Music, Writing, and a Contest

Since I was about eighteen, music has been a huge part of my life. Almost everything I do is set to music. A soundtrack can make or break a movie or TV show. I listen to everything from Enya to Lacuna Coil, Sarah McLachlan to Rob Zombie. The only music I refuse to listen to is rap, country, R&B, and that really screamy heavy metal (ex: Pantera).

Because everything I do is set to music, it only makes sense that everything my characters do is, as well. I have soundtracks for each book I write. Today I put together the beginning of a soundtrack for Stars Without Name, my Cupid-and-Psyche novel. Here's some of the songs:
"Everything" - Alanis Morrisette
"It's All Over But the Crying" - Garbage
"Motif" - Mythos
"Wear Your Love Like Heaven" - Sarah McLachlan
"Right Between the Eyes" - Garbage
"The Magic's in the Makeup" - No Doubt
"Persephone" - Unto Ashes

I may add in some Lifehouse and maybe some Lacuna Coil later, when I hear a song that strikes me as appropriate.

While I'm on the subject of writing, let me give you my most recent word count stats.
Words: 30,961
Pages: 64
Difference: 3,874 (phew!)
Words to Go: 69,039

The fun part is I'm about halfway through the novel. Which is going to mean LOTS of fluffing the plot later to make it to the 100,000 word length I'm aiming at.

Here's a chance for someone (maybe a couple of someones) to get an acknowledgement in the book when it's finally published. I'm a bit stuck on Psyche's three tasks assigned by Aphrodite. Here they are:
1. Sort a huge pile of seeds. In the myth, a bunch of ants come and help Psyche with this task, and she's done within the allotted time.
2. Gather golden fleece from wild sheep. In the myth, someone tells Psyche not to try to get it directly from the sheep, because they'll maul her. Instead, she waits until they're napping and gets a bit from a bush they've rubbed up against.
3. Go into Hades and get a box supposedly containing beauty from Persephone. In the myth, Psyche tries to kill herself in order to go into Hades, but is stopped by a naiad (or someone) and told of a path into the Underworld. Once there, she manages to convince Persephone to give her the box, but on her way back up, she opens it. Instead of beauty, it holds enchanted sleep. Cupid comes back and wakes her up, then takes her back to Aphrodite with the box.

In my novel, the Aphrodite character is a wedding planner as well as a Fire mage. I need these tasks to coincide somehow with tasks a wedding planner and magician would need completed. If you suggest something, and I choose to use your suggestion, I'll give you a shout out in the acknowledgement page. Later, when I'm rich and famous, I'll be able to do these contests and give away free books. :)

Get on it! Give me suggestions! Go!

Bang Bang

Yesterday W.E. and I went out and bought me a rifle. A Bushmaster AR 15 to be more precise. Looks something like this:

Why in the world, you ask, have I decided to become the owner of a bigass (well, medium-sized, really) gun? Why would I want to put myself on a government watchlist, labeled a "right-wing militia," "domestic terrorist?" It's precisely because of these labels, and said government watchlist. The government has become too big, and scary. They've taken away all of our rights except the Third Amendment, which will probably also go out the window if there's a war on our soil. Soldiers brag about "defending the liberty of the American people," but they're stuck over in Iraq while our liberty is being taken away here. Not that they'd be able to do anything about it if they were here; they'd be working for the government, not against it. For the most part.

"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
--V, V for Vendetta

Interview

I had an interview with B&N today at 3. It went pretty well, I suppose, though I got nervous and started babbling. Then wasn't expecting a semi-structured interview and didn't have questions ready for the interviewer. He did seem, if not impressed, at least satisfied. He said they have 4 positions open and 8-12 people interviewing, and that they'll most likely be calling me back for a second interview.

I guess we'll see how that goes.

I'm stealing time from class, so I'm gonna go now.

Job Prospects

A certain bookstore chain (which we'll call B&N) to which I've been applying for the last 2 years finally called me yesterday "in regards to your application." Unfortunately, by the time I got home to call them back, the manager had already gone home. The lady I talked to said to call him back today at around 10:30. I'm hoping to schedule an interview for today, if possible, and minimize the time I have to spend at the BRGS/CS. I will keep you, Gentle Readers, updated on this. I'm incredibly excited; working in a bookstore is like an English major's wet dream. Besides, although its still customer service, it's a better clientele. I won't be working with random idiots who wander in off the street wanting a pack of cigarettes we don't even carry then having a fit and throwing things when we tell him/her we don't carry them. Oh, yes. It's happened. No, these will be reading people. People I can discuss books with. People I can recommend books to. Smart people, or at least intellectual people.

