The Five Things About Me [That Shakti asked for!]

Hallo there everyone, I have some downtime before I get back into studying. So, I choose to write a long-awaited and long-owed entry.

My friend Shakti actually responded seriously to a note on my FB above five things that I should talk about on a blog entry. So, below is the list with her requests, verbatim! Thanks friend! :)

We talked really briefly about your interest in German and orchestral music, but I'd love for you to write about it here.
- German: My interest in this was practically late in adolescence. I was in orchestra classes from 2004 to 2006, while I attended Adelphi University, and in those classes there were German songs selected by singers. The professor/conductor (one and the same person!) would let us know about details about the song's background and language, which I found myself getting more curious about. Then, there was this classmate, a flautist named Sara, who was taking German at the time. She taught me and other orchestra mates how to say "excellent" [ausgezeichnet!], and we'd have our laughs about it because of the way we used it everywhere. After I transferred to Hunter College, I saw that I had to take a language for a requirement, and picked German because not only was it available on their list of offerings but it was something new that I wanted to try because of the past from Adelphi.

-Orchestral music: I was about five years old when I started listening to classical music, on the radio. Around third grade to fourth grade, I started taking piano lessons. I eventually stopped taking piano lessons but, courtesy of school, there was still the recorder (hahaha gotta start somewhere), chorus, and a year on the trombone. Eventually, during high school years, I got into playing the violin (though my initial interest was in the viola, that did not work out in my favor because my mother bought a violin from a Philippine store that did not carry violas). That was when I actually had a good time- all four years were musically-filled. In short, I'd have to say that this all started due to elementary school- there were many music-type of trips! Plus, as I got older, I'd have to say that the orchestra as a body of musicians working together is just plain attractive.

what sort of fiction do you write? amazingly, we haven't spoken about this!
I write whatever comes into my head, so I'm not really into one particular genre; but I can tell you that I cannot write military fiction, nor do I want to attempt to do it. I think I would generalize what I have finished in the past as modern fairy tales, in their own ways. I like making my own worlds in the stories. I think I would say that short stories are my thing for the past several years, though I've been working on a few novels whenever I have the chance. I hope this answered your question!

list your fandoms. ones you're in and ones you wanna be in. i would LOVELOVELOVE to eventually share one with you.
:)
-Current Fandoms I'm in- Scrubs (Up to Season 6!), Chuck (finishing up current season using the internet- please don't cancel this series, NBC!), Perfect Girl Evolution (The Wallflower, a manga), Koukou Debut (another manga), Studio Ghibli film offerings, Life on Mars, Dr. Who, Coupling, Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries (the books, not True Blood storylines)
-Fandoms I'd LOVE to be in! (lack of time, have not started yet, etc.) - Battlestar Galactica, Hana Yori Dango Japanese live action, Goong live action

There's definitely more but I have to say that these are the ones on my mind lately. Always subject to change, right?

---

WHEW time to nap before prepping for German class! Posting again soon!

Decisions

I made some decisions this past week (spring break).

Again.

-2nd Degree HOPEFULLY going to come through (pending application status still, it's only been a month filed and two more weeks 'til I ask "Please tell me if something went wrong?") for PRE-NURSING
-Finishing a piece of writing is harder nowadays.
-Take some lazy days seriously, too.
-Cleaning the room is a forever-type of thing, but heyyyyy can't be cleaning all the time (see previous dash.)
-This summer will be filled with writing, working with families, then vacationing, then working with families again. It will be soooo gooooooooddddddddd. (Trust me.)

If you know Elbert, please congratulate him on scoring Developmental Engineering (Electrical) for the US Air Force. He commissions next year. :)

I lag

I'm very bad at blogging, as you might have already guessed by the timestamps. I thought the title appropriate a few seconds ago. I'm leaving it like that and going on with this entry.

I think it's more from the inconsistent (Question: would I rather have consistent?) lack of sleep, but I've been feeling this kind of pinch on my motivation. What I want to do right now is have some consistency with schooling, working, and my free time activities. For the most part, I do, yet I can't shake this feeling that I'm either not doing enough or I've got to be doing some more things. There's not enough energy to do everything that everyone wants, that's for sure.

I hope people can understand where I'm coming from (albiet vaguely). If not, then I hope they will learn.

PROMPT update

Last final on Saturday.

This Sunday, hopefully- I'll have a short story / flash fiction piece. Most likely flash fiction piece.

HEART y'all, have some! I gots plenty, cos I'm gonna get this story out~! ♪

November Writing Prompt

Hi Folks,

I have been really swamped with writing work, but I'm getting to the finish line! So, the writing prompt I promised will be delayed. However, here are the "winning" top comments' prompt lines (edited for easier blogging ♪♪):

1) Extramarital sex... except it's the wife with the pool girl. The husband is a conservative dude, so a threesome would not be in his mind.
2) The sun and moon are fighting.
3) Steve DeSiena as a child having a premonition about his adulthood.

Thanks for your commentary! The next request for prompt will be up when the November's story is up.

Until then on the story prompt!

TAP

No, this has nothing to do with my story, The Angel Project. This has to do with NY State aid. Apparently, now I'm "not TAP Certified." Like, hell duh I'm not certified! PEOPLE have been taking so long with my paperwork (two months and counting), causing me to go back and forth with re-applying for certain qualifications. I am actually going back later today to follow-up, and NOT hoping for the best. I don't want to do this anymore. No one's listening on their side to me, so I give up on CUNY system.

Yes, Financial Aid, you can keep your money for your drinks and some other "well-deserving" individual, because I just don't have the proper amount of paperwork for Registrar to approve my residency...either that or they don't have the brain power.

I am SO SICK of administration, on behalf of other people that have dealt with them as well as myself!

For post-grad and post-bacc, you can bet your bottom dollar I am NOT going to be applying to CUNY as any of my top three-choices. They'll be last resort.

Baked

I baked cookies for the second time in my life this weekend.

The first time was not out of scratch and on parchment paper- I used a ready-to-mix kind of product and aluminum foil. The bottoms got burnt and people had to watch out for foil pieces that might've been stuck on the bottom of the cookies when they were eating them.

My first batch was white chocolate and blueberry cookies on Thanksgiving. My second batch and third were today- almond biscotti for Elbert's mom's birthday (they kind of came out really hard cos they were left in the oven too long, but the flavor was good); and white chocolate cookies (just so I can finish up the white chocolate chips in the cupboard). Elbert helped me out with all batches, the sweetheart.

I'm happy the cookies came out well but already I can see I have to account for plenty of things in recipes, including the recommended amounts of sugar and baking time. Plus, it's all about taste and texture combined.

Meantime, I'm working on the first writing prompt. Stay tuned.