RENOVATION!

I've been terrible at updating, but I'm finally stabilizing things offline and online, so please come and visit again in a matter of weeks! I am planning to do random posting, with no promises on them, until December, when the blog schedule will apply. I'm very excited to plan the material out for the blog and I hope things will go well.

In the meantime, take care and don't forget to read books!

Webcomics (Part 1)

This is the first of my webcomics discussion. I figured I would mention the ones I actively read nowadays, as well as other material I always come back to, no matter how long of a time I take a break from them. My opinions of the content are just that: opinions! You're free to agree or disagree at your leisure, or provide an insight that I and others might have not had ourselves before about the material.

Sinfest - (http://www.sinfest.net) - This is one of the first few comics I started reading when I began to have a consistent connection to the internet. (read: own a computer) I also happen to read this on and off - sometimes Tatsuya Ishida, the writer and comic artist, does not update consistently so I find myself stopping when he has not posted for a matter of days. I find this okay: his story arcs are depicted well enough in the strips (often four panels, but on Sundays there is a full color comic with more than that). This webcomic can be very offensive to certain parties, depending on who's reading them, but I take it lightly so I keep reading. He likes to create parodies using other well-known comic strips, such as Peanuts, and uses current events as fodder for the jokes, like happenings with President Obama and Sarah Palin. I'm not going to describe the characters here, it would take too much time, but he has a

A last, very important note on this comic: Please take note of the URL - the wrong URL ending will lead you to the wrong site. You have been warned!

Gunnerkrigg Court (http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive.php) -Start from Chapter One, titled "The Shadow and the Robot," and go from there. If you go to the main site, you will find that it features the most current page uploaded. The story is updated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; unless there is a pause for one reason or another. When I first started reading this comic, I thought of the structure of J.K. Rowling's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I couldn't help it. It was the only other work I've read from a UK writer using the same school system (dividing each grade into houses, students remain in the same house their entire school career, the ages of the students when they start, etc.). Tom Siddell, the creator and artist, doesn't give much of his life away on the internet. He does reveal that he has a day job, works on the comic every weekend, and attends conventions, meeting his fans, via his About page on the website and his Twitter. More about this comic: its main character is a teenage heroine by the name of Antimony, who you discover is growing up in a world where there is a clear division between science and magic, literally and figuratively. The art is colored and often multiple-paneled, with each page paced so that you are brought to either a suspenseful moment or a definitely resolution, depending on where you are in that chapter. If you see a detail that you don't quite get on one page, you can bet that he'll be explaining it on another in the same chapter or will bring it back up again with another chapter. A final note: he allows readers to leave comments on the most recent page, but no more than that. So, if you happen to appreciate his work, leave him a comment!

Summer!

Hello, everyone!

I've got plans for Bollocks Fic You! blog in the next several weeks. I'm working on a cluster of entries concerning webcomics, an e-book, a debut first issue of a quarterly from McSweeneys, and an anniversary printing of a book, just to name a few. I've also got some ideas for a revamp of BFY's layout, but got to work on the content first at this point.

I'm also planning some storyboarding time for a "webshow" version of BFY, but we'll see if that project is worth doing in the long run.

Anyway, in the meantime, I will be back sooner rather than too much later.

Finally finished: a short tale of distractions

Having access to the internet does very bad things to a reading list, at least on my part. I kept getting distracted whenever I DID have time to read. I'll be working on that. For one, I finally finished Michael Chabon's Summerland, after having started on it back in DECEMBER. It's a shame that I took this long. The days of reading a book in a day have passed, maybe not permanently but it's definitely been a while.

Summerland was an enjoyable read, to the point that I wish I could keep the copy I was reading. Alas, it is not to be, but I broke my book buying pact and scoured Amazon's sellers for a used hardcover first-edition copy. (Also: Jurassic Park because why not "kill two birds with one stone" when the seller clearly has in their hands a used hardcover first-edition copy of the novel? I feel sorry for Elbert, I truly do, getting stuck with me, a bibliophile growing ever more hardcore even in this age of digital media.) I would like to keep my words on it brief this time:

-if you are a fan of baseball, you may be amused by all of the metaphors that Michael Chabon incorporates throughout his novel (I was amused but I am not a super-enthusiast, I only know the basics of the game.)