Have I mentioned I'm excited?

So here's how the writing is going:
Words: 27,087
Pages: 56
Difference: 2,696 words, 6 pages
Words to go: 72,913

The fun part is, I'm just over a quarter of the way done, and I'm about to dive into the climax of the story. Great. This means LOTS of going back and attempting to add stuff in to make the story longer. Lately, though, instead of writing at work, I've been playing Diablo II. Bad me. I'm going to make a concerted effort not to do that today. Considering that I've finished my homework up through next Tuesday, there's not much else to do but write. Or play video games. It helps that in about an hour and a half, I have to call B&N to schedule an interview, and the BRGS/CS to see if T has fixed my schedule yet. Then I have a student coming in at 11. That pretty much fills up the middle of my day. So no Diablo II until at least 11:30. ^_^

I suppose I'll go work on the short story my fiction writing class ripped to shreds last night. (Actually, it wasn't bad. Just a few issues that anyone not used to reading sci-fi would have, but some really great suggestions, too.)

Promised Pictures

Okay, I've been promising pictures for awhile, so here you go. My cubicle:



I know it's not much to look at. I can't do much to it because I'm not the only one using it. But that's my workstation--my computer, my can of Diet Dr. Pepper (Diet Pepsi today), my breakfast (kinda hidden behind the chair), my purse, my backpack.

Then there's this:




That's a seagull. Several hundred miles inland. They come around every winter, for some reason. Usually there's huge flocks of them in the Wal-Mart parking lot. This year there weren't so many around. I'm blaming global warming.

Speaking of global warming, we got a half-assed ice/slush storm last night. I would have taken a picture of the snowish-slushish-iceish mess outside, but everyone had tromped all over it and driven all over it before I got up, so it was all ruined. Not so pretty. It's only the third time this winter we've had any kind of wintery weather. The first year I was in this area, they had to close the university three times due to snow. Now the best we get is a delayed opening. Very frustrating. As little as I agree with the Democrats on most issues, maybe with the oil man out of office, we'll finally get some movement toward alternative energy sources.

Well, must go do homework and write. Should be fun.

More Writing

I should have been doing homework while sitting here in the tutoring center, and I did get a little done (I finished reading The Bluest Eye), but mostly I've been writing. So here's my new stats:

Words:24,391
Pages: 50
Difference: 848 words, 2 pages
Words to go: 75,609

Bleh. While it's not a lot of actual writing, it was important writing; fleshing out subplots and adding characterization. I can't wait until I've finished the main storyline and all of the writing is fleshing and characterizing. Oh, wait. Yes, I can. That's the part I hate most. Sigh.

Well, I have a student coming in 5 minutes, so I'll wrap this up for now. I promise, Gentle Readers, I will get my camera hooked up to my computer so you can see the picture of my cubicle, and the pictures of the way-too-far-inland seagulls I took a few days ago.

Writing and Tutoring

I had my first student in today. She's taking an art course and her teacher offered extra credit if she brings her weekly papers in to be proofread. She doesn't really need me; she's got a good grip on style and language. She's just in for the extra credit. That's fine with me. I'll see her twice a week for these papers, and she'll probably be my easiest student.

I've gotten some writing done while I've been sitting here for the 3 1/2 hours I wasn't with a student. Here's my new novel stats:
Words: 23,543
Pages: 48
Difference: 4,468 words, 7 pages
Words to go: 76,457

It sounds like I've made a lot of headway, but I really didn't do any writing over winter break. My muse was dead. Sucked up in the awfulness that is the BRGS/CS. Now that I'm back in school and actually have something to stimulate my brain, the ideas are flowing. Time is still an issue, but I'm making that work. I have four hours a day of sitting here in the tutoring center to do homework (and there's a lot of it!) and write (not much time for that).

For my technical writing course, I've had to hunt down jobs I'll be able to get after finishing my Master's. I've discovered I hate job hunting. And that a person with a Master of English, no teaching experience, and very little "real-world" experience (apparently Wal-Mart and the BRGS/CS don't count) has next to no prospects. Thank God I plan to get a Ph.D., even though my tech writing teacher says there's a glut of Ph.D.s and we shouldn't bother. My thought is that by the time I finish my education, people his age (which make up 95% of our department, anyway) will be retiring. Then there will be plenty of job openings.

