Tidbits: August Edition

Picture / Photo Find

Something I Did

School is starting soon. I have two weeks left, but that doesn't mean they will be full of freedom. Orientation will block out a few days of each of those weeks; I'll meet new instructors and learn about changes and perhaps see my name somewhere in the new textbook. Doesn't it seem weird for school to start in August? Does anyone out there start later? (And I guess I'm talking about high school and college).

I shouldn't complain though. The weather doesn't change in Florida between the two months. September is just as hot as August. The new school year is close enough for me to close my treasure drawer and put away summer toys. Time to get back to work.

This summer has been exciting, and sometimes boring, and I am looking forward to getting back in the office again. There's a lot of pressure involved in summer vacation. You're required to have fun, goof off, and be unproductive. If you're not any of these things, you get pitying looks that are kind of funny to see. The secret truth of summer vacation is that it's a beautiful illusion; we're all working on something, whether it's paying the bills or taking another step towards our dreams. Although my pile of unplayed video games is getting dusty, I'm still proud of how I spent my time.

Off to school - to the papers, the freezing classrooms, and mandatory fire drills!

A Quote from a Book I Love

So it seems that one of my unconscious goals in life is to collect all of Francesca Lia Block's books. She is, by far, one of my favorite writers. The local library has been so amazing; they carry a lot of her books already, so I've been reading many of her books that I hadn't been able to get a hold of before. However, there are still a lot of them I have yet to read. So I ordered a few of those and happily awaited their arrival in my mailbox.

One of them is the tiny poetry book called Fairy Tales in Electri-City. My first instinct, as a fan of prose, is to latch onto her novels and devour their vibrant imagery and myth. So sometimes it feels like a treat to read nothing but her poetry, and this collection is no exception. Here's a small bit of one of my favorite poems named after the collection title:

once upon a time a man came west to a city

with a lake that glittered silver at sunset

from the scales of the mermaids under the surface

and a park named echo

where the nymphs in the trees

whispered back your words

there was a flock of angels who walked on the pier

beneath the ferris wheel

and a tinkling carousel

ghosts rode in the night

the man fathered a child and called her electra

and when she grew up she found

not only mermaids nymphs and angels

but witches and warlocks too

who would eat your heart like a christmas ham

if you let them

Song I Can't Stop Repeating

"Elf Song" by Priscilla Ahn.

I'm new to Priscilla Ahn, having somehow missed a lot of her music when her first album came out. However, I think I've fallen in love with a lot of her newer songs, including every single on of them on her When You Grow Up album. This song in particular is awfully lovely because it's a story that many people, I believe, can relate to.

Once,

When the moon was full

She sat on her stool

And said hello old friend

Could you grant me a wish

And take me away to some place that's different?

So the moon

Sang a tune

And it went like this...

A Writer Thing

86, 643. Oh. my. gosh. This is my word count on Birdcage Girl right now. It's so surreal. You know, I started writing and posting the chapters on Figment.com only a few months ago. It's strange to think that December will come again - the birthday of my longest novel manuscript to date! I'm kind of stunned by it all, but insanely proud. Now that I'm close to the end, I can't help but marvel at how it feels. Sometimes I feel happy, but, for the most part, my head hurts.

My brain is sucking up all the energy I have in order to make this story complete. I'm almost haunted by it, thinking of nothing else in my idle time during the day. The ending, the ending, the ending. It'll happen soon. And if my heart is racing just thinking about writing it, then I hope that my readers feel the same way when they read it. August is a special month this year because, by the end of it, I plan to hold a finished manuscript in my hands. Warm, like a baby (so I'll have to stand at the printer and scoop it up right away, haha). I'm ready for the inevitable paper cuts. But for now, I have to keep trucking along until the words stop and I find myself at the end of this particular, peculiar, journey.

Video I Watched Too Many Times

Zune commercials! If not anything else, I really feel as if they have a wide array of fantastic commercials (I'll probably end up posting more of them at some point, haha).