-if you are a fan of the end-of-the-world mythologies that exist throughout the world, you may find this book to be a worthy take on them, maybe even feel like reviewing the very stories that the author draws from (I belong to THIS particular group, if there is such one (probably))

-if you like children's books with some serious growing done by the main child characters - there's a few of them

I'm a very new fan to Michael Chabon's work, so any other recommendations of his work are appreciated at this point. I just picked up Summerland without any foreknowledge of the story, and almost assumed that it was about a type of heaven or afterlife, because the word "summerland" has been used as a name for Heaven. With no spoilers, I can tell you that I was very wrong, but I was glad to be wrong.

The second book I'd like to talk about briefly is The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. This book was a New York Times Bestseller and to its credit, I saw several things that might have made it so:

-It has various elements to attract readers from all kinds of backgrounds and interests - the story takes place over the time period when African-Americans were finally given rights and all regions across the USA were adjusting and transitioning to the legal changes, for one; another is the relationship between the child named Lily and of the memory of her deceased mother, and how everyone in the story is impacted by this girl's very mindset concerning the dead

-Again- the relationship between mothers and daughters, except I'm mentioning this again because Lily is a daughter figure to a number of other women throughout the story, and even more intriguing within the story is how outsiders view their interactions because all of these other women are "black" while Lily is "white"

-Bee-keeping! I like honey so I admit, it was kind of THAT detail in the title that drew me to pick up this book. Actually, I think Sue Monk Kidd did a very good job of describing settings and one of the places that I liked to read best concerned the apiary.

-It was a story that was very easy to digest, but still left some room for a reader to think about what might have happened to the characters after the conclusion of the novel.

upcoming postings

Read a wonderfully-written book review on the New York Times website and I hit upon two ideas to write about in a few days, if the schedule can manage. I'm hoping to share my current book wishlist (to read if not to buy) and right next to each title, I'd let you know why I'd read them. The second idea would be to give a glimpse of what else I like to read, in terms of webcomics. After that, I'll see where else it's going to lead.

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A Resolution Worth More Books Later

I already have a deal with myself not to buy anymore underwear this year, since one of my last 2010 purchases rendered my entire unmentionables budget underground, possibly into a few inches of metaphorical monetary permafrost. I have no regrets on this.

But, what I did realize, during a Costco trip over the weekend, was that I had already an ENORMOUS collection of books for someone my age and it's likely to get bigger, never smaller, no matter how many I give away, donate to organizations and charities, and even lose due to loaning out but no returns from family, friends, acquaintances, and enemies (here's looking at you, kid?). I also have no regrets here but what I did start to think about concerned all of my yet-to-be-read copies of literature. Just like when one buys some pieces of clothes and still has tags on them a year later because an occasion to wear them has not yet come around, my book purchases sit on the shelf and wait for me to take them out to read, and wait and wait and wait.

Until now. I realized any more books I want to get, whether it's to be purchased or borrowed from the library, need to wait, because the ones on my shelves are already languishing. I'll take pictures, write endless lists, do anything for these not yet in my possession, just to be remembered, for the day that I can get new books.

Currently, my set up here in California has no rhyme or reason, but at least I know to an extent which books I've read already or started on, and which books I haven't even touched yet. (My collection's not THAT big. Yet.) In New York, before I started yanking books from every which way off for the big move, I had a shelf dedicated for books I had not yet read, another shelf for those that I like to read over and over again, and a shelf where I was giving the books away over time for various reasons (e.g. might not have read the books to completion because I really didn't want to waste my time any further). (I think my parents will be glad when my books completely leave their home, but for now, the majority of them sit in boxes in their closet or remain on shelves in various spots of the house.)

So, with that said, right now, I'm reading the following:

-Summerland, Michael Chabon

I've recently finished:

-The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz

-The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd

-Forgive My Fins, Tera Lynn Childs

I will be reading (because they're due soon)

-Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton

-Seventh Son, Orson Scott Card

I'm looking to write a little review about The Secret Life of Bees when there's some breathing room again on my schedule; for now, I thought I'd just sit on my thoughts about it and go about some other business in the meantime.

