Hi you!
Here’s my newest 4-pronged update:
Writing
The first writes’ group meeting was tonight and I think it went really well! Because Page is such a small town, not everyone was a writer; some of the people were simply voracious readers. But it made for a varied group with different perspectives. I think everyone had some great insights and future sessions will be fun. I actually think people who classified themselves as “readers” will end up bringing something in the future.
My favorite moments were:
1. One member wondered why she often gets to the end of a project then stops. It was the PERFECT segway into a topic I really wanted to discuss. I don’t want to bore everyone, but “The Artist’s Way” can really shed some light on the subject. I highly recommend it!
2. My sister ended up reading a story! It was her first attempt and she was really nervous. But the excerpt ended up sounding very nice. She opened it with a great line that contained the words “Baby graves”. Chilling!
3. One member said she didn’t read but was addicted to unabridged audio books. LOL! I really think that counts!
4. Another member read one of her “poems” and it turned out to be Smelly Cat from Friends. It was pretty awesome when I realized what was going on.
Regarding my book, I’m in the middle of a slew of research. This new section requires some historical knowledge. I have already read several books and visited a TON of websites. But every time I learn something, I realize how many holes are remaining.
Singing
My second weekend of singing is coming up. I really like one of the songs this time so I should be able to put a bit more emotion into it. It’s weird how much the songs from my childhood resonate with me now. I really do think they are prettier (and the fact that I already know them probably doesn’t hurt much either).
As I write this, I’m trying to gauge my level of nervousness. The low-level dread feeling that hit me early last week just got to me this afternoon. That’s much better! I’m longing for the day I can just show up fifteen minutes before Mass and be good to go. At this point, I’m sure I’ll be walking circles around the kitchen for hours on Saturday, singing the songs a hundred times.
Last week I almost sang my voice out before church. It’s all good though J
Enjoying the Area
Wow, this section isn’t near as interesting as I had envisioned. The area REALLY is gorgeous. I’m just at my desk so much, I haven’t ventured out. I did walk to the post office today to add my name to the mailbox, but it’s across the street.
I *swear* this section will get really good as the weather warms up!
Random Learnings or Stories
So, yesterday I realized I’m one of those “Internet age” people who are entirely about immediate gratification. I don’t know when or how it happened, but I’m a demographic!
It sounds trite, but the epiphany was all centered on Insanity (not the mental state). In a nutshell, Insanity consists of exercise DVDs that literally and figuratively and emotionally and spiritually kill you. The amazingly ripped people in the videos can’t even get through the workouts (one girl even said she felt like shit when the leader asked how she was doing). Anyway, you’d think I loved the exercises because of the weight loss and muscles and hot booty. Well, you’d be sadly mistaken: I realized I worship the workouts because of the protein shake I get afterwards. It’s thick and chocolaty and delicious. And the fact I’m so sweaty and tired makes it THAT much better! Seriously, I once ate a $250 8-course meal and this is so much yummier!
So, basically, if you offered me an amazing body or a shake, I’d take the plastic shaker cup with milk and powder.
This is how much I love them:
Today, during the middle of the workout (there are 30-second breaks throughout), I ran to the fridge to pour some milk… and the jug was empty. It ruined my mood for the rest of the workout AND I immediately trudged to Safeway afterwards (all sweaty and wearing tatters). I literally kept the cool-down jog going all the way to the store.
The first thing that popped into my head was “wow, how sad am I?”, but then I realized I’m one of those people (you know who they are). I seriously wonder what will happen if I start getting tired of the shakes. It will be a lousy reason to stop working out!
And it gets better. Tonight, in writers’ group, a woman said she will watch an entire movie, even if it’s bad. However, if the first page or two of a book doesn’t hook her in, she’ll stop reading. At first, we all started to laugh… then I realized I’m the exact same way.
At first I was kind of upset and vowed to scorn the Internet age and love my budding muscles… but then I realized that watching porn is SOOO much easier now.
So I guess it really all evens out, huh?