There’s still time to inspire an at-risk teen to write. Donate a journal

Friday evening, I went to see VALENTINE’S DAY. This reminded me of the movie CRASH, in the way that all the characters in the movie were connected somehow. The best part was that I had the whole theater to myself. Yes. The whole theater. I could’ve run up and down the aisles, screaming my head off. And no one would’ve known. Or heard me. Pretty cool. So, I was impressed by the whole interconnectivity of it all, but they should’ve replaced Taylor Swift with Miley Cyrus.

Seriously. She already has the blonde wig.

Or maybe she should’ve received a few pointers from Miley’s acting coach. I was wholly unimpressed with her acting. It’s like she was trying too hard to be a ditzy, empty-headed blonde because we all know she’s not like that in real life. As the gang from High School Musical 2 sang, “stick to the status quo.” Singing is your “thang”, honeybabydoll. Don’t stray until you’ve got a few more lessons under your belt.

Moving on…..the rest of my weekend was pretty uneventful. Mr. Maul was sick all weekend, though we managed to eat at Ron’s Place on Saturday and do a little shopping afterwards. It was cold and rainy on Sunday and that called for staying in.

Still trying to upload pics from our Orlando vacation. I was going to do a daily breakdown and realized that it was going to take too long. If I had written it ahead of time, I would’ve done it. Now all you’re going to get is a link to my flickr account. So sorry. I’ll let you know when it’s all been uploaded.

So, how was your weekend? Did you watch the Oscars? Who won?

Technorati Tags: VALENTINE’S DAY, CRASH, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, High School Musical 2

The last time I wrote a Random Thought was 12-30-2009. LOL. I thought it had been longer than that, but I guess not. I got this one from a friend a few days ago:

Children Write About the Ocean…

1 ) – This is a picture of an octopus. It has eight testicles. Kelly, age 6

2) – Oysters’ balls are called pearls. Jerry, age 6

3) – If you are surrounded by ocean, you are an island. If you don’t
have ocean all round you, you are incontinent. Alex, age 7

4) – Sharks are ugly and mean, and have big teeth, just like Emily
Richardson . She’s not my friend any more. Kylie, age 6

5) – A dolphin breaths through an asshole on the top of its head. Billy, age 8

6) – My uncle goes out in his boat with 2 other men and a woman and
pots and comes back with crabs. Millie, age 6

7) – When ships had sails, they used to use the trade winds to cross
the ocean. Sometimes when the wind didn’t blow the sailors would
whistle to make the wind come. My brother said they would have been
better off eating beans. William, age 7

– Mermaids live in the ocean. I like mermaids. They are beautiful
and I like their shiny tails, but how on earth do mermaids get
pregnant? Like, really? Helen, age 6

9) – I’m not going to write about the ocean. My baby brother is always
crying, my Dad keeps yelling at my Mom, and my big sister has just got
pregnant, so I can’t think what to write. Amy, age 6

10) – Some fish are dangerous. Jelly fish can sting. Electric eels can
give you a shock. They have to live in caves under the sea where I
think they have to plug themselves into chargers. Christopher, age 7

11) – When you go swimming in the ocean, it is very cold, and it makes
my willy small. Kevin, age 6

12) – Divers have to be safe when they go under the water. Divers
can’t go down alone, so they have to go down on each other.
Becky, age 8

13) – On vacation my Mom went water skiing. She fell off when she was going very fast. She says she won’t do it again because water fired right up her big fat ass. Julie, age 7

14) – The ocean is made up of water and fish. Why the fish don’t drown I don’t know. Bobby, age 6

15) – My dad was a sailor on the ocean. He knows all about the ocean.. What he doesn’t know is why he quit being a sailor and married my mom. James, age 7

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival”, where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it in on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

Topic #19: What are your tools when it comes to procrastination?

This is an easy question seeing as how I can sum it up with one word: reading. Now, some may not see this as procrastination.

But I do.

I write YA.

But I read adult romance books.

When I was in high school, I read more than I did my homework. I read so much the librarians knew me by face because I was at my library nearly every weekend.

When I was single and living on my own, I would come home, slip into something more comfortable, slip under the covers of my bed (it’s where I love to read) and read. Until dinner. Then I would make dinner and read while I was eating. Then I’d go back to “bed” and read until it was really time for me to go to bed.

I was reading 2 books a day at that rate, sometimes 3 on the weekends.