The past makes your present, yes? Maybe. We'll see.

I was working on my writing but multitasking. One thing led to another after chatting with Britta about her interest in film, and now here I am, writing of an experience (out of many, but not that much, considering my age) that I know by now is rare within New York City, and rarer still for those that are outside of the Concrete Jungle.

I want to express my thanks on the internet (haha, I don't find anything wrong with this, considering my heavy editing and the lack of details, thank you very much) for Dr. Weinberger and her intense interest in her students' lives. In my case, I believe she jumped through hoops during a number of lunch periods, to get me to do something for the summer in 2003. (I mean, I think I took up a lot of her time in the first place just by invading her guidance office when I was only a student in her english class, not even one under her guidance concerning graduation and grades.)

During those times, we looked at summer programs listed by the guidance department in a packet. I remember her asking me point blank about my interests, just to get the search started, and frankly, the suggestion of filmmaking (from her) was probably more of a surprise than anything (to me)- I only liked watching them at the time, but sure, why not? Then, after looking at the lists, we made phone inquiries.

Serendipitously, while she was looking for the contact for Columbia U's summer film program for high school students, she ended up getting in touch with NY Film Academy about their program. From what I can remember, it was due to a switchboard mistake. She told me to try talking to these folks at NY Film Academy for a way to help with tuition costs for the program and to not get my hopes up because it was a private company, and she knew that my parents probably couldn't afford their prices out of their own pockets by themselves. I went along with it, I didn't mind, and I THINK I told my parents about what was happening concerning that.

A conversation with the filmmaking school led me to have a little extra work for a particular week. I took a couple of trips down to Union Square where their headquarters are still housed (as of the time of my writing this) and toured it a bit. At the end of the tour, I was asked about my interest within a conversation with the coordinator, and following my response, I was then asked to write a script, no strict format, just a scene. I sent it via e-mail, as per their request. (That script's scene? Well, I can't admit this here. Ask me in passing, if you want; as of now, I don't want to write about it.)

This was where serendipity came in again: Dr. Weinberger and I were speaking of what happened and again, she told me that it was only a chance to take - and maybe we should look up other programs while we're at it? But, sure enough, the coordinator eventually called back and told me that arrangements were made so that it was possible for me to attend a summer session in the city-based location for high schoolers. She was pleased for me and glad, it was something to go on my college application, after all, and would keep me busy.

That summer, I met some really good people and I still keep in touch with one every so often, when we're not busy with our lives. But, actually, besides having attended the program, I'm thinking I'm even gladder to have had Dr. Weinberger that year as an Honors English class teacher in the first place. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had that part of my memories, experiences, and current knowledge, etc.

I hope you're doing well, teacher.

P. S. A note about a side effect to this experience that might also serve as a warning to those interested in becoming deeply involved in ANY field as a hobbyist or otherwise: While I watch movies, I get drawn into thinking about how they might have shot a fascinating scene and how many times they could have shot it, then how it could have been edited, and it can become a source of annoyance when I drag other people into a dialogue with me about what we had been watching at the time.

P. P. S. If you have NEGATIVE commentary about the teacher, keep it to yourselves or speak of it somewhere else, not here - let's keep it only POSITIVE.

Happy New Year, what's up?

Thank you for reading! I appreciate your attention and wish you a healthy and beautiful new year, filled with positivity. Don't let the 2012 doom-sayers get you down - for one, I believe 2012 is going to be a different story, so make sure your 2011 is exactly what you want it to be for yourself and nothing less, before 2012 comes in the first place.

Moving on with things, I'd like to update you all on a few of my projects.

I'm working on Short Harbingers, an online literary magazine. I have updated a little bit and am now welcoming submissions for the first issue. Please check it out: www.shortharbingers.com. If you're a writer, I welcome you to participate, and if not, please consider the literary magazine anyway - I want to be featuring visual artists, photographers, and maybe even some videos of other types of art. I'm at the beginning of this project so "the sky is the limit," as many say. I do ask that your submission have something to do with the theme. The debut issue's theme is "metamorphosis." I hope it can inspire you.

