The past few weeks, I've been debating over whether or not to participate in the 100 Words project during the month of May. It sounds like an interesting challenge - write 100 words every day for at least a month - and I've wanted to try my hand at it. The problem is, the guidelines are pretty strict, and I'm not sure I'd be able to do it.
They only give you one missed entry for the whole month; any more and you're disqualified. I've only written 10 entries in my journal this month, out of what will be 30 days come Friday. (Which I've only just realized is, yikes, tomorrow!) That's not even half! The most entries I've ever written for a month was 28 out of the 31 days in December during last year's Holidailies. It wasn't too terribly hard (I fudged with a couple photo entries, if memory serves me), but it did take up a lot of spare time.
I'm not sure I'll be able to find any time to write 100 extra words every day next month: I've got my Memoir Writing class, my cousin's graduation, the CAPA convention, and The Yard Sale (of Doom) to get ready for and then have over Memorial Day weekend. Plus, I've got my diet and exercise programs to keep up with, my job, time with family and friends, as well as updating my journal and this blog. Oh, and reading books! I completely forgot about reading books! I'm still slogging through Pickwick Papers (Gah!), and haven't touched The Lovely Bones or any of the other paperbacks I saved from The Yard Sale (of Doom) for weeks! I've been so tired after working all day and then exercising, I come home, fix my meals and snacks for the next day, have dinner, shower, hang out and watch TV with my mom, then go to bed between 9:00 and 9:30, where I might watch some more TV till a little after 10:00.
My computer has been turned on exactly twice this week: once on Monday to check my e-mail, and the second time was Tuesday to upload Adobe Creative Suite. I didn't even go online, then. Last night, I didn't turn it on at all, and since I have class tonight, it won't be turned on again.
Jeeze, now it sounds like I'm whining. I'm really not; it's just overwhelming when I write down everything I've got coming up next month! Well, I guess I've pretty much talked myself out of participating in 100 Words officially, but I would still like to do it; the format intrigues me. So, I may try writing 100 words a day just on my own. Call it practice, if you will. Perhaps I'll sign up later on in the year.
One of my fellow BlogSwan contestants posted this interesting fitness personality quiz from the Weight Watcher sight. I love internet quizes, so naturally, I took this one. Here's my result:
"You're an Outside Exerciser!
Being at one with nature isn't just an ideal, it's likely to be your reality. All your favorite activities are likely to take place in the fresh air, and you probably don't even think about getting a cardio benefit as you meander along wooded walking trails. For you, exercising outdoors is likely to be a soulful stimulus. You are likely to enjoy yard work and gardening, taking long walks and bird watching. There's likely no need for you to join a gym — as long as you have a park nearby and don't shy away from rainy-day workouts. You should consider a variety of activities like walking, gardening, mountain biking, canoeing and hiking, but be sure not to get so caught up in the beauty surrounding you that you forget to challenge yourself. "
This is mostly true: I do enjoy being outdoors and partaking in outdoor activities, but I'm usually too tired, or let's just admit it, too dang lazy to go out and do anything. Once I'm outside and doing stuff, though, I love it. I'm thinking this result should be one that I aspire to - I've been wanting to go moutain biking, hiking, camping and ocean kayaking for a long time. Perhaps it's time to really work on that.
I've mentioned several times how I love my job and where I work. The people are all great and the work itself is interesting. I really didn't need any more reasons, but thanks to our wonderful and generous Head Honchos, here's two more anyway:
Thank you!
1. A wonderful Saturday morning spent walking around the lake.
2. A productive Saturday afternoon spent organizing rubber stamps.
3. A fruitful Sunday morning discovering one of my Ebay items had sold.
4. An optimistic Sunday afternoon putting five more items up for auction.
5. A relaxing weekend spend doing fun things.
Found at Dreama's.
1. What year was the best year of your life? 1984.
2. One animal or insect that Noah should have left off the ark? Mosquitoes.
3. Do you make a wish before blowing out your birthday candles? Every year!
4. Do you generally open your bills on the day that you receive them? No, I usually wait until a few days until they're due.
