Nynrose - Lisa Christie

Death Day: Anniversary

2008-07-18T18:05:51Z

Monday marks the 12 year anniversary of my mother's death. I think it is especially prominent this year for me because a very good friend of mine is going through something similar. It brings about all the memories of what I went through, watching my mother go through her trials and troubles. While those memories are bubbling up, it's good to know that I can use them to help her through her own troubles - and make that experience useful.

The pain of loss doesn't go away, but eventually it does get easier. Just on Monday, I closed my eyes for a moment, and I could picture my mother very clearly. It was a comforting thing, feeling like she was close by.

I miss her dearly. She was my best friend. I cherish every memory I have of her.

This weekend, and Monday, I will likely be hiding out. A fair few know how to get in touch with me if I'm needed.

One in particular, he knows who he is, can contact me anytime.

Bored Silly...

2008-07-10T15:14:11Z

I left the book I was reading home. This was my staple side activity for work, since at work I very barely have much to do at all. Usually, I twiddle thumbs.

So, I am presently bored silly, while in a deep, engrossing funk.

This sucks.

I need some sort of distraction.

I am emotionally all over the place today, which is not a good thing to be while at work.

Cranky, Grumpypants...

2008-07-10T10:46:45Z

Despite a good, happy start to this week, that good start is rapidly declining into something yucky and foul. Mood has shifted significantly, and this morning I have woken up a cranky grumpypants.

Woe betide the next person I meet - or so one of the emits goes on Firan.

No, it is not Firan. It is life in general.

And, it did not help that last night I had a dream about my wonderful, lovable, huggable furbaby. I was going on vacation with the cruise group, Steph, Adam, SSB, David and Mike. We chose a resort somewhere in Florida to go to, but for some reason I decided to bring Goldie - my purrbaby. There were problems because the resort did not allow kitties, I don't think, and that's when I woke up.

It was good to see my purrbaby, hold him and hear his purr, even if in a dream. I miss him dearly.

But, now... I'm all upset, missing him terribly. And given my mood this week was already on a rapid decline, this has not helped it one bit.

Meh.

Lisa, who wants to go crawl back under the covers and hide from the world forever

[Exercise] Wii Fit...

2008-07-09T20:46:20Z

Last night I got my CD/DVD finally for the Wii Fit - so now I can use the balance board and the game and get to working on things.

Last night, I did 30 minutes of Wii Fit. I did all of the balance games, most of the yoga poses, some of the aerobics, and some of the strength training.

All I can say is...

OW!

They really get you in places that you don't expect, and they are really focused on balance and proper posture - all of the games are. So, it is an interesting take on things.

My goal? To try and at least do 30 minutes each day - I think that is an obtainable goal.

Unlike with the walking machine, which is out of commission until Scott decides to stop painting in the garage/exercise room. it seems that evening is the best time for me to get Wii Fit in. Walking doesn't require the kind of coordination that the Wii Fit games require, and I'm not generally coordinated at all, ever, first thing in the morning.

Sigh. Now only if the walking machine were up and running - and then I could do other calorie burning things and exercise twice a day.

PS: Vacation Pictures

2008-07-07T12:33:36Z

I know, I know, I need to post them. I don't have that many, but the ones I do, that I feel are fit for public consumption, will be posted. I am really, really very bad at taking pictures. They'll be posted on my flickr account and in Facebook.

Post Vacation Reflections

2008-07-07T12:24:16Z

Things have been quiet since vacation, and I’ve been settling in very nicely. This is good. I need quiet, after how much the beginning of the year has mostly sucked, save for the part where pautucker and I managed to get together. That has been, and continues to be, the best part of my year. I still view it with a kind of childish, unbelievable wonder and awe, which makes me appreciate that we’re together all the more. Bluntly, he makes me really very happy.

It was nice to have a four day week, coming out of vacation and going right into a long weekend. I needed a semi-vacation from my vacation to get back into things. Going to Disney turns out to be just what I needed. My reset button from the odd illnesses, the death of the housemate’s father in our home, losing my job, the possibility of losing our home, has been pushed, and things seem better, and much brighter now than they have been.

Now, there’s still a very good possibility that I’ll be losing my home, but right now that’s the farthest thing from my mind. Rather, I am trying to keep focused on that positive energy and let it keep me going, for however long that ride will last. I’ve been looking at Cuendillar more closely, and been getting my feet wet back on Firan again, after almost a constant three month hiatus from really roleplaying much there. These are both good things.

