“I love it when you read to me, And you, You can read me anything.”

I am currently reading three books. I’m not really sure how this happened, because I’ve been trying to limit myself to reading ONE at a time, but yet I find myself reading THREE. I set the limit originally to make myself finish each book as I had developed a nasty habit of starting one and putting it aside in favor of another, but never picking the original back up. Then once I broke that, the one book at a time limit just continued since it was working so well. I’m in no danger of completely stopping reading any of these books, but still. I’m perplexed at how I got to THREE with the limit in place. Oh, well. As long as I actually finish these books.

And since I’m in the mood to talk books, I’ll tell you about what I’m reading!

Plot vs Character by Jeff Gerke
This was the first one I started reading. It’s been on my shelf for awhile, and it was one that I had started and then stopped in favor of another. So, this time when I picked it up, I started completely over~ Basically this book is about teaching character-first novelists the benefit of a great plot, and about teaching plot-firsters the awesome rewards of having great characters. I’m definitely a character firster, and because of that my plots tend to be a little weak. Which is the reason I picked this book up in the first place–I know a weak area in my writing and I wanted to fix it~ When I read this book last time, I got entirely through the first part…which is the part talking about developing great characters. The problem is the second part builds on the first part. Jeff (who is a plot-firster) builds plot from a character’s inner journey, so in order to actually work through the second part of the book, you first have to have a well-developed character. Which is why I simply started completely over as opposed to picking up where I left off. Also because I am using this book to help me learn a bit more about Brighten and her love interest, Emily <3

The Girl That Played With Fire by Steig Larsson
The only fiction book I’m currently reading. I was reluctant to start this one at this time because it’s 724 pages, and generally when I read fiction that long I like to have it as my only current read, otherwise it takes me far too long to get through it. But start it I did and I’m loving it so far. I absolutely loved the first book in the series, and the (American) movie (I have yet to see the other version), and I’m in love with Lisbeth Salander. Seriously–she’s my book crush!

Crafting Magick With Pen and Ink by Susan Pesznecker
Originally I picked this up thinking it would help with my ritual crafting. Since it is a book filed under Paganism and such, and it is by a Pagan author. Also because the back reads (in big, bold lettering) “Put the pen back in pentacle”. What else would a Pagan think, right? Well, I was really wrong. This book is way more about writing than about magick. And when I say writing, I mean really basic writing. For example, she talks about the difference in simile and metaphor, and the difference in fiction and nonfiction–stuff you’re taught by 8th grade.

In the beginning she talked about making your desk a sacred space with a mini altar in one corner, and provided a ritual to “mark your beginning as a writer”. After that, the most “magick” she talks about is putting dragons in your story and the different types of magickal texts that exist (Grimoire, dream journal, Book of Shadows–the typical 101 stuff).

I don’t recommend this book to anyone at all. The writing part of this is stuff you’d already know if you’d gotten even to the first day of high school, and the magickal parts can be gleaned from even Teen Witch by Ravenwolf. I’ve seriously just set aside my other two books for a day or so in order to just finish this book because I want it done so I can get rid of it. I’d just stop reading it, but I really dislike doing that, and a quick glance at the Table of Contents tells me the writing ritual bit is yet to come. So, I’ll reserve final judgement of the entire work until I’ve finished it–which will probably be tonight since I have less than 100 pages left to read and I can easily do that in an evening.

~*~

Serendipitous moment: While searching out that link for this book, a youtube video by Aislynn reviewing this book popped up on Google! I knew she had reviewed this book (it was because of her that I’d even heard of this book as she had mentioned it in another video), but I had never been able to find her actual review of it because the video isn’t tagged. A quick watch of the video tells me I’m not the only one who dislikes this book–she basically said everything I’d have to say about this book.

(Title of the post from Peter Gabriel’s Book of Love–Ang and I’s song~ <3)

If You Never Chase Your Dreams You’ll Never Catch Them

Picture this: People walking around in potato sacks and loincloths, heading into an office to devote their time to someone else even though it’s not what they like to do. At the end of the day they go home to a plain house, eat a tasteless meal, and go to bed. Sounds pretty boring eh? This is what would happen if people stop chasing their dreams.

 

~*~

 

Over the weekend I was talking with my Mom, who has recently started dating her exhusband (not my father), about dreams and happiness~ Mom and her ex, Mike, have always been good friends, and always remained in touch. In fact, they have trouble figuring out why they split up in the first place~ She met him when she was 12 by way of her brothers, and they immediately clicked. That same year, Mike went into the business of cutting people’s hair. Forty some years later he has his own barber shop and still loves cutting hair. He works five days a week and never complains about going to work.

