Who Knew

Rewriting the latest parts of TS turned out to be pretty good. After I lost my USB, I bought myself a new one and went through my email, Facebook messages to my sister and the deleted files on my computer, and was able to retrieve a good part of both TS and BA (most of it came from inkpop). I'll have to completely restart editing STA and restart Destined (not that bad, since I was only a couple of thousand words into it), but I'm not too bummed about this.

I've been working on TS in between rewriting essays, movie reviews and short stories for school and it turns out that I'm liking the new version better. I wouldn't exactly call it a new version since I'm just rewriting the same scenes, but I'm liking the writing better. It flows better, the characters are more alive, new ideas are popping up in my head and I'm just having more fun writing the scenes now than I had when I first wrote them.

Who ever knew losing my USB could actually turn out to be a good thing. Regardless, I sure as hell hope not to lose this one -_-

Funny Episode Recaps

Anyone here a Vampire Diaries fan? Even if you're not, I think you'll enjoy this.

A couple of weeks ago, I found these episode recaps and have since been addicted to them because they're simply hilarious. Even if you don't watch the show, I think you'll all have a laugh reading this. At least I hope so :P

http://www.tv.com/the-vampire-diaries-curses!/story/25687.html?tag=container;news_story

Just Lost Another USB

Today's been the worse day ever. I managed to lose my cell phone, my house keys and my USB. I'm more pissed about my USB than the rest because a) my cell phone is in my mom's car; I can hear it vibrating but I just can't find it and b) I can go to a nearby Wal Mart and get a copy of my brother's house keys tomorrow morning without my mom ever knowing.

But my USB contains so much of my writing that there's no way I can do anything to make up for it being lost. Last time I backed up my files was ages ago - I can't even remember when. The long hours I spent on Destined are all gone. Nearly ten thousand words of Theoretically Speaking are gone, which doesn't even include the little edits I've been randomly doing here and there. The edited first part of Second Time Around is all gone, since I really don't think I bothered to back that up. The next chapter of Bad Apple is all gone. Say It Once, the sequel to Second Time Around is all gone because I know I didn't back that up. This new idea someone gave me for another book is also all gone.

I'm just in so much shock right now. I went shopping to find a dress for a cousin's wedding and when I came back to continue working on an essay for my writing class, I couldn't find my USB. I still can't believe it. The only place I can think of that I might have dropped my keys (which were in my bag that I didn't even open) was at this one store when I told my brother to watch my bag. I'm going there first thing in the morning and if it's not there, I'm not sure what I'll do. I lost a total of almost 30,000 words (schoolwork included). The last time I lost my USB, I'd backed up everything the day before. Now I'm just...in complete shock.

Common Elements

Mh, I just realized that every single one of my books starts some time in September. I'm not sure why. I've got this weird paranormal/drama book I worked on about 4 years ago, and that story starts in late September. Second Time Around starts in late September/early October. Theoretically Speaking starts in late August/early September. Bad Apple starts in mid-September. Destined starts in mid-September.

I don't know what it is with me and September, especially since I'm not a huge fan of that month (end of summer vacation, beginning of school...enough said). At first I thought this unconscious obsession was because I tend to start my stories at the beginning of a school year to give off that 'new year, new start, new story' vibe, but then for two of my books, the MC's not even going to school, so there's no such a thing as a new year for them.

And then I started thinking about all of the other common things in my books and came up with 1. a best friend 2. some kind of love triangle (even if the third person may be dead or almost out of the picture) and 3. a somewhat sarcastic MC. Even if the sarcasm is barely there, it's there. I have absolutely no clue why all of my books all have these things. I didn't even realize this until now, actually.

Anyone have a common element(s) in all of their books? I'm really hoping I'm not the only one :P

Senioritis: A Crippling Disease

 Yes, Senioritis is an actual disease. Based on Urban Dictionary, it's "a crippling disease that strikes high school seniors...The only known cure is a phenomenon known as Graduation." It also strikes college seniors, but it's most common among high schoolers.

Here's a bit of a better definition:
"Most cases of senioritis tend to start after college applications and mid-year reports have been sent in. This entails a student not doing any work whatsoever, skipping class a lot, getting stoned/drunk for the first time ever, being apathetic about everything, and resenting taking all those hard classes to impress your favorite college which you won't get in most likely because it's too expensive...The student usually doesn't do his college essay until the last week before the college applications are due. However, the student feels very smug because he got away with it" (Urban Dictionary).

True, true, true and even truer!