Now that I’m married, it’s more like 1-2 books a week. And, now that I’m up to my hairline in school, it’s been more like 1 book every few weeks. Needless to say, I’m rockin’ a really nice TBR pile right now:

Slow Heat – Jill Shalvis
Tempt Me Again – Wendy Etherington
Naked Dragon – Annette Blair
Here Comes Trouble – Donna Kauffman
On the bright side, I’m now the girlfriend of a sex god – Louise Rennison
Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City – Kristin Miller
Kiki Strike: The Empress’s Tomb – Kristin Miller
Dani Noir – Nova Ren Suma
Nauti Deceptions – Lora Leigh

The procrastination doesn’t stop at reading books. Oh no. It extends to the internet as well. Particularly to the blogs in my blogroll. It’s been a while since I’ve done that, but I try to at least ready YAHighway on the regular. Well, at least once a week. *grin*.

Technorati Tags: Road Trip Wednesday, YA Highway, Slow Heat, Jill Shalvis, Tempt Me Again, Wendy Etherington, Naked Dragon, Annette Blair, Here Comes Trouble, Donna Kauffman, On the bright side, I’m now the girlfriend of a sex god, Louise Rennison, Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, Kristin Miller, Kiki Strike: The Empress’s Tomb, Dani Noir, Nova Ren Suma, Nauti Deceptions, Lora Leigh

Mr. Maul and I got home yesterday after spending a week in Orlando last week. My parents have a timeshare and they had a “use it or lose it” situation with their points, so they had to plan a trip before March, I think. Therefore, they paid for airfare for 5 people (Me, Mr. Maul, my parents, and my niece), lodging for a week, and SUV rental. My older sister and her husband moved to Orlando around July-August of last year so we spent some time with them.

The weather was cold (high 50’s to high 70’s during the day..but only on one day) and rained 3 out of the 7 days we were there. My Dad was able to get us 4-day Base Passes (he’s retired military) to the theme parks (visit one park each day, no same-day park hopping) and Mr. Maul and I paid extra for Universal Studios tickets. We stayed at Summer Bay Resort and needless to say, I wasn’t impressed with the place. Compared to the place we stayed at in Kauai, it was sadly lacking:

~ On the one day we decided to sleep in (Tuesday), we were awakened early by the sound of drilling and hammering. Apparently, they were replacing tile in the condo above us. Thanks for the warning, people.

~ We had to deal with an absurdly loud garbage disposal. Now, I know garbage disposals are loud, but this thing sounded like it was grinding glass every time it was turned on. According to Sonny, resident handyman, that sound is normal. Alll-righty then.

~ Wi-Fi was not free in the rooms. It cost $10 a day to have that privilege. However, it was free 24/7 in the clubhouse. So much for “like-home” accommodations.

~ The pool and the jacuzzi were heated and was not only enjoyed by people, but by ducks as well. We saw the pool guy scooping out duck shit one morning, but received no notification that the pool was being sanitized. Maybe we missed that phone call or people were given a verbal warning before they got out there. I dunno.

~ Housekeeping cleaned your condo only after check-out (in Kauai, they came on Tuesdays). If you wanted the room to be cleaned before then, it was extra. We might’ve had to pay extra for clean sheets and towels, too, I don’t remember. Either way, my parents requested clean sheets and pillowcases (we washed the towels ourselves). When they were dropped off, my parents gave them the dirty sheets and pillowcases. “Oh, you want us to take them?” was the response. Uh, yeah. What the hell are we supposed to do with dirty sheets? Really? C’mon people.

The only good thing about this place was the view. We were on the third floor and our balcony faced the jacuzzi/pool area and the lake beyond. I will be posting a daily travelogue of our trip this week.

School Daze – My community project for my LAS course has been a success. The goal of 200 journals donated has been reached, but the drive will continue until Mar 15th. If you’d like to donate, check out the details here

Technorati Tags: Universal Studios, Summer Bay Resort

Borders-Sky Harbor Airport is sponsoring a journal drive for my Write it Out Journal Drive project. If you’re flying into or out of the Phoenix area FEB 21-MAR 13, 2010, be sure to stop by the Borders in Terminal 4 and support our cause.

Not visiting Phoenix, but still want to donate? No problem, for details on the project and how to donate, check out the Write it Out Journal Drive website.

Technorati Tags: Borders-Sky Harbor Airport, Write it Out Journal Drive

It’s been forevah evah since I’ve done a weekend wrap-up. Nothing much to talk about and you can only say “not much” or “laundry again” so many times. Now that school’s in session, it’ll mostly be about homework. Again, you can only say that so many times before you lose your audience. Or, the little that I currently have, that is. With that in mind, I’ll just do weekend wrap-ups when there’s something worth talking about.

