Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Here's an update! There's an update! We all have updates!

Hello, longtime readers and newcomers! I'm back to see what condition my blog was in. And man, we need some updates in here, it's looking a little stale. Time to fix that.

My hematoma has healed up quite nicely, the bruising is still there but not as bad as before. It's all migrated to the left inner side of my right arm. I was concerned it wouldn't be gone by the time of my friend's wedding, but it's looking like it'll be gone before then. I can also stretch my arm out without pain, yea!

I'm going to begin the job hunt by applying for a few jobs. One of them is for another bookstore, but they're offering full-time, which I need. It's been really frustrating, since I want to do it all right the first time, so I give up since I might as well save me the pain of rejection. Hmmm... I really need to stop doing that. 'Cause how else can I survive being a writer? Or life in general?

I have everything that I need for the wedding (minus the dress, it's being hemmed at the moment) and the trip to NYC. All I'm missing is Shout! wipes and a sewing kit. Trust me, think about why I, a bridesmaid, may need these things. If anything, I want to be the over-prepared bridesmaid, armed and ready for any possible scenario to ensure a smooth wedding day.

I do have plans to blog about the NYC trip, but not during it. I am not going to be lugging my laptop around town, 'cause I ain't leaving it at the hotel, that's for sure.

And a big lesson I learned today is that, no matter how rough and sucky life gets, I need to keep perspective and finds the joys in life. It is hard as hell to do, and I often forget to do this, but I have to keep at it.

Hope y'all are well, my lovely peeps.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Did not go as well as I expected...

Warning: this post contains a brief discussion of blood donations. Reader discretion is advised.

I hate to do this, but I have to drop out from Camp NaNoWriMo. Turns out the story I was working on did not want to go as long as 50k. It wants to be a long short story, or a novella. It can't decide what it wants, and neither can I. So, that is the main reason. The other is a botched blood donation.

Lemme explain the latter more. What happened was the nurse had stuck the needle so far it went past my vein and into my body. Even when he adjusted the needle, during the return process, the solution burned. I was going to do a double donation, but it was cut down to a single due to the pain. After it was over, the nurse said I will develop a hematoma. It later bruised all over my the left side of the donation area (in this case, on my right arm). I can barely stretch my arm without pain (this is due to the hematoma pressing on a major nerve). I am doing so much better, but it still hurts and yes, I still have the bruise.

Yeah, see why I wasn't able to do much in the last few days? I hate to give up, but I'm so far behind and I rather concentrate on other things at the moment. Like starting up story projects and getting ready for several big things. One of those may include getting a new job.

Will keep y'all updated. No hematoma will keep me from writing! Though, one will keep me from fist-pumping, which kinda sucks... oh well.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Update on Camp NaNoWriMo

On a lighter side of things, I'm making headway on my Camp NaNoWriMo novel. Since I'm playing catch-up and all, I may not post much about it here for now. Will keep you all updated.

Ray Bradbury: 1920-2012

What news to wake up to this morning, to hear that the iconic science fiction novelist has left this Earth the night before. What hasn't been said about him, the creator of works such as Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes? It is true, I have little to say in terms of his impact, you can only turn to the careers of writers like Richard Matheson and Stephen King to see just two examples of Mr. Bradbury's influence. Instead, I can only offer personal reflections and a few tears.

No writer stepped up in the writing world and made it okay to write about aliens and monsters, do it all straight-faced and still have the work be considered a form of literature, moreso than Mr. Bradbury:
I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.
Besides his fantastic fiction that delighted several generations (so far), he also penned one of the most excellent writing books: Zen in the Art of Writing. In its own slim, succinct way, Bradbury gave you permission to dream, to write things that may not be true "literature". He rooted for you in each page, practically begging you to write whatever your heart and mind desired. He knew that you would have to go through the same trials of fire that he did, but you at least had a friend and supporting rock in him.

Even though now he cannot do it now, with letters or even a phone call, I'm sure he'll continue to be science fiction's greatest cheerleader long into the years, up in the heavens. He'll have Isaac Asimov and Madeleine L'Engle, and of course, his beloved wife Marguerite, to join the squad once again.

You did so much for so many in so much time. Rest in peace, sir.
The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.
- from Fahrenheit 451

Jupiter_Nova's Reviews is online!

Yes, after a few months of putting it all together (mostly pondering what service to use), Jupiter_Nova's Reviews is now online! Go check it out by clicking the link in the header or click here.

Thanks for reading!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Change of plans

Okay, after some thinking while I was absent, I have decided to continue reviewing things here on this blog, until the end of the year. After that, I may get myself another blog and set it aside for reviewing purposes. I decided that Wordpress is, frankly, not worth my time to figure out and I'll just set up the blog somewhere else (it'll likely be at Blogger).


So the launch is delayed... for now.


** End of news bulletin **

ETA (06/05/12): My blog, still named Jupiter_Nova's Reviews, is alive and running, but not ready for prime-time. I still need to make sure the links on them are not dead and lead to the posts on that blog, not the one here. Also, if you are searching for the reviews here, don't even bother. They are migrating over to Jupiter... so please hang tight.

Long absence, explained

 Warning: the following post contains discussion about anxiety and drunkenness. Reader discretion is advised.

This time, it was not an illness. It was something just as bad, though. Ah yes, my old friend anxiety came into town a couple of weeks ago. You see, it came while I was hungover from sangria and buzzed from two cups of coffee and a baby bottle of Coca-Cola. Next thing I know, I wasn't sleeping well and barely functioning at work. Atop that, I had to prepare for my best friend's bridal shower. So much to do and yet anxiety wanted so badly to derail all my plans (including drafting out plans for my Camp NaNoWriMo novel). It succeeded. I could only go to work and survive the shift before returning home to sleep. Several days would pass before anxiety packed its bags and left town. I don't know when it'll return, but lemme just say that I'll never drink a full bottle of sangria in one night ever again, then chase it the next morning with coffee and Coca-Cola.

This is why I haven't written in a while or why there was no post about Camp NaNoWriMo.

~

And now I drink coffee (albeit instant). Does that make me a real writer now?