disalarming

Yesterday, I took out my journal and began to write again. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve journaled the way I used to in high school. When I was a senior in high school, I wrote in a paper journal every day. I slacked off my first semester of college, but I picked it up again second semester and the summer between my first and second year of college. Once I began sophomore year, though, I didn’t journal at all.

Actually, that’s a bit of a lie. I wrote one journal entry for the entirety of the year. I wrote it after a relationship exploded in my face, and I remember thinking that writing it out would help me put the situation in perspective. And it did, as writing always does. But what really irks me about that entry is that out of all the numerous events of the year I chose to document in my journal, I chose that one. Of all my successes and failures, I wrote about someone I no longer care for in the slightest and don’t even speak to anymore. I mean, really? The guy flat-out used me and that pretty much says all there is to say about the entire situation.

Anyway. Seeing as that I have some breathing space this summer, unlike my crazy schedule last semester, I figured it’s about time to put pen to paper once again. There’s a lot I need to get through, but it’s better to catch up now than later!

In the years to come, when I look back on my teen and college years, I’ll have various digital and online journals to reflect on, like this blog and my LiveJournal. But I know I’ll want something more personal to read, which is why I’m keeping a paper journal. It’s where I write about all of the ups and downs, the good and the ugly. It’s uncensored, unedited and written without an audience in mind. My paper journals are essentially me in paper form, and that’s something that will only become more valuable and more precious to me as I get older.

Question of the Week: Do you keep a journal? Is your journal in paper, digital and/or online form?

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

I definitely got the quiet, relaxing summer I hoped for back in May. I think I may have gotten a little too much of this particular type of summer, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Here are some of the few things I accomplished in the last few months:

• Failed my self-assigned summer reading
  To be fair, it was a very ambitious summer reading list, especially as I don’t read as much as I’d like to anymore. I didn’t fail it altogether, though. I did reread all seven of the Harry Potter novels, read three quarters of the complete works of Sarah Dessen, and read two of the books in Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series. I just didn’t read any of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares or A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.
• Did lots of crafting
  Those of you that followed my blog this summer will know about my various ventures into crafting. Sewing, knitting, cross stitching… I dabbled in lots of it this summer and have a lot of finished products to show for my work. It was definitely a way to increase my summer productivity!
• Actually began writing a novel
  Longtime readers of this blog will remember a few casual mentions of “my novel” here and there. This summer, I finally got around to actually writing it and even launching my online writing portfolio, amandaosborn.com.
• Failed to find a job
  I talked about how it sucked to be unemployed in May, and unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a job for the summer due to the increasingly poor job market. However, being unemployed this past summer wasn’t all bad. I made conscious efforts to not spend money unless absolutely necessary, and I was able to spend time doing things I wouldn’t otherwise have been able to, like crafting and writing.
• Experimented more with cooking
  I’ve always loved cooking, and for a portion of this summer, it was my job to do the cooking and making sure no one in my house starved to death. I had lots of successes, like my seafood paella, red velvet cake, and mac and cheese. I had one disaster where a carrot cake turned into a carrot souffle… but I’d rather not talk about that

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

I applied to write for my college magazine in late February, and I had my first article published in the March/April 2009 issue. Here is the article I wrote!

In May 2008, I went to Moshi, Tanzania, with some members of my high school class, to volunteer at a nursery school that we raised money for. I have many fantastic memories from that trip, but one of the things that has stayed with me from my experience in Tanzania is the concept of having all the time in the world to enjoy day-to-day tasks. I have long since been accustomed to hurriedly rushing from place to place, not bothering to make eye contact with strangers and aiming for as little interaction as possible with those that I encountered as I went about my day to day business. No matter how productive I was, it never seemed as though I had enough time each day to finish everything I wanted to complete. 24 is not enough hours in a day, and I’ve always wished that somehow, more hours would magically appear in a day so that I would no longer feel stressed and pressured to finish everything in a certain timeframe.

