"Sometimes bad things happen to good people..."

New Job & Getting A Car

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:48:30 GMT

I just found out yesterday that I got a job. I've been searching for one since December. It's not my dream job by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a job. It's close by as well and it will fit my schedule once I make it through training. I have to be at work at 8:30am most of this coming week, which I'm not happy about. Mornings aren't good for me, but I'll muddle through.

I get my car back on Wednesday, barring any further delays. It's been in the shop since I was hit in early February. I'm officially buying it this week, so I'll finally have wheels.

I officially started the latest rework of Coldest Degree last night. I'm doing a full rewrite so far and it's going to be more focused on Lisa and Jackson than on Kat, though her past will be more examined. Jackson's past will finally be straightened out as will the Redhead Killer's motivation. I might post excerpts on here. I haven't decided yet.

Visit Home

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 22:57:03 GMT

I'm back at home for a short, strange visit.

The original plan was for me to stay at Carter's, go to King's Dominion, then ride back to college with Emily. Well, I got sick, ended up staying at my house, sleeping most of the day, and now I'm struggling to try to get the rest of my stuff back from Carter's before I leave again tomorrow morning.

Not my brightest plan. Getting ill is what killed me.

It's great to be home though. My room is throughly trashed--it's become a storage area--and I have no sheets, but I got to sleep in my real bed last night. With my thick comforter and music playing.

Plus I got to see my dogs. I missed them so much.

I have a new computer montior as well and I love it. It's very pretty. My old one is playing the role of a TV in my dorm room. Plus I can finally get some work done without the internet cutting out on me very few minutes. Ahh, the joys of stable internet connections.

I also recently dyed my hair. I'm now a brunette.

Tomorrow I get to see Em for the first time since I moved. I've really missed her.

Anyways, I'm off to take a bath. Boy do I miss having my own bathroom!

Burn, baby, burn...

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:44:48 GMT

I suffered a second-degree burn yesterday right before I left for work. It's got a nice pink blister now and has finally stopped burning. It's only the latest in a series of accidents stalking those of us who work in the EDG branch.

And who said being an librarian wasn't dangerous?

There's been a lot of smashed toes, I got a fat lip after being hit in the face with a box, my boss sprained her ankle, then sliced her hand open with an X-Acto knife and got seven stitches (someone put a sign on her desk saying "this is a no stab zone"), Emily cut her foot open, and so on. And we haven't even started the re-carpeting project yet.

It is a very strange, accident-prone place I work in. Not to mention the hazard of falling books, though that was mostly last week.

Anyways, I'm going to try and catch a few hours of sleep before my next shift. I love night shifts, but I hate working a night shift, then a day shift. So frickin' confusing to my body. The good news is tomorrow is my last Saturday ever.

I can finally sleep in! Yes!

Stolen from orphan_kitten

Sat, 10 May 2008 22:14:48 GMT

IF YOU'RE ON MY FRIENDS LIST, I want to know 36 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, if you're more of a lurker, or if we already know everything about each other.

BE HONEST! Answer the questions in a comment, then repost on your own journal!

1) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
A.

2) What was your dream growing up?
A.

3) What talent do you wish you had?
A.

4) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
A.

5) Favorite vegetable?
A.

6) What was the last book you read?
A.

7) What zodiac sign are you?
A.

8) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
A.

9) Worst Habit?
A.

10) If you saw me walking down the street, would you offer me a ride?
A.

11) What is your favorite sport?
A.

12) Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
A.

13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
A.

14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
A.

15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
A.

16) Do you have any pets?
A.

17) What if i showed up at your house unexpectedly?
A.

18) What was your first impression of me?
A.

19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
A.

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
A.

21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
A.

22) What color eyes do you have?
A.

23) Ever been arrested?
A.

24) Bottle or can soda?
A.

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
A.

27) What's your favorite place to hang at?
A.

28) Do you believe in ghosts?
A.

29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
A.

30) Do you swear a lot?
A.

31) Biggest pet peeve?
A.

32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
A.

33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
A.

35) Do you believe in God?
A.

36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?
A.

Yearbook is DONE & other things...

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:02:38 GMT

So, I finally finished yearbook on Friday. Now I'm moving into the supplement phase, which is a piece of cake compared to what I just did. Plus, my co-editor is back from Florida (she got back between 6th & 7th period today) so now I'm not the only one running the show.

My schedule's starting to free up, which is great.

Tweaker's out of the shop now. It was just a wiring harness recall, thankfully. I just haven't had my car the last two weeks since I share with my dad. But that's cool since I already called it for Saturday's class.

I have a writing conference/seminar to go to up at AACC on Saturday. I thought my boss was gonna bite my head off when I put in to take off (there's some Star Wars convention type thing going on for about two hours that morning), but Dolly agreed to come and get paid. She's actually getting extra time while I'm losing a week's worth of pay. But the conference is more important. No matter what I'd lose the time anyways so that I could do the conference. Might as well do it now.

