The Other Invisible!

Saturday Six, Episode #163--Baby I Can Drive My Car

Sun, 27 May 2007 13:03:32 GMT

It's been a while since I've done anything with this journal or anyone else's besides read (yes, I still read even if I don't respond, guys). I always love Patrick's Weekender because it's such fun to read and think about. So this week, since I've awakened from my five month slumber, I've decided to respond to the Saturday Six Episode for this weekend.

Saturday Six, Episode #163 Answers:

1. What color car do you drive?
Technically, it's called butane blue . Pretty, huh?

2. How many cars have you had in the past of this same color?

None. My cars have been green, strawberry red, blue purple, silver, and white (not at the same time, mind you)

3. What does this particular color mean to you?
It's supposed to have meaning? I chose the color because it was attractive, and maybe a bit soothing. It also means it doesn't get quite as hot inside the car.

4. Take the quiz: What color car should you drive?

You Should Drive a Pink Car
You're the type of driver who really loves your car.
You can make a car last for ages - or take good care of a vintage ride.
You're independent, creative, and very expressive.
You consider your car a part of you ... and you want to make it as funky as possible.
What Color Car Should You Drive?

5. Would you ever consider driving a car the color the quiz suggests?

Actually, yeah. Especially if it was an old Cadillac with the fins and a soft top. Of course, I'm not so sure I could reach the pedals.

6. Do you consider yourself the most-aggressive driver on the road, the least-aggressive, or something in between?

I'm not sure. There are times when I'm aggressive, and then there are times I'm just praying no one kills me as we whiz down the express way (285 bites). Perhaps I'm the driver that most wants to get home in one piece.

Announcement about Writing Journal

Tue, 22 May 2007 12:27:20 GMT

This is an announcement about my writing blog, but also about the myspace I've created.

My writing blog, which I haven't posted yet, will be called It's Creative, but is it Art? and will be a weekly deal. I plan on restarting the Writer's Weekly Question, and may post more creative things than usual. I may even have guests like my daughter, and post some of their work (if they'll let me).

In a way I want to keep this blog, but I don't want to be the Other Invisible anymore. I want to be something else. I'm still working on a solution there. In the meanwhile, I've created a myspace, at the insistence of Gina. I've started a blog there, but it's just beginning, so it's not so great yet. Still, it's sort of fun.

Thanks for the kind words so far. I'm looking forward to starting all this again.

After a Long Absence, I have a MAJOR Announcement

Fri, 18 May 2007 18:52:59 GMT

Hi everyone! I know I've been gone an EXTREMELY long time (over five months). It wasn't that I had nothing to say, but that life, being what it is, got a bit in the way. I thought about giving up the blog thing all together, but I found that I missed doing it, and missed all the nice people I got to know.

Then I got to thinking about the long-term goals I might have if I continued to do this. Perhaps this is what took so very long for me. I wanted to refocus. I still want to talk about my single life, but I also want to write about, gasp, writing. It's hard to balance both, especially when you are extremely busy and a little nuts. Anyway, I need you to know what I've come up with, and hope that the two people that will probably care about this blog anymore will follow along.

I would really like to run two blogs, but if I do, one will be a daily, and one will be a weekly. I think that the daily will be about my everyday ya-ya here in single-land. The weekly will concern writing topics, and will include the hereto defunct Writer's Weekly Question (I suppose that Patrick has caught up by now ;P). Once I've created both sites, I will post their new homes right here on The Other Invisible.

I want everyone to understand, my revamp has nothing to do with not liking my blog anymore, or not liking my audience and my friends. I just need a little reorganization. I also don't feel exactly Invisible anymore. Maybe I'm blossoming as I begin my 40s. I hope so. The great thing is that I have lots to talk about and lots to comment on. I hope that those of you that want to stick with me (as opposed to sticking to me), will find my new homes to be satisfying, fun, goofy, and at least a little entertaining.

Love you all, and see you soon!

Recovering Well after a Week

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:41:54 GMT

So, after all that talk of blogging while I recovered, here I am a week later finally making an entry.

First of all:

A big thanks to all who lift prayers for me over the last week. Surgery went well, and everything is healing pretty well, I think. The only problem I had was a bad reaction to anesthesia--I was really sick for a few hours. Had I known this would happen, I would have let them give me medication for it ahead of time, but who knew? Anyway, I spent a good portion of the week on my couch sleeping or reading. It was great!

Secondly:

There have been requests that the Writer's Weekly Question be returned to it's former glory, and I'm hoping to be able to grant that wish soon. I just have to get in the groove of coming up with consistent questions each week. So, I'm going to ask for help here. If there are questions you all want to ask, please post them and I'll be glad to use them right here as WWQ's. Not that I'm going to coast on your creativity, but your help would be really appreciated.

I Won't Be Able to Have Breakfast! SOB!

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:56:56 GMT

Some of my real-life (not that my online friends aren't real or live) friends already know about why I can't have breakfast tomorrow, but for those of you that don't know, let me explain. I am having out-patient surgery on my ear.

