A Agenting We Go...

Today I submitted my novel to the Richard Henshaw group. Extremely tempting to just write Dear Mr. Henshaw in the query letter. But I decided the other agent working for him seemed like a better bet, so I sent it to a Ms. Taylor instead.

Since my last post, I went to a fun Star Trek party where my amazing friend Sara made me these lovely ears! Then lots of other stuff happened, which was followed by an epic Thanksgiving that was actually two Thanksgivings in one. I went to my boyfriend's family's house where we had a nice traditional Thanksgiving with yummy turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pie. They talked about family and listened to music. Then I went to my sister's house where we had tofurkey and played one-player video games all in the same room. A truly great day.

My sister bought me a Wii for Christmas, which is awesome! And she got me Skyward Sword which I've not played much of yet, but which has an elf version of me, earning it major Cherie points.

I finished editing my fantasy novel; I'm hoping for good this time, and I've started editing my children's novel. After my fantasy is finished making its rounds of the agents, I'll start sending my children's book out.

In random news, I was disappointed to find that even fresh red delicious apples are not as delicious as advertised, but fresh Asian pears are fantastic!

And that's my life in a nutshell right now. It's a good life. I think I'll keep it.

Where's Cherie?

In the past couple of weeks, I've been to two Halloween parties, helped some friends move into a new apartment, and shelved a whole lot of books!

I saw this weird, sad, but somehow awesome pumpkin graveyard while helping my friends move. When we first passed by, only the giant broken pumpkin was on the curb. But as we were leaving, all the rest of the pumpkin brethren had come to mourn their friend's loss. Their gaping mouths howled and bayed silently at the sky, their grief unheard.

Very sad indeed.

Then there's just the weird phallic gourd. No idea what that's about.

Query Letter

I've sent out another query, this time to Jeff Ourvan at Jennifer Lyons Literary. I've still yet to hear back to my last query to Jita Fumich at Folio Literary management. This post is partly a note to myself and partly for anyone interested. I find people commonly ask me how the agent search is going. So here's the answer for now.

In Defense of My Generation

Generation Y, the Millennials, the Echo-Boomers. Whatever you want to call us, it seems we get no respect. Sometimes, I think that part of growing older seems to necessitate a certain amount of disdain for the younger generation. So perhaps every generation goes through a time when they are looked down upon. But I only know that it makes my blood boil to see the word "entitlement" put together with my generation time and time again. Right now I've been set off by seeing it a book I'm reading called "The Unlikely Disciple" (p. 9, Roose). What bothers me most is that it's written by someone in our generation! Please, please, please, my fellow peers, don't endorse the stereotype!

I would like to make a quick note that I actually am enjoying the book I'm referencing, but this is an issue I feel the need to address. How are we entitled exactly?

• We're currently living in one of our country's biggest economic depressions

• Jobs we studied in school for years to obtain are no longer available
  

• Because our country is so obsessed with the War on Terror, we're not even entitled to the privacy of our own bodies when traveling

I won't say we're perfect. I won't say that some of us aren't spoiled. But this wouldn't be because of our generation.

Thoughts From My Road Trip and my Personal Life

So my boyfriend graciously just drove me down to southern California and back for an interview. I don't have any pictures of the trip since things generally flew by too fast for me to take them. But here's what I remember.

• I saw a car pulling a helicopter. At first I thought it was just the blade as the helicopter was partially covered, but then I realized it was the whole helicopter.

• I saw a trucker chugging a half gallon of milk as he drove. Good to know some truckers take their calcium intake seriously.

• I saw a sign that said "ALMONDS $ CHERRIES LB" and can only imagine some almond cherry Setter's of Catan-style exchange.

• I saw a hill with a giant F on it. It must hurt to fail at being a hill.

• I smelled a fog of cow drifting from an enormous cattle ranch. Not an experience I recommend.

I would like to admit that sometimes I find it difficult to keep diary entries from being dry when a lot is happening in my personal life. As a rule, I try not to say anything online that I wouldn't want my boss to see. I don't actually lead a wild life--unless you count burning rather quickly through my netbooks because I have a bad habit of falling asleep with them or racing to finish the books I read for my three different book clubs. I just generally regard many of my relationships and thoughts and feelings as strictly personal, and therefore would not discuss them here.

However, I don't lead a secretive life. If you're a friend, you're free to ask me what's going on with me these days by either e-mailing or calling and I'll tell you. Most those close to me know how much I love to talk. Basically, this is a shout out to those people to contact me if they'd like to know more personal stuff than I post here. I'm always happy to hear from people, no matter how long it's been. I've been doing well, but I've also been quite busy, and I just want my friends to know I haven't forgotten them. I simply don't spend as much time on the internet or phone as I used to--probably both good things for me, but I do miss talking to all of you. So please do drop me a line if you feel at all inclined.

Sorry for the inconsistency of my posts as well. I don't have a consistent enough schedule to make daily posts convenient anymore, and I don't tend to remember weekly posts. If I could pick a certain day of the week that'd be great, but I frequently don't know how busy I'll be any given day. And if I do it on random days I inevitably forget. I am trying to work on a solution to this problem, though. In the meantime, feel free to poke me from time to time to get me to blog.

Unpredictable

It's happened again where my life has become too difficult to predict to promise daily updates. But I hope you check back periodically because I still plan to update when I can.

Busy!

Out all day!

P--p-p-p-pokerface!

Going to a poker night this Saturday which gave me this hilarious little story scene in my head of a kid having to win his allowance from his dad through weekly poker games. I might put it in my Last Wish story.

Restless

There's plenty to do but I'm too tired to do much of interest. Oh, well, at least I found some job postings, and while looking for full time work, I was grateful I at least have part time work that I like well enough. I mean, certainly better than the myriad alternatives.

Editing DONE!

For my Fantasy novel anyway. And as done as these things ever are, which is never until someone pries it out of my cold dead hands. Next up, my children's novel. Finally it's 196,634 words. And that's probably as short as it'll get.

Captain Query

Today I did a story time at the library, went on a bike ride with my sister, saw Captain America, and sent a query to Kristen Wolf's Literary Agency. If only there were a Captain Query to champion my story and burst through the walls of agencies about to reject me and make them see the light.

Literally, the light. It'd be coming through the hole in the wall.

Sigh...if only publishing were that easy. Even if there were a superhero there likely wouldn't be much he could do other than collect restraining orders.

Cookies!

Today I received delicious chocolate cookies from my friend Sarah! Hooray for cookies! They came all the way from DC and are still delicious.

