Delor.es.Defacto

Okay W.Bloggar, let's update, shall we?

I was going to write a whole opinion based Lost entry but I soon grew too distracted for such things. It's an on going theorem based cult following that can't be summarized in the mere limitations of a blog post. Besides, I watched the silly thing twice now and I just want to know how the next season (which starts in flipping 2009) will be constructed. Everyone off the island then going back and showing what "bad things" happened after Jack left? And Claire, hello? What the hell happened to her? Does no one care about Claire? Will she be sending us secret messages through extra clips on the extended version Season 4 DVD or what? She looked like she'd been snatched by aliens last time they showed her though.



Then I have the school situation to mention. My "manuscript" if that's what we're still calling it, has been reviewed by my professor. Neither of us had contacted one another for a while because he was on vacation or something and I was just over it (I still have a story or two to type up and I just don't feel compelled to do so. I even have a very crappy story that I wrote a month or so ago that sounds like something out of Gossip Girl so I'm going to pretend that 30 minutes of my life never happened. I was told that all in all my stories with scenes rather than dialogue win out and then I was referred to Hemingway (ah ha!) and was asked what I wanted to do with my work at this point. Well, I have to finish the little statement paper that I never bothered to finish plus the other couple of fake letters to the editor that I also didn't even bother writing. I'll have to get back with him on Monday with a "will finish other paperwork, what other options do I have?" type of response.

But the story that he said was most compelling was that one that will be in the literary journal that I am getting three copies of. I seriously hope the Editor in Chief fixed that baby up because after a second opinion, I was pointed to some clerical errors. My professor just asked me, "What's up with that?" Grr... But aren't writers and their teachers suppose to fight about this stuff? Maybe I'm just going through the motions of being something of a point of interest to the world in the future.

As long as I don't end up on Oprah, I'll be fine...



To go along with my writing work that has been sorely neglected lately (just as this blog has been), I now have a new class to take: my first of three literature classes. I am taking an online literary criticism class that consists of Power Point presentations, one hour long online examinations of the presentations (no book or notes to print out or anything) plus discussion that we have to post about one of our reading assignments and then respond to three, not two like every other class has asked, but three every week. There are also papers involved as usual and the workload is obnoxious for someone who is A.) almost finished with this program and B.) already taken this class at the undergrad and grad level and has since stored it away as knowledge that I only need to use at certain times, like watching a movie that obviously needs a good feminist critic thrown at it. Sigh...

But I will do it, I will get it done and I'll be a better person for it, or something. If the reading assignments weren't boring and/or things I'd already read before, I wouldn't be so irritated with the whole thing. I mean, this would be like requiring someone with in a computer science program to take an Advanced Windows Applications class.



Other than that, I've not really talked to anyone except for random visits, email or phone calls to any of my gals about town. I did watch Control finally (ironically the premise for a welcomed catch up call that I received early last night) and I'm telling you, if Debbie would have just kicked Annik's ass (I love that that girl doesn't have a Wikipedia page, by the way) then 85% of Ian Curtis' problems could have possibly been solved. But that's just the Southern gal in me I guess. Hhmmm. The movie was shot very nice though and all the actors were brilliant. Sam Riley is a good crier, he drew me in a few times with that, and Samantha Morton was the only person who could have played that role.



In job and finance news, nothing. Still nothing. The government told me that I would be getting that extra money last week, yet, it is no where to be found. It took one day for them to send the letter from Atlanta, telling me how much I was getting and when the check would be sent. Why is it taking two weeks to get the actual check?

So I keep up with my job applications (although I haven't had the deranged motivation to over submit resumes like I was before because obviously that's not helping; luck or fate or divine intervention is going to be the only way my future will be saved.), plus my loans (am I even getting any more of these things for this term) and the possibility of unemployment at the end of Summer which may or may not even be attainable again. My parents keep saying that I should "look back into teaching", making my blood pressure and anxiety rise at the subject. If they asked me if I would rather teach public school or work at Target at the unemployment office, I would go with stock girl in a heart beat. I don't want to lose anymore vital organs or grapples of sanity by handing myself over to the DOE again. I get nauseous just thinking about it.



And on that cheery, closing note, I will also mention that while I've written this blog post, there has been a car alarm going off down the street for a full two hours. If someone doesn't take care of that thing soon, I'm going down there with a bat myself...(I'll borrow one from the neighbor kids in the parking lot.)

