- Saturday, my sister and I took my mama out to the Olive Garden for the first time, as an early birthday present. Yummy breadsticks is worth it. As was the smile and surprise on her face.
- Sunday,
as most of you know, was the VMAs, and I admit, I haven’t watched really
any award shows in the last few years let alone anywhere near the way I
did when I was younger. I watched
though, and I admit to major fangirling moment. I mean, I was born in 1991,
so…I’ve listened to Justin Timberlake as one of my number one pop artists
most of my life, and he was my favorite one out of the ‘Nsync guys. Honestly, my sister has a photo
somewhere in her albums of me in elementary, wearing an oversized
Veteran’s Club t-shirt as a nightgown kissing and posing with her Justin
poster. ‘Nsync is by far the best
pop boy band (seriously, One Direction, you’re a no-go and I want the
Union Jack flag returned to the Spice Girls). Yes, I was among the
twenty-something year olds that I know who was clapping like a fool with a
huge ass grin spread across my face the moment I saw all the boys
together. And yes, I immediately
sang along with them just like I did when we were kids, and when I used to
watch my sister’s VHS of one of their concerts for “No Strings Attached”.
I mean, a lot of the show was good, and heck, I got teary-eyed when Macklemore did “Same Love.” It matters, not just because the song is powerful, but because I know a good handful of beautiful souls who have been in my life at some point or another that deserve things just like that.
Show was great, okay, I admit it. However, to me, Justin Timberlake eclipsed everything else with that spectacular performance, and the appearance of the whole ‘Nsync band reunited. Miley, I like your music. Lady Gaga, I like yours as well. Taylor Swift…I paused my television when you hugged your co-star from the video you won your award for, just so I could stare at his sexy self for a second. Will Smith, I caught you bobbing your head. And Katy, I heard you roar. However y’all, the part that will stay in my memory best or at least the longest, as the days pass by is what I just spent three paragraphs, going on four, discussing.
‘Nsync…for a brief moment, I was thrown back to the times when my age was in the one-digits, I was more carefree, and I was much more pure of mind. You brought the good parts of growing up, and a flash of the young me. I will probably remain an ‘Nsync fan, and a Justin Timberlake fan, until I’m no longer able to hear music.
- I
finished reading The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern late one night. I had wanted to read it badly when I
used to shelve it all the time at my old job, and it did not disappoint.
Funny though, some segments reminded me of pieces of Libba Bray’s Gemma
Doyle trilogy. I love the style of
writing that both authors have, and see a similarity in the way in which I
like to write. The visuals in my head came so easily, and aside from the
time jumping and POV jumping that took me a while to get used to, I felt
like I was right there, as another member in the charade.
Excerpt to catch your fancies:
“Stories have changed, my dear boy,” the man in the grey suit says, his voice almost imperceptibly sad. “There as no more battles between good and evil, no monsters to slay, no maidens in need of rescue. Most maidens are perfectly capable of rescuing themselves in my experience, at least the ones worth something, in any case. There are no longer simple tales with quests and beasts and happy endings. The quests lack clarity of goal or path. The beasts take different forms and are difficult to recognize for what they are. And there are never really endings, happy or otherwise. Things keep going on, they overlap and blur, your story is part of your sister’s story is part of many other stories, and are a great deal most complex than a princess and a dragon, or a wolf and a scarlet-clad little girl. And is not the dragon the hero of his own story? Is not the wolf simply acting as a wolf should act? Though perhaps it is a singular wolf who goes to much lengths as to dress as a grandmother to toy with its prey.” (Page 499)
“The truest tales require time and familiarity to become what they are.” (Page 500)
“Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There’s magic in that. It’s in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it….” (Page 505)
- This
week was mom’s 49th birthday.
I’d bought her birthday present a couple of weeks ago, before we
took her to Olive Garden. She
really liked her gift, but got on me for spending money I don’t have much
of on her since we’d taken her to supper. However, she understood the
dinner was an impromptu thing, and she likes the shirt. I win. I also made
her a cheesecake since I didn’t think we needed a 9x13 cake, especially
considering that after I made the dessert, I found out that her coworker
had made her cupcakes. Her candles?
Yeah, I put those in the shape of a heart, and she had my nephew blow out
the candles with her.
- Over
the weekend, I brainstormed things from the past few years about myself
and took my old (admittedly, bad) résumé and put it all together, because
a friend of mine has offered to help me to a good one, that I can not be
not quite so nervous about giving to potential employers. However, my mom and I got to talking and
brainstorming ways for me to get an actual job again due to me lack of
transportation. The only problem
with it, is that the jobs I look for at the moment, have to be in the ten
mile radius of home, so that it’s not out of my family’s way to get me
there. I found two jobs that I don’t think will make me go nuts, and that
I think would be very beneficial not just to my bank account and bills,
but also to my growth. Filling out
the applications though, I had to have a résumé, so I spent a whole night
trying to make one that wasn’t an online plug and chug. I’m nervous now, especially since jobs
in town are always a fight usually, due to them being hard to get.
- Okay,
let’s talk about the writing world. The one that I love being succumbed
to…most importantly, the people within my writing bubble.
I tried out my video calling on Google+ yesterday, so I can talk more with my writer friends, etc. The first one I got to talk to is my lovely friend, author of Vaalbara: Visions & Shadows, Vaalbara: The Land of Shadows, and a 7DS writer. It was nice to first figure out how to use my video caller, but also to finally get to meet her virtually face to face. It’s somewhat surreal to think that I can talk to my friends via video, especially when Michelle for instance hails from South Africa. Among our short conversation, she asked me about what I plan to do for jobs now, and I told her what I would like but I also mentioned what I’m just looking for right now. She suggested that perhaps through marketing myself, I can perhaps get small presses to look to me for editing positions that I can do online, on the side with my writing. I’ve looked for online freelancing via job sites and have come up short, but this is a good idea. I mean, I help my friends here in WNYS sometimes, so why not? I mean, it would make me really happy and be something that I love to do. Yes, I know I can’t rely on it to support me financially, but it would be good to do. She had a point that if you’ve got editing skills, they shouldn’t be put to waste.
This month I had beta-read for my friend Jess Russell, and after I gave it back to her, she said she wanted to submit it, but wasn’t sure if she was good enough. I told her she is though, and encouraged her to send it to some of our other writer friends if she still wasn’t sure. Guess what? Things are looking up for her, and I’m proud of her, always.
~Count your blessings, and whether things are bad or you’re
doing well, find something good and hold on!
Much love!
~*~Alyse~*~
