Archive for the 'Revision Hell' Category

July 27, 2010 | "Whoa whoa I gotta go...back to schoooool...again",3rd Semester,A Whole Latte Trouble,Book Two,Creative Writing II,Draven Atreides,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Life in General,Prescott College,Revision Hell,School Daze,Summer 2010,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment,Writing Movements

Missed two days of writing last week, but I still got 16 handwritten pages in. The rest of it was previously written material. Not too bad. Not sure how many typewritten pages that turned out to be, but I was able to submit the 1st 30 pages for my CWII class. Here’s hoping I have better movement this week

July 15, 2010 | A Whole Latte Trouble,Book Two,Draven Atreides,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Revision Hell,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment,Writing Movements

Still stuck in Chapter One. But I was able to crank out 5 pages. It’s 12 pages long, but probably won’t type up like that. And I’ll still be using already-written stuff.

Today was definitely a good day.

April 21, 2009 | "Whoa whoa I gotta go...back to schoooool...again",A Royale Pain,A Whole Latte Trouble,Book One,Book Stuff,Book Two,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Life in General,Movie Queue,Revision Hell,School Daze,The 4-1-1 on Me,Weekend Wrap-Up,Writing Movements

The last time I posted was April 7th. I can’t believe I’ve been out off the radar for that long. And it’s not like I haven’t had anything to say, I just really haven’t felt like logging in. Therefore, I’m cramming two weekends worth of news into one post. Enjoy!

EASTER WEEKEND –

Saturday, Mr. Maul and I traveled to Globe, AZ to attend the SNMMA (Sovereign Nations Mixed Martial Arts) EXTREME BEATDOWN cagefighting event at Apache Gold Casino. He wanted to see the fights and had no one to go with, so I went with him. We rented a hotel room for the night in Globe (the casino itself is located in San Carlos, 5 miles outside of Globe) and then went to have dinner at the casino. As we were driving up there, we saw billboards for the casino’s “award-winning” cuisine. They might have been talking about the buffet, because the actual restaurant where we ate totally sucked. My shrimp fettucine was just warm, rather than steaming hot. And even after they threw it in the microwave (or whatever they did to warm it up), it still didn’t taste any better.

The fight was being held in a steel building (where they have indoor rodeos) on the far side of the casino parking lot. Did I mention we had front row seats? Front row is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I was thinking there’d be sweat and blood spatter or something, but I didn’t have anything to worry about. I wouldn’t want to have been any of the judges, though. There was some distance between the front row and the cage, but still close enough to see the action. There were 10 fights; some were 3X5 (3 mins, 5 rounds each) and others were 5×5 (5 mins, 5 rounds). Three minutes doesn’t seem very long, but when you’re getting the shit beat out of you, it can seem like a lifetime. They all went quick, though, with knock-outs or tap-outs during the first or second rounds. One of the fights was between two girls, one of whom was local. It was the most exciting fight of the night and the girl we were rooting for won.

Mr. Maul even got his picture taken with a couple of fighters. This dude is Efrain Escudero. He won the UFC Ultimate Fighter Season 8. He wasn’t fighting that night, though.

And this other dude is Chris Tuchscherer. Mr. Maul wanted his pic taken with this guy because he looks like one of our friends.

The above guy, Chris, trains with the guy below, Brock Lesnar, he’s the UFC Heavyweight Champion:

I apologize for the skin shot. She was one of the ring girls (y’know, the ones that walk around the ring holding up the Round signs) and apparently, this was the only good shot Mr. Maul could get.

After the fight, we went back to the casino and tried our luck at the slot machines. We stuck to the quarter slots and actually racked up $80 (we put in $20), but we didn’t cash out. I would’ve cashed out if we’d gotten over $100. All in all, we had a great time. This was our first time attending a live cagefight and the price was right ($50/ea for front row seats), so we went for it. It was a bit colder in Globe, and being in a steel building with dirt-covered concrete floors didn’t help at all ( I felt sorry for the ring girls in their skimpy bikini’s), but I still enjoyed myself.

This past weekend… (more…)

Technorati Tags: Globe, AZ, SNMMA (Sovereign Nations Mixed Martial Arts) EXTREME BEATDOWN, Apache Gold Casino, San Carlos, Efrain Escudero, UFC Ultimate Fighter Season 8, Chris Tuchscherer, Brock Lesnar, UFC Heavyweight Champion

February 23, 2009 | Book One,Book Stuff,Draven Atreides,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Life in General,Movie Queue,Revision Hell,The 4-1-1 on Me,Weekend Wrap-Up,Writing Movements

The only thing I miss about two—maybe three—previous jobs past is the fact that I worked 4 10’s. I worked 10 hrs a day for 4 days and got Friday off. I think we all need to do that and have 4-day weekends because I did not want to wake up this morning. Mr. Maul and I received our refund–and I got a little bonus from the job—last week, so a co-worker friend and I went shopping and to the movies on Saturday.

I bought a pair of skinny jeans from Anchor Blue.

Shocker, I know. Sit down before you fall down because home girl here has never owned a pair of skinny jeans. My legs are skinny enough as it is. No need to accentuate the obvious. And I’m not talking about the Jonas-Brothers-so-tight-I-can-barely-walk type of skinny jeans, either. Actually, I hate it when guys and girls alike where those kind, especially when they’re super tight and hanging off the hips. Annoying. But these are just regular skinny jeans. And I think it’s interesting how they all have names. Girl names like Jasmine, Ruby, Opal, Lapis, Cristal, etc. How clever is that? Do guy jeans have guy names? Just wondering. Maybe Cate can answer that.