My parents and I are going up to Hood to visit on Monday and get all of our ducks in a row. They still haven't seen the college yet. We might also stop by and see my aunt while we're there, which would be great. She's very psyched about me going there.

I finished Fatal Target just before Spring Break a few weeks back. I'm doing a screenplay version for ScriptFrenzy and I've got nina_rippner doing ScriptFrenzy as well. It's gonna be great to do it with another writing buddy. I'm now working on the Obsession series for my class.

My carpal tunel's under control now (it flared up around the end of February, and I had to quit guitar and slow down on FT) and I rejoined the guitar class on Friday. We're doing concert prep, so Mr. Priddy's working our fingers to the bone. So far, no carpal tunel twinges yet.

I've taken up running now that it's starting to warm up. Sset and I go for a run at least once a day, every day. I cut out a lot of internet time to fit the runs in. I spent most of Sunday running. My leg muscles haven't yet forgiven me for working all day, then running, then getting up and running twice the next day. I love doing it though. So far--no asthma issues. :-D

Time to get back to the grind--I have another 30 pgs worth of Obsession changes to do and some fresh chapters to write for class. More later!

Yearbook

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:42:48 GMT

Whew, almost done with Yearbook! We're shooting for completion on Wednesday, which means life will go back to semi-normal by then.

Well, I gotta get back to the Yearbook! I'm just glad my car was in the shop this week, when I didn't need it. (Tweaker, the Suzuki Forenza I share with my dad, lost his headlights a few weeks ago. It turns out there was a headlight recall that's easily fixable--once the dealership has the part. It only took us a few weeks of no headlights and pulling the car apart to realize this.)

6 more days... 6 more days!

Yearbooking it! -- 10 Days 'til Deadline

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:43:55 GMT

I think we might actually finish the yearbook ahead of time this year. For those of you who don't know, I'm the yearbook editor at my school and I've been editor for three years (I've been a part of the yearbook for all four years).

Techinically, it's not due until March 31st, but that means post-editing phase. Right now, the pages by the staff aren't even completed enough for us to edit (and essentially rewrite). The deadline to have the pages done and ready for editing is March 1st, but since we have a few days off from school next week, we actually only have 10 days to go.

I'm bribing the staff. Marlene and I (my assistant editor/co-editor) will throw a little mini-party if we finish before deadline.

Anyways, I'm not going to be around much because of the deadline (I'm the only photo-editor, so if it needs work, I have to do it because no one else knows how to use Photoshop). I'm excited though because I think it will turn out A-MAZE-ING this year! (Yes, that is a yearbook joke -- it's the name of this year's book. Our cover is a maze in case you thought I was crazy...)

Passing the One Year Mark and Other Things...

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 03:30:04 GMT

So it's been around a year and I'm still alive, which is pretty darn amazing. Nightmares have been really acting up, so I haven't slept much this past week. Still have no idea when trial is.

Mum's finishing up FAFSA nonsense. She keeps asking me random questions, which is very distracting. I'll be so glad when she's done with it--she's a little loopy now.

I still hate painters. Today I went to work (this is week three of fixing idiotic mistakes, by the way) and Em and I were shifting/sorting the JP S section and we almost cut our hands. Apparently the idiots formerly known as painters (who have obviously never heard of PAINTER'S TAPE!) came back to secure the shelves to the wall. Well, in order to do so, they drilled holes in the metal shelves.

The big problem? They FORGOT to clean up the METAL SHAVINGS!

Why is this a problem? Sharp, pointy, shiny things in a library at little-kid level. I'm still getting the shavings off my clothes. Can we say hazardous?

I finally got the laptop fixed. Then it stopped working again, so I had to fix it again. Now it's just moody.

Marlene and I are working overtime to meet the yearbook deadline. My head was spinning all day Friday as I tried to make list after list of what was still needed for various pages. Some days I just want to kill my entire staff. Friday was one of those days since none of the pages due that day were finished, despite constant reminders.

Friday was also the day of the guitar pizza party. Trevor got screamed at by Mrs. Malone for trying to take the TV for Guitar Hero (but he also forgot the correct adaptors, so it was all for naught). I ended up chilling in Mrs. Malone's room for a chance at sanity. Being stuck in a room with all guys (who are all freshmen except for three) can really get old. Also I still need a new concert piece. There's no way 'Don't Know Why' will be ready in time like Mr. Priddy wants. Nope.

Fatal Target broke the 27,000 word mark last night. When you realize that I only spend perhaps two nights a week working on it, it's quite amazing how fast I'm moving through it. The new system I worked out with Mrs. Campion works sooo much better. Of course, it requires a lot more from me. We now only get as far as I get written out, instead of how far Mrs. Campion can read in 20 minutes. She prints out the new stuff, edits and comments on it during the day, and then we meet for 40 mins to go over the changes and etc twice a week. We didn't get as much as I hoped done this week because I was exhausted. Mum's pretty sure I have a serious case of anemia, but we haven't heard back about the blood work from Monday.

I'm going to try and get chapter 17 started before I collapse at my desk.