5. How many pillows are on your bed? Three.
6. Favorite ice cream flavor? Ben & Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio
7. What is the most dominate color in your wardrobe? Black.
8. Have you ever seen a ghost? No.
9. Would you rather go to a carnival or circus? Carnival.
10. Favorite meal: breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Dinner.
11. Your favorite fictional animal? Snoopy.
12. Have you ever flown first-class? No.
13. Would you go on a reality show? Probably not.
14. Are you more optimistic or pessimistic about the future? Optimistic.
15. Pancakes or waffles? Mmm. Waffles!
16. If you could own a home anywhere in the world, where would it be? Cambria, California, USA>
17. Your favorite Soup of the Day? Clam Chowder.
18. What site is a must see for all visitors to your city? Avila Beach.
19. Can you recommend a good restaurant in your city? Novo.
20. You go to the zoo; What is the one animal that you want to see? Tigers!
21. Potatoes, rice, or pasta; Which is your favorite? Pasta.
22. What is the best movie that you've seen this year? "The Passion of the Christ."
23. One of your favorite books when you were a child? Corduroy.
24. What in your life are you most grateful for? My family.
25. You are home alone and use the bathroom; do you close the door? Yes.
26. What is your favorite small appliance? Coffee bean grinder.
27. Salty snacks or sweet treats? Salty snacks.
28. Are you usually a little early, a little late, or right on time? As hard as I try to be right on time, I'm usually a little late.
29. What is the most daring thing that you have ever done? Picked up and moved to another state on the spur of the moment.
30. Have you ever met someone famous? If yes, name one. Sir Derek Jacobi.
31. What was one of your favorite games as a child? Uncle Wiggly
32. At what age have you looked your best? 22.
33. One person that never fails to make you laugh? My friend Jewel.
34. What was the first music that you ever bought? Yaz Upstairs at Erik'
35. If you could change one thing about your family life when you were a child, what would it be? That my parents didn't get divorced.
36. What is the one thing that you cook that always receives compliments? Salmon.
37. From what news source do you receive the bulk of your news? NBC.
38. In the last calendar year, how many people have you told that you love them? 2.
39. Who received your first kiss? A boy named Chuck.
40. The single most important quality in a mate? High moral standards.
41. What do you value most in a relationship? Loyalty.
42. Do you believe that you have a soulmate? If yes, have you already met? No.
43. Do you consider yourself well organized? Not quite yet, but I'm working on it.
44. On average, how many times a day do you look at yourself in the mirror? Four.
45. Did you ever make a prank phone call? No.
46. What one quality do you seek in a friend? Fun.
47. Have you ever killed an animal? No.
48. When you were twelve years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? A veterinarian.
49. Do you believe in a afterlife?
50. What would you like to accomplish with the remaining years of your life? I would like to get married and have children.
My toes, that is! I got a pedi tonight (first time in simply ages!), and now have pretty pink toes! The colour is "Aphrodite's Pink Nightie" by OPI, for those of you who care about such things!
Here are my positives for today:
1. Going to the Atascadero Flea Market on Saturday.
2. Having lunch at Frankie's Deli.
3. Enjoying a delicious Chardonnay from EOS>
4. Sleeping in on Sunday.
5. Resting and relaxing all day!
I've got three new Ebay auctions going:
Two self-portraits in one week? Okay.
How perfect is this? The theme for Photo Time Tuesday this week is "Self-Portrait." I just happen to have taken this self-portrait as I waited for my new writing class to start last Thursday evening. Good timing on my part, eh?
Last night's Memoir Writing class went really well. We were able to move into a different room, so we could all sit around one table, rather than all side-by-side in rows. Instructor Marc thinks that's better for workshopping, and he's right. It's nice to be able to see who's talking about your work, rather than just hearing a random voice. It's nice to be able to talk to the person who's writing is being workshopped rather than just speak into the air.
For the in-class assignment, I wrote about the slide I had as a kid. While I liked the brief (one page or so) piece I wrote, I will probably revise it and make it longer. I still have to go over everyone's comments and my own notes, but I think it might turn out to be a really nice piece. Funny. I always knew I loved that slide, but I didn't realize just how much until I started writing about it.
