A smattering of thoughts...

The first thing y'all might take notice of is that my icon had changed. My sister made it for me after I told her about my favorite line from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Ya gotta love British humor.

Life is going well. I finished up my counseling. I was surprised it ended in about two months. I was thinking it would take longer. I also registered for classes next semester. Two are serious lit classes. Here's to it working this time... well, it will work or I'll be damned.

After asking around, I found some places that might sell a vintage Fender Mustang. My heart's been set on one since I played Rock Band 2 (one of the guitars you can buy for your avatar is a 1965 Mustang). I colored it to look like the one David Byrne had (dark red with a pearl guard).
This guy at a guitar store near my house told me that Mustangs regained popularity because Kurt Cobain used one. I was somewhat aware that Cobain used one, but not of the popularity thing. Go fig, me still being unaware of trends. Plus, since it's a small guitar, it works out because of my current space issue.

Still reading La Reine Margot. About three days' worth of reading behind. It's a hard read, but I'm still enjoying it.

I bought Mirror's Edge recently. So far, it's a pretty good game, but there are timed parts. Dammit. I also canceled my preorder of Tomb Raider: Underworld due to monetary constraints and the fact that I have zero interest in it. I downloaded the demo. It sure looks nice and it's nice to see that Lara still controls badly. Ha!

A little-known fact about myself: I grew up on country music. I got into rock on my own (well, sort of). We're talking Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Randy Travis and Nanci Griffith. My parents were into rock: my mom loved Fleetwood Mac and my dad loved Genesis, CCR, the Moody Blues, Phil Collins, Dan Fogelberg, and Fleetwood Mac.
Yet they never bothered to really expose me to all that. Sure, my mom had issues with Madonna (especially during the Like A Prayer era), but otherwise, there wasn't anything that would warp my little mind. Over the years, I still gravitate to some of the older country (especially Nanci Griffith). Yet, most country music now is just horrible. It's trying way too hard to be rock.

I got into rock music when I was about eleven. A friend of my mom's gave me an extra copy of Fleetwood Mac's The Dance. I listened to it while we were staying with her in L.A. Obviously, fond memories were had. Later, I started borrowing my dad's Genesis and Phil Collins CDs. At the same time, my dad went through a Celine Dion phase that lasted until mid-2004. Obviously, even if we tried, my sister and I couldn't escape repeated plays of Let's Talk About Love. While all my friends were swooning over Backstreet Boys and Ricky Martin, I was jamming through my pre-teens to CCR's "Bad Moon Rising" and Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way".
Throughout my teens, I was exposed to Steely Dan, Prince, the Eagles, Tom Petty, et all. By then, I was a fairly hardcore Fleetwood Mac. When I turned 19, I rediscovered Genesis. Hardcore with them until about nine months ago when I sort-of rediscovered Talking Heads. The abridged version is that I bought Speaking in Tongues at a mall while visiting a friend of my dad's (what's with me discovering potential musical loves while on vacation?) and only got into "Burning Down the House". Fast-track to five years later, I buy some of their songs on iTunes and got hooked, bought their Best of and... well, the rest is history.

Whoa, time to resurrect the tag "hey a long post", which I wanted to read like this: "Hey! A long post!" but the tag system isn't very kind to punctuation.

Nothing else for now. I leave you, listening to the Nostalgic Critic's review on Tom & Jerry: The Movie. Hilarious...

Regards,
Lindsey

The votes are in...

Sen. Barack Obama is our newest president. *tries very hard not to freak out from excitement*

Check out the news here.

We witnessed history being made, ladies and gents. Way to go, everyone. Voters rock!

Congratulations, Senator!

I leave you, excited about the upcoming inauguration...

Regards,
Lindsey

Election Day!

Well, today's the big day. I already voted early, so to avoid the madness that is today's long voting lines. I'm looking forward to what the night holds, yet I am worried... for the obvious reasons.

I also am unsure on what to do for next semester. I'm debating whether to change majors, put up and shut up or do the semi-unthinkable: skip the semester. I'll know for sure tomorrow. Let's just say I believe the latter is about as likely to happen as hell freezing over.

As for NaNoReMo, I had a late start. I just got past Chapter 4 in La Reine Margot. I got crazy busy, but just so y'all know... it's a damn good read. Lots of intrigue and suspense.

As for hobbies, here are a few new ideas:
drawing (I did used to be a cartoonist)
studying literature on the side

I leave you, wondering who will be our next President...

Regards,
Lindsey

Very well, young one... I accept yer meme!

My sis tagged me with a meme. We couldn't find who came up with it originally, but if someone knows, let us know and we'll give proper credit.

Book Meme:

1. One book that changed your life
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff. What can I say, Taoism is cool. This book made it easier to understand. And it has a beloved childhood icon!

2. One book that you've read more than once
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. *happy time!*

3. One book you'd want on a desert island
A House Like A Lotus by Madeleine L'Engle. I could read that book over and over and never tired of it.

4. One book that made you laugh
Same as my sis: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Second place would be The Age of Innocence. Upper-class snips have never been funnier!

5. One book that made you cry
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. I cried because it disturbed me greatly that I wanted to see how far the violence was going to go. I'll tell you what, it went TOO FAR!!
(sorry for the shout)

6. One book you wish you had written
What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson. Before you give me that funny look, sis... I'm mostly jealous of the romantic ideas.

7. One book you wish had never been written
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessel. Any book that makes me temporarily hate reading should be sent to the Dante's Hell of books.

8. One book you are currently reading
The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn. A nice read, but I think I predicted the ending.

