Posting only for a completely self-serving reason: There's a job that I really want an interview for. As in really, really want an interview, because I really want the job. The posting closed today. So can anyone who might happen to be reading this please think about me getting an interview and ultimately that job? Please?!?
I appreciate any positive thoughts you can spare in my direction. From the progress the past few months, I can use all the help I can get.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Holy Cow! I suck!
Just a quick post to say that I had no idea it had been quite so long since I'd posted on this blog. I am horrible at blogging!!
I really need to start putting my thoughts in here, instead of just ranting away to myself, and my cat. Because I don't think she really cares, and I just make myself angrier.
I really need to start putting my thoughts in here, instead of just ranting away to myself, and my cat. Because I don't think she really cares, and I just make myself angrier.
Google +
Okay, so I like the idea. The concept is good.
But I don't like that they are forcing me to put my full real name out there for all the world. I like my privacy. I share what I want, with who I want. I prefer to be known by my initial. It's not a crime. I don't share my location, I don't share my workplace. I'm trying to protect myself, and my identity. I'm trying to avoid crazy cyber-stalker types. I should be allowed to do that. I don't necessarily want any person who knows my name to be able to find me online. If I want them to find me, I'll let them know how. This should be my right.
Google people are you listening? I should be allowed to share only the information I want online. You shouldn't be able to force me to allow everyone to see my whole name. If you want to know my full name fine. But I should be able to be present on my blog, and on my google+ page with just a common, comfortable nickname.
Got it?!
But I don't like that they are forcing me to put my full real name out there for all the world. I like my privacy. I share what I want, with who I want. I prefer to be known by my initial. It's not a crime. I don't share my location, I don't share my workplace. I'm trying to protect myself, and my identity. I'm trying to avoid crazy cyber-stalker types. I should be allowed to do that. I don't necessarily want any person who knows my name to be able to find me online. If I want them to find me, I'll let them know how. This should be my right.
Google people are you listening? I should be allowed to share only the information I want online. You shouldn't be able to force me to allow everyone to see my whole name. If you want to know my full name fine. But I should be able to be present on my blog, and on my google+ page with just a common, comfortable nickname.
Got it?!
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Fifty
I've just finished reading the E.L. James trilogy, beginning with Fifty Shades of Grey. I'm clearly not a reviewer or a critic, and I don't really have a leg to stand on as far as ever being published or having any kind of reputation that grants me the right to say anything at all about someone's written work.
But below, I'm planning to post my thoughts. If you don't want to know what I think. Stop reading.
Also, there will be spoilers, so anyone looking to avoid knowing what the stories are about, then you need to avoid reading this.
Are you still here? Okay.
And so, my thoughts:
I find it awkward to admit that I actually did enjoy reading these novels. And it's not awkward because of the content. Everyone who's heard anything about them already knows that they're erotica, and so there's no cause for any awkwardness there. I find it awkward, because I was often pulled out of the story by the writing itself. The awkwardness comes because I didn't find the righting very good. But I kept wanting to know where the story was going. Clearly, eventually they would both get past at least some of their issues, or there would be no satisfactory conclusion to the story, but when, and how. That's what I wanted to know.
The sex, while definitely graphic in moments, didn't tend to be superfluous. I found that after each encounter I had learned something about one or both of the characters that led to some revelation or other of their personality/character. That's a very positive point. Because often sex in a novel is just there for the fun of it. It doesn't actually tell us anything. The writing, by the way, was often much better in the sex scenes than in the more mundane scenes. Interesting.
The writing in the more mundane scenes was a bit lacking. It seemed repetitive, using the same phrases and words over and over, and throwing in overly large words, seemingly just for the sake of using an overly long word. And the character development in anything other than a sex scene was almost nil. We'd seem to get somewhere with a particular development and in the next chapter, that same character would be having the same issue again. I understand that people don't always grow the way that we want them to, but in this particular story, we seemed to be having the same conversations over and over, with no movement toward any resolution.
There were also editing issues. In one specific example, there's one person driving the car, and then three lines later, someone else is parking it. When did they switch? Is it a multiple personality disorder and there was only one person all along?
I read somewhere that this series was rushed to print. I would guess because they wanted to take advantage of a marketing situation of some kind. They likely would have done better to spend some more time on fleshing out the story and the characters. And editing. Making sure that the people in the end of the scene were the same people that were in the beginning. And that they weren't quite so repetitive.