I also signed up for The Fiction Project (www.arthousecoop.com/projects/fiction) and I'm currently waiting for the book they want all participants to use. My theme is "THINGS THAT CHANGED OTHER THINGS," but they have other themes offered and if you don't want to pick one at the time of sign up, leave your selection to be a random theme and you'll get one. I left it to be random and look at that, I ended up with something about change. (Seems like a good time as any to do that, right?) I don't want to summarize what The Fiction Project is on my blog when the website has all the information, so take a look. I do want to recommend that if you are interested and know a few others that might also be interested, they offer group discounting of their fees for groups of four or more, so take advantage. If you're not a writer, take a look anyway at the website and you could find that they have other projects that could be worth your time and effort.

My writing is coming together but the final products are secret. However, I might do some mixed media stuff related to what I'm working on in the future, in the forms of pictures, sketches, collages, and/or video - just so you all can get to know a little bit about my characters and how I've been fleshing them out. We'll see- there's already a little bit of this going on but I'm not going to vocal about it as of yet.

As a last note, my workspace is so awesome (to me) that I might just take pictures of it to post up, since in some ways, I think it fits under "bookshelf porn." Also, I just want to share what I've been going through a little bit since moving and I am very proud of how the space has come together.

NaNoWriMo: Final thoughts

This year's NaNo was a bust for me, being stuck at 1,142 words, and having started days into November. Still, it was exciting to start FIFTEEN SOULS and I feel like I need to continue it! Now that I have my workstation in the house all set up nicely, I can take my progress seriously.

NaNo is a great thing to participate in, though, and I think next year I will definitely try again, hopefully with plans all up BEFORE the start. In the meantime, there's plenty of stories to work on, big and small. Besides FIFTEEN SOULS, I'm going to have to finish this short story that I started a while ago and then edit a couple of times, then try to submit it to some magazines. No clue where yet, but I want to finish it first, so I am trying not to get ahead of myself.

I know a woman who is working on her novel so earnestly that she decided to deactivate her Facebook so that it doesn't distract her. I'm taking a few leaves out of her book- I'll be sitting out of Skype and AIM for now, then later on from Facebook Chat. I'll leave my account up, since there are days where I don't even check my profile and I don't mind it at all.

In other news, I've had this migraine for two days now, and I'm wondering, when will it go away? But, it's funny that I have it right now, since FIFTEEN SOULS starts with a migraine within the story. Go figure.

BFY! Book Review: THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

So, I decided that BOLLOCKS FIC YOU! will be about what I'm reading, what I've finished reading, and what I'm currently writing. (While I'm always writing, I'm not always finishing. Sadly, there is a difference in my little world.) I also will hint at what's happening on other things I'm working on, but not as much, especially when I finally get everything set up.

I thought I'd start the great USA Thanksgiving Weekend of 2010 by giving a personal review of The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. I watched the film months before and as a result, kept picturing Anne Hathaway as the main character Andrea. Also, in my imagination, her best friend Lily was the actress who played Lilly from The Princess Diaries. Fancy that! Good thing that the book's version of Miranda Priestly was not Meryl Streep but, rather, whomever I wanted to imagine her as according to Ms. Weisberger's writing. I want to steer away from biases like these at all costs, but I really couldn't help it, it was too easy. (This is starting to happen with the Harry Potter series, too.)

Either way, all mental pictures aside, the book's version of Andrea and Miranda Priestly felt developed for what it was: a simple, almost "popcorn," read. I had both empathy and sympathy for Andrea, especially after having had a glimpse of the fashion industry within the last year myself. Her thoughts of getting through her year-long term with the fictional magazine Runway consistently changed with the progression of the book. I thought that was a really good thing to do- I saw the progression of Andrea's personality go from someone who was unaware of the big city life and too innocent of what she was getting into to a person who was on her way to being a worldly human being, but definitely was still far and away from it at the end.

