Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you all! May 2013 bring all of us joy, prosperity, and good fortune.

I don't know what's in store for the blogs, but for now, we'll roll with what we're doing for now. I'll have to think things over (I'm speaking mostly on Jupiter_Nova here). Either way, let's bust out the Pink Martini once again.



And here's a funny for everybody who had a rough 2012 (like myself...):

~

See y'all in 2013!

Merry Holidays! (and a New Perspective on Life)

Whatever holidays you are participating in (or not), may it be a safe and warm one, filled with food, loved ones, and good times.

I'm happily at home with my family (first time in over twelve years they didn't go Christmas camping), enjoying good food and nursing a cold in its infancy. To be fair, I think it was inevitable that I would get sick. I have been working five straight days at the bookstore and staying very late to help with recovery (we would be there as late as midnight!) and I'm sure customers (and some co-workers) were battling stress-borne sniffles. But I ain't even mad, just content.

I apologize for my long absence, most of it was related to the job. And some of it was due to a serious wake-up call about myself. I talked about being depressed several times on here and just now realizing how to get my life back on track. One big thing I noticed is that, like others who have been depressed, I bought so much stuff that it was suffocating. I looked around my room one day and went "holy s***, when did I have so much stuff?"

Doing the Burning House thing (see last entry) also really helped me realize what meant a lot to me. I also asked myself a hard question: "If, God forbid, I were to lose most of my things, would I bother replacing it all?" The answer shocked me: "not really". That really helped me realize that I need to start letting things go. In one day, I sold over $100 worth of books, CDs, video games, and DVDs. I'm still culling from my stacks.

Coring the collection has helped me realize not only how awesome the things I have are, but also lets me actually breathe in my room. It feels lighter, like someone who got their s*** together. It has been a huge change in my life and I'm ready to keep going.

While I'm not going all-out for minimalism, it's too extreme and riddled with class privilege issues, I'm taking a lot of lessons and applying them to my situation.

My ultimate goal is build up my savings (and get a better full-time job, of course) so I can move out and become more independent.

2013 will be the year that Frustrated Lady Writer finally gets a life. And published. Definitely that.

What I Would Take...

If you're not familiar with The Burning House, go check it out here before reading the rest of this entry (more for clarity's sake than anything).

For a long time, I've always wondered what I would take with me if I had to abandon ship in any form or fashion (I fancy it'll be tornadoes more than anything, they do hit my area of Texas after all...). And so, tonight, I have the answer:

• My cat (not pictured, she never poses for me, LOL)
• Laptop (buried underneath the wallet, etc.)
• Targus laptop bag
• My childhood friends (y'all met them in this entry)
• Meds: birth control and anti-depressants
• The monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, mentioned in this entry
• Prospero, the Owl Who Travels*
• A picture of my paternal grandfather, whom y'all met in this entry
• Fountain pens
• External hard drive
• Wallet
• A coal miner statue that was passed down to me from my grandfather (his father was a Tennessee coal miner)
• Rare black-label copy of Silent Hill on the PSX
• Fossil watch, college ring, Claddagh ring (not pictured), and two pairs of earrings (silver feather-like ones that belonged to my late great-aunt and turquoise guitars I got at an anime convention)
• The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter (Penguin Ink edition)
• Pretty-damn rare promo poster of Fear of Music by Talking Heads* (though folded and not in the frame)
• iPhone (not pictured, since I was using it to take this photo)
• Car keys (not pictured)

I was kinda surprised on what I left out (like my headphones, my electric guitar, and more of my favorite books), but to be honest... this is everything I would rush to get out of the house. All these things I would be beyond devastated if I ever were to lose them. If anything were to happen, God forbid, I could start a new life with all this here. Yeah, even without my books and records and other collectibles... I could start all over again. Or at least, be able to travel with very little.

Yes, there is a hilarious reflection on the framed poster of my whiteboard with all the bumper stickers of various record stores I like to visit whenever I'm in town. It's covering the bottom half of Jerry Harrison. XD

Who and what would you save in the unfortunate event that you had to evacuate your current shelter?

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*I'll talk about why they would be saved in another entry

Man, I finally made up my mind!

After some more consideration, along with a perfect storm of other things (oh hai retail), I have decided that I will stick to my original plan that I had earlier this year and skip out on grad school this time around. Thinking about preparing for the blasted application has gotten me to realizing that shooting for just one school is a poor idea. Plus, I want to see what other programs are out there and research them more before I decide at the end of 2013.

I really want a new job, sock away some serious dough, and maybe even plan a trip to San Francisco for next summer. Something, anything to get me thinking about my life again. Turning 26 has really helped me realize that I need to get my life in gear. I want to start dating, meet new people, and continue to write.

I find myself drifting away from things I used to like and moving onto other things, wanting to grow more as a person. Gaining a hold of my sanity was the biggest game-changer in my life. I find myself looking around my current hopes and dreams and realizing they no longer apply (like the original grad school I wanted to go to). I would love to go to grad school out of state, go out into the big world, and see what it has to show. I want to break further away from who I used to be and keep going forward in my new direction. And the arrow point further than Austin, further than retail... further than I can fathom at this point.

We'll have to see how it goes. But first things first: a new job. That would be the best Christmas gift ever (well, since being asked by my best friend to be a bridesmaid for her wedding).