Before I get into the subject at hand, I just want to say that I know my posts here have been pretty sporadic. Sadly, that’s probably going to continue for awhile, possibly through October. This is the busy season at work, and I’m working full-time, and working on my book (reading it through again), polishing the manuscript and the proposal in preparation to send to agents, taking a yoga class, going to a writers group, and oh yeah, having fun.
Published Again! In Shark Reef!
When I got home from Hawaii, I had a message about this acceptance on my machine. Trying to figure out which was better was a total toss-up – tropical paradise or publication is always a tough call.
Shark Reef is a local online literary journal, part of the Writers Guild on Lopez Island. I was especially excited that my piece made it in for two reasons.
The first is, I’ve heard that Shark Reef is difficult to get into, that they’re pretty choosy with what they publish, so it felt pretty good to get in.
If You Write It, It Will Come
Alluding to Field of Dreams there, if that wasn’t already obvious.
I actually meant to write this post before my trip to Hawaii, but didn’t have enough time, and this post definitely would have been more timely if I had.
So, maybe because I’m a writer, I believe in the power of written words, but not necessarily in the typical way, like that people can read something and be affected by it. Yeah, that’s a huge thing, but I also think there’s a much more invisible power, something ethereal and unseen, subtle.
Moonbeams Over Paradise
So here is my totally unconventional Hawaiian vacation. I’m calling it that b/c when I think of Hawaiian vacations I think of big resorts or scenes from MTV’s Maui Fever, and thankfully, this was nothing like that.
Tallie and I left the island super early last Wednesday morning and talked the whole ferry ride and the whole drive down to the Seattle airport. We’d both had kind of shitty/crazy weeks, so we got it all out of our systems as much as possible. We flew to Oakland first, which surprisingly wasn’t that warm. Then we flew to Lihue. An eclipse took place when we were on the plane and so I didn’t see it at all.
On Not Writing (Or, Of Fear and Fond Memories)
A few winters ago, I lived with my friend Tracy in a house at camp, and I’ve probably written about this winter before, and I’m sure I will write about it a million more times because I was so freakin’ happy that winter.
The house at camp where I lived (called The Dispensary because in the summer, the medical staff lived there) looked like a cabin, with wood walls and this real “old” feeling to it, like living there was actually a time warp, in a nice way, back to something ancient, even though we did have modern conveniences there. I also loved the lights, they had a soft glow that on the wood walls just somehow reminded me of something primal. It actually had a feel that brought to mind my grandmother’s house, probably the only other house I’ve loved as much as I love the Dispensary. Something about that house was just like IV nutrition for my soul.
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Getting Older
Note: Another old post (Feb ’08) from my old blog. Still importing like crazy, yo!
On Monday, I turned 27, that enigmatic rock star age, which somehow feels a lot older than 26, but not in a bad way. I was sort of always eager to grow up in some ways, I think because I always felt like I was treated as soooo much younger at home that it just felt so incredibly claustrophobic. Even just thinking about it and remembering is making me tense up, like that feeling of claustrophobia is still stored in muscle memory.
I don’t know if it’s because of my albinism – perhaps paleness makes people think of innocence – or because of my disability, or because I sometimes have trouble standing up for myself, but for whatever reason, I get that a lot.
Why Do I Love House? – Part Two, Breaking the Rules
So, I wanted to continue this little dissection of my favorite show and why I love it, and I wanted to get to it earlier, but I’ve been working so much that it felt like every day I woke up, got ready, left, then came home and fell asleep and nothing else. I’m still working but the hours have shifted for the next few days.
So, House as a show breaks all kinds of rules, and I love that. It’s different. It turns things on their heads. The main character is not the good guy. The good guy if there is one, is Wilson. House on the other hand is a pill-popping Vicodin addict who says the most un-PC things imaginable, who regularly jokes about internet porn (it doesn’t download itself!), says the rudest things to his boss (my favorite being, “Good morning Dr. Cuddy. LOVE that outfit. It says, ‘I’m professional but I’m still a woman.’ Actually it sort of yells that last part,” which really is among the tamer examples I could have chosen), he is crass, and there are tons of crazy sex references. It’s like the anti-appropriate show, not at all for the feint of heart or the easily offended, what with a patient who uses strawberry jam as birth control jelly (LMAO), another who tries to circumcise himself, House being found with over 600 vicodin pills, and the general irreverence towards any code of ethics.
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I’m PUBLISHED! In The Sun!
Note: This is a post from Jan 2008, before the actual issue of The Sun with my piece came out. You can read the piece on Parties here.
HOLY FUCKING MOTHER OF GOD!
I’m so excited I can hardly type!
So, over this summer, I told myself I was going to send out a submission a week, and that plan lasted for, well, a week. The one thing I sent out was a submission to The Sun’s Readers Write section. There are topics listed in each issue, and I just picked the one with the closest deadline, which was “Parties” and did some freewriting, typed it, printed it and put it in the mail.
Just after returning from my trip, I got some certified mail from The Sun, saying my piece might be included, but they couldn’t be sure, as things do get cut or rearranged closer to publication, so I didn’t want to say anything in case it never happened.
The Parable of the Comforter
Note: Another one from the vault, Jan 2008.
So, I got a gift certificate to Kohl’s for Christmas, and I knew immediately that I would put it towards a new comforter. The one I have now is a twin, and I have a double bed, so it’s not all that warm, and it’s lumpy and worn.
I went looking around at Kohl’s online, and quickly came across one I loved – a deep red with pink and green flowers. It was a little bold for me, I was used to more timid colors, softer pinks and greens mostly, and this bold red one just grabbed my eye immediately. The sale was incredible, about a third the list price, but I waited, a little afraid it was too bold, and the sale passed.
Finally I decided I had to go into the store to look at it in person. It turned out that a co-worker of mine and her husband were going off-island so I went with them. They dropped me off at Kohl’s and said they’d pick me up in two hours. Well, it took me almost that long to make my decision. I found my luxurious comforter quickly, as well as a green one, kind of a darkish pale green with exquisite flower detail.
What would A Year in Review be without one of those surveys?
I ganked this one from Tara.
1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Sang onstage in front of a whole bunch of people (Orcas Idol tryouts – this year’s are coming up on Saturday), went to a writer’s conference, took a trip to the east coast that didn’t involve seeing family, took care of a dog for seven months, put a dog on a plane, did karaoke, went to the hot springs at Doe Bay, got full-length critiques of my book, worked at camp while living at home, saw my name in print…online, got certified mail from a magazine where something I wrote may possibly show up, read poetry at an open mic that wasn’t local, read part of my memoir in NYC, completely revamped my manuscript (including changing my title), kidnapped a stuffed gorilla, got professionally fitted for bras, shopped at Victoria’s Secret, received a DVD with soft-core porn on it as a present (a playgirl DVD) and other unmentionables.
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Chrys Buckley 