McDevitt Day

For those of you who follow me on Facebook and Twitter, you may have heard me mention McDevitt Day.

Let's make this clear beforehand:  I have the best parents in the whole world.  I love them.  I don't deserve them.

McDevitt Day is the biggest scholarship day that the Mississippi University for Women has to offer, the largest being the McDevitt.  Honestly, I doubt I'll get that one, but I was supposed to walk away with something.

So, because I need money for college, I applied to attend.  I was told time that, no matter what, I'd walk away with a scholarship.

We all went to Columbus, MS.  Mom, Dad, Vin and me.  We couldn't find the hotel at first, which was a bit annoying to all of us, but once we were settled, we were settled.

The next morning, I got all done up.  My hair was straightened, Mom applied some make-up, and I was wearing a dress shirt and some high heels,  And dress pants.  I guess I should mention I was wearing pants.

< Obviously, I had to take all of these on my phone.  These I had to take in the mirror.  Don't I have the evilest tilt in my eyebrows?  I promise, they're shaped that way naturally. >



So, we got to the college this morning and registered.  I met up with some people.

McDevitt is strictly transfer scholarships.  All the reps were freshmen, as in, people not juniors or seniors.

...

My paper said I would be meeting with Committee 7.  I had to ask the reps about that.  I would be going up in front of a committee?  Like a jury or something?  And it wasn't until 3:45, so I had plenty of time to have a panic attack.

Anyway, the rep assured me I would only have to face 2 people.  Thank you, God.

In the meantime, we had lunch and a campus tour.  The dormitory looks like a nursing home. Or a prison.


But the dorm mother seemed like a real mother hen, so Mom would be really happy if I stayed there.  I kind of agree, I would feel okay with the dorm mother.


Lacey, because she refuses to get rid of her little pedigreed mutt (a Maltipoo), wants to live off campus.  She didn't come, but we're going to go visit soon.

Cramped little cell-like dorm or living with Toby?  I asked Lacey which would be the lesser of those two evils.  ;)

My parents were mostly concerned about, "How much will it cost?"  Which, I was pretty relieved when Dad and Vin dropped me and Mom off.  Handling Mom was one thing, handling Dad's insensitivity along with Mom would've driven me crazy.  He laughed and told me I'd never make it when I told him I wanted to major in Culinary Arts.  I just told him what I always tell him when he says something like that, "Thanks, Dad."

Needless to say, my parents are not happy about it.  My mom says, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."  They'd be much happier if I went into education (as I had been planning) or the medical field (I'm sorry, but I hate going to the doctor--they weigh you!--why would I want to be one?).

But no, Jadi, the booksmart one of the five siblings, wants to be a chef.  That was one of the questions I asked the rep, "What do I tell people?"

If I had gone talk to the rep from the Culinary Institute, I may have met other Culinary majors, but I didn't and I didn't.  I saw one other Culinary major.  Everybody else was nursing, and maybe there was one education major.

When it was time to see social clubs, there were 3 Christian organizations.  One of which was Chi Alpha, which is based out of the Assembly of God churches.  When I do go to church, that is the sort of church I go to.

I asked one of the people there is there was a writing or book club.  While they didn't have a booth there at the McDevitt Day, there was one of each.  I was happy about that, obviously.

While waiting for my interview, we got to talking about chickens, well, farming in general.  But after one of the women who had started the conversation had left, I really got to talking.  And then one of the women interviewing me came out and joined in the conversation.

Finally, I was the last interview.  On my questionaire, I was asked what my favorite show was, who my favorite person of the past was, and things like that.  My interviewers asked about my answers.

My favorite person of the past is Jim Henson (I don't like the new Muppets movie), and my favorite show is, currently, Once Upon a Time.  Both interviewers liked it too.  Good sign.  Oh, and they liked Cajun food, so when I said I wanted my own place someday and that I was ethnocentric and I'd want a Cajun place, we got to talking about Cajun food.

Two problems:  1)  Their library is more of a research center than a place for books.  I live at Perk's library.  I'm not just changing colleges, I'm changing libraries too.  The library there isn't that impressive.  When I asked about it, they wouldn't even bother showing it.

