Random Blurbs

Friends Only ... Coming Soon

desigrl — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 00:25:10 GMT

I had vowed to not go the friends only route, but hey ho, life has other plans. I have a feeling I'll be using this as a vent space, so if you read my journal but aren't on my friends list, go ahead and add me/let me know and we'll fix that. I promise it won't turn into a 100% pissy-hissy journal, but life is certainly tumultuous enough that I'd rather certain eyes not see this.

Also, those of you who actively read and respond - can't begin to tell you how much I value and appreciate it!

I'll lock this journal a week from today (Dec 11) - what a sad day!

desigrl — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 20:12:03 GMT

I had a lovely lie-in this morning - a much needed lie-in, considering how fast the first two weeks of school have been!

It'll come as no shock to all of you that I have taken on too much again. I seem to thrive (*snerk*) under pressure.

1) School - a delight, minus the boring, post-colonial theory class that is being taught by a cool Caribbean fellow who seems to think he's addressing an over-crowded classroom of high-schoolers. Fortunately, that means I'll be able to ace the theory class without putting in too much effort, which is about as much time as I have to devote to it. But really, another round of The Tempest and Heart of Darkness? Sonofa!

2) Internship - is going to be a bitch. My fault I'm shafting my supervisor with less face-time, but then why did you say it would work out with telecommuting? I'm trying to make the best of the situation. She gives me work with little direction or instruction, and no deadline. Then she hounds me with "are you done yet?" "I need it now" "this is great, but I made some edits" which reveals just how off-target I was because when I ask her for help, she says x and when I submit the work she expects y. Yay lord help me through the next 3 months!

3) Work - have I mentioned I got hired on because they absolutely loved me at the internship? Well, I did. They were mighty impressed and my new supervisor proved it by dumping a project in my lap within my first 5 minutes in the office. It's exciting and eeks and yay and all sorts of mixed emotions. I'm working severely out of title and getting ridiculously underpaid, but between this economy, the difficulty of getting a state job, and my completely unusable educational and work experience background, I'm not complaining much. This experience is a stepping stone in the right direction for my new career path. Gotta say, business analysis and project management is proving to be quite interesting.

Life is a blur outside of all of that. I somehow manage to eat, sleep, finish homework, and get little chores done here and there. Sadly, with everything else going on, I think the Writer's Workshop will have to take a backseat. Same for NaNo this year and all the fan-fiction stuff that everyone else is participating in and getting excited over. Maybe come mid-December I can pursue the Writer's Workshop again - would any of you go to such a thing if your local library offered it? (beta/brainstorming/SPaG/etc.)

I haven't commented on most posts, but I am reading and am so glad that life is heading in more positive directions for most of you. Good luck with everything! For those struggling with issues, my thoughts and prayers are with you!

Tasks for the weekend include cleaning up my room a bit more, finishing off a short story and 2-3 papers, and enjoying some time with the family (I believe this will involve shoe shopping and a movie, yay!).

Ciao and love to all!

Happy Birthday Mundungus42!

desigrl — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 03:47:17 GMT

Wishing you a VERY Happy Birthday mundungus42!!!

May all your dreams and wishes come true!

Things pick up before they get a chance to slow down

desigrl — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 03:58:46 GMT

Remember how I thought life would get easier with the start of the semester? HA! Jokes on me!

It's all in a good way: 3 days before we "graduated" from the internship, all the interns had to give presentations based on their experiential portion of the summer. This was to a group of employees, including some fairly up-there sort of people. I managed to impress all the right people, to the point where the HR division and my particular office spent the last 2 days scrambling to find a way to get me back. My work over the summer was only noticed and appreciated by my immediate office, but that 10 minute presentation really got people's attention. Ironically, I shudder over public speaking.

But the good news has led to a lot of scrambling and rearranging and spazzing and chaos. I'm a girl who likes to plan ahead. While I can be flexible, and obviously this is all great for a career move, it is highly stressful for a calendar-filling, list-making, check-marking sort of person. Not to a neurotic level, mind. Just, a few sleeping awful, eating badly kind of days since Friday.

Classes are ... intense! I'm taking two 400-level courses (highest at Undergrad stage) and two 300-level courses, all of which are somehow writing-intensive - I know. I'm an English major, so I shouldn't have expected anything else. But with the caveat that "I'm not an easy grader" that every professor is throwing out there, it's only adding to my aaaaahhhhh!!! level. I'm also taking a "class" where I put in 10-15 hours/week of internship in exchange for 3 credits. The workload of the internship is easier, but the timing factor is a pain, for all that it is more flexible. How do I find myself in these situations? Right, it'll look good on a resume. I'm looking forward to the internship because it's in Public Relations, which sounds like a dynamic, interesting and exciting field. Let's see how I feel 3 months from now.

