At the Great Divide

I woke up this morning to find literally about a foot of snow on the porch...and it's still snowing.

This is the first big storm since at least two years before my kids were born. It may be the first big storm since the blizard of 1995, when Erin was snowed in at our place.

I kept track because 1997 is the year Bill moved out here from California, and I kept tellling him we were going to have some really cold weather and a real snow storm, but it never happened. This is our first real snowstorm since he came. (Unfortunately, he's about to get off from work right now. I hope he and his co-workers makes it home safely. Luckily, thanks to the Johnsons, he now has a huge van--which really beats me picking up from work! And he only got the van Tuesday. God is very gracious!)

Argh! I don't have snow boots! Or rather, Ping-Ping doesn't, but I've been lending her mine. Worse, I bought lower-rimmed boots for Orville as I couldn't find the high kind and thought, "Ah, we haven't had a big snow in years." Ah, well. We should still be able to go sledding.

Main plan for today, other than enjoy the snow: watch Christmas movies and specials with our daughter. ;-)

Here is the second in my ongoing essays about my list of writing tips:

The Trick: Raising expectations in one direction but having the story go in the opposite direction.

The Trick is the secret to writing, the thing that makes a story work: expectation followed by something other than the expected outcome – but something that is thematically consistent.

Of all writing techniques, this is the easiest to do. You just decide where you want the story to go, and then you indicate—through character thought or narration—that the opposite is coming. If you want to have a happy incident, you make your character glum. If you want something bad to happen, you make him unexpectedly happy. It is that simple, and it is tremendously effective.

You just have to remember to use it. That is all.

( Read more... )

11 years ago, in the fall of 1998, I noticed something odd. We had really warm weather in mid-December. (I noticed this because it led to my baby being hospitalized with pnemonia, so it stuck in my mind.)

This continued every year there after. The summers were hot, too.

Until this year.

This summer was the coolest summer I've ever seen in Virginia. It was practically like summers in New York when I was a kid.

I must admit, I loved it.

Right now, it is nearly Mid-December. It has been really cold the last week. I guess we can only wait and see what happens next week, as the 17th to the 19th is when the warm weather comes.

But, considering that there were reports of warmer wheather on Mars, Jupiter, and Pluto...I wonder if the theory voiced by some -- that we just reached the end of an 11 year sun-spot cycle -- has some virtue to it.

I guess the next few years will tell whether it stays warm or returns to a slightly cooler temperature.

Santa came to the local shopping market today. He brought horses and a carriage, not enough snow for his sleigh, I guess.

The latest writing post by author Danielle Ackley-McPhail went up late last night. Here is the link: http://damcphail.livejournal.com/

A friend directed me to this review of Prospero Lost, which is from a free magazine distributed by her library: http://www.bookpage.com/reviews.php?id=10001811

In the comments thread of my last writing post, a question arose about what I meant by a scene needing two ideas to make it come alive. Glancing back at my Writing Tips list, I noticed that this idea is the very first thing listed. It occurred to me that it might be a good idea for me to write a longer post about each of these ideas.


My Writing Tips begins:
In art, we create the illusion of three dimensions with contrast. A single line forming a circle looks two-dimensional to the eye. Add shading around one side and suddenly it looks like a ball instead of a circle—as if the light were shining on the one side casting the far side into shadow. Our eye recognizes this contrast as the way 3-D objects look and assumes that the object on the paper is 3-D, too.

What applies in art is true in writing as well. Contrast is what makes the written word spring to life: contrast in theme, contrast in plot, contrast in setting, contrast in character.

The same way that shading tricks the eye by reminding us of what we see around us, contrast in stories reminds us of real life. ( Read more... )

Ok so, the job was given to someone else, and I can't say that I was that upset. She has way more experience than me, and will untimately take the fll time position as well, so it didnt make sense for me to work the part time job anyway. Good enough.

In other news, I am writing and writing, purely for my own entertainment. I've never really written creatively simply for enjoyment, and it has been ricidulously addictive and fun.

