Halloween 2006

Okay, so this was the trial version from Saturday Oct. 28th.


And this is the actual Halloween version. That's my paying job home right behind me.


Here's a portrait shot. I think next time I use this idea (and there will be a next time, I spent too much money on snakes) I will add fangs. I liked hissing at people.


Here's my office partner Dana. I finally got someone to dress up with me! *Sniff*


And here we are with our "Best Original Costume" ribbon. Boy, did we earn it too. Dana actually spray-painted her toga the night before and kept it on all day, making herself sick in the process.


We also found out that education has been leaving out Greek myths for a lot of people. They didn't recognize the snakes, which is hard with all my hair twined with them, but they would still have blank faces when I said I was Medusa. *Shrug* Next year is going to be interesting to top.

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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Good advice from Neil Gaiman

Doing my part to spread the word: creative people need to make a literary/artistic will. And by that I mean a final statement on how your works will outlive you. Cause if you have greedy relatives like I do, you probably don't want them making a buck off you once you're dead.

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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Recap for those coming in late

10/26/06: Outlined problems and plans tot solve them.
10/27/06: Executed plans to differing degrees of success.

10/28/06: A bloody day off! Mostly off! It didn't start out well. I couldn't get up out of bed. Then I was into Educators' Guide's edits when I had to stop at about 9:30am, to leave and run my errands. Went to Albany but that bank branch was closed. Remembered I forgot blue lipstick. Went back home for blue lipstick. Then went to Denham Springs' Wal-Mart for returns and last minute shopping items. Then had to find bank branch in Denham Springs. That was luck. I finally made it to Lafayette about 1pm, feeling frazzled and needing lunch.

After lunch, we made it to Jackie's house about 2pm. From their we helped her and her mom get the haunted yard ready. Pretty soon people trickled in. I finally started getting into costume at 6pm. It took 3 people to get the snakes in my hair. I hope I can managed it all by myself tomorrow. But I looked fabulous. I'll post pictures later.

The huanted house was a bust. It was UL at Lafayette's homecoming game and we had 6 customers total = 3 walk-throughs. But the party was a blast-ola. I don't know when we left, probably at midnight. It was after promising people we would taken them out to the site on Sunday.

10/29/06: Sunday morning had no phone calls to see the site, so I headed on home. Reached home about 11:30am. Dived into week 10 assignment, followed by Educator's Guide edits. Came up to eat and answer the phone. Chad called to report that after he and his mother got back from doing the gravesite tending stuff, people called and they ended up doing the trip out there about 1pm.

And yeah, it's taken me about three days to type all this up. I've been busy! I also found a new webcomic last night after I signed off of editing for the night: And Shine Heaven Now. It's a Hellsing fancomic, and yes they are doing a crossover with Mystery Inc (otherwise known as those meddling kids). And the fangirl attack storylines are hysterically amusing even without knowning the personalities involved. And you don't have to know the in and outs of Hellsing to appreciate it. I don't; it's on my list of animes to get. Though now reading the extra stuff, I think I want the manga too. The art has come a long way too if you do an archive crawl like I did.

There I think I'm all caught up now. I'll trying to get pictures and numbers on the work posted next time I'm here.

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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Follow up to Problems and Plans

Lunch time and I've accomplished:
Week 9 assignment
Week 6 assignment
halfway done with week 8 assignment
Medieval science edits done on paper

Left to do:
Week 10 assignment is a page from Educator's Guide
Discussion Board catch up

Then I'll be able to concentrate totally on the Educators' Guide. I probably won't have gym time today, because I have to get the changes in the computer. I'll have to speed wolk through the stores.

1:26pm: Thank dog for a slow day at work. I've finished everything homework-wise that I needed to catch up on. Concentrating on the paying gig and my next free time: Educators' Guide.

5:30pm: My first stop had snakes! I wiped Party Paradise out of $1.50 snakes. Now I just have to figure out how to get them to stay on my head. Currently stuck in traffic. Since they actually said the wreck was at the Springfield/Albany exit; it must be bad. Baton Rouge radio notorious for pretending traffic doesn't exist past Walker.

I didn't get the rest of the edits as clearly wrote out as the Medieval Science section because I didn't pack reference materials for them. Oops. But I honestly expected to be all day on homework. Well, I'll have time to work tonight if I ever get past the traffic. Even with sewing a Greek chiton.