Largely, however, I’m going to try and focus and channel that energy to continue writing my book. Even if I don’t get it published, it’s something I need to do for myself, to say that I actually did it and got it done. That, and because if I don’t, I think the characters in the story might drive me absolutely batty and bonkers, railing against the doors to be heard. But, if you are an author of fiction, you know how that goes. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of wild ride they take me on, as they are penned on paper. If I haven’t mentioned before, in the 10,000 or so words that I have written, they are already deviating from my plot outline somewhat – which is fine, for now, but I may need to draw them back a bit.

I’ve also offered to help ladytiewaz with her writing, having offered to review it for her, and give her an honest critique. This occurred after we started discussing the various aspects of writing, and how mu characters were badgering me to be heard, and how she wishes she could get back to her stories. We had a nice discussion about how one needs to give themselves permission to just write, about anything, even if it isn’t very good, so it gets down on paper, and she expressed disappointment in past reviews; and given that I’ve been doing nothing but reviewing and critiquing papers all year long for my housemate, Nancy, I offered to aid her in this task. I think it will be a good exercise for the both of us, and who knows… I may even utilize her for the same services once I am in a position to have my own book read, outside of having stephdray looking over the first few pages initially.

Anyway, the point is, right now I’m in a very happy place, mentally and emotionally, and I’m going to ride that for as long as I can – and plot for more happy, fun stuff in the future. At least, I hope it’ll be happy fun stuff!

My Disney Vacation...

2008-07-01T13:22:38Z

What follows is the saga of events that occurred while I was away on vacation at Disney World. For those of you new to the whole series of vacation posts I’ve done, I decided back in January to plan a Disney vacation, and I paid part of the way for my sister, Susan, and her husband, David, so they could come with me. I did tickets, ground transportation and accommodations, while they did flight and food for themselves (and sometimes me). So, here we have it.

It is hidden behind a cut to protect the innocent - and because it is about 6 pages long!

Saturday the 21st, our morning started bright and early. For Susan and David, it consisted of getting up at 3 am to get ready to come across the Bay Bridge to pick me up in Bowie to go to the airport. For me, it consisted of getting up at 4 am to be ready in time for their 5 am arrival. I set both of my alarms in order to make the 4 am wake up call, and once awake I pittered around on the computer for a bit, while waiting for them. When the time came for them to arrive, I started to tote my luggage downstairs and waited for them there. Off we went to BWI for their very first plane ride ever.

I walked them through what they needed to do, they got their tickets, and we passed security checks where David was seriously disappointed in airport security. He has MS and has several controlled substances he had permission to take on board, a doctor’s note was in his carry on. However, the most we got from security was – oh, I think there are ice packs in that bag. They didn’t bother to check the case, which clearly had syringes and liquid containers inside of it. Never opened it at all, or asked to see it. For all they knew, he could have had a cocktail in his case to blow up the plane, or needles of toxic injections that could kill people, though he didn’t. We went through easy peasey, despite still being at Code Orange security. If they are going to be this lax, security should be dropped a level or two.

Once we got to Florida, we spent about an hour waiting for our luggage to even show up. We found the Hertz shuttle and picked up the car we would be using. After seeing how much luggage we all had, I upgraded from a car to an SUV – and ended up driving a new Jeep Compass. It was a nice car, and were I not predisposed to hate Jeep, I’d consider trading in my Toyota for it – but I love my Toyota too much to insult it by getting yet another Jeep product.

After getting the car, and directions to Disney World in hand, we went to Magic Kingdom first, since Vacation Villages at Parkway would not allow us to check in until 4 pm. We arrived at Disney around noon, parked, and went into the park for our first squeeful day of vacation. Once there, David decided he was hungry and we made reservations at the Liberty Tree Tavern – a very good restaurant within the Magic Kingdom. Having about an hour to kill, we went to see the show at the Hall of Presidents before lunch, then went in to eat our vittles. The food was deliciously delightful, and we had great service. The only bad part was that the air conditioner was dripping water on David, confusing us about whether or not the rain that we were experiencing was actually coming into the restaurant or not.