"Jealousy Kills" -- KZ short story

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:00:06 GMT

Story Title: Jealousy Kills
Story Genre: Thriller -- Suspense/Tragedy
Story Characters: Katherine Murphy, Aidan Murphy, Lara Murphy, Chase Stewart
Story Pairings: AidanXKatXChase triangle
Story Summary: [One shot tie in with Kill Zone] One man's obsession spells disaster for the Murphy family... AidanXKatXChase triangle. [character death]
Story Link: http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2467550/1/

"The Burgundy Jacket" recap

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:52:18 GMT

Last night was ICUS's performance of The Burgundy Jacket, a play written/directed by my good friend, David, and produced by my best friend, Carter. The play was based on the novel Say Goodnight, Gracie. The play revolves around two best friends, Patrick and Maggie (played by David and Liz) who have known each other since birth. One night, on his way to an appointment (Patrick's a dancer/actor), Patrick is hit by a drunk driver and thrown from his car. He falls into a coma and dies from head injuries.

The second half of the play is Maggie coming to terms with Patrick's death and learning to let go of him.

We performed the play in honor of David Synder, an ICS middle school alum who was killed by a drunk driver when David was writting the play a few years ago. We also had a representive from MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) come and speak as well as collect donations for MADD/SADD. We ended up raising over $1,000 according to David's announcment at the end of the play.

Carter and I ran the backstage portion via headsets. I had a crew of three-to-four people on stage left the entire night and she had a crew of the same on her side. My biggest problem was trying to move props around the cast, who were in the way a lot of the time and blocking my view of cues. The hardest prop to move on my side was the sofa. It was heavy and awkward and there is no way to move a wooden sofa quickly.

Using my left leg is a little awkward at the moment (it turned blue-purple from tapping into props and moving the sofa). It's fairly sore. Mum's taking me in for blood work this week. She's really worried that my anemia is worse than the doctor thought.

In other news:
~ Fatal Target is aproximately 1/4 of the way completed at 20,000 words. Projected finish date: mid-March
~ I loaded a short story I wrote earlier this year for AP Lit. It concerns the seven deadly sins. It ties in the most with Kill Zone.
~ I have been accepted into the two colleges I am seriously considering and they've both offered me scholarships.
~ It's just a little over a month before I get my life back a bit. Yearbook deadline is the first week of March. Yay for freetime! :-D

Fan fiction meme!

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:44:43 GMT

Lifted from trysts

*Fanfiction*
Do you read or write fanfiction?	both
When did you first start reading/writing fanfiction?	Probably around 2001...yikes, that makes me feel old.
What was your first fandom?	Lord of the Rings was the first one I wrote for. I was reading a lot of Harry Potter when I started, too.
First ship?	JxL from Red Eye, most definately.
What website do you use most?	LJ and FF.NET
What do you think of Fanfiction.net?	It's good for uploading, but it's hard to find good stories in a lot of the catagories and you really have to be around in order to get readers. If your name keeps showing up and you read their work, they tend to start reading yours. Then word of mouth takes over a bit in the fandom.
What fandoms have you written in?	I write mainly for Red Eye, but I've dabbled in Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Carribean, Tru Calling, and Hidalgo.
Pairings?	JxL for Red Eye and JackxTru for Tru Calling.
Any fandoms you would like to write in?	Heroes one of these days once I feel more familar with the characters. I know there's more than that, but that's the only one coming to mind.
Do reviews affect how you write in any way?	Good reviews encourage me to write more/update faster. Bad ones keep my fingers toasty in the winter time. I don't take the bad ones very seriously--reading tastes are highly subjective.
Do you use a beta?	Sometimes. Generally, that would be a "no" because my writing deadlines.
What ratings do you read/write?	I'll read K through M, but I only seem to write T and M.
What warnings have you used on your fiction/read?	Parody, pairing/nonpairing warnings, one-shot, song fic, and a few violence/adult themes ones on the inside of the story.
Do you have any squicks?	Squicks? What the hell are those?
Do you Role-play online? If so, what?	Not really.
Have you ever stolen something from another person's work?	Nope, but I do a lot of literary and movie allusions. I blame it on the AP Lit class. No stealing though.
Favorite fandom to write/read?	Red Eye all the way.
Favorite pairing?	JxL
Favorite writer/writers?	Oooh, long list! Top favorites at the moment are Lisa Gardner ("The Next Accident, "The Killing Hour", etc.), Ted Dekker ("Thr3e", etc.), Iris Johansen ("Blind Alley", "Countdown", etc.), Tess Gerritsen ("The Surgeon", "The Bone Garden", etc.), Tami Hoag ("Dark Horse"), Allison Brennan ("The Prey", "The Hunt", "The Kill", etc.), Garth Nix ("Abhorsen" trilogy), Libba Bray ("A Great and Terrible Beauty" & "Rebel Angels"), Mariah Stewart ("Dead End", "Last Look", etc.), Scott Westerfeld (Midnighters trilogy and Uglies trilogy), Walter Farley ("The Black Stallion" series), and Stephenie Meyer ("Twilight" series), plus many others.
How long should a chapter be?	As long or short as it needs to be.
Do you write/read drabbles?	Yup.
Any fandoms you avoid?	Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings now. It's freaking scary out there!
Pairings you avoid?	Anything slash.
Warnings you avoid?	Slash is where I draw the line.
Do the number of reviews tell how good a story is?	Not necessarily.
What do you think of Mary Sues?	I'm not really opposed, but dang it, they do get old after a while.
Have you ever flamed someone?	Nope.
Have you ever been flamed?	I don't remember. I think I have been, but it obviously didn't make much of an impression.
That's it, aren't you glad?	Woo! Now I can get back to other pointless tasks! :-D
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Squirrel-ing around...