Bank is out tonight, and I decided to take some stuff bought at Wal-Mart back. Need press on nails. Will fo to Wal-Mart after chiton is done. That way if Hammond is a no go, I can swing by Denham Springs and do it.

Need to shape eyebrows; don't want to look like I don't have any (why I don't have it done at a salon).

5:53pm: Oh, now the radio explains. They are diverting traffic to Holden exit, which is where I was going to get off. Damn, it must be bad. Also need chapstick added to shopping list.

6:20pm: Home finally. Once we got past gawking at the idiots who got thmselves stuck in the median trying to get to the westbound lanes of the Interstate, the diverting and wreck was gone.

Sewed chiton. Typed out Medieval Science edits. Went to bed.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Problems and Plans

Problem #1: I refuse to pay $129 for a Medusa costum that doesn't A) give you gold plated jewelry or B) a full wig of fake snakes. So I have to sew something up by Saturday night. Making a Greek toga (I know that's not the right term but forgive my laziness) won't be a problem and I already have the material; toy snakers are. I can't find any.

Tomorrow: visit Party City or Party Paradise on Drusella. Visit Halloween store in Hammond Square Mall. Visit Big Lots. Visit all dollar stores in the Hammond area.

Problem #2: Loathe as I am to admit it; Chad is right. I'm going to have to find a stopping point of new material on the Educators' Guide, pretty up the remaineder, and put it all together. Once that is done, the activity book needs to go together as a seperate file.

So what has been started but not finished:

• The Cover


• Declarations


• Welcome Section


• Add Edward III's family tree to History section and take stuff that is a job and not a class in the Class section.


• Medieval Pastimes section - Add Gregorian chant to Music. Add Mystery Plays. Change the Games section to reflect, Indoor, Outdoor, and Betting. Add stuff about Fools Day to Faire and Markets section.


• Medieval Science - edit Agriculture and Inventions sections.


• Medieval Vocabulary - is actually Middle English and I have to see what Wade (our cast director) has put up on Middle English.


• Make sure Glossary, List of Illustrations, and Bibliography are up to date.


• Merge new Food and Cooking section into existing Medieval Life. Also move job stuff from Class section.

And I have more homework to catch up on. And a Halloween hund raiser I promised to be Medusa for Saturday. And work. No, I haven't got a lot more done on Zy's novel. Sucks don't it?

Plan of attack: Friday: Pack homework and Welcome and History sections. Between assignments, mock up the edits necessary. Do banking between shopping stops. After shopping trip, mock up Medusa garb. After that, make edits on computer.

Saturday: Wake up at 4am. Get chores done. Get dressed. Work on Educators' Guide until 10am. Drive to Lafayette for haunted house and party set up.

Sunday morning: go home. Make sure all homework is ready for Monday. Work on Educators' Guide till bedtime.

Hopefully that will see that part finished and I can whip up the activity workbook in a week. Need to ask how many CD copies we'll need. I don't want to burn on my computer; it's been acting wonky the last few times.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Tuesday already?

Monday is a big blur of trying to get homework done, and not really succeeding. I need to catch up in History of the Book and get started on its Project 2.

I'm too rushed to figure out what day this would be for my Back on the Track. I've been off for two weeks and it's time to get my butt back in the gym and get resettled in my routine. I'll probably end up coming home and working for 3 hours on the Educators' Guide, but I'm on a deadline with it.

14 and a half laps was my 30 minute average. On the first week of the Walk of Life program I'm at 30 minutes still, so I need to get more laps in to up my aerobic output. So I need to get 16 laps.

Back to the gym, Educators' Guide, budget update, update my monthly and weekly totals: my plans for tonight. Today: homework, Zy's Novel, work.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Zy Novel progress

Well, I didn't concentrate as much on typing as I could have. We had a birthday luncheon at work today. :) But I did get 849 words added, though some will need to be changed to names of alien species once I create the aliens. *Sigh* I keep wondering at what point do I need to stop and work on that background detail stuff. Maybe once I get the rough draft done.

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The BookWorm


Progress Bar from Writertopia

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

More good points to why you should vote

The Daily Dish: Quote of the Day

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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Fun weekend

Well, Chad actually made it to my house. And I forgot how bad his snoring is. I doubt I'm a silent sleeper, but my sleep schedule got all throwed off after finishing "The Haunting" DVD (1963 movie adaptation of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House) and then his snoring and then I worry if he's got sleep apnea like my father. I think it was 11pm before I fell asleep.

