Guess That Means No Terminator 4

Posted on October 8, 2003 by Heather

Amazing. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the new governor of California. After news like that, I think it is high time that I started that news fast I was talking about.

I’m really surprised by the outcome of this election, especially considering the way the campaigning went. We recently had an election here in Ontario, and the party who shared their ideas and kept the fight clean was elected, even though they didn’t promise to lower taxes. But Mr. Schwarzenegger hasn’t shared many, if any, of his plans. About the only thing he and the other candidates seemed to have talked about was the alligation of sexual harassment that were levelled against him. (He was a famous, foreign, good looking man. Why am I not surprised that he may have slept around in his younger days?) Why did he get elected if no one know what he stands for, other then being the “people’s governor.” Hey, come think of it, the Liberal party who got elected here said they were the “people’s government.” Maybe that phrase is the key to it all. 😛

Oh, there is one more thing that bothered me about this election. In news casts, most of the candidates were either spoken of by their whole name or as Mr. So-and-so. Yet, Mr. Schwarzenegger was called Arnold, Arnie, and other similar names while imitating his accent. Just because he is a Hollywood star and we feel as if we know him doesn’t me that he doesn’t deserve the respect of being called Mr. Schwarzenegger. Yeah, I’m a little old fashioned that way.

Comments Off on Guess That Means No Terminator 4 | Posted in Media & Politics |

I’m a “Writer”!

Posted on October 6, 2003 by Heather

When I was younger I loved to write. I would expand four page story assignments into mini-novels. I once wrote a traveller’s journal about an imaginary trip to Egypt just for the fun of it. Many of my early writing attempts are still tucked away in a drawer, sitting inside a worn out folder that I bought especially to hold them.

I gave up writing back in high school. It wasn’t that I lost the passion for it. I’m not sure that is possible. As Juvenal said “Many suffer from the incurable disease of writing and it becomes chronic in their sick minds.” I gave it up because I felt that I had no talent. There were others who were more skilled and more dedicated then I was, so I left the writing to them. My high school years were sort of difficult (as they are for everyone, I guess). I spent my time trying to make others (usually a boyfriend) happy. There wasn’t much room in my life for writing, and I didn’t really want to open myself up to criticism.

I’m older now, and a little more secure in myself. I still try my best to make others happy, but I’m trying to remember to make myself happy too. My relationships are also a lot more supportive now. quanta has even gone so far as to buy me a notebook computer so I can write in the comfort of the living room, instead of slaving away on my big computer in the computer room. My bookshelves are also full of style guides, dictionaries, books on writing prose, and even a fairly recent edition of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations. So what’s missing? The inspiration. Yeah, I’ve got nothing to write about.

So, to jump start my creative juices, I’ve signed up for National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. Quality doesn’t matter, which is sort of a nice thing. I’m hoping that I can squeeze some words out of myself, and maybe get over my fear of writing. My first step is to create a character, which is the most important part of a novel to me. (Okay, plot is important too.) And conveniently enough, the other week I bought The Writer’s Digest Sourcebook for Building Believable Characters. I’m all set. 😉

If you are interested in my progress, I’ve set up a page. Expect some updates to it once National Novel Writing Month begins.

1 Comment | Posted in Me, the Writer |

Happy Anniversary

Posted on October 5, 2003 by Heather

Happy 29th Anniversary, Mom and Dad! You’ve made it through another year without killing each other! 😉

Comments Off on Happy Anniversary | Posted in My Life |

A Quiet “Hello”

Posted on October 3, 2003 by Heather

I haven’t got much to say today, which is kind of weird actually. Well, not really. See, I’m a pretty quite person. I don’t talk much to people I know in real life, and I don’t post much to the study group and forums I belong to. It’s not that I don’t like the people or don’t want to participate, it’s just that I generally don’t have much to say. Also, sometimes, I feel like what I have to say isn’t really all that important. So, I just stay quiet. That’s probably not the best solution, but it is the least painful. You’d be amazed at the amount of courage it has required for me to write this blog and The Lotus Pond.

That sort of brings me to another topic–I rarely write emails to online friends either. There are a few people, like El, Belz and Xiao, who’ve I’ve lost touch with mostly because I don’t know what to say to them. I “see” them all pretty much every day online, yet I don’t say hi. Why? Because I don’t want to bother them. Yep, I suck. 😛 So, if any of you guys are reading this: “Hi! I miss all the fun times we used to have.”

1 Comment | Posted in My Life |

Friday Five

Posted on October 3, 2003 by Heather

Here’s this week’s Friday Five.

1. What vehicle do you drive?
I don’t have any vehicle. Heck, I don’t even have my license. I tried driving, I even took a driver’s ed course, but I hated it.

2. How long have you had it?
N/A

3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?
It’s invisable and has great gas milage. 😉

4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?
That I don’t have one.

5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?
It is a toss up between a Shelby Cobra or an Alfa Romero Spider. I’m not really picky. 🙂

Comments Off on Friday Five | Posted in Memes & Collabs |

Words and Numbers

Posted on October 1, 2003 by Heather

I’ve got a bit of a secret. You see, I’m a lover of words. I’m not a great writer, or a good speller, and I couldn’t solve a crossword puzzle to save my life, but I still love words. That being the case, you’d maybe think that I would use larger words more often. Nope. I like small words, because they generally get the point across a lot more clearly. I’m not one of those writers who pepper their prose with $10 words, and claim that if you don’t understand them then you mustn’t be educated enough. Hey, not everyone loves words.

So, to indulge my passion, I took a trip over to the library on Tuesday afternoon. (The library is a wonderful place for word lovers and book lovers.) After poking around in all the usual places (why do people steal books?!), I took a trip over to the language section. There were several books just waiting for me to take home. Books about the creation of dictionaries (more exciting then it sounds), books on word etymology, books on the development of writing, and even a book on the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics. I wonder why I didn’t think to look in this section before. I’m hoping that by delving more into the mechanics of our language, that my writing will improve. I mean, the more you know the better you are, right?

Hey, I’ve got another secret to share… I also love numbers. They talk to me. 🙂

3 Comments | Posted in My Life |

I’m a Citizen, not a Consumer!

Posted on October 1, 2003 by Heather

I’m getting so tired of the commercialism that seems to be everywhere. And truthfully, I hate shopping. Whenever I go to the mall, a little tug of war goes on inside me. I’m drawn in by all the shiny baubles on display, but I am repealed by the commercialism of it all. There are salespeople trying to upsell you, magazine covers telling you what you must have, and ads trying to convince you that you can’t live with the “NEW Super Improved Widget!!” (What was wrong with the old, unimproved version anyway?)

It is so difficult to get away from this commercialism. It has even spread to the news. We aren’t citizens anymore. Heck, we aren’t even viewers–we are consumers. We consume information, we consume products, and we consume the Earth.

Where will it all end? Can our economy continue to grow? Can we continue to buy products? Our wages rise, and then our spending increases. There doesn’t seem to be any way to get ahead, except to stop spending. Yeah, I’m sure the economists out there will argue with me and give good reasons for growth and spending. Whatever. Personally, I’m tired of being bombarded by ads and salespeople. So what’s my solution? I don’t know. I guess I’ll take it one day at a time, fighting the urge to buy the newest widget. I will admit to books being a huge weakness, but I guess that’s what libraries are for.

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