The antagonist Miranda made me laugh. Her demands were so absurd and her personality was awful. I loved it, she was definitely a great villain to have in a story. It's too easy to create a villain and just have them throw one bad thing after the other at the protagonist without justification. The background for Miranda also gave Andrea a foundation to find out what she wanted out of her life and rounded out Miranda just a little bit. I liked the timing of revealing the meaningful bits through the research in the beginning, chatter between characters, and even Miranda herself admitting what a shadow of her former self might have been. I say "might," since the conversation with her admitting this happened to be when she and Andrea are together alone in a car and she is still cold and inexpressive, according to Andrea's observations of the event - a bias that the book understandably has, considering everything has been written to be in Andrea's point of view.

Supportive characters were important in this book, too. Andrea's immediate family kind of served as a contrast to Miranda Priestly's own, and appropriately, they showed up less and less throughout the novel as Miranda's role in Andrea's life expanded more and more. Alex the boyfriend was O.K. but I think even without him, Andrea functioned well and was still a good character. If anything, I think Lily was the better of the two non-familial people in Andrea's world to both interact with her and be a catalyst to Andrea's major decisions.

Having recently moved away from New York City, The Devil Wears Prada made me miss it a little bit, since the bulk of its action happened in Manhattan. I had an opportunity to see both the Hearst and Condé Nast buildings at one point, very briefly, and kept filling in mentally that the Elias-Clark Building was a combination of those two plus some other offices, but even if you haven't seen those buildings I mentioned, Ms. Weisberger describes the layout of Elias-Clark with enough precision expected from someone who only works in it and not having had anything else to do with its appearance.

I think it is an easy read, took me a total of a day to get through the entire story. I kept going on and off while reading, so I didn't just start on it today. I would recommend it for anyone above age seventeen, since some folks at that age tend to have a grasp of how post-college life might work, due to research about post-high school life or by questioning those that have already gone through college. Since this book happens to be about a woman who is coming into her first career after graduation, I would think anyone younger than a college-bound person might miss out on references or think less of what's going on between characters.

Short Harbingers

Short Harbingers
Above is the URL I mentioned in my previous entry. What's with the name? Well, this has everything to do with the upcoming online (for now) publication I've been planning. I would like to do a kind of literary magazine, the bulk of it to be concentrating on short stories, with spattering of poetry- a genre of literature I'm not very good at being picky and critical over- and, hopefully, some photography, especially those that can tell stories with the series of images, whether literally or if there's a theme going on. I figure it would be a learning process all around. So, the short stories bit is where "SHORT" comes into the name.

"HARBINGER" is a very intense word in my opinion, meaning "messenger." My intent with the publication is to deliver stories, which are messages from their authors. Whether the messages within stories are deliberate or they are totally just STORIES in someone's mind, it's all right- I believe all writing pieces are ways to deliver messages. Hence, the place of "HARBINGERS" in the name. It's also not very commonly used in the Modern English language. I note that when it is used, it usually is in a dramatic or even foreboding tone.

In the meantime, I am redirecting the URL to the my page on the aggregator, Flavors.me, which is a great site, by the way. It's easy to use, but not all social media and blogging services can be linked through it, so you have to do some exploring.

In other happenings, I've relocated and all the fun of settling down had definitely taken up a lot of my time, but now that the house is just about finished in being equipped with necessities (more or less), I will be devoting more time to myself and my writing. For example, I have chosen to put my project, FIFTEEN SOULS, as a NaNo. I doubt I'll be finishing on time, since as of this entry its word count stands at 1,142. Still, you never know. It's worth a chance and I'm finding it good for me to have started on this project.

The RETURN!

So, I have returned. Sorry for my delays. I have nothing to say about my delays.

What can you expect for the next few months from me on this blog? Quite honestly, I will be working on a number of projects by myself as well as with a few friends. In addition, I mentioned on my Twitter that I would be launching a publication. I would love to say more but I am still planning the heck out of it. Also, I have purchased a domain name and may be using it within early next year, which could mean that this blog will either get a new address or a different focus!

I am pleased that things are moving along and will provide more substance soon than just some almost-random entries on this bit of blog.

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BLAST you, Polyvore!