Friday – went to eat sushi at Kabuki with DSG friends. And found out another couple are engaged. Very cool. Good food, good times.

Saturday – we’re visiting family next week in Orlando (first time going. Very excited), so we went to Marshall’s and bought a new 21” wheeled, carry-on luggage…thing. The handle on our other one no longer goes down, so we had to get a new one. I also needed better athletic shoes to walk around in and I found some comfy Nike’s at the Nike store in AZ Mills. Surprisingly enough, they’re a 6.5Y. Y as in Youth. Yeah, shocked the hell outta me, too. Apparently my feet are small enough to wear certain youth sizes. Needless to say, Mr. Maul was happy to only have to shell out $25 for them.

Sunday – Went to eat at “Ron’s Place” (aka The Original Pancake House) for breakfast. This has now become a Sunday morning tradition for us. We’re there practically every weekend now. Then we went to see THE WOLFMAN. I was expecting the violence to be along the lines of VAN HELSING or SLEEPY HOLLOW. It was more like UNDERWORLD. I must admit, some of the scenes were a little cringe-worthy, but overall it was a good movie. Sir Anthony Hopkins always makes for a good bad guy. Saw a preview for a movie with Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker called REPO MEN. Looking forward to seeing that. It’s definitely a different take on the whole thing “repo” thing. When you can’t make pmts on your car, it’s taken from you, right? Same concept, but instead of taking your car, they take your organ. Yeah, I know. That’s some freaky-ass shit right there . You get an organ transplant and can’t make the pmts on it they send people to come and take it back. This is going to be like MINORITY REPORT, though, in that the person doing the hunting becomes the hunted. Should be good. Also saw a trailer for PRINCE OF PERSIA and wow, doesn’t Jake Gyllenhaal look good with long hair and all buffed-out. Nice! Also saw a trailer for WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS with Shia LeBeouf and Michael Douglas. I don’t ever remember the first one. But it looks interesting, so I may see it.

Monday – Had the day off. Woot! Cleaned house, did some laundry, went to see PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLMYPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF. I’ve never read the series, but if they continue to make movies in this series, I’ll go see them. Mythology in YA is kinda interesting.

So, that’s it for me. Were you off on Monday, too? How was your weekend?

Technorati Tags: Kabuki, Marshall’s, Nike, AZ Mills, The Original Pancake House, THE WOLFMAN, VAN HELSING, SLEEPY HOLLOW, UNDERWORLD, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, Forrest Whitaker, REPO MEN, MINORITY REPORT, PRINCE OF PERSIA, Jake Gyllenhaal, WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS, Shia LeBeouf, Michael Douglas, PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLMYPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival”, where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it in on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

Topic #17: Where’s your favorite place to read and/or write?

My favorite place to read is under the covers in bed. Even when it’s over 100 degrees outside, we keep the house cool enough to where I can still get under the covers. I’m sure Mr. Maul hates it when I disappear in there. He thinks I’m being antisocial or something. Nope. I just love to read and that’s where I’m most comfortable. It’s like a Linus blanket. I love lying on my side, holding that book in my hand and getting lost in some love story. The whole lying-in-bed-thing is actually a carry-over habit when I was living at home. I had everything I needed in my room and since my parents did their own thing up front, it was a very nice comfort zone. I just got used to reading in bed. Even more so after my sister moved out.

And, as much as I’d love to write in bed, that rarely happens unless I’m trying to make deadline. I have a little lap desk with a cup holder and bendy light-thing attached. I have a laptop but have never set it on my lap. LOL. Go figure. I handwrite my novels first and then go back and type them up. I need a flat surface to do that, so I do all that in my office. I handwrite first because I do the majority of my writing at work. I get two 15 min breaks and an hr lunch. My laptop takes a few minutes to boot up, so by the time I open my document and try to get into the story, my break is nearly over; a notebook is quicker. I can just take it outside, flip it open and Bam! I’m in and I can get started right away. When you’re short on time, notebooks are the best way to go.

So, what about you? Where’s your favorite place to read and/or write?

Technorati Tags: Road Trip Wednesday, YA Highway

THIS IS A STICKY AND WILL REMAIN AT THE TOP UNTIL MAR 15, 2010. SEE BELOW THE STICKY FOR NEW POSTS

As an assignment for my Community and Social Change class, I had to create and implement a project that would benefit my community. I chose to host a journal drive and journal workshop for Phoenix Youth at Risk. The drive is from Feb 15-Mar 15 and the goal is 200 journals. For details on the project and how to donate, please go to the Write it Out Journal Drive website. Thank you for your support.