2)  I was told I was guaranteed to walk away with a scholarship from McDevitt Day.  Today, I was told I would most likely get one.  I find out what I get in three weeks, if I get anything at all.  But it's a most likely.  If I put my parents on the road for 4-hours both ways and had to get lost in Columbus for nothing, this girl is going to be angry.  No money = no going.

The campus is really nice.  Really pretty.  The people were really nice.  They pulled out all the stops.  A nice lunch.

I guess it should be with the way their dorms were.  Anyway, I did go home with a padfolio, with a legal pad and a little pad inside, and my nametag.

If I get enough out of McDevitt Day, and other scholarships from other places, I will go.  The public library's nice and there's a Books-a-Million and a movie theatre in Columbus.  They have all sorts of jobs around campus.  If I want to work, I can.

Despite my little issues, it was a great visit.

Thinking About Testing the Waters

In this day and age, anybody can upload a story (in some places, after a fee) and call themselves a published author.

Being a full time writer used to be a really big dream of mine, and it still is, it's just not my biggest dream anymore.  I wanted a Big Publisher to read my work and fall in love with it and give me a big advance, and everybody would read my work and love it because when they stopped reading, no maybe their life didn't change, they knew they had just read a great story.

At least, that's how I feel after I read most books.  Like Lawheads and Alexanders (both of Lloyd and Victoria--no relation, I think).

I have a short story I'm editing, and if I ever self-pubbed, it would probably be that one.

And I'm seriously considering it.

But...there's still a stigma (at least to me) with self-pubbing.  I mean, I've read some of the self-pubbed stuff on Amazon and Smashwords. A lot of it's not that great. Not bad, but not great. I've never seen so many stories get 3-star reviews. Sometimes, they get lower. I don't want to join that group.

But...there's very little market for this kind of story, it's just a short story,  I can always try traditional publishing with the novels...

Anyway, I'm kind of torn.

I want to put something out there, just to see what sort of reviews I would get, but at the same time, I don't, because what if it's bad reviews?

As is, the story I'm working on is at least a 3-star, but I want 4-stars.  Actually, I want 5-stars, but I'd settle for 4-stars.

So, so, editing I go.  Maybe.  Unless a magazine market magically opens up.

Um...

Mom's been letting me drive back and forth to the college.  It's seven miles down the road, and really not that far, but it's a start.  And it's only when Dad's home.

Today was the fourth or fifth.  Anyway, the first time, I was so excited.

Kids can't drive their moms around.  At least, not around these here parts.

So, I cranked up the radio and took off, relishing being alone in a car with my newfound sort of freedom.  I made it to the college safely, I parked okay.  Nothing bad happened.  I keep a Bible in my car, sort of for good luck.  Especially considering my car's name is Christine and she does misbehave from time to time. (That's a whole other blog post.)

I dug in my backpack to discover I had forgotten my license at home.

All that hype deflated for a moment.  I texted my mom and sister to tell them I had arrived safely.  I didn't tell them about the license thing.

But I told everyone else.  And yes, we all got a kick out of it.  My first day of freedom, and I forget my ID.  How smart of me!

The Vow

I would've written this last night, but I didn't come home last night.  For the record, I don't generally go home with people when they buy me dinner.  But in my defense, nobody would open the door at my house.

Lacey and I caught The Vow last night.  (Oh please!  I would never go home with a man.  That would entail me attracting someone.)  I didn't like it.  Yes, it was a good movie.  Yes, Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams are great actors.  Blah blah blah.

Spoiler alert:  She never gets her memory back.  It works out in the end, but...

They told the wrong part of the story.  It ends...well, anyway.  It is a good movie, but I'll never watch it again.

While Oprah book club people may like it, I didn't.  I hate stories like that.  I don't like hearing sad stuff where there's nothing I can do about it.  That's wasted heartache.

Lacey, I think, was of the same opinion.  I could only say, "That was so messed up!"

Why I Don't Like It

We got one of those Love Inspired mailing list things today.  They make the Larger Print books magazine-size.  I've read one Christian fic (out of 27) this year.  I've attempted one or two others and just quit them.

I don't like Christian fiction.  I don't hate it, I just don't generally care for it.

I don't like people who have it all together, who don't get afraid their faith is so strong, la dee da.  I can't relate to it and it's just annoying.  "Perfect" people annoy me.