There is a Kiswahili expression, “Pole-pole,” which translates to “Slowly, slowly,” or “Take it easy.” “Pole-pole” sums up my experience with time in Tanzania. Everything in Tanzania was so laid back, so relaxed, and there was never a shortage of time. It didn’t matter if things were running late, or if there was no set schedule for the day. Tanzania ran on its own time, and it was such a nice change to be in charge of time and conduct my day accordingly, rather than let time be in charge. I never had to check my watch and fret over running late, or skip lunch because I was too rushed to sit down and take the time to eat. Whenever something didn’t go according to plan, no one was running around, frantically trying to make arrangements so that all of our free time was put to use. Instead, everyone took their time in sorting out new arrangements, taking care to enjoy each moment of the day, even if part of the original plan had to be switched around. And even though it was as if everyone was utterly carefree, it wasn’t as if there was no regard for the concept of time at all. There just wasn’t the mentality of having to adjust things for time, but rather adjusting time to suit whatever needed to be done.

Since returning from Tanzania, I’ve tried to relax when it comes to the concept of time. I try not to rush whatever I have to do, and not panic whenever I run out of time or things go wrong. It’s hard, though, and more often than not I find myself stressing out whenever the smallest thing doesn’t go according to plan. Whenever that happens, I try to remember the calm feeling of serenity and assurance I felt in Tanzania that somehow, everything would be okay. Sometimes, letting go and allowing things to take care of themselves is the best thing you can do.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

There have been a few recent events going on in my life that I haven’t touched upon lately, so here’s a nice update on the Life of Manda:

• Invited to join a national honor society
  Because I “demonstrated academic excellence” in my first semester of college, I was invited to join a national honor society. There is an info session in mid-March, and if I choose to accept the invitation, an initiation/induction ceremony will take place in April. It seems to be focused on academic excellence and community service, among other goals, and overall, it seems like something I am almost positive I will join because really, is there even a con to this? Seems like a whole list of pros to me!
• My great-aunt passed away
  About two weeks ago, I got a call from my mom telling me that my great-aunt passed away. She was old and had been ill for a really long time, and I am glad she is in a better place. However, I do wish I had been able to see her one last time before she passed; the last time I saw her was about six and a half years ago. I don’t think she would have remembered me if I had seen her before she died, but still, that doesn’t matter. I’ll take comfort in the fact that she is now at peace.
• Applied to write for my college student magazine
  My college runs a student magazine, and there were some openings for the position of a writer, so I applied. I heard back from the editor and I have until this Sunday to pitch an article idea to her, so I’ll be working on that over the weekend, and hopefully my article will be published in the next issue.
• Started the summer job search
  Even though it’s not even March yet, now is the time to get started on applying for summer jobs. For the first time (possibly) ever, I have no plans to travel or go abroad during the summer. This year has been my first full (school) year away from home, and I just want to stay home this summer. Of course, I need a job for the summer, so I’ve started looking into what’s available and filling out applications. When I go home for spring break next week, I’ll be dropping off applications in the hopes of hearing back positive news regarding summer employment!
• Began writing a book
  I began brainstorming for a novel this past winter break, but that particular idea has been pushed to the back burner again in favor of one that I have wanted to write since freshman year in high school. They say to write what you know, and as it turns out, a few events that happened last year are perfect for a basis of writing what I know for that story. I’m still building the framework for the foundation of the story, and hopefully by the time summer rolls around, things will work out so the story ends up writing itself.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

Everyone runs out of ideas as to what to blog about every now and then; it happens even to the best of bloggers. All the brainstorming in the world might not be enough for a blogger’s writer’s block, but The Lazy Blogger’s Post Generator might just be enough to do the trick!

The Lazy Blogger’s Post Generator is pretty straightforward. There are three paragraphs that are littered with dropdown menus, and from those menus, you choose which phrase you’d like to be used in that particular sentence. Once you are done selecting your phrases, you generate your blog post, and ta-da! You now have a blog entry to post! I gave the generator a try, and this is what I came up with:

Holy Blog Of Doom, Batman! I just got slapped with a wet salmon – really – I have not updated this since people stopped clapping and Tinkerbell died… You would not believe how terribly tardy the Victorian internet can be. But I’m sorry you’ll just have to take my word for it..