 

Seven years later he proposed to my mom, giving her the extra incentive she needed to quit nursing school. She had already been toying with the idea of quitting as the sight of blood was too much for her to handle, and Mike’s proposal was the final nail in the coffin. Nursing wasn’t really her passion though–Interior Decorating was/is. She can spend hours rearranging knick knacks and wall hangings and never wish she was doing something else. It’s the one thing that puts her “in the zone”. Unfortunately, Interior Decorating is not how she spends her 40 hour work week. Instead, she heads in to a job where people aren’t the friendliest and don’t always act with kindness. She doesn’t hate her job, but it’s bad enough where most days she’d rather not go.

 

The difference in these two lovebirds is that one chased his dream, while the other did not. (Though to be fair, being a wife and mother was also a dream of hers~)

 

 

Mike has had great success with his business and makes a fine living. But it’s not always so easy to chase your dream. Barbers have repeat customers that come back regularly and request their services. Writers and other artisans aren’t so lucky. We don’t have a place to “be an apprentice” that allows us to build up clientele that we can then carry over to our own business. For us, it’s hard. We have to slug it out on our own, mastering our craft and making it good enough to sell, become Marketing Machines of Awesome with the life span of the Energizer Bunny, and there’s rarely a helping hand. This is true for all artists that haven’t yet had the success of Picasso or Vera Bradley.

 

Why am I writing about this? Because I believe it’s important to chase your dreams if you want to have a completely satisfying life, regardless of how many challenges you may face at the outset. My boyfriend and I are great examples of this.

 

For years both of us tried working for someone else–giving up our time to a “higher up” for the sake of a paycheck and pleasing everyone else, even though we were sacrificing our dreams. Regardless of whether we were working part time jobs at fast food chains or office jobs that paid decently, we weren’t happy. We didn’t enjoy our work and wound up feeling a bit like we were wasting our lives. (At least I felt that way–I shouldn’t speak for him.) But a few years back he started trying to chase his dreams–that of being a Games Journalist. He now writes for Cheat Code Central and Shoryuken, and though times are a bit hard, I’d still venture a guess that he’s happier now than he was when not doing what he loves.

 

As for me, I’m spending my days working towards my dream as well. I write novels and short stories, but since I’m not lucky enough to make a living off my work (yet) I occasinally take a part time job to help pay bills and put food on my table. I enjoy eating, and my body complains if there isn’t enough food, but it’s not satisfying work at all. In fact, it’s boring and thankless work that I’d rather not do. I’d much rather spend my days writing, which is why, even though a portion of my time sometimes gets spent on someone else’s dream, I still work at what I love and chase mine.

 

If you have a dream, and know that it’s what would make you happiest, why not go for it? My mom never chased hers–even after she got divorced she went straight into the workforce instead of going back to school for what she loves. All these years later, she regrets it and wishes that she had followed her heart and chased her passion. Living with regrets isn’t fun, but living your dream is.

 

And if having happiness and living without regrets isn’t enough of a reason to chase your dreams, remember the boring, drab world described at the beginning of this post. Without dreamers, that world becomes a reality. If no one created art or wrote stories or designed games, the world wouldn’t have these things, it would be devoid of beauty and entertainment.  There would be no movies or TV shows to watch (no one would be writing them, there would be no actors to portray the characters), no music to listen to (no one would sing the lyrics or play the melodies), food would be blah (because no one would bother to experiment with different spices or create different, bursting-with-flavor dishes–if you don’t believe cooking is an art, just ask my boyfriend!), and there would be no paintings to admire or books to read. I’d actually be willing to say that there would be no newspaper (virtual or physical) to read as there would be no one around to write the news (even journalists started as dreamers). And in all of this, what would you wear? I may not be the most fashion conscious person around (it’s actually rare that I even pay attention to it), but I do recognize that it’s an art–clothes are actually wearable art. If no one chased their dreams of being a designer, we’d all be walking around in potato sacks and loincloths. Doesn’t sound like a very attractive world to me, and it’s certainly not one that I’d want to live in.

 

STOP SOPA!

I don’t agree with censorship at all–this blog stands FIRMLY AGAINST SOPA!!

~*~

LINK ROUNDUP!!

Not understanding what the hell SOPA is? Read this article by the Huffington Post!

Think I’m nuts for not supporting, but yet I want to make my living off of writing–something that could be pirated? I’m not the only artist against SOPA/PIPA.