I give the author props for managing to get published, though from the author bio, I would guess that she likely had some contacts in the industry that helped with that situation. But I found myself longing to rewrite many of the scenes to make them flow better, to avoid the repetition and to make everything more consistent in tone and content. This is probably a flaw on my part, but I don't often have the urge to do that to a novel, so I think it also says something about the work that I was reading.
Overall, as I said, I did enjoy reading it. The story was quite interesting, if not entirely unique. With a little more polish on the writing, I'd happily read something else that E.L. James had written.
But below, I'm planning to post my thoughts. If you don't want to know what I think. Stop reading.
Also, there will be spoilers, so anyone looking to avoid knowing what the stories are about, then you need to avoid reading this.
Are you still here? Okay.
And so, my thoughts:
I find it awkward to admit that I actually did enjoy reading these novels. And it's not awkward because of the content. Everyone who's heard anything about them already knows that they're erotica, and so there's no cause for any awkwardness there. I find it awkward, because I was often pulled out of the story by the writing itself. The awkwardness comes because I didn't find the righting very good. But I kept wanting to know where the story was going. Clearly, eventually they would both get past at least some of their issues, or there would be no satisfactory conclusion to the story, but when, and how. That's what I wanted to know.
The sex, while definitely graphic in moments, didn't tend to be superfluous. I found that after each encounter I had learned something about one or both of the characters that led to some revelation or other of their personality/character. That's a very positive point. Because often sex in a novel is just there for the fun of it. It doesn't actually tell us anything. The writing, by the way, was often much better in the sex scenes than in the more mundane scenes. Interesting.
The writing in the more mundane scenes was a bit lacking. It seemed repetitive, using the same phrases and words over and over, and throwing in overly large words, seemingly just for the sake of using an overly long word. And the character development in anything other than a sex scene was almost nil. We'd seem to get somewhere with a particular development and in the next chapter, that same character would be having the same issue again. I understand that people don't always grow the way that we want them to, but in this particular story, we seemed to be having the same conversations over and over, with no movement toward any resolution.
There were also editing issues. In one specific example, there's one person driving the car, and then three lines later, someone else is parking it. When did they switch? Is it a multiple personality disorder and there was only one person all along?
I read somewhere that this series was rushed to print. I would guess because they wanted to take advantage of a marketing situation of some kind. They likely would have done better to spend some more time on fleshing out the story and the characters. And editing. Making sure that the people in the end of the scene were the same people that were in the beginning. And that they weren't quite so repetitive.
I give the author props for managing to get published, though from the author bio, I would guess that she likely had some contacts in the industry that helped with that situation. But I found myself longing to rewrite many of the scenes to make them flow better, to avoid the repetition and to make everything more consistent in tone and content. This is probably a flaw on my part, but I don't often have the urge to do that to a novel, so I think it also says something about the work that I was reading.
Overall, as I said, I did enjoy reading it. The story was quite interesting, if not entirely unique. With a little more polish on the writing, I'd happily read something else that E.L. James had written.
Monday, March 19, 2012
the agony, the torture
I had an appointment at the dentist today after work. Minimal plaque, moderate bleeding was the prognosis. Which of course is due to not enough flossing. This is not new.
According to the hygienist everyone gets told they need to floss more. Including her. And she's the freaking hygienist. If that's the case shouldn't someone come up with some better way to take care of that particular issue?
Maybe that's just the way my brain works.
Now my jaw aches. And my head hurts a little.
But that's the way it goes. And now I'm free of that concern for another 6 months.
According to the hygienist everyone gets told they need to floss more. Including her. And she's the freaking hygienist. If that's the case shouldn't someone come up with some better way to take care of that particular issue?
Maybe that's just the way my brain works.
Now my jaw aches. And my head hurts a little.
But that's the way it goes. And now I'm free of that concern for another 6 months.
Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.4
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Wow, it's been a while...
And really, is anyone surprised? I have this bad tendency to avoid blogging. Like if I don't put the boredom that is my life into written words, then it's not actually as boring as I think it is. I don't think it's working. Clearly, my life is dull.
