Killing time

That's right, I'm sitting in what-if boy's apartment, waiting for my good friend A to arrive and rescue me from my boredom. It's actually been a really nice, quiet, mellow morning. Lots of Internet time, a little Dracula reading. The wedding I'm on the west coast for is tomorrow night, so there's plenty of time to hang out and catch up with A and what-if boy. (And yes, he's totally still hot! *drool*)
What have I been reading lately, you ask? Well, the obvious answer first: I'm mid-Dracula. I've read it before, years ago, and am really enjoying reading it again. I'm just a sucker for a good vampire story and, well, it doesn't get any better than Dracula! Also . . . let's see. The Year's Best Fantasy and Science Fiction for Teens. Good collection, including two of my favorite writers, Garth Nix and Kelly Link. (Notice I didn't say favorite teen writers. That's because truly great writing transcends age labels.) I'm honestly struggling to think of the last book I finished before that; lately there's been a run of starting books, being unthrilled with them, and setting them aside. It always makes me a little sad when a book isn't nearly as good as it could be. . . .
I'm waiting impatiently for season two of Shadow Unit to start. If you're not familiar, check it out! I know the premise sounds a little strange, but really, read one episode. You'll be hooked. Well, if that's your kind of thing you will be. I loved it desperately after a few paragraphs, and have been recently haunting the message boards, waiting for a sign that season two is coming.
I'm nearly done editing my novel, hallelujah! I only have the climax and the ending to go through, and while I know I'll be adding some material, I'm not really changing anything, only drawing things out a little more, so it won't be terribly difficult. So the question that keeps haunting me is, of course, what should I write next? I'm not really to that point yet; first there will be another go-round on the editing of this novel. But I can't help thinking about it. And I've got a few ideas, as well. So, give me some input. Should I write:
1) a young adult novel about a girl who finds herself beholden to the Rat King?
2) an urban fantasy novel very loosely based on my experiences as a witch?
3) work on some short stories (eventually I'd like to do a collection of stories based on my dreams, since they tend to be very vivid and storyline based)?
4) one of the novels I started in high school/college? (I'm about sixty pages in on each, one is an urban fantasy about a woman who has to rescue her brother from the fey folk, the other is a fantasy about a thief who fulfills an ancient prophecy.) (I never said they were brlliant.)
Or 5) an urban fantasy-ish novel based on some poems I wrote in college abotu a character called Twilight Child?
Clearly my problem is not ideas, it's the time to write them all in!
One more thing before I go. I just discovered a new band, thanks to a friend of a friend's blog. Check out these guys: Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
And now, time to jet. Have a good weekend!

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I don't have words for how horrifying this is.
What is it in the collective subconscious of America that tells people that violence like this is acceptable? How do people justify it to themselves? Is there something in the mythology of America that breeds monsters?

This week . . .

. . . finally feels like autumn in New York. It's about time!

Porn, YA novels, and dreams

I read this article about porn the other day, and found it really interesting. It has some really interesting points, like the part where it says, "A 2004 study found that married individuals who cheated on their spouses were three times as likely to have used Internet pornography as married people who hadn’t committed adultery." Interesting correlation. But I don't think that watching porn is a precursor to infidelity, or that it is definitely and always a cause of relationship problems. Hmm. What do you all think?
The other day I finished Breaking Dawn, the last book in the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer. And I have to say, I wasn't thrilled with the ending. (By the way, major spoilers in the rest of this paragraph, so if you don't want to know, don't read this paragraph.) I really enjoyed the first book. And the second one. Stephenie's characters are extremely consistent in their reactions to themselves, each other, and external stimuli, which is harder to find in literature than you'd think. I think her writing voice/style is good. It's appropriately angsty for the age of her characters and the issues they're going through. Book three was a little too angsty for me, though. It was still a fun read, but there were several moments when I wanted to reach into the text, grab the characters by the shoulders, and shake them while shouting "How could you not have seen this coming/known this/realized this??" Especially when the triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob got more complicated. And book four . . . I enjoyed it. The consistency was still there. It was really interesting to watch Bella go through her change into being a vampire. But I had several issues. The first time she has sex with Edward, and then the next morning he's all freaked out that he gave her bruises, frustrated me. Come on, Edward! Don't be so self-absorbed! Bella enjoyed it, bruises and all! And I felt like there was a weird lack of instinctual motherliness in Bella, after she has Renesmee. Not while she's dying and transforming; obviously she was a little preoccupied then. But Renesmee often felt more like a convenient prop than a child, to me. It rarely bothered Bella when she had to hand off her child so she could go hunting or deal with a problem or something. And the ending just felt too pat to me. Too obvious. I wanted it to be more difficult for them to deal with the Volturi without people dying. I wanted them to be wittier about it. As for the series overall, I can see how and why Stephenie Meyer made the decisions she did in her writing and her characters. And it's a good story all the way through. Nonetheless, I wish Bella had been a little more empowered, instead of deferring to Edward all the time. I wanted her to stick up for herself in an adult way more often, and be less of a petulant child about getting what she wanted. I wanted Bella to think about how her decisions affected other people more. And I really wanted Edward to be less controlling. I know he was worried about how breakable Bella was, but come on. She's still a person, not a porcelain doll. I could go on about the subtext in their sex life and Bella's subsequent motherhood, but I won't, since I'm out of time. I'll just say, I guess, that if you want to know that, or want to discuss this at length, leave me a comment.
The only other thing I wanted to say is that I dreamed about my what-if boy again the other night. And it was lovely. And certainly stemmed from my anticipation about seeing him when I am (briefly) in Portland for a good friend's wedding.
Have a good weekend, everybody!

