And so it begins

I'm leaving Howell in a few minutes to head back to Kalamazoo, for the last time. This will be the last time I make the trek from my parents' house to my apartment there - to the complex I've lived in for almost six years. Next Saturday the truck will come and my stuff will go and return back here, to the place where I started from.
It's a little sad, but I mostly try not to think about it. It hurts a little to breathe so I try to do other things (though - let me tell you - when your face is turning blue, that can be difficult).
It'll be a busy week. I have to write a new final exam project for my public speaking class. I have to pack. I have to write. I have dinners with friends, a wedding reception, a last day at church, a goin-away party, a lot of see-you-laters (I'm not a fan of goodbyes). And so I go - and so it begins.

"And I'll Stand Up"

This morning at church we had a very lovely tribute to Memorial Day - a teenage girl signed the along to Lee Greenwood's song I'm Proud to Be an American. Here's the funny part (and I realize that only 3 people besides me in the whole world will think this is hysterical but 2 of them read this blog so it's okay):
As soon as we got to the part in the song where he sings "and I'll stand up" I started looking around for someone to stand up on their chair. Because that's what Angela used to do in her interpretative dance of this song in the early 90s, the first time we were in this war.
So yeah - good times. Just thought I'd share. It's an awesome song, don't get me wrong, but I'll always be looking for Angela to get up on a chair when I hear those lyrics:-)

The Secret Society of the Tong

I'm a member! It's official - but shhh...don't tell anyone:-) It's a secret society. Today, as we were cleaning my parents' bedroom, I found a ring in my dad's jewelry box. It this gold ring shaped like a Chinese snake/dragon with a red jewel in it's mouth. And I was like this is cool - where did it come from? He said Taiwan. I said really? He said it's a ring for the Tong society. I looked at him all doubtful and he was like really - it's a ring for the secret society of the Tong. I asked him about it and he said, it's yours now - you have to wait for your assignment, if I tell you now I'd have to kill you. And all of this was completely deadpanned. Seriously.
So I have the ring on my pointer finger. I think it's pretty cool and I'm now pretty cool. This is all fueling my not-so-secret obsession to be just like Sydney Bristow. Now I need a bright red wig;-)
And later, behind his dresser, I found my first secret map. He claims it's a grave stone rubbing from Bath, MI but I think I need to spend some more time studying it.
So now if I disappear for several days and start getting phone calls for Joey's pizza, you'll all need to just nod and wink and understand. Seriously.

BBQ Chicken success!

So I made my chicken last night, the one with the dry rub, and it was really good! The rub stayed on and kept the chicken really juicy. And some of you are interested so here's the ingredients which come from the www.weightwatchers.com website - which rocks by the way!
I put the rub on and then let the chicken marinate all day - I am sure you can do it in an hour or so too.
2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp sugar
Combine them all together and coat your chicken (1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces). Before grilling, salt the chicken breasts.
I then grilled them for about 15 minutes or so. Served with grilled sweet potatoes, it was yummy!

Information that would have been useful YESTERDAY

So I haven't blogged in a while and I apologize but I was at my parent's last weekend being very busy and now for some reason my computer is acting up when it comes to the internet. So here I am again at my parents and thus - I have internet and can blog!
So as for the above said information - I am referring of course to the earthquake that rocked (well nudged) Yuma this week, actually - 2 earthquakes! Craziness. I'm not sure how this information was not brought to my attention earlier. As I said to Angela: they never put this in the brochures. Just as no one told me before I moved to Kalamazoo that the average snowfall for the city is something like 356 inches of snow a year. Seriously.
Ok - So I am off to Westland to see my first college roommate and her new baby and then back here to make bbq cinnamon chicken for dinner. I'll let you all know how it goes:-)

Guess I've got to go now!

I guess I've got no choice - I mailed 3 boxes of my stuff to Yuma today. So I suppose this means I need to follow it there:-) It was all books and way cheaper than a Uhaul so that's good! So the count's up to 5 boxes now - woohoo! Although I'm not going to mail DVDs, not sure how they'd survive. We mailed a bowl to Ang and it arrived in pieces. I figure what's the worst thing they can do to books?! (Please - don't answer that. I've just sent all my favorite friends in brown boxes and would be CRUSHED if they weren't there waiting for me!)
Ok - on to more packing. This is getting interesting!!!