Damn Polyvore site...some of the pics I wanted to use for a set just keeps fucking up.
So, I copy and paste here the damn text I wanted to use for the set. But, it doesn't mean as much when there's no pictures of the reference. (BUT there's always Google and if you know who Keira Knightley is, then you can skip the Googling step.)
---

I thought I'd make a polyvore...reminding myself of how awesome Keira Knightley is as an actress and as a model. I admire her portrayal of her characters, and I can't wait to see her in NEVER LET ME GO, a film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's book of the same title (which I love!). It's a pity that when I first encountered the news on the internet, the synopsis clearly states the entire movie.

As a writer, I admired the brevity of the summary. At the same time, as a writer, fan, and reader of Kazuo Ishiguro's work, I was really miffed at finding out the entire movie's story laid out like that.

ANYWAY! My favorite images of Keira Knightley are here, especially with her in the green dress from ATONEMENT, one of the best stories I've ever read/watched. I was trying to find the picture of her from an editorial where she wore so well a dress from Vera Wang's S/S 2010 collection...but I can't. Oh well.

Halfway through 2010...almost

I'm feeling like there's been a lot of failed relationships lately! How could some of them start back up to the same way as they were before?

I think I've ruined a lot of my own myself. There's plenty of acquaintances that could have been friends eventually. There are friends who could have been 'Besties,' and the 'Besties' into FAMILY. And FAMILY itself is another level. But, I think I'm coming to terms with a lot of the failures, if only because I am very aware of how the next several months can be like if it goes in the direction it's going in right now. (being cryptic on purpose <3 sorry folks, ask me in person and I MIGHT answer- otherwise, won't reveal for a while, if ever, on this)

I don't regret having certain failed relationships, because of the learning experiences...but I do regret having lost time with those I still want to keep in my life. But only for a moment, because I might lose some more time if I dwell too long.

10 is a magical number

I was born on the 10th and I always thought, since I was an even younger girl than I am now (start your giggles), it was a great number.

Right now is my 2nd anniversary of being a Moo! It happened to fall on the 10th, because he decided that he shouldn't ask on the 9th since I was expecting it.

Clever of him to, since it was one of the most pleasant surprises of my life!

Working full-time...

I have to say that the universe is watching out for me, keeping me employed in such a nasty economy, which is getting better slowly, many are saying. But, of course, it's not the same as before for me, as well as for everyone else.

"It'll never be the same."

What a used line. Whatever. The world is cyclical, and knowing my life, it'll be fine enough, even after all of the economic hoohah.

Anyway, all this work and hardly any ME time!!!! But then, HARDLY ANY FRIEND TIME! The biggest issue at hand, then, is budgeting the time that is available....outside of work. Now, how am I going to use the time...

So, with that...I have decided to forgo using FB for primary contacting! Most of those that I keep in touch with already have my cell phone number, and I theirs, but the rest of the ones that want to start contacting me out of the blue, there are ways to get to me. If you really want to talk to me, it will get done, I promise.

I'll keep my account, and check it every so often. But, by not using it as heavily as I did before, I will definitely free up a lot of my time for other pursuits, like repairing a jewelry box, practicing my violin, and spending time with loved ones.

Now, on to watching Doctor Who before it's due at the library tomorrow...

Happy New Year?

As ridiculous and as "under-a-rock" as I can sound, Happy New Year! Seriously, this is my first blog entry here since 2010 started, so I only think it's proper to greet with that. I also celebrated Chinese New Year (though, not as serious- I don't know enough about it yet), which makes my greeting valid, especially since many people throughout the world are still celebrating the joyous Lunar New Year!

But what have I been doing? I don't think I've been doing too much. It's almost the same old routine before the solar and lunar new years took place. I've been reading, writing, resting, working full-time, sporadically working with my violin, shopping, etc. etc.

Yet, it feels like everything I've been doing has a new twist, something never seen before to anticipate. I don't think it's just because of a new decade. I am feeling a constant flow of hope and appreciation for just about everything that I've always done or been around.

However, I do believe that I should express that in this new year, I have a few goals I don't mind sharing with the internet's public:

1) I want to buy more (newly manufactured) items as locally as possible - I feel borderline ridiculous, but I've finally come to realize that I would rather take time to find as many items as possible that have been made in the United States; then going from there, depending on the item, I'd rather go as locally to my area as possible. Sometimes, I've gone into stores and walked away from good prices- because, upon examination of the items that attracted my attention in the first place, I found that the qualities of the items are just not that good (strings hangout, the stitching can be undone, the fabric is a bit too cheap and feels gross on my skin; or, the items are plastic AND in terrible shape already) and they're made in different countries!