And just because you've been an overachiever, straight-A student all your life, don't think that you'll get past Senioritis. Like my friend said, it grabs you by the throat and before you know it, you're asking yourself if you really need to hand in that assignment that's worth 10% of your final mark -_-

I remember laughing four years ago at those seniors who lost their scholarships because they decided to slack off at the end of the year. But I now find myself doing the same thing: today, I've got a movie review to do (that was due some time last week yet I still haven't started), textbook chapters to read and answer questions for (assigned today, due tomorrow and probably won't get done until the end of the week, if ever), and an essay to do (assigned over a week ago, due tomorrow but I don't have more than two lines written).

I doubt any of my teachers will take me seriously if I tell them that I didn't do the work because I suffer from Senioritis O.O

The Girlfriend Curse

It's the very first book I forced myself to finish reading even if I knew I wouldn't like it by the time I got to chapter 3. Usually, that's how ti works: I know if I won't like a book by the time I reach chapter 3, sometimes chapter 4. If I decide that I won't like it, I don't bother finishing it because I simply don't care about the characters to find out how their stories end.

But for The Girlfriend Curse, I decided that it would be the first book I'd force myself to read. I think I probably just wanted to see if 1. I could force myself to finish a book I wasn't into and 2. to see if maybe I was making judgments too quickly.

Turned out I hated the entire book. Maybe not hated, but wow, one of the most boring books I've ever read. The characters were so forgettable, not worth reading about. Nothing exciting happened at all. There wasn't as much humor as I'd expected; I think I laughed twice throughout the entire book. And the closer I got to the end, the more typos I found. There were a bunch of grammatical errors near the end that just took some of the humor out of whatever joke was made, since I couldn't even understand what was being said until I realized the error.

The ending was so anti-climatic. The entire story was just...So. Boring. Even the cover was bad. What made me pick up the book in the first place? The premise: some girl finds out that after her boyfriends break up with her, they always end up getting married six months later. The worse part is that they always breakup with her because they're not ready for marriage.
The premise wasn't bad. Frankel just didn't deliver. The only thing I liked was the style of writing. After that, I'd say that 1. this is the worse book I've read in a few years and 2. I'm never forcing myself to read another book again. Not. Worth it.

How To Live To Be 200

When I hear the word 'essay', I usually think of an academic, five-paragraph one. I guess it's time I get out of school -.-

Anyway, I read this pretty funny (non-academic) essay yesterday. It's called How To Live To Be 200, and it's by Stephen Leacock. Check it out:

http://grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/leacockessay.htm

Batter Up!

Watched my first baseball game today :D I guess I should say my first 'quarter of a baseball game'. I looked through the TV guide channel today and saw that there was Major League Baseball on for about 3 hours. So I started watching a game between the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers. I watched for about a half an hour, then got so confused and bored that I sort of dozed off. So I just changed the channel after a while.

I did catch a few things though. Mh, actually, nothing that I didn't already know, so I guess that doesn't count.

But I'm determined to sit through an entire baseball game. I sort of have to, since I have to write about 2 or 3 scenes in Theoretically Speaking, with Aeryn and Daniel watching a game. And they're pretty passionate about it, especially since they're cheering for opposing teams. I don't know why I had to make them like a sport I've never watched in my life -.- Guess I'll have to get that Baseball for Dummies book after all...

Happy April Fools' Day :D

No, I won't be trying to pull any April Fools' Day prank. In fact, I noticed that people rarely remember what day today is. I didn't remember until I saw one of my friend's Facebook statuses, which said that she completely forgot about April Fools' Day. For the last few years, I haven't really seen any big April Fools' prank. Most of them are from teen girls telling everyone that they're pregnant. It's not like anyone believes any big news when it's told on April 1st anyway -_-

But I hope you all had a fun day :D

The Art of Baking

I still haven't mastered it yet. I'm not even close to it. I tried making cinnamon rolls two days ago since I was too lazy and cheap to go out in the cold to buy some. A few hours after I baked them, they were pretty good; they weren't too hard, and they tasted okay. But the next morning when my brother and I tried to take a bite out of them, they were so hard. I micro-waved mine and instead of becoming softer, it became even harder. Not too sure what I put in there that I wasn't supposed to O.O

On the bright side, I know how to make really good (and soft) chocolate chip cookies :D But that's sadly all I can do. I even burnt water a number of times, which is really pathetic, especially when someone walks in the kitchen and asks what burnt. I know I sound so stupid when I say "water"-.-

Creativity's little vacation

I was looking at the movie listings earlier this week and noticed how pretty much every movie out in theaters right now is based on something - real life, short story, novel, fairytale. And because I've got nothing better to do, I started Googling and saw how most of last year's movies were based on some type of story. There's The Adjustment Bureau, Red Riding Hood, Water for Elephants, I Am Number Four, Soul Surfer, The Lincoln Lawyer, The Rite...the list goes on and on and on.