Want to read something funny?

How about taking action yourself?

You’re from a whole other world, a different dimension (from ET by Katy Perry)

So, awhile back there was a power surge at my house. I have no idea what caused it, but it absolutely fried my computer. I can’t even turn it on and off! The tragic part? There were so many stories on that computer. Not just novels, but short stories and poems and ideas for other stories. I had originally hoped that the computer could be saved, so that I could at least have time to transfer those stories off of there, but alas, my dear computer met with fate and there’s nothing I can do (and it’s old enough that it’s not worth sinking a lot of money into).

Ever since that happened I’ve kind of put novel writing aside. It wasn’t just because of that–I had a few personal, self-imposed deadlines for short stories that I was focusing on, as well as focusing on ritual writing. So, up until now, I haven’t really had the opportunity to get back to novel writing. But now I’m feeling the itch and I’m so ready to dive back in, head first.

Writing short pieces is fun–it allows me to get to know a character quickly, but not very much–but my favorite form is by far the novel. Why? Because there is this rush that comes when you’re in the middle of a novel, and you know the plot, and you know the next scene, and you can see it playing out before your eyes, and your fingers just twitch to type it all out. It’s that feeling of needing to hurry up and get home from work and flick on the computer (or open the notebook!) and start writing everything down because it will not leave you alone and you don’t want to lose a single line.

Right now, there is a novel idea bouncing in my head, begging to be fleshed out~

I Will Sail My Vessel, Til The River Runs Dry

You know a dream is like a river
Ever changin’ as it flows
And a dreamer’s just a vessel
That must follow where it goes
Trying to learn from what’s behind you
And never knowing what’s in store
Makes each day a constant battle
Just to stay between the shores

And I will sail my vessel
‘Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I’ll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
‘Til the river runs dry

Too many times we stand aside
And let the waters slip away
‘Til what we put off ’til tomorrow
It has now become today
So don’t you sit upon the shoreline
And say you’re satisfied
Choose to chance the rapids
And dare to dance that tide

And I will sail my vessel
‘Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I’ll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
‘Til the river runs dry

There’s bound to be rough waters
And I know I’ll tke soome falls
With the Brigid* as my captain
I can make it through them all

And I will sail my vessel
‘Til the river runs dry
Like a bird upon the wind
These waters are my sky
I’ll never reach my destination
If I never try
So I will sail my vessel
‘Til the river runs dry
Brigid*, I will sail my vessel
‘Til the river runs dry
Yeah

–The River, by Garth Brooks

~*~

In high school I was in choir and we had to perform this song at one of our concerts. It’s been a favorite of mine ever since, and I find it quite inspirational. There is no time better time to to act than the present, no need to wait until tomorrow to start chasing our dreams.

*I replaced “Good Lord” and “Lord” (respectively) with Brigid because that’s the way I tend to sing the song as She is my guiding star, my inspiration.

Party Like It’s 1999!

So much has shifted and changed and blossomed for me this past year. Admittedly, this has been probably one of the most challenging years–and yet the most rewarding–that I’ve faced in a very long time.

<3 The beginning of the year saw me taking care of my mom full time since she had broken her ankle and couldn’t get around very well. Between doing that, working, and maintaining a relationship I barely had any time for me. But that was okay. I was happy, and it definitely made me evaluate what was important to me. Those things that I chose to spend my precious few minutes of free time on each week pointed out exactly what matters most to me, and it’s those things that I continue to focus on now.

<3 I’ve learned that we will meet the people we’re supposed to when we’re ready to. Even if meeting is simply discovering youtube channels and merely interacting through comments. Had I “met” Aislynn three years ago, I wouldn’t have taken a good portion of what she’s said in her videos to heart. Probably the biggest thing I have learned from her is how important goals are. If you don’t have clearly defined goals, you can’t have a clear path (and the path can be murky enough even if you do have clearly defined goals!), and not having a clear path can easily lead to stagnation. A few weeks back I sat down and really started thinking about what my goals are and ever since then I have direction because I can see what I need to do in order to accomplish those goals. That direction, those stepping stones, are such a help, to me.

<3 I have been OBSESSED with Citrine lately! I’ve always loved it, simply because of the color and it’s energies, but lately it seems I can’t have enough of it. I have several pieces at home already, but yesterday I visited a new (to me) Pagan shop and just had to get another piece. It’s a tiny little point, no bigger than your pinkie’s fingernail, but it’s perfect for carrying around with me in a small pocket of my bag!