Oh, My Dear Neglected Blog....

I've barely been home the past few days which is why no posts. I shall have to work something out though.

State Fair!

Yesterday I went to the State Fair and was pretty much out all day which is why I didn't blog. I've learned the California State Fair is huge! I'm afraid I didn't take many pictures, so I shall paint you a word picture. I saw a music exhibit with one of those big pianos you play by walking on it, giant animatronic bugs, rode on a very big slide, ate some dipping dots, saw some steampunk art, cowered in the face of enormous fluffy rabbits, and cooed at many adorable guinea pigs. It was hot but not oppressively so.

The last State Fair I can remember was in Ohio and I saw I giant butter cow. I'm afraid I'm going to have to pronounce California a failure on producing impressive butter livestock, so Ohio wins this round. But I still had a good time.

Delicious Drinks!

For my birthday week I've treated myself to some truly delicious (non-alcoholic) drinks.

Thai tea!

Mango lassi

Strawberry Mango Lemonade

A.S.P

I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last night for the second time ans realized that Albus Severus's intials are A.S.P, which makes his otherwise lame name a whole lot better. He should just have people call him Asp!

He also had a pet ferret which raised him even more in my eyes. Ferrets are awesome!

26 Things I Love

My friend Stephanie asked me to name 26 things that I love in honor of my 26th birthday. So this is for her and anyone else interested. (This is NOT in any order. Or sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't).

1.) My family

2.) My friends

3.) Books

4.) Writing

5.) Terry Pratchett

6.) Neil Gaiman

7.) France

8.) the French language

9.) the Louvre

10.) French History

11.) Tudor England

12.) Security

13.) Kids

14.) Adorable fluffy animals

15.) Dark humor

16.) Good satire

17.) Art

18.) Music

19.) Kayaking

20.) Neil Patrick Harris

21.) Ohio

22.) Bexley

23.) Denison University

24.) Libraries

25.) Jane Austen

26.) the Internet

Happy Birthday to ME!

Olympia Washington

While in Washington my sister and I made a pitstop in Olympia. I thought it was interesting that on one side of the street was this beautiful building...

...and on the other side was this pit of despair known as the Greyhound Station. You might say it doesn't look so bad. But that's because you can't smell it.

Under 200,000!

I finally got my novel under 200,000 words. It's now 199,213 words! It's still oversize, and it's not much shorter than 200,000 but it is shorter, and that's something. Hurrah!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Film Review

Trailer:



Overview:

I really enjoyed this film. It was plenty exciting, didn't cram in too much like the last few films, and I felt had most of the important parts and very few of the annoying parts of the book. Plus, Neville rocked! I couldn't ask for much more than that in the film There were a few inconsistencies that rankled me a little but overall I'd recommend it.

Spoilers:

Okay, I'm sorry, I have very little sympathy for those that haven't read the books so I'm just gonna plunge right in. I liked that they did not include the scene from the book where Harry inflicts the Cruciatus curse on one of the Carrows just because they spit on McGonagall. But I wish they hadn't then gone and just thrown all the Slytherins in the dungeon. It rather negates the message at the end where Harry claims it doesn't matter what house his son's in.

The non-verbal magic in all the films bugs me, but somehow I'm not too heartbroken that Voldemort wasn't killed with Expelliarmus.

Sneak Preview!

I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2 but they accidentally started playing part two at 9pm. I got a two minute sneak preview!

Info From a Pirate

While in Seattle our duckboat driver, dressed appropriately like a pirate, told us that while Seattle has the most rainy days per year, it does not have the most rainfall. The reason for this is because it does not rain as much when it does rain.

Washington State Trip Pictures

A very difficult climbing wall in the Seattle Science Museum

At the base of a waterfall in the Quinault Rainforest

At the top of the Space Needle



Riding a stone camel in front of the Seattle Asian Art Museum

Impromtu RenFaire on the Train! Just kidding, actually, here's how I got the flower crown: Me (to a lady on the train making crowns of flowers) - "That's pretty"
Lady "Do you want one?"
Me "...Yes?"
Lady "Will you wear it?"
Me "Sure!"

Vacation!

No required blog posts until I get back from my vacation Washington state. Ah, the Pacific Northwest. I'll let you all know if I see sasquatch.

Productivity!

I applied to a job and sent out a query letter all before 3pm! Hooray! I'm not usually this productive this early in the day.

Dear Virus,

What was it about my throat that was so homey to you. Why did you pick right before my vacation to infect me. Couldn't we work something out next time? How about you infect me when there's something unpleasant I want to get out of. I promise I'd fight you less then. As it is, I shall have to douse you with salt water and tea.

Last Wish Part 4

Last Wish Part 1
Last Wish Part 2
Last Wish Part 3

Tory told himself it wasn't breaking in if he had a key. Still, he winced at the squeak of the apartment's door hinges and glanced surreptitiously down the hall for any signs of movement from the other apartments. He knew Jodi would be at work at this time of day, but he was still nervous of what he'd encounter inside. Perhaps she had the day off for some reason or had called in sick.

The apartment was dark, and the only movement was Annabelle the cat jumping off the end table and scurrying into the next room as her collar bell jangled. Tory suddenly had a strange overwhelming sense of warmth towards that cat. It had never yelled at him, or worse, given him a cold look of disappointment (well, no more than any other cat). No, the only memories he had of the cat was waking up to it purring in his face or kneading his scrotum for a bed. He was always unclear why the cat liked his balls so much.

Tory closed the door softly behind him and flicked on the light. Jodi's apartment was always messy but not dirty. He was never sure how she cleaned the dirt without cleaning the clutter, but somehow she did. Tory picked up some clothes laying around, hoping to see his lucky boxers. Then he spotted the suitcase he'd put them in which was still half full and shoved in a corner.

At first he tried to search it without leaving any trace. But finally he ended up dumping all the contents on the ground and rummaging through them. He was sure it was there! Would Jodi already have thrown them away? But why bother to do that when it still had an empty water bottle and sandwich wrapper? Of course, he supposed Jodi had no personal vendetta against the water or the sandwich so reminders would not be as troublesome.

The thought that she had dumped him and needed to make extra sure to get rid of reminders made him grind his teeth. But finally Tory just sat against the wall and covered his face. Why was he doing this? Why did this even matter?

Behind his eyelids he saw father's ashen face from when he had visited last time and Tory pried his eyes open again to see Jodi's messy apartment. He just sat there for a while, too afraid to close his eyes again.

