The roof is wet tile, not hot tin. Luckily, Case's brother Travis has a hole cut in his screen, and he was out, so I was able to let Kozmo in. However, I cut myself on the metal blinds, so I'm sucking on that a little.
I'm also searching for more Blogspot blogs I can follow, so I can at least see what some of my friends are doing. The two that I have so far haven't updated in weeks.
I just finished a fairly intense psychological session. I was the psychologist, even though I've never taken a single psych course. To be honest, it doesn't take that much to become a psychologist... you just have to ask the right questions, and get your subject to think about what he or she is doing.
My subject was a fourteen-year-old girl, with the alias of Haley23. I know her real name, and I've even found her incomplete profile on Facebook, but of course I'm staying anonymous. As far as I can tell, she's a pretty normal teenager in real life - pretty, bubbly, lots of girl friends, a religious background. Now that I think about it, she reminds me a little of my cousin Lindsay; Lindsay was all those things, from what I remember, and unfortunately she tried to push religious stuff on me back when I was a teenager, at a slumber party, which fouled up my opinion of her (and of religion) quite a bit.
But back to Haley. As normal as she may be in real life, she is almost batshit crazy when she's online in the chat room we share. My opinion of her has been really low, almost to the point of complete disgust. Most of that came from the fact that she lied a lot about who she was. Her age switched around a lot, and she could be anything from fawning to vitriolic. I'm a little ashamed to say that I wasn't always kind to her. It was hard for me to see past any of what she was showing us. But I was curious, I suppose, to see if there was any way to stop her from being so obnoxious to everyone.
So I talked to her. She realized that what she was doing was playing for attention. She felt like people wouldn't pay attention to her if she just talked normally, so she did obnoxious things so people would react; I suggested that she just talk about stuff that interested her (music, books, etc). She told me that some people just made her really excited, and that the environment (i.e. keyboard, anonymity) made it easy for her to go all out with the excitement, more so than she would if we were all people around her in real life. I can sympathize with that, at least with the whole train-of-thought thing... I know I write better here, and in chats, than I talk in real life. But I tried to convince her that the ettiquette of a chat room isn't that much different from school, or the mall, and that obnoxious behavior was just as intolerable in chat as it was in those kinds of places. I advised her in how to handle people who were being annoying - ask them politely, then either mute them or call a mod if they start getting abusive.
Another talkative person, Railfun, was a little obnoxious himself while I was working with Haley, but when he realized that she sincerely wanted to change her behavior, he encouraged her. That made me really happy, that other people cared about her, and I think she was glad too. When I was about to log, she started to do her whole "don't leave!" thing, but said she was kidding. I warned her that she should be careful with that sort of behavior - that I knew she was joking, but other people would interpret as her old behavior, so she promised to be careful.
I also warned her, during the discussion, that getting people to realize she changed, and accept that she changed, would take time, and that there would be people who would still treat her like her old self. I encouraged her not to let that get to her, although I told her I understood that words could hurt. Of course I understand that... regardless of what social position one holds in high school, there will always be hurtful words. And it wasn't that long ago for me, was it? Just a little over eight years since I felt depressed almost towards suicide, when I wrote that article yelling at my own peers, when I had to deal with someone obsessed with me... just remembering makes me quiver a little bit.
But that time is way past. My worries are a little more substantial, and financial... but like everything else, I will get through them. And maybe, in the work I managed to do tonight, I brought a little peace to that little microcosm that is The Singularity. Maybe I can be a big sister after all. That's a comforting thought, since my future sister-in-law is ten months younger than I am, and already has a house and a daughter - kind of missed out on the big-sister train there.
And there are no cats stuck on the roof now... they're all curled up into furry balls, sleeping... as I should be. Buona notte.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Fits and Starts
Somewhere in my being is a drive. It's what pushed me to become Valedictorian, it's what brought me out to California. Now it seems to be hidden. I want it back.
I was a writer once. I published poetry and writing in VTC's prototype literary journal, and stuck to my poetry throughout college. I wrote stuff that my colleagues and editors rated as 10 on a 1-to-10 scale, because I was able to tell stories with it. They could get the images out of it, they could imagine it. I haven't written anything good since those years... since those first few years.