AND, unfortunately this means my bestie's visit won't happen, since I can't take time off right after I get the job. Bugger! All that planning and wishing and needing a mental break by way of hanging out with each other, down the drain!

So time to focus on the positives: I've got plenty of support on the home front from my parents. I will have a paying job in a couple of weeks (after years!). There will be no break in my health insurance. I will be entering the work-field in a profession I am interested in pursuing. I'm doing an internship in another field I am interested in. I will graduate in December!

My sanity might be taking a minor beating right now, but it will be worth it in the long run.

OH! I almost forgot ... I have been wanting to start a Writers Workshop through my local public library. It would be geared towards adults and amateur or unexposed writers who could use some feedback, basic editing help, and brainstorming. If this was available in your area, would you join in?

Happy Birthday Dicky!

desigrl — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 01:52:56 GMT

Wishing you a very fantabulous week-long celebration dickgloucester ! ;)

IKEA is my oyster!

desigrl — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 07:53:44 GMT

I've finally been to an IKEA!

OH MY!!!

That was my playground and candy shop all rolled up in one. I could have spent an entire day and then some in there, but unfortunately we had other items on the agenda. So many cool toys. The set-up rooms. The colors. The variety. Loved, loved, LOVED! I can't wait to go back.

Jersey was fun... I desperately needed to get away from life and enjoy some of this so-called summer vacation.

The brain is, for the most part, fried. The workload of the internship and the online class is quite overwhelming and it's a wonder I'm staying afloat. But it's definitely having a detrimental effect on my mental stability - not enough sleep, a bit scatter-brained as I struggle to keep up, lagging behind on responsibilities to a) myself and b) the paid writing gig.

On top of all of this, the laptop went kaput a couple of weeks ago. It's no joke when I say my laptop is my lifeline: it's my bread and butter in nearly all aspects of my life and living off of borrowed time on family member's laptops (we don't have a desktop anymore) has been... challenging. I miss my baby. Some stupid BIOS update fried the motherboard. If I had the time, I'd tinker with it myself, because I really think I can fix it. Sadly, that's not a realistic possibility so the baby has finally been delivered to a reliable repair shop who shall get the job done for about $300 *is appalled* ... still better than $1,000 for a new laptop. Note to self: next laptop, go for Intel over AMD.

Right-ho! Back to work for me. If I have the energy, I shall rant and grumble next time about how last-minute, bull-shitty some of the "classwork" for the internship has been (which has only exacerbated my already-frazzled state).

Ramblings

desigrl — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 01:46:03 GMT

I think my editor thinks I'm a boy. He addressed a recent email with "thanks man" ... granted I've only just started working for the news journal, we've never met in person and my foreign name doesn't clearly indicate gender. But it's slightly off-putting that I present myself as a man. Unless that's just his way of addressing everyone. He is the casual sort, having just emailed all the writers that the downed server was a "bit o' bullshit". I've never worked like this before. The lack of structure and organization is ... interesting.

My dad asks "why don't you have a template spreadsheet for your interviews" ... How to make a lay person with a military background understand that some things just don't function that way. I snickered my way through that explanation.

I spent the entire day learning about public speaking. Now, I've had a fair share of experience, especially because I've been pushing myself to take on leadership roles since grade 11. But I still managed to pick up some useful tips today. I also had an "aha!" moment, in that I told myself: "listen, you've done this so many times now. The next time you get up in front of a group of people, fake it. You may be nervous, but you've got experience so tell your brain to shut up 'cause you got this down cold."
They used a Mr. Rogers clip for showcasing a polished speaker. I definitely got a bit sentimental over that segment. Mr. Rogers, you were a childhood hero.

Tomorrow is dedicated to Resumes and Interviewing skills. Joy! I've only spent the past 2 months revising and polishing my resume. *sigh* *grumble* Well, it's never 100% perfect and I did just add two jobs, so I'm sure it can be further tweaked and adjusted. Interviewing bit will be handy. I like to think I'm good at it, but the last time I was interviewed was in 2007. Geez!

I'm UBER sad that another season of Game of Thrones has come to an end. The last episode was a bit disappointing considering the second to last episode. It's gonna be a looooong year till the next season. I wish they'd expand to 12/14/16 episodes per season. We want more! I finally found someone who didn't get sucked in to the series. Many of us tried explaining to her that it takes 2-3 episodes and eventually all the killing and brutality becomes a side thing, but she's not buying in. Can't figure that one out.