What if All Your Books Belonged to Microsoft?

Or Apple. Some people might think the latter wouldn't be so bad, but my concern with e-readers is that the market will become dominated by two major companies. What if half the books you wanted to read were only published in a format that didn't work on your e-reader? Of course, they probably wouldn't do that now, but the more power the e-reader companies gain over books, what's to stop them from doing that or any number of other things, just because they can? Perhaps I'm just paranoid, but this is my concern with e-readers. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

I'm Not Sure What's Sadder

The fact that I keep forgetting to post or the fact that no one cares. I don't expect the casual reader to care but I would expect a certain person to whom I should owe treats to care....

Anyway, I have to go to sleep early tonight to do a story time tomorrow (yay), go to a friend's house, and then go to another friend's house! Busy, busy day! This also means no post for Saturday so an early Happy Birthday to my friend Tim!

The Librarian: Film Review

Trailer:

Overview:

This is a cute movie if you just want to turn your brain off for a couple hours. My biggest qualm is that Flynn is not, in fact, a librarian. They could call him whatever they like but if we look at facts he's not one. I wasn't expecting accuracy, but I didn't even get stereotypes.

5 / 10 Stars * * * * *

Spoilers:

This movie actually should have been called The Curator. Basically, Flynn discovers he's been employed by a magical library. How is it magical? Why, it has a magical museum in the basement! That's right, a magical museum. Soooo... what actual library work does Flynn do? None. He discovers he's in charge of a magical museum, something gets stolen from the magical museum, and he goes on an adventure in the jungle to save this magical artifact.

It's true he does use a book but the important part is he translates it, still not the job description of a librarian.

Now I get someone not thinking that a librarian's work would make an interesting movie. But if you're going to have a magical library, why not have the adventure take place in the stacks? The subjects of the dewey decimal system could come to life, tigers and lions and bears could be found roaming the 590s section! Or you could seek the aid of famous people from history in the 910s! Or, better yet, a librarian could use his general knowledge to solve a mystery. A good librarian has to know a lot of really random stuff. Flynn did know a lot of things, but that's because he'd been a student for so long.

The only scene that had a hint of truth in it was the long line Flynn had to wait in for his job interview and seeing everyone running away crying. While that's still not exactly acurate as no real library interviews every possible candidate, and you don't usually get a chance to see people cry afterwards, sadly, with the current economy, that's what getting a library job feels like.

But other than that I felt I was just watching a poorly named Indiana Jones knock-off.

Headache

I have a headache either from heat or tiredness or both and I think going to bed early is a better idea than thinking of something clever to blog.

Thank Heavens for Little Girls...of All Genders

Wow. I'm forgetful.

Anyway, while watching the episode of QI I've linked above, I found out that all little children were called girls. Boys were "knave girls" and girls were "gay girls." I verified this information on the website of The University of Glasgow where it said this took place from the late 13th century to the 16th century.

Yet Another Party

I went to a party yesterday where we talked a lot; some people drank sangria; I drank virgin sangria, we played tumbling monkeys, and then a game called ultimate werewolf.

Tonight I go to a friend's birthday party.

Other than that I've just been trying to catch up on sleep.

Reasons I Have Money For Sushi

Good thing my sis isn't paying as much attention to this blog as she used to. I seem to forget to post a lot. Anyway, I've been enjoying my local sushi restaurant but when I mentioned being unemployed the owner was curious how I could afford sushi. This has been mentioned before at another sushi restaurant. I'm not really offended by the question but don't feel the actual reason is the business of a stranger. So I decided to have fun with the question. I decided to say it was because I was a ninja bank-robber. I assure anyone who does not know, this is not the case. And normally I don't lie but I make an exception for anything too absurd to be true. However, I'd like to have a different answer to this question if I ever get asked again so I'd appreciate suggestions for other equally absurd possibilities.

The Bee-Keeper's Apprentice: Book Review

Summary

This reinvisioning of Sherlock Holmes imagines a world where, upon retirement, the famed detective has become a humble country bee-keeper. It's there that he meets and partners with a highly intelligent young-woman by the name of Mary Russel. Russel teaches Holmes to respect a woman in a way he never has before while Holmes fills the void left by Russel's lost family. Together they solve cases, encounter old friends, and face new enemies.

Overview

I was skeptical about the Author's note. I'm not a huge fan of pretending the story was written by someone else. But once I got into the book itself, I liked the characters and the relationship between Russel and Holmes. I enjoyed the language but only one case involving a kidnapping made me feel any desire to read faster. I didn't care for the overall mystery, which is rather important in a mystery book. But it was enjoyable so my ranking puts it on level with other books that have made me happy.

8/10 stars * * * * * * * *

Spoilers (Highlight to read)

I didn't like having Moiarty's daughter be the villain. It wouldn't have been so bad if there'd been clues other than the person mentioning Moiarty. Because the original Moiarty didn't have a family, so it felt pulled out of nowhere. I was hoping it would be Irene Adler, or at least someone they'd mentioned previously.

Argh

Had some stuff to deal with and forgot to post. But I will try not to make this a habit.

Ugh, No Sleep....

For the past few days I haven't been able to get more than four hours of sleep per night.

Governor's Mansions

Today I went to two governor's mansions today, yet the actual governor of our state lives in a one bedroom apartment over a PF Changs.

Above is a picture of the first mansion we visited where most the governors lived until they decided not to house the governor there anymore. I think Reagan was the last governor to live there.

Then we went to the mansion of Leland Standford, founder of Stanford University. It struck me visiting both these mansions that while once California was considered the Wild West, full of more land than anywhere else, now these Mansions have yards that are smaller than those of an average Midwesten home.

Last Wish Part # 3

Below are the links to the two previous parts
Last Wish #1
Last Wish #2

* * * * *

Brenda wasn't picking up. Stupid babies and their stupid neediness. Tory realized that he was being needy, but at least he didn't need to suck on Brenda's boob every other hour. Anymore.

Tory sighed, and stretched his arms up to hang off the doorframe as he thought. He was aware it was probably pretty arrogant, but he admired his own arm muscles. Mostly he was just slim and healthy, not too thin and not fat. He didn't work out, but he guessed lifting heavy canvases and balancing bulky easels built his biceps. Girls gave him a lot of compliments on his arms.

Tory did a few pull-ups. It was also probably arrogant to think of himself as good-looking, but he knew he was. Maybe not as good-looking as Jodi's new boyfriend, but he knew he was above average. He was proud of his looks and wasn't complaining. Still, Tory had a sinking feeling he'd gotten as far as good-looks could take him in life, and they hadn't been able to offer him anything substantial: not love, not career--nothing.