I didn't sleep well last night because I was all upset about not being able to take my poor ass to the movies, then using the cash I did have to eat pepperoni and sausage pizza from Domino's. I swear, having heavy food like that on my stomach at night just gives me nightmares. I woke up at five in the morning and couldn't go back to sleep. Then at six, the cartoon were playing on Nick at Nite so I couldn't even watch cheesy 80s sitcoms. And now that I've slept and showered and have coffee in my hand, that car alarm is enough to make me take out all my aggression out on a random, unsuspecting vehicle.

However, as I was closing this entry up, my fire alarm started that now and again low battery beep (just like at Jack Shephard's hospital! After all, He is the de facto male lead and the primary protagonist of the series. Weird.) and upon trying to change the nine-volt battery, I successfully broke the whole damn thing. Very nice. Maybe I need to disconnect that cars' battery with a stolen bat to make me feel better. Nah, I'll just eat some pizza instead.


Photo credit: deloresdefacto



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Okay. Since it's been long since I decided that I should update my blog with, yet another, random list of things, I will do so today. Again, there's not a whole lot going on and this is the easiest way to make an entry. Here goes:



-- I'm still pondering going out tonight for the Barbs Reunion.

-- It sucks that it costs, at last visit to the gas station, $37 to fill up my tank.

-- I have a couple of writing contests that I want to enter but, alas, that costs money as well. Didn't someone say at one time, to not bother paying for such thing anyway?

-- I'm still working my way through the wonderful world of Coetzee by keeping Diary of a Bad Year instead of returning it the the library. I've had it since March I think.

-- I finished Out Stealing Horses this week though. It was one of those that, after reading the last line, I shut the book and muttered, "F&*$, that's good." My professor was adamant on this one and I didn't want to be so easily swayed by opinion but, alas, he was right.

-- I got caught up with Fran on The Tudors. Good Lord, those guys were some evil bastards. I had nightmares about the last episode we saw that showed the torture and beheading spree.

-- I am prepared to tape all three hours of Lost this Thursday. We have extra footage, plus the two hour season finale to discuss later on. Right now I'm betting that the last episode will be about Claire. We also discussed that maybe the island brought Christian Shephard back to life and that the freighter will blow up because Sun and Aaron are the only ones of the Oceanic Six who aren't in the room with the explosives. Now, as to who the other two people are supposedly survived the crash but later died, had better be freaking explaining because that's driving me up a wall (as is everything else on this show.)

-- I am not getting my tax refund bonus money until this month because apparently since I had the processing fees with TurboTax taken out before my refund was deposited. I don't get why this extra cash can't be sent electronically as well but, eh, at least they're sending me something (although, I think I count as the poorest of the poor and will only get the minimum amount.)

-- I need, and do not currently have money for: Frontline for the cat, my allergy pills, money for my insurance and going out cash. Seems though the insurance money will obviously have to come first and everything else will just have to wait.

-- I found my Ophelia painting from my old office and I tacked it up in my bedroom, since my walls are so bare. But then I got all antsy about staring at the damn thing at night and worrying about if it was even (since I have no frame to put it in right now) so I got on a chair and tacked it up in the hallway instead. That poster has been through a hundred attempts at staying up on a wall. It has rips and folds and holes punched in it on all corners. I remember when one of my seniors first saw that hanging in my office he said, "Wow, Miss. That painting is...uh...pretty intense." After I explained who she was, I think he was a little more at ease with my artistic tastes in office decor.

-- I took this picture of my desk after I got done with my cleaning spree. I have a lamp that actually puts out some light (for only $5) and a small stack of papers and items listed to be dealt with in the near future. By the way, the little notepaper reads, "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." Ralph Waldo Emerson. I found that when I was cleaning the desk up. Now I'm using it for my current work theme. I love Emerson.

-- I was ready to throw said lamp out the window last week when IE 7 kept crashing. Sure, crash recovery is fine, but crashing all the time for no apparent reason is not. I did some Windows updates, ran a couple of free virus and spyware detectors, plus removed the Share This button on my toolbar. I didn't have this problem before I added the button and my spyware mentioned a problem with my toolbar so...



And that's about it. Nothing else going on really. I have my little routine around here that keeps my mind occupied as I keep trying to find work, write my stories, get some cash, get some new books, get back to getting back I guess you could say.



Photo credit: deloresdefacto



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I finally got accepted for publication!