2) ORGANIZE! - Messes are often caused by just living in the space alone. I am a bit particular about how things are organized but I have not been able to organize everything as how I'd like to. So, this year is the year I find out what I want to get rid of and what I want to keep, and then keep as best as possible whatever stays with me by the end of the (constant) purging

3) I need to exert more patience than ever before - I considered myself a decently patient person but lately, I'm finding myself more and more tempted to smack away what bothers me, just right when it starts. (Most of this occurs on the subway trains that I ride- it seems like there's more people riding them than ever before) The stress won't help me nor anyone else around me out, if I let things get to me.

4) Revise revise revise - My habits, eating, writing, music (this one by practicing, not writing the music) - Anything I want.

Also: I've been working on a list of 101 things for 1001 days, and as it's 2010...and the deadline happens to be on September 30, 2011. As it's 2010 and certain sections have yet to be really worked on...well, I better get a move on.

Thanks for reading!

Journals

I was at my parents' last night. I looked for my music teacher's required material, and found it, plus a lot of other music material I had either played or planned on playing in the past. Most were kept in plastic boxes that I had obtained from a Japanese products store that was opened near that house years ago. They're gone now, but there's always more of those types in Chinatown. Anyway, the point here is that while I looked for and through the music materials, I started to think about writing on paper again, and used my time to look for all the blank books that I had amassed over the years, some bought with the sole intention of filling up for a particular story, other ones were gifts from family and friends.

All of those items, I am asking myself, can I still use them? Do I still want to use them?

The answer is building up to be a very loud YES.

Why hello there again

I've been ignoring writing in this, only because I got out of my writing groove between graduation and a few days ago. Why couldn't I update lately? Let's just say I had to get some items done fast on my to-do list that is the length of forever. (To me, to me! I'm not going to live forever in terms of you.)

So, yes, hello there again.

I still didn't do the blog about my vacation in July. I didn't upload any pictures concerning it. But I am getting back into this groove (as previously mentioned), so this may all change within the next few weeks.

What kind of stuff am I reading lately? Fashion magazines, especially Elle because of a number of its smarter articles, and re-reading the last volume of the Harry Potter saga. I have a nostalgia for the latter, and as for the magazines, I've been finding I need new fodder for thoughts, characterization and they give advice that I can't seem to ask for...yet. I don't think the right people have come along for them, or maybe just not the right times. I've yet to figure this out.

Then there are comics. I grabbed a translated version of Clover by CLAMP, all four volumes clad in paperback and with colored cover and extra art the group did for it. (I have the Japanese ones, except for ONE volume, but I have a feeling I'd never read it properly. I did, however, figure out words I was translating on my own by drawing my conclusions from it, in my reading the English one...) By way of recommendation from a Twitter user who also has a blog, I started reading Ikigami, but with the 2nd volume, because that was the only one available at Borders near work.

I'm trying to write a fiction story that I deliberately put myself and my boyfriend as characters in, and so far, I keep having all these neat adventures to write about...but only in my brain. I am terrified of putting anything down on paper just yet. (Read: Just really SLOW about it.)

OMG! 20th Post!

Not really a highlight but it's all good.

Someone asked that I post my recommendations up. So, here they are, without my descriptions or reasons for why. :) Next post might have them!

• Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose
• Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
• Coin Locker Babies, Ryu Murakami
• American Gods, Neil Gaiman
• Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murakami
• Suppli, Mari Okazaki
• What Dreams May Come, Richard Matheson
• Atonement, Ian McEwan
• Unabridged fairy tales, Hans Christen Andersen
• Ramayana

Sorry about the fairy tales, but there's one version of it with these beautiful pictures. It'd be an oversized book at a bookstore. Personally, I read this when I was much younger and took it out again for one more read from the Fort Hamilton Brooklyn Public Library Branch, before moving from Bay Ridge to Bensonhurst. I don't think I'll ever forget it.