Letting go of the doorframe, Tory decided it was lucky underpants time. He needed something good to happen. Sure, it was silly, but Tory had developed a superstition that most good things that happened to him, happened when he wore a particular pair of teal boxer shorts: getting into his first choice school, selling his first painting, the sorority strip poker night... He held onto that last image with a smile as he went into the bedroom to root through the lonely dresser--it seemed strange in the almost empty room. The dresser was technically Jodi's but filled with his stuff, and she'd never liked it, which explained why she'd leave it. The small desk with the computer was his. But that was it. She'd even taken the bed, leaving behind only a few marks in the carpet. He guessed he'd have to get an air mattress.

Tory riffled through the drawer. No teal boxers. He checked the dirty clothes. No teal boxers. He checked the other drawers. No teal boxers. In a fit of panic, he even checked under the bed that wasn't there.

Tory finally sat down in the empty rectangle where the bed had been, heart-racing, a sick feeling in his stomach. He remembered where his boxers were. He and Jodi had a weekend getaway to San Francisco, a last ditch effort to save the relationship. When they'd been packing, Tory had found his boxers on the floor at the last minute, and Jodi's bag had been closer.

Tory considered calling Jodi, but that was a big steaming cesspool of blood-sucking worms to open over such a little thing.

Still, he wanted them back.

The teal boxers had also been what he'd been wearing when he met Jodi. This, of course, suggested they weren't really lucky at all, but Tory wasn't willing to see it that way. He'd lost two years to her, he wasn't about to lose his boxers to her! Plus, he didn't like to think what she could be doing to them. Voodoo? Could she right now be drawing his face on the crotch and holding it over an open flame? Tory shook his head. Most probably she'd just throw them away--like she threw him away. He thought he preferred voodoo.

Tory took out his phone to search for an understanding mutual friend he could call and noticed he had a voicemail from his mother. He dialed in and listened. It was short: "Dad had a bad day."

Tory put the phone down and wished the boxers were his biggest problem. The boxers were fixable.

He knew he should phone his mother back, or a friend, or at least go out and buy a bed. But suddenly he didn't have the energy. Instead he lay down on the carpet in the empty rectangle of an absent bed and turned his face to the wall. The cool blank white was comforting and confining all at the same time. It was too late in the day to catch transit out to see his parents, and he didn't have a car or the money for a taxi. Mom couldn't leave the house to drive, and Brenda would already be asleep. If it was an emergency, mom would have said, and he would wake Brenda. But this wasn't an emergency. It wasn't anything to inspire activity. It was just purgatory while he waited for the elevator down.

In Awe

I'm in awe of this amazing CGI. I look forward to the day the actual gameplay of a video game looks like this.

Writing Stats

I did some editing in my fantasy novel today.

Last time I had 203,308 words.

Now I have 202,818 words.

This means I've only gotten rid of 490 words since lase time but I take heart that I only have six more chapters of editing to do.

Infobit -- The Name Fuller

I've been listening to yet another middle ages documentary where I've learned if your last name is Fuller, your ancestors probably had something to do with the wool trade and very likely got the delight of tromping on wool in stale urine. I've known some Fullers but can't immediately recall who... Otherwise, I'd delight them with this fact.

My source is from a documentary called The Worst Jobs in History: The Middle Ages. You can watch the particular segment below:

Sushi

I am quickly writing this post as I got to talking to the owner of a local sushi restaurant, his friend, and a couple of his customers until quite late. I was also plied with saki, which I refused and got the sense I was to him what vegetarians are to French chefs--bizarre creatures who need to join the real world. I didn't mind really as I still found the company good. I have to wonder if they would have been as insistent if I'd lied and said it was my religion not to drink. As I get older it seems I encounter more and more incredulity from people over my decision not to drink.

The Red Queen: Book Review

Summary:

Margaret Beaufort has grown up with the certainty that she has been chosen to do God's will. Since she is denied her true desire to join a convent, Margaret decides that God must want her to put her son Henry on the throne. Although, always denying vanity and insisting she does only God's work, Margaret is vain, jealous, and self-serving--always longing for the day when people will have to call her, My Lady, the King's Mother and when she will sign her name: Margaret R--for Margaret Regina--Margaret the Queen.

Overview:

I really enjoyed this book. The political machinations of pre-Tudor England are delightfully complex and yet relatable as described by the plotters themselves. Even though the main character was strongly unlikeable, you can completely understand how her mind works. Plus, she was never unlikeable in the "Ugh, I can't stand to read about this person" way but more in the "Ha, ha, something bad just happened to her, let's see how she weasels out of this" way. Gregory has a talent for making even unlikeable characters interesting. All of the other characters have their own agendas that you understand completely from how the author paints their personalities, and they are as rich and vibrant on the page as if they had stepped directly out of history. I know that Gregory embellishes, exaggerates, and sometimes downright changes things (though nothing big that I've noticed). But it is fiction and there's only so much we can know about these people. Gregory's tales are compelling enough wonder how much is true,and to wish or hope that some of it is true because by the end I always feel like I know these people.

However, I should note this is not a book if you're looking for a romance like those of The Other Bolyen girl or The White Queen. But I wasn't for once, so it was the perfect time for me to read this. Margaret does love, but she doesn't have time for it and love stays firmly in the background in this book.

8 / 10 stars * * * * * * * *

Spoilers:

I loved the portrayals of Margaret's husbands. They were all so distinct. I completely understood why a pious 13-year-old would be disgusted by the chore of begetting Edmund Tudor's heir. My heart broke for the gentle Sir Henry Stafford who wanted nothing more but to be left out of the war while his kindness and affection for Margaret was only rewarded with her scorning his practicality. At the same time, I also I loved the cunning duplicity and amorality of Thomas Stanley.

I thought the end was very well done. Even though I didn't like Margaret at all, I was glad that she finally got to sign her name, Margaret R. Perhaps going on the journey with her made me feel as if I too got to sign my name as queen. Or perhaps it's just a respect for someone so ambitious even if I don't like them.

Cringe, Cringe, Cringe

Watching my sister take my netbook apart since it refuses to turn on and I need to access my files. I know she's done this before but it's hard to watch without concern...

