Blind Date: Afterwards

So.  Much.  Fun!  Like seriously, it was awesome!  We went to a fun center/arcade, and played mini-golf and had dippn' dots (some of us for the first time) and we played laser tag, and then we had a really, really late dinner at Ihop, and by the time we finished, we realized it was about one in the morning.  Oops.
As for the date himself, he was great!  An utter gentleman (something hard to find in this day and age), and he just made me feel so relaxed.  I could be myself.  It was so refreshing!
So yep.  First date since junior year went well.  I'm no longer terrified of dating!

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Blind Date

So... I haven't dated since my junior year of high school.  That's a long time (okay, not that long, but still).  And tonight... I've got a blind date.
O.O
Never been on a blind date... haven't dated since high school...
We'll see how this goes, shall we?

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

An Explanation

It has recently occurred to me that I might want to explain my farewell.  (As in, fare thee well, friend!)  Since, you know, we don't really use "thee" and "thou" anymore.  Unless you're me and you're bored, but that's beside the point.
See, my dad is huge into the Bar J Wranglers.  They're... um, I'm not actually sure if they would be considered grassroots or country (I don't really know the difference).  In any case, they perform a song called "In That Great Gettin' Up Morning," and the most repeated line in the song is "fare thee well."  It kinda got stuck in my head, and then I started saying it when I said goodbye to people.  Of course, it could only be when I said goodbye to friends, because other people would just think I was crazy, so of course I just added on "friend."  And since I say it so often, it only makes sense it would be the way I end blog posts!
So, until we meet again,

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Revisions

Revisions are so much easier than rough drafts.  Like, seriously, they are marvelous!  I love going in and seeing how I can make the story deeper, seeing what details I need to add or change, and I love watching the characters grow up again.  Of course, there are problems too, like wanting to let everyone read it right now but knowing it's not ready yet, but I'll get there soon! 
Overall, I'm feeling very accomplished. :)

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

One More Week

One more week before it's back to school.  Honestly, not sure whether to be disappointed or excited by this.  On the one hand, I've really enjoyed having a nice, relaxing summer where I didn't have to deal with homework.  On the other hand, I'm taking classes on both Irish Dancing and the Welsh language, two things I've wanted to learn for YEARS!!!  This is also my first semester away from home, as well as the first of not taking the bus (seeing as I wasn't entirely willing to shell out $200 for a student pass again).  Sigh, such is the life of a college student. 

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Dragon Mania

Heh heh... so, there's this awesome app called My Dragon...
Daaaaaaaw!!!!!!!!  Sooooooo cuuuuuuuuuute!
The idea is that you take care of the king's dragons, and they're so cute, you pet them and their tongues hang out like Elliot from Pete's Dragon, and you can dress them up, and go on quests where they try to act creepy but only end up looking adorable...
Daw!
I really need to stop looking at these.

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Character Bible

So Kay has had this really interesting way of getting to know her characters.  She calls it a character bible.  She has all these pictures that look like/symbolize/remind her of her characters, and they're all pasted/taped into a notebook.  For me, it's fun to look through it because she has some serious artistic talents.  I finally decided to make my own, and slowly started gathering pictures.  Well, today I finally printed them off (read I gave Kay my USB because she's the only one that can work the printer), and I put together the beginning of my character bible!
It's actually incredibly helpful.  It makes the characters easier to imagine, and it actually gives me ideas for certain details I wasn't sure of before (like where one of my more mysterious characters hails from).  Not to mention it makes me feel all important because I have visuals of my novel. ;)

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Sleepy Hollow

So after hearing my new roomie talk about it (more on that after she gets back from Hawaii, the lucky duck), I decided to look up this new tv show coming out in September called Sleepy Hollow  Here's the trailer:

Here's my summary of the premise:  Ichabod Crane, a soldier during the revolutionary war, is awakened 250 after defeating the Headless Horseman.  Now, the Horseman has returned to terrorize the town of Sleepy Hollow again, and only Ichabod can find the answers to defeat him once and for all.
My take on the show:  I think it looks really intense, and I can't wait to see the interaction between Ichabod and the police woman (never did catch her name).  One problem is that it does look pretty violent, but I suppose that's to be expected from a retelling of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  It looks like there will be more intense searching than actual chopping people's heads off, though, so that's definitely a plus.  I guess I'll just have to see the first episode and decide whether I like it there. ;)
Btw, if anyone happens to have a review for BBC's Robin Hood as well, I'd appreciate it.

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Part Time!!!

