Talks with my mother

She ambushes me, she doesn't stop, and I can't get in a word edge-wise. Of course my guilty gene is whacking me over the head because you never spend anytime with your mother and this is a side effect from not going to work. Then the guilty gene whacks me over the head for getting nothing accomplished because it's rude to try to do something else. Besides if I even manage to get out "Mom, I have to..." she starts a new subject.

Chad cooked me supper and I brought the work to his house last night. He can be a sweetheart when he tries. :) And today she's supposed to go to Natchez to visit my great-aunt Brenda with no time of return. So I'll have some freedom. But I had to schedule a doctor's appointment at 5pm, so I still don't know how much I'll get accomplished. *Sigh*

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The BookWorm

So much for that bright idea

Two nights in a row. *Sigh* I know Mom has been going stir-crazy all day long since she can't go to work yet, but I NEED to work on homework.

So I decided screw it, my work's not getting done anyway. I'll take her to the movies. The one she wants to see isn't playing in Hammond anymore. It is playing in Baton Rouge but we'd have to go to the 10pm feature. Ain't happen when I got to work tomorrow. *Bangs head on desk*

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The BookWorm

Working at night?

I had every intention for working for a couple of hours last night on homework--that stuff that needs the home computer--while the cat ran outside. Then leave at sunset with cat locked in house, have supper with Chad, go home and go to bed.

Mom wanted to talk and it completely derailed those plans. I didn't get the cat in at sunset. I finally got to leave at 8pm after giving up on said cat. Supper and got home by 10pm. Finally find the damn cat and get him in.

So I'm dragging this morning and my back which started hurting yesterday is even worse. Right on my shoulder blades, behind my neck, and it feels like muscles owies.

Hopefully I get work done tonight.

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The BookWorm

Back from Orlando

Bay Area Renaissance Festival: They have a really nice show. I suppose I need to be more elaborate than that, but I haven't downloaded the pics yet. I will do so and expand this post.

Still suffering from driving to Orlando and back lag. At least this is spring break and I can go straight home and work on homework there. It's bad when you can't work on the top three things on the Daily Writing Sechedule because you need the programs on the home computer.

And Mustard has separation issues. This is the first time I had gotten a large feeder so no one would have to check on him. I got home about 10pm last night and discovered he had peed in the clothes basket and my vinyl portable closet. The only thing in the basket was a washcloth Chad had used. So I guess he was mad at both of us. So I will be playing with my kitty tonight as well as doing homework. Or at least try.

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The BookWorm

Can't think of a title today

Went to the March salon at Vianne's last night. They had Bev Marshall, a local writer, speaking. This one actually let out at 9:00pm instead of midnight like the last one we went to, and it let me glop more writing culture. She's also connected with SLU, so it's networking.

Job Search: Speaking of SLU, they don't want to give me an interview. So I'll be reapply to that same job and a new one that has opened up.

Bay Area Ren. Festival: Leaving tomorrow at 6am. We're going to be staying at a time share in Orlando. I don't want to have to drive 14 hours. Okay that's my last whine about that. We need a vacation, even if it's a working one. :p At least I have money to spend.

Financial Aid: Came in last night. Going to buy my new digital camera tonight. No longer will no camera keep me from working on the Garb Closet. Time probably will though.

Classwork: It's very hard to edit a story when you want to do the work on Dreamweaver that at this moment is only available at SLU's lab. It's even harder when the fonts have messed up for a big chunk in the middle and replaced the quotation marks with garbage.

Daily Writing Schedule: Back to work on it.

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The BookWorm

Details

Depending on blogs to tell if a friend is still alive--only Bek passes that. I know Jazzie's alive; she answers email. Slowly, but there are nights I'm not on the computer either--most nights actually. Slow time at work keeps me on the Internet there. So do I feel like an idiot for keeping with something that's too much trouble for the ones who talked me into keeping a blog in the first place?

Blame the commute home; it always makes me introspective.

Truth is I feel suckered. Hello I love writing and hate disappointing a reader and have a high need to bitch/debate/converse. Hand the pyro a lighter, why don'tcha?

So I'm kvetching, something else I'm good at. Now that I'm a blogger I doubt I can give it up. And I really don't mind it so much, even if most people not into it feel like it voyerism. So I guess I don't feel all that suckered. But the mystery crit circle at Forward Motion? Oh yeah, I've got some deep resentment getting saddled with that.