I need to blog!!! I have a couple lined up. Just need pictures to add before I publish them. I don't think anyone from here actually reads my blog though, so I don't know why I'm telling you about it.

The rain has got to stop. I'm sick of it. Weather gods, kindly revert to a sunny summer. k-thanx-bye!

Alright, before I shut up for the night: BIG thanks to the lovely peoples who took time to fill out my Johari window. Utterly sweet of you. You all see me in ways I didn't realize and that's an ego/confidence boost. The Nohari window would be more helpful in terms of personal development, but I can understand why no one from LJ would feel comfortable filling that out. In case you haven't, but do still want to, you can help me out with the Johari window by going here and clicking on 5 adjectives that describe me. If you're game, you can visit the Nohari window.

This and That ... and a Johari Request

desigrl — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 16:53:57 GMT

Internship and classes are coming along well. My days are hectic and completely consumed by work for the internship and the 2 classes. Also the odd interview/article work. Freelance writing is tricky, especially when dealing with business of varied natures. What's professional in one setting is unacceptable in another. Hello confusion!

The internship is packing on more homework than I had anticipated (read: didn't expect any homework, accepted that we'd have to do some readings and questions, now getting bombarded with additional mini-assignments). I'm in an HR track, which is not so different from my life experience. I find that I'm actually skilled or experienced in many of the components of HR work (which, gasp, expands beyond administrative duties ... to be fair, that was my impression before starting). We have "classes" and during one of these an instructor asked us to look up a Joe Harry Window. I assumed this was some window of time to accomplish xyz, as he hadn't given us any context. Well, as it turns out, he meant a Johari window! Thank you laralee88 for bringing this to my attention weeks ago. I was able to look smart in front of someone fairly important.

The class discussion prompted me to create my own Johari and Nohari windows (Jo: positive, No: negative). If you have a moment, I'd love some feedback! Feel free to keep it anonymous if it makes you more comfortable. I'm looking for honest information, not cushioned responses born out of a sense of obligation. Jo: http://kevan.org/johari?name=simtara and No: http://kevan.org/nohari?name=SimTara

Someone tell my Homeland Security class professor 200 pages of reading is cray-cray!

Family life is running its course, downhill at the moment, but gearing up for some highs. Hopefully.

If you've got some spare energy or time, feel free to send it my way. I could use a bit of both. On the plus side, I'm left completely exhausted at the end of every day, which leaves me sleeping soundly every night.

Because everyone's doing it ... (though I draw the line at jumping off anything)

desigrl — Fri, 31 May 2013 04:48:01 GMT

I'm really glad I decided to take the Homeland Security course. It's unique, interesting and informational. Also, as my second public policy class in two semesters, it is telling me that I have an interest in this field. Uh oh! More options in life.

Internship is still in its god-awful orientation phase. More diversity and sexual harassment training. Extremely important for me, the Indian woman.

Hermanita is slowly driving me batty. We're with each other nearly 24/7. She works at a completely different pace (ie: slower than me!) and that leaves me frustrated, annoyed, and itching to shake some sense into her. I don't want this to end up being the summer where I did all the work and she got the credit for it. "Just keep swimming" and "suck it up, you can do it" keep running through my head. I abdicate my role as sane, older sister. Mommy come home!

A-Age: 25
B-Bed size: Queen (though half is used as a closet-cum-storage space...)
C-Chore you hate: Toilet cleaning. Gack! (That's what husbands were invented for!)
D-Dogs' names: No dog. Two fish. Forgot their names. I believe they keep changing, depending on peoples moods.
E-Every morning: I snooze through at least 3 alarms.
F-Favorite color: Purple
G-Gold or silver: Gold
H-Height: 5'4"
I-Instrument you play: the iPod :D
J-Job title: Student Intern (unpaid!)
K-Kisses or hugs: I subscribe to the Ford principle that and is better than 'or' so both!
L-Home: Upstate New York
M-Mood: brain-dead
N-Nicknames: Simi, Sim Sim, Maxy (not like the pad. It's b/c my sister's name is Mini...clearly a guy came up with this one)
O-Operations: Tonsilectomy. Wisdom tooth removal - twice, b/c I had two sets.
P-Pet peeves: Stupidity (b/c ignorance can be fixed), last-minute plans (not to be confused with spontaneity), tardiness (so rude!). I'm sure there are more.
Q-Quote from a movie: "I volunteer!" only because Hunger Games is on my mind.
R-Right or left handed: Right
S-Siblings: One younger sister
T-Time you wake up: Depends on the day's agenda. Usually by 6.
U-Underwear: Today, hearts.
V-Vegetable you dislike: Bitter gourd.
X-X-rays you've had: Too many. Head to toe.
Y-Yummy food you make: Gaajar Halwa (if you've never had it, you must try it!), Goat Curry, Egg Curry, Eggplant Parm. And I can make a mean Ramen (don't knock it ;))
Z-Zoo favorite: Elephants. Lions. Panther.

ps - I'm sleep deprived and functioning on zombie-mode *points to icon* (I feel equally dazed and numb). If I'm responsible for helping you out in anyway, please bombard my email so I can stay on top of things.

