How does one go about making an invisible background? I'm trying to figure out...and failing miserably!
Answers would be appreciated.
Been doing things again, sorry about my recent apparently large number of submissions. The only new chapter in my Angel story is the fifth one, the rest simply were updated, to fix a few errors I caught. My apologies for the number of changes.
Today, I am thankful that I cannot drive. And no, I'm not being sarcastic.
My apologies for the number of things it looks like I've uploaded today. I was moving a few things around. Only one of them is acutally new, and it is the 89.Snippets.Lovestruck. It's pointless, and written mainly to amuse me.
Actually, pretty much anything uploaded to the Snippets category will be either a contest entry that I felt was too short and/or unfinished for Short Stories, or something short and/or unfinished written for my own amusement.
Been working on that story (89.Novels.Mature.The Angel, but don't bother reading it if violence and/or rape will bug you), and I must say it's coming along beautifully. It's actually very difficult to write, both because of the subject matter, and because the story itself is so very close to me. It's literally as though I'm writing a part of myself, making a part of me that I don't want to even recognize very permanent. Not that any of her story has ever actually happened to me, but that doesn't make it feel any less personal.
In better news, I have one more blessing to count. I am thankful that I get good sleep.
I'm considering writing a story (novella?) about the girl in my latest poem (89.Poetry.Mature.Her Night), but it would be both disturbing and depressing.
It would probably also make me feel worlds better (I always do when I write about her).
I'm not asking for suggestions or comments here. I'm just thinking out loud, and letting y'all know that my next work might not be as cheerful as usual.
In other news, today I'm thankful for the people I work with.
Trying to be thankful for at least one thing every day, no matter how strange the things I'm thankful for might sound. Previous blessings I have counted have been food, the ability to stand, not having cancer, my family, etc.
Update on the sister thing:
I did find her! And, even better, she wants to know all of us! This is so awesome, I don't even have words for it. Sure, she's nine years older than I am, but she seems to have this really vibrant personality. I'm liking her more and more as I talk to her more. It's just so cool! Now if only her younger sister also wants to know us. And apparently, I have a brother, too? I wonder if he's from their mom's second marraige, though... It would be so awesome if I could get to know all of them.
This is my uplifting news of the past week.
In other good news, I spent each of the past several days thankful that I can stand up. This is thanks to learning exactly how it felt to not know if I *could* stand, or, once I was standing, if I'd remain upright. Still don't really know what happened, but the feeling is gone now, and I'm standing just fine!
Edit: No to say that I don't get along with people older than I am, mind you, I do! Just, I had a hard time connecting to my other sister, who is six years older than I, and I was unsure if I would get along with April, because of the age gap. Please don't misread that!
I may have just found my oldest sister, and sent her a note (it was on myspace). I hope she wants to get to know me, but I don't know if she will. From what my dad's told me, I don't think she wants to know any of us. She avoided him for several years, but then, a few years ago, she went to visit him. I don't know what to think anymore, but I hope that I can get to know her, and her family.
I don't even know how I feel right now. It's such an amazing mixture of feelings, some of them even conflicting.
I hope it goes well.
Apparently, the writer of Superman did his homework so well that he used a mineral in his work that would only be discovered many years later, in a Serbian mine.
This mineral (with the exact same chemical formula as kryptonite is said to have) was, in fact, discovered only just very recently (see http://science
If anyone finds out more about this new mineral, I'd love to see!
Been getting some really good replies to my last blog (and I'm looking forward to more?), and I've decided that I might want to specify about what I mean by a critique.
1) The reader's genuine response. If there was a part that s/he did or didn't like, but can't explain exactly why, it's still a good thing to know, because the writer might understand better.
2) The reader's opinion on what could be changed, what they feel doesn't flow well and/or is inconsistent.
3) Facts, such as spelling or grammar errors.
4) The reader's overall response to the piece, whether they liked it or not.
These things make up a good crit, in my humble opinion, and this is what I mean when I say the word "critique".
I never know if people will welcome a good crit or not. I never know if there are people here like me, who despise those simple comments of "This is good", and want something more, or if I'm of the minority. I'd like to hear opinions on this. If I get enough positive (that is, people wanting me to delve deeper in my comments) responses, I'll stop leaving those nice, short, simple comments, because leaving them really bugs me anyway. And I promise, if a crit is not asked for specifically, I'll try not to be too harsh.
Replies would be awesome!
Edit: Due to more than one misunderstandi
I learned something very valuable today. I learned how to navigate using my Konsole, rather than just going through the files in a maze. I also learned how to actually *use* my Konsole, which was important, because without knowing how to use it, I couldn't navigate it. Whoo!!!
cd means change directory. To go back a directory, you say cd..
ls is a command used to list what's in the directory you're currently in. It will show all files, folders, and directories.
su means switch user. I use this only when I want to change to the root user, to make permanent changes. I need to use this to install files that I'll want to use (like flash player)
ls -la will list not only the files in the directory, but also what each item does, who can edit the file, etc.
./ is a command, telling the Konsole to use the file selected
We're learning things! I still don't know how to use some of the stuff.....or even what commands to use, but I will eventually!