Of course, I think a lot of my fan-fiction writing isn't bad. The story about Ladystark and Danooge contains a lot of personal references, but it has a lot of imagery that could most likely resonate with any geek, if not any person. Self-realization, loss, triumph, discovery... of course, one would have to appreciate the venue. Writing as an Undead warlock creates a somewhat specialized viewpoint, and sometimes I feel like I haven't developed Ladystark enough. Like she's warmed up to the living too quickly, I guess. Part of that, though, is that Case always had ideas of how Danooge was going to be, since he is Danooge. I kind of wish I could have collaborated with him, help him write in some chapters... maybe I can get him back into that mindset, too. He's started to draw again, getting back into practice.
The Stephen King project is not about great writing, at least not completely. It's about research... it's an encyclopedia, meant as a kind of supplement, not as a replacement for the novels, novellas, etc. However, the entries should provide relevant information, maybe some of the smaller details in order to get a picture of the person, place, or thing described. The troublesome thing is how much time and energy I will need to devote to this task. I'm honestly wishing I had a laptop right now, because I would like to be able to work on this wherever and whenever I want, instead of being stuck at a desk. I really would love to trade this desktop in.
Hell, if I could save everything I wanted, I'd trade it in for the laptop that Tucker never uses. He never uses it because his power cord failed, and he's too lazy to send it in for a refund. I'd send in for a new one and get that laptop running, and work whenever it felt comfortable to. And he would have a computer - not top-of-the-line, but still functional enough, enough to play games and search the web, which seems like all that he ever does. Plus, the printer is hooked up to it, so he could get his schoolwork done without too much trouble. Maybe I'll see if I can negotiate with him... he tends to be horribly possessive. He may protest that because his grandfather gave it to him, that he won't give it up. But it's useless to him without power, and he's too lazy to do anything to better his money situation.
Looking at laptops on eBay only makes me sad.
So, back to the beginning - I'm missing my drive. I really want it back, so I can get things done. I'm so distracted, and thusly my purpose for going through each day is foggy. Why do I get up? What do I want to accomplish in a day? When I turn on my computer, will it be for work or play? Where is my discipline? How can I turn my situation around?
If you have any ideas, please say so... it may end up that I'll figure it out for myself, but any help is appreciated.
I was a writer once. I published poetry and writing in VTC's prototype literary journal, and stuck to my poetry throughout college. I wrote stuff that my colleagues and editors rated as 10 on a 1-to-10 scale, because I was able to tell stories with it. They could get the images out of it, they could imagine it. I haven't written anything good since those years... since those first few years.
Of course, I think a lot of my fan-fiction writing isn't bad. The story about Ladystark and Danooge contains a lot of personal references, but it has a lot of imagery that could most likely resonate with any geek, if not any person. Self-realization, loss, triumph, discovery... of course, one would have to appreciate the venue. Writing as an Undead warlock creates a somewhat specialized viewpoint, and sometimes I feel like I haven't developed Ladystark enough. Like she's warmed up to the living too quickly, I guess. Part of that, though, is that Case always had ideas of how Danooge was going to be, since he is Danooge. I kind of wish I could have collaborated with him, help him write in some chapters... maybe I can get him back into that mindset, too. He's started to draw again, getting back into practice.
The Stephen King project is not about great writing, at least not completely. It's about research... it's an encyclopedia, meant as a kind of supplement, not as a replacement for the novels, novellas, etc. However, the entries should provide relevant information, maybe some of the smaller details in order to get a picture of the person, place, or thing described. The troublesome thing is how much time and energy I will need to devote to this task. I'm honestly wishing I had a laptop right now, because I would like to be able to work on this wherever and whenever I want, instead of being stuck at a desk. I really would love to trade this desktop in.