Lately, I have been decluttering. Well, sort of. I had this past week off (because my birthday was Wednesday, and who wants to take off just a Wednesday - I refuse to be at work on my birthday - so I took off the whole week) and I spent most of it spring cleaning. The weather was great, I had windows open, and I completely rearranged my spare bedroom. It's set up much better for my use now. Whether or not it's better for when I have guests is beside the point. I made a corner of it into an actual "office" type space, with the bookshelves and desk all forming their own little cubicle. And then there's the spare bed on the opposite wall. Or, maybe I should call it the cat bed. She spends more time on it than any guests. I still have a lot of stuff to put away, but I want to do it in bits, so that I can get rid of stuff.
I don't know... I feel better about the reorganization, but it just means that I have a lot of junk. Which I already knew, but it reinforced it.
I still need to finish cleaning the main living areas. They've been seriously tidied (It's amazing how much bigger a space looks without junk everywhere), but the floors need help. I was waiting to do all the floors at the same time, but unfortunately, the spare room is not going to be ready. I guess the vacuum comes out tomorrow. And the mop. Hopefully that'll take care of everything.
I'll probably feel very accomplished when it's done. Right now, I just feel like going back to bed and avoiding it.
Lately, I have been decluttering. Well, sort of. I had this past week off (because my birthday was Wednesday, and who wants to take off just a Wednesday - I refuse to be at work on my birthday - so I took off the whole week) and I spent most of it spring cleaning. The weather was great, I had windows open, and I completely rearranged my spare bedroom. It's set up much better for my use now. Whether or not it's better for when I have guests is beside the point. I made a corner of it into an actual "office" type space, with the bookshelves and desk all forming their own little cubicle. And then there's the spare bed on the opposite wall. Or, maybe I should call it the cat bed. She spends more time on it than any guests. I still have a lot of stuff to put away, but I want to do it in bits, so that I can get rid of stuff.
I don't know... I feel better about the reorganization, but it just means that I have a lot of junk. Which I already knew, but it reinforced it.
I still need to finish cleaning the main living areas. They've been seriously tidied (It's amazing how much bigger a space looks without junk everywhere), but the floors need help. I was waiting to do all the floors at the same time, but unfortunately, the spare room is not going to be ready. I guess the vacuum comes out tomorrow. And the mop. Hopefully that'll take care of everything.
I'll probably feel very accomplished when it's done. Right now, I just feel like going back to bed and avoiding it.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
I own a lot of crap
I tried to decrease my clutter today and increase my income by selling some of my used CDs to The Beat Goes On. Apparently if I don't want them, neither does anyone else. Despite the brightly lit neon sign in the window of the store that said "Wanted Used CDs."
It was a bit depressing watching the staff person go through the stack and keep piling them in the pile that they didn't want. I sold 7. Out of about 50. I got a grand total of *drum roll please* $10.
Whoop Whoop.
Depressing I tell you.
The funniest part about it, was one of those was Hilary Duff. Really!? People actually WANT Hilary Duff? I had The Tragically Hip in there. And Aerosmith. And other stuff that's far more reputable than Hilary Duff.
Apparently, (CLEARLY) at some points in my life I have had far too much money. Obviously, that is not the case now.
I'm going to try again though. I refuse to believe that all of it is useless, and that no one else in the world might possibly want it. Some of the CDs they didn't take are options for posting on Amazon Marketplace, so I'm going to give that a shot. It doesn't cost me anything and maybe someone out there is looking specifically for that particular CD. And The Beat Goes On just doesn't know it. It's not ALL crap. I swear it's not.
*sings "I swear... by the moon and the stars in the sky... "
It was a bit depressing watching the staff person go through the stack and keep piling them in the pile that they didn't want. I sold 7. Out of about 50. I got a grand total of *drum roll please* $10.
Whoop Whoop.
Depressing I tell you.
The funniest part about it, was one of those was Hilary Duff. Really!? People actually WANT Hilary Duff? I had The Tragically Hip in there. And Aerosmith. And other stuff that's far more reputable than Hilary Duff.
Apparently, (CLEARLY) at some points in my life I have had far too much money. Obviously, that is not the case now.
I'm going to try again though. I refuse to believe that all of it is useless, and that no one else in the world might possibly want it. Some of the CDs they didn't take are options for posting on Amazon Marketplace, so I'm going to give that a shot. It doesn't cost me anything and maybe someone out there is looking specifically for that particular CD. And The Beat Goes On just doesn't know it. It's not ALL crap. I swear it's not.
*sings "I swear... by the moon and the stars in the sky... "
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)