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 01:22:31 GMT

I'm just trying out my new icon. Yes, I take pictures of squirrels in my free time. Yes, I write about squirrels in my novels. Yes, I feed squirrels and yell "SQUIRREL!" everytime I see one. And I even talk to them in the mornings when I'm bored...

Besides the squirrel talk, I'm preparing for mid-terms so I won't be on much. Also I got to drive to the mall and the other bookstore by myself and meet up with Emily at both places. I also lost her, but she found me again. And I drove in a parking garage I've never even been in before. That was a strange experience.

And apparently my parents check on my whereabouts and drive past where I'm supposed to be to make sure I'm there (or that the car is). That's creepy.

But I got Rear Window on DVD finally! Yay!

And Coldest Degree is complete. If you'd like to read the full novel, leave me a comment saying you'd like it. I'll send it via e-mail. I don't know if I'll upload the whole novel on fictionpress or not yet.

Until the next post, I am squirrel... Hear me ROAR! :-D

Day 2 of X-mas Break

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:52:25 GMT

Yesterday was the lazy day. Today I'm actually supposed to acomplish things. *snorts* As if that's really gonna happen.

Well, I did do my gov't homework and I read a newspaper. I think it was the Post. I don't really know though, it was just sitting on the counter in the kitchen eariler and I was bored. It was yesterday's paper anyways.

I started a JxL manip this morning. I'm at the stage where I'm transferring it to my laptop so I can screw with it in PhotoShop now. I also have to finish the cut out backgrounds (COBs) for yearbook. I'm trying to find a way to make myself look less fat in the pic I have to use for the uniform page. Blue, thick sweaters paired with white oxfords are NOT flattering. At least my hair was behaving.

I'm going to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets tonight with my parents. We actually planned this almost a month ago, which is shocking for my family. Then I have to get up and go to work tomorrow. *yawn* At least I get to give Em her Christmas gift then.

# of Christmas cookies eaten today: 6
# of minutes spent on the treadmill: 0 so far

Meme shoplifted from playswithstars

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:05:33 GMT

I just felt like doing the meme on playswithstarsLJ, so here it goes....

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be?
Can the phone not ring? That'd be nice. Well, if it had to ring, then probably Carter because I haven't talked to her in four days.

2. If you had to kiss the last person you kissed, would you?
God no. Nooooo......

3. Do you take compliments well?
I think so, but they kinda make me nervous.

4. Do you play Sudoku?
Yes! It's the only math-related thing I can actually stand, let alone do!

5. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive?
For a day or two... maybe. It depends on the wilderness, the time of year, and my gear.

6. Do you like tongue rings?
Gross... that's all I have to say about it.

7. Did you ever go to camp as a kid?
Horse camp with Becca for like... five years? Good times, good times...

8. How do you feel right now?
Tired and my feet hurt.

9. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs?
Yup. Religion is not an issue for me.

10. Do you like to pursue or be pursued?
I would like to be pursued... but not stalked. No more stalkers thank you very much.

11. Use three words to describe yourself at the moment.
Tired, hungry, and sleepy.

12. Do any songs make you cry?
Sometimes. Movies and books are more likely to make me cry though.

13. Are you continuing your education?
Yup, I'm in college already. Bring it on, PhD!

14. Do you know how to shoot a gun?
I think so, but I'd love to learn.

15. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grab?
My computer. Techincally the desktop CPU. That and my signed copy of Hide by Lisa Gardner. My writing journals inside my Harry Potter bag too. Those three and my blankie of course. Watch me--I'd carry it all and then some.

16. Who was the last person you shared a bed with?
No one.

17. Favorite children's movie?
I'm agreeing with Erin on Finding Nemo. Ah, 8th grade...

18. What color are your eyes?
Either blue, green, grey or a combo or two or more of the above.

19. How tall are you?
I'm officially five ft three and a half and proud of it! (5 ft 3 1/2")

20. Hair color?
Red, brown, blonde. Depends on the season and how much sun I got. It's more red-brown in the winter.

21. If you could do it over again, start from scratch, would you?
Do what over? My life? Hell yeah.

22. Any secret admirers?
Only in my dreams, hehehe.

23. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth?
Nope.