We spent about five hours within the park, covering Fantasyland and Liberty Square, before we needed to head off and get to the hotel. David had medicine that needed refrigerated, so it was time to go. Not realizing our road, Arabian Nights Blvd, was so close, we passed our exit and took an adventurous ride through Kissimmee all the way to St. Cloud, until finally we stopped at a Circle K to figure out where we were. A very nice lady noticed me looking at the laminated maps they were selling, and offered to give us directions. I gave her the information, she noted that the road would not be on those maps, and went and got her very nice, very large map book and helped us out. It turns out we drove about an hour out of our way, and had to turn around. Much laughter ensued since both Susan and I missed the road, and an hour, and one Walmart trip to pick up some supplies, later, we were at the resort.

At check-in we were told we’d be getting a free continental breakfast, given that we were guests of owners, so we signed up for that. Our rooms were very nice. Mine had a large living room with an entertainment center, a full kitchen, a master bedroom with a Jacuzzi tub, and a master bath with a shower stall. Theirs had a smaller living room, a half kitchen, a normal bath room, and smaller bedroom. We both had our own balconies. It was a very nice living space for a week.

After we got settled, we went back to Magic Kingdom for another few hours, in order to catch Wishes, the bestest fireworks display ever, and do some more of the park. We covered Adventureland – and took a late night Jungle Cruise (which is absolutely awesome at night!) and hopped on a boat and rode with the Pirates of the Caribbean (my most favorite ride there aside from the Haunted Mansion and the two roller coasters, Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain.) That left Tomorrowland left for us to explore later in the week.

Sunday the 22nd, I had plans to meet with Beth and Liz, and potentially dpassmor, who ended up not being able to make it. We decided on lunch at Downtown Disney, and afterwards, David, Susan and I decided to go to MGM Studios (now Hollywood Studios, but I refuse to make the name change). Lunch with Beth and Liz was a blast. It was good to see them again after so many years of missing them at Firan Con, and they got along very well with Susan and David – which was nice. After lunch we did a bit of shopping together, where by I was convinced to get a pair of crocs after talking to Beth and Liz about theirs. I had a horrible blister already from my tennis shoes on Saturday’s adventures, and had hoped the crocs would be better. It was the best decision I ever made – no more blisters all week long! I also picked up a leather bag, which I ended up needing to return later because the clasp broke. Sadness. We said our goodbyes all too soon, and then it was just Susan, David and I left to our own devices, so we went to MGM to pass the rest of the time.

We walked around for a bit, and saw which of the Star Wars stars were visiting MGM that weekend – as it was one of the two days of Star Wars weekends we’d get to experience. We got to see the Star Wars characters do some Padawan training with kids, and I managed to get a semi-good shot of ‘Vader’ fighting with someone. I made Susan and David get on Star Tours first, without telling them what they were getting themselves into. I did not realize David almost passed out on the ride because of his MS – Susan did not tell me until afterwards. I was pretty sure where we were sitting would be fine. He has an issue where he will pass out if he looks up beyond a certain point. All in all, everything turned out okay, which was good. It started raining, again, almost as soon as we got out of Star Tours.

I swear, rain hated us all week because it hit us at every park we went to, including the water parks later in the week. The rain limited some of our options. The stunt shows, which are pretty amazing, were out of order since they required dry surfaces, so we had to bypass those. We ended up wandering around a bit, and to keep dry we went to see the Muppet 3-D (really 4-D) Show, which is always awesome. We tried to go onto the Backlot Tour afterwards, but the rain had closed the tour down for a bit, so we ended up sitting for awhile, getting something to drink. My feet were killing me at that time, so I sent Susan and David ahead on their own to explore a bit while I sat and rested. Armed with a phone, with the Backlot Tour reopened, I called them and we regrouped to go on the tour event, which is part walking and part ride.

From the Tour, we headed down to Sunset Boulevard in order to catch the rides there, and get set for Fantasmic, an amazing light show that they present every evening, weather permitting. Before Fantasmic, I jumped on the Tower of Terror, which Susan and David were too chicken to ride. Much stomach dropping, screaming and laughter ensued, as always. We then got settled for Fantasmic, and the show was absolutely amazing. They did stuff with the characters, and they projected part of the show off of mist they threw up from the water. They had fire burning off of the water, and various boats and characters riding along the water. Very interactive and very fun! I have some nice pictures from that. After Fantasmic was over, we went back to the resort to settle in for the night.