Yes, my ear.

First, it's nothing to panic about. There should be nothing that kills me. I'll be put under, but they won't be working in an area with nerves or other things.

Second, the surgery involves my exterior ear. You see, I have what is called a "preauricular cyst and sinus". It is a birth defect that looks something like this:

Looks harmless, right? I mean, it's a hole in the external ear. Or at least it looks that way. Actually, there is a bit more to it than just a hole. Along with the hole, there are these tracks or sinuses that line the the tissue of the exterior ear. The sinuses fill with this nasty stuff that smells bad, and causes my ear to swell or give birth to cysts. At best, they itch;at worst, they are painful and cause me to have nasty headaches. If untreated, they can also cause deafness (worst case scenario).

So, after midnight tonight, I can't eat anything. I am going to be nuts! I never miss breakfast unless I'm sick. Tomorrow, while my stomach growls, I will go under the knife. When I wake up, I will have one "normal" ear. If this surgery works, I will eventually get the other ear. I'll also wake up with a craving for food--any kind of food! Don't worry, I promise not to try and eat the anesthesiologist!

Tags: Surgery, preauricular cysts, preauricular sinuses, missing breakfast, birth defects

Now Others Have a Taste of What an Atlanta Ice Storm is Like

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 21:30:22 GMT

People in the Midwest are learning something we in the South have known for a long time--ice storms are evil, pure evil. I have friends from the North that never cease to make fun of the way we (as in Atlantans) react to ice and snow down here. I have been told that Southerners don't know how to drive in snow, we act like a bunch of panic-stricken fools over an inch of snow, and we are pretty much stupid about something that the rest of the country has to deal with every winter. What most of these nay-sayers don't get is that when we get snow down here, it doesn't come alone, and it often isn't the drifty, soft stuff that falls in other parts of the country.

Our snow is accompanied by ice. It sticks to our bridges and roads, it turns our trees into silvery weapons of mass destruction, it hides underneath the snow lulling us into a false sense of security. It's just snowy, I'll be able to drive through that. This is why we go into lockdown here in Atlanta and other Southern localities. The snow is beautiful, but the ice can kill you.

I've driven in the kind of conditions those folks in the Midwest are facing, and let me tell you, it's terrifying. At any second, you could face sliding uncontrolled into other drivers foolish enough to try and get to work. You also have to watch all the trees (especially the pine trees) because you just don't know if they can stand up to the weight of the icy coating on their branches. Then there's the added stress of wires falling on your car, and killing you. Unless you've lived through this sort of thing, you really can't understand.

A couple of years ago, around this time of year, we had an ice storm over a weekend. I got up to find that my minivan was coated from stem to stern in an inch of ice. Gina was up in Kennesaw, which is about thirty minutes North of where we live, and I needed to go get her. What usually takes thirty minutes to drive, took me over an hour--that is, after the thirty minutes it took me to chip into my minivan (actually that part was pretty cool. The ice came off in sheets). Luckily, by the time I got on the road, the ice was pretty much cleared, but still it was tough going.

Anyway, my prayers go out to all those folks who are going through this terrible ice storm The best thing y'all can do at this point is act like us Atlantans--stay home, sip hot chocolate, eat all that extra bread and lunch meat you bought when you heard it was coming, and snuggle with your honey while watching the Weather Channel. Stay warm, and just remember that spring will eventually come again.

Tags: Ice Storm, CNN, Midwest, Atlanta, Weather Channel, hot chocolate, scary ice storm stories

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!: Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #147

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:47:26 GMT

Weekend Assignment #147: Make a Warning Sign For Everyday Life. Because life needs warning signs sometimes.

Ok. Scalzi found this wonderful warning sign generator (how does he find this stuff?). The challenge is to make a warning sign for everyday life. Since I'm a mom, I know a lot about giving warnings, particularly to kids. So I made a sign that seemed appropriate to my lot in life as a mom of two teens:

Then I got a bit crazy, and while it's not really connected to everyday life, I think it may be amusing anyway:

Then I thought of my dear students. Of course, it's obvious what they should be warned about, especially since I am trusting them to take an online test next week without my presence (they are being proctored by others):

Extra credit: Ever ignored a warning sign you should have paid attention to?

Actually, yes. One morning while I was an undergrad, I was in class and had to go to the bathroom--bad. When we got a break, I was to the exploding stage (I hate walking out during a lecture), and there was a bathroom right next to our classroom. In front of the classroom was a yellow "Wet Floor" sign. Now, honestly, I had been to that bathroom before, and the sign was up there a lot (I've never understood this) when the floors were completely dry. I literally ran into the bathroom. No the floors weren't wet then either. Instead, there was a janitorial person inside. She proceeded to tell me that I couldn't be in there, and that I had to leave. I looked at her incredulously, and then went to the bathroom anyway (the next bathroom was on the second floor of the building--I couldn't wait). Then she started berating me again when I exited. I finally looked at her and said, "Would you have enjoyed cleaning the floor a second time?" This experience taught me that signs can't protect you from some things. It also taught me to go to the bathroom before class. ;)

Tags: warning signs, John Scalzi, Weekend assignment, humor, everyday life, warning sign generator

Stuart Can Finally Smile Freely

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:21:46 GMT

As many of you may recall, Gina, my oldest, had the pleasure of being free of braces back in June. This was exciting, but also a bit tough because Stuart, who also had braces, was told that he would have to wait. We thought he'd have to endure one more year in the mini-torture devices.