So, this morning I was awoken by the beeping of my alarm, telling me it was time to get ready for work. Man! I was having a good dream, too! I lay there for a few minutes, remembering my wacky dream, when it suddenly struck me that it would make a really good story (see 89.Short Stories.The Silver Stag!). Crap! I can never remember my dreams once I get up, so I committed it to memery, and, steeling myself, got up, got ready for work, and all that fun stuff, all the while keeping in mind this dream I'd had. And I'd stopped in the middle of. How should it end, I wondered? Well, we'll see if I can remember it through work, and then we'll figure out how it ended, 'cause I sure didn't have time to write it before work.
So, an hour after I clock in, my boss comes up to me and says, "Hey, Erin, would you mind leaving now, and coming back tonight to work night shift instead?"
o.o
Say what? My first thought was, "Augh! I had so nicely gotten out of working with Alicia, how did he wrangle me back into it???" Then, still bemoaning my fate, I went home. About halfway home (it's just across the street, so only about three minutes passed), I suddenly went, "Ahah! I can write down that dream!!!" And I ran the rest of the way to my door. I sat down immediately, and began writing. And I wrote. And wrote. For two hours, without stopping. Barely even paused! And then, finally, I was done! Man, that was the best feeling in the world.
So then, of course, I came here, to post it and share it. Hope y'all like it!
Now....with well over 600 members, one would think that I wouldn't see this anymore. Especially since I rarely open the WC statusbar anymore. I opened it today, on a whim, for the first time in *months*, and lo and behold, the number of online members is thussly: A mere two! Does this still happen often? I don't know, really. You can bet I'm gonna keep an eye on it for the next few days, though, just to see.
Oddly enough the only other member online is in my friends list. Fancy that, ey?
This is sad....Very sad. We should be an active community. I feel that I'm not a very active member, and yet I see that I am probably among the few that are active at all. The very thought breaks my heart! This community should be thriving!
Redneck Dictionary
HEIDI - noun. Greeting.
HIRE YEW - Complete sentence. Remainder of greeting. Usage: "Heidi, hire yew?"
BARD - verb. Past tense of the infinitive "to borrow." Usage: "My brother bard my pickup truck."
MUNTS - noun. A calendar division. Usage: "My brother from Jawjuh bard my pickup truck and I ain't herd from him in munts."
THANK - verb. Ability to cognitively process. Usage: "Ah thank ah'll have a bare."
BARE - noun. An alcoholic beverage made of barley, hops, and yeast. Usage: "Ah thank ah'll have a bare."
IGNERT - adjective. Not smart. See "Arkansas native." Usage: "Them Bammer boys sure are ignert!"
RANCH - noun. A tool used for tight'nin' bolts. Usage: "I thank I left my ranch in the back of that pickup truck my brother from Jawjuh bard a few munts ago."
ALL - noun. A petroleum-base
FAR - noun. A conflagration. Usage: "If my brother from Jawjuh don't change the all in my pickup truck, that thing's gonna catch far."
TAR - noun. A rubber wheel. Usage: "Gee, I hope that brother of mine from Jawjuh don't git a flat tar in my pickup truck."
TIRE - noun. A tall monument. Usage: "Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, I sure do hope to see that Eiffel Tire in Paris sometime."
RETARD - verb. To stop working. Usage: "My grampaw retard at age 65."
FAT - noun, verb. 1. a battle or combat. 2. to engage in battle or combat. Usage: "You younguns keep fat'n, n' ah'm gonna whup y'uh."
RATS - noun. Entitled power or privilege. Usage: "We Southerners are willin' to fat for are rats."
FARN - adjective. Not local. Usage: "I cuddint unnerstand a wurd he sed....mus' be from some farn country."
DID - adjective. Not alive. Usage: "He's did, Jim."
EAR - noun. A colorless, odorless gas: Oxygen. Usage: "He cain't breathe....giv
BOB WAR - noun. A sharp, twisted cable. Usage: "Boy, stay away from that bob war fence."
JEW HERE - noun and verb contraction. Usage: "Jew here that my brother from Jawjuh got a job with that bob war fence cump'ny?"
HAZE - a contraction. Usage: "Is Bubba smart?" "Nah....haze ignert. He ain't thanked but a minnit 'n 'is laf."
SEED - verb, past tense of "to see." Usage: "I ain't never seed New York City."
VIEW - contraction: verb and pronoun. Usage: "I ain't never seed New York City....view?"
GUMMIT - noun. A bureaucratic institution. Usage: "Them gummit boys shore are ignert."
Man, I am on a role! A second poem is posted, titled "I Am". It's pretty good, if I do say so myself. It is written from the perspective of every artist that feels almost as though what they do is not their own work. I know that feeling pretty well, considering that I still don't feel like my poem "Wake" is really my own. I mean, it was all there, in my head, I feel like I wasn't involved in creating it at all, except to write it down.
Anyway, check it out! I feel like I did pretty well conveying what I was thinking in "I Am", and I'd love some feedback.