We have a basement, but there's nothing solid to hide under...

desigrl — Wed, 29 May 2013 23:23:55 GMT

So we may or may not be safe in this storm that's brewing up fiercely. I'm of the opinion that we will not actually have a tornado issue. Then again, we rarely get tornado warnings, so maybe I should be gathering our most important stuffs and shifting it to the basement just in case. The lights are flickering and something just made a odd humming sound.

Is that siren sound a definite sign to be concerned?

Oh and Day 1 at the internship went well. There's only 8 of us and I didn't get the Project Management track because it's not available yet (why advertise it then?) but it sounds like I'll be working in a PM-oriented subdivision of HR anyway.

I'm pooped and have too much work to do. Can the storm decide if it wants to turn into something bad or not...I'd like to know if I have to submit my work tonight or can get away with "the tornado killed my internet."

ETA: Well that was uneventful! The tornado watch/warning has passed. We're back to our regular flash flood warning level. But I'm keeping my emergency bag prepped, just in case. Somebody pass me some valium: the sister gets scared over the slightest rumble and this had her downright panicky.

Silly Simi, Summer is for Kids!

desigrl — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:46:33 GMT

For some reason my sister and I had thought we'd be able to do a collaborative writing project this summer. Little did we know the summer classes (typically "easy") would be hella reading/writing intensive. At this rate, we'll definitely have written up a storm. Just not the fiction we'd wanted to. Ba humbug!

Parents have started their journey to the wedding and I can't decide if I'm more excited about a new experience and adventure or upset/bummed out that I miss out on some family time. I'm mostly just hoping the next week passes by smoothly enough that I don't feel like killing la soeur.

Shit is hitting the fan... I've gotten enrolled into a fantastic course (Homeland Security) but I am probably biting of more than I can chew....to do or not to do? Brain has suddenly gone into frenzied, oh-shit mode and there are no parents around to ask for help. Oh SHIT! *deep breaths* There's an Irish leprechaun dancing a drunken jig in my brain right now. Yup. That's exactly what it feels like.

Let's see: New internship, new intensive course, new writing job for local businesses (yay) with really short deadlines (ap-cray!) and all of it starting sans parental presence and crazy!sister. It's really very obvious that I shouldn't take the HS course, but then, when on earth will I get another chance like this? What to do, what to do...

*wanders off mumbling like a loon, whips out paper and pen to make lists and charts and possibly ven diagrams*

Gone are the days of summer breaks

desigrl — Mon, 27 May 2013 20:48:27 GMT

Though I did have a lovely week off. I choose to call it lovely, though nothing particularly summery happened in that time off. It was, however, the only time I got to sleep in past 8 and putz around the house with no homework.

Tomorrow starts a frenzied summer of online classes, which may just be more work-intensive than my full semester courses. Wednesday I start a full-time, unpaid (college credit in lieu of money) internship at the State Comptroller's office. With luck, I'll get my preferred track of Project Management, which shall be very interesting. I'll be fine with the HR track as well. Just so long as I don't get auditing *shudder*

So it'll be out of the house by 7ish, back by 5 with a course or two to tackle and sundry household things to attend to. Oh lordy!

This effectively means we also can't go to my cousin's wedding. BUGGER! More so for the fact that there goes another potential family vacation, and that we'd have met with some family that we've never met. Priorities, hey ho!

This also means I won't be able to go to my favorite teacher's retirement party. Though, had we not gotten the internship (we = my sister and I) we'd have gone to the wedding which means I wouldn't have made it to the party anyway. With daily work and no days off, looks like I won't get to see her at all. Just my luck.

Right, off to do my ice breaker activity for the first course (how is a 5-7 page paper an ice breaker activity?).