One box down!

I packed my first box this morning. I finally did it. After weeks of moving things around, sorting, moving empty boxes to new spots in the apartment, I broke down and packed a box. A box of DVDs, that was soon followed by another box of DVDs (and do I ever watch these movies?!?!). And then a box of school supplies and books for my new classroom. So that's three if you're counting. Then I gave up:-)
Not really - I have piles and more piles. But it's a process as all of you know. Packing doesn't just happen magically overnight, unless of course you are the President of the United States and you have a staff who packs you up in an hour and a half. And Angela has so unkindly informed me I do not have a staff. Drats!
In other news - I have been "writing" today. Really going over Patricia's story and trying to figure out what comes next. She's pretty evolved already and we're heading to her big story moment soon. Angela was devestated by her big moment and I was thrilled. I think that's the difference between the reader and the writer.
If you too want to know Patricia's story, let me know and I'll maybe let you be an early reader;-) Just maybe - there's a pretty tough selection process you must make it through first!

When the lines of television and reality blur...

So for the past 48 hours my friends and I have been consumed by Grey's Anatomy. You may or may not be familiar with this nighttime drama of surgical interns making a go at life at Seattle Grace Hospital. If you haven't seen it - check out season 1 on DVD, it's quality escapism. And season 2 comes out in September (I know! - we have to wait that long - ugh!). But it's interesting how it becomes a part of life, of our worlds, of our reality. And I don't think my group is any different from the rest of the 23 million people who watched the 3 hr finale or the millions who watch Lost or American Idol or who watched Dallas or anything else.
After Sunday's first hour my friends were emailing like crazy - all a flutter at what was happening. Then Monday's 2 hr show left us all breathless, in tears, wanting more, needing a break:-) to get back to our own lives.
But we let it, we want it to affect us - and that's what's so interesting to me. I have friends my age obsessed with these characters and their lives. Friends my parents age, and friends in between. Men and women. It's funny - one of my friends said this morning that her husband took her son to get a haircut and when he came home he said he was thinking of George O'Malley when it was happening - see, it's not just a chick show!
So what is it about fiction that draws us in - keeps us coming back, opening the book, clicking on the television, forking over 9 bucks to see.
The answer is it's not happening to us - we love seeing what others have going on. What they are doing, how they handle things. Maybe it gives us strength, or pause, or motivation. Maybe we wish that were us, or are thankful it's not us. Maybe we just like dealing with other people's crap for an hour and putting our worries and cares on the coffee table. I know I do.
That's part of why I write. I get to deal with Patricia and Molly and Crystal and David and Harold's problems for a while. And their problems seem so much more interesting than mine:-) As do Meredith's (I mean seriously. Choosing between McDreamy and McVet - who really has that problem in real life - and if you do, I don't want to be friends with you!) :-)
But alas, our TV season is coming to a quick close. We've got a couple more episodes of Lost and Alias and ER (hello - I almost jumped out of my seat when that bomb went off!) and Desperate Housewives and then we're done for almost 4 months. Guess I'd better get writing;-)

Goodbye Mr. President

Last night was the series finale of The West Wing - a show I have been devoted to for the past seven years. Seven years. Since 1999. Let's just think about that. These characters and their world have been a part of my life since I lived in Olivet. Since before 9/11. They were a part of my Wednesdays before I owned a DVD player (not a lot of people owned them back then). I swore I'd buy a DVD player when/if they released WW on DVD. I now own seasons 1-4 (the good years). And a DVD player:-)
Last night as soon as Mallory handed CJ the box I said to my dad, it's the napkin. I know their stories, I know their world. I've read the scripts, own the mug, and I've seen the episodes hundreds of times. Fanatical is the word you're looking for.
But it's an amazing piece of pop history. Of writing. Of culture. Of entertainment. And I will miss the Bartlett administration and my president. A romantic world that wasn't always perfect. People died. People got hurt. Mistakes were made. Leaks covered up. Troops sent to war. Change around every corner. But it was an honest world. A world where the people tried to do the right thing. And managed to sound witty and intelligent while doing it. I will miss that. We certainly don't have that here in the real world. Exhibit A is taking over primetime tonight while I watch the WW finale again on Bravo in the background.
I'm still amazed how much Martin Sheen can convey by signing his name or putting down a pen. That's acting. That's amazing.
And don't get me started on Charlie crying.
I will miss these friends of mine, this world.
Goodbye Mr. President.