Hell, if I could save everything I wanted, I'd trade it in for the laptop that Tucker never uses. He never uses it because his power cord failed, and he's too lazy to send it in for a refund. I'd send in for a new one and get that laptop running, and work whenever it felt comfortable to. And he would have a computer - not top-of-the-line, but still functional enough, enough to play games and search the web, which seems like all that he ever does. Plus, the printer is hooked up to it, so he could get his schoolwork done without too much trouble. Maybe I'll see if I can negotiate with him... he tends to be horribly possessive. He may protest that because his grandfather gave it to him, that he won't give it up. But it's useless to him without power, and he's too lazy to do anything to better his money situation.
Looking at laptops on eBay only makes me sad.
So, back to the beginning - I'm missing my drive. I really want it back, so I can get things done. I'm so distracted, and thusly my purpose for going through each day is foggy. Why do I get up? What do I want to accomplish in a day? When I turn on my computer, will it be for work or play? Where is my discipline? How can I turn my situation around?
If you have any ideas, please say so... it may end up that I'll figure it out for myself, but any help is appreciated.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Project Musings
Last night, I was thinking about my project. I think I'm going to add a Timeline section to the People, Places, and Things categories. The Timeline could take care of years, months, specific dates, instead of having that clutter up the Things section, as it did with Spignesi's Stephen King Encyclopedia. True enough, that I'm basing my classification system on his, but I'm being very careful. He had some pretty glaring holes in some sections - missing characters that were key plot points, items mentioned that didn't go anywhere... you know. It's stuff you'd think he'd picked up during the first drafts... but then again, he did most of the first drafts by hand (he provided photocopies of his manuscripts in one section).
Also, I'm not going to go into the film versions - they could take up another book on their own. I would need a completely different mindset... and possibly some more college courses in film study.
Or maybe I could put a timeline up for all the novels he wrote between 1991 and today... or would that be too complex? How would I chart that out? Would it be a centerfold? Or would it just cover several pages, with a row for every novel? Or maybe each page would be a year, with specific dates as they come up during that year (with maybe a few years on some pages, if there are only brief mentions?)... At any rate, it would have to be very specific. The timeline needs to be accurate and concise.
And I shouldn't really be thinking too much about the other novels right now. I still have so much to do on "Needful Things". The People section is almost complete (I've been doing another read-through, filling in the gaps as I find them), but there's nothing in Places or Things. I need to stop hanging around Kongregate so much (or at least shrink down Firefox from time to time) and just focus and DO it. It's screaming to be done, that one book. And soon as it's finished, the other ones I started will raise their voices too. Keep talking to me, files. You know I've got the fingers for it. You know I have the patience, and the will... just need the motivation.
I think I will have motivation soon. Case was working on some of his old Star Wars (pre-Phantom Shittage) fanfictions. Apparently some of the files were lost during the big computer overhaul; he had had a bad attack from a bad file download, so he had to save as much as he could on portable drives. During that transfer, bits and pieces were lost, so he's trying to recreate as much has he can. As he works, so should I. Maybe, by the time I get back to Vermont, I'll have enough finished to show Tony Magistrale. He's my old college advisor, a Stephen King expert, and something like a second dad to me. I don't know if he'd be pleased or disappointed by my progress, but I'd like to be able to show him something.
Thinking about the introduction - for I'll need to explain why I'm doing this, and my mind goes back to when I first started getting Barnes & Noble gift cards from my grandparents. I, being a Stephen King fan as a teenager, was always looking for new things to read... and suddenly, at the end of a shelf of short Signet paperbacks, there was this huge soft-cover book saying "The Stephen King Encyclopedia" on its spine. My fate was sealed (heh heh). I read that book, cover to cover, giggled over the funny sections, marveled at the artwork... and eventually began picking up on the errors. It was one of the books I brought with me to college (I think), and one that I brought with me to California.
Now, Spignesi is an expert of Stephen King. He did tons of research for his encyclopedia. I never knew that there was a Stephen King newsletter (it died out before I became interested) or a parody newsletter... I never knew "Carrie" had been made into a Broadway musical (maybe trying to capture the whole Sondheim/Sweeney Todd feel)... there were so many unfinished or unpublished works that were listed, some of which were later included in short story collections (i.e. "Nightmares and Dreamscapes") or on their own (i.e. "Blaze", which I still haven't purchased yet). God knows how much that book broadened my understanding of Stephen King.