Richard III was not Quasimodo

Today I'll just share some interesting info I've actually known for a while, Richard III, legendary villain of Shakespeare, did not actually have a hunchback. The portrait that has a hunchback has been found to have been painted over and there are no contemporary descriptions of him having one. Plus, as Henry VII was an usurper, it makes sense that he'd want Richard III to look as evil as possible. Shakespeare, who was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, the last of the Tudors, would understandably follow this interpretation. My source is an excellent documentary by Terry Jones. I know he's one of the Monty Python guys but this is an actual historical documentary. It's just more fun than the average kind. You can watch it for yourself below:

Use the Force, Jane...

About five months ago I started my own Jane Austen Book Club. Like in my favorite movie (I know it's also a book, but I prefer the film) I compare Jane Austen books to Star Wars. In The Jane Austen Book Club film, a character only does this for Mansfield Park. And if anyone wants to know what he said, they should watch the film. However, I've done this for all the novels except Mansfield Park. Here are the results so far:

1.) Pride and Prejudice

Lady Catherine is like the Emperor. They both tried to do evil but ended up doing good: the Emperor tried to turn Luke but ended up making Vader turn good. Catherine tried to get Darcy not to marry Elizabeth but ended up making him marry her. And they both have been played by old ladies.

2.) Emma

Hmm...I don't recall what I said at book club, but Mrs. Bates is like C3P0, neither one will shut up but they both have hearts of gold. Except Mrs. Bates's is metaphorical and C3P0's could easily be an actual heart of gold.

3.) Persuasion

Han thought Leia loved Luke just like Captain Wentworth thought Anne loved Mr. Elliot. And both Leia and Anne are closely related to their lover's rivals (brother and first cousin). Plus, both Han and Wentworth are ship captains! :D

4.) Sense and Sensibility

Elinor and Marianne are like R2D2 andC3PO. They're very close but very different. Both Marianne and C3PO broadcast all their feelings, whereas no one understands R2D2 or Elinor because they don't talk about their feelings (or when R2D2 does, it's in beep bop noises...Elinor probably would have gotten more attention if she'd made beep bop noises).

X-Men: First Class
Film Review

Trailer:



Overview:

I was excited for this movie but trying not to get my hopes up. I was pleased to discover it far exceeded my expectations. At first I was dubious of James MacAvoy as Professor X, but he did an excellent job. I also enjoyed the actor who played Magneto, and I was impressed with his French, but I was NOT impressed with his complete lack of a British accent! I could not see this guy transforming into Sir Ian McKellan just because of the accent. It doesn't make sense. Does he just develop a British accent in old age? Just too much of stretch. Otherwise, a great actor. I enjoyed the plot and felt the main characters and even some of the minor ones were well developed. The 60s atmosphere actually felt a little downplayed though. I thought some of the clothes and hairstyles, while reminiscent, were adapted to a modern aesthetic.

All in all a good face paced plot and exciting effects make this the best X-Men film since X-Men 2.

But don't bother staying after the credits. There's nothing after them.

8 / 10 Stars * * * * * * * *

Kayaking

I went kayaking today. I wish I had some pictures, but I'll just have to paint one with words. The water was calm and the day was partly cloudy so I was sandwiched between the mirror-like water and the blue sky above with the puffy white clouds that are very rare to California this time of year. When I paddled out far enough away from all the other kayakers I felt this very comforting sense of peace. Normally I hate being alone, but kayaking is one of the few things where I can truly enjoy my solitude. There's something about floating by myself with water all around me that makes me treasure being alone, treasure the space between me and other people. The rugged rocky hills and tree-lined coast don't quite have the mystery of the misty mountains where I first went kayaking in Taiwan. But all water has a feeling of space and peace if you can just paddle out far enough.

Bicycling home, I saw several wild turkeys. One was a male with his dark brown and bright red feathers fully fanned out like the standard Thanksgiving symbol. I tried to get a picture but wasn't fast enough. He lowered his feathers as I got closer and waddled into the tall grass where he was mostly obscured and where he could continue to pursue one of the lady turkeys. Another female turkey was farther along with a clutch of baby turkeys behind her. It never ceases to amaze and amuse me that wild turkeys live in this area and are more common than the squirrels.

Intrigues: Book Review

Summary:

Mags is still enjoying attending the collegium when a dark vision predicts that he may be an assassin to the king and suddenly he is the object of suspicion.

Overview:

I enjoyed the first part of this book. It was like returning home after a long hard day to be in Valdemar again. For many years, I've loved this world of companion horses and valiant heralds. It's a simpler world with easier moral absolutes, but the characters are always complex enough to make up for it. Lackey knows how to make day to day life interesting. She also makes characters that are very sympathetic. Mag's fears of all these good things being taken away from him are easy to relate to.

However, I wish there had been more of Mags dealing with Lena's father, spying for Nikolas, or spending time with his friends. I also wish there'd been more about Lydia just to help my memory because I didn't remember her from the previous book. Even characters I did remember, I could have used a charcter glossary to remind me of pertinent points. This isn't to say there are too many characters, just that it's been a long time since I read the last book, and I don't think I should have to reread the other one to get this one. She did a good job rehashing the previous plot. It was just the characters that missed out, which was disappointing since they're normally Lackey's greatest strength.

Then there was the magical sport of Kirball that was completely uninteresting to me. Whether or not it was a rip-off of Quidditch doesn't concern me as much as how much I felt it took away from the actual story. Maybe it's just my impatience with sports, but I feel most of the games could have been portrayed just as well in half the pages.

I also personally dislike ostracization plots. They make me uncomfortable. But more importantly, I feel some of the characters acted outside their usual nature to serve the plot. Also, while I get that there's going to be another book, this one was far too unresolved for my tastes.

5 / 10 stars * * * * *

Spoilers:

It was Mag's friends in particular that I felt acted outside their normal characters when they yelled at Mags to make him leave. I think they had been portrayed as better friends before this. It didn't make sense to me that they would care more about Dallen than Mags or not even try to understand how the accident happened. Also, once they realized their mistake, it didn't feel like they did enough to atone for it, considering its gravity. Particularly Lena ,who doesn't seem to have learned anything at all about what a cad her father is. If I was Mags, I wouldn't have forgiven them. It's simply a trust thing. How can one trust a friend who could do that to you and not appear to learn anything from it? What's to prevent them from renouncing you again?

Little Miss Sunshine: Film Review

Trailer:



Overview:

I know I'm several years late on watching this movie but here goes. I loved it. Mostly I just wanted to watch a movie that was different from what I normally watch. Not only did it fulfill my need for something different, but it was also an excellent study in character development. When I listened to the film commentary, they said it was hard to explain to people why they should see the film because the characters were the most interesting part while the plot wasn't. I agree. Although, I did really like the fact that it wasn't really about the beauty pageant in the end but rather the development of the family dynamic.