Excellent!

So the story of the publisher continues. I got an email from him yesterday thanking me for the thank you note I had mailed to him (it can be a vicious circle can't it - thank you, no thank you, NO thank you, NO NO thank you!). I was excited just to hear from him again. He said he'd started reading my chapters and he liked what I was writing and how I was writing it and went on to say he'd immediately thought of a great editor I could work with. I was psyched! He also went on to say working with an editor is not a bad thing or a negative reflection on my work, yada yada, that all writers go through that process to some degree. I know this but it's nice to be reassured. I was just so friggin' happy not to get some outright form letter with my chapters back in the mail!
So I wrote him back saying that I was glad to hear that as this was literally just a first draft and I'd only been writing it since January and I had decided I couldn't pass up this opportunity so I just gave it to him completely unedited and unvarnished.
He copied and pasted what I had said in that paragraph into his next email and wrote a single word below the copy:
Excellent.
Needless to say that compliment will keep me and my fingers going for quite some time!
I'm in Howell (my hometown - go Highlanders!) for the extended weekend but we have the MS Walk on Saturday. If you're interested in donating, check out my page that is linked to this blog. More later (it's a little tough to concentrate in the clouds!).

NCIS

My hat goes off to Donald Bellisario. He wrote tonight's episode and created the show behind tonight's best hour of television. If you don't watch the show, check it out this summer. If you do - you know what I'm talking about. I called Angela and immediately told her that the ending of tonight's ep ranks right up there with the season finale last year when Kate was shot. I was shocked and a little heart broken. It's so well written and acted and produced. Really, top-notch television. I should know, I watch a lot of it.
Shows like this are what make me want to work in television someday. It inspires me to keep writing!

As promised

So I went on a roadtrip this weekend with my friend Erika. We had several adventures and got to see some beautiful sights. We drove up to Saugatuck and walked along Lake Michigan and through a forest (hence the allergy attack I believe). The waves were so pretty - so blue and perfectly formed. Then we drove up to Traverse City where it was cooler but also beautiful along the lake.
The excitement came Saturday when we met with the president of a book publishing company. Erika had emailed him out of the blue and off we went to a bookstore Saturday morning. He was very sweet giving us time out of his weekend and listening to both of us talk about our projects (hers - nonfiction, mine - fiction, Deployment). I felt so, what's word, significant, sitting there having that conversation. It was interesting. Like writing matters - like what I put down on paper might actually be real. And so I took a deep breath and handed him a copy of the first 33 pages (at that point the only 33 pages) of my book. I'm pretty sure there's some rule that says don't approach a publisher with an unfinished manuscript but I couldn't help myself. And I figure screenwriters do it all the time when they pitch ideas and concepts. So I mollified myself thinking I was pitching a story with a pretty good start.
He emailed Sunday saying it was nice to meet with me and that he'd read my chapters and get back with me early this week. So we'll see. If nothing else, it was a great experience and a good contact. And he gave me a copy of a book he'd recently published about golf. So there's that.
After that meeting we headed to Gwen Frostic's place which was pretty cool. She was a businesswoman and artist who left a pretty amazing legacy (and a cool 5 mil to WMU's art dept). She did these neat little art drawings and printings of animals and such. Check her out!
Ok - so the allergies are still going although the expensive little pills are helping. Time to finish a few more pages of that manuscript then head over to the afterschool program for some homework and puzzles. I'm hoping to do the 300-piece tiger one today!