<3 Part of managing my goals was to break them down into smaller bits–stepping stones~ Last year at this time I decided that I was going to try to enter every single writing contest that The Writer’s Journal put on. There is one every few months, and they are all for different genres. I wrote those down in a little day planner that never got used for anything else, or checked, and the deadlines came and went without me even knowing it. This year, I don’t plan to enter EVERY contest they have, but I have noted every contest and deadline in my new day planner, just because I like to know when they are so that IF I have a story that would fit the bill, I can submit it. One way of getting your name out there, as a writer, is to enter various contests like these, so I thought this would be a small stepping stone.

<3 The other writing thing I had planned out last year was to write a short story for every Sabbat. I started strong on this, and then around Midsummer it fizzled out. I’m not quite sure what happened, but after that I never even tried to get caught up and until I stumbled upon my Ostara story for last year, I had actually forgotten about the project! This year, I’m renewing it–I’m going to try again. I’ve pencilled in deadlines for myself (the day right before each Sabbat), and I will not miss them! Last time the stories didn’t have any connection, other than they revolved around the Wheel of the Year–they didn’t share a protagonist, and none of the same characters appeared in more than one story. I think I will stick to that same thing this time around, because I want this to be a collection of stories for everyone. I want to have gay stories, lesbian stories, straight stories, asexual stories, poly stories all included in this, and I want to represent as many different types of people as I can–not just white cis-gender characters from middle class America, but maybe an Irish woman, or an Asian transman, or *insert other “nontraditional” character here*. However, these will all be from a Pagan perspective, though the various characters will be at different stages of their spiritual development~ This will probably be the biggest project I work on all year, simply because it will require a fair amount of research (you can’t really write about an Irish woman without knowing something about Ireland–same thing for any other nationality), and it will also take the longest.

<3 Toss in the various novels I want to write, and the fact that I also want to write either a short story or poem for both my mom and my grandma’s birthday this coming year, and my year is going to be PACKED with writing! I must say though, that I am very much looking forward to this~ <3

<3 Aaaaand aside from all of that writing, I have so many spiritual topics that I want to delve into, and other creative pursuits to pursue that I’m going to be one busy girl!

This new year promises to be busy, rewarding, trying and challenging all at the same, but I’m ready to jump into head first, with gusto. What are your plans for the coming year? What are you looking forward to?

A Call To Action!

Lately, my favorite show–the one that I simply CAN NOT miss–is Once Upon A Time. It’s about a small town called Storybrook where everybody in the town is a fairytale character, but they don’t remember. The only person who knows the truth is a ten year old boy Henry. Every week I watch without fail, and every week I’m glued to my TV, totally lost in a different world. Until something jars me out of it.

The past few weeks I’ve seen a commercial for a new show on ABC called Work It. Oh my god, I don’t think I could be more offended by this show! The whole premise is that girls are taking over the work force, so two men (who have been out of work for a year) decide they are going to dress  up as women, go on interviews, and get a job. They succeed, unfortunately.

I have many issues with this show, but perhaps my biggest issue is the fact that it’s portraying men dressing as women, and the general population is going to assume that this is an accurate depiction of a transgender person. Let me tell you, it’s NOT. What those two men do is SO FAR FROM A TRANS PERSON’S LIFE, I don’t even know where to begin with explaining it. Obviously, a transgender person does not simply dress up in the opposite person’s clothing just to get a job.

Now, I realize that ABC is not marketing these two guys as transgender characters–they aren’t even marketing them as crossdressers. But I know how people are going to take this. They see a guy in a woman’s clothing, and like I said, they are going to assume “oh, that’s how a trans person must act” or, for those who know a trans person but don’t quite understand them, ”THAT’S why so and so dresses in girl’s (or guy’s) clothing”.  I can’t even say this is a stereotypical portrayal becuase that would be saying it’s an accurate portrayal when it’s NOT.

I’ve blogged before about what a trans person’s life could be like. I’m not trans myself so I only had my imagination and (at the time) an incredibly close trans friend to help me understand her reality a bit better. (Another good example of a trans person’s life is this story~)

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has a movement going to send ABC the message that shows like Work It that mock transgender people are NOT okay and they should NOT air it! Join me in taking action and sending them a letter? It’ll only take a few minutes–promise!!