Food I'm Craving

Tuna melts *_*

This time, I have nothing insightful to say about it. Only... I had lived on a steady diet of tuna melts when I spent my month in England. There were always fairly-priced and tasted so melty on a cold day outside. I remember when a friend and I sat on a bench with our chins buried in our coats. I had rubbed my hands all over the paper wrapping to gather the warmth.

Photos from We Heart It

Christmas Wishes and Prince Philip's Hair

"The moon stared at the princess, and the princess stared at the moon, but the moon had the best of it, and the princess began to cry"

- George MacDonald, The Wise Woman, or The Lost Princess.

I don't think anyone was staring at the moon last night. Christmas Eve leaves kiddies and adults either asleep in their beds or gazing up at the ceiling. Depends on how you handle impatience.

One upon a time I was told that if I went looking for Santa in the living room, where the tree sparkled with electric lights, I would only catch a glimpse of his red coat before he and the presents evaporated like morning dew. I'm pretty sure I was told other things (I remember something disjointed about a Christmas deer). Funny how the most interesting tales come from warnings.

I hope that this wonderful holiday went well for all my readers (and future readers) and even the people who have not discovered this place yet, haha. My far-reaching wishes stretch out beyond the computer screen. Wham! You've got 'em.

I won't talk about what treasures popped out from underneath the wrapping paper this morning. But I will say that something exciting, and maybe trivial, happened while me and the family took our traditional stroll through the Magic Kingdom.

When extended family live states and states away, you tend to form new traditions. Sometimes strange. Mostly fun. Braving the over-capacitated kingdom has become an exciting (and a little foolhardy) journey we make.

We ate at Cosmic Rays; I watched enviously as my dad and brother ate burgers with guacamole sauce under the bun. I chewed on my own plain burger and was secretly jealous (maybe I need new glasses so I can see the menu better. How could I miss that?). The weather windy and sunny at the same time. Children were more violent than usual... maybe it's the promise of toys they are given by their short-tempered parents. The promises I heard were made under exhaustive circumstances. Empty, I'd say.

But it seems as if Santa had one more surprise for me. The daytime Christmas parade was passing through Frontierland and we were taking the shortcut along the boardwalk. Just over the trees, I could see the colorful floats roll by; the sky was full of ribbons and snowflakes and I got painfully excited when I recognized the float with the princes and princesses. I grabbed onto my mother's backpack so she could lead me blindly forward (our path was still jammed) and stood on my toes and looked.

I saw something beautiful and unexpected. I saw Prince Philip. And he had hair.

Should I backpedal? It's simple. I've lived in sunny FL for ten years, and in all the time I've gone to Disney World, I have only seen men casted for Prince Philip who have sported crew cuts. As a lover of tousled hair on men, and an occasional stickler for details, I couldn't understand why all the Philips were practically bald. He had a delightful head of hair in the movie. And a little curly forelock. Where did they get it wrong?

But today, on the Christmas morning, I saw Prince Philip with a full head of lovely fluffy hair. My heart pounded against my chest and I squinted until my eyes were shaped like squished peas (HAHA). I thought I would faint right there, on the boardwalk, and be trampled upon by angry parents with mean little stroller wheels. Maybe a girl wearing an Aurora dress would roll by and tug on my hair, as if saying, "He's my prince, you old lady. We're married. My dress even changed colors during our wedding dance." But, you know, Prince Philip is my favorite Disney prince. So this would be worth it. (I stress Disney prince. I have a top favorite animated prince - can you guess? - but I'll save that for another post, haha).

I managed to keep my footing and sighed as we continued along. The rest of the day went very well, and, when we arrived back home, I dished out some leftover green bean casserole and went looking for proof of my well-endowed (hair-wise) prince. Well, heh heh, I guess he's new. I haven't found anything yet. But I'll remember to keep a look out next time. If his appearance is a gift, then that means that it has to stay long after this magical wintry day is over.

Have a great CHRISTMAS!