My week is getting progressively worse. My last day at the bakery was Saturday (yay! Wait...yay?). I was so glad to leave. But now, I'd almost give anything to be back there, however much I despised my job. You see, now I'm in a bit of a conundrum. I'm supposed to start my new job Thursday. Great! You say, What's the problem?
What's the problem, indeed? I'll be making a pretty penny, and I'll likely be able to afford 'net. The problem, my friends, is that I might not *have* the job. Well, why the heck not? Ah, because I have been trying, since Sunday morning (when I missed church, so I wouldn't miss the important phone call that never came) to get hold of my to-be-boss, to no avail. Oh, I saw him once. Sunday afternoon. When he told me he lost my phone number. And so I gave it to him, and he said he'd call me the next morning. Next morning rolls around, and then comes afternoon. So I go back. Oh, he's not here today, he's skiing, and apparently his cell phone is off. But he'll be here tomorrow. Okay! So I come in today. Oh, he's not here today either. I don't know what his excuse is this time, maybe I should ask. But I sure am getting tired of not knowing what my hours will be. If I can't get hold of him by tomorrow evening, I'm going to show up bright and early Thursday morning, ready to work. Meantime, I'm going to spend tomorrow job-hunting and checking back here periodically to see if he's here. Oh boy...
In other news, someone I'd really rather not see is trying to make plans to come visit me.
Still working on my 'net problem. Apparently, it'll be cheaper for me (and easier) if I get cable TV, and then add 'net to the service. About ten dollars a month cheaper, in fact. Can't get DSL or dial-up, 'cause I'm sans phone line, and I wouldn't *use* the phone, so no point in getting one. 'Sides, the phone line plus the 'net service would end up being about the same as the cable TV plus the 'net service. Woot for businesses trying to get every last cent outta ya, eh?
Anyway, what all this means is that I'm stuck waiting for my TV set to be delivered, then I call the cable guys, and wait for them to be able to come in, *then* I will have internet back. Oh boy....
In other news, my new years resolution is to be happier, so I've managed to maintain a mostly joking tone throughout this blog (though I bet y'all can't tell ^.^). At least I am still smiling, though.
Be well, all, and be happy. Smiles make the world go 'round, and they keep anger at bay.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope all is well with y'all, and I'd like to take this chance to mention that I *may* be getting 'net access in my home by the middle of next month. Whoo! We've gotta see when my checks go through, and how soon I can get a guy out to my apartment to install the 'net. Things are looking good! I mean, it only took me an hour and a half to find an internet provider that said, "Sure! We can install 'net access through linux. No problem!" $50 a month, though....So less eating out, and probably a little more ramen. ^^
-dances about cheerfully- I got the job! I am not an employee of a sandwich shop with excellent food, and nice people. I start work tomorrow morning. Happy days!
Yeah, I know it's quick. A small shop, so they had few applicants (I assume), and he hired me on the spot. So, I go in tomorrow morning at 9, an hour before they open, to be trained, and then I start work at opening. Woot! I'll be working about 20 hours a week, at min. wage, plus a share of the tips. Happy, happy.
Still haven't figured out what happened with my phone. On another note, I found out that banking with USAA is a bit of a pain. And my mother said that it would be easy. -.- Soooo, I'm going to start an account at one of the local banks, too. It's great, innit? Yeah, I love my mom and her wonderful, so useful advice. I bet she knew that the only way I'd be able to deposit into my bank account with USAA would be to go through her. This way, she can keep track of my funds. Of course, there's no branch in Merced, either, so she has to do the same thing. -insert gnashing of teeth here- I'm not independent. I'm still entirely dependent on my mother. Of course. That's the way she wanted it. She couldn't stand it when my sister left, and disconnected herself from our mom, so she made sure I wouldn't be able to do the same thing. I am attatched to her, and I'll have to work damn hard to make it otherwise.
So, today, I discovered that my cell phone is possessed. Yes.
I was sitting in the truck, we were coming home, and suddenly my phone started talking--it was on speakerphone. Apparently, it called USAA for me (they were the last people I'd called), and got the automated answering system. I hung up (what was I supposed to do? It was a machine, not a person, so I couldn't really say I was sorry), and checked the key guard. It was on. So, no buttons were pressed that would have possibly dialed the last number called, and it was in its little sock, so it couldn't have opened. I have no idea what happened, and neither do CJ or his sister (who were both in the truck).
On a different note, I have a job interview tomorrow! Whoo! I will be interviewing for a position (any position, they didn't give me an application, and I don't know what they're hiring for, probably a cashier) at a place called "The Kultured Kitchen". They look like a little mom and pop place, but they hire outside the family (obviously). And they have good food. I'm pretty excited about it, as it's within walking distance of the house I'm living in now, it's got good hours, good food, and nice people. And, I really need a job, if I'm to continue living here. Wish me luck!
Raaaah! I have found a new toy! The WritersCo status bar on the right can be hidden and unhidden. So cool!
It's like, Whoosh! It's gone! and Whoosh! It's back! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
-Toy not intended for small children (baby drool might damage the keyboard) or adults with no sense of humor (you must be easily amused). Requires one mouth for sound effects and one finger to click the button.-