Steve Carell and Abigail Breslin are hands down the best performances. It doesn't hurt that I have a soft spot for Carell as a Denison alum, but I really did think this is easily one of his best roles. Breslin didn't have any over-exaggeration in her role that I normally see in child acting. When she was excited, it was so absolutely genuine, yet I feel she must have been playing a character very different from herself because it's also generally easy to spot if children are playing themselves because they're simply being but not projecting the character. I may be dissolving into incoherency, but even while the performance was so believable, I also feel that a performance of that complexity could not have simply come from accident.

Favorite Scenes:

I love the scene in the beginning where the word "Sunshine" is transposed over Steve Carell's depressed face.

I love Breslin hopping up and down as she listens to the answering machine. It's such a happy scene and she does it so well. I actually wondered if they had a trampoline under her as the hopping was so impressive.

8 /10 Stars * * * * * * * *

Spoilers:

The grandfather was the hardest character for me to feel sympathetic towards but I loved how the family came together over his death. I was actually talking to the screen, telling them to steal the body!

Cafe Rolle: Review

It occurs to me this may not be a particularly helpful review to any of my normal blog readers, as I don't think any of them live in this area. All the same, my friend had the idea to sample all the highest reviewed sandwich places in the area. We started at Cafe Rolle, a French deli. I had a chicken pâté and goat cheese sandwich and it was delicious. I love pâté but find most of it to be a little heavy if I eat too much. Cafe Rolle's chicken pâté, on the contrary, was a nice, light flavor. We also talked about the bread which was an excellent complement to the stronger sandwich flavor but I've begun to formulate a theory that the reason I have trouble finding the French bread I loved in France is there are probably French bread for sandwiches and French breads just for eating without anything (the latter being what I miss). This was very much a sandwich bread. I followed with an order of crème brûlée. I'm not sure I've ever had crème brûlée before, so I couldn't compare it to others, but I certainly enjoyed it, particularly the crispy top. I was surprised at how cool the rest of the custard was since, with the way the caramel was stuck, I could tell they had actually flambéed the top instead of just putting burnt caramel on top.

I also just learned that not all pâté is liver and had to apologize to my friend as I seem to have disturbed her by leading her to believe she was eating a liver sandwhich. But I watched the owner make the chicken pâté on his website and it was just ground chicken breast mixed with egg and goat cheese and various herbs.

Goin' To A Party

I'm going to my friend Kara's for a party and I'm not sure I'll be back in time to blog properly. But I can at least say I finally did some editing last night. Last time I checked in I had: 206,109 words and now I have 203,308 words. I know I didn't do all of that last night so I guess I haven't been a total slacker but I still need to pick up my game.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides
Film Review

Trailer:



Overview:

For a movie with 4 in the title, it was actually pretty good, which isn't to say ground-shaking, but it was a lot better than I expected. Although, one should keep in mind I've never been a huge fan of the franchise. I don't hate the movies but they're nowhere on a list of my favorites. Mostly I only watch them to see Johnny Depp dance around in a pirate outfit and see special effects. This movie delivers very well on those two, so I had nothing to complain of. The story was good in that it was easy to follow, made sense with the characters, and allowed Johnny Depp to dance around in a pirate costume. To be honest, I liked the story better than a few of the others in the series because I felt like they weren't trying to do too much or be too weird or abstract. On a random note, I was a bit surprised that Amanda Seyfried agreed to such a bit role in the movie.

7 / 10 stars * * * * * * * A good enough distraction.

Jean Valjean Was Born This Way

Wow, remembering to blog daily is going to take some getting used to again. Or just telling my sister so I'll owe her a ton of treats if I don't. That might help me remember. Anyway, here's a quick links post. More substantial ones to come.

Best interview EVER!



This song never fails to make me happy:

Dark Places: Book Review

BLOG NOTE: I've decided to start to blog again daily because I have the time again. But I'm thinking of changing the structure a bit. More on that when I work it out.

Summary
Libby Day's entire family was butchered when she was only seven years, old and the one locked away for their murders was her brother. But now that Libby's an adult, a club investigating her family's murders makes her doubt everything that she's ever believed.

Overview (No Spoilers)
The characters are hard to like, which is usually a turn off for me, but there were enough bits of sad and recognizable humanity in Libby to keep me going. I felt bad for her mother and didn't care at all for her brother or his friends as characters. For a murder mystery, the imagery was very well done. I'm not used to mysteries being particularly artsy in their descriptions. At the same time, I felt the plot, structure, and pacing, were all complex enough where I was compelled to keep reading but couldn't predict the end.

Book Club (Spoilers)
We talked about this book in my actual book club and a lot of people did not like the end of the book. They seemed to feel it stretched the credibility of how much Libby could change. But I didn't feel as if she was that changed at the end. She indicates that Diane had always forgiven her before. With such certainty and the fact that she's all Diane has left, I actually thought it was surprising that Diane didn't forgive her earlier and began to wonder if she might be dead. Also, while didn't care for Ben and I think he was pretty guilty for allowing his girlfriend to murder at least one of his sisters, I was less annoyed with him as an adult and could understand perfectly well why he would feel honorbound to keep the secret to protect Diondra and his child. Although, I did hate Diondra and I'm surprised her baby wasn't born malformed with all her drug use.

The Conspirator: Film Review

Trailer:



Overview:

I found it interesting that the movie was about due process of the law and not necessarily innocence or guilt. Obviously, they lean toward one assumption but the point is that the method of the trial is wrong. I wanted to find out more about the lawyer Frederick Aiken, afterwards, but I think it would take a bit more in depth historical research than I'm used to doing.

Last Week In Cherie News

My novel got rejected by Jennifer Jackson at the Donald Maass Literary Agency, but I will have an interview for one of the library positions I applied for, so that's good. I'm used to rejections from literary agencies; I pretty much expect them. But sometimes I wonder if it says something that I get them so quickly... A lot of people complain about having to wait too long but they seem to decide quite quickly they don't want me. Oh well. I know my books at a marketing disadvantage, so it's not exactly a surprise.