Tonight will probably be movie night since I want to see "Nightmare Before Christmas" 3D. < SINGS >In this town, we call home, everyone hails to the pumpkin song< /SINGS > Saturday, we have a unmandatory workshop and social for AMF. Sunday will be spend some time with my folks. And at some point during all that, I have to shop for my Halloween costume. Yes, I'm going store-bought this year. And work more on the Educators' Guide and homework.

Now, I'm off to type up the pages I've managed to scribble out on Zy's Novel.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Catching Up on Everything

Things to do:

• get donated items out of my house


• get paperwork in order


• get office picked up


• finish Faulkner homework


• start Project 2


• clean bathroom


• get rid of empty boxes


• clean up back bedroom


• clean off back porch


• work on Educators' Guide


• work on novel

My year-long challenge for Zy's Novel is over and I only wrote 15, 379 words. I'm going to start a new marathon; I like the way it keeps track of things and give myself another year to finish the novel. My working strategy will be continue with writing a page a day and type it up on Friday. By Friday I usually want to do something different any way.

And yeap, the word are flowing freely now that I flunked the marathon. :p

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Great advice

The quest for narrative cohesion. Sometimes a chance remark is just a chance remark. Writers seldom believe this. We search for the backstory, the hidden, often malevolent, intention, and if there isn’t one there, we make it up. The ability to perceive underlying connections that can be such an asset in writing and therapy can read as paranoia in real life, as we connect random dots to create a picture that is elegant and convincing, but bears no relation to actual events. -- The Doctor is In Oct. 13, 2006

I lose track of how many times I do that.

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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Boo! Early I Know

So it's Friday the 13th in October. Say something for the poor Templar Knights and Jason Vorhees. But today is Friday and a payday, and that's enough to lift any supersticious dread.

What's on the agenda today? ANother page of writing, finish and email my midterm, off to the library to get books on medieval sceicen, and shop for groceries that I won't have time to cook (might be best to wait on those). Oh I found an E-book in the library to read: A Question of Evidence: the Casebook of Great Forensic Controversies, from Napoleon to O.J.. Let me get cracking while stuff is slow around here.

9:33am: Done with midterm.

1:19pm: Oops, still reading the Ebook. Really good book, but being in the Elibrary, I only have so long to read it.

2:27ppm: My checkout time expired before I finished it. :p So I'll be good and concentrate on fiction for the rest of the day.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Today is Going to be way too short

Been resisting the Moviegoer for a day. It's not that the book is bad--Walker Percy is too good a writer for that. I guess I just have an annoyance with characters who coast along having profound thoughts and not doing anything to put those profound thoughts into action. And it doesn't help matters that I think the protagonist is nuttier than my oatmeal now. I don't mind a crazy r unreliable narrator, but not a whole novel's worth. I'm working my way through it.

Writing not going so hot. I think I'm finally getting a clue as to why some writers set up a work computer and then an internet computer. Checking in on the 'Net all day doesn't get any writing done. Bad me, no biscuit.

Not sure if it's related to the fear issue. It's something I enjoy doing but has no real pressure, and it's a useful tool for procrastination. So it falls under a Fear 1: Better not to try than fail. So how to combat it today? Today I must write a complete handwritten page.

Later: I did get the page completed, yeah. Didn't finish the Moviegoer, but there were other people in the class that didn't like it either. I also didn't finish the midterm, but the professor has given us till Sunday. I'm going to finish tomorrow.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Now if that's not incentive not to do that again

Pull an all-nighter without life or death being on the line. About 5pm before class started, I came down with a raging headache. And I discovered that when I put pain pills everywhere (my black laptop bag, the car, home) I neglected to put them in my purse or school binder, which is all I had. I could have gone down to the car and got some but by the time we had break I found out the drink machines were either sold out or broken. So I suffered. 2 Tylonel PMs when I got home and I don't remember anything until the alarm went off.

And my mushroom and egg toast sandwich is not holding together well. I think if I have this for breakfast tomorrow, I need to use the sandwich toaster, which seals the bread slices together. Things are looking better today, even though I slept through 4am. My house is upside-down, but I'm hoping to get back on track tomorrow morning.

And Zy's Novel, nope I haven't shared it on Writerly because I was waiting to see who would say they wanted to read it. (Sharing with you, Mez.) It's not ready for editing and I'm in a rough patch currently, so I think I need a cheerleading section to get it done. :p

I think that's all for now. Off to do homework.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Ow, my head

I can't take anymore of Binx from The Moviegoer. I don't care how many awards Walker Percy won for the book; his narrator has officially given me a headache. I should be able to finish it tomorrow.