The longer memoir I brought in for workshopping next week is about David and I renting our beach-front apartment in Lincoln City, OR. I was a bit rushed at the end, and I'm sure there will be a lot of comments on that next week. Honestly, I'm not sure I really want to write about that at all. I mean, I do, but at the same time, I think I'd rather focus on something else, like my childhood in Pasco or Cle Elum. Then again, the LC piece could be really good - it starts out happy and optimistic and ends tragically. There's no real resolution, but there really wasn't any resolution for me for many years. It's still not completely resolved. Maybe that's why I should write it; maybe I'll find some resolution.
*Sigh* I don't really want to think about that. Not today, anyway. So, on to happier things: the Atascadero flea market is tomorrow afternoon. The Weather Guessers keep saying there's a chance of rain, but I don't buy it. Sure it's a bit overcast and cool, but I really don't think we'll get any rain. Even if we do, it won't be enough to deter us from attending the flea market.
The past few years, mom and I have found some pretty cool stuff at the flea market: a metal coffee maker we use to melt wax for candlemaking, some wooden blockes we painted and stamped so they spell out "Merry Christmas", a 12" Revere copper-bottom skillet with a lid, and a clip-on hair piece that totally matches my hair colour, and completely fooled my family when I wore it this past Easter.
We really don't have anything we're specifically looking for this year, but we like to look at all the neat crap people have. You never know when you're going to find something really, really cool!
And finally, I would like to personally thank Jace at BlogHosts for helping me with my site! I had managed to completely screw it up, and he fixed it for me in a matter of minutes. Or, at least I'm guessing it was a matter of minutes. I don't know. Anyway, thank you, thank you, thank you, Jace! You rock! I promise I'll never again mess with any permissions or codes or anything I don't understand!
Cheers!
I took these pictures a couple weeks ago, when I was at Farmer's Market, but never got around to posting them. I chose to do a black and white series, because I hadn't done one for a while. Enjoy!
OMG! I want, want, want this so badly!! It would make an excellent addition to my "Hamlet" collection!!!
Here's the description of it from Christie's.
I signed up for a new 3 month makeover challenge: The Blog Swan.
I had an awesome weekend! It was sunny and gorgeous. I went shopping, and found some great gifts for my grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary, some more cork board for my storyboard bulletin board. We got to have Easter services in the church yesterday - the first time we've had services there since it was damaged in the San Simeon earthquake - and it felt really good to be back in there. The alcove is painted white like the rest of the walls, and it makes the place look a lot bigger. There's still some work to be done on the brick work outside, but other than that, it's done! After church, my mom, grandparents and I met up with my uncle and his family for brunch at the Sizzler. It was nice to see them all again, and we had a great visit. Cheers!
1. What do you do for a living? Paralegal.
2. What do you like most about your job? Not having to deal with stupid people.
3. What do you like least about your job? The commute.
4. When you have a bad day at work it's usually because _____... Things are slow and there's very little work to go around. Luckily, it doesn't happen very often.
5. What other career(s) are you interested in? Medicine.
This week's theme is "Discovery". I discovered this peaceful place on the Cal Poly campus last night as I was waiting for my new writing class to start.
Survey: found at Saladwhore
1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says.
2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first? My computer screen.
3. What is the last thing you watched on tv? Law & Order.
4. Without looking, guess what the time is. 9:45 p.m.
5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time? 10:15 p.m.
6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? The television, a train going by, some speeding cars, and the dog next door barking.
7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing? Around 6:20 this evening. I was leaving Curves to go home.
8. Before you came to this website, what did you look at? Trance Jen's site.
9. What are you wearing? Heather grey yoga pants, and an oversized black sweater.
10. Did you dream last night? I did. I dreampt I was training for a marathon as a way to lose weight.
11. When did you last laugh? Earlier today when I was e-chatting with my friend Jewel. She can always crack me up!
12. What is on the walls of the room you are in? Shelves with books, pictures, and knick-knacks, bulletin board with various bits of paper on it, a calendar, pictures.