So, with school starting, I've finally gone from full-time back to part-time at work, and let me tell you: it's AMAZING!!!  I actually have time to take care of my apartment and get things done and write and revise and spend actual time with people and it's AWESOME!!!
Seriously, I would never be able to make a career out of something that required I sit behind a desk all day.  There's just too much to do elsewhere!  Thing is, I enjoy doing the dishes and keeping the living space clean (though you'd never guess it from my bedroom) and doing the kind of housewifey things that I'm sure offend many other women.  But isn't the point of the feminist movement not to make women more like men, but to give women the same opportunity to pursue their happiness?
My happiness is in the home. :)

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

One Draft Down

Soo... guess what budding novelist finished the first draft of her second novel over the weekend?!
SUCCESS!!!!!
Seriously, if I actually knew how to jig, I would be jigging all around the apartment.  Can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing I'm taking an Irish dance class in light of that...
In any case, IT'S DONE!!!  And honestly, the most exciting part about it is that now that it IS done, I know how I need to fix it and what needs to be done.  Seriously, why are the rough drafts always the hardest?
Now I move on to step two: major revision. ;)  Hopefully this next draft will go a little smoother.

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

A Good Samaritan

Well, yesterday was an adventure.  Kay, Mia, and I were going to see a play, and it was Kay's turn to drive, so off we went.  Well, we had to take the freeway, and just before we got on, Mia mentioned she thought Kay's car was sounding funny.  Well, Kay and I had noticed it before, but it had definitely gotten worse.  We hoped we could make it, but after we got on the freeway it was louder and a lot scarier.  After a bit of panic Kay realized our apartment was just off the next exit, so we pulled off and headed there, hoping to snag my car and get back on track.  Unfortunately, maybe half a mile from the apartment we had to pull over.  When we got out, the back tire was completely flat. 
Well, Kay borrowed one of my hair ties (I was wearing braided pigtails, so I had extra), and she set to work trying to change the tire.  Only, we couldn't get the blasted car jack out of the trunk.  Someone had stuck it in way too tight.  And all the while all these people were driving by, not caring about three girls on the side of the road trying to change a tire.
Until someone did stop.  Mia noticed him first (mostly because Kay and I were bent over the trunk trying to pry the jack out).  He actually pulled over in front of us, then popped out and asked if we needed a hand.  Not ten minutes later, the tire was changed, our faith in humanity was restored, and we even made it to the play on time! 
So a million thanks to the Good Samaritan, and a million blessings to go with them!

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Random Phone Calls

Y'know, I'm actually not supposed to answer the phones at work.  However, I do have a phone at my desk, and occasionally clients ask for me specifically.  So if it rings at my desk, I answer.
I don't know how these people are getting this number.
I get back from lunch and as I sit at the desk, the phone rings.  I roll my eyes, expecting someone complaining, and instead I get, "Hi, this is so-and-so, may I speak to the president?"  My thoughts: Um, you want to speak to the president, but you're speaking to me, which means you didn't go through our receptionist.  How did you get this number?  Of course, I didn't say that.  What I said was: "Why are you calling?"
Him: "It's personal."
O.O  Well okay then.  So I put him on hold and call up the president: "Hey, this guy is calling to see you?"
Pres: "Ugh, I know what he's calling about.  Tell him I'm not interested."
O.O  Okay then.  Take the guy off hold: "He's... not interested?"
"Oh, okay.  Bye!"  Hangs up.
My thoughts: Okay, that was weird.
Not thirty seconds later I get another phone call.  My thoughts: Oh, please don't tell me he's calling back!  I pick up the phone, and I hear a recorded voice saying, "Hi, this is such and such.  It looks like we missed you, so give us a call at..."  My thoughts: Is... is this an answering machine?  Did I just get called by an answering machine?!
Apparently so.  I hung up, laughed about it with coworkers, and went back to work.
Five minutes later.
Phone rings, and I'm starting to get exasperated.  I pick up: "Hi, this is this and that home insurance company, how are you?"
"Uh... fine?"  My thoughts:  You guys know you just called a business, right?
And so they continue, "We highly recommend you buy this home insurance company, because..."
"I don't own a home."
"Oh, you don't?  Oh, well, uh, we're sorry for taking up your time.  Have a nice day!"
And just to top off the weirdness, maybe fifteen minutes later, the blasted thing rang again, and when I picked up, there was no one on the other end.

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Don't Knock With That Hand

There I was.  Trying desperately to keep my points up for the team bout.  My opponent's sword comes flying at me... I move to parry...
OUCHDANGITCRAP!!!!
In other words, lunge+bad parry=a very painful hit.  And when that hit is on your finger... yeah.  Pain.  I tried to shake it off and keep fencing, but I lost the bout anyway.  When I finally pulled the glove off, guess what joyous red liquid I found?  I suppose I wasn't bleeding, per se, but the hit was hard enough that skin broke.  Now I have a lovely purple circle on my knuckle, which has made me realize something: I use that knuckle more than I thought.  For example, when I went to my piano lesson with Kar, I strolled up to the door, admiring the work that had been done in the yard earlier (seriously, it looked great), and without really thinking of anything in particular, I knocked on the door.
At which point I started thinking, "Idiot, WHY would knock with that hand?!"
Yeah.  Interesting week.
In happier news, the sequel to The Swan Prince is coming out soon, and I'm so excited!  Titled The Stone Kingdom, it looks to be even better than the first, which is saying something, because The Swan Prince was a truly enjoyable read.  You can learn more about the sequel at https://everonword.wordpress.com/

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Who Designed This?!

