vulnerability

A couple of days ago I emailed one of my first completed short stories in about 10 years to a friend to look over and edit. Lesley has this story, although she's a very busy girl what with moving and working and trying to finish a novel; and I've decided it's good to have at least two or three people who look over your writing because different perspectives are good. So I sent it to Adam. Adam and I are co-workers as well as friends but I'm still nervous. Sending out something creative into the world to be examined, critiqued and even judged is a little scary. You have to separate yourself from your work, but every story has a little bit of me in it. I worry that people will read what I write and think I'm weird or crazy, but mostly I'm afraid that they'll read it and pity me because I think I'm a writer, when in reality I have no skills at all.

My solution? The ostrich approach. Head in sand and all that.

What about all you other creative types out there?

quiz

Well, Jason had this on his blog, and since I can never resist talking about myself here goes....

Seven things I....

Plan to do before I die:
1. learn to swim
2. learn to play the guitar
3. hike the Appalachian Trail
4. become a published author (not as ambitious as Jasmine :)
5. take Jeremy to Europe
6. run a 5k race
7. visit Prince Edward Island

Things I can do:
1. make a fantastic cup of coffee
2. write
3. play the piano, although not as well as I used to
4. spend an entire day watching movies OR reading a book ;)
5. bake a loaf of French bread (just discovered this one tonight)
6. take a pretty good photograph
7. drive a stick

Things I can't do:
1. surf
2. play any woodwind or horn instrument
3. tolerate rudeness or meanness
4. see without corrective lenses
5. whistle
6. reach the top shelf of our kitchen cabinets without standing on a stool or a chair
7. go for long periods of time on very little sleep

Things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. kindness
2. Christian
3. eyes
4. smile
5. genuineness
6. hard body ;)
7. being named Jeremy Waters

Things I say most:
1. "I was like..."
2. "Good morning, what can I get for you?"
3. "Would you like any cream or sugar?"
4. "I love you"
5. "Fantastic"
6. "Thank you"
7. "I'm hungry"

Celebrity Crushes:
1. Hugh Jackman
2. John Cusack
3. Bradley Cooper
4. Ewan McGreggor
5. Jason Statham
6. That's all...
7. I can think of

People I want to take this quiz:
1. Erin
2. Steve
3. Nicole
4. Katie
5. Lesley
6. Dave
7. Jeanette

Even after...

...a few weeks, I have really nothing to say. Is my life exciting or what? Everyone check out Steve's blog, though. i heard about Pat Robertson on NPR today, and boy....CRAZY. Like, lock-him-up-in-a-padded-room-crazy. Who says stuff like that? On TV? Even if you think it. People, those are the things you keep between you and....well, you.

In other news, the parents came to visit for several days. It was so great to see them; one day I hope that I'll be able to see them more often. I do okay living so far away, except when they leave after a nice visit. It was a very relaxing trip; played a lot of cards, watched a lot of movies, most of which I had seen before but one of which was Texas Rangers (Dylan McDermott, James Van Der Beek, Usher -- which, by the way....what????) a movie I had never seen before. Wow. Who knew Texas was made of cheese. :)

my stint as a matchmaker

Okay, so a while back I mentioned how I was setting up two friends on a blind date. Finally happened and...success! I mean, they aren't declaring undying love or anything, but that's a little farfetched, despite what people like to tell you. But they exchanged phone numbers and both said they'd like to hang out with each other again, which I consider success.

Oh, and in a somewhat related vein....on the date (which was a double date because my friends Camille was a little nervous having never been on a blind date before. But which was more fun for me anyway because I got to witness the fun first hand) we watched the movie Swingers which I had never seen before. But I've got to say I really enjoyed it. It wasn't what I expected from what people had told me, but I found it amusing and entertaining which is about all I need from a comedy.

Happy Monday everyone!

confessions

I'll confess. About a year and a half ago (give or take) I stumbled upon a web site I know many of you are familiar with -- televisionwithoutpity.com. Fantastic web site where admitted t.v. junkies write witty and sarcastic and sometimes scathing recaps of many current hour-long television shoes, cable and network. Anyway, if you have a favorite t.v. show or shows, you should check it out.
But my point is...you should also check out the Tubey Awards. This is where loyal readers submit categories and nominations for those categories regarding the 2004-2005 television season. Some categories include standards like favorite actor, favorite actress, best new show, best returning show, etc. But my favorite categories are the ones like best performance by an inanimate object, best "hell, yeah!" moment, least favorite character, and most redemptive character in an otherwise sucky show. Now, since I don't have cable and haven't for the past year, I couldn't really comment on a lot of the nominations. Technically, my vote isn't as balanced since I can only compare a limited number of the nominations. But who cares! It's just plain fun.

Now go vote!

too junky, perhaps?

Ebay, how you have failed me. I listed three items on ebay last week, selling only one and only for $2.77. Were my sights set too high? Too low? (after all, I didn't have a reserve price). I haven't decided yet if I'll try the other two items again, or just thrift store them.