I like people whose cheese is falling off their cracker.  I like people who don't always see the bright side.

Thank God not all Christian fiction is annoying.

Allie Pleiter's Love Inspireds are usually pretty funny with quirky characters.  Shoot, make me laugh and I'll be loyal forever.

Deeanne Gist's characters are, well, if not realistic, at least likable.  They're inconsistent and they make mistakes.  They doubt.  They don't always have everything together.  They're flawed.  Not to mention Gist has a real respect for history and researches a lot.

Stephen Lawhead's books aren't that Christian.  The religiousity in his books isn't overbearing.  Because he writes historical/speculative, the religion seems more part of the culture of the world/time than preachy, if that makes any sense.

I'm not the only Christian who doesn't care for Christian fiction.  But the ones I do like, are great.

I'm Supposed to Know Where It Is?

For the record, I hate online classes.

One of which is New Testament Survey.  The text is full of stuff I should already know, most of it I did already know. 

I grew up in church.  Some things are forced down our throats at a very, very young age.

Well, I knew all of it was there, somewhere, I just didn't know where, and I skipped the references in the textbook.

My proctored exam was today and it actually asked for specific verses.

I guessed.  I made educated guesses (I grew up on this stuff!), and thank God it was multiple choice.  I felt kind of bad, worse than I usually feel, because I really should've known where they were anyway.  What good Christian wouldn't?

I'm a bad, bad Christian.  So, I berated myself for not knowing and I should go home and actually crack my Bible...  

I love giving myself a hard time.

At the end of the test, when it showed me which ones I had gotten wrong, two of the three I had missed had nothing to do with verse references.  I can't remember what the other one was.

Sweet irony.

A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede

Goodreads

A Matter of Magic is two books actually.  I thought about getting the books separately, but decided the cover was prettier and I'd have to get the separate editions used and they may not have matched...  Anyway, I got the omnibus.

Because I suck at describing things, here's what they're about:

Mairelon the Magician, book 1:

Kim doesn't hesitate when a stranger offers her a small fortune to break into the travelling magician's wagon in search of a silver bowl. Kim isn't above a bit of breaking-and-entering. Having grown up a waif in the dirty streets of London-disguised as a boy!-has schooled her in one hard lesson: steal from them before they steal from you.

But there is something odd about this magician. He isn't like the other hucksters and swindlers that Kim is used to. When he catches her in the act, Kim thinks she's done for.  Until he suggests she become his apprentice. Kim wonders how tough it could be faking a bit of hocus pocus.

But Mairelon isn't an act. His magic is real.

The Magician's Ward, book 2:

Happy in her new life as an apprentice to the powerful magician Mairelon, Kim is horrified when a nosy relative determines to turn Kim - a former street urchin - into. . .a lady! But real trouble begins when several wizards of Kim's acquaintance disappear. Then Mairelon's magic disappears!


I love Regency romances. I love fantasy. This book (these books?) is a little of both, with some mystery thrown in, which I've recently gotten into. I can't begin to explain how much I loved and enjoyed it. Well, there's the geek way: SQUEEE!!

If you've read any books by Patricia C. Wrede, you've probably read the Enchanted Forest Chronicles; first books I read by her and I was a junior in high school, I think.  A Matter of Magic, Mairelon, whatever you want to call these books were for a bit older audience.

The Regency part is, from what I've read of other Regencies, pretty accurate.  She captured the world better than some romance writers, who dominate the Regency era.  Bow street runners, Drury Lane, the opera, Napoleon Bonaparte...  Not to mention the silliness of Polite Society!

The fantasy part is great.  Magic isn't a big secret in this world.  Wizards are supposed to be a little odd.  There's even a Ministry for Wizardry.  A Royal College.  Plenty of smart wizards, and a Frenchwoman wizard, a Russian prince wizard.  Magic is, well, magic.  It's enchanting, pun intended.  When spells go bad...  And never, ever say a spell in your native tongue.

I have rudimentary experience with mysteries, so I can't make an intelligent comment on it, other than saying, like the rest of it, was pretty interesting and surprising.