I guess creativity has taken a little vacation when it comes to movies. Kind of sad.

Waiting...and waiting some more...

The idea for Theoretically Speaking came to me during a conversation with my sister when she visited (I may have already mentioned this - short term memory). A week or so after she left, I found this picture and realized how perfect it was for the book. Too bad it couldn't be my cover :P

But all in all, this picture is true because let's face it, there's no such a thing as the perfect man. Something's always missing :P

Library or Bookstore?

I used to be a library gal, then after an impulsive purchase of every Sophie Kinsella book at this second-hand bookstore, I started buying books and stocking my bookshelves. The only reason I even made that first purchase was because of the great deal for books that didn't even look like they had been breathed on (I got 5 books for $20CAD, which is almost impossible to find since books in Canada are so expensive).

But then one of my friends asked me why I'd buy a book when I could get it for free at the library. The only reason I could come up with is that when I buy the book, it's mine: I can read and re-read it whenever I want to. Downside to buying books? Well, I keep buying them and never actually start reading them. So right now most of my shelves are filled with unread books and I just keep adding to that.

I'm still debating which is more beneficial: a library or a bookstore? O.O

My USB = half of my life

I almost lost my USB today (which is attached to my set of keys), and didn't realize until 3 hours later. I almost had a heart attack when I realized I'd left it at a public library in a computer.

And now I'm about to go buy 3 more USB sticks to back up all of my files. Last year, my USB decided to stop working and I lost about 20,000 words of a story I'd been working on. It annoyed me so much that I didn't even try to restart the story yet, although since then, the storyline's changed quite a bit (Book One of The Leviathans' Union Novels: Destined). I'll actually be posting a summary for that book in a few days.

Yes, I get good marks. No, I don't like to bore myself with philosophical books.

Today in my Law class, I wasn't in any mood to listen to the teacher ramble on and on about the role of Parliament and judges, so I took out my book and started reading. At the end of class, the teacher comes behind me and sees my book and asks what I'm reading. I flip the book over and he reads the title, The Hopeless Romantic's Handbook, then tells me that he lost every previous notion he had about me (I get good marks, so he always thought I was smart).

I really don't get why people assume that just because they think I'm smart based on my good marks at school, I should be reading some deep, philosophical book that tells me about the nature of life. Is it so bad to be reading a meaningless, very funny and entertaining chick lit novel?
Which kind of leads to a question that popped in my head when I left that class: does what you read reflect who you are?

Oh, Ken.

 My friends just told me that Barbie and Ken are no longer a couple. I know, shocking. Apparently, Ken cheated on our dear Barbie, left her and went to marry his mistress.

You know that the male race is hopeless when Ken cheats on Barbie.

An alarm clock: my cue to wake up, hit 'Snooze' and go back to sleep

Last year, I used to set my alarm for 5AM, wake up, go write for a few hours and then go through my day. I can only write in complete silence and there's really no better time than when everyone's in bed.
But this year, it's just impossible to actually wake up. I have 6 alarms (because you know, 5 just aren't enough :P) but I keep hitting the snooze button until the very last alarm goes off. The problem's not that I do it on purpose. It's just that whenever I hear that annoying music coming from my phone, my first reflex is to hit anything to make it stop.

But then just a few minutes ago, I found this alarm clock that I simply have to buy. It's a flying alarm clock that only turns off when the propeller (the flying part) is placed back on its base. So the first thing I'll be doing in the morning is chasing my alarm clock around my room.
I think it's just what I need to get my lazy butt out of bed so I can get some writing done.

Nannies

I watched The Nanny Diaries a few days ago and realized how good life as a nanny could be. You get a nice place to stay, get paid well (except for Annie in the movie, but she does seem to be an exception) and get to spend time with adorable kids. And you don't even need a college degree! How much better can it get?

If my parents wouldn't disown me for becoming a nanny, you would all be calling me Annie The Nanny as of now. (Funny coincidence: the nanny's name in the movie is Annie. My name is Anne but most people call me Annie. Doesn't it seem like it's meant to be? :P)

And we can't forget the perks of nannying some cute, rich kid: meeting rich, hot guys. Let's just concentrate on the second adjective, since the first isn't very important right now. In the movie, Annie meets Harvard Hottie, some hot guy who went to Harvard and now lives on the floor below. Now let's imagine this: I wake up, make breakfast for a cute little kid, take him to school, run into a hot guy living on the floor below while I'm on the elevator and go home to daydream about him. Sigh. Nanny Life, oh how I wish I could come.