Spring has attacked

I used to get allergy shots. Back a million years ago. My mom/dad/grandparent would drive me to Ann Arbor where they'd poke me several times and we'd sit, waiting for a reaction (several reacted, I have scars to prove it). Then they seemed to go away. Until now.
I've been told this is an especially bad year for allergy-sufferers. I am realizing this now. Friday I went to Lake Michigan (there will be more on the road trip later - I promise, it's just I'm not feeling well) and walked through some wooded areas and then add that to just living in a spring environment, and apparently my allergies are back. I had a slow morning thinking I'd shake it off but it's not getting better so I broke down and went to Walgreens and forked over six bucks and some change for five Claritin tablets that I hope work. It's 1:15pm and it promises fast relief. I'm counting the minutes.
So I'm going to cut myself some slack, start sorting through grad school notebooks and rest a little. That's my body's plan:-) More later - promise.

Road Trip!

I'm headed out in about 1/2 an hour (should finish packing I suppose!) for a road trip with my friend Erika to Saugatuck and Traverse City. Should be fun. We'll be back sometime tomorrow and I'll report in! Happy Friday all ~

What a great night to be a television addict

First there was Alias:
Nadia's in a coma. Nadia's dead. Nadia's alive. Nadia's dead. It looks pretty real this time but then again I was sure Vaughn was dead. So sure I cried. And now apparently he's communing with nature and some monks.
What about Sloane? I had high hopes for him. But he and we did have that self-fulfilling prophecy in season one to live up to. Evil Sloane is truly evil. Guess we all sorta saw that one coming. I'm a little weirded out by the two Syd thing, it's all very Evil Francie. Speaking of which, where's she? But boy do I love Marshall - he's the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. So good!
And then there's Jack - who doesn't love Jack. He's so...pure. He really is, especially when compared to Sloane. But that Tom guy, just not sure about him. He's a bit sketchy.
Then there was Lost:
Who is Michael? Where's Walt's loving dad? Who is this mad, gun wielding man? Answers please? (Although I secretly am glad Anna-Luicia is gone, I really wasn't a fan, she annoyed me but I did think it was pretty funny how easily she got the gun from Sawyer - I mean, who didn't see that one coming?!?!) And now what's going to happen to poor Hurley without Libby? The men on the island are going to have to form a support group!
Okay, enough hypothesizing and ranting for now. I've screamed a bit (to Ang on the phone), scoured the internet for tidbits (which I am glad I didn't find until after the episodes), and now am headed to bed! But can I just say - TV rocks!

Before the lights go out again...

Well not literally the lights but my internet's back up - thank you Crazy Guys for coming home!!! They are so nice to let me "borrow" their wireless and I am so happy they are back online. Whew - I was having internet withdrawl!
Ok - off to watch Alias and Lost, without commercials! ;-)

Book 'em Danno!

So I think I've told you that I got my contract to teach seventh grade in the mail (if I didn't - I just did!) and included in that large packet was a fingerprint card. Yes, I had to go get fingerprinted, again. I've done it at least once before I remember, I was fingerprinted to be a substitute teacher in Kalamazoo Public Schools. I also might have been fingerprinted to work in my church but the details of that are sketchy, it was about 10 years ago. Anyways, I had to get fingerprinted again says the FBI and Arizona Department of Education. The old ones aren't good. And I have to pay them $52 to process them. And pay Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety $12 to have them done. And what a treat it was. I had to wait forever (like 30 minutes) and then because, in the words of the police officer taking my prints, I have soft and oily skin on my fingers, they didn't turn out great. She had to redo one of my pinkies 7 times! 7! I counted. So yeah, I don't know if the FBI will accept them (it says that only one re-do is allowed per finger, but this cop seemed in control and I was not about to argue with a pregnant woman packing a pistol and a badge and wondering where the deli guy was - I kid you not).
So that's my story of the fingerprints. The kind of obnoxious guy Andrew who announced he was my fingerprinting buddy said we should just get arrested and then we'd get our prints for free might have had a point but today wasn't a day I really wanted to see from the inside of a holding cell:-)