[life] the flist swap final thoughts and other such things

In linaelyn's journal itself, I found someone who could make me hungry with the descriptions of the food she's made, who makes homeschooling sound interesting and wonderful, who has at least one child who obsessively listens to Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" which made me smile, who seems creative and friendly, a good parent, culturally aware, and a fantastic writer. I'm pleased that I had even this brief time to read about her life. It gave me hope, to see someone devoted to her family and yet still creative and involved with life and fandom and other adventures.

I'm not sure what I expected from the flist swap. It certainly wasn't to find someone with whom I had no friends or communities in common, but similar interests (and I don't actually mean livejournal interests), beliefs, and the same type of friends. I recognize the names of some of the people on her flist, and I not only wasn't lost, even in the fandom discussions, but I saw echoes of my own flist there, and topics I was interested in researching for myself. I found people to read and stories to write and beautiful icons and all sorts of treasures. I felt like a pirate, again, and an adventure seeker.

It was actually rather brilliant.

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Has anyone seen Young Einstein? I'm talking to kphoebe and when I told Jake where she was from, that's the first thing he thought about, followed by apples, and then Point Break. ("I'm not going to paddle to New Zealand.")

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What is the best thing in the world? Helping someone get unstuck on a story. Well, it may not be the very best, but it certainly feels like it right this second, and I know it's comparable to other best feelings, at the very least. This is why I love writing, because it's not just the act itself that is so enjoyable, but helping other writers, as well.

And I am INSPIRATIONAL! IN CAPS! Which made me grin and be giddy, just so you know, kphoebe.

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Speaking about helping others, I'm not sure how many of you have yuki_onna on your flist. She's doing a sort of fundraiser for moving expenses, with a percentage donated to tsunami relief funds, and is selling a serial novel, A Novel In Pieces. I've personally only read one short story by her, but it was an interesting vampire story, and her writing style is intriguing and, I think, heavily influenced by classical writing (in a good way, I know it can be a kiss of death to use that "heavily influenced" line in a review), and if you're so inclined, I wanted to provide a link so you can help. I may do it, if I can piece together the money.

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Isn't it great the things that remind people of you? Kelly made me giggle when she said she was reminded of me and my love of carnage when the instructor at her training thing said "blood spray" (and, all right, that's not an inconceivable way to remember me, considering I do like to write bloody horror).

And then lavenderjones made me happy and touched and teary when she said this:

A CHRISTMAS PICKLE!!! It was my first time seeing one, and my first time reading about one was recently in your story. I HAD to buy it! It is in a jar which is an ornament in itself, and then the pickle can sit in the jar, or on the tree alone. Every time I see it I'll be reminded of a woman with a talent for writing and the potential for greatness that most of us can only dream of.

*sniff*

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Tonight MB, Blake, Jake, and I played pool and had dinner at the new El Torero's restaurant. Pool was fun, though we're all fairly horrid at the game. (Well, not horrid, but not pool sharks, definitely.) It was a nice, relaxing evening, and we all had a good time. I'm glad we're friends with MB and Blake, and glad that Jake and my friends finally get along. Maybe next time M'Lee will not have to work at an insane time (in fact, I think she's now been at work half an hour) and will be able to join us.

Bat, MB loves my scarf.

That reminds me, I still need to do a catch up post. Maybe tomorrow. I'm thinking about doing an information post, as well, and I know I should warn everyone that there will be many extra posts over the next week, as I try to write. My goal is 10,000 words a day, Sunday through Saturday, but I know that's ridiculous and will never happen. Still, no sense in not aiming high.

I also owe a number of people comments on stories, and fear not, that will come.

In fact, I need to go get to reading right now, before bed.

[life] movies and writing and plotty plans

Twister still makes me happy, no matter how many times I see it. It gets my energy up and makes me fondly remember my own days of (stupidly) chasing storms with S---. I've been through more tornadoes than I can count, double and triple funnels, and crazy weather. Nothing like what the movie portrays, of course, because that's some crazy movie stuff.

But it still makes me giddy and excited and it's helping the writing, just a little.

I was able to talk to Sarah for a short while earlier and that was both fun and encouraging. We have secret(ish) plotty plans, and I hope they come to fruition within the next year. Go us, and Craig and Jake. Our plotting and planning rocks.

Sarah, you'll be pleased to know that the chocolate pie tasted fantastic. I really will have to make it for you at some later date. It was excellent, cool and refreshing and rich, and I'm very pleased with my first attempt at making my own crust.

Sometime this week I'm going to bake a cake, as well, and make chicken pot pie, and some special potatoes. And maybe chicken breast with mole sauce and who knows what else. I'm going to enjoy having free time.

Jake just told me: "Whenever you cook, you either make me sick or you make a pretty good product. It's either death on a plate or damn good."

I'm highly amused. And he's not wrong. Though, to be fair, the death on the plate comes when he asks me to make something and I tell him I don't know how to make it, but he keeps asking until I try. So I do warn him that I have no idea what I'm doing.

Sarah said she's going to teach me how to make flapjacks. Too cool.

Jake wants to make his special grilled chicken breast for Sarah and Craig and all sorts of things. He's a tiny bit frustrated that they will only feed my love of gaming, but he's laughing, too. We have such plans, and if even half of them work out, life will be so much fun.

I both want to talk about this until I get told to shut up and hold it close to my own thoughts. I'm such a dork.

Especially because one of the reasons I like Twister is because it's funny to see "Star" all upset and old and stuff. Hee.

Back to the writing grindstone. Nose to it and all.

[movies] what am i watching?

There is some horror movie on TNT that Jake is making me watch. Right now, a woman is hypnotizing the guy I think is the main character. It may be Kevin Bacon, but I'm not certain. It's very, very cool, watching how this director thinks hypnosis would be like. As the woman talks, what that main character (and the audience) sees changes to what she's describing.

Of course, so far, this doesn't really look like a horror movie, but I have faith in Jake. I was only half-watching the second Tomb Raider movie, anyway. And Jake just told me that at the beginning of this movie, which I missed, the main character's son asked an empty room if it hurt, being dead, so maybe there will be horror yet.

I've broken two thousand words so far, and it's coming along much better now that I've skipped ahead to write a new section. The maze part is killing me, which is disappointing, because I like the idea very much, I just don't seem to be able to execute it well.

Oh ewww. There was just a scene in which the guy's mouth suddenly starts bleeding, and he pulls out his own tooth, but then it's like he's just seeing things, imagining things. But the tooth thing, losing teeth, especially those front teeth, that's one of my pet fears. I'm always afraid I'll fall going up stairs and bust my front teeth out.

And we have ghosts. It's a confirmed horror story, oh yeah. The main character is drinking a lot (not alcohol, drinking like thirsty drinking, can't drink enough water drinking), and that's weird, it's like a sign of the changes in him, now that he can see ghosts. I drink like that all the time, I wonder if I can.

Still don't know what it is, but I need something new to drink (and actually did before all this, but now I'm super thirsty, because he was drinking so much) and I need to get back to my writing.