The city where I attend school and the city where I live look like they're the same place... but they're actually two separate cities built practically on top of each other.  There are, however, a few sure-fire ways I've noticed to actually tell them apart.  The first is that in the city where I live, the buildings are much newer.  Seeing as the city is newer, that does make sense.  The city where I live is a bit higher, as well.  Once you start heading down, you can tell you're heading to college town.
The easiest way is road design.
Seriously, I don't know who designed the roads in my college city, but it's RIDICULOUS!  Which is actually a shame, because most of it is really nice.  But honestly!  Everything is so tight, and you can't see any signs because there are trees and other obstructions everywhere, and suddenly you're supposed to be going a lot faster in areas that are a lot narrower and... and...
I think I'm getting another bus pass this year. :P

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Party!

Haha, I can get online today! 
Well, last night was a bittersweet moment, for we bid farewell to one of our fencers.  He's heading up north for college, and will therefore no longer to able to visit our lovely Center during the school year.  Lame.  But on the positive side, goodbye party means food, and movies, and friends!  We ordered pizza, (as usual), and Mia made brownies (which makes her an angel, because not only are her brownies amazing, she just had jaw surgery and has had to have her mouth wired shut, which means she couldn't partake in her brownies herself), and Mace brought doughnuts!  And then we watched Tangled.  I think that has to be Disney's greatest princess movie, if only because it appeals to both boys and girls. :)
Best moment of the night?  Coach asked if anyone wanted to bless the food, and Kay piped up, "I volunteer as tribute!"
Then Aron chimes in, "I volunteer to take her place!"
Of course we all laughed about it, and Coach joked that they should fight for it, at which point Kay pointed out that she had beaten Aron during fencing, which meant she won.  She went to start the prayer.  We all had our arms folded and our eyes closed.  And suddenly, instead of the opening to the prayer, we hear "En guarde..."  We lost it again.  ;)
Yep.  Fun times.  Love me my fencing friends!

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Not My Fault!

Ha!  It's not my fault I haven't been posting this time!  The internet at my apartment is being dumb again.  Basically, don't expect a post every day for a little while, because until said issues with the internet are fixed, posts will be spotty. 
In any case.
Hi!  Sorry, I've been staying up late playing Betrayal all week.  Like, two in the morning late.  But it's totally worth it!  Kay and I started using our book characters (since we're the only two in the apartment at the moment and it's hard to play with just two people), and OH MY FUN!!!!  Last night we ended up playing with our villains AND our heroes, which made the haunt really interesting because in the end they were all fighting each other trying to get what they wanted.  :D
Well, thanks for keeping up, I know I've been a bit AWOL as of late.  Hopefully I'll be able to post regularly soon, and I'll let you know when that happens.

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

I Am Number Four

So, Kay has been telling me for weeks I should read I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore.  Well, a few weeks ago I finally picked it up... and I was up past two most nights reading it.
Yep.  That compelling.  John is just fun to read about.  Great kid.  And then, of course, I picked up the second, The Power of Six, and had to race to finish it last night before my little brother went on a rampage to read it before me.  Hey, not my fault if I don't have a big enough chunk of time to read faster than him!
So, moral of the story: read it, but make sure you've got a decent amount of time to spend doing so.  Otherwise you might be surprised how much time is gone.

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

Tired

Ai!  Again, I am so sorry I've missed the past couple days.  They've been pretty rough on me, and I haven't had time to get online.  It doesn't help that I got some bad news Saturday night: you remember that anthology I had been waiting of FOREVER?  Well, Saturday I got an email from them saying that while they enjoyed my piece and liked my writing style, they had decided to say no to my story. :(  And then of course, yesterday Kay and I had a dinner we were hosting, so we were making sure everything looked good.  So, I guess I'm saying sorry, and hopefully I'll have a bit more time on my hands from now on.  Thanks to those of you who have stayed with me through all of this insanity!

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

One Man Disney

I think this video speaks for itself.  It makes me laugh and I've had a rough day, so I'm posting it. :)  Enjoy! (Best part is watching the villain's reaction to everything.  Highly amusing.).

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira

More Time

I wish I had it.  There's just so much I want/need to do, and so little time to do it in!  This is probably the reason I keep staying up so late...
I just, I wanna write, and I wanna (sort of) work (so I can has monies), and I wanna spend time with friends, and I want to help people... and often, there's just not enough time to do it all.  I suppose that's why we're supposed to learn to prioritize, huh?
So, any time management tips?

Fare thee well, friend!
Mira