Okay, well, my time here at the tutoring center is about up, so I'm gonna go print off some stuff for class and head home. Ciao!

You Give Religion a Bad Name

Apparently I'm one of the last to know about this guy, but there's a "preacher" named Brother Micah who wanders around college campuses telling the students just how sinful they are and how they're going to hell. According to him, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, Mother Theresa, etc. are all in hell. Why? MLK, Jr. was an adulterer. Ghandi was an idolater. Mother Theresa was a [gasp] Catholic.

Excuse me?!

It's people like him that give Christianity a bad name. That make the rest of us look like raving lunatics. That drive people away from God rather than bringing them to Him. It's frankly annoying.

The kids in the videos (this one, for example) aren't exactly helping. They might think they're all righteous and stuff, but they're really just egging him on. You know what might help? Ignoring him.

On a brighter note, I got a nifty counter that tells me how many (or few) people are reading my blog, how they found me, and what search engine terms got them here. I've gotten hits from California (I bet it's Sass . . . hey Sass!), Turkey, Australia, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. One person found me by searching for "I Think I'll Go Eat Worms" on Google. Another was searching for "tutor." It makes me wonder how far down the Google list they went to find me!

Must go read Morrison, though I'd much rather be reading C.S. Lewis.

Tutoring

So here I am in my cubicle--and it's not a small one, or even very secluded!--for my first day of working in the University Writing Center. So far, I'm hating the having to get up at 7:30, but loving that I have no students yet so I have four hours to sit here and do homework. The staff of the learning center is very helpful and nice. One of the administrators came back here a minute ago to point out the coffee maker, the printer (which I can wirelessly connect to from my laptop), Praxis materials so I can help aspiring teachers, etc. She even said that when W.E. gets out of class he can hang here in my cubicle as long as I don't have a student. I've not had another job where they don't care if someone just hangs out with you.

Last night was my last as a supervisor. I'll be turning in my black button-up shirts for maroon polos (like ANS is wearing) and working only 20 hours a week. I'm hoping when the store is better staffed to back off on my hours to maybe 10-15 so I can get some sleep occasionally. I'm already starting to plan my days around napping.

I have a picture of my cubile, which I will post as soon as I get to my cord so I can download it to my computer. For right now, though, I have a lot of work to do, so I'd better get to it.

Tangled Webs

Yesterday I informed my manager (J, the real manager) of my intention to step down from my supervisory position. Apparently her interviews for Manager (she's still just an assistant manager) didn't go as she expected, and she's considering finding a new job, as well. She expressed her understanding and we set a date--January 15th--for my last day as a supervisor. I also warned her that I do have applications out at other places (Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million right now; also considering Hot Topic), but since I haven't even been called back by any of those places yet, that I wasn't quitting. Yet.


All of the salespeople are excited that I'll be working with them again (apparently there's more of a divide between managers and salespeople than I knew), and even more excited that I'm not quitting. Yet. I'm just excited about my graduate assistantship. I love teaching. I can't wait to start.


Rumors abound at the store, however. I've heard many in the last few days. They include (in no particular order):

1. Upper management is forcing me and the other student/supervisors to choose between school and management. (They haven't; not in so many words, anyway, but that does seem to be the implication.)
2. Every last shift supervisor is quitting, as is half the crew. (Possibly.)
3. L, our old manager, was suspended for "falsifying payroll." Whatever that means. Something about not turning in his vacation time through "proper channels." (I talked to him last night; he says he knows nothing about it.)
4. T, the acting manager, is completely ruining the store. (True.)


On to more uplifting subjects.


When attempting to lose weight, it's always important to focus on the little perks. Last night I noticed that my wedding ring slides off much more easily and the nasty red groove on my finger is gone. Yay! Today, the heater is on and my hands have swollen, so my ring won't come off as easily, but just knowing that it does--when I'm cold--is awesome. Yay!


Oh, and I just looked out the window, and its SNOWING!!! Finally! We've gotten maybe an eighth of an inch of snow so far this winter, and its finally snowing. Hard. And its sticking. Yippee!

Unfortunately, you can't actually see the snow falling in the picture, but you can see it starting to accumulate on the ground in the garden. Those little white squares are usually brown.