So, yeah. Skinny jeans. Whodathunkit? And I also scored a couple of tank tops from Charlotte Russe, one of my favorite “mall” clothing stores. I normally hate to shop for clothes. Seriously. Even when I was little and Mom was doing the buying. I prefer to do it online (GoJane.com), but when I do go to the mall, I like Charlotte, Forever 21, Wave, and Rave. Never been a big fan of those trendy places like Gap, A&F or Hollister, though. What about you? Where do you like to do your clothes shopping?

We checked out HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU and I liked it. If you’re a single female swimming upstream in the dating pool, you need to check out this movie. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Anniston make a great couple. Their relationship kinda mirrored me and Mr. Maul’s (except for the—SPOILER AHEAD—breaking up part). We’d been together for 6 years and I was wondering why it was taking him so damn long to pop the question (as were family and friends). Anyhow, it was a cute and funny movie, even saw a different trailer for THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS 4. It’s really good to see Paul and Vin back together. Hell, what am I talking about? It’s good to see Paul because, really, the last movie I remember seeing him was FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS.

Writing Movements/Revision Hell – One of the many things I love about being a writer is the research. I’m not talking about Internet research, but visual research. Yes, even in fiction there’s a little bit of truth. The apartment complex where Draven lives was inspired by a complex near downtown Phoenix, in the historic district. I’d changed some things in Book One and basically had to go back down there to get a “visual.” It’s too bad this complex is an apartment complex and not condos, because their units are SO cool. Once the Draven Atreides website has been created, I’ll introduce you to her world a little more.

I had really good writing movement last week. I probably should’ve kept better track of the pages, but that’s kind of hard to do when some of it is re-writing and some is actually new material. The deadline to have everything done—versus typed up—is Saturday. I want to be able to start the month March fresh and send it off to the editor. The book cover is currently being designed, so I’ll be sure to debut that on here once it’s done.

College Admission Update – The admissions counselor enjoyed reading my essay and now they’re just waiting to receive my transcripts from the other colleges. The fees finally cleared last week, so hopefully I’ll have some news soon. Keep your fingers crossed.

So, how was your weekend?

NOTE: I’m in Deadline Crunch this week and will not be posting much this week

.

Technorati Tags: Anchor Blue, Jonas-Brothers, Charlotte Russe, GoJane.com, Forever 21, Wave, Rave, Gap, Hollister, HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Anniston, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS 4, FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS, Draven Atreides

February 17, 2009 | Book One,Book Stuff,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Life in General,Movie Queue,Revision Hell,The 4-1-1 on Me,Weekend Wrap-Up,Writing Movements

I hope you all celebrated a great Valentine’s Day. The hubby bought me a dozen pink roses and a funny talking card: Homer Simpson saying something about whizzing with the door open and liking it. LOL. We had a 3pm dinner reservation at Donovan’s Steak and Chop House. It was either 3 or 10, people, and the only thing I eat at 10pm is a bowl of cereal. Or toast. This place was our second choice, as our first choice only had a 1030 time open. 1030! For reals? Who the hell’s going to want to eat a 3-4 course dinner that late? Good God!

Anyhow, the food and the service were fabulous. We had lobster bisque soup to start, and then I had the North Atlantic Salmon; Mr. Maul ordered the 8oz Filet Mignon. Baby carrots, snap peas and potatoes (smashed, mashed, baked, garlic, or au gratin) are served with all the entrees. I chose the au gratin and Mr. Maul had a baked potato. I had leftovers.

Did I mention the food was fabulous? The baby carrots looked like the kind Bugs Bunny ate. Pulled straight from the ground. LOL. And they were cooked—steamed?—perfectly. Not too crisp, not too mushy. We had a team of servers. Yes, a team. The waiter and two guys who cleared plates and constantly filled our water glasses. And I mean constantly. They were right on top of everything. For dessert, we had coffee (which they served with cubed sugar. Cubed! I didn’t even know they still made that!) and shared an apple pie a la mode. Which was more like an apple bowl, really. The bowl was edible, like a fried tortilla-shaped bowl. Very good. It was our second most expensive “special occasion” meal (the first being The Melting Pot): $113. But it was worth it, y’know? Complimentary valet parking, the food, the service…you get what you pay for.

Movies seen:

THE INTERNATIONAL – Totally. Sucked. Two snaps down, 1 star…you get the message. After it was over, Mr. Maul told me that 30 mins into it, he wanted to leave. LOL. I would have to agree. As much as I’ve become a fan of Clive Owen, this movie was definitely a snoozer. I think Mr. Maul even did a little bit of that during the movie. It was SO slow-going and there was only major action scene. If you want to see Clive Owen at his best, check out CHILDREN OF MEN or SHOOT’EM UP MOVIE.

NEW IN TOWN – Saw this one by myself. Cute little rom-com with Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr. The Minnesotan accents alone are funny. Three and a half snaps up.

UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS – Saw this one by myself, too. This one didn’t have Kate Beckinsale as the female lead (because it was before her time, so to speak), but it was still really good. It’s the prequel to the first two, so Bill Nighy (Viktor) is in it and the actor that played Lucian in #2 is in it as well.

I had some good writing movement last week. Thanks to my awesome reader, LK, there were some plot holes that needed to be filled, so I’m trying to do just that. My deadline is the end of the month and then hopefully I can start out fresh next month and send it to the editor.

So, how was your weekend?

Technorati Tags: Homer Simpson, Donovan’s Steak and Chop House, North Atlantic Salmon, Filet Mignon, Bugs Bunny, The Melting Pot, THE INTERNATIONAL, Clive Owen, CHILDREN OF MEN, SHOOT’EM UP MOVIE, NEW IN TOWN, Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick, Jr, UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy