Take Five (Part 3)

"Ms. Cornish?" Laura, a young intern, knocked on the door to Sophia's trailer as Ricardo gave his call. She had been assigned to do nothing but convince Sophia to come out on to the set, and after only a week, she was starting to consider looking for other work. Luckily, the cast and crew were already aware of Sophia's infamous moods, so Laura had no need to worry about being fired if the actress decided not to come out on time.

"Ms. Cornish? Mr. Jaris has called for places," she tried again.

Inside her trailer, Sophia heaved a sigh. She really had no desire to go back out there. Working with Blake was a challenge, and not in a good way. She found it really quite frustrating to work with a man who found it necessary to flirt with nearly everyone around him, especially when he virtually ignored her. If he wasn't so damn talented, she would have asked Ricardo to replace him after the first day of filming.

Her train of thought was interrupted by another soft knock. Sophia rolled her eyes and stood up - the new girl was persistant, if a bit annoying.

Pulling the door open, Sophia walked out of her trailer, head held high, leaving Laura to close the door. She sat down lightly on the bench, waiting for Blake to find his place.

"And... action!"

"Really? Just to see me?" Sophia asked, suddenly looking sweet and innocent, every trace of irritation gone from her face.

More about coloured dreams

So after all those comments about curiosity, I decided to look into this colour dream thing a bit more...

I'm going to start with the blue one, because, well, it's interesting. Blue is associated with philosophy (according to The Meaning of Colour in Dreams ), particularly art and culture. The person who is all about the blue in my dreams is definitely associated with art and culture in her life. According to Dream Moods Dream Themes, blue is all about truth, loyalty, and openness. The blue friend is definitely one whom I feel is truthful with me, and I'm comfortable being open with her... and I can definitely see that she is loyal to the people she is close to. This one indicates blue as a symbol of inner peace... I don't really see how that jives with my blue friend. She seems as stressed as me sometimes, which is kind of off from having inner peace... I like Dreamlover Inc's best - communication! Maybe my blue friend really is a spirit guide of sorts; all of these sites refer to that, and she does have many characteristics that I admire, and goals that seem similar to mine.

I don't know if that really made sense to anyone but me. Actually, I'm not entirely sure that it made sense to me, either. But this whole thing is very interesting... I'm definitely going to poke around at it some more!

And just for interest's sake, the colour brown represents "the need to eliminate old emotions and/or structures that have outgrown their purpose" according to Light Center; the person who shows up in brown is someone that I used to have a crush on, but have since gotten over. Intriguing, no?

And on a totally different topic... I've got names! I broke down and bought a new baby names book, and it was exactly the inspiration I needed, because now all of the characters in my play have names that we're all happy with: Owen, Riley, Connor, Livia, Joey, and Isabel. I'm loving it!

I dream in colour

It seems that my dreams have become colour-coded by person. I've noticed that in the past month or so, when the same people have been appearing over and over again in my dreams. Is this normal? I know one of my friends who associates colours with people, but it seems weird to have it happening in my dreams, too...


For their privacy (and mine!), I'm not using names, but here are some examples: One of them shows up in white - a white shirt, white background, etc. Another shows up in a pink outfit - consistantly pink for the last month or so - but with yellow in her surroundings. One is always in a variation of blue clothing, and frequently in a blue setting (blue paint on the walls, blue couch, etc). One who I'm not actually friends with (just acquaintances) is a vibrant red - in my last dream, I didn't actually see her, but she whispered from behind me, and I got the sensation of red associated with her words.


Like I said, it feels kind of weird. On the bright side, I can tell who I'm dreaming about, even if I can't see their faces!

RIP Cup

The Cup is gone.

For over a year, there has been a yellow plastic cup, filled with a mysterious dark substance, sitting on top of a power meter on the side of the peach-coloured building at the corner of Napier, where we turn to go to Eisenhower Crossing. Every time we passed it, we would cheer, "Yay, Cup!"

Today, the Cup was gone.

We turned the corner, and got ready to shout, but instead, we were greeted by an empty space. It was at that moment that it began to rain, as if the very heavens felt the loss of the cup.

Shane tried to reassure me, telling me that the Cup had ascended to a better place. There was no sign of it anywhere on the ground. It had survived two tornadoes, countless thunderstorms, and varied vagrants passing by, yet it stood its ground. Perhaps it has earned its rest...

Before this, we had considered dressing as the Cult of the Cup at DragonCon this year - it would have been an easy costume, and it would have made people curious. Now, we are definitely doing it, complete with pamphlets, because the world needs to know about the Cup. Plus, the cultist robes would end up being awesome for the Cthullu plans that Shane has for the future - gotta love reusing costumes!

Baby Got Back

I, like most women, have body image issues. So when something happens that makes me feel better about some part of my anatomy, I tend to get very happy about it. Last night, I got a comment that made me blush, but in a good way, so I decided that the story needed to be told. I then remembered two other, related stories, so I'll tell them, too!

Last night, I was standing in line to pay my bill after eating out with a bunch of the cast of Guys and Dolls. I was paying attention to something else when I heard, "Damn, Danielle!" I looked over to see one of the guys checking me out. His next comment was something along the lines of, "You got booty! You should've been one of the Hot Box Girls!" I blushed and grinned.

About a year ago, I was window-shopping downtown. I went into this store, and the two girls at the counter started whispering and pointing at me - that was weird. On my way out, one of them stopped me and called me over. I checked my zipper (you never know when that's what someone is going to point out!), but it was fine. She asked, "Are you all white?" That threw me off, but I answered, "I think so." She replied, "Really? You've got a great ass for a white girl."

And number three: about five years ago, I went to Las Vegas. I was wandering up and down the Strip by myself at about 3 a.m., and I got stopped by this guy in front of one of the hotels. He was very friendly, and we chatted for a bit, and I sat down on the bench with him. After a few minutes, he asked me to stand up and turn around. I did, and he said, "Damn! You got booty for a white girl!" He then proceeded to give me his card and offer me a job dancing in one of his clubs. I wasn't up for moving to California, but I still have his card!

So there you go. Some of my readers have no idea what I look like, but now you know that I'm a white girl with a black ass. I hope this is a good thing... the folks in my stories seemed to think so!

Take Five (Part 2)

Blake shook his head as his costar stormed off. He really couldn’t stand Sophia Cornish, but he had been cast alongside her in this movie, and he needed the part – no actor in his right mind would pass up a part in a Ricardo Jaris movie. Still, there were moments, like this one, that made him question whether taking the part had been a good idea.

Standing up, Blake headed over to the craft services cart. If he was going to have a break, he was going to have a snack. Of course, it didn’t hurt that there was a cute little brunette working over there today. He ran a hand through his black hair, making sure it still looked good, then turned on his best smile as he approached.

From the other side of the camera, Ricardo shook his head. He had made dozens of movies, and worked with hundreds of actors, but this pair had the worst off-screen chemistry he had ever seen. Again, he wondered how he had missed it during their auditions. Despite the palpable tension between the two of them when the cameras were off, Ricardo was always impressed with the way they interacted on film. He could truly believe that they were in love – if he ignored everything that happened after he yelled, “Cut.”

Ricardo shook his head again as he watched Blake sauntering over to flirt with the craft services girl. Blake Herrington was an impressive actor, but he was more than a handful when it came to publicity. He was one of those young men who managed to have a different girl on his arm every night, and broke a new heart every morning. Trying to keep his hormones on a leash while they were promoting this movie – if it ever got finished! – would be a trick.

Of course, it would be just as tricky to get Sophia to play her part and show up with Blake at the openings and parties. The little diva had a knack for throwing a tantrum when things didn’t go her way, and she had disappeared from an important event on more than one occasion in the past.

“What have I gotten myself into?” the director asked himself softly, reaching for the flask inside his vest. He took a small swig, then replaced the flask swiftly before taking a deep breath. “All right! Let’s get going from Sophia’s line, ‘just to see me?’ Places!”

Wide Awake

I had the day off today. I slept. Sleeping is good. I like sleeping. The only drawback to having spent the entire day in (or on) bed is that I am now wide awake. Wide, wide awake.

On the bright side, I don't have to get up early tomorrow. On an even brighter side, I don't have to work tomorrow. I still need to do some housework, but really, if I finish one load of laundry and turn on the Roomba, all will be good.

If you don't know what a Roomba is, you've probably been living under a rock. Go look here to see what you've been missing. I love the Roomba. It's not technically mine, but it's currently living in my apartment. It is wonderful. I've got some mild OCD, and if I'm left to my own devices with a vacuum, well, it can take a while. Ask Colby - she's seen what happens! For some reason, when a robot cleans my floor, the weird carpet patterns don't bother me...

I was very excited to see the iRobot site - they also have a Scooba! That's the floor washing version of the Roomba. I think, when we get our new house, I'll have to get a Scooba, too, since we're planning to have laminate floors in the lower level.

I'm trying to train Mia to turn it on, but so far, it's not working. She's done it once or twice by accident, but it freaked her out too much for the praise to be effective. I figure that if I run it enough, she'll eventually get used to it. She's much less upset by the Roomba than she was by the full size vacuum cleaner, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Persephone, one of the cats, learned how to turn it on, and would randomly clean Shane's apartment before the Roomba came to live with me - if a cat can learn that trick, my dog can learn it, too!

Take Five (Part One)

((Okay, so it's not a totally original post - it's a rewrite of the story from July 7 - but it's different! And it's become serial...))

Blake tilted his head from side to side, sighing as his neck popped quietly. He shook out his arms gently, then moved his feet, trying to get himself psyched up. Taking a deep breath, he walked over and sat on the bench. He closed his eyes, hoping to clear his mind. He felt the bench shift slightly, and opened his eyes to see Sophia sitting on the opposite side. It was time.

"Action!" came the call from behind the camera. In an instant, both Blake and Sophia changed their expressions.

"Hello," she said. She lowered her chin just a touch, looking both coy and shy at the same time as she stared up at him through her eyelashes.

"Hello," he replied, letting a small smile touch his lips. "I was hoping to run into you again."

"Have you?" she asked, her voice sounding surprised. She looked away and blushed slightly.

"Of course," he said, turning his body slightly. He slid over on the bench, closer to her, but not touching. Casually, he laid his arm across the back of the seat, barely letting it touch her shoulder.

A shiver visibly ran through her at the contact, and she turned to look at him with wide eyes. "I wasn't sure you would want to... after all, we've only spoken twice before..."

"And they were the best conversations I have ever had," he told her. Again, she turned away and blushed, but turned back to him with less hesitation.

"Thank you... have you been here long?" she asked.

"No. And yes."

"Which is it?" she asked. "No or yes?"

"No, I haven't been here long today," he replied. "But I did stop by yesterday... and the day before..."

"Really? Just to see me?" she asked, turning more fully towards him. She moved slightly closer to him on the bench, and her knee brushed against his, but she did not move away.

"Just to see you," he confirmed. "Seeing you makes my day brighter." He leaned a bit closer, letting his arm surround her more completely. After a brief moment of hesitation, she relaxed against him, her head on his chest, his chin on her head. Her eyes closed briefly, and her chest rose as she inhaled the scent of him. His fingers traced a path up and down her arm, bringing a smile to her face. Up and down, up and down...

"Stop that!" Sophia half-snarled, half-giggled. "It tickles, you ass!"

"Cut!" yelled the director. "Okay kids, let's pick this up in five."

"Bitch," he muttered as she sat back.

"Jackass," she retorted. She stood up and gave him the finger before flouncing off towards her trailer. Some people were just awful to work with.

Shiny and new

I love new story ideas. I love the way they randomly pop into my head. I love the way scenes play out in my mind, like I'm watching a movie. I find it very exciting when a new character finally tells me his name.

My latest story idea came to me in a dream. That's it, a dream! (Sorry, too many Guys & Dolls rehearsals!) It's vaguely related to something that's actually taking place behind the scenes at the show, but I think that it's going to take on a lot of new dimensions, and a different slant on things.

In any case, tonight, my MC told me his name. He's Owen. I really wasn't too keen on the name at first, and I've been looking through my baby name books (yes, I have more than one), trying to find something else, but nothing else wants to stick. His name may change once I start actually writing it, but for now, the story is about Owen. Oo! And one of the female leads (the first one to appear) is Riley.

Some people think it's a bit odd, the way I describe naming my characters. I often refer to characters telling me their names, but it really feels as if that's how it happens. I've got two ways of naming characters. First, if I don't actually have much of a plot developed, or if I'm writing in a group setting (or playing D&D), I go through my books and choose a name that just feels good. I then develop a character based on the name. The second way is by listening to the character. Although I don't do a lot of written character development, I think about my characters a lot. In a new piece that is very plot-driven, I may know an awful lot about my characters before I get a chance to get to a name book. In those cases, the name comes from who the character develops into, rather than the character coming from the name. It's not really as if there's a voice in my head that said, "Hi, I'm Owen!" That's just the best way I can find to describe it.

Really, the only voice in my head is mine. And the voices on the soundtrack.

Five minute fiction

Once again, from Creative Writing Prompts: #159 - Weave a mini-story using the following words in order: shell, comic book, discarded soap box, rubber soles, postcard.

Ande sat on the beach, playing with a seashell as she watched the sun setting over the water of the lake. The sunset had an odd look, almost comic-book-like, a technicolor dream. She smiled softly to herself, enjoying the peace and quiet of the moment. The screaming children were gone, the rowdy college students had left for a night of partying, and she had the beach almost entirely to herself.

A frown crossed Ande's face as something drifted towards her on the gentle waves of the lake. Curious, she rose to move closer, hoping to see what the object was. She heaved a disappointed sigh as she realized that it was a discarded soap box. It really was quite unfortunate, the amount of litter that had been appearing at the beach recently. Only last week, she had come across what appeared to be the rubber soles of a discarded pair of shoes, washed up between the rocks near her cottage.

Carefully, Ande caught the offending box and delivered it to a nearby garbage can. Satisified that she had helped, at least a little bit, Ande sat back down to watch the postcard-perfect scene fade into darkness as the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon.

I made it!

100 consecutive blog posts! (Ignoring those few vlogs that were technically posted late due to power outages and tornadoes, but were recorded on time!)

And I've learned a valuable lesson - never tempt Fate, for she is a fickle creature! Tonight, my power went out! Luckily, my wonderful network admin got the internet up and running again, and the computer just turned off (instead of, say, exploding). Yeesh! I'm half-expecting to suddenly become violently ill...

The important thing is that I made it through! Now, I want to make it to 250 consecutive posts. Why 250? It's a pretty number... divisible by 2, 5, 10, 25, 50... it's a quarter of 1000... it looks nice... because I said so...

And in celebration, I made a banner for my blog! I wasn't going to, because I thought I would get really carried away and end up spending hours on it, but I managed to keep it quick and simple. Maybe I'll get carried away to celebrate 250.

Hooray for me!

Do I need to do something special?

Tomorrow will mark my 100th consecutive blog post, assuming that my internet stays up and the computers don't explode, and I don't get violently ill and bed-ridden. So now I am left to ponder - do I need to do something big to celebrate?

Of course, the 100th post comes at an awful time - I'm crazy busy, and it's hard to find time to do any sort of blog, let alone a quality blog.. Part of me wants to celebrate by doing one of each of the 'series' type posts I've done; Five-Minute Fiction, What's on My Desk... wait... I think those are the only two I've done. I feel that I should add more featurettes, like "Animal Cool-ety" (only not that one, because I don't want to steal someone else's ideas).

Maybe I'll do some nifty graphic... except that brings me back to the whole "I have no time" issue. If I had a desk job, I'd totally waste all day working on a fun picture, maybe even a proper banner for the site! But I'll be in surgery, in the dark, all morning, and running around like crazy all afternoon, so there will be no pretty graphics.

If you have any suggestions for ways to celebrate, or things you want to see more of, please, let me know!

Mind readers!

Today, I was surrounded by mind readers!

At the Trinity Woods Renaissance Fair, there were dozens of the things running around, reading minds, while most of the adults were blissfully unaware of the evil surrounding them. I, on the other hand, have been reading Colby's blog, and I know the dangers of children. I tried to encourage the folks minding the apple-bob station to drown a few, but I was ignored. I tried to discourage safety with the javelin and archery stations, but to no avail. As far as I could tell, no children were harmed.

Upon returning home, I found that a mind reader had joined our D&D game. I was slightly troubled by this, until I found out that she was playing a mind reader in the game - I then became quite troubled! I did my best to keep my thoughts blank, and I hope I succeeded... the last thing you want is for the mind readers to know that you know what they're doing!

Garrr....

I'm getting close to suffering from writer's block...

So for tonight's blog, we'll have another episode of "What's on My Desk?"


Today's "What" is my NaNoWriMo toy collection. In all reality, the toy collection is actually bigger, but these are the only parts living on my desk right now. On the left, a bouncy ball, for throwing at the wall when I get frustrated with writer's block. On the right, a mini-koosh, because they're awesome. In the middle, the 2007 Plot Bunny. I've decided to make a new plot bunny for myself every year, because in October I always get super-excited about NaNo and can't wait to start writing. I actually started an Etsy site, and I plan to sell some of my plot bunnies, because it's always nice to have some extra cash. Of course, I'll have to make some first...

In any case, I love my Plot Bunny. I made one for Heather, one of my MLs and my good friend, as well as for Betty and Heather, the co-MLs of my previous group. For those of you who don't have any idea what I'm talking about, you should go visit NaNoWriMo. It's a lot of fun. Some people take it very seriously, and some take it very lightly. I use it to get myself started on a project. I've finished one, trashed another and restarted it, and temporarily abandoned another... but I do have plans to finish it! NaNo is definitely NOT for everyone, but I've had a lot of fun with the people I've met.

I remembered!

I remembered what I wanted to write about last night! I wanted to write about cable.

I don't have cable. I used to have cable. My mom used to work for the cable company, and for a while, my family had FULL cable - all the regular channels, all the music channels, all the movie channels, all the specialty channels - everything! Since my last move, I have been without.

I will confess, I love television. There have been many lonely nights filled by my TV friends (and Friends). I could watch three straight hours of Friends after work, and not get bored. I think it's probably because I don't just veg out and stare at the television (well, most of the time I don't). I like it as background noise while I'm cooking or knitting or studying or doing any one of the million things that I do at home.

But because I don't have cable, I've been limited to either antenna channels or DVDs. I think it's important to mention at this point that I decided not to get cable in order to save money. However, because I might have a television on for six or eight hours in a day, I quickly watched all of the DVDs I owned. Of course, I then decided to get some new ones - after all, I was saving all of this money by not having cable!

Last month, I started keeping a tally of all my spending. I spent at least as much on movies as I would have on cable. I'm not sure my strategy worked.

Trying to make up for things

Have you ever not done something, and then kind of tried to make up for it, but failed completely?

My blog is feeling like that lately.

I really want to sit down and make some awesome posts, but I'm just exhausted by the time I get to the computer! Some of you may know that, in addition to the evil job that I hate (but really, there are very few people lucky enough to have jobs they don't hate!), I'm also stage manager for a local production of Guys and Dolls, which keeps me out late for rehearsals. And I'm house-hunting. And puppy training. There's definitely a lack of free time lately.

There is also a lack of sleep, which totally messes with my memory! I was downstairs, and I had an awesome idea for a post, something about making up for stuff by doing other things, but by the time I got upstairs, turned on the computer, and logged into Blogger... it was gone. And it was really witty, too! I made myself laugh! Stupid, tired brain.

I've decided, however, to start an ongoing feature in my blog: what's on my desk? Bit by bit, you'll get to see the crap that surrounds and inspires me. Woot!

Today's "What" is:


It was a birthday gift from Claire! Notice the carefully placed reflection from the desk light - there will be no questionable photos in my blog today! I love my kilt coaster. It's made it through a couple of complete desk overhauls, and I think it will last until, well, until it falls apart!

Making up for yesterday

Yesterday's post was a total slacker post. I acknowledge this. I apologize for anyone I let down. Today, I will be better.

We've been looking at houses, and that's an interesting experience. I always wonder about the people who live/lived in the house - one of the homes we looked at today was fully furnished. I'm talking furniture, knick-knacks, clothing, dishes, the whole shebang. The weird part? It had been vacated. The family had moved out. Wha? I don't know about all of you out there, but when I move, I generally take my stuff with me...

There was another house that just felt wrong. When you look at the online listing, it looks wrong. When you get to the house, it doesn't look quite right. When you walk inside the house, it doesn't feel right. Or smell right. This house was totally empty, except for some paint cans in the basement. (Why do people feel the need to leave half-filled paint cans? I suppose you might want to touch up a wall, but you'd think that after five or ten years, the paint on the walls probably changed colour with the sunlight.) The basement was an 'in-law suite,' which sounds like a cool idea. However, it would appear that these people hated their in-laws! It was creepy, and ugly, and smelled like funk. And not the fun kind of funk.

On an unrelated note, some friends of mine have been passing around this YouTube video, and I think it's really cool, so I want to continue spreading it - this guy's pretty funny! Back in the day, I used to watch a lot of live comedy, so I saw some pretty awful stuff ("I can't believe they brought back the McWrap. They should call it the McCrap!"). I don't claim to be a comedy connoisseur, but I know what makes me laugh (usually not McDonald's jokes). So check out Rob Paravonian here, and if you like him, check him out on YouTube.

Stuck in my head

All you need is love! La la la-la la!

I have this song stuck in my head. It won't get out. It's starting to drive me batty!

I have the world's cutest puppy

So I've been having a lot of mama guilt - I've been out every evening for the past week, and I feel as though I've been neglecting my baby... and I think she feels like that, too. Today, to help relieve my guilt, I went to PetSmart.

To be honest, I went there to get more food for her, because her moist food ran out on Monday, but I haven't been able to get to the store, so she's been stuck with dry food. She definitely doesn't like dry food as much.

I ended up leaving with... well... a lot of toys. And a bag of treats. And her food (I remembered what I went in for!)

I got her some more squeaky toys, because she loves her chicken so much, and, at Shane's urging, I got her a big rawhide bone. Really big.

Here are two videos of my puppy being adorable with her new toys. Enjoy!

Getting close to 100

I can't believe it! I'm almost at 100 consecutive posts! Even with power outages and internet outages, I've managed to blog every day, even if it couldn't actually be put online until the next day. Go me!

Unfortunately, today's post will suck. I am tired and my belly is very, very full (mmmm... fondue...). Therefore, I am going to go to bed. Plus, I used up today's quota of cleverness while helping a friend move, so I'm all out.

But I assure you that the "Take Five" story is percolating in my mind, and I'm still testing female names. Perhaps that will end up as post 100...

It rained again.

Today, it rained again. But I didn't lose power! I probably lost internet while it was pouring, but I wasn't at home, so it didn't really matter much. Yay!

I've still been struggling with names for the characters in the story from a few days ago. I do know the title now - "Take Five." It's going to be about two actors who clearly do not get along. I'm not entirely sure why yet. It might just be one of those things - sometimes you meet someone, and you hate their guts for absolutely no reason, and over time, they respond by hating your guts just as much. Or she might have inadvertently done something to him, which makes him hate her, so she eventually hates him back. I've considered doing the predictable twist, which ends up with the two of them together, but I don't know if I really like that idea. But I do like the contrast between the two of them playing lovers on screen and hating each other off screen. I've been involved in the theatre enough to see that sort of thing, and it's great to watch. I've never been in that sort of situation myself - I've played several roles where I've been almost-kissed, but I've never had a romantic partner on stage.

The male character has told me that his name is Blake. (Yes, I realize that this is kind of odd, given the Blake-who-is-not-really-Blake that I know, but the character has spoken.) The girl won't tell me her name. Sometimes I wonder if it's normal to talk about characters in a story talking to me like this... but I've spoken with several other people who write, and a lot of them also do it. Of course, some of them are on anti-psychotic medications...

In any case, the girl doesn't have a name. I haven't found anything that will stick to her. And until I find a name for her, I'm not comfortable writing the story just referring to her as 'her.' If anyone has any suggestions for a name after reading the story, please, tell me! I'm open for anything!

Stupid storms and power outages!

Stupid storms and power outages! Yet another belatedly-posted blog, because a storm knocked out my power for over an hour today, which knocked out the internet, which has only come up intermittently all night. So I’m blogging free-form tonight. Okay, maybe free-form isn’t quite the right phrase, but that’s the phrase that I’ve chosen. So there.

Now that I’m done channeling my inner two-year-old...

Last night, I dreamt that I was at work. I actually dreamed the entire day, from the moment my alarm clock went off until the time I got home and let my puppy out of her crate. I dreamed that I saw all of the patients that I would usually see. I dreamed that I did the crossword puzzle at lunch. I dreamed that I had a conversation with a coworker about how slow our doctor is. I dreamed that I got a ride home and we listened to the soundtrack from “The Pajama Game.” And then my real alarm clock rang.

That really, REALLY sucked. Because I had to get up and go to work anyways.

You know what’s really going to suck? Tomorrow. I feel like I’ve already put in five full days of work, and I have to go back for another. I think I need to remember what I ate before bed on the night that I had the dream about the Colby/Jonathan musical – that was a much better dream!

What's in a name?

Sometimes, the hardest part of a story is the names for the characters. Occasionally, it's the easiest part. Some characters develop almost instantly; name, physical description, personality, all at once. Other characters insist upon being referred to as "him" or "her" for pages on end before they finally have a name. Still others go through three or four names before I settle on one that I'm happy with.

In the story from two days ago (the one with the actors), the male is named Blake. It popped into my head, and although I tried other names, the character has decided that he is Blake. The female, on the other hand, refuses to have any name stick. I'm going to break out the baby name book soon, and try to search out something that works. The director doesn't have a name yet, but his name has a vaguely Italian or Spanish feel to it.

I'm very aware of names. There are some people that I have a very hard time getting along with, simply because they have the same name as someone else that caused some sort of angst in my life. Other times, the reverse is true, and I'm much more willing to forgive someone who shares a name with a close friend.

I like names that end up with fun nicknames. Back in the day, my folks were friends with a guy named Stuart (at least, I assume that was his real name). They never called him Stuart. He was always "Stuie Kablooie." I know, it's a crazy name! But this is the guy who almost fell through my parents' picture window by tipping his chair back... and I was too young to get it at the time, but I'm sure there were many, many reasons for the nickname. Now, perhaps unfortunately, every Stuart I meet gets called "Stuie Kablooie" in my mind.

Self-indulgent ranting

I know that, once you start using your blog to rant about personal things, people start losing interest. I really don't want my blog to degenerate into an angst-filled emotional blowout.

However.

Occasionally, one must publicize one's feelings about a negative experience in order to feel a form of catharsis. Therefore, I would just like to put it out there that I have been screwed. I have been totally shafted. I found out today just how much I was shafted, and I'm really unhappy about it. I've been questioning the decision that was made since the day I found out, wondering what I did wrong to be excluded, and now I really have no idea why the powers that be chose not to choose me. I hate this feeling, like maybe I'm not as good as I thought I was, like I must have really screwed up.

And yet, here I am, sacrificing my time and energy for the people who screwed me over. Am I a glutton for punishment? Maybe I'm a little bit masochistic...

In any case, I hope this self-indulgent rant has been bland enough that it has not scared you away from my blog permanently. Tomorrow, we will return to our regularly scheduled entertainment. Thanks for reading!

Five minute fiction

It started with a friendly hug. That was all anyone had expected, but there was a spark of something more as they touched. As she stepped back, she looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back. It was just a smile, but it said so much more.

He sat beside her on the bench, casually laying his arm across the back of the seat, as if it were something that he did every day, with every person he met. She crossed her legs coyly, leaning in towards him ever so slightly. If he inhaled just a bit more, he could smell her shampoo. If she turned her head just so, she could smell his cologne.

He made a joke, and she laughed, touching his knee so casually that it must have been planned. He shifted slightly, and his arm came into contact with her shoulder as his foot nudged hers. She looked up at him and smiled again, this time staring into his eyes. Their smiles slowly faded, their expressions becoming more serious as he leaned down towards her...

"Cut!" yelled the director. "Okay kids, let's pick this up in five."

"Bitch," he muttered as she sat back.

"Jackass," she retorted. She stood up and gave him the finger before flouncing off towards her trailer. Some people were just awful to work with.


**This might go somewhere else... we'll see!**

Jumping to conclusions

Have you ever had a completely illogical assumption that you just can't get rid of?

When I was younger, about 13, I read every Lurlene McDaniel book that had been published: Too Young to Die, Sixteen and Dying, One Last Wish, Time to Let Go, Someone Dies, Someone Lives, et cetera. They were all about kids dying of some kind of disease, usually a cancer of some sort. In one of the books, one of the kids had the symptom 'unexplained bruising,' and it turned out to be a sign of leukemia.

Because of this, every time I look down and see a bruise I don't remember getting, my first thought is, "I have leukemia." I know that this is not a logical response. A better response would be, "I probably walked into something again," (because I walk into things all the time - I'm not very graceful for a dancer) or "I must have inherited my grandmother's incredibly sensitive blood vessels" (if you looked at her too hard, she would get a bruise). I've had this response for about fifteen years.

Today, I looked down and saw a cluster of little bruises on the side of my knee, and again, my first thought was, "I have leukemia." Sigh. Maybe one day, I'll get rid of that response.