Off to get ready for a manager's meeting (my last!) and class (yay!).

Duckies!

Everyone must watch this video because I said so:





Duckies!! I love how bounceable they are.
"I flied?"
"No . . . you falled."
(Ducky and Petrie; Land Before Time)

I Love Rock n Roll

W.E. rigged up a Velcro thingy to hold my MP3 player on my Gazelle. Now I can rock out and exercise at the same time. Go me! And go W.E.--the awesomest fixer-of-stuff since MacGyver.

I've been offered a position in the university's tutoring program--as a tutor, not as one needing a tutor. It's only 20 hours a week, and it's a smallish stipend, but it would give me a buffer if I need to quit the BRGS/CS to give me a chance to find another job--one which will be more flexible with my school schedule. Like Barnes & Noble. I would LOVE to work at Barnes & Noble. Maybe being surrounded by that many books would help my inspiration level (which has been quashed by all the crap going on at my current place of employment).

So here's the plan: I have informed the head of the department that I'm interested in the tutoring position. Tomorrow I'm going to Barnes & Noble to put in an application. And I'll most likely step down from supervisor to salesperson--unless and until I get a new job.

At this spacious moment, however, its nearly midnight, I worked for 9 hours today, then came home and burned up my Gazelle for 30 minutes. I'm beat. G'nights!

I Hate My Job

I don't remember if I've mentioned that my boss, L, is moving back "up the road," as they say here in the South (even though he's a 4-hour drive away. To me that's not "up the road," that's 4 bleeding hours!). That means he isn't my boss anymore, and hasn't been for about two weeks.

The B.R.G.S./C.S. has gone to shit. And I don't use words like that lightly. Half the crew is talking about quitting. I'm considering a drastic decision myself (not saying what it is just yet in case some of my co-workers read this--hi guys!). Nobody likes T, the manager from the other BRGS up the road (really this time; only about 20 minutes away) who's supposed to be training our manager, J, but is really taking over. New rules include:

1. If we are called, for any reason, and don't answer the phone, we have 1 hour to call the store back or we're in big trouble.

Why it's a problem: I don't own a cell phone. I have no intention of owning a cell phone any time soon. I can't AFFORD a bleeding cell phone. Therefore, if I'm not sitting at home, or running my errands REALLY DAMN FAST, then I'll be in trouble at some point. Also, I have classes three nights a week, for three hours at a time. If T really wants to get me in trouble (which I wouldn't put past her), all she has to do is call or have someone call when she KNOWS I'm in class.

2. If someone calls in for their shift, we MUST find someone to cover them, or the supervisors have to split the shift (each working a 12-hour shift). Regardless of how many other people there are on the shift. If a salesperson calls off and there are 6 other salespeople on the schedule, we still have to cover that one person's shift. T said "if that's what the schedule calls for, that's how many people you need. Period."

Why it's a problem: people call in all the time. It's not always an emergency, or hasn't been before now. Getting another salesperson to come in to cover one who's called off is problematic at best, and impossible at worst. This means I'll be pulling 12-hour shifts ALL THE FREAKING TIME. Oh, and they also want no overtime. HA!

3. We have to count and close every drawer before a new salesperson gets on the drawer. Every time. Before this, we would close them 3 times a day and count them a lot. The problem is, the day shift people don't have to count everything, just bundle it all together, put it in a bag, and throw it in the safe, leaving it for me to count when I do closeout.

Why it's a problem: it already takes about 45 minutes to an hour to do closeout. Having to count all of the crap from the rest of the day will add about 30 minutes to an hour. Which means that although I'm scheduled till 10 or 11 PM, I'll be working till 11:30 or 12 every night. No overtime my ass.

I've fussed about my job before. But that was because the customers were stupid, not because my boss was. L was a great boss. He was laidback, understood the restrictions of being both a manager and a student (especially a grad student), and tried hard not to burn out his managers. He understood that I don't live for the company. T doesn't, because T DOES live for the company.

On the brighter side, W.E. bought a bunch of nice clothes to go with his business/psych major. Of course, he can't just WEAR his clothes. He has to play with them.

He thought he looked like a secret service agent in that suit coat. So I made him put on his pistol. Then he REALLY looked all governmental. Like the hair? I did it last night. I told him that's the problem--his hair is too severe for a business dude. It makes him look all Former-Navy-SEAL.