24. Do you like mustard?
Eww, no.

25. Do you prefer to sleep or eat?
Food!

26. Do you look like your mom or dad?
Neither...I look like my aunt.

27. How long does it take you to shower?
Umm, baths more so than showers and it take me anywhere from 10 mins to an hr depending on the day.

28. Can you do a split?
Nope.

29. What movie do you want to see right now?
Ummm, I can't think of any names at the moment, but there's a few. Grr, stupid memory.

30. What did you do for last New Year's?
I watched Batman Begins on my laptop while my neighbors tried to blow up the street.

31. Do you think The Grudge was crappy?
Yes! It was sooo bad it was funny. Dolly and I made fun of it.

32. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
4 to 6hrs is considered good. On Saturdays nights, I get about 8hrs.

33. Do you know how to whistle?
Nope.

34. What do you buy at the movies?
Candy on my own and popcorn if I go with Kate.

35. Do you know how to play poker?
Nope, never learned.

36. Do you wear your seatbelt?
Always.

37. What do you wear to sleep?
Either sweats, flannel pj bottoms, or shorts with a loose t-shirt or one of my dad's work shirts. I try my best not to match.

38. Anything big ever happen in your town?
Does the SWAT team count?

39. Is your hair straight or curly?
Very cury naturally. Usually curly.

40. Have you ever been in love?
Maybe. I'm not really sure.

41. Do you like funny or serious people better?
Funny people all the way! I'd rather laugh.

42. Ever been to L.A.?
Nope, but my friend Marlene has! She's a CA lover.

43. Ever been out of the U.S.?
Nope.

44. Where did you go?
Nowhere.

45. Planning to go anywhere this year?
My aunt's in Mt. Airy. And visiting more colleges.

46. Do you hate chocolate?
Are you crazy? I LOVE it!

47. Are you a gullible person?
Not any more.

48. Do you need a bf/gf to be happy?
Nope. All I need is me, myself, and I. And a few good books. :)

49. Do you have socks on right now?
Unfortunately. I hate them.

50. Are you easy to get along with?
Depends on the day and who the hell you are.

51. What is your favorite time of day?
Nighttime is my time...

52. Do you like pink?
Hell no. It freaks me out.

53. Do you like your last ex?
No. He's a freakin' retard. I'm sooo glad that's over.

54. Do you have a car?
I share with my dad. It's a 2004 Suzuki Forenza and it's tan. We call it the stealthmobile.

55. Any pets?
Two Yorkshire Terrors--I mean terriers--though only the fat one is mine. Her name is Sset and Bucho belongs to my mum. I used to have a horse named Beauty.

56. Do you live with your parents?
At the moment, yes.

57. Are your grandparents still alive?
Grandma on my mum's side is the only one left.

58. What's your favorite season?
Fall or spring. Summer isn't because it's so dang hot.

59. What do you look for in significant others?
They need to be funny, not creepy (stalkers need not apply), and NO RED HAIR! Yeah, I think that covers it.

60. Favorite music?
Whatever fits my mood.

61. Who are your favorite friends?
In no particular order: Carter, Marlene, Sana, Kate, Emily, Dolly, Nina, Erin, Mandy, and basically anyone I call a friend.

62. Do you like kids?
Depends on the kid... I grew up in a preschool.

63. Do you have a job?
Too many to list. My many one that I recieve a steady paycheck for is as a library page.

64. What do you watch on TV?
Heroes, Criminal Minds, Bones, CSI, House, M.D.,Women's Murder Club, and Numb3rs.

65. What pisses you off?
Too many things to think of. Abusive people are at the top though.

66. Do you get along with your parents?
Depends on the day.

67. Are you a messy or neat person?
OCD, therefore I am neat.

68. What's your favorite food?
Mac and cheese, oatmeal, soup, ice cream (cotton candy with cookie dough mixed in = heaven!), Chick-fil-a, and more. Now I'm really, really hungry...

69. Least favorite food?
Most types of meat.

70. (LAST QUESTION!) Do you believe in God?
Depends on the day, but yeah, 99% of the time I do. I'm trying.

Christmas shopping...

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 21:35:45 GMT

I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping. I have to get two more small gifts and a few picture frames and I'm done. Well, I still have to get my dad's gift, but it's basically done.

I managed to get Dolly and Emily's gifts last night, part of Carter's today, Marlene's has been on my shelf, my mum's has been here a while too. I have to get the other part of Carter's tomorrow afternoon and get Sana's gift. That should do it though.

Acutally, I still have to pull together the surprise gifts for Sana, Marlene, my mum, Emily, and Kate. (It's a copy of the edited CD manuiscript that I'm going to bind myself with a cover. I have to get all the materials for it and prepare it. It's going to take most of my time on Tuesday to finish the editing changes with my teacher. So Tuesday night I'll be printing and binding, though I might start printing the beginning half early.

I'm going to need a lot of paper. Hmm, I should make a Office Depot run tomorrow night after school after I hit the guitar shop. Must borrow car tomorrow night. Mum's not supposed to know about the manuiscript as gift. Therefore, I need to get the supplies myself. I feel so devious.