I'm off to see what I can accomplish in long-hand with Zy and Mealte and an asshole who won't answer any questions. It's been a while since Mealte got to be totally bad-ass.

And chapters are up at Writerly. That announcement probably got lost in the shuffle.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Overcoming Fears Part 3

Principle 4 - There is homeostasis (value-neutral, automatic response to change, trying to keep the system the same). Self-sabotage implies that some part of you has an active desire to undermine your progress.

Do I have that active part? Or is it all homeostasis and I want to beat myself up. Well, I don't want to beat myself up; I hate it and wonder if it's a sign of my going insane.

If I have success as a writer, everything will change. It will be real.

Did I just write that?! Have I internalizied the judgement of my family (it's a silly little hobby until it brings in money) without even realizing it? How can you do that without realizing it?

Fortunately, the better you understand homeostasis, the less power it will have over you. Here are some key points to keep in mind.

a. Homeostatic fear shows up regardless of whether the change is good or bad, wise or foolhardy. The intensity of fear and resistance is related to the size and pace of the change, not to the quality (good, bad, wise, unwise) of the change.

b. You may encounter homeostatic fear among family, friends, colleagues and clients as well as in yourself. This does not have to mean that these people have a secret desire to sabotage you. Their concerns may simply be the expression of natural resistance to any change. -- Molly Gordon

There are steps to take:

Given the importance of homeostasis, you cannot root out or prevent it and its attendant fears, you can negotiate with them.

• Break the change in question into smaller steps. This reduces the intensity of the resistance. (Remember, homeostasis increases with the size of the change, not the nature or value of the change.)

• Pace yourself. Making the change over time instead of all at once reduces the intensity of the homeostatic reaction.

• Analyze the actual risk. Remember what you learned about Fear 1 and Fear 2 in "Principle 3: Discern Two Types of Fear"? Fear 1 magnifies danger as it minimizes your competence. Seek reliable information about the scope of the risk you are taking and the best means to meet it. The better your information about the actual risk involved, the less huge it will seem.

• Set milestones and celebrate when you reach them. This gives you a conscious history of successful change and makes it easier to move into scary territory in the future.

• Design an environment that supports learning and growth and avoid people, places and things that undermine learning. While a certain amount of resistance is inevitable (that's the whole point,) why waste any more of your energy and attention than is absolutely necessary on overcoming the tendency to stay stuck?

• Make a list of aspects of your environment and brainstorm the choices you can make in each to support stepping out of your comfort zone. For example, you might choose to ask your friends to support you in using empowering language or you might choose a gym based on its emphasis on safe training techniques. -- Molly Gordon

I can't seem to download her PDF file for the journal, so I'm probably going to have to work on that on my own. 21 days to create a habit of more positive thinking and no more procrastination. Everything moving ahead at its own right pace.

Which means I need to work on homework now so I can work on writing. Face everything head on. And now it's all labeled so I can find this again when I need a refresher.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Overcoming Fears Part 2

Principle 2 - talk to your body. Spend quiet time trying to find out what it's telling you.

The focus exercise actually did help allievate the tension in my shoulders. And all I was doing was saying hello.

Principle 3 - Two kinds of fear: Fear 1 magnifies danger and vulnerability while minimizing your sense of competence. Fear 2 mobilizes your whole being for effective action. You need to change Fear 1 into Fear 2.

List of Distinctions

• Fear 1 promotes panic and confusion. Fear 2 promotes clarity and purpose.


• Fear 1 is often about saving face. Fear 2 is about stepping out of your comfort zone.


• Fear 1 triggers avoidance of the facts. Fear 2 heightens awareness and perception.


• Fear 1 wants you just to stop. Fear 2 wants you to move forward powerfully and safely.


• Fear 1 magnifies danger and vulnerability. Fear 2 calls on our capacity to respond to danger.


• Fear 1 originates in our ego mind. Fear 2 is a whole-system response.

I added some more fears, stuff that doesn't come up as often and I think I have a handle on. Now I have to figure out which are Fears 1 and which are Fears 2.