I've been useless the past two days.  I read Mairelon the Magician yesterday started it in the morning, finished it last night, and started The Magician's Ward this morning and finished it quickly.  Less than 12 hours, between classes and animal care.

I don't know when's the last time I read a book I just couldn't put down.  I mean, even with books I love, like a Stephen Lawhead or Nectar from a Stone, I can stop anytime.  It doesn't bother me to take breaks.  I stretch it out as long as I need to.

I didn't want to do anything the past two days.  Nothing.  I wanted to sit and read this book.

Squee.

Rewrites Don't Exist Right Now

I wrote a short story.  A vampire story, my first one.

I started it last night.  I finished it tonight.  So, it took me a little over 24 hours.  4,548 words, a little over 17 pages.

I got inspired last night.  I was itching to write.

Once I started, I was pretty useless.  I would do something, and then get right back to the computer.  For two days, my life revolved around this story.

It's probably a total load of crap, but I don't care.  I love it.  It's my baby.  For right now.

I'm really good at making a fool of myself.  Those of you who have been following my blog should know that better than anyone.  I've been jumping around and doing a happy dance.

Yeah, I'm going to attempt to edit.  But I was also supposed to rewrite "Callis."  I've started, but um, yeah...

Happy writing!  And dancing.  For someone who can't dance, I sure do love to.

The Insanity Was Good While It Lasted

I turned in my entry to the creative writing contest.

I had the document on Zoho.  Did a quick spot-check, fell in love with the story all over again, printed it, stapled it to the entry form, and handed it to the creative writing instructor.

And then what little sanity I have returned.  I answered a few questions from the CWI with a sick feeling in my stomach, and I couldn't ask for it back.

The die is cast.

What I've Noticed

I've been writing since 2005.  There are some things I've just noticed about my writing.

1 - Parents are either (a) dead or (b) intolerable.  I think of all my characters, one had a good relationship with her parents, but even that was a little strained.  I can blame this on the fact that I write fantasy & fairy tale spoofs.

2 - I can't write a story in order to save my life.  I get an idea for a scene in my head.  I write it down in a Composition book, or start a WordPad document, name it "Draft" and write it there.

3 - In regards to #2, the scenes I write beforehand don't always make the rest of the story when it gets to that part.  However, things that I type up are more likely to make it than things I write out.

4 - November to about March are my good writing months.  The rest of the year, I don't typically write anything too significant.  And those months are iffy still.

5 - When in doubt about villains, trolls always work.

14 Loves: Songs

So, in keeping with the 2-day, 14-things celebration of Valentine's Day, I decided to post a list of my favorite love songs.

Now, if any of these would be on a normal person's favorite love songs list, I don't know.  Yes, they are all country.  (The links go to Lyrics Box.*  They'll have the lyrics and a player for your listening pleasure for those that pique your curiosity.)

14 - "Crazy Not To" by Danny Gokey

13 - "Without Love" by Mindy McCready

12 - "Forever Road" by Darius Rucker

11 - "Like I Am" by Rascal Flatts

10 - "Makin Plans" by Miranda Lambert

9 - "Livin' on Love" by Alan Jackson

8 - "I'm In" by Keith Urban

7 - "Fall into Me" by Emerson Drive

6 - "Deeper than the Holler" by Randy Travis

5 - "Love Don't Run" by Steve Holy (Sorry, this song, you have to watch the video.  It's why I love it so much:)

4 - "Heart of the World" by Lady Antebellum

3 - "You're the Love I Wanna Be In" by Jason Aldean

2 - "We Danced" by Brad Paisley

1 - "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This" by Toby Keith (I'm not comfortable posting the official video...)

*Lyrics Box is kind of like the Wikipedia of lyrics websites, it's all fan-added.  Some of the words may be wrong.

14 Loves: Books

In celebration of Valentine's Day, even though I'm single, today and tomorrow, I'm going to post 14 of my loves. Today, it'll be romances. So, without further ado:

14: The Perfect Blend by Allie Pleiter.  Christian contemporary.  See, I do like some Christian fiction, and this one's even a Love Inspired.

13.  Keeper of the Light by Janeen O'Kerry. Celtic, medieval, magic.

12.  Everlasting by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Medieval.

11.  What a Lady Wants (Last Man Standing #2) by Victoria Alexander.  Victorian.  You'll be seeing her again.  They say reformed rake makes best husband.  Nigel Cavendish was in dire need of reforming.