Monday the 23rd we hit Animal Kingdom. We went to Dinoland first, and hit the Primeval Whirl roller coaster, and then did Dinosaur – an indoor jeep ride that zaps you back in time to find a dinosaur a scientist wants to study. Very cool ride! Very bouncy too. From there, we went to Asia and ate at the Yak & Yeti Restaurant, then hit the Kali River Rapids ride – whereby we ended up getting very, very soaked. It seemed Susan and I drew the short straws because we kept hitting every wave/section where we would indeed get soaked. We ended the evening early, since the park closes early, by taking the Kilimanjaro Safari – an open jeep ride through their simulated safari, complete with lions, elephants, hippos and rhinos. No tigers and bears, sorry. We had a very cool giraffe walk very close to our jeep! I will post links of the pictures as soon as I get them up. Because they have animals to consider, there was no fireworks and/or light show at the park.

Tuesday the 24th we had breakfast with the resort people. It turned out the breakfast was a means for them to try and get us to purchase time share space. They schnookered us at the front desk. They didn’t tell us this would be a sales pitch. They just said – free continental breakfast. We should have known better really, but we weren’t thinking when we checked in. The sales lady became very rude and demanding of us when we demanded to know the bottom line price, and said we were not interested, and even went so far as to make me write a note about the advertising they were using to get people to go to their sales pitch since we were snowed, and had the audacity to tell me to start wrapping things up because I was running out of paper and couldn’t use the other side. She got the glare of death for that. I could have walked out, but I was trying to be the better person. I let them finish their attempts, and gladly did their exit interview where I told them how rude the sales lady was and how pushy we felt she was being after we said several times we had no interest in buying time share space.

After the horrible breakfast, I sent Susan and David to Epcot, while I prepared to have lunch with titaniumlily and Woody. Even though I had just seen both a month prior at Firan Con, it was good to see them both again. We met at Downtown Disney early in the day, and ‘did lunch’ at TGI Fridays. After lunch, I kidnapped them back to the condo, to continue my nice, relaxing day, and watched Take the Lead with them. By the time the movie was over, it was time to take them back to their car, and join up with Susan and David at Epcot again.

There, we did some shopping, and I could no longer resist the temptation and bought a Tigger stuffy that turned into a pillow. We stayed to watch their combination light show/fireworks display. Just as we were getting into place, it started to rain. Again. By this time, I was getting pretty well tired of the rain!! However, we muscled through it. We saved our spots, watched the show, and still had a blast, despite the rain.

Wednesday the 25th we decided to go to the first of two of Disney’s Water parks, Blizzard Beach. We spent the day lazing around the lazy river, just relaxing and soaking up the sun – as much as anyone can relax with water squirting out at you or falling down on you from various caves. We were in the water for some time before, you guessed it, yet another rain storm came through – this time with lots of lightning. The park closed for almost 3 hours, before they reopened it again. During that time we waited around, seeing if it would reopen, since we didn’t really want to go anywhere else for the day. I hate thunderstorms, passionately.

When we were able to go back into the water, all three of us went on Teamboat Springs, but there was a moment when Susan might not have finished climbing all the stairs to get on the water ride; she has a fear of heights and turned to look behind her, a bad mistake. Still, she made it to the top, and we managed to go down the fast paced family ride with lots of glee (at least on the part of both David and myself!). Then David and I rode some rapid ride together, and then we hit the lazy river one last time.

I think the highlight of our time at the park was when, after we completed everything we wanted to do, we got ice cream. I got an apple pie sunday, where they got the sand pail full of ice cream, that they shared. David had spent at least part of the afternoon wailing and whiling that he wanted one, so we finally got him one right before we left. Afterwards, we stopped at the Super Target, and I picked up some food to cook at the condo. I made my pepper steak for Wednesday night, saving my cheesy chicken for another evening – since both wear easy to cook and clean up after, which were my main goals.

Sometime Wednesday evening, paultucker called – though I missed the call. Much sadness when I found out the next morning….

Thursday the 26th, however that sadness was very much short lived. Something prompted me to check my phone for messages first thing in the morning, and when I did I was pleasantly surprised to find Paul’s voice message. I had been missing him something terribly during the week. Lots of little things were turning my mind to him, and I had commented several times to Susan and David how much I missed him, though I had tried to make sure I could IM him or talk to him some earlier in the week – given that we had net service, but it was limited to two floors of the building we were staying in. I immediately called him back on the off chance he was home, and he was! So, that was a bright start to my day.