I also saw Thor with my sister on Friday and enjoyed. I liked that Loki was a complex character and, even though I'm pretty sure it's not what the writer's intended, I can imagine that everything was all part of Loki's plan. Loki also looks good in a suit. Thor was exactly the sort of stupid jock character I expected and the romance just never sparked, there was no chemistry between the actors, but even if there had been, not enough scenes were written in to make me believe they were in love. Thor's friends also seemed a bit flat as characters. But overall I enjoyed the story (since they had a fair amount of Loki) and Heimdall was a great character as well even tough he didn't have a lot of lines, the scenes and lines he did have did a good job of establishing his character.

In Cherie News...

Who cares that Osama Bin Laden was killed or that At&t has started capping its Internet services. I know you all care more about what's going on in my life, right? Okay, I admit I kinda care about the At&t thing because that's the provider my family uses. I wish I could care more about the Bin Laden thing, but I'm too practical to think it fixes much of anything or that someone couldn't try to take over for him. I don't really have a problem with other people celebrating homicidal crazy dude's death, but I just can't get excited about it myself. It doesn't take back 10 years of war, it won't magically fix all the problems in Afghanistan or the Middle East, and it doesn't change the fact that there are still plenty of scary people who hate us.

Anyway, enough of depressing news and onto what really matters. Me.

So I forgot to say in my last (possibly overly introspective and moody post) that I got a part-time shelving job at the library where I volunteer. It's not much, but better than nothing while I look for a real library job, and all the staff are really supportive of my job search, which is the best thing I could ask for in a part-time position. Okay, I could maybe ask for more money, but support is nice.

I applied to several open positions in the local area and I'm still waiting to hear back on two youth positions and two library associate positions.

Also, on April 30th, I sent a query for my novel to the Donald Maass, Literary Agency, specifically Jennifer Jackson who handles fantasy novels.

Ephemeral

I often regret the fleeting beauty of spring. My favorite flowers are Magnolias, but I have a soft spot for all flowering trees. I envy my friends in the Midwest and on the East Coast, spring is just beginning for you. I feel it already ending here in California.

In Japanese culture the cherry blossom represents the ephemeral nature of youth and beauty. I just wish this was something I could accept more easily. I'm not saying I'm particularly concerned about my youth or beauty. But it's the ephemeral nature of the joys of life that I struggle with, that so many joys in life are fleeting as well. I now I should celebrate them while they last, but I somehow always find myself wondering why they can't, wishing there was some way to preserve the cherry blossoms or take a Magnolia from the tree without it falling apart. But these things cannot work. You can only enjoy these things while they live in their own way, there is no taking them or controlling them, or you lose what makes them great.

New Phone

I had to get a new cell phone today because my old one was being very quirky. Of course, now that I've replaced it, it's on its best behavior. I have mixed feelings about the upgrade. On one hand I loathe cell phone companies and hate giving them my money. On the other hand, my new phone has a keyboard, which I'm sure won't be impressive to all you smart phone carriers, but I was using an old razor phone. Now, I loved that phone, and the fact that it was a hand-me-down that my sister got for free. But it was not optimized for texting. And if I was going to have to spend any money on a phone, I decided I may as well get one that made my life easier.

Calamity Jack Youth Graphic Novel Review and New Weekly Schedule

Summary

In this sequel to Rapunzel's Revenge we learn Jack's back story which includes some magic beans, a giant, and floating penthouse? Jack also yearns to show Rapunzel he's a sauve city boy--but upon returning home he finds his city on the verge of destruction and his mother kidnapped by giants! Can he save the day in time and win Rapunzel's love? Find out in this clever, fast-paced steam-punk adventure!

Overview

The story of this and its predecessor are both delightfully clever while still being unambiguously age appropriate. They manage to make a good story without talking down to children, which is what I look for in good youth fiction. Their plot-lines both follow and stray crazily from the original fairy tales but it's always good.

The characters might be a little simplistic but they're still more fleshed out than their fairy tale counterparts and their standard motivations like love, fear, and jealousy are easy to relate to. It's also hard not to love them and want good things to happen to them. They are the stuff childhood heroes are made of.

I also enjoy the bright colors and style of the artwork. The drawings are a little Disney-esque if Disney did awesome steam-punk fairy tales.

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In blog news. I'm thinking I'm only going to remember weekly posts if they are on a specific day. Since I seem to have forgotten this week. So the new day shall be Sunday. I should be able to swing that. We'll see. If not, I'll change it. But for now, expect to see a post every Sunday.

March Madness! New Weekly Blogs.

Okay, I think that's a sports term, but it just sounded like a good title. Anyway, I said I would return in March, and though one day late, I still fully intend to. However, with my life having become significantly more full recently, I'm not sure the daily thing will work. I'm a little wary of weekly blogs as I could barely remember the daily ones. And because of the nature of my schedule changes, there really won't be one day that works for me every week. But I shall prevail! Or fail epically... Either way, I'm hoping it'll be fun to watch. I think I'll also have to drop my daily themes for now, but I may bring them back. We'll see. I'm going to have to play it fast and loose for a bit, but I'm not ready to break up with my blog quite yet. So if you're a loyal reader, watch this space! There should be weekly blogs from now on. Also feel free to pester/punish me as need be if I do stop posting with no notice at all.

Blog Optional February

This month is crazy! So I think for the rest of it my blog will be optional. You'll all hear from me again in March.

Wildcard Wednesday
Factoid

Bounty hunters are only legal in the US and the Philippines.

Review Friday
Sony Product Review: Ultimate Durability

I promise I have not sold my soul to Sony, nor are they paying me. But they could pay me if they wanted to. That'd be cool.

Anyway, I have three Sony products that I use regularly: my Sony earbuds, my Sony portable CD player, and my PSP.

My earbuds are currently the most impressive to me because all my previous earbuds would be amazing if they reached 1 year. These are at least two years, if not more. I can't quite recall when my sister got me my CD player that these came with. Regardless, they're the Gilgamesh of earbuds. I'm also very abusive, so there have been exposed wires on these earbuds for some time and I was sure there were goners but they still work just as well as they did before I violently yanked them every time I forget they're attached to my head (more frequently than I'd like to admit).

As for the CD player--and yes, I still use a portable CD player--my earbuds came with it, so it's the same age. It still runs great, and I've dropped it several times already as always happens with all my portable devices.