10.  Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist.  Christian historical.

9.  Beauty and the Baron by Deborah Hale.  Regency.  I read her fantasy books and loved those.  Checked out her others and loved this one!

8.  Her Highness, My Wife (Effington #5) by Victoria Alexander.  Regency. The title alone made me want to read it.  "Fifteen months, three weeks, and four days."

7.  Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist.  Christian historical.

6.  The Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist.  Christian historical.  My all-time favorite of Gist's.

5.  Miss Lacey's Last Fling by Candice Hern.  Regency.  This is the only one I don't have a print copy of.  It's on my Kindle.

4.  The Pursuit of Marriage (Effington #8) by Victoria Alexander.  Um, 1821.  Still considered Regency, I think.  I love this book.

3.  A Visit from Sir Nicholas (Effington #9) by Victoria Alexander.  Victorian.  Warm up for Christmas!

2.  The Wedding Bargain (Effington #1) by Victoria Alexander.  Regency.  Best.  Season.  Ever.  Pandora Effington was my first romance role model.

"You, my lord, are a rake and a rogue.  A scoundrel.  In short, sir, you are a beast."

1.  The Marriage Lesson (Effington #3) by Victoria Alexander.  Regency.  The hero and heroine are both writers.  Thomas writes bad poetry and Marianne secretly writes for the newspaper.  The Absolutely True Adventures of a Country Miss in London.  She became my other romance role model.  I want to be her!

Goodreads

"For good or ill the night has led us on this grave adventure.

With one so fair, the stars do pale in jealousy and censure.

Her hair gleams gold, her eyes glow brown with laughter and with life.

But stubborn wench, this country miss, will naught be any man's wife.

He taught her well, she taught him more, still love was never mentioned.

Till he found truth within his heart.  Tis called the marriage lesson."

Because guys who write bad poetry are so endearing.

Groan, Cringe

So, the College's creative writing contest is going on right now. The aspiring storytellers, poets, and essayists are all preparing their best work to submit to The Contest.

I don't typically enter contests.  This is how it works:  I get the information when it becomes available.  I read it over a billion times, contemplate a piece I could enter or consider writing a new piece.

And then the deadline comes and I have nothing to enter.

OR

I enter something, but it's not my best work.

The past few things, I've just let the deadline go by and just brushed it off.  They'll be plenty of oppurtunities.

But, unless I put myself out there, I'll never be recognized for my awesome writerly talent (I can dream here, I'm visualizing).

I have a story that I wrote for Long Ridge that I really, really like.  It's funny and brilliant and I sound like a mother talking about her child...

If any story I wrote had a chance, it would be this one.  I talked to Mrs. Donna about it.  She was working in the library today.  She, of course, thinks I should go for it.  I gave her the story to read.

As I was waiting for my ride home, I cringed.  Mrs. Donna is very supportive of the whole writing thing, knows I have talent--or at least the passion, and everything, but the subject matter and some of the content...

I wanted to go back into the library and ask for my story back.  I didn't want her to read it, I just wanted to cuddle it and hold it like it was a baby and didn't want it to get judged, even though I know she'll just tell me it's great and I should enter it.  Of that, I am certain.

But getting my ego fluffed isn't the only reason I went to Mrs. Donna.  If I tell someone other than Lacey, I'll just let it go by.  But if someone else knew, maybe I'll actually live up to expectations.  Accountability and all that.  The story needs a little editing, but it's still a good story.  I like to think that if I hadn't written it myself, and somebody else showed it to me, I would still like it.

Showing Mrs. Donna was Step One.  Now, to get into editing and submitting before the 27th.

I can do this.  I can do this.  I can do this.

I might be able to do this...

Sunday Cinema

Lacey and I headed out early Sunday morning to go to the movies. We saw One for the Money and Beauty and the Beast 3D. In between, we had Chinese food, well, Bourbon chicken, and lots of sweet stuff that we sneaked into the movie theatre. I had a purse full of butterscotch and mints and chocolate... Which, I still have a lot of the butterscotch and mints and a bag and a half of M&M's. Unless someone goes into my room and finds it.

