Booooooored

I'm bored at work. Not a surprise. But add to that anticipation for going out for happy hour at 5 and the minutes just seem to tick by even slower. So I'm doing what I would do when I was younger on Christmas Day. I wasn't allowed to wake up my parents until 8am, but due to the excitement, I would invariably wake up before the set time. So I would pull out a journal and write. Usually the actually writing was interspersed with a countdown of how many minutes I had left before I could officially wake up my parents. So right now we're at:

1 hour, 15 minutes. Ugh.

Though, that number is better than earlier in the day. And some people are going out at 4. Jealous! I want to leave then too. But I'm pretty stuck at a 5 o' clock departure time. One guy suggested I pull the old "female problems" routine with my male bosses to get out early, but I hate using that. I only like using my femininity in productive ways.

Which leads me to a thought on women in the workplace. I dislike some of them and the way they act. I dislike how women think they have to be bitches in order to get ahead. I think you can garner just as much respect by being courteous, but stern. And then the women who only wear pant suits or other masculine looks. No thanks. I believe I have much more power in a skirt or dress. I prefer to highlight my feminine features, instead of downplaying them. Not in a slutty or inappropriate way, because that won't get you anywhere. But wearing heels adds an extra spring in your step.

1 hour 10 minutes. I type too fast. That's one way my old journals were better. It took longer to write out each word as opposed to my relative quick typing skills.

Oh stream of conscious. It's so east. Just write whatever pops into my head. Which is apparently talking about stream of conscious. And then writing in not very complete sentences, which doesn't matter since I'm just streaming my thoughts. I wonder how the word "stream" came to be used in that phrase?

I bet by the time 5 comes around I'll be tired. I'm already coming down from my earlier energy. It was rather excessive. I felt like I could run around the building.

I guess I could organize the pantry.

Apparently what also works is telling your boss you have a happy hour and then he tells you to go ahead and sneak out early! Not as early as 4, but hey, I'll take what I can get.

So I'm going to go with...35 minutes till I leave! (Though it would have been 55 without my earlier release to freedom.) I think 4:40 is acceptable. Eeeeeeeeee! I'm so excited.

20 minutes.

10 minutes.

Time to wrap up!

"I am so much better than before"

Can I just say how much I love the Legally Blonde: The Musical soundtrack?  This may sound cheesy, but it's kind of inspirational, particularly "So Much Better," when Elle gets the internship and realizes that she's more than just the blonde sorority girl that Warner dumped.  I sort of feel like that right now, so I love the pride she feels in herself and the bit of healthy revenge she has toward Warner and Vivian.  This soundtrack is the only CD that I can handle listening to right now.  I don't even want to listen to break up songs, which I normally love!  Oh well, here is my favorite song of the moment:

All of this time I planned

I'd be patient and

You would love me again

You'd come to respect my mind

And at last you'd find

You could love me again

And I have turned my whole world upside down

Trying not to let you go

Watching you walk away

Is like a fatal blow

Whoa!

Is that my name up on that list?

Does someone know that I exist?

Is this a mistake?

Am I even awake?

Pinch me now to make sure - ow!

Yes that's my name in black and white

Maybe I'm doing something right

Wow, I feel so much better than before

Warner!

Sorry I've been a pest

But I guess my best

Wasn't working for you

But looks like I found a cure

And I so look forward to working with you

Hey remember when we spent spring break

In the hot tub every night

You said nothing else

Would ever feel so right

Well this might!

Seeing my name up on that list

That beats the first time that we kissed

You thought I was dumb

But I think that somebody's judgement was poor

Seeing my name in black and white

It's like making love with you all night

No wait!  It feels so much better

Hello, much better

It's oh, oh, oh, oh, OH - much better

'Cause I am so much better than before

Maybe she's what you prefer

But hey, last year I was her

Maybe you will change your mind

But you might look up to find

I've gone on to better things

Better jobs or bigger rings

I don't have the time to cry

I'm too busy loving my name up on that list

Kind of a cool ironic twist

Who else can I tell?

Ooh wait, where's my cell?

Mom will fall on the floor

Hey Mom!

Look at my name in black and white

Your daughter's doing something right

I feel so much better

I'll be there on Monday nine o' clock

And we will see who walks the walk

No no I can't wait

I will be there at eight

When they unlock the door

Oh oh!

I'll even dress in black and white

You see I have not begun to fight

And you'll go OH much better

Hello, much better

And soon all y'all gonna know much better

I am so much better

I am so much better

I am so much better than before!

La la la

I should be going to bed right now, but I'm not tired.  Naturally, I was exhausted at 7pm and therefore dozed in my chair for 15 minutes which rejuvenated me enough so that I'm not tired now at 11:30pm.  Well, I don't suppose that caramel frappuccino helped either. :)

I'm also going back and forth about a boy.  Isn't that always how it is?  To trust or not to trust.  Is he telling me the truth or just what I want to hear so he can get what he wants?  I need a good night's sleep to escape these thoughts, but obviously from the above paragraph, I'm having trouble achieving that.