Agh

And here again it's been over a month since the last post. No defense, no excuses. Well, except for that week and a half while I was in Seattle. Being out of town is good reason to not post.
Speaking of Seattle, it was great. The long family weekend, wherein I saw lots of family who I only see once every few years, along with my immediate, was lovely. (My sister's wee one is adorable!) The catching up with old friends that happened after that was equally lovely. All in all, a really nice trip. I did the Underground Tour, and the Adults Only Underground Tour, in Seattle with my oldest friend, which was really interesting. Did you know that Seattle started out primarily as a town of gamblers, prostitutes, and con men? You can read this for the polite version. What that doesn't tell you is that the biggest customer base that UPS had in the early years was the prostitutes, who were only allowed out on the streets during certain hours on certain days (thanks to the wives who followed their men out to Seattle after the town was "civilized" and did not like the relationships they found their husbands having . . .). So, interesting and educational.
I also saw Hamlet 2, and all I will say about that movie is that if you liked Waiting for Guffman or Best in Show, then you'll probably like this one as well. It has the same painful sense of humor.
I'm quickly running out of time, end of the workday and all. I owe you some book reviews. Those will happen soon, I promise. On the writing front, I'm slogging through a serious rewrite of the last section of my book, starting shortly after they reach the jungle city. I'm making progress, but I feel like I've come to a standstill because I keep writing more new material and not editing what's there. As long as I keep working, it's okay, right? I'd like to be totally done with editing and rewriting by the new year, so I can start submitting it.
I've also got a freelance project at home that I'm really enjoying, and I've started going to yoga once a week. It's time to get serious about treating my body better!
And now, I really need to wrap a couple things up before the end of the workday, so be patient, I promise I will blog again soon . . .

Hair

I just spent the last twenty minutes or so looking up Youtube videos of the Hair revival that's running at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park right now. Watching it brings back so many memories of the times I performed it in Oregon. Is it possible to be homesick for a show? That's kind of how it makes me feel. I can't listen to it without wanting to sing along, to be still a part of it somehow, and I know that sounds strange, but that's how it is.

Sorry

I apparently am just a sporadic blogger at heart. Maybe it's that I only blog when I really feel the urge. Maybe it's just that my time is already overcommitted so I just don't get around to this very often. . . . Well, regardless, I do apologize. July was not the best of months in the history of me. There was a bad sunburn, and a nasty cold, and one of my books at work turned into an utter nightmare. Now I am just thanking the stars that July is over, and looking forward to having a happier, more productive August. So, without further ado, here are my August goals:

• finish editing my novel
• finish (re)learning the Debussy
• get my kitchen organized, and start on my bedroom
• get caught up at work
• read three books

There, that's not so bad, is it? I do also want to make it to the flea markets again this month. That hasn't happened since, oh, mid-June, I think. And there may be another beach trip in there, and I know there are a couple parties coming up, etc. So August will be packed full. How is it that the appeal of summer is those warm, lazy days at home, by yourself, where you do whatever you want, whenever you want, yet so few of those days actually happen?
Last night I talked to What-If Boy for a good half hour. And it was one of those perfectly comfortable, lovely conversations where we both laughed a lot, we talked about work, about family, about books and movies and just random things. It made me miss him. We used to be so close, and last night made me feel like we still are, even though we don't talk as often. It was really nice. Lately I've been rather anti-phone, but I'm glad I finally caught up with him.
I think I'll save the book reviews for next time, since I should get cracking on my pile of work today. Happy Wednesday!