I'm going to have to ask dad for a bit of money towards buying some ink. I have a feeling my ink tank won't survive printing 500+ sheets of paper. Actually, I should run this all by dad and see what materials we have. But I still have to buy it tomorrow night at the latest.

I'm going back to wrapping presents. Hopefully I'll have a normal entry soon--not a to-do list style one.

Final edit of Coldest Degree: December 18th!!!

Only three more days of school until break, and only about 90 cookies to bake, and a lot of other things to do.

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:56:32 GMT

So I'm sick. Again.

First I caught a cold-like thing at the end of NaNoWriMo. Now I have a stomach virus.

Imagine feeling like your organs between your hips and the middle of your rib cage were being compressed. That's what it feels like for me right now, not to mention nearly vomitting. I was shaking really badly last night because of the pain. It was like someone having a seziure. And damn it, it still really hurts.

I'm running a fever of close to 101, so fingers crossed that I get tomorrow off as well.

I just finished my college class, so I'm waiting on my final grade results. Fingers crossed again in hopes that I get a high B or a low A in that class.

Coldest Degree is in the final stages of editing with my teacher. I'm still waiting for word from the agent who requested the first 50 pages, which was all reworked stuff. I'm slowly loading the rework onto fictionpress. I'll put a link as soon as I get a few more chapters up.

I'm starting the rework of Fatal Target. I have to restructure the entire beginning because I cut the trial scenes from Coldest Degree. So there's a lot of changes to come. Not to mention that the college is changing, the state is changing, and oh yeah, there's name changes too. Lots of changes.

I plan on working on my fan fics soon (Guilty As Charged and Total Strangers) and there might be another Christmasy-type one-shot. Maybe...

Good news is that I'm getting better with PhotoShop, so I might make some JxL graphics soon. :-D Bad news is that the holiday season isn't going well for my family...and I have a trial coming up. It's going to be a stressful season, so I'll probably work my butt off and try to stay busy, so look for a lot to come in December/January. :)

NaNoWriMo - Day #14

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 01:25:46 GMT

Almost halfway through NaNoWriMo. I'm loving it, I just wish I wasn't in the middle of so many projects so I could focus on my NaNo.

There's been a few good scenes I've written so far, so here's a few peeks at the unedited third part of my untitle series with Katherine from Coldest Degree. And so far, Det. Brown, Aidan Murphy, Jackson Robertson, Lisa Robertson, and Kat--of course--are all back along with some new faces from Jackson's company and a new set of villians. Yes, multiple villians.

These aren't the full scenes, just short pieces of them. For quick lines, check out the quotes page (http://www.freewebs.com/killzonenovel/quotes.htm)

Kill Zone - Chapter Six (Kat & Aidan heading to an emergency meeting)

“What’s the emergency?” Kat demanded as she ran around the passenger side of the blue BMW, her laptop case in hand. Aidan unlocked the car with the flick of a button as he hopped into the driver’s side.

“I don’t know, but he sounds freaked.”

“This is dad—freaked is his nature state.”

“And yours is permanently stuck in pissed off,” he muttered, starting the engine.

She shot him a look to show her displeasure. Her nose was wrinkled as if he was an offensive odor she wished would go away.

“You know, your face might end up stuck like that if you keep it up,” he teased, tweaking her nose as he did a U-turn to get down the driveway faster.

“Hey! My face is just fine!”

“For a circus clown—“

Kat punched him in the right arm. “That’s not cool.”

“Hey, be nice to me—I’m driving!”

“Does it look like I care?”

Kill Zone - Chapter Seven (Kat & Aidan get new IDs)

“We’re just going to have to get you out of here. You packed bags already, yes?”

Aidan nodded, stepping behind Kat. He wrapped his arms around her protectively.

“Good.”

Jackson went to his desk, setting the gun down on top of the deep mahogany wood. He riffled in the drawers, sorting through papers and other objects until he pulled out a thick envelope.

“I’d hoped it’d never come to this,” he said quietly, handing the brown envelope to Aidan. The younger man took it carefully, undoing the brass prongs holding it closed.

Kat peered into the envelope. “Jeesh, dad, did you put an elephant in here too?”

“No, just a hamster. I know how much you wanted one as pet,” he teased good-naturally.

“How thoughtful,” she remarked as Aidan opened the envelope, spreading the contents on Jackson’s bare desk.

Jackson twitched. He hated papers being on his desk.

Aidan picked up two driver’s licenses. “Peter McCormick? Who the hell is he?”

“That would be you… once we change a few things.”

“A few things? I don’t even see a picture on this!”

Jackson smiled. “That’s because we have to do a little work. Your stats will be staying the same. Katherine’s too… except for one thing.”

Kat grabbed the other license. “You’ve got to be joking. Again? We just changed it!”

Her father tugged on the brown curls. “I’m not. You’re going to be a redhead again, Caitlin, and Peter here is going to get a haircut. We’ll finish your passports at the same time.”