Soap bubbles and lemonade

desigrl — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:42:44 GMT

~~1) Write a 6-7 page contextualized reading paper. For some reason, I chose to analyze a Petrarch poem (Riem Sparse 190) with a feminist/new historical lens. Egads! What's wrong with me?~~
~~2) Re-edit 2 essays for a final portfolio. This wouldn't take that much time, except I think my re-edit on one of the papers will involve heading in a new direction. Oops!~~
3) 2 Final Quizzes. One of which shouldn't be too bad. The other of which is going to be a pain since I still have to read "When Abortion Was A Crime" (this book is a crime! really dry 200 pages to get through) and bits of another book. Plus it involves hand-written short answers and an essay. We're a generation of laptop users, so this will be amusing.
4) A little more work on o-fic (which has been well received, huzzah!) and an analysis of my writing process (awkward)
5) Scrambling to arrange an internship for next semester. Please let something work out.
~~6) An extra credit report on the interpretative reading of The Giver ... which will also be posted as a blog once the assignment is handed in~~

I decided the extra essay wasn't worth three points. I think I've done well enough this semester, to not worry about whipping up 1K words about something I don't care about.

And with that, HELLO SUMMER! I haven't had one of you in a long time! I think I'd go into academia just so I could have summers off. Though, the work time must be doubly hard for all that time off.

Right, that just leaves the internships.

A whole new list coming up now, much of it involving cleaning. There are boxes worth of things I have forgotten I had and don't know why I thought were important enough to keep. Time to purge and start fresh.

Doing it all with a huge smile because I can feel like a kid and rejoice in the fact that it's summer and bubbles and mint lemonade sound like a brilliant plan.

Toodles!

Two tasks done, 5 added ... or something like that

desigrl — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:59:46 GMT

make a study guide

edit two stories

make dinner

water the plants

read the obnoxious book (nooooo!)

paint card for mother's day

K... back at it for me.

Oops...and this was supposed to be a positive post

desigrl — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:45:15 GMT

~~1) Write a 6-7 page contextualized reading paper. For some reason, I chose to analyze a Petrarch poem (Riem Sparse 190) with a feminist/new historical lens. Egads! What's wrong with me?~~
2) Re-edit 2 essays for a final portfolio. This wouldn't take that much time, except I think my re-edit on one of the papers will involve heading in a new direction. Oops!
3) 2 Final Quizzes. One of which shouldn't be too bad. The other of which is going to be a pain since I still have to read "When Abortion Was A Crime" (this book is a crime! really dry 200 pages to get through) and bits of another book. Plus it involves hand-written short answers and an essay. We're a generation of laptop users, so this will be amusing.
4) A little more work on o-fic (which has been well received, huzzah!) and an analysis of my writing process (awkward)
5) Scrambling to arrange an internship for next semester. Please let something work out.
~~6) An extra credit report on the interpretative reading of The Giver ... which will also be posted as a blog once the assignment is handed in~~

2 down, 4 to go. Bye bye beautiful British accent boy. The fall semester will be a bit emptier without you. I just got one of the reading lists for next semester. Looks like I'll be forever haunted by The Tempest.Bloody heck and hell! Taming of the Shrew is more my speed, and I'm overall not a fan of Shakespeare (are you all done gasping and groaning?). Son of a gun! I just saw that I'll have to read Heart of Darkness again as well. Bugger! Might just change classes at this rate. Urgh!

I'll just *headdesk* my way to fall then.

It's that time of the semester...already

desigrl — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:46:50 GMT

I've got two more days of classes and am done with everything by next Monday. So in the next week I have to:

1) Write a 6-7 page contextualized reading paper. For some reason, I chose to analyze a Petrarch poem (Riem Sparse 190) with a feminist/new historical lens. Egads! What's wrong with me?
2) Re-edit 2 essays for a final portfolio. This wouldn't take that much time, except I think my re-edit on one of the papers will involve heading in a new direction. Oops!
3) 2 Final Quizzes. One of which shouldn't be too bad. The other of which is going to be a pain since I still have to read "When Abortion Was A Crime" (this book is a crime! really dry 200 pages to get through) and bits of another book. Plus it involves hand-written short answers and an essay. We're a generation of laptop users, so this will be amusing.
4) A little more work on o-fic (which has been well received, huzzah!) and an analysis of my writing process (awkward)
5) Scrambling to arrange an internship for next semester. Please let something work out.
6) An extra credit report on the interpretative reading of The Giver ... which will also be posted as a blog once the assignment is handed in

It doesn't look any more or less itemized on a white screen than it does scrambled in my head. None of it is doing anything to help the low level of anxiety that is slowly building up. I've been gunning for an A in all my classes this semester, so fingers crossed and heave-ho for this final push.