I Kissed A Girl And I Liked It <3

I just read a speech recently given by Hilary Clinton regarding human rights and the rights of LGBTQ people. I won’t lie–this speech nearly brought tears to my eyes because everything she said is so incredibly true. LGBTQ rights are human rights. Those of us who are attracted to the same sex are not committing a crime by loving or liking that person, yet in some countries we are treated like we are. As Clinton points out, it’s common for LGBTQ folk in other countries to be beaten and driven from their home simply because of who they are attracted to.

It’s no secret that I stand firmly for LGBTQ rights–and if there was any doubt, then that first paragraph should’ve been enough to let you know where I stand. I believe, wholeheartedly and with every fiber of my being, that LGBTQ people deserve and are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. They deserve the right to love whoever they want to, to express that love through physical acts of passion, to marry that person and have children with them. In my mind, there is no reason why we members of the LGBTQ community should not be able to do those things if we so choose (some people, like myself, do not want children. But I digress.)

For those of you who still wondered why I write LGBTQ stories, this is why. Because as members of that community, we deserved everything that straight people enjoy–freedom, love, a home, family, and even stories.

Personally, I have no problem reading straight stories. I enjoy them just as much as I do gay fiction. But I must admit that there is a small thrill that goes through me when I see LGBTQ characters appear in a book. Think about the characters you resonate most with, the ones that you can most easily relate to. They are probably like you aren’t they? I’m willing to bet that it’s easiest for a white middle aged stay at home mom to relate to a white middle aged stay at home mom in a novel. Or that a teenage black man can most easily relate to another teenage black man. It simply makes sense that that would be true, because those are stories that are told–in a sense–about those people.

It’s the same for LGBTQ folks.

It’s not that we don’t enjoy straight fiction–we do, and we read it. We laugh and cry, celebrate and mourn with the protagonists of those stories if the author has done a good job and the character is well developed. But when you can relate to a character that much more, when you can see yourself in a character and say “Yes! I’ve been through that, too!” it’s that much easier to laugh, cry, celebrate, and mourn right along with them. And it makes the story that much more special and memorable. I read straight books, but I must admit that I have a soft spot for the stories featuring LGBTQ characters.

The other reason I write LGBTQ stories is because they can create a sense of community. When you’re gay, growing up is hard. You begin to realize that you’re different from your friends, and when you tell those friends your truth they can turn on you, and maybe even abandon you. I was lucky enough to have never experienced this myself.

This morning when I signed onto twitter I saw a message that a certain boy in Australia needed to hear from the rest of the LGBTQ community. Intrigued, I clicked on his name and read his posts. He planned to kill himself today. His friends turned away from him, and he father beat him…because he’s gay. Having never been through those things I can’t even fathom what that feels like, but I do know what it’s like to feel alone, to feel like I’m the only one like me in this world. It’s a very dark, sad place to be in. I got this feeling not from being attracted to other girls, but from being pagan. I can’t tell you how many times I searched in books to find a Pagan portrayed. My eyes lit up when I finally found Isobel Bird’s Circle of Three series (which still has a place on a bookshelf to this day).

That “OMGYAYAPERSONLIKEMEINABOOK!” moment is what I want to give back. I remember the exact moment I found that series and what it meant to me. If I can give that moment to someoen else, if I can make them feel that much less alone, if I can help them feel visible in a world that (through subtleties) says that they are invisible, I will be able to consider myself successful as a writer.

Edited to add: That boy that I was talking about above? His life was saved through the sheer power of the internet and of caring individuals who retweeted his original tweet and tweeted to him to keep believing, keep hoping, keep living. I have an overwhelming sense of joy at this. EVERY life is important, and being gay is NO REASON to end your life–regardless of what other people may say, do, or act.

Oh half way there, woah living on a prayer!

Today is the last day of NaNoWriMo. I’ve participated in it for three years, and even though I had a computer at my house this year, I did worse this year than any other. It wasn’t from laziness (in fact I worked on my novel at every spare moment I could find), but various things kept getting in the way. Yeah, I know–to be a writer and be productive one has to write around work and family obligations. I did this, but when a fuse blows in the middle of the night and all but fries your computer, there is no ”write around”. I tried to write longhand, but when you’re trying to keep track of a word count that doesn’ t work so well. At least not for NaNoWriMo purposes.

And in the middle of the month I was gifted with a scene from the next novel I’m going to write and I’ve been so anxious to start working on it. But, despite having to write longhand now, I do want to finish the NaNoWriMo novel–simply because it’s a story that I need to write as it’s helping me deal with a lot of personal stuff right now, but also because I’m enjoying it. And it feels totally wrong to abandon it midway through.