We lounged around the hotel until about 11 am, and finally decided to head back to Magic Kingdom. We went to Tomorrowland to finish things up there. We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray’s Café, hit the Lilo and Stitch show, took a ride on the Skyway Express, and saw the Carosel of Progress, before yet another – more dangerous – set of storms chased us from the park. In truth, it was good to have an early day, where we could just sit back and relax. We went back to the resort, and Susan and I watched some of my DVDs, Love Actually and Two Weeks Notice. Somewhere in the evening, I cooked my cheesy chicken for them for dinner.

Friday the 27th, we went back to MGM studious in order to catch the Indiana Jones stunt show. We missed the first showing by the hair of our teeth, and decided to go get on the Greaet Movie Ride since we missed it the first time. We timed it just right. As soon as we got out of the movie ride, it was time to get seated for the second showing of the stunt show. We got to see much stunty goodness, and watch audience participants do their part. Afterwards, we went to the second of Disney’s water parks, Typhoon Lagoon. There, we spent about 4 or 5 hours just lazing around in the lazy river, doing nothing but lounging around the park and catching some rays of sun while we were able. I have a very nice tan line now, and my feet have the tan lines that prove it! We made it an early night, considering that we’d need to get packed for the next day, when we had to go home.

Before we got settled in for the night, though, I treated Susan and David to Charley’s Steakhouse for dinner, a somewhat pricy ala carte restaurant. The steaks there…. To die for. Very good. Very juicy. Very melty in your mouth. It was very much worth the price we paid for our dinner. I washed my clothes, packed, and spent some time online so I could get reverse directions back to Hertz, where I needed to drop off the car.

Saturday the 28th, we had to be up early enough to check out by 10. We drove back to Hertz, turned in the car and caught the shuttle to the airport. Given we had lots of time to kill, we had burgers at the Outback for lunch. Mine was somewhat too peppery so I didn’t like it, but was fully prepared to pay for it since I’d gotten a salad and had eaten a portion of the burger. They decided to comp my burger anyway, after I said I was fine and was willing to pay, which was very generous of them! The plane ride was without incident, and we all returned home safely.

Thus, concludes my Disney trip. It was a very needed, very nice, very relaxing trip, and I am all the more glad that I went.

Now, to plan for my next trip!

Florida Airport...

2008-06-28T17:24:16Z

Sitting in the lobby now, taking advantage of their free internets. Will be boarding the plane in about an hour, probably less time, if our BWI experience was any inkling of what our Florida/MCO experience will be.

Vacation was great. Exhausting. Relaxing. Fun. All the things I really needed. Will write more about it later though!!

[Exercise] Walking...

2008-06-28T17:23:09Z

I think it's pretty safe to say that I walked for several hours all over all the Disney Parks every day. No times, speeds, heart rates to record.

Disney: T-Minus 22 Hours....

2008-06-20T14:06:16Z

In 22 hours, give or take a few minutes from now, I'll be on a plane to Orlando, FL. Sunny Orlando, FL - which is purported to have fantastic weather next week.

I'll be taking my sister Susan and her husband David to Walt Disney World. I've paid for most of their way, making it possible for them to go. This is their first vacation in over 22 years. I'm a combination of excited and nervous.

I'm excited because Susan hasn't seen most of the parks. The first time she went to Disney World was when I was 8 - and she came with us then. The only other time she's been to Disney World was when her daughter was in a band competition that was hosted at Disney. Both of the times she's gone she's only seen Magic Kingdom - that means she still needs to be introduced to Epcot Center, MGM Studious (now being called Disney Hollywood), Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon and Downtown Disney. David has never been to Disney World in his life - and he plans on being a kid the entire time, which is fine by me, so long as he enjoys the experience.

The nervousness has more to do with the fact that I'll be spending an entire week with them when I barely see them less than a handful of times a year. I'm sure everything will be fine though. I'm also somewhat nervous because I'm very certain I'm not prepared for all the walking that will be required between the four parks, the two water parks and Downtown Disney. I did some preliminary walking, but I'm almost certain that wasn't enough. I'll make the best of it for myself though.

However, DISNEY!

I am looking forward to the time of exorcising the demons of Disney 2003 and the bad memories that were created there.

I'm not even going to complain that Disney is not the boat. Hee.