But for the blog, I'm going to try to list some more current events. Yes, I do have some. :p

Bay Area Renaissance Festival: No, I don't know why they gave themselves the acronym "BARF" but they put on a pretty nice show. We're going this weekend if we can get everything together. I get to see my Tampa-transplanted friends Neobergeron
and Ladybug.

The downside, Chad's eye condition had a major flare up. Without going into medical details, he has no vision in one eye and there's nothing you can do except let it heal for 6 to 8 weeks. So there is no way he can help me drive to Tampa. And I'm supposed to make all the travel arrangements with everything else I have to do.

Classwork: All A's on every assignment. Steve Krug's book Don't Make Me Think is a must read for everyone running a website. Project to complete: Hypertext Transfer, Individual Hypertext, Final Project, Research Paper, and take-home Final. Bear in mind these are for two classes.

Reading: Pleasure reading/personal research reading not the research I have to do for the above project. Just finished Modus Operendi in the Howdunit series. I really need to collect that whole set. They're geared for mystery writers and I need the details in them. Currently working on Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury to get my muse inspired again.

Daily Writing Schedule: Need to stop putting so much on it. And I need to start working on it.

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The BookWorm

Something was wrong with Blogger

Couldn't get it to update at all yesterday. Now it seems to be working.

Must remember that April 4th is when I decide if the daily writing schedule things has worked.

Also spent most of yeserday reading a reveiwing FF.net stories. And then the person I thought I had ticked off with the infamous email (two posts down if you have no clue) got back from the Phillipines and left 3 reviews in one day. *Shrug* Well at least I feel better having done my part. Found a couple of good on going ones in the TMNT section as well.

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The BookWorm

Wednesday *oh brother*

Yesterday I had my appointment with my advisor. He confirmed what I had anticipated, they don't have anything I can take suring the summer term. I got set up for the fall and went on to work.

Once I reached work, my coworkers told me my mother had called. And since my family never calls me at work, it's serious. Called mom. She had gotten in a car wreck coming home from work that morning. Turned around and went home. Stayed less than 15 minutes at work, must be a record.

I got the whole story when I got home. Not that Mom really remembers much. She remembers hitting the wake-up groves on the side of the Interstate and then she started spinning. She ended up in a gully, where the trees actually stopped her from going into the water. A nice young man helped her out having see the whole thing, and you couldn't see the car from the road.

What we think is that she may have dozed behind the wheel, overcompensated when she hit the bumps, and on the slick from all night rain road went into a spin. There was a lot of other crap that went on contected with the incident that I really don't feel like getting into.

Most important thing is Mom is fine, probably just whiplash is all she's going to suffer from. The car could possibly be totaled, but we don't know for sure yet.

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The BookWorm

Did I Say Something Wrong?

Now that the homework assignment that's due today is finally finished, I can think about this. Quiet frankly, I don't know what to think, so I'm just blabbing to get it out of my head.

I posted "TMNT: Bloodlines" to FF.net. My motivation: cross advertising and to draw some of the TMNT crowd to the crossover and see what they think about it. "Bloodlines" did pretty well, 30 reviews for 17 chapters.

I'm not in it for the praise. I love writing and knowing that other people loved it or hated it is just a perk to writing. The reviews were positive and I started reading and reviewing those who had read and reviewed me. I try to play it forward. Granted, life intervened and I haven't been able to finish that list.

I got through a couple of stories and asked in one review what fan series she was basing her story off of. She emailed me back with the website to find it. I thanked her for it, asked about the awards I had seen mentioned about a few stories, and said I didn't want to immerse myself in the fandom. It's true; I don't have the time to be as involved as I am with BMFM. But I intend to do my part with those online with FF.net. I didn't get a response.

I started putting "TMNT: The Ronin" up, and went from 30 reviews from 12 different people to 8 reviews from 3. It's not about the numbers. But the most prolific reveiwer for "the Ronin" noticed to lack of attention in one of her reviews. I'm just confused. And I can't help wondering if I phrased my not wanting to get involved badly so they're not bothering with my stories anymore?

On the other hand, I'll probably feel better once I offer a few more reviews to people who deserve them.

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The BookWorm

What a way to start the weekend

Here's the way I got to start the weekend.