Maybe I should've hidden it before I left for the college today...

Anyway, yes, I did read One for the Money by Janet Evanovich before viewing the movie.  Read it weeks ago and read the second, Two for the Dough shortly after.

Yes, the book is still better.  They changed the last exchange between Plum and Morelli.  I mean, it was cute and all, but it wasn't the same.  Drat.

But it was a really, really great movie.  Those of you that aren't familar with it, Stephanie Plum got fired as a lingerie buyer six months ago.  She goes to her cousin's bail bonds business looking for a filing job and doesn't get it.

However, the other bounty hunter is out due to an appendectomy and Connie, the secretary, gives Stephanie his FTAs.  Failure to Appear's.

At the top of the stack is Joe Morelli.  The town's bad boy, and had a fling with our heroine in high school and never called back.  Oh yeah, and she ran him over and broke his leg in three places with her dad's Buick and few days later.  She attributes it to insanity and she's never run someone over again since.

It's a really funny book and a really funny movie.

And movie #2?

Beauty and the Beast is a classic.  It was great in 3D.  The theatre was, while not completely empty like it was when we went see the steampunk Three Musketeers where it was just me and Lacey in the theatre and we had a running commentary on the film, didn't have that many people in there.

Awesome heroines.  Well, Belle's kind of a stock character. But Stephanie's a great heroine.  And they both worked with awesome male leads.  Even if they both are beasts!

It's, Like, So Ragamuffin

“I grew up hearing everyone tell me 'God loves you'. I would say big deal, God loves everybody. That don't make me special! That just proves that God ain't got no taste. And, I don't think He does. Thank God! Because He takes the junk of our lives and makes the most beautiful art.”
― Rich Mullins

I went with Lacey to a Christian concert Thursday night.  Rock n Worship Roadshow, or something like that.  Lacey had been talking about going for a while.  Considering I wasn't familiar with any of those bands there, I wasn't really into going.  Hey, my favorite Christian singer has been dead for 14 years, and he was the greatest.  Pardon me for listening to the old but best stuff than settling for the second best modern stuff.

Anyway, she inadvertently (at least I hope it was) guilted me into going with her.  Hawk Nelson was the band I was familar with and they performed "Bring 'Em Out."

Frankly, that would've made the whole night worth it.  Even the screamo band that I couldn't understand a word that singer sang before them that gave me a headache.

The second to last group was this group called Tenth Avenue North.  The lead singer of that band was the only one who smiled while he was singing.  He actually looked like he was having a good time there.  I know the rest were, but he looked as happy as he should've been.

I really liked this group.  As a Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band and Brennan Manning fan, I really liked them.

Brennan Manning's message was that "reckless, raging fury that they call the love of God."  He preached about Jesus.  Not about vices or virtues, not about what you had to do to earn salvation.  He preached about the love of Jesus, how He loves you as you are and not as you should be.  He preached that Jesus loves the poor, the sick, the whores, and the tax collectors.

Jesus loves sinners.  Ragamuffins.  Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band captured it wonderfully:

We didn't know what love was 'til He came
And He gave love a face and He gave love a name
And He gave love away like the sky gives the rain and sun
We were looking for heroes He came looking for the lost
We were searching for glory and He showed us a cross
Now we know what love is 'cause He loves us
All the way to Kingdom Come
-Composer Rich Mullins


There's a wideness in God's mercy
I cannot find in my own
And He keeps His fire burning
To melt this heart of stone
Keeps me aching with a yearning
Keeps me glad to have been caught
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God
-Composer Rich Mullins


Well who's that man who thinks He's a prophet?
Well I wonder if He's got something up His sleeve
Where's He from? Who is His daddy?
There's rumors He even thinks Himself a king
Of a kingdom of paupers
Simpletons and rogues
The whores all seem to love Him
And the drunks propose a toast
And they say "Surely God is with us."
-Composer Mark Robertson (one of the Ragamuffin Band)


But this man of no reputation
Loved the weak with relentless affection
And He loved all those poor in spirit just as they were
He was a man of no reputation
-Composer Rich Elias (one of the Ragamuffin Band)

There was one particular line in one of Tenth Ave. North's songs that hooked me:

The One the wind and waves obey is strong enough to save you.