Fortunately, that wasn't so! My baby (he hates when I say that) had his braces removed this week (isn't he just so handsome?). For the first time since his permanent teeth started coming in, Stuart has straight teeth. For the first time since he's been in school, he's not afraid to give a full-fledged smile. This is beautiful on so many levels because I believe that Stuart's natural demeanor is meant to include lots of smiles. I've always known he was beautiful, now other folks will see it too.

Of course, just like his sister, he got balloons and a bag full of sticky stuff to eat. Unlike his sister, however, he had to go back to school. Stuart is one of these people with a heart that is two times too large (this is a good thing, not a bad thing), so he ended up sharing his goodies with his friends. I guess his thought was that he could never eat it all himself. I think he also knew that if he came anywhere close to our house with a Snicker bar that either his granny or Gina would do their best to get a bite (or two or the whole thing). Better to share with your friends than your crazy relatives any day.

He was so excited that he got me to take this picture. He wanted to be sure that I put this up on the blog (probably because I blogged Gina's rescue from torture), and share his good fortune with all of our online friends. You all don't know how lucky you are in this--before his braces came off, getting him to pose for a photo was sometimes kind of hard.

Tags: children, braces, sharing, relatives, family, Snicker bars, smiles...lots of smiles :)

Writing is Falling from the Sky!

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 04:30:24 GMT

Before I go tooting my horn, let me toot the horn for someone else. Karen (of Outpost Mavarin). It has been almost a year since she sent her first Mavarin manuscript to Tor. Now someone there has finally started paying attention. I say "bout time!" I don't know of anyone more deserving of attention from a publisher as Karen, who has poured her heart and soul into Mavarin and its inhabitants. As she has pointed out, she still hasn't gotten a yes, but attention is a great start. All I can say is this: You go, girl!

Ok, now my turn. I have been given a wonderful opportunity that I wasn't even looking for at all right now. I have a friend at church who has a grandson. This grandson lives in Wisconsin, which isn't really any big deal, right? Well, this same grandson also works with Margaret Weis (yes, this Margaret Weis)co-author of the Dragonlance books and gaming series, at Sovereign Press.Anyway, now that I've thrown around names, he was talking to his grandmother, and telling her that many people that want to write RPGs have great ideas, know the gaming systems, but can't write well. His grandmother knew that I was interested in this sort of writing, and my name came up. He said he was interested, and so I was told to send an e-mail. I e-mailed, and now there's a great chance that I will get some small assignments for the next game book for Dragonlance.

I'm stunned.

This is a totally unexpected event in my life. So now, I have to really bone up on the new AD&D information (thankfully, Gina and Stuart insisted on learning 3.5), and pray that I do well with my first few assignments. Who knows where this will lead?

Someone pinch me. Ummm...actually don't. Simply shaking me will do. I'll let you know if this is a dream.

Tags: writing, Dragonlance, AD&D, Soveriegn Press, Margaret Weis, fantasy RPGs, unexpected life experiences, Karen Funt Blocher, Mavarin, TOR Publishing

I Need a Creativity Booster!

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 01:17:00 GMT

It's funny how sometimes, because of my lack of self-discipline, my creativity ebbs and flows. I'm still working on the story for the game in my head, but now I have the added...pressure...project...something...from my screenplay class. Actually, it's not such a bad thing. I have to write a three play scene that has a beginning, middle, and end and either resolves at the end, or incites further action. I've gone for the scenes that incites further action. It's going to be constructed like a teaser at the beginning of a tv show. I have a week and a half. So far, no one in my mental "green room" has stepped forward to volunteer any help. Usually character are jumping at the chance to get their own scene. Maybe I haven't provided enough of a goal for any characters to be interested in joining in.

I have a week and a half.

My modus operandi is usually to kick around the project in my head till something happens. I'll listen for voices, generate possibilities, and, if I get really into the groove, I'll get a flash of action in my head (usually in the form of a vision of sorts) that will lead to a great scene.

What I'm most concerned with is making the dialogue, the action, and the scene something that is different than most television I see. I'm not going for shocking, just intriguing and smart. I made the mistake last night of saying how much I enjoy television that is intelligent and well-written. Now I have to live up to my own expectations, and work past the usual tv scene.

I think I need to sleep on it.

Tags: Creativity, writing, tv scripts, characters, hearing voices, expectations of the writer