Spignesi hasn't come out with a second edition of the Encyclopedia; it's possible that the effort took too much time, and that he's turned his attentions to other things. If that's so, then I really hope I could see my name on the second edition. I really wish I could get in contact with some of these experts, because I don't think I'm particularly in their league yet... but I could be. I remember being in Tony's classes and having him turn to me for some specific detail - he knew that I knew it, even if he had forgotten. Tony knows how to discuss Stephen King, for sure, but when it comes to raw detail, I used to be the best. I'm out of practice. Most of my novels are back at home (they take up more than one shelf downstairs!).
Even though my mind is supposedly past its prime for learning... I'm still hungry for knowledge. So maybe it's time to see how much knowledge I can transfer, from book via mind onto file. In these times, now that my education has been put on hold, the mental challenges are few and far between. How much can I remember - how much can I write about?
I guess, starting again tomorrow, we'll see. Until then, goodnight.
Also, I'm not going to go into the film versions - they could take up another book on their own. I would need a completely different mindset... and possibly some more college courses in film study.
Or maybe I could put a timeline up for all the novels he wrote between 1991 and today... or would that be too complex? How would I chart that out? Would it be a centerfold? Or would it just cover several pages, with a row for every novel? Or maybe each page would be a year, with specific dates as they come up during that year (with maybe a few years on some pages, if there are only brief mentions?)... At any rate, it would have to be very specific. The timeline needs to be accurate and concise.
And I shouldn't really be thinking too much about the other novels right now. I still have so much to do on "Needful Things". The People section is almost complete (I've been doing another read-through, filling in the gaps as I find them), but there's nothing in Places or Things. I need to stop hanging around Kongregate so much (or at least shrink down Firefox from time to time) and just focus and DO it. It's screaming to be done, that one book. And soon as it's finished, the other ones I started will raise their voices too. Keep talking to me, files. You know I've got the fingers for it. You know I have the patience, and the will... just need the motivation.
I think I will have motivation soon. Case was working on some of his old Star Wars (pre-Phantom Shittage) fanfictions. Apparently some of the files were lost during the big computer overhaul; he had had a bad attack from a bad file download, so he had to save as much as he could on portable drives. During that transfer, bits and pieces were lost, so he's trying to recreate as much has he can. As he works, so should I. Maybe, by the time I get back to Vermont, I'll have enough finished to show Tony Magistrale. He's my old college advisor, a Stephen King expert, and something like a second dad to me. I don't know if he'd be pleased or disappointed by my progress, but I'd like to be able to show him something.
Thinking about the introduction - for I'll need to explain why I'm doing this, and my mind goes back to when I first started getting Barnes & Noble gift cards from my grandparents. I, being a Stephen King fan as a teenager, was always looking for new things to read... and suddenly, at the end of a shelf of short Signet paperbacks, there was this huge soft-cover book saying "The Stephen King Encyclopedia" on its spine. My fate was sealed (heh heh). I read that book, cover to cover, giggled over the funny sections, marveled at the artwork... and eventually began picking up on the errors. It was one of the books I brought with me to college (I think), and one that I brought with me to California.
Now, Spignesi is an expert of Stephen King. He did tons of research for his encyclopedia. I never knew that there was a Stephen King newsletter (it died out before I became interested) or a parody newsletter... I never knew "Carrie" had been made into a Broadway musical (maybe trying to capture the whole Sondheim/Sweeney Todd feel)... there were so many unfinished or unpublished works that were listed, some of which were later included in short story collections (i.e. "Nightmares and Dreamscapes") or on their own (i.e. "Blaze", which I still haven't purchased yet). God knows how much that book broadened my understanding of Stephen King.