“Passports?”

“Just in case,” Jackson added. “Really, it’s not that bad.”

Kill Zone - Chapter Seven (Kat & Aidan's "wedding")

“Not that bad, my foot,” Kat mumbled two hours later, the blue dress stuck to her skin. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Ssh, Caitlin,” Aidan teased. “He’s trying to help us.”

“By making us look like fools? Yeah, really smart move, dad.”

Aidan slipped the ring on her left hand. “Come on, you know you at least like the ring.”

She sighed, glancing at the diamond. “I do.”

“Good, because I do too.”

Aidan leaned forward, kissing her on the lips. She tried to resist at first, but quickly gave in, her arms encircling his neck.

“Mrs. Peter McCormick… that actually has a nice ring to it,” he whispered into her ear.

“Yeah, well I was planning on being Mrs. Aidan Murphy… not Mrs. McCormick. I feel like I belong on a spice bottle.”

Kill Zone - Chapter Seven (Kat & Aidan and the stray dog/rabid squirrel/Dracula scene)

“You’d better—otherwise you can find yourself a new home.”

“You’d kick me out?”

“Like a stray dog.”

“You’d kick out a stray dog? How heartless…”

“Fine… a stray dog with fleas. Are you happy now?” Kat corrected, rolling her blue eyes.

“Why not just give him a flea bath?”

“Because… he’s a stray dog with fleas and rabies!” She made a hissing sound and faked having claws.

“How is a dog really that unlucky?”

“Because… the rabid squirrel that bit him had fleas too. He got both from the squirrel…”

“Are there really any rabid squirrels around here?” Aidan looked out the window, rabid squirrel-hunting with his eyes.

“Yup. They all live in my backyard and at the library. Those library squirrels are nuts.”

“Aww, maybe they’re just ‘nutty’ about reading!” Aidan teased.

“Or… just plain nuts. Those squirrels are certifiably insane! One of them attacked me once—“

“Oh… now that explains why you’re crazy. Are you—is that foam coming from your mouth?”

“Yes.” Kat switched into a thick accent. “I vwant to suck your blood!”

“I hate to break it to you, but that’s just wrong on so many levels…”

“How so?”

“First off, that was Dracula. Only vampires suck blood. And second, that was the absolute worst fake-Transylvanian accent I’ve ever heard.”

Kat started to giggle, which quickly turned to squeaks as she collapsed against Aidan’s chest. He was laughing as well, holding her close to his chest as she struggled to breathe.

“Hey… it’s not that funny,” he muttered. “Breathe, Katy.”

“Trying…”

He smiled at her, brushing her recently-reddened hair aside. “God, you’re gorgeous when you laugh.”

She blushed, color flooding her pale cheeks.

“What? You know it’s true,” he muttered, leaning closer.

She didn’t respond, she just wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently at first.

Aidan smirked, pulling her closer as he returned the kiss, deepening it as the limo drove them to their new house—a property Jackson Robertson had been hiding for several months just in case—and their new life.

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 02:09:41 GMT

I've been very busy lately. I'm doing NaNoWriMo and some other stuff has happened, including my work schedule changing to an all-day shift on Saturday. I hope to do a better entry soon.

CD soundtrack now up!

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:49:12 GMT

I finished the CD soundtrack last night and uploaded it. Check it out (http://www.freewebs.com/coldestdegree/soundtrack.htm) and it can be downloaded. If you'd still like to download or view the FT soundtrack, here's the page again (http://www.freewebs.com/fatal-target/soundtrack.htm)

Retail Therapy

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:40:06 GMT

I went driving and shopping with dad today. Driving is very relaxing to me. It's almost like horseback riding only not. It's good to be in control of something. Shopping helps too.

I also saw Uncle Paul today. I don't think I've seen him in over two years. He gave me my Christmas present early--a make-up set. Maybe I'll learn how to do a bit of make-up here and there.

After visiting Uncle Paul I drove to the mall for the first time. I'm getting better at parking. I went in Bakers and bought some shoes. So now I have a cute pair of black heels that are my own and some closed-toe brown ones. These shoes actually fit me and are very comfortable. Hopefully dad won't work overtime all this week and I can wear them to dinner on Friday. I might wear the black ones to work, but it's a four-hour shift so I might not. Maybe after work with my jeans.

I went in Borders looking for a CD that the online inventory said they had but last time I was there I didn't see it. I still didn't see it so I asked for help and it turns out they only had one copy of it and it was nowhere in sight. So I asked dad if he wouldn't mind if we went across the street to Best Buy. Sure enough, they still had a copy on the shelf and I bought that and the DVD I almost bought last week. I'm broke again, but I still have a paycheck to deal with. Daddy's going to get paid most of it though--paying up for Heroes season 1 and the $1 I had to borrow from him today. But he's good at me paying him later. I might see if he'll place an order for some books and another DVD on amazon this week since I can't find any of them in stores near us. I'll have to make up a list and figure out prices.

Well, I've got homework to do. Later!