• Being alone. - Fear 1


• Being unloved. - Fear 1


• I'm a horribly selfish person and no one should be with me. - Fear 1


• I can't write; it's all garbage. - Maybe both


• I will never make anyone proud with what I write. - Fear 1


• I'm just a hack writer who can only write fanfics. - Fear 1


• I'm being used and let people take advantage of me. - Fear 1


• No one appreciates everything I do. - Fear 1


• I will never measure up, so why try? - Fear 1


• If I hope for something big, it never succeeds. - Fear 1


• Why should I have to do this stuff since I will never use the degree I'm earing in any field I'm in. - Maybe both


• I'm invisible and no one takes me seriously. - Fear 1


• I can't stop beating up on myself--if I keep beating myself up, I'll force a change. - Fear 1


• I'm worthless because I can't change. - Fear 1


• Snakes are going to bite me and I'm going to die or lose a limb. - Fear 2


• If I'm impaired behind the wheel, I will crash the car. - Fear 2


• If I don't go to work, I'm going to be penniless and on the street. - Fear 2

Majority are Fear 1s. I'm really not surprised. Would I being having an issue with self-sabotage if I wasn't grabbing hold of the Fear 1 balloons?

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Overcoming Fears Part 1

The firs step is listing fears and acknowledging them without grabbing hold of them. F.E.A.R. stands for "Fantasy Expectations Appearing Real" and Molly Gordon suses the visual image of the fear is a hot air ballon that has drifted down in front of you. You grab hold of it and you're out of control, going everywhere. (That's a metaphor I can relate to.) But you don't have to grab on to the balloon.

That bears repeating: you don't have to grab hold of the balloon.

I'm going to share my list of fears/negative thoughts. Disclaimer: You, the reader, are simply a witness. I'm playing with how it is to acknowledge my fears without being pulled off center by them. I am not asking for help and I'm not looking for advice. Please just read and acknowledge me for being conscious of my fears.

• Being alone.


• Being unloved.


• I'm a horribly selfish person and no one should be with me.


• I can't write; it's all garbage.


• I will never make anyone proud with what I write.


• I'm just a hack writer who can only write fanfics.


• I'm being used and let people take advantage of me.


• No one appreciates everything I do.


• I will never measure up, so why try?


• If I hope for something big, it never succeeds.


• Why should I have to do this stuff since I will never use the degree I'm earing in any field I'm in.


• I'm invisibleand no one takes me seriously.


• I can't stop beating up on myself--if I keep beating myself up, I'll force a change.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

I didn't beat my brains out on my desk

Assignment: textual analysis of 2 different copies of a book first published before 1945 and then create your own version. Write essay explaining what you found and why you made the choices you made.

I finished it at 12:48am, Monday, October 9th.

And I feel it is incomplete. I didn't get to make my version of the cover, which wasn't required for the grade but I wanted to do anyway. What it has become is the latest example in something I feel is very wrong with me, this waiting till the last second to get everything done. I didn't used to be this way, and I don't know why or how I've gotten this way.

The platitude of "just change it" seems to hit a wall inside my head consisting of "I don't know what it is HOW can I change it!" Which I'm pretty sure is a load of crap, but a very convincing wailing when your trapped in the project without an end in sight and it's WAY past the bedtime to really even consider thinking clearly on anything. Though I am fairly certain it's a form of self-sabotage.

Stopping Self- Sabotage

Recognition of self-sabotage - We all do it. At some point in time, we've all sabotaged ourselves out of fear. The key to dealing with self-sabotage is to recognize it. Signals to recognizing self-sabotage: You notice yourself comparing yourself to others, you judge yourself as not being good enough, or you hear your "inner critic" saying things like "soon everyone will realize what a fraud you are." -- The Entrepreneur's Toolbox by Claudette Rowley

Get Motivated! at NerdWorld

This looks like a helpful plan. How to Overcome Fears and Anxiety.

So it all stems from fear and insecurity. So now my brain is stuck on "when did you get insecure? You were never insecure when you were younger." Great now my younger, stupider self is now more enlightened. Too dumb to be insecure; how's that for a bumper sticker? :p

So I got some time to kill, I'm going to work on the overcoming fears and anxiety website. We probably won't get much mail today since it's Columbus Day, but I'm too brain dead to try to read for the next class. And I'm being bad with a second can of Diet Dr. Pepper. I had cut back to just one.

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The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/

Yeah! It's done

The new and improved look. You will probably need to resubmit the blog to any blog readers you have.

Now back to typesetting homework.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

There is a new renaissance festival in Louisiana! Check out the Acadiana Medieval Faire at: http://www.acadianafaire.org/