I am flat out like a lizard drinking with setting fire to people wearing Crocs, selling my soul to Google, just generally being a delightful mistress to anyone unfortunate to cross my path. My day seems to involve the authorities from the second I am woken by murderous Teletubbies to sun down and beyond. I am wearing my budgie smugglers, but this damned rock is heavy.

I will try to remember I promised you I will write something that makes sense soon. Well, I’ll try. The Piccaninnies say I have to!

What post did the lazy blogger’s generator generate for you?

(Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!)

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.

Unlike the vast majority of the people I know, I didn’t travel anywhere spectacular for my winter break. The farthest place I traveled to was home since I live in a college dorm during the school year. I didn’t really do anything fantastic either since almost all of my friends in the area were off to exotic places like Spain or Argentina. Honestly, I spent most of my time bumming around the house (it was always WAY too cold outside to do much of anything!) Yes, my life is incredibly exciting, I know… but these are some of the things I did accomplish.

• Became the undefeated champion of Scene It?: Disney
  I grew up watching Disney, and I still watch my favorite Disney movies all the time. Half the time I wish the world is a wonderland like it was for Alice (if so, I would play the Queen of Hearts) or that I could have a happy ending like Belle (the whole awkward girl who is different and loves books storyline is pretty close to heart). My family decided to challenge me on my trivia knowledge, and decided that all five of them would team up against me. Even though it was me against five of my relatives, I still beat them hands down. Yes, I love me some Disney!
• Had my first phone interview
  I applied for jobs at several departments at my college, and I landed several interviews with the employers. One of them was a phone interview, so I had the enjoyment of being interviewed whilst in my pajamas. I don’t think any life is complete until they’ve done something incredibly important in their pajamas because a lot of the pressure just disappears when you’re in your PJs – how can anyone be stressed in something as comfortable as your jammies? Anyway, I was accepted for the position, so obviously the pajamas were a good thing.
• Watched my first movie on Blu-Ray
  My brother got Wall-E on Blu-Ray for Christmas, and I finally got to see what all the Blu-Ray fuss was about. The quality of a Blu-Ray disc is absolutely stunning, and with Wall-E being an animated movie, the enhanced quality of the movie was truly, truly fantastic. However, I know I would be just as content with watching a DVD as I was with a Blu-Ray disc. It’s not like with DVDs images are pixellated or stretched out of proportion, so while the quality of a Blu-Ray is obviously better than a DVD, it’s not really a necessity for me.
• Began brainstorming for a novel
  My favorite historical figure ever is Anne Boleyn; I have always been fascinated with her. Last semester for my creative writing class we had to write a short play, and I wrote a fictional account of a day in the life of Anne Boleyn. I liked writing it so much that I wanted to write more about her, but there are already a plethora of non-fictional and fictional books about her, so adding another one to the collection would be somewhat useless. In the end, I’ve decided to take Anne’s story and use it as the basis for a modern-day high school setting, much like how a lot of Shakespeare’s plays have been modernized (10 Things I Hate About You = The Taming of the Shrew, for instance). It’ll take a while to figure out characters and such before any actual writing can happen, but I have a pretty good feeling about this.
• Discovered the show Supernatural
  One of my best friends is a huge Supernatural fan and has followed the show from the very beginning, and she’s always been telling me to start watching the show. I actually have the seasons 1 and 2 DVDs but I’ve never gotten round to sitting down and watching them, so I decided that winter break was as good a time as any to start watching this show. And… wow, just wow. When I finished season 1 I was spellbound, and by the time I finished season 2, I was cursing myself for not having the season 3 DVD because I wanted – no, needed – to know what was happening in the lives of the Winchester boys. It’s safe to say that I have become addicted to this amazing show, and I’m waiting on the season 3 DVD I ordered on Amazon to arrive any day now.

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.