They had a lot of other songs that I liked, but that was the dealmaker.  It was early in their performance, so they really had me.

I don't care for a lot of Christian music.  I don't like most Christian fiction.  I don't like going to church.  I don't remember the last time I cracked my Bible.  Countless times I've asked myself why I even bother being a Christian when Christian things really bug me.

The answer that comes to mind is really embarrassing:  I was raised this way.  To change it would shatter my worldview and would mean a clean break with my past.  I grew up in church.  I would probably be disowned.  To quit at least trying to be Christian would ruin everything and require a completely fresh start.  I'm a little too lazy for that.

On closer inspection, I do believe in that reckless, raging fury that they call the love of God.  I don't have to like the other sheep, (if we're all brothers and sisters in Christ, that makes us all family. You may not always like your family, but you'll always love them.) but I like the Shepherd.  He hung out with sinners and got His fingernails dirty and He's not all that popular these days.  But He is nothing if not admirable.  He traded His life for a world full of sinners He thought was worth saving.  Not a lot of people would think that was very smart.  During Eastertime in France, people say, "L'amour de Dieu est folie!"  The love of God is folly.  Thank God!

When I find something I like, a style, a song, or whatever, I tend to stick to my tastes.  I love Ragamuffin-esque songs.  Rich Mullins and the Ragamuffin Band had plenty of other themes in their songs, and I love those too, but I tend to go for the Ragamuffin-y songs.

So, in addition to seeing Hawk Nelson sing "Bring 'Em Out," I found another band that I could listen to.

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good night.

Accepted Into Real Life

Since this is my last semester here at Perk, I've applied to a few colleges.

Well, I've only taken one application seriously.  I've decided to go into culinary and a college here in Mississippi has culinary as one of their specialties.  If I can't go there, I'll worry about the other places.

I got my acceptance letter today.

I've been waiting for this letter so I can apply for scholarships and whatnot.  I had to get accepted first, you know.

Irrational as this is, I was really afraid of getting rejected.  In writing, I can expect rejection.

In college, well, I'm in PTK and Honors.  There's a lot of doors open to me, and I've gotten stuff from plenty of colleges.  Come on, I've gotten stuff from colleges I've never even heard of.

Despite that, I was still kind of nervous.  I knew I was eligible, but what if they know I'm not one of those people that may not ever make a difference in the world?  I don't do THAT much community service and I'm not a zealot for anything except books.

What if they somehow found that out?

When I first discussed going into culinary with my mother, she said I needed a back-up plan.

Um, being in college was my back-up plan.  I want to be a writer.  Someday, I want to be a full-time writer.  If I'm going to make any difference in the world, it would be through that.

Although, the idea of cooking an awesome meal that totally makes someone's day is exciting too.  Food is God's piece of heaven on earth.

Being an English major was interesting.  But I hated the selections in Comp II and Lit I, and I hate writing essays.  And the very idea of becoming a teacher gave me a sick feeling in my stomach every time I thought about it.

No, I like this change quite well, thank you.

Anecdotes Anyone?

I drove today.  Since I've gotten my license, it's my second time.  I'm not going to go into all the implications of that, but I drove.


Mom had the radio on the Christian station.  I don't mind the Christian music (other than the fact I don't know half the songs), but I hate the complaining and political talk.  Don't talk, just play the music.


Well, a song by Rich Mullins played.  It was "Calling Out Your Name."  Since it played while I was driving, I took it as a good omen.  ;)


Honestly, I don't particularly care for this particular song.  Although, I like watching it because of the instruments used, as you will see below.  I think it's pretty cool.


After the song, whoever the DJ was at the time, said that Rich Mullins was probably the greatest Christian songwriter who ever lived.  I'm not used to my favorites being the best, so I was kind of surprised.  And as hard as I tried to think of someone better, I found myself of a similar opinion.  Which, considering he is my favorite, isn't that surprising.


"The reckless raging fury, that they call the love of God," the man had quoted, and went on to say a lot of good things about Mullins.