Let's not forget, Mother's Day is this Sunday. We're attempting to surprise my mom by having my sister come home on Sunday. This will involve lying and getting up insanely early. Not sure we'll be able to pull this off haha

Cousin's wedding is coming up end May and I've been roped into doing a dance during one of the ceremonies. I was expecting it, and I enjoy dancing so it's not much of a hardship. I'm just ever-more self-conscious because I'm much heavier since the last time I performed in front of an audience. :\ And it's just going to be three of us (as long as a cousin doesn't flake) so hopefully the stage/dance floor isn't too big or we'll just look really silly

Alright, this is already longer than I thought it would be, so... ciao!

Hello Summer 2013

desigrl — Thu, 02 May 2013 12:34:18 GMT

In honor of the changing weather, I've taken on a summery theme. Also, *points to new userhead* Thank you so much of_anoesis for my pretty new identity. I think she suits me quite well.

The semester is wrapping up with long papers and final cumulative quizzes. There's a lot due within one week - WHY!? *stresses in bits and pieces*

My conference presentations went well. Excuse me while I gloat and self-congratulate a bit: I got the most questions during Q&A and totally felt like a real author, many people have said they want to know what comes next - very flattering - one person said my story was epic (not in the slang, pop-culture way), people are still talking about it (thank you little birdy who happens to work on the same floor as all the English professors).

Okay, I'm done.

Not much else - job hunt, spring cleanup, stress management, blah blah. You know, life as usual.

Non-science research conference

desigrl — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 02:29:09 GMT

So apparently a research conference is now an established "thing" at my university (so much has changed!!!). To make it more universal, the conference invite extends to creative projects as well. For some reason, I decided it would be a good idea to enter. It was a bit of a "what the heck" kind of thing ... doing things so that I don't regret not doing them later in life. Well, turns out my proposal and abstract were good enough to be included. So, ta da! Yours truly will be putting her virgin (sci fi) o-fic (double whammy!) in front of who knows how many people. I'm not sure if I hope it's a pathetically small crowd or a noteworthy turnout. Pretty sure I'll be pissing my pants just as much in either scenario. Have I mentioned I'm not comfortable with public speaking? That's right. I just like putting myself in awkward and possibly terrifying situations. So far, very little actual writing has been accomplished. Some research has been done, but has left me thinking there are some really disturbed people in this world.

In other news, I have lost some weight and can partially (mostly) attribute that to the gluten free regime I've been keeping up with. It's hard to do, but with a cousin's wedding in June, well worth it. I'm stagnating a bit, so might shake things up with some P90X or some other new exercise regime.

I don't comment much, but I keep reading everyone's posts. Belated birthday wishes to all those who have recently celebrated and advance wishes to those who I will probably miss out on because I'm crap at keeping up with the little notifications on the side of the LJ homepage. I've read mostly positive stuff on here, so I'm glad things are looking up for most people. Those going through a tough time, I hope luck changes with the turn of the season.

Hugs and best wishes!

More snow in the future

desigrl — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 04:57:33 GMT

Clearly, March didn't get the memo. It's time for SPRING!!! It's almost Easter for pity's sake!

Toronto trip was nice. Either my folks over-hyped the food and it wasn't all that, or it just didn't hold up because I've honestly had better in New Jersey, and definitely at home. The highlight was the BAPS Swaminarayan temple. The handiwork is jaw-dropping, mind-blowing, awe-inspiring amazing! They don't push religion in your face at this temple. It's was a highly meditative experience. If that's something you're looking for, and you're in the Toronto, I highly recommend a visit to the temple.

Break week flew by in a blur. I'd made a long list of things to accomplish. Some things are ticked off. Many aren't. I want to say that means I got more rest in, but I'm not even sure of that haha

Back to school and a flurry of activity from tomorrow. I'm trying to figure out if adding a minor in Communication will be worth it for me. What does one do with "just a BA in English"? I know there are a lot of options, but there's nothing specific, steady or guaranteed ... ach! I get enough of this at home. I don't know why I'm going on about it here.

Oh I slipped on a flight of stairs in Toronto and hurt my behind quite nicely. I scrambled to find purchase or stop myself for the first 3-4 steps, then gave up and went "when will this end" for another 4ish steps. Within 3 days I fell down another flight of stairs. I was still a bit sore and bruised so this time I just sat there biting my tongue trying not to cry over how much it hurt. It took all of vacation week to recover-ish from the second fall (longer because this time the impact traveled up my lower back, which as some of you know is already in tender condition).

We watched a French movie - Sleepless Night. I guess as long as it's an action thriller, we'll watch a movie in any language. I liked it. Pretty good movie.

The movie culminated a very lazy Sunday where we woke up late and lazed on the couches, all three laptops out. I was doing housekeeping with my assignments for the rest of the semester. The parents were "house hunting" for post-retirement living in San Diego. Anyone got any good leads? They sound pretty serious about investing in condo/single-family home (is there any other kind in the US?) within the year.