~*~

When I’m not writing I spend my time reading. I have so many books at home that fall under the “to read” category that I’ve lost count. But the three that are the very top of my list right now are Huntress by Melinda Lo and The White Goddess by Robert Graves. However I’m currently reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson and very much loving it!

So much to read and write, so few hours in a day

In my life, thankful, so thankful (from Kelly Clarkson’s “Thankful”)

Today before you think of saying an unkind word, think of someone who can’t speak. Before you complain about the taste of your food, think of someone who has nothing to eat. Before you complain about your husband or wife, think of someone who went too early to heaven. Before you complain about your children, think of someone who desires children but they’re barren. Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn’t clean or sweep, think of the people who are living in the streets. Before whining about the distance you drive, think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet. And when you are tired and complain about your job, think of the unemployed, the disabled, and those who wished they had your job …And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down, put a smile on your face and thank God you’re alive and still around. Life is a gift, live it, celebrate it, and fulfill it.

–from an email my mother shared with me

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving–a day not typically on the Pagan calendar, but it is part of my own personal calendar simply because I find being grateful for what you have to be an incredibly important thing. I’ve been though so many things in my life–everything from losing loved ones far too soon, being homeless, being unemployed, wondering where my next meal is coming from–and to not look around me and not be grateful for the blessings I have today…I really don’t know how to not be grateful.

I wanted to mention something first though: you don’t have to be religious to be grateful. Personally, when I say “thank You” I’m talking to my matron goddess, Brighid, and my patron god, Odin, because they are the two deities that have the most influence over my life. They have blessed me with many gifts and so, I thank Them for those gifts. But, you can be an atheist and still be grateful. Being grateful just simply means you are thankful, that you’re glad to have the things you do. And because you don’t have to even believe in a deity to be thankful for things, and because Thanksgiving is technically a day to be thankful and grateful, I don’t view it as belonging to any one religion.

So, since I’ll be jumping around to different locations tomorrow to visit with various family members, I thought I’d make my Thanksgiving post today. And to do that, I thought I would go the traditional route and list some of the things I am grateful for. (Note: This list is far from everything I am grateful for~)

*~Of course, the traditional things like house, food, clothing, family, job, etc. Believe me, when you’ve gone without the bare basics in your life, you realize just how important those things are and just how much of a blessing they are to have. Never again will I take having a place to live and plenty of food on my plate for granted. They aren’t just “givens”–though I firmly believe they should be. Having a house (or some form of shelter to call your own whether it be an apartment, condo, house, etc) should be a right, not a privilege.

*~My creativity. My writing is the way I work through just about anything that happens in my life. It is also a spiritual thing for me as I believe my ideas to be divinely given (or at the very least, inspired), and that I’m honoring the gifts given to me by my gods when I write. Freewriting–just letting my pen glide across the page or my hands move across the keyboard–is also how I meditate most of the time. Aside from that, writing is just plain enjoyable to me (most of the time *glares at her current WIP*) and a total escape the madness the world can provide.

*~Stories! Kind of goes hand in hand with writing, but when I need an escape and am either finished writing for the day or in between projects, I turn to stories other people have told. Whether they be found in myths, books, a random website, or movie and TV–because those last two things actually depict stories, just we see them played out instead of reading them~

*~Music! Because it’s my other passion and the other way I deal with everything that occurs in my life.

*~Angelo, my boyfriend, my honeybee. Because through all those things I mentioned above–the homelessness, lack of food stuffs in my house, etc–he has stuck by me and been a rock when I needed one. And even though we go through some rough patches, he makes me a stronger person. He is also a great source of inspiration to me because he deals with so much in his life and he always finds the strength to persevere, somehow. He works as a writer for Cheat Code Central, and even though times are tough for him sometimes, he slugs it out and sticks with his dream and…I can’t even say how much I admire him and am inspired by that.

*~My amazing friends–YOU! Without whom I would have gone completely insane by now and would be in Arkham asylum instead of typing this!

*~My cats–simply because they amuse me endlessly with their silly antics and the way they like to be Pillow Thieves at night (meaning they like to sleep directly above my head on the pillows, thus stealing the majority of said pillows as neither of my cats are small). Petting cats is also said to be therapeudic, and I will definitely attest to that!

That is a very condensed, smallish list of the things I am grateful for, and it’s by no means comprehensive.

In closing, I thought I’d leave you with an excerpt from a poem I recently came across that spoke to me and seemed quite appropriate for the day~

I thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

~From Which is Yes, by EE Cummings