Spignesi hasn't come out with a second edition of the Encyclopedia; it's possible that the effort took too much time, and that he's turned his attentions to other things. If that's so, then I really hope I could see my name on the second edition. I really wish I could get in contact with some of these experts, because I don't think I'm particularly in their league yet... but I could be. I remember being in Tony's classes and having him turn to me for some specific detail - he knew that I knew it, even if he had forgotten. Tony knows how to discuss Stephen King, for sure, but when it comes to raw detail, I used to be the best. I'm out of practice. Most of my novels are back at home (they take up more than one shelf downstairs!).
Even though my mind is supposedly past its prime for learning... I'm still hungry for knowledge. So maybe it's time to see how much knowledge I can transfer, from book via mind onto file. In these times, now that my education has been put on hold, the mental challenges are few and far between. How much can I remember - how much can I write about?
I guess, starting again tomorrow, we'll see. Until then, goodnight.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
What's That, You Say? Write? Okay...
I think it was only yesterday in Twitter that I posted how Patton Oswalt will be writing a book instead of posting in his usual Myspace blog, and how maybe I should follow his example and return to my Stephen King Encyclopedia project. I opened up the files and looked at what I had - not much. I need to dig out Needful Things and keep working on the three distinct sections; there are gaps in the People entries, and Places and Things have little to nothing in them, just placeholders to keep the files there.
I also advised Patton, in a reply, to use the blogging as either a warm-up or a vent - the analogies I used were as hors d'oeuvres or after-dinner mints. Maybe I should really follow my own advice, eh? Keep writing here as either a warm-up to some serious research, or use it to cool off from having my nose stuck in a book too long.
Well, now I have more reason to write here... I'm being watched.
No. It's a good thing!
I used to be pretty hardcore into World of Warcraft - after all, it was where I met my Caseman. After my financial situation started breaking apart, I suspended my subscription - any money I could save, and I wasn't playing that much. WoW flows in waves sometimes... new content comes, everyone gets excited and servers get overloaded and laggy, things get analyzed and formulated, and soon enough you're leveling alts and wondering if there will be enough people to raid Karazhan.
Well, the newest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, came out in stores today. The back-order list must be astonishing... but neither Case or I have bought it, for monetary reasons. The other, more subtle reasoning is that with this new content, servers will be more laggy than ever, and it will be bug central. We've already got ants in our room, we really don't need the bugs on our computer screens as well.
Anyway... I'm being watched by one of our old friends from our guild, Impetus! Despite that we haven't been able to access their forums, for some odd reason, we are still members, and we are missed. It may still be a little while before we're back online, but we will be back. Back for pwning.
In the meantime, I'm still trying to find a second job, filling out online applications left and right. No response as yet, but I'll keep doing it until I get results. And I'm going to keep my mind and wit sharp by continuing to write. And, whoever else may be watching... give me feedback!
I also advised Patton, in a reply, to use the blogging as either a warm-up or a vent - the analogies I used were as hors d'oeuvres or after-dinner mints. Maybe I should really follow my own advice, eh? Keep writing here as either a warm-up to some serious research, or use it to cool off from having my nose stuck in a book too long.
Well, now I have more reason to write here... I'm being watched.
No. It's a good thing!
I used to be pretty hardcore into World of Warcraft - after all, it was where I met my Caseman. After my financial situation started breaking apart, I suspended my subscription - any money I could save, and I wasn't playing that much. WoW flows in waves sometimes... new content comes, everyone gets excited and servers get overloaded and laggy, things get analyzed and formulated, and soon enough you're leveling alts and wondering if there will be enough people to raid Karazhan.
Well, the newest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, came out in stores today. The back-order list must be astonishing... but neither Case or I have bought it, for monetary reasons. The other, more subtle reasoning is that with this new content, servers will be more laggy than ever, and it will be bug central. We've already got ants in our room, we really don't need the bugs on our computer screens as well.
Anyway... I'm being watched by one of our old friends from our guild, Impetus! Despite that we haven't been able to access their forums, for some odd reason, we are still members, and we are missed. It may still be a little while before we're back online, but we will be back. Back for pwning.
In the meantime, I'm still trying to find a second job, filling out online applications left and right. No response as yet, but I'll keep doing it until I get results. And I'm going to keep my mind and wit sharp by continuing to write. And, whoever else may be watching... give me feedback!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