Right well... here's hoping this season's trend continues and Chicago's snow bypasses again. It's holi celebrations next weekend and I want it to be warm enough to play outside! *fingers crossed*

Reveal posted - sigh of relief

desigrl — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 05:01:57 GMT

The SSHG Exchange Reveal posted a couple of days ago. It was really exciting to find out who my lovely MA was and quite a relief to be "outed" for my story, now my second proper post and reveal.

HUGE thank you to cathedralcarver for the lovely Where We Search for Snow. If you haven't read it yet, go! Now!
Recipient: desigrl

Title: Where We Search for Snow
Author: cathedralcarver
Rating: PG
Warnings:

[Click to view warnings, may contain spoilers]

Genre: Romance
Summary: Making it up as they go along.
Word Count: 4,656
Author's Notes: It might be a bit darker than you specified, but I hope you still enjoy!
Original Prompt:

[Click to view original prompt, may contain spoilers]

Here's my take on a wonderful prompt by talesofsnape. I hope I did it justice.
Recipient: talesofsnape

Title: Cold Start
Author: desigrl
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: [Click to view warnings, may contain spoilers]
Genre: Romance, Drama, Comedy, Friendship, EWE

Summary: Love, Breakups, Life ... Sometimes it takes a cold start to heat things up
Word Count: 7,164
Author's Notes: talesofsnape said I could take liberties with the prompt and so I have. I sincerely hope that my Severus isn't too OOC for you and that the ending is happy enough. HUGE thanks to my Alpha/Beta/Brit-pick team. Awesome ladies who put up with my craziness and gave back more than I could and did ask for! The remaining mistakes are mine.

Original Prompt: [Click to view original prompt, may contain spoilers]

Loads of good reading to eventually catch up on. The exchange was particularly bountiful this year. Sadly, it was also particularly troublesome for the mods. But shiv5468, ginny_weasley31 and particularly scatteredlogic managed quite beautifully and I'm so glad I was able to take part in the exchange under their able guidance. scatteredlogic extra hugs and thanks to you for doing such a terrific job handling all the extensions and no-shows and general craziness. The exchange is as wonderful as ever.

I am no longer one of the sshg_hub but boy was it fun while it lasted. Big thanks to of_anoesis for creating a comfortable space for us wibbling first-timers.
Here's a 2013 Exchange Newbie-Masterlist courtesy wildmagelet. Thank you love!

I could gush on, but it's time to sleep. Sweet dreams folks!

ETA: Sorry about the wonky formatting. FB doesn't want to be cooperative tonight.

Classes, run ins and randomness

desigrl — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:20:53 GMT

My one English professor is NUTS! I switched into her class because it looked more interesting (The Tempest and Heart of Darkness instead of Turn of the Screw & 3 textbooks on Literary Theory). Well, it turns out she's also the head of the Honors English program and tough. But beyond that, she's NUTS! (And we're, per force, learning a bit about Derida, Lacan, Sassure and company. NOT my cup of tea)

I get more emails from her than I do my own mother or best friend. It's always about a switch in the reading for the next class. What's the point of the syllabus then!? We just turned in a paper yesterday. She didn't go over it much before hand, only kept insisting that all that we needed to know was in the instruction sheet. Ok. Fair enough, as her instructions were quite detailed.
Then, at the beginning of class on the day the paper is due, she goes on a mini-rant about how the paper shouldn't be x or y and don't refer to a, b or c. This is all great information, but too late! Why didn't she mention this when she first assigned the paper? Or when multiple students went up to her to ask for guidance? Why didn't she send one of her beloved bloody emails to inform us of all this. She ended her speech with "if you do any of that, it will reflect in your grade". Well, gee thanks. I'll make a note of that.

Oh and also, I wanted to see her before our quiz because I had questions. I couldn't make her office hours so I requested an appointment. She takes all of this in and gives me a time after the quiz. Right helpful, that. *grump*

In other news, it's snowing. And snowing. And snowing. Stop it! Urgh!

Yesterday I went to a seminar with Christa Parravani. She's just published "Her" which is a fascinating (though very sad) story about how her twin died. This was my first ever author seminar and it was a nice experience. The cherry on the cake, though, was running into my high school Physics teacher. He hasn't changed a bit! That run in reminded me that I really have to go visit the school before some of my favorite teachers retire or leave.

I also ran into an old colleague/friend in Walmart. That was fantastic minus the fact that I can't, for the life of me, remember his name!!! He not only remembered my name, but random bits about me. I never realized we were that close...? He must just have paid attention during team building activities lol. Anywho... his number will be saved as "that guy" until I catch a name.

