Posts Tagged ‘friends’

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something new

January 27, 2012

traveling the world is a phenomenal experience and i’ve been fortunate enough to have the means, the mode, and the money to visit countries outside of the US. other than the jet lag and the suitcase laden with souvenirs, i always come home with an insatiable appetite to see more of the country i call home.

two weekends ago, i was fortunate enough to have a reason to travel some place completely new…

NEW ORLEANS!

i was there for a bachelorette party and oh me oh my was it fun. the food! the weather! the friends! the cab drivers! the drinks! the bartenders! the food! the music! the house we stayed in! the scenery! the drinks you can consume outside of a bar!

of course, i can’t tell you any specific stories because what happened in new orleans stayed in new orleans so instead i’ll leave you with a picture that encapsulates the weekend.

have YOU ever been to new orleans? is there any place you’d love to visit but haven’t yet? have you been to all 50 states of the US? what countries worldwide have you visited? do you have anything else to share?

TALK TO ME.

 

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Posted in travel | 10 Comments »

conversations with strangers #17

December 30, 2011

i am talking to strangers, why aren’t you?

last week, i dialed the number for a spa local to my parents’ house because i’m finally going to use the gift certificate my friends gave me for my birthday last year.

me: hi, i’d like to set up an appointment.

receptionist: WOOOOOOOOOOAH.

me: *thinks to self: did i say something wrong?* uh. *laughs nervously*

receptionist: you’re the first person who’s called this week to set up an appointment. everyone else has been ‘can i get a gift certificate for christmas?’

me: oh, well, i’m calling to use a spafinder gift certificate, so i’m not that different…

we discuss the details of my appointment and with that all arranged, i hang up. since my massage isn’t using the full monetary value of the gift certificate, the remaining money has to be credited to this local spa because they can’t give me “spafinder” money back. (side note: spafinder is a general gift certificate to be used at any particiating spa throughout the country. pretty nifty, huh?) it makes sense they’d have to credit me money to their spa, but i’m not in my parents’ town all that often. i don’t want the money to go to waste.

i go to close the browser i had open to the spa’s information when the word prenatal catches my attention. my brain starts churning. i had a christmas gift idea for sister J, but you know what? this might be even better.

i redial the number for the spa.

receptionist: hello?

me: hi, i just called to make an appointment, but i’d like to make an addition to it.

receptionist: is this abby?

me: oh, yes, hi. can i add an hour prenatal massage for my sister?

receptionist: you sure can.

we then discussed the particulars of sister J’s pregnancy so they could assign the proper massage therapist for her. and with that i checked off the final item of my christmas present “to buy” list, happy that i was finally using my birthday money, but more excited that i’d be able to give sister J a tiny sliver of relaxation in a time that’s been fraught with craziness.

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Posted in convos with strangers | 6 Comments »

literati style

December 23, 2011

a very HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and yours!

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Posted in feelings | 6 Comments »

FWIS: growing your story

December 7, 2011

remember this post? remember these two ladies? jessica corra and bria quinlan? good, because it’s time for another round.

today’s topic: growing your story.

in keeping with the theme from last month, i happen to be at the beginning of this stage as well. i finished my disaster draft on november 10 and then i didn’t look at it again until december 1, three weeks later. i was attempting to get some space from the story and the characters before i dove in to do the revisions.

oh, but first, a little tidbit about me. i am an under writer. no, not this kind but rather, someone who (on the first draft) writes less rather than more. my first draft clocked in at 44K and a typical YA novel runs anywhere from 60K-80K words, so you can see i have a lot of growing to do.

the things i’ve done to grow (other than drink lots of milk and eat vegetables) are character interviews, chapter mapping and world building. also, taking notes and making suggestions and fixing dialogue and printing out my story and handwriting revisions and moving scenes around and deleting portions and adding phrases and puffing up passages and phew!

growing is hard.

but audiences are perceptive and precocious and practically perfect and so i don’t want to disappoint any of them even if, at this juncture, they’re only imaginary.

so, onward and forward and backward and sideways and every which way the story demands because i want smooth transitions and moments that make you weep and uncontainable giggles and characters so real, you have to pat the couch to make sure they’re not sitting next to you.

make sure to check out bria’s and jessica’s posts to see what types of growing they’re doing.

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Posted in writing | 12 Comments »

the change monster

November 29, 2011

sitting in the house which sits in the town which houses the high school i went to, i’m struck by all the things that have changed since i graduated. new faces (BFs, GFs, husbands, wives, babies), new cars, new clothes, new developments, new responsibilities, new money, new conversations, new roads, and new jobs have expanded and enriched my life and my relationships, and i can’t help but wonder in what ways am i different and in what ways am i still the same?

i’m still shy, but around those who know me best, there are often times when they can’t shut me up.

i’m still athletically inclined, but instead of two hours practices six days a week, i’m lucky to hit three miles three times a week.

i still love to read and i still sneak it in anytime any place.

i still adore children, but the more i learn about childbirth, the more freaked out i get. (holy cow, women are amazing and brave creatures.)

i still dream of being a writer, but now my daydreams are interspersed with the hard work needed to get there.

i have more responsibilities, more bills, more memories, more family members and more friends, but how much of my core self has changed? how much of it should have? i have different habits and different focuses, but i’m still bad at math, still bound to get hopelessly lost, and still fiercely loyal to those who work their way past my armor. two of the three of those would be nice to get better at, but if i put all my energy into learning my times tables (ha, kidding, i totally know 7 x 8 is 56), maybe it’d take away the spare moments i have to catch up with friends and family and is that really worth it?

can we ever completely change? is that really necessary? is it possible to fix your flaws while maintaining your essence of good? how do we decide what needs to change and what’s okay to remain the same? how do you know which is which? is it all trial and error?

will i ever like pineapples?

i obviously don’t have the answers, just the questions. if you’ve got some answers, go ahead and share. please and thank you.

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Posted in feelings | 10 Comments »

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