See below for regular posts

Technorati Tags: Phoenix Youth at Risk., Write it Out Journal Drive

If it seems like I’ve been MIA from the blogosphere and only posting a couple of times a week, it’s because I’ve been up to my hairline in school stuff. I realize it’s been a while since I’ve done a Weekend Wrap-Up. For a while it’s because there wasn’t much going on on the weekends. I should get back to that, seeing as how this weekend should be blog-worthy. Although, New Years was blog-worthy, too, and I didn’t blog about that, either. Go figure. So, let me catch you up on what’s been going on.

I was taking three classes, but then dropped the Modern Fiction course at Rio Salado. I guess I wasn’t into is as I thought I’d be. I figure I’ll take up a Creative Writing course at a later date. I’ve also been working on a community project for one of my other courses (which I’ll officially announce on Monday) and that’s overshadowed just about everything. That assignment involved a powwow with my BF and grew into something worth “squeeing” about.

I knocked out one of my New Years Resolutions last month by joining a gym: 24 Hour Fitness. I’m currently taking 2 dance fitness classes a week and let me tell you: that first class was. A. Killer. The 24Dance is on Monday nights at 530, so I basically go there straight from work. It’s all different types of dance—salsa, jive, hip-hop, bellydancing, etc. Seeing as how it was my first time, I didn’t stretch out. And paid for it two days later. By the time the Zumba class rolled around on Thursday evening, I was no longer sore. Of course, that comforting thought ended after an hr in that class. I could barely walk the next few days. Everything hurt and my body was saying things like “Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Stop. Moving.” But I was sleeping good. Sleeping like the dead. And I had more energy. Now, a month later, I think my body’s gotten used to the high-intensity-heart-pumping classes and I’m no longer sore. Ar least, not as much as I used to be. I think I may be even losing some weight.

In the midst of all this, I tried to join a writing accountability group. “Tried” being the key word because I only did it for 2 weeks. This group was going to help me balance my writing life with my real life. We posted daily goals each week, but by the second week, I was already starting to see a pattern: 1) I would forget was I was supposed to be doing each day and 2) When I was supposed to be concentrating on writing DA3, I would think about something I had to do for school. During this 2 week period, I was feeling a little depressed and was carrying around this…raging anger. I was holding all this in and it was affecting my interactions with my manager at work.

The group itself wasn’t making me feel this, by no means. Part of it, I’m sure, was because of Auntie Flow’s Monthly Visit. The main thing was that I had inserted something new into my life and it wasn’t working. Once again, I was getting overwhelmed. My writing felt forced. I needed to take stock. Even though I was excited and hopeful about being a part of this group, it was just a case of wrong place, wrong time.

I’ve come to realize that until I find a balance with school, I can’t balance anything else. I need to find a groove with school before I can throw writing into the mix. I’m a officially a junior now, in my second semester, taking only two classes. I’ll be taking 3 starting in the summer until I graduate. I may never find a groove. Trying to find a mentor for these classes is a little intimidating and a little time-consuming. It’s something that’s always in the back of my mind, so I can never really relax. I may not be able to fit writing in–comfortably–until I graduate. I don’t want it to come to that, but it’s a possibility. I’m not okay with that, but unfortunately, I know me and my personality… I’m hoping that next year–January maybe?–I may have calmed some and can get back into Draven’s world.

Due to the whole school thing, I’ve also been neglecting my first two books. They’ve been reissued through a new publisher, with new covers, and I have yet to re-introduce them to the public. To help a sistah out, I invested $20-something and change in John Kremer’s 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. Little by little, I hope to get the word out again about my books.

So…that’s the story. That’s where I’m at right now. You may see more posts, but don’t hold your breath. LOL. I like participating in the Sunday Scribbling and YA Highway’s Road Trip Wednesday. Maybe I’ll get back into the Weekend Wrap-Ups, too.

Technorati Tags: 24 Hour Fitness, John Kremer, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival”, where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it in on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

Topic #16: What’s your favorite display of affection in a YA?

I love it when the guy cups the girl’s face when he’s about to kiss her and then continues to do so while he’s kissing her. I consider it to be a very tender gesture on the guy’s part. It’s like he’s saying, “You’re precious to me and would never hurt you.”

Technorati Tags: Road Trip Wednesday, YA Highway