Oh, and I took a break from walking today, which is why you see no post about exercising. I wanted to make sure not to expend all of my energy before I have to take a flight and other sundry stuff I'll be doing tomorrow.

(Note: For those of you who wanted to come, but could not make it, you'll be missed, and those of you in Florida that want to meet up are welcome to do so - please comment here with contact information - comments are being screened. I will be there from June 21st - June 28th)

[Exercise] Walking...

2008-06-19T10:49:47Z

Speed: 1.7 with slightly larger incline
Time: 15:05
Distance: 0.42 miles
Calories and Fat: 66.3 and 20.7
Heart Rate: 95

Lower back much more ow today than right leg.

[Exercise] Walking...

2008-06-18T10:43:29Z

Speed: 1.7 with slight incline
Time: 15:00 minutes
Distance: 0.42 miles
Calories and Fat: 66.1 and 20.6
Heartrate: 109

The lower right side of my right leg absolutely hates me, and my lower back is not too keen on me either. With time, that'll likely go away as those areas get used to exercise. But, OWOWOWOWOWOW.

[Exercise] Walking...

2008-06-17T10:40:16Z

Speed: 1.7 at slight incline
Mileage: 0.44
Time: 15:15 minutes
Calories and Fat: 66.9 and 20.9
Heart Rate: 104

[Exercise] Walking...

2008-06-16T10:41:55Z

Speed: 1.6
Mileage: 0.40
Time: 15 minutes
Other stuff: 62.9 and 19.7 - don't know which is fat or calories
Heart Rate: 100

[Exercise] Walking - Day 4

2008-06-14T13:49:21Z

Today I did this:

0.42 miles at speed 1.7 for 15 minutes (vs 1.6 at 20 minutes yesterday and 0.50 miles)

Fat and Calories burned (disclaimer, the machine garbles which is which, I'm sure someone more savvy about this can inform me which is which) 20.44 and 66.40.

Heart Rate: 111 at speed 1.7 for 15 minutes (vs 122 yesterday at 1.6 for 20 minutes)

Go me.

[Exercise] Walking

2008-06-13T18:30:14Z

So, I determined this week that I was going to start walking in earnest. Oh, yeah, sure, I always say that, but I devised a plan that so far seems to be working well. Seems is the key word here.

Nancy and Scott have a treadmill. Usually it collects dust. I stated using it before the cruise last year, though I never kept up with it. Walking was just plain boring. Even walking with TV streaming into my lap top was plain boring. Walking is still boring.

So, I decided to do this…. to walk first thing in the morning. To make it the thing that I do first off, before anything else – or try at least to do it before anything else. Since starting my new job, I’ve been getting up at an ungodly 6:00 am anyway, so I figured to put that extra time to good use.

It’s been 3 days so far, and despite the fact that I groaned at myself and didn’t want to go, I did it. Wednesday and Thursday I walked for 15 minutes. This morning I extended that time by another 5 minutes. My goal is to gradually keep extending that time, or raising the speed at which I walk. I am told that the machine also allows for jogging, but I am no where near that level yet. Baby steps.

I am proud of myself so far. Let’s see if I can do this for another 27 days and make it a habit, as it takes about 30 days to form a routine you’re likely to stick to.

Now, only if I could get a Wii Fit – then I’d have some evening exercises too.

Curse the Wii Fit online sales being SOLD OUT!

*shakeyfists*

Oh, and their treadmill takes vitals and tells you burn rates and stuff. Maybe I'll start posting those everyday.

Disney: Star Wars Weekends

2008-06-11T18:10:06Z

Woot! Score!

Apparently we are going during the time of Star Wars Weeeknds:

Disney's Hollywood Studios™
Star Wars™ Weekends
June 06, 2008 - June 29, 2008

Want Disney Now....

2008-06-11T00:00:13Z

Meh.

The End.

Writing: Ask And I Shall Receive...?

2008-06-02T14:54:34Z

It appears that I just need to ask the characters to give me their names. Or, at least, that’s the way it seems. After I posted asking, they appeared.

To give a sneak peak, the names thus far are:

Previously Named Characters:

Herione – Kristen
Some of the Pirates – Silas and Thom
Princes – Wesley and Stefan
Maids – Flo, Melisende and Nerina

Newly Named Characters:

King – Jeffry
Queen – Constance
Judge – Richard

Before, king, queen and judge were referred to as the King, the Queen or the Judge.