Ooh wait, I think I'm starting to feel tired...

Whenever I have a problem that I want to escape, I always imagine some alternate life where I don't have to deal with it.  Unfortunately, as I've gotten older that has become more difficult to do as I see things more realistically.  I can't just pretend to be a princess of one kingdom while a prince from another kingdom woos me (a scenario I played out often).  Now I think of what countries actually have royalty, instead of being able to just imagine out my own countries/kingdoms.  (I actually still have a map of one such kingdom in an old notebook.)  I loved creating my imaginary worlds and I miss that I can't do that anymore.  Maybe that's why I like to write.  Though I'm not in them, these worlds are still created and I can put my own characters into them.  And one of those characters always has red hair. :)

I have three ideas that I'm working on right now, but I'm trying to figure out which I should put first.

1) I have 10,000 words on this one, but it needs to be redone to better fit its audience.  And the outline isn't complete because I'm not quite sure how to solve the major issue.

2) About 7,000 words written and only basic revision is needed.  I just recently got some new ideas for this one, but I'm not sure if the overall story is strong enough and what else I should put into it to make the stakes higher for the main character.

3) More difficult to tackle, with a rotating POV between 4 girls.  I have each of their story lines completely outlined, plus an overall situation to tie them together, but I'm not sure how to weave the stories together.

I need to find a writing partner or group to help me figure this out.  It's so difficult to analyze what needs to be done on my own!

Well, at least I'm distracted from my unpleasant situation.  But I won't go to sleep any easier with my brain active with stories. :)

Pride & Prejudice books are so not Pride & Prejudice

I seem to be on a themed reading binge right now.  I just read Prada and Prejudice and am currently reading Me and Mr. Darcy.  Anyone recognize what's going on here?

I know there have been the fan fiction pieces that are basically sequels of the original.  But these two (as well as Austenland, which I read earlier this year) take modern girls and somehow throw them into the P&P world.  (Side note: There's also Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which has been incredibly popular at the bookstore.)

Prada doesn't actually relate to the P&P storyline.  It's about a fifteen year old American girl visiting London for a summer trip when she falls (in Prada shoes) and wakes up in Regency times, the times of P&P.  And then, for good measure, the male lead is a match for Darcy's demeanor.  The other two have main characters that take Jane Austen trips to England.

The point?  While the stories are cute concepts, the writing is no where near is good as the original.  The authors make use of bad techniques, such as having a main character describe her appearance while looking at a mirror.  So over done and it's a cop out.  The characters are so typical: is every Jane Austen fan a single girl who claims to be so over love and relationships, but as soon as a Darcy-ish guy comes along, she falls hard?  And I know with chick lit it's easy to pick out who the heroine is going to end up with, but come on, at least give the reader a couple options instead of just the one obvious guy.

I also started wondering if a book has ever been written that is very similar to P&P, but set in modern day and in high school.  You know, a la The Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You?  For example, with Bingley and Darcy being newcomers in town; that wouldn't work in a regular town today so much, but new students in a high school?  There would totally be a riot amongst the girls.  Hmm... :)

New Direction

So I've kind of abandoned this, but my life has been pretty boring so I don't feel like commenting on or writing about it.  So I think I'm going to refocus this so that there are topics that relate to me and my interests, topics that can be defined into a single category: girly things!  I think I already have characteristics that support this:

Nickname (at one place of work): Princess K

Favorite Colors: purple and pink

Favorite Movies: The Sound of Music and Cinderella

Not to mention my love for purses and expensive things.

So we'll see how this goes, if I find myself more likely to write if I write about Chanel and girly entertainment and the dream house that I just found (if I were to ever live in California).

10,000 Words!

So I'm super excited because I finally reached 10,000 words on my...novel.  I normally just refer to the things I write as stories, but it is on its way to being a novel, so I might as well call it that.  Although, that means admitting that I'm writing one.  But anyone who reads this pretty much already knows about my literary ambitions.

For those not in the know, teen novels and chick lit novels are usually about 50K, meaning I'm 20% of the way done!  It doesn't seem like a lot, but it's the most I've ever written before, so it's a nice accomplishment for me.

Just 40,000 more to go!

The highs are usually followed by the lows

I had a great time last night with my family.  It was like "Leave it to Beaver" kind of perfect family fun night.

Today...

- I was frustrated at work because I hate being treated like I'm less than I am (who doesn't?)

- I came home to a bit of grumpiness, which has nothing to do with me, but I still am affected by it

And now my stomach is all knotted with nerves.

EDIT: Okay, things are better now.  But it was almost funny because I had a feeling that today would be bad since last night was so much fun.

And I should be having some good news to share soon (hopefully tomorrow)!