cabbage patch kids will survive the apocalyspe

After a month of procrastination, I finally got around to going through my garage in preparation for a garage sale I committed to for this coming weekend. Luckily there was nothing scurrying around in there, although there were plenty of spiders–although nothing worse than a daddy-long-legs.

I found photo albums, both my mother’s and my yearbooks from high school,& my first Christmas ornament, & stocking. I also found the book my late grandfather gave me when I was first born and a book given to my grandmother when she was a child by her father. I found my first communion bible and veil crown, and the plaster cast of my handprint at 2-years old. All things I was grateful to find in one piece considering they’d been sitting in that garage for more than 12 years.

The one sad thing is that the one childhood doll that I had since I was 3 that I really wanted to find was destroyed. It along with a couple of my other favorite stuffed animals from when I was a baby were in a box that at some point got put on the floor. Over the years, the rain and mold got to it. Out of everything in that garage, it was one of the two boxes destroyed. The other contained some photo albums–some of which I was able to salvage, but others were so far gone I couldn’t even tell what some of the photos once were. We have a ton of photo albums, so I can let those go. But my doll and those stuffed animals are a little harder to let go of. The annoying thing is that a box of Cabbage Patch Kids I had as a child was on top of the other box of dolls. The Cabbage Patch Kids were fine. I really don’t give a crap about those. But apparently they will survive the apocalypse.

On the upside, I still have my first teddy bear and two other stuffed animals that I’ve had since I was a baby, and my baby blanket.

It was one box. But it was the one box that had the doll that I was insanely attached to as a child.

I’m a little sad.

 

tuning out

Image: Arnisto via flickr

Amidst my horrid head cold & Twilight binge last week, I somehow managed to stop watching TV. When I get sick my senses get a little wacky–I tend to have an extreme aversion to chaotic noise. So, no real surprise that I wouldn’t want the TV or radio on & instead opt for the quite of a book. But usually, I tend to go back to normal within a few days. Not so this time around. It’s been over a week & a half, & I’ve probably had the TV on no more than an hour total. I’ve stopped turning the news on in the morning as I get ready for work. I’ve stopped turning on something mindless when I get home from work. And I’ve stopped going to bed after watching whatever show I’d usually be sucked into. I’ve also found that I no longer like listening to the local radio stations during my morning or evening commute. The music part I can handle; the talk part, I can’t. I really don’t want to listen to anyone prattle on. So, it’s just been me & my iPod as I reacquaint myself with some of my music.

 

twilight

Image: brian fitzpatrick via flickr

So, I just finished the entire Twilight book series in 5 days after swearing I would never read them. I blame frustration with the movies for the last week of my life. I only grudgingly saw the first two films recently & wasn’t impressed. I had no intention of seeing Eclipse, but alas, a good friend wanted to see it, so I went. While it was slightly better than the first 2 films, I still found it ridiculous & cheesy. I was the one in the theater laughing at all the wrong moments & secretly heckling under my breath. When we got out of the movie, I just wanted to know how the series ended because I wanted to know the point of the whole thing. My friend, who has read & is a fan of the books, obliged & finished the story for me. But still, I didn’t think I was getting everything. So, because I’m impatient & don’t want to wait for the final parts of the movie series to fill in the story, I decided to go to the books.

Now, why was I so steadfastly against reading this series before? Admittedly, I’m not its target audience–I’m about 2 decades older than the target audience & I have a cynical/anti-melodrama streak that runs deep. But more than that, I’d read the critiques of Meyer’s writing, her technique, & I was turned off. I admit I read bad books–some by choice & some by accident; but the skewering of Meyer’s writing skills put her on my blacklist. Besides, I am a surprise fan of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series. I’m not usually a sci-fi/fantasy fan, & really hadn’t read YA fiction since it was age appropriate for me. I’d read Stephen King’s comparison of the two writers, & sharing his praise of what Rowling accomplissed as a storyteller & a writer, I didn’t want to waste time with Twilight. But my impatience & a horrid cold that kept me home from work for 3 days won out. And so I proceded to read all 4 books in the series over the course of 5 days.

…and my impression now that I’m done?

 

look up, you might find your muse

I first saw this last week. Each time I look at it, it’s even more amazing.

Both inspiration & creativity are to be found everywhere.

Birds on the Wires by Jarbas Agnelli

 

…bad blogger…

Yeah, so I’ve been a bad blogger. I apologize profusely. I am thoroughly chastised.

So, what have I been up to?

The magazine job is still going well. Almost 5 months in and it still feels like a great fit. I’ve had two feature articles published at this point–one on the national sleep poll and another on recruiting in the respiratory therapist industry–two topics I’d never thought I’d write about. Even though this is medical/trade publishing, it’s still great experience. I don’t know where I want my career in magazine publishing to go. All I know is that for right now, it’s the right fit for my skills, interests, and strengths. And it gives me a chance to write and edit.

 

where i’ve been…

Ok, just realized it’s been over 2  months since I’ve posted here. Eeks!!

How time flies!!!

Well, the biggest distraction keeping me from posting on a more regular basis is my new job. In February, in a whirlwind chain of events, I was offered & accepted an associate editor job at a magazine. This position has been the one I’ve been hoping for for sometime, & all of a sudden, on the day I decided I was officially tired of the freelance life & really wanted a full-time job with wonderful things like benefits, it magically appeared. I’d been looking for months for this exact position, & there was never anything quite right. But, there it was on one of the job boards that morning, & 8 days later it was mine.

 

say it ain’t so: bodhi tree closing

Today I found out that the Bodhi Tree bookstore on Melrose in LA is closing in the next year. I first started going to the Bodhi Tree when I was about 12 years old. The store, which specializes in spiritual/metaphysical books, was one of my mother’s favorites. I spent many a Saturday afternoon with her there looking for books through my teens. At the time, I was more a fan of their fiction section and their used bookstore. Many of the older books on my bookshelves today came from those trips with my mother. With its creaky wooden floors and the smell of incense, the Bodhi Tree is where, thanks to my mother, my love of independent & unique bookstores started. And probably my love of literature. One of my favorite purchases was a collection of E.M. Forster’s works. I know my love of British literature started with that book.

The Bodhi Tree is a landmark on the independent bookstore scene. In the last year, Vroman’s bookstore–another fixture in my bookstore/reading life–saved Book Soup–also one of my favorite independent bookstores in LA. Maybe the Bodhi Tree can similarly be saved. If not, I’ll be sad to see it go.

To bad we can’t trade a few Borders and Barnes & Nobles just to save it.

 

how to make a writer physically violent

Saw this video posted at She Writes in a great blog post by Lauren Davis on the 10 questions to never ask a writer. Check it out. But in the meantime, this excerpt from The Family Guy deserves posting. I admire Brian’s ability to not slap Stewie upside the head!

 

a good reminder to have some fun

This video offers some great reminders as I start the second week of the new year. I should be having more fun!

 

nice try…

My social-networking/media blackout/digital cleanse lasted all of 4 and a half days. (I’m so giving myself credit for the 1/2-day). I completely caved this afternoon. I did it all: Twitter, Facebook, entertainment sites, gossip sites, news sites. Total binge.

Admittedly, the only reason I probably made it 4 days & not just 2 days was because of the holiday & a weekend visit from friends that kept me offline. But still, yesterday–Monday–I was quite good & I found I had so much extra time to get things done. I edited two articles & wrote another. I was focused. I didn’t feel like I’d wasted time. And more importantly I didn’t feel like the day had gotten away from me.