Writing Update...

2008-06-02T12:47:59Z

During the slow periods at work, I’ve been writing on my book again. The book has taken on a new life. It’s expanded. I’m now up to a total of 10,009 words. This might seem small potatoes to everyone who’s written a book before, but given my track record with writing, and starting projects only to abandon them completely, this is quite an accomplishment for me. In the terms of NaNoWriMo, I only have 39,991 left to go before it’s a real book! *ahem*

The story has decided to deviate slightly from the original concept. I have an actual outline for it, which has helped me keep on track for the most part. It’s the first book/idea that I’ve ever outlined from start to finish, more or less. I have a general idea of how I wanted it to begin, what I want to happen in the middle, and how I want it to end. When I first came up with the idea, several years ago, I was very happy with it. It was a proud accomplishment for me. Every time I add something new to the book, new ideas, new settings, new characters, those are additional accomplishments for me.

I have no designs to get it published really. Right now, I think the book is utter crap. But, the story wants to be told, so there’s little I can do about it being crap. I figure I’ll get everything down on paper, and then revisit whether or not I want to go through the process of editing it and improving on it. Or, I might just get it published for myself in book format from one of those book binding people. It’d be worth it to me, to immortalize my work. If I do that, I’ll get my sister, Sandy, to do the cover art. She’s talented as an artist, but does very little with her artwork.

So far, I’m enjoying the process of writing. I just wish the characters I’m defining in the book would tell me their names. A few have. Most have not. The main character will likely go through another identity crisis, but for now she’s sticking to Kristen as her name. The original ship will change names as well, now that I have a better idea of how ships have been named in the past.

Researching piracy, reading the stories of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and reading about maritime stuff in general as research has been pretty enlightening. I’ve already lightly used some of that research in my book, thanks to the book that I received for my birthday from paultucker. So far it has been an invaluable source. It is ‘Seafaring Women’ by David Cordingly. I already had his matching book, ‘Under the Black Flag’, which talks more about piracy in general – though I’d scarcely gotten through it. I am half way through ‘Seafaring Women’.

Break Time: Shelling Up...

2008-06-02T02:59:28Z

On Friday I posted I was taking a break from Firan, to deal with the death that had occured on Thursday. Originally it was just going to be a light break, but I think I have decided that I just need a complete break from the internet in general.

Things at home are calmer, and everything seems to be okay on that front, however I think I'm just overwhelmed with everything that's been going on. It seems like there's been a non-stop series of problems both for me, and for them, since October; hives, mysterious illnesses that come and go, household issues, bankruptcy, potential foreclosure, death, other sordid issues, etc. I've been trying to be a trooper through it all, but I've more or less hit my threshhold. I'm eliminating the other factors in my life, at least until after the funeral, that add to the stress of everything else.

So, if you don't see me around, it's not because I'm upset with anyone. I'm not. I just need to be a turtle for a bit, and retreat into my shell. I'm not in the best of emotional positions, and my judgment right now is pretty poor. If anyone needs me for anything, my contact information is in FaceBook for those of you who I have friended. Feel free to use it whenever.

PS: Is it Disney time yet? I really need my vacation.

In Shock...

2008-05-29T12:55:22Z

Life was pretty normal this morning. I woke up. I read backscroll from Firan. I perused the net. I checked my email. I got ready for work.

Then, I went downstairs, and suddenly things were not so normal.

I should have known something was wrong when I was getting ready for work this morning, and saw Scott up and about. Silly me, I thought he was getting ready for work, since I’d gotten the news that he finally got a job. That wasn’t the case.

Walking down the stairs, I was greeted by the sight of four uniformed people. My response to that, quite literally, was “Uhhhhh.”

Then, I saw Nancy. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding out my lunch for the day, and all but pushing me out the door. It took me a moment, as I was confused, but she said we’d talk about it later.

I thought, Okay. I walked out the door.

The sight I was greeted with was an ambulance, and a fire truck down the road.

Nancy then explained that Scott’s father had slipped and fell in the middle of the night in the downstairs bathroom. He died, and she had found him that way this morning.

She insisted I go on to work. I made sure she was okay first – and she was then, but recognized she was still in shock – and let her know that I had my phone if she needed to call me. I figured the best thing I could do was go to work today, to stay out of Nancy’s way.