Five Minute Fiction

From Creative Writing Prompts, #211: Write from the point of view of a clean sock that was mistakenly placed in the hamper.

Omigod. I totally don't belong here. I mean, look at me! I'm so cute - I so don't belong in here. I've got adorable little polka dots, and the white bits are still white! I mean, check out that guy over there. He's kinda white on top, but underneath, he's all scungy! Yes, I said 'scungy' - he's all funky coloured, brown and green, like he's been out playing in the yard.

If the look's not enough, the smell should totally tell you that I'm in the wrong place! I still smell all lemon-y fresh, like I just came out of the drier. That guy, and his buddy, they smell like man feet. No, I take that back. They smell like man feet that have been wearing the same socks for a week.

Please! Won't somebody take me out of here? I'm clean! I'm clean! Check the drawer - you'll find my match in there, I swear. Please, don't make me stay here. I totally don't belong in here!

If you won't come get me, maybe I'll just have to start writing my memoirs. Isn't that what you're supposed to do when you're wrongly imprisoned? I could be the next Paris...

No! I don't belong here! Take me out!

Was it something I ate?

I just have weird dreams. Really odd, messed-up dreams. Here's what ran through my head last night....

Colby and Jonathan put on a show. It was a really awesome musical. I know that it was one that I had heard before, but I can't put my finger on what it was. They did break into a chorus of "There, Right There" (the "is he gay or european" bit), but in the dream, it was out of place. The strangest part was that the show was being put on in someone's living room (I didn't recognize it as belonging to anyone in real life).

Ashlee, Kaitlin, someone else, and I were the only ones watching it. The other three got seats on the mattress in the hallway, but there was no room for me, so I had to sit on the floor on the other side of the room, behind a chair. The lights were all off, and there were spotlights on the two performers. It was awkward, because they were trying to aim their performances in two directions, so that I could see, as well as the girls on the mattress. I never actually saw Jonathan, but I heard him. I did get to see Colby through the legs of the chair. Her hair was longer than it is now, and it was curly (side note: if it works as well in real life as it did in my dream, you'll look awesome with curls!).

At one point, I got frustrated with not being able to see the show properly, so I moved across the room to sit beside the couch instead. However, this put me right in the path of the big dance sequence, so I had to keep scooting across the room so that I stayed out of the spotlight, and out of their way.

How's that for a fun dream? I just wish I could remember which show they were putting on...

Free stuff

I love free stuff. It makes me happy. I like pseudo-free stuff - gift certificates are awesome.

Today, I got free cake. Cake is awesome. Free stuff is awesome. Free cake? Well, I'll bet you can figure out how doubly awesome that is! I went to Longhorn for dinner, and it was the first time I had ever been there. The server was great - he asked how I liked my steak, then gave me three suggestions for the types of steak that are best at that level of cooking. He was friendly, efficient, and not overbearing. Then the manager came out and asked how I was enjoying my first visit to Longhorn, and then offered a free dessert! How could I say no?

That was about three hours ago. I'm still stuffed. I'm going to go lay down and digest some more... it was a lot of steak, and A LOT of cake!

So what is Canada Day?

Yesterday was Canada Day, and I spent a lot of time trying to explain it to the Americans that surround me. It's kind of like the 4th of July, in that it's Canada's national holiday. It's frequently referred to as "Canada's Birthday." Officially, it is the anniversary of the joining of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario into a federation in 1867. Technically, we didn't get our independence that day - our constitution wasn't patriated until 1982.

We celebrate in many different ways. Parliament Hill has celebrations running all day long, including popular Canadian musicians and other performers. The Prime Minister and the Governor General give speeches, as well as several other government officials (some of it's boring, some of it's rousing and motivating). In my hometown, they block off Osborne Street for several blocks for a big street party. There are vendors set up selling stuff all over, the restaurants have patios and beer gardens open, there are little stages set up everywhere - it's just one big party.

There are, of course, fireworks at night, because what party is complete without explosions?

As an expat, I celebrated by baking a cake (see yesterday's post), and wearing my Canada shirts and my traditional Canada Day shoes (the same pair I've worn on every Canada Day since I got them - they're red Sketchers). I had a burger for dinner, because my dad always barbecues burgers for Canada Day. All in all, a good day.

Let's Celebrate!

Happy Canada Day!!