, and wanted someone to help out with the son's therapies & playgroups, the around the house stuff, and the new baby. That job began my career in special education and I am forever indebted to that family.

1 Year Ago: 28, Hudson, MA. Starting my second year as a teacher at a private school for children with autism, as well as my second year in a masters degree program in Special Need Eduction through Simmons College. I had also just moved to Hudson after living too far away from my job in Somerville, MA.

So Far This Year: Turned 29 on March 14th, still in Hudson, MA. I have had physical therapy, chiropractic care, and now one epidural steroid injection for an injury sustained at work last December. Gone to Mexico with my mom to visit my sister who was teaching English there. While in Mexico, I walked the streets of Teotihuacan and climbed the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon. Visited Charlottesville, and, even though I lived there for most of my life, went to the Farmer's Market on Water Street for the first time. In July, I finished, presented, and received a perfect score on my masters' thesis which studied a concurrent-chain method of assessing the preference for sameness and routine in children with autism. I have also started my two semesters of practicum in order to finish my master's degree.

Yesterday: Still 29 and still in Hudson, MA. Worked with three students at school after being cleared to work with students again on Tuesday. After work I got money orders for my bills, did a little grocery shopping and finally filled my gas tank ($3.10/gallon). I then went home and watched CSI season 8 on Netflix.

Today: 29, Hudson, MA. Slept in 'til 10am, watched the last few episodes of CSI season 8 and the first episode of season 9 (cried too much when Warrick died). Went to Walmart to finish grocery shopping. Came home and watched Dave In Real Life (cried again). And now I've been blogging and catching up on friends' blogs.

Tomorrow: Plan to go to Stake Conference in Weston, MA (I'm a member of the Boston Stake). I'll call my mom as per usual on Sundays and probably rest.

In the Next Year: Graduate with a masters in Special Education-Moderate/Severe Need. Turn 30 (GASP!!!!). Land a higher paying teaching job either at the school where I currently am or a near by public school. Possibly meet the man of my dreams and get married. Finally write my Tony award winning musical and be set financially. Big dreams, my friends. Big dreams.

Pain in the Butt

So, for the last nine months I have been dealing with a major pain in my butt, literally. In December I sustained an injury while at work and I've been trying to heal ever since. I started with physical therapy which helped to a point, but then my pain plateaued and I was sent to a chiropractor. He helped a lot, and in April it seemed as if things were back to normal. But in mid July I had a relapse, pain causing me to awake several times a night to take pain meds. I was sent to a physiatrist (it took over a month and a half to actually see him) who suggested epidural steroid injections (ESI). I had had them before for a previous injury with almost instant relief, so I consented. It took another two weeks before I could get the first injection. I was hoping for results similar to my previous experience with ESI, but no such luck. My pain actually got worse and has stayed worse. I am waiting for the physiatist's billing department and the worker's compensation insurance to negotiate a price for a second injection that will cover more epidural space in hopes that it will help. If not I get to look forward to a wonderful procedure called electromyography, EMG, where they will stick solid metal needles into my muscles near the nerves that run through them and see what they do when they are electrically shocked by reading the sound waves they produce when voltage is applied. Yahoo!!! Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

New School Year!!!

Yesterday my school year officially started when I visited the elementary school where I'll be doing my inclusion practicum for my master's degree. I am working in a 3rd grade classroom with 18 wonderful students. I helped them prepare for a get to know you game they were going to play today. I am even more excited now that I've met the students. It's going to be a stupendous year!

My Summer

I consider my summer actually starting in April when I used my passport for the first time and flew to Mexico to visit my sister. She was teaching English in Tehuacan, Puebla, and I hadn't seen her for about a year and a half, so my mom and I met in Atlanta and flew to Mexico City to meet my sister. We then spent 3.5 hours on a bus, finally arriving at my sister's apartment at about midnight. We spent three days in her little town, visiting the town hall, the HUGE outdoor market, the Official Domestication of Corn Museum (that's "corn", mom, not "porn"), and eating wonderfully fresh mexican food. We spent a day visiting the ruins at Teotihuacan, and then took a bus tour of Mexico City. It was an amazing trip!!!!

In May and June I was lucky enough to take group voice lessons from a former BYU Young Embassador. She was extremely helpful in helping me learn how to improve my voice, and I am lucky enough to be starting private lessons with her in September.

At the end of July I finished and submitted my Master's thesis and presented my research at my school's annual poster session. I received a perfect score on both my thesis and poster. Yahoo!!!!

My summer ended with a quit trip to Virginia to relax post-thesis. I was able to visit with the family I assisted before I moved to Massachusetts, play with my sister while she was home for 6 weeks, and help my mom out while she was in a cast and restricted to using a wheelchair and walker to get around (she broke her leg at the end of June, requiring surgery to plate and screw her bones back together). It was a fabulous and refreshing trip.

Alternate Realities

So apparently I am a fan of alternate reality fiction. Is it the fact that I'm not pleased with reality as it is, or that I see what it could be, or what I wish it would be? Some of my favorite alternate reality novels include: The Giver by Lois Lowry, Gate to Women's Country by Sherry Tepper, The Host by Stephanie Meyer, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I guess some would actually consider some of these more as sci-fi than alternate reality, but isn't that what sci-fi is for us now? I enjoy how these novels comment on current societal trends and what's wrong with them, yet how the simple solutions people think would work, wouldn't. People really need to think things through before the start a "solution".