Just left work, joining the long line of cars on 3rd Street. A Buildings and Grounds Maintenance worker is driving the manlift back to their building which behind me. I'm thinking about the long night I'm going to put in on the homework assignment that's due on Monday.

Next thing I know, the green truck in front of me has slammed on his brakes. I have to jerk my wheel and end up hitting the curb to keep from rear ending him. Front left tire punctured and flat in 5 seconds.

Pull over into Claiborne's building parking lot. The guy in truck is very helpful but I still suspect he started his Friday back in the office. The fact that he slammed on brakes 10 feet away from the car in front of him didn't improve my opinion any. The funny thing is I bought my car from Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Great deal, but they forgot to give me a jack and lug wrench. The last time I had a flat it was at home where my Dad has at least 3 different kinds of jacks.

Helpful guy in green truck's lug wrench doesn't fit my lugs. "Do you have roadside assistance?" What Enterprise gave me along with the car expired back in October. I had just bought a new travel savings membership that included roadside assistance, but it's paper work is sitting in my bedroom where I had been looking over it.

Okay, fine call parents. Nobody's home. Then Chad calls, they're heading to Texas for a RenFaire that I couldn't go to because of above mentioned homework and had just reached Baton Rouge. Great! Detour so you can buy me a lug wrench! I sit down with my "How to Write Animation" book to wait.

Meanwhile, the maintenance guy who was driving the manlift and his partner drove by and saw I was still stuck. They had jack and lug wrench that fit. Got me all changed out and the guy in the Channel 6 newsvan aired up my spare and helped with the heavy lifting. My car is so low to the ground you have to lift it to get a bottle jack under it.

I was finally on the road at 5pm. I get off at 4pm. Call my parents and leave a calmer message on their answering machine. First stop was at the first auto parts store, and if I can't fit the jack I bought under the car, I'm going to have to take it back. Also got lug wrench. The stopped at Tire Kingdom to get tire fixed and oil changed.

Got to catch up on local news and read about half of "How to Write for Animation." Got home, grabbed my SLU library books that were due back, and drove out to the library. Missed my Interstate exit and had to drive 3 more miles before the next exit so I could turn around. Drop books at library, got a Whopper and was devouring that and getting on I-12 to get back home when Dad decided to call my cell phone and check on me.

Got home for keeps about 8:45pm. Had a glass of wine and watched the TMNT episode I just read the script for and went to bed without touching homework.

So guess what I get to spend all day doing today?

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The BookWorm

Friday at last

I got my typing test scores in the mail, even though I had alread found out I made a 51 wpm. So now I just have to wait for the Alumni Center to decide to interview me.

And it's Chad's birthday and he's leaving town. Going to see Excalibur Faire. I've got too much to do, homework and writing wise to justify going. Hell, I'm even going to have to skip the free Better Than Ezra concert tonight because of this assignment. But I still don't think he understood why I was upset with him for not asking me to go. I'll admit it's not one of my finer logical moments, but don't decide for me even if you already know what my answer has to be.

That's all I have for now. Caio.

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The BookWorm

Good news

They extended the job application period. Get to call back later today and hopefully I'm the best qualified and get my interview. It all depends on my typing scores. They have to be above 40. Have to be.

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The BookWorm

Making Time Part Three

I've had 3 days on my new writing schedule; how much have I accomplished?

Not as much as I had planned for, but my observation that I'm "stupidly oppomistic" over what I can accomplish was corraberated.

But it's all good. The point of creating the Daily Writing Schedule was not to cram my day full, but to have a list so I can see what is due for classes and other deadlines and write accordingly. And some things are on the list just to remind me to do the on a daily basis--like submissions to Alt. Biker Mice Site.

So I'm going to stick with it for the end of the month. That's a better trial length anyway. I already feel less stress about it. Though I do need to add textbook reading to it.

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The BookWorm

Catch up

It has been over a week since my last post. I feel like a Catholic at the confessional. (Nothing derogatory meant toward Catholics by that statement.) It's been a whirlwind week. I'm not even going to try to break it down by day. I've been tracking topics to cover instead. Compulsively, writer-ly of me I know. I just can't help myself. I should, it would save energy to direct it into the projects that need it, but like I said: I can't help myself.