9. One book you've been meaning to read
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence.

10. Now tag five people.
Uh, no.

I leave you, wondering when the Special Topics fans will come and attack me...

Regards,
Lindsey

P.S.: Sis...



A bitchin' time.

Maybe next time?

I don't think I'll be doing NaNoWriMo this year. For some reason, I don't like the idea of posting the story up for the word count. Whatever I was planning to write, is private (mostly due to the fact that it might be embarrassing). It's only to see if I could even achieve this goal and I rather not share the story with other people. Especially if it isn't finished...

Instead, NaNoReMo. Again. Why the heck not? I had a blast last year with Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White.

Credit goes to Matthew for the initial idea and Leila for reminding me of it.

Anyways, I'm doing it on my own. Their choices are tempting, though. For my choice... it's going to be La Reine Margot by Alexandre Dumas. Whee, French lit!

~

My sis is back at Blogger and the link to it is updated. Check it out!

~

As for any writing goals, I'll concentrate on a longtime story idea that recently resurfaced. It's about the teenage children of two original characters of mine. I have no clue if it's going to be a novel or a long short story. My writing senses say... novel. And they are usually right.

I leave you, rocking out to Radiohead's "Airbag". Hell yes, OK Computer... there's something worth all its noise.

Regards,
Lindsey

P.S. "noise" is Lindsey-speak for "hype". Just so you know...

Time flies when you're worried as hell...

Yeah, it's been ages since I've written. Things in my life have been giving me the run-around. Yet, I've been reading a lot of books, mainly ones I've been borrowing from the library. I have a little stack I need to finish soon.

For the rest of this year, I may not do any larger goals other than just to get my life back on my track, read a lot and write a lot. I've been doing all of these things. Yea, :D

~
I also bought my first entirely digital album: The Red and the Black by Jerry Harrison. It was a good album, I recommend it. It's different... in a good way.

Wow, I'm on my way to becoming a music critic with my terse, detailed reviews. :P
~

I don't know what to do with my writing for now, but I'm glad as heck to be back. Yea, rhyming!

I have nothing else to say. I leave you, listening to "Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai...

Regards,
Lindsey

Gaaah, the pain...

I swear, I've been popping pills ever since I got my wisdom teeth pulled. First, there were the two painkillers (one had codeine in it!) and the antibiotic. The painkiller with the codeine made me have some weird-ass dreams and I would pass out and take one-hour naps. I have since stopped taking them and gone back to the ibuprofen initially prescribed for my sciatic nerve pain, which works better IMHO. Several days after finishing my antibiotic, I got a head cold. So here I am, popping cold meds and nursing a nasty headache that came from the headbanging I would do when I cough, XD.

On the teeth front, they're healing beautifully. I got a syringe at my post-op visit and cleaning the holes got easier. I've gotten back to eating regular foods, but I've been avoiding sodas. I'm sticking to water, tea and anything else but soda. It's been two weeks since then. No more caffeine dependency for me!

~

I finished reading Richard Matheson's Somewhere In Time a while back. It was okay, started off good but slowed a bit in the middle and got better at the third-quarter. I would recommend it, but please... just read What Dreams May Come. It's infinitely better.

I recently went to the library near my house and borrowed a few books. One was Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus, which was the basis for the best Disney film ever: The Great Mouse Detective. I liked the book, it was really cute.

Another is Kenneth J. Harvey's The Town that Forgot How to Breathe. I haven't finished reading that, and I may not get to. I can't get into it. Gah, I hate it when that happens.

I'm having a similar issue with "Mrs. Dalloway". Man, I have so many books and only eighteen of them really appeal to me! No more buying books on a whim, that's for sure.

~

So, Silent Hill: Homecoming finally came out. I finished it in a week and here's my verdict: I liked it. I thought it was going to be the worst thing ever, but I was wrong... sort of. I think the crew that made this game can totally pull off another title, but they need to stop referencing the damn movie. Please guys, we Silent Hill fans only ask for originality! Heck, ask us for ideas. We're bursting with them!

~

I'm also happy to report that I finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life: stick with my current degree plan and keep soldiering on. Alas, regrets of dropping the Fiction class have risen. Oh well. At least I got in, :D.

~

Man, I don't think tarot card reading is going to be a new hobby. I like it, but it hasn't stuck with me. I should give it a few more weeks, and then decide whether or not to give up and move onto something else.

I got a tarot card reading from someone at this new-age store my sister likes. For twenty-five bucks, I got told this (all this is to the best of my memory):

-I'm afraid of myself (duh)
-I have five pieces ready to be published (wuh? Which five? This has perplexed me since that day)
-I'll dabble into every form of writing (you know, I have planned to)
-I'll be famous (o_O!)

And I thought my silly daydreams of being a famous writer were just... well, silly! I almost died of laughter in my chair.

~

Ah, grand schemes. One I have is to do NaNoWriMo. Make up a whole new idea and do that. Lord knows I have enough time...

Another is submit some poetry to my university's literary magazine. They're taking pieces for next semester. Maybe I could get in. Who knows? I have to try.

No more. But trust me, I'll think of some...

~

I just listened to Brian Eno and David Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Go get this album! It is amazing. So cool that I can't think of a rational, unbiased thing to say other than... damn!

Already, one song has inspired a poem.

~

I've been working on and off on my writing. But no quitting here. I'm back in the game, everyone. Let's celebrate by living. Oh, and voting in this year's fine election. So don't forget to vote!

Wow, I need to shut up now. Long post is getting longer. I leave you, nursing a headache yet smiling all the way through it... until a pang hits and I clench my teeth.

Regards,
Lindsey