I wish this clip was available on YouTube, and if it is, I haven't found it, or found it by itself.  He was talking about the song "Let Mercy Lead."  He and Beaker wrote it to Beaker's son Aidan.  Another couple named their child that and he died a few months after his birth.  In the funeral program they printed up the lyrics to "Let Mercy Lead."  And in their letter to Mullins, they said that now Aidan did see the face of love.  Then he talked about being a Christian musician and how you take sentiments and how you learn to market it.  And then he says that no matter how cheap the words start to become to him, the truth is still the truth.


I love that story.  Anyway, about the song with the cool instrument:

I'm Done Waiting

"Patience is not among my virtues.”
-Gwydion, Nectar from a Stone by Jane Guill, pg 96

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” ― John Milton, Paradise Lost

Something good happened over the weekend.  Friday, to be exact.


I picked up the story I shelved.


No, it didn't stay on the shelf long, and I'm glad for it.  Friday the 13th is lucky after all.  Must be the black cats I got hanging around my yard.


I'm not one for planning.  If I'm writing about the story, then I don't want to write the story.


What I wrote this weekend is a total load of crap.  But I don't care.  I'm writing it again.  Amazing what a few thousand words between Friday through Monday can do for a person.


I'm a situational writer.  Some writers use the dreams they have.  Some writers start with a character.  I start with a situation.  Then I worry about who they are, what they want, and how are they going to get out of this mess?


Throw them in hell and see how they get themselves out of it.  Or drag them down with you and make them lead you out, depending on the kind of day you're having.


So, that's what I did.  Really, I'm not even writing the same story anymore.  I'm just using all the same character names.  That's how much has changed since 2005.


Also, remember that Typer's Block I've talked about?  I can finally write on my computer again and not in a composition book to be moved onto the computer.


I'm writing.  On my computer.  A lot.  I love it!

Shelved

Remember the story I've been working on since 2005?  The story I can't seem to figure out how I want it?  The story that got me writing in the first place?


I haven't the slightest idea what to do with it.  Not anymore.  The characters have changed (grew up with me a bit, in fact) and so have I.


It hasn't been quite a year since I finished it the last time, so I'm not so worried.  I've been writing a lot of other things so it's been left to flounder on its own.


When I came back to it not long ago, I thought I'd be able to work on it better.


Nope.  I'm just more confused.  I have a lot of ideas for it.  I know there are some things I want in there no matter what, but beyond that...


I'm in Editing Hell for the moment anyway.  I'm rewriting that second honeymoon piece.  Not to mention I want to revise another story or two.


I'm going to let the idea sit and simmer for a little while longer.  If I need something new to work on, I'll try to finish that other fairy story I started and then quit.  I kept all the parts of it, it's just a matter of finishing it.


I hate not knowing how/what I'm going to write with this.  It breaks my heart.  This is the story that got me writing.  Well, it helped me figure out that I wanted to be a writer and that I loved writing.  This is The One.


Actually, what I probably need to do is actually write down what the story will be, like take notes and stuff for it, and then try to rewrite it.  I can't write when I don't know what I'm writing.  I have to at the very least have an idea, otherwise, bad things happen.  Like me shelving the idea, bad things.


Now, on to working on that other story that's wanting my attention.

Thaw and Freeze Again

Ever since I found out Disney was making a version of Andersen's "The Snow Queen," my favorite fairy tale, I've been trying to find out what I could about it.


At the end of last year, some new articles were posted about it.


This project was picked up in 2002, but got shelved.  It was shelved again in 2010.  Now, it's been picked up again.


Release date:  November 2013


Title:  Frozen.  (They're doing the same thing they did with Tangled: changing the title to attract both little girls and boys.)


Format:  Probably CGI instead of hand-drawn.


Wonder how Disney's going to ruin it?  Best guesses?


Name changes.


What about the devil's mirror in the beginning?  Are they going to keep that?


Taken from the Haugaard translation:

Disney has shown that they're not averse to having demons in their stories.  The Princess and the Frog proved that.  But it also makes me wonder, how Disney's going to deal with this?  Some translations say "goblin" or "sprite" rather than "troll."  Not all translations say it was the devil.

What about the Prince and Princess?  The Finnish Woman and the Lapp Woman?

I'm really excited that there's going to be another movie of "The Snow Queen," but, when any story's turned into a movie, you have your worries.