Birthday
February 26 is the day I graced the world. (If a gal can't be egotistical about her birthday, there is no joy in life.) So this year Chad took me out to the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Aquarium of the Americas, and we had lunch at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro. And he was pleasantly surprised by the art that had been added to the museum (it has been at least a decade since he had last gone). Scary for me driving over the Twinspan going home, but much shorter than the Causeway. But I-55 doesn't bother me and it's built over swamps.

New job opportunity
It's at Southeastern which would give me a 15 minute commute in the morning. I had to scramble and take a typing test Monday because that was the only thing lacking. Human Resources got my application and said check back with them on Wednesday after the typing scores post, but if the deadline for the position isn't extended I won't be in consideration.

And I'm over-qualified for it. But how they know that without knowing me?

School
Classes are fine, got A's in both. And they finally sent me the first part of my financial aid--on March 1st. My coworkers keep waiting for school to send me to the loony bin (or further into the loony bin). But classes have never been a problem for me.

Fate hitting me in the head
I have an opportunity in my writing career that I'm afraid of jinxing too much if I actually talk about it here. But it made me go buy the book How to Write for Animation by Jeffrey Scott. To show you how to put together a cartoon script, he pulls apart one of his "Mobster From Dimension X" written for the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series. I just bought the first volume of that series on DVD and that episode is one of the bonus episodes included on the DVD. I can take a hint okay?

Mustard needs a screen porch
My cat retaliates on me when he goes without outside time. But when he has outside time, he wants to be with me. I want a screen porch with a cat door so I don't have to worry about him.

Being in love with words doesn't do any good if there's no time to read
Went overboard checking books out again. I have to start learning to restrain myself when I go in. Check two out not ten. :p

Bought a label writer
Yeah finally! And got it working. No more wasting labels sending them through the regular printer. Haven't figured out all the details of the program yet, and still have to print up labels for the next stops on the submission

TV on the porch
Chad calls them my appliance gremlins. This week a TV is sitting on top of my washing machine. An old TV with built-in antennas and too heavy for me to pick up so I can USE my washing machine.

I suppose I should be glad my parents don't wake me up when they drop stuff off. I suppose I have no say-so in the matter since they stored my extra stuff while I was away at college. But I'm irked that it showed up Tuesday morning and here it is Friday and I have no explanation as to why it is there! And what's wrong with ASKING me before dumping something on me?

I guess it does matter. Damn, this is not going to be a fun fight. I still have shit that never left my front porch from the last garage sale. I could decorate before they have the one this month, and tell them it has to be put back in this condition. *Sigh* Like I have time to do that.

Creating logos
Finally got my ideas--it's one of my assignments for class--and found tutorials to help me build them in Paint Shop Pro. *Happy Dance*

The Garb Closet
It's been forever and a day, but I'm going to do some kind of sewing this weekend. Probably Sunday.

Updates
Yeah, Updates have been delayed. This will probably be my catch-up weekend.

Clothes shopping
Now that I have money, I went and bought some new clothes for interviews. Even if I don't get this one, I will be applying for the next opening Southeastern has.

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The BookWorm

Making Time Part Two

Well I think it's going to work, I just started a day early. Yeah, I put a list down for yesterday after I spent most of the day plotting out my idea.

I don't know where I get this Superwoman tendency from, dissatisfaction with life? At least my writing life.

Fun way to kill two hours of the work day. *Sarcasm* For some silly reason, I buried my organizer on my desk last night. It wouldn't be bad except that I have moved my life into it--money, credit cards, driver's license. ANd I didn't realize I hadn't grabbed it until I pulled into the parking lot at work. Out of sight, out of mind.

I turn around and go get it after telling a coworker what I had done and borrowing $1 for breakfast. Luckily, all the traffic is moving in the opposite direction. I found it on my desk buried under what I had worked on last night.

I've been leaving behind that organizer a lot lately. What does that mean? I want to be more free?

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The BookWorm

Making Time Part One

Yes, I have the same 24 hours that everyone else has, but I have never been good at the scheduling of that time. And I do hate myself for shrugging during lunch time and saying "I don't know what to do" and playing a computer game instead. Even if I got to Level 11 on Typer Shark.

Maybe it's more of an identification problem. So that's what I speant most of today doing: identifying the projects I need to do and breaking them into daily milestones. That's right, daily milestones. I'm going to try to work a little on everything every day and can easily see what needs to be done at home and what I can work on at work.

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The BookWorm