Seriously?

So, coming up on my 30th birthday, and maybe those of you who are married may not realize this (and I know most of you are since just my friends read this and most of my old friends are married), but why do most people insist on putting horrific pictures of themselves on dating sites? If all you're putting out there is a picture and writing, "I'll tell you later" or "Email me", don't you think the picture should a least do you justice? And if you're on an LDS dating site, don't put a picture of yourself in bar or with body piercings. Maybe I'm just too judgemental, but if a Mormon girl is on an LDS dating site and she sees those things, she's not gonna want you to "tell her later" and will probably just submit to her destiny as a Sheri Dew.

29, the age of a lifetime

What is so special about the age of 29? Why do women everywhere want to be thought of as being that age? If I could choose an age to be, I would pick 7. Yeah, I couldn't drive or buy a lottery ticket, but I wouldn't have to fend for myself , worry about rent or utilities, or avoid awkward situations where all 0ther people my age are married with kids and I have to go out to eat by myself to celebrate my birthday. But, tomorrow I turn 29, the age I will stay forever.

Coming Back

So, I haven't posted in over two years, but I'm feeling the need to write, possibly because I live by myself and have no one to talk to about the happenings of my life. It's interesting the things you feel the need to talk about when you have no one to talk to. For instance, a week and a half ago I started off my morning with the empty tank light coming on in my car. I figured I had enough gas to get me to work and to my chiropractic appointment and then I would stop and get gas on the way home. As I was driving from my appointment, my car started to skip (you know, the feeling when you're about to run out of gas), so I pulled into the next gas station I saw. There was a pretty long line, so I was sitting there idling for a while. Well, as I was sitting there, I ran out of gas. A friendly guy helped to push me next to the pump. As soon as I got out of my car, the attendant from the gas station came out and announced that the station was out of gas. I could not believe it! I told the attendant that I would half to leave my car at the station while I went to get gas. Then I walked about a half a mile to the nearest gas station. The men there were really nice, especially when they heard my story. One of them even asked if I was going to play the lottery that night, since the gas situation seemed so bad that a good thing had to happen and why not try for the lottery. They gave me a little one gallon gas can, and I walked the half mile back to my car at the other station. But the story doesn't end there. Unfortunately the gas can nozzle was not long enough to open the anti-syphon valve I have on my car, so I had to spend over 10 minutes emptying small amounts of gas into the pre-valve area and then pushing the gas can nozzle in far enough to slightly open the valve. It was a wonderful afternoon!

Songs of life

Recently I was reading a scrapbook magazine and they suggested making a scrapbook with the songs that have defined certain times of your life. Since I don't have time to do that, I thought I might just make a list here.

"You're So Vain"-- two and a half years old when this was playing on the radio. We were driving cross country, moving from New Mexico to Charlottesville. I didn't know what the song meant, but I sang it all the time.

"Beat It" -- in addition to other early Michael Jackson songs, I remember running around the gym in elementary school to this song.

"Walk Like An Egyptian"-- performed in 5th grade chorus concert for Grandparents' day, along with "The Rose"; I had an asthma attack before the performance because I was supposed to sing a solo and Heather-Rose told the substitute music teacher that she had sung the solo at the last concert so she should get to sing it. The drama of a fifth grade fat girl who has trouble breathing could not persuade the sub otherwise.

"Louis--Louis"-- though not really from my generation, this was the signature song of my middle school jazz band, for which I was the keyboard player all three years

"Criss-Cross'll Make You Jump"-- eighth grade field trips were not complete without hearing this song yelled by the "cool" kids in the back of the bus; we even had a "Criss-Cross" day for spirit week where everyone wore their clothes backwards to school

"Hounds of Spring", "Where never Lark nor Eagle Flew" and "The Ascension"-- favorite symphonic band compostions I played and soloed in during my stint as concert mistress in high school band

"Peaches"-- you remember that annoying song: "millions of peaches, peaches for me, millions of peahes, peaches for free"; for a time it seemed that this song was playing on my radio every morning when I woke up, causing it to be in my head for at least two thirds of the day

"Prelude in C# minor" (Rachmaninoff)-- my senior recital piece after ten years of private piano lessons with Ann May, the best piano teacher in the world

"Kate" (Ben Folds Five)-- obviously a favorite, I annoyed my freshman roommate in college by playing it over and over and over again

"Sleep" (BNL)-- put on my mix tape my roommate made me when I bought my car; it was one of my dad's favorites, and ironically the first song I heard the morning he died

"Wicked: The Musical" -- can not choose just one song; still haven't seen the show, but hope to sometime this year

So Many Ideas, So Little Time

Why is it that I love writing prompts, but never take the time to actually write from them? At the beginning of the year I tried to do one writing exercise a day, but that went the way of New Year's Resolutions and I now find myself longing to write, but too busy to even eat. I guess at least that might help with another of my resolutions. Will I ever have time to just write whatever I want? Will I be able to do the thing that so many have said I'm good at and that I should pursue? Is writing what I'm really supposed to do, or should I pick up another creative outlet and put writing aside? How do I use my creative energies when I don't have time to let them go? Will I be able to stop my addiction of buying creative writing helps or will they continue to congregate on my bookshelves, reminding me of my drowned ambitions? Hopefully this blog will let me release some of what I need to let go.