Also, I have been trying to ignore the fact that my throat has been sore the last couple of days, and that my nose has been stuffed up because I REFUSE TO GET SICK. I broke down last night and decided to try some Zicam. Hopefully it will work.

That's all, for now.

From an article somewhere on the web:

And the total number of electric cars or hybrids among that number? "Five," says Ms Jorgensen. "The government has some alternative fuel cars but the rest will be petrol or diesel. We don't have any hybrids in Denmark, unfortunately, due to the extreme taxes on those cars. It makes no sense at all, but it's very Danish."

This amused me so much. Now I want to know more about the Danish.

Okay, originally this post only included the above, but I had to add this...boy, life can be weird:

And this being Scandinavia, even the prostitutes are doing their bit for the planet. Outraged by a council postcard urging delegates to "be sustainable, don't buy sex," the local sex workers' union – they have unions here – has announced that all its 1,400 members will give free intercourse to anyone with a climate conference delegate's pass. The term "carbon dating" just took on an entirely new meaning.

WARNING: LONG RAMBLING DECISION MAKING POST AHEAD...hit the back button if you're easily bored.

It snowed today. I went on Hood's bus trip to Tyson's corner and bought long-sleeved shirts, flannel pj pants, a cardigan, a super soft pink scarf, and 2 zip up hoodies. I am all set for the cold weather, although I do need some more long sleeved shirts. It was a fun time...I got my picture taken with Taylor Lautner, and got his Rolling Stone cover-poster. See, dreams do come true ;)

Anyway, I didn't start to post here to give you a rundown of my day, although thats the point of a journal I guess, but thats beside the point. I am rambling here today because I need help. I am the worst decision maker in the world, and I just need to write this all out. Sort of a long winded pro-con list.

My boss, tPatty, the editor of DT (my current place of internshipness) called me into her office last Friday to speak to me about "a project." My first thought was in the ballpark of oh-she-hates-my-last-assignment-and-shes-going-to-pull-it but this was not the case. She actually offered me a job. For winter break. As a paid internship. Taking over as the assignment editor of the magazine. THE ASSIGNMENT EDITOR. You see, the assignment editor (my other boss and the one I work with most of the time) put in her two weeks notice. Her last day will be next Friday, which was supposed to be my last day, as well. So, I would work over winter break, part time (about 25 hours a week) and get paid $15 an hour. I would stay here at the apartment for the entire break, except Christmas week and if I can manage to sneak home for a weekend here and there. I would be here by myself, except for a few people who I don't really hang out with anymore...but I would live alone and be alone most of the time.

I know I know I know. It's $15 an hour and its good for my resume. I mean, I'm already working there, so it wouldnt add all that much to my resume...but still. And its $15 an hour, which is way more than I've ever made anywhere else.

Are you ready for the "but," because here it comes. I have really been looking forward to this break. Having this internship has been great in the experience department, but the drive to and from, rush hour both ways, while juggling classes on my "off days" has really thrown me off. I can't remember the last time I got more than 5 hours of sleep during weeknights. I miss my bed and my cat, my family and my friends. Especially my cat...and my friends. This break was going to be my catch up time, my refresher, my primer for my last semester of college. I was going to see my friends and put up a christmas tree and go christmas shopping. I think about staying, and then I think about Holly and Dori and Jackie and Heather and all the time with them that I'm going to miss. I don't know what the future will bring, and where I'm going to be. This may be one of the last times I live at home for any length of time.

Also, I will only have 2 days to train for this job. That scares me to death. I will handle billing, online content, contracting writers and photographers, editing and formatting copy, not to mention writing. I only know how to do half of these things as an intern.

But it's $15 an hour. And its essentially an editor's position. Just so you know, I won't be hired at this magazine when I graduate, they can't hire any extras til 2011, and the only reason they're hiring now is because the assignment editor left. I know that it would be an amazing experience, scary, but good for me. But I don't know if I can handle the lonliness, sacrificing my break and time with the people I love, and having to make that damn drive for 6 extra weeks. I just dont know what to do.

A real pro/con list would probably be beneficial.

Anyway, if you made it this far, I congratulate you. If you have any advice for me, feel free to give it.

UGHHHHHHH!