On the plus side of life, my writing seems to coming along well. I'm either "that good" or the caliber of writing isn't particularly high. I like the sound of "I'm that good" ;)

It's that time of the week again...

desigrl — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:20:04 GMT

I had to read an excerpt from Hiroshima by John Hersey (fantastic piece, even more fantastic writer!), then provide a summary and an analysis. Additionally, I had to learn a little about John & his writing style/his views on writing and work that into the piece.

This is certainly a very rough first draft, in terms of idea development (and a couple of just d'oh structural issues).

Some SPaG may be involved, but I'm looking for a little more help on the alpha side of things, you know for development and improvement, etc.

This piece is a whopping 1,176 words long (3.5ish pages, double spaced), but I do have to flesh it out to about 5 pages worth, because it ultimately goes into a portfolio that will be graded.

As usual, no compunctions or obligations, but if someone's got the time and inclination, I'd love for 1 or more pairs of eyes to have a look at this piece and get some feedback. Time-frame for turn around: I won't actually revise the piece till Monday night EST, since that's when I get the Profs feedback as well.

All this workshopping is inspiring me to set up a writers workshop through my public library. Maybe. My plate is pretty full. I suppose I should update y'all on that too. Maybe this weekend. Maybe. I can present you my blog by way of some updates.

Also, I can't seem to function on 6 hours of solid sleep. Which is making me wonder how solid it is to begin with. I shall try to make up for it this weekend. Bears seem to have the right idea for how to handle winter... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Writing squee

desigrl — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:23:15 GMT

So I'm starting an o-fic. It's definitely going to be a sci-fi piece, since that's my final project for the class. It may also be in the utopian vein.

I'm so going to need some hand-holding through this ... I have minimal reading experience with sci fi and even less writing. I think I'll have leeway, and will be able to take it into the science fantasy direction.

If anyone's got tips or tricks to consider, texts to read as research, or help they think they can offer (in terms of alpha for now, beta eventually, and overall cheerleader) I'll be happy for any or all of it.

There's a research conference at the end of the semester and I intend to take part. We're allowed to present a creative project instead, and I'll be doing so in the English department.

I'll be working in two directions, and will present the better of the two. So the sci fi piece is one. Alternatively, I'm working on memoir-pieces for my creative non fiction course, so if that compilation are better, then I'll submit that.

Some very helpful folks have already beta-d a couple of my memoir-pieces, but I'm always happy for more eyes, suggestions & feedback.

Writing is work. Nobody tells you that right off the bat. It takes practice and keeping to a schedule. Bird by Bird by Lamotte is serving as a really good guide. I'm also liking On Writing Well better the second time around. I appreciate him more this time around.

That was a rambly post. Oops! I promise my actual writing isn't as swervy-crazy, unless it's needed.

Another Essay - if anyone's in the mood and has the time to help

desigrl — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 03:16:08 GMT

I'm only posting for help because I feel comfortable turning over my writing to any one of you. Otherwise, usually, my writing is only ever seen by me and my professor. This is going to be my go-to place to ask for your help, because I'm too chicken to ask anyone else.

So, this time around, the deadline is a whole week away! Woohoo! The topic is fear and my essay is 1,835 words long. I'm sure it needs some SPaG help, but I could really use help with focusing the paper. We were originally told to write about 5 of our fears, and now we have to focus it down to one main fear. My list includes heights, the unknown, failure, regret and being alone. I'm thinking of combining heights failure and regret for my essay, with heights being the carrying force. That'll make more sense if you read the whole essay.

If any of that sounded remotely interesting, or if you're bored and want to Greek with me, leave a comment or shoot me a message.

I'm very happy for those of you who are healthy and well. Very proud of those who are moving on and through some tough times. Even if it isn't the best situation yet, you're making progress. My thoughts and prayers with those of you going through a rough patch. I'm here for anyone, whether you want somebody to squee with you or need a sympathetic ear, or comfy shoulder.

On a mini-life update, I've been sick. Still not 100%, but nearly there. Being sick is shitty. Nearly fainting is shittier. Can't wait to be operational again. Oh and I joined a MOOC - massive open online course - called Learning Creative Learning. I missed the intro session courtesy shitty health, but I should make it next week. I'll update if anyone's interested.

SQUEEE!!!

desigrl — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:54:58 GMT

My gift has posted. I've been waiting and waiting!!!

Right. Dropping everything, including my homework, to go read it RIGHT NOW!!!

You should too because I'm more than sure it's awesome.