After going through the voting process for the school's lit journal, I received a preliminary list of those submissions that were voted on; mine was not. However, the editor in chief said that we could suggest two more that weren't on the list and, of course, I voted for myself again. (I'm starting to feel like a band geek who wants to be prom queen.) What got me the most was not only did no one, out of the eight on the editors panel, aside from myself even cared about the five stories that I wrote, but they chose the hackneyed potty humor or the overly sympathetic memoirs over my work that I've always tried to have as actual literature. (I never even wanted to go the chick lit route.)



But the editor in chief, today, said that one of my stories that I had suggested, was on the borderline (whatever that means) so she would put it in this coming edition. I had chosen two stories, on my last vote, that were the ones I was most satisfied and proud of myself after finishing. The one they picked was the one that was a "risk" (as my professor would say) so maybe he had a hand in that selection. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I got my work put to some public use, just as I always wanted it to.



It's a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. I'm not going to let the fact that it's a small college's literary journal that I "work" for, stamp out my enthusiasm from finally having what I want of my future, to come a little closer to my present.



Photo credit: fsse-info


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Good Lord, this has been forever since I've written an update. Oh well, as I said last time, there's nothing that poignant or relatively memorable to mention lately.



I finished up my submissions and editing and judging on submissions duties for my school's lit magazine. I have a handful of stories I sent in (yes, I voted for myself) and a couple of book reviews. Even if one story gets added to this Spring/Summer edition, that will be one small step for my writing kind. At least I got everything done for the magazine that I said I would. There's, of course, the matter of my actual classes though and I haven't quite put everything together yet. But at least financial aid finally came through with my tuition money so I'm not longer getting late payment notices in the mail.



Still no work but I keep sending out the silly resumes. I read on Orlando Jobs that a lot of people are doing the same thing I'm doing and posting their resumes to every online job site they come across and it's not working. While it's not good news to know that all this pointless effort has been exerted for months now, it is nice to know that I'm not the only one out here who is getting sick and tired of getting scam replies, or no replies at all.



But with this time on my hands I've been reading and working and trying my hardest to just get caught up on all the things I want to do with my time. Cleaning has been one of my main objectives as well. It's sad that, honestly, not having to have your life wasted day by day, working for someone else, worrying about someone else's meaningless rules and guidelines, and having your life for yourself isn't as easy as it really should be. Hopefully once I have my degree in, I can work for some online colleges as well as adjunct for the local community colleges and then I'll at least be working in my desired field. While the idea of having a job that lacks a lot of responsibility, like a secretary, does sound awfully nice, I probably would, as most people say they do, get bored with it really quick. But, again, all of this time of running around, having complete freedom to do what I want; I can see why people opt for being poor and true to themselves, or, hell, marrying for money, just so they can stay home and only worry about themselves from 9-5. Too bad we have to rely on someone else to hand us over some cash every two weeks, otherwise we'd all be a hell of a lot happier.



Anyway, the brush fires, and the wind, and the high pollen count and the fact that it's now sping time, are all making my allergies kick into high gear. I've had that gross, sicky head and stomach feeling all day because of all of this stuff in the air.



My parents are on their way back from Ohio so I'm sure coming through the state will be oodles of fun since the traffic was, last time I watched the news, at a parking lot stand-still in some places. Very nice. I can't wait for my parents to get back. I am totally ready for an excuse to buy a belated Mother's Day cake. Those two mini cupcakes I had earlier just didn't cut it (but I'm sure they helped my stomach, huh?)



And while I'm at it, I'll mention that Lost has been really good and I'm liking the two theories that either Jacob is related to everyone on the island, or is just the manifestation of whoever goes into the cabin (meaning "Jacob" tells them what they already know or want to hear.) I'm going to cry this week, I've already decided. After seeing the trailer where the plane door opens to see people waiting for them at home; you know they're going to have all that dramatic music and will make it as emotional as possible. I love that show! Now that Charlie is dead or whatever (I'm still waiting for him to come swimming to shore one of these days), I've thrown all of my love and devotion to Locke as my favorite character (for many different reasons, of course.) But, nonetheless, I still can't get that image of Jack without a scar, running around in a towel with his matador physic. Television just doesn't get any better than that.