Delays...

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 01:07:51 GMT

My flash drive, containing all of my writing from the past year, has died. Hopefully, the data can be removed by a tech geek (sadly I do not completely posess Kat's computer skills) over the weekend. For the time being, I'm stuck trying to re-type my printouts. I have no idea when a new chapter for any fan fics or novels will be up.

I'm sorry. But I gotta get back to typing.

Driving and other news...

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 00:12:45 GMT

Got almost 2 hrs in today. I actually had to go driving before work and then later after it. I'm going again for at least 2 hrs tomorrow. Dad and I are really trying to knock out those remaining hours. I'm getting pretty good at parking now.

25 hrs to go...

My boxed set of season 1 of Heroes came today. I bought season 2 of Bones last night at Borders after driving around town looking for it. I've got a few DVDs this week and a CD. My b-day money's almost gone. Mum was fighting me tooth-and-nail about buying DVDs. Oh well... it gives me something to do besides sit at my desk.

My head's stopped hurting since my fall but my back's pretty sore and stiff. It was pretty stupid of me to think that I could ride, especially on a tall horse. It was a long way down and I'm very lucky all I ended up with was bruises and muscle aches.

I talked to Kate last night. Our favorite teacher had a baby two months ago named Reily. Unforunately, the girl was born with Down's Syndrome. The saddest part of this besides the fact that these are two of the best people I know (a take on their name is CD and FT) is that she taught my science classes and we once discussed Down's Syndrome. It made the news hit home a little harder when Kate and I were talking because we both remembered the discussion.

Dolly's surgery is on Tuesday. She's still having trouble getting around--it's hard when your foot is fractured in 5 places and both your ankle and tibia are broken. The pain's getting more managable though. My b-day party's been post-poned until she's back on her feet again. At this rate, Kate and I should just do a joint 17th party.

More later... I have to get back to working on CD. I'm on a deadline.

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 01:57:44 GMT

Fanfiction Meme was tagged by thee orphan_kitten

1. What's you're favorite fanfic pairing? JxL of course!
2. Do you write fanfiction (if so for what fandom(s)? ) yes I do and I've written for Lord of the Rings, Tru Calling, Harry Potter, Hidalgo, and most importantly (and my focus) for Red Eye. (author's page here)
3. What's youre favorite genre fic? mystery/suspense/thriller
4. How many years have you been writing/reading fanfiction? too long :)
5. Have a few favorite fanfic authors? yes, some of them are A Pieces Alone, AHS, plays-with-stars, Eccentric Banshee, Royalty09 and My Brighter Darkeness (nina_rippner) (more on my fav authors bit on my author's page)
6. What was the first fanfiction you read? I have no idea... probably an LotR fic or a Harry Potter one.
7. Describe the fanfic? I have no idea
8. What fanfic made you want to read it over and over again? Oh geesh, there's sooo many! Basically any of the Red Eye fics on my favorites list.
9. What are you're OTPS? JxL from Red Eye
10. Was this meme long? not really, it just made me think

Tag Four People: anyone who wants to do it... go for it!

Taking a fall...

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:29:13 GMT

I had my first riding lesson of the season today. Unfortunately, the barn my school's riding at is too far away from my house, so I won't be able to stay there. It's a nice place, but it sounds like I'll be going back to Oak Crest, where I used to ride all the time. As long as I get to ride I don't care.

Anyways, I rode a horse named Carbon today. He was black, thin-boned (not sure what breed) and probably 16 hh or more. It was hard to get on him, so it was a long way down.

He looked almost identical to my old horse, my baby Beauts. He had a sensitive mouth too so we got along really well.

Until our second time cantering.

I lost my left stirrup and it all went downhill from there. Long story short, I ended up flying off after I lost both stirrups and was litterly wrapped around his neck. I also had him under control when my weight shifted too much and I hit the dirt. I fell on my butt first, then smack my back and my head. Thank God for helmets! I end up with dirt down my pants. Honestly.

So now I'm really sore and I'm lucky I didn't twist my neck. I almost did.

But I bounced back up a few minutes later, walked around on foot to stop the shaking in my legs, and climbed back on for another 15-20 mins. We rode for almost an hr and a half.

It was fun though. I'm just really hurting.

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 01:43:39 GMT

Yay, it's almost my b-day! Just a few more hours now...

The Fatal Target soundtrack is now up on the site (http://www.freewebs.com/fatal-target/soundtrack.htm) and the songs are available for download. When the link dies, please let me know and I'll re-upload. I spent most of today making copies of the soundtrack for my friends. The cover art was fun this time and I decided to try mixing it up a bit.

Anyways, I've got a new fic to start. It's a twist on the original Red Eye that I wrote a few thoughts down about probably a year ago. It'll be the second anniversary fic. That's right, I started writing Red Eye fan fics two years ago tomorrow. It's a fun anniversary and I'll have to watch Red Eye tomorrow as well. Tradition dictacts that I do so.

Fingers crossed that Dolly's surgery goes well tomorrow!