13. Seen anything weird lately? There's a lot of construction going on in my town, so there's several places where the streets and sidewalks are all torn up. As you're walking along the downtown area of Traffic Way, you'll come across a torn-up stretch of sidewalk, and a sign that says "Sidewalk Closed Use Other Side". This wouldn't be a problem except the sidewalk across the street is torn-up and closed, too. I'm not sure where they expect people to walk these days!
14. What do you think of this quiz? It's pretty interesting.
15. What is the last film you saw? The Passion of the Christ.
16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first? A new house in Avila Beach, California.
17. Tell me something about you that I don't know.
18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
19. Do you like to dance? I like to dance, yes, but I'm not very good at it.
20. George Bush: is he a power-crazy nut case or someone who is finally doing something that has needed to be done for years? I disagree with the term "nutcase" to describe our President, whether you agree with his politics and policies or not, it's disrespectful. I will say, however, that President Bush does have a pretty good sized ego.
21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? Roxey Elizabeth Lynn Jordan (Roxey)
22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him? John Frederick Charles Jordan (J.J.)
23. Would you ever consider living abroad? Absolutely, but only in a civilized place like Australia, Great Britain, or Europe.
24. Will you pass on this survey? It's here if anyone wants it.
TITLE: Theme Thursday
DATE: 04/08/2004 10:26:21 PM
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BODY:
This week's theme is "Heavy Metal", which is perfect since I got some shots of some great metal sculptures on the Cal Poly campus this evening. This one of a deer in the bushes was my favourite:
Just when you think you've seen it all, they come up with something new: Eyeball Jewlery. Now, piercing is one thing, tattooing is another, but this! This is a surgical procedure to implant something in your EYEBALL! That's taking fashion just a bit too far, I think!
Last night was my "Weigh-In and Measure" day at Curves. (I'm supposed to go in the 5th of each month, but I neglected to mention it on Monday when I saw the message flash up on the screen after I scanned my card, and the Curves lady didn't want to do it after I'd worked out. I'll try to remember to let her know earlier next time, so I get it done on the right day. ) I knew their scale wouldn't give me a good reading - due to the fact that I was fully clothed, including sneakers, and was still digesting lunch - so I wasn't terribly upset when it read 221.5. Besides, it was a drop from my last weigh-in, where I was at 224, so that's pretty cool!
My measurments stayed pretty much the same, except for a 2.5" loss around my abs, and a quarter inch drop around both my arms and waist. I must say, however, I was a bit disappointed I hadn't lost any inches anywhere else, particularly since some of my clothes are fitting better, and I'm down to a size 18 in pants. Still I have lost some inches, so that's good.
My body fat rating was quiet good, too: a 2 pound drop in total body fat! Two pounds! According to the Curves lady that's 12 sticks of butter. I dropped 12 sticks of butter from my body! Woo! Only 126 sticks to go!
All-in-all it was a good weigh and measure - at least nothing went up, I keep reminding myself - and it was actually pretty encouraging. I ended up going out and having a good workout, and I'm looking forward to really sticking with it this month - as well as sticking to SBD - and seeing what my results will be on May 5!
Tonight is my last Curves experience for the week, as I start another writing class tomorrow night, and Friday I have a half day at work, so I'm going to do some shopping with my mom in the afternoon. (Besides, I know I'm not going to be up for working out on Friday nights in general!) We'll do our usual walk on Saturday, and I'm thinking of picking up a yoga tape to try out sometime this weekend. My friend Jewel has been doing yoga, and loves it! She's been raving about it, and quite frankly, has piqued my curiosity. I figure I'll pick up a tape from the library rather than buying one, just in case I don't like it. If I end up liking it, hopefully I can find a used one at a yard sale, or something.
This new weapon reminds me very much of a 1986 song by Kate Bush called "Experiment IV". Read that article, then go read the lyrics to the song. Very creepy, no?
Particularly the chorus:
They told us
All they wanted
Was a sound that could kill someone
From a distance.
So we go ahead,
And the meters are over in the red.
It's a mistake in the making.
It's giving me the chills!
(link found at birdhouse.org.)