I don’t know how I feel about everything right now. And, I think the reason they rushed me out of the house was because he was likely still in the bathroom, not yet moved. I think I’m in some part shocked myself.

I didn’t know him very well, so I’m not as emotionally attached to him as Nancy and Scott. He lived in our house for three years, and he seemed nice enough. Every time I cooked something, he kept peeking out the door to see if it was finished yet. He seemed to enjoy the things I cooked, even the chicken dishes; he hated chicken.

On the one hand, I’m sad to see him go. On the other hand, I know it’s a huge burden off of Nancy and Scott’s shoulders. He was the only one in Scott’s family who was willing to care for him, rather than sending him off to a home, for his Alzheimer’s. They were bound to the house, and unable to go anywhere they wanted because of him. But, at the same time, while I know he was a burden, I know they cared for him a great deal, hence why they opened his home to him in the first place.

I expect a funeral either this weekend or next week; whenever the coroner gets done with him and they can make arrangements. I’ve informed the place where I work – it was the first thing I did when I went in, and have to let Manpower know what’s going on.

If you want to know about the arrangements and what not, just let me know.

Book Progress...

2008-05-14T01:01:39Z

You might remember, last week I raised the black flag, so to speak. I finished reading 'Sisters of the Sea', a novel about Anne Bonny and Mary Read - the two most famous and most well known female pirates in existance, and started reading 'Seafaring Women', a factual book on women who have disguised themselves as men, and gone out to sea. I'm currently only on Chapter 3 of this book.

Both have helped inspire me to start writing on my own book again - the one that I started in NaNoWriMo in November 2006, and then never completed. I got some 5,000 words when I stopped writing, or thereabouts, because of computer complications, and other things going on, at that time.

Today, I added another 1,505 words to those 5.000. I now have a total word count of 7,188.

Unfortunately, I find that I am severely lacking when it comes to names. Right now, my characters have placeholders, like - King, Queen and Judge. And, the main character's name might go through her sixth incarnation. Naming has been one of the biggest things that has kept me from moving forward, but it's time to stop letting that be a hindrance.

There's also the fact that my story has taken a slight detour from what I originally intended. I had expected the collective group, inside the book - not the reader - be surprised by certain events. Instead, they are grossly curious and half guessing, because of rumors that have spread over the course of a single night, and the King and Queen are half sick with expectation.

This was not the intention, but this is how it happened. I may need to rework this bit later to go back to what was intended, but given that the scenes between the last I wrote, and this one, are far from complete - the book wanted to skip around some, I decided to go with what wanted to be written first and see how it plays out. I suppose, sometimes, you just have to go along for the ride and see how things play out.

I donno how long this creative bug will last, but I hope to ride it for a long time. Hopefully my continued research into piracy will help push me a long, even if a large majority of the story will have somewhat less to do with pirates, and more to do with court happenings, as it will give me ideas on how to force my character into choices she'll need to make.

Mmm. Thoughtful.

My Colors Arise...

2008-05-09T10:56:39Z

You might have noticed that I have raised the Pirate Flag.

I have finished reading 'Sisters of the Sea', about Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

I am now reading 'Seafaring Women', a book paultucker got for me for my birthday. It is by the same author as 'Under the Black Flag', which I already owned - but have only read in part.

Research is now underway for my book. Donno how useful such research will be because the book is less about pirates as a whole, and more about the life of a single pirate whose life gets thrown into a bit of chaos, but we'll see. We'll see.

In any case, the first chapter of 'Seafaring Women' was about those women who were found along the waterfront, who were either wives of sailors, or 'kept' women of sailors, or 'prostitutes' of sailors. Has been interesting so far.

Jobfulness....

2008-05-09T10:53:38Z

After 2 and a half weeks of seeking.... and the day after I filed for unemployment.... I had an interview with Manpower, a job placement agency....

.... and I got a job. It's just a temp job, with the possibility of temp to full-time. Right now, temp is just fine. Anything that brings money to me is fine. In the meantime, I am still looking for full-time, permanent opportunities, so I'll be continuing my job search.

To date, since April 18th....

46 resumes sent, 5 interviews, 3 rejections - 1 temporary job.

The upside is they are starting me at $15 an hour, which is not too far from where I left my last place of work, so it's not that much of a decrease, so that's useful.

And, first time I receive a 40 hour paycheck for the week, I get benefits, so that's useful too.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for something better and permanent to come along please.

I start today, at 9:00 am.