I don't actually play games on my PSP, which I understand is its primary purpose. Instead I use it as a portable music and audio device--like an iPod. Admittedly, there are a few important differences between it and an iPod. First, it's bigger than an iPod. Basically the same size as my hand. But for me this isn't a downfall as I would always be terrified of losing an iPod. Then there's the replaceable battery, also something the iPod does not have, and the reason my sister purchased them in favor of iPods. The interface, however, is a downfall. I'm assuming an iPod would be more optimized to shuffle and arrange music without having to do clever things on the computer. But the most invaluable part of my PSP is that it seems just as durable as my earbuds and CD player. It was a hand-me down from my mother so I'm not sure of its age. But it has borne with my tossing it about for the past two years as well. This entire review was prompted by how, upon dropping my PSP on the train, and having the battery case pop off, the battery scatter across the floor, and the SD card holder pop open, I heard one of the passengers exclaim "Oh, no!" as if they expected I'd broken it. But I told them not to worry, but all the pieces back in order, and was not surprised when everything worked exactly as before because this has actually happened many times. Not that it happens easily if you're a normal person--but a complete clutz (like myself) can be assured of keeping any of these devices for some time to come.

On a personal note, there will be no Saturday, Sunday, or Monday posts as my next few days have become quite full.

Info Thursday
Saga of King Hrolf kraki

The old Norse saga above includes a Loathly Lady story that sounds a little more similar to the one I read because the lady asks to sleep in his bed and he reluctantly agrees and then she turns into a beautiful elf. Then her rapes her. Lesson: don't turn into a beautiful elf around strange men. The story I read as a child did not include rape, so this isn't it, but it's interesting. I do remember something about a house in the woods and she slept in the bed.

Wildcard Wednesday
Orion

Orion is my favorite constellation and is almost like a friend. He's always been there for me and used to look like he hung right over my apartment in Ohio. He makes me think of home and safety. My sister took this lovely picture, as I am not nearly so good with a camera in the dark. Click on the picture to zoom in and see it best. Orion is to the right over the trees. His belt (the three stars lined up) and dagger are most visible. The bright star to the lower left is Sirius, the dog star.

Diary Tuesday
The Loathly Lady

When I was a child I heard some old folktale about a man marrying a truly hideous woman who became beautiful once they were married. But I will never forget the ending because it was so strange. Rather than her beauty being a simple happily ever after, it said he never forgot her ugly form. It was so bizarre that I've always wished I could find the story again, but I can't recall the name. While volunteering in the library today, I found a book with a very similar story called The Loathly Lady, but without the disturbing ending. Still, I think I may be on the right track because many folktales have several different versions, so it may be if I search enough Loathly Lady stories, I'll find the one I read all those years ago.

Writing Stats Monday

I just sent my first query of the New Year!

Photo Sunday
Bike Trail

The bike trail near our home. And possibly a quail?

Links Saturday
Lonely Natalie

Most my friends know I love Natalie Tran's CommunityChannel on YouTube. If you haven't seen it, she's this hilarious Australian-Asian chick.* Because there's going to be a huge difference between But recently she started making travel videos for Lonely Planet that I've been enjoying as well. Recently she visited Miami! OMG, she's in the US! If only she weren't on the East Coast...

* On a side note, I suppose most people would think it should be Asian-Australian, but I think it really ought to go in the order of the place you've spent most your life. There's a big difference, for instance, between an Asian person born and raised in America (like myself) to one who's just moved there. I don't think this means anyone's rights should be curtailed, just acknowledged that people's situations make them different. Keeping that in mind, Natalie is definitely Australian-Asian as she grew up in Australia and acquired Australian mannerisms and accents which now come more naturally to her than would her Asian heritage.

Review Friday
Rampant

Summary

Astrid is mostly concerned with fitting in, going to prom, and keeping her unicorn crazy mother from ruining her life until the impossible happens: a unicorn almost kills her boyfriend, and Astrid discovers a reemergence of these dangerous beasts means she must return to her ancestral roots as a unicorn hunter.

Overview

It's certainly a fast-paced book which is both dark and funny. Despite the subject matter of unicorns in modern times, I felt it was balanced enough with science and realistic character interaction to suspend our disbelief.

I have been hesitant to read the sequel: Ascendant, but not because I'm not curious what happens. It's mostly that the dark tone of the books take a certain mood for me to be able to read and I'm not personally in that mood.

7/10 stars * * * * * * * --A fast exciting read,, though I wish they had gone more into the themes introduced like medical ethics and whether it's right to kill the unicorns for trying to survive.

Book Club (Spoilers)

I thought Astrid's interest in the medical possibilities of the remedy, Phil's thoughts on how unicorns work as a species, and the pharmecutical company's involvement to be the most grounding elements of the story.

I also just liked the romance between Astrid and Giovanni. It was a well-done, feel-good, girl-power romance. Girl power in the sense that the romance didn't define Astrid, even when she wanted to renounce everything for it, the author does a good job of making many other aspects of Astrid's life more important.

However, it did bother me that, as smart as Astrid was, she didn't figure out that her ex-boyfriend didn't run away. She told creepy pharmaceuticals guy who he was and that he was the last one to have the remedy. If they didn't kidnap him and cut him open, then they did something even worse. Plus, how could anyone trust a pharmaceutical company with the possibility of finding a cure for all illnesses?

Info Thursday
Chancery

I am currently listening to Charles Dickens' Bleak House on audio book. The story is all about the Chancery Courts of England. I didn't know what these courts did, so I decided to look it up and according to Wikipedia it would seem they: "had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of lunatics and the guardianship of infants." Dickens critisizes their slow bureaucracy and he wasn't the only one as it seems the court was reforming even as he wrote Bleak House.

Wildcard Wednesday
Photos!

Okay, sorry my Last Wish story got derailed again. I didn't have time to finish the section because I was too bust thrifting with friends. I'm sure you're all disappointed. But look, I got these awesome red leather boots! But other than a Mord-Sith costume, I can't think what to do with them... Bonus points if you know what a Mord-Sith is. Hint: It is NOT from Star Wars.

Diary Tuesday Club
Jane Austen Book Club

I'm really excited that I found a group of friends interested in starting a Jane Austen Book Club! I didn't think I'd ever find enough interested people. It's also awesome because if you've read the book The Jane Austen Book Club or seen the movie, then you know it takes place in the Sacramento area where I am currently located. Now, if only we could get Hugh Dancy to join our book club...

Writing Stats Monday

Fantasy Novel Edit -- Cutting words at a breakneck snail's pace!
Last Time: 206,499 words
This Time: 206,109 words
I nixed: 390 words

I've been really busy with job hunting stuff, so even that small amount is only because I spied an unnecessary section earlier this week that I was going to fix but decided was easier just to delete altogether.

Photo Sunday

My former college's coffeehouse and the poem it's named for.

Jabberwocky

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.