Speaking of which, I have to mention the two new discoveries for the Brit Guy collection: Jonas Armstrong, (good name, by the way), who is the new Robin Hood (where has he been these past two years; I've just now seen the ads, and the show, on BBC America) and Ben Barnes (another good name), who is Prince Caspian (I didn't think he was that great looking at first and was actually kinda disappointed that they chose him, but after seeing him on an interview, I totally changed my mind.)



Photo credit: roman



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Since I don't really have anything to report in a blog update, I snagged this picture and decided to make, yet another, random list of things to mention:



-- After watching The Shape of Things to Come last week, I can see how they're making it seem as if Sawyer is going to die, along with Claire and, hence, the baby, Aaron will have to be taken with Hurley, Kate and Jack. For the first time, I actually felt a tad sorry for Ben and I loved how they're (seemingly?) tying up some loose ends as far as how things happened and what exactly the black smoke is. (Time travelling black hole that brings animals, people, etc. back and forth through time. If you get stuck in a black hole, you get eaten up into oblivion.) But Sawyer simply can't die and I'm sure he's going to hide from the "bad guys" and find Locke while everyone else leaves the island.


-- Something Nice Back Home, tomorrow's episode, doesn't have any info online yet, but according to my cable box info: "Juliet and Kate must work together to save Jack when his health is seriously compromised; something goes wrong as Sawyer, Claire, Miles and Aaron head back to the beach." Again, they're trying to hint at Sawyer having something happen to him so he may or may not die along with Claire. I wonder whose flashback / flashforward will be the focus for this episode. I'm guessing Claire since she's probably going to be killed off soon.


-- Speaking of what happened when and how everyone is connected, Dominic Monaghan was on MadTV with a "Domi-Lost" skit. It's not as funny as SNL would do (because I never watch MadTV and don't care for anyone on the show as far as I've ever in the past) but I'm glad I happened to see that this was on. This other skit was wrong but funny as hell.


-- Aside from Lost (which I was so glad to have back, by the way), we only have four more episodes of The Tudors left. I must say, I am very happy with the character change that Henry is taking on. I like that, despite his conscience telling him that killing More is wrong, he is so bloody arrogant and hot headed, that he has to go along with his original ideas, just so he won't admit that he was wrong. And I can totally see how he's going to see the opportunity to change his mind, without taking blame, after Katherine dies and killing Anne off will give him a fresh start in the legitimate, male heir, please England, love me again, department. I also like how Jonathan Rhys Meyers is getting a bit bigger and taking on the shape of a Greek statue. No complaints here. I just wish his eyes didn't make him look like he'd been snatched by aliens from time to time.



-- In personal news, nothing, I repeat, nothing else has been going on. I got a call from a place I applied for as a secretary last week. The guy went over my information and said he'd call back but never did. {shrug} So all I can count on is the school loan money that will come supposedly by the end of summer (which isn't much of a relief since we haven't even started summer yet.) But I have stuff to do for my grad program's literature magazine so that will give me the much needed incentive to get the work that I've been putting off done in a couple of weeks.


-- Since things have been so boring lately, it's hard to want to be jazzed about what I'm reading and working on. I mean, I have fleeting moments of glee when I come up with some interesting plot twist or opinion on the author I've pick up from the shelf (the library has been sending me bills already because one of my shelves is full of three month overdue books.) But all in all, it's a very humdrum kind of routine I have around here. If there were anything exciting, I'd be more inclined to discuss something other than random acts of television watching.


-- I did clean up the sidebar on my blog so that the widgets wouldn't (presumably) slow the site down. I can't stand how the new Wordpress widget editor is set up though. You're supposed to drag and drop them where you want them in the sidebar but, instead, they run off to the bottom or top of the screen once you unclick them in the spot you want them to be in. It's like trying to color within the lines with an optical mouse. They're only so much hand-eye coordination that I can handle at a time, especially when I'm doing a trial and error system to see what script codes will work in the widget text boxes.



So anyway, that's all I have to put on the electronic blog table right now. I am sure I'll think of something interesting in the next couple of days but until then, I'm going back to the television, the bookshelf, the legal pad and the Word files. There's so much I still have to get done.


And this is nice. Now that Keith told me that I "should get rid of the UTW plugin, as it doesn't work in any version of WP past 2.3 anyway..." in order for CTC to work, I lost all of my tags. Very nice. I just had to reload and activate UTW again so my post tags would come back. Now they're in my post editor but they don't show up in the preview. Sigh...what's happening with this?



Photo credit: Rolling Stone



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