My Dreams are in Reruns

Straight to the point, I dream in reruns.

Seriously, some nights it's like sitting in front of the TV for countless hours of vintage programing, except my dreams are rarely that sappy.

Strangely enough, I would be hard pressed to relate the contents of my midnight story board to people in the awake state. Yet, while I am dreaming I am acutely aware of the been there done that feeling.

Reruns are not the only parallel my dreams have to a Hollywood day job. I also have retakes, multiple points of views, unresolved plot and vivid colour. I dream in genres including horror, love story, slasher, nostalgia and realism.

With all this material you'd think I would be a millionairess, but no such luck. I wake up at least once a night thinking "that would make a great book," only to realize in the morning that I apparently live in my dream world at times. (Thankfully not in all of my dreams).

After all, when talking squirrels and car crashes are competing for prime time it feels more like an advertisement for a bad drug trip than a book on the bestsellers list.

Essay Ecstasy

Sounds pretty erotic doesn't it? Keep in mind the title does not say Ecstasy Essay!

However, I just spent the last few days working on my first critical review for science and handed it in less than an hour ago. I have to admit I feel pretty good.

I love the process. Read, research and write my little heart out. Build the topic into a slow frenzy and spit out a beautiful piece of work. I feel like I made a piece of art, something worthy of hanging on the wall.

Ah, a well written essay makes my heart thrum.

Sadly though, it ended in an anticlimax. The literary meaning of course. It was due midnight on Friday and with half an hour to spare I hit the submit button and sat in the after glow (literary meaning of course) until I realized I used the wrong format.

The computer said it went through so I will just have to trust in technology to get it there.

Summer School

School is going well. Even with my late start in Biology I'm still doing ok. I'm almost caught up even. Sounds easier than it is. A tip to anyone doing a web based class for college or university- do not get behind. It feels like you start a month behind instead of a class behind.

This is going to a beautiful spring and summer. I plan on taking my books and laptop outside to do more of my work. Got to get my sunshine and Vitamin D somehow.

I am enjoying my freelance work too. I haven't landed a job with one of the companies yet, but it's just a matter of time. I've been doing research for my profile and getting an idea of what prices the jobs are going for.

Suppose this post is starting to sound all rainbows and ponies. LOL I don't mind. Once in a while it's nice to take a trip over to the quiet side.

Password INsecurity

I'm a day late. I know. I know. You missed me terribly. Please allow me to apologize and then promptly blame it all on something else. It's not my fault, truly.

So, I came here last night ready to post. I was going to tell you about my new biology course and how hard it is. I mean how challenging it is. I like the course and I am definitely learning a . . .

I'm not going to tell you all that stuff now. My new rant is passwords. Bet you've already heard it all but I'm still gonna say it. After all, it took me over 12 hours to remember how to get in here to do so. I think I've earned the right.

Funny thing- it really wasn't a password problem. It was the username issue. I forgot which email address is attached to this blog. I only have 1 blog and a couple emails but it was enough to cause a temporal disturbance. I had it stuck in my head which email I needed to use and heaven knows I had to be right about that. Turns out I was wrong. Shh, don't tell anyone I said that, I'd hate for people to think I'm slipping.

Anyways, I'm here now. Isn't that what really matters?

However, I need to get back to my biology. I'm glad I don't need another password to get into the textbook, but with online texts coming out I won't be able to say that for long.

Welcome to Good Night Theater

I have a beautiful old crabtree in the yard. Last year I transplanted all my daffodils at the base and they have been in bloom almost two weeks now. Today I noticed that the tree is blooming too and what a beautiful combination they make.

This afternoon it was so warm I wanted to wear my shorts. It's probably a good thing that I went inside to work on some school assignments and article writing instead. I haven't had my legs waxed this year and I wouldn't want to scare the neighbours.

The point of waxed legs brings me face to face with gender stereotypes and the social construction of gender. Wasn't that a tidy tie in I made there, very smooth, if I do say so myself.

I find the concept of gender construction very intriguing. Are the girls acting like girls? Are the boys just being boys? How and when did our focus as a society become so narrow that there are certain socially acceptable behaviours attached solely to the gender of the person?

I like classic TV shows and lately my favourite has been Bewitched. As a kid I loved the magic aspect. As an adult I see the magic of rigid gender roles. Yes, magic. Shows like this helped to conjour the idea of men as breadwinners and women as model wives who greeted their husbands at the door. By far and large I prefer the magic that uses twitching.

Also, on the subject of magic: tonight I grabbed a bag of chips, took my laptop out on the patio, and set up a chair. I watched part of a movie while bundled in my sweater, jacket and a blanket. It was almost cold enough to see my breath. Quite a contrast to this afternoon. When I came back into the house I used the magic of electricity to get warm again.

(OK, my ending is, well, not good. I admit it and I have no excuses, except this, I think some of the funny still needs to warm up). Believe me, if I had a magic wand I would have used it.

Get it Write

Some interesting lessons came up today. The first one is that this one message right here is a post not a blog. I am sure many of you already knew that but somehow it escaped me. It's a good thing that I was doing more research on random things otherwise I would keep referring to each message as a bog. I would hate to drive away all my possible readers with such an amateurish mistake.

The other lesson is this: when I am proofreading my proposal, and something is niggling around in the back of head attempting to tell me that there is a mistake, than I should listen to the niggle. I used a sentence such as this: "I will do it write the first time." Do you see my mistake? Don't worry if you don't figure it out at first, I didn't see it until after I sent the proposal. Do you think they will get back to me right away?

This brings me to the dilemma of post editing. I asked myself, "Self, how many times should I go back to published posts and clean up my mistakes?" Is it misleading to my audience to keep going back and fixing things? Will they think they are losing their minds? Or just get fed up with me?

Some errors scream for attention (even though they were small enough to miss the first four times I looked at my blog). I bet looking at my own blog over and over seems a little, well, obsessive. It is a problem that should resolve itself as I get busier during the summer. And on a side note, to the people that I cajole into looking at this blog- it's only cuz I am so proud and a just a tiny bit self absorbed.

As always the goal is to get "it write the first time."

What can I tell you?

I have put more thought into what I want to blog about. I am still not sure what I want to say. I have read that other bloggers have started with the same indecision in the topic department, yet they gradually found their voices. So, I guess that is where I am at right now, looking for a voice. If you find one, send it over would ya?

My blog will grow with me (and my voice). I will blog about everyday things and the incredible stuff I learn at school.

Hey WAIT! Don't shut me off just like that. Seriously, the stuff I learn boggles my mind. It'll boggle yours too if you give me a chance. Like: the particular way a memory needs to be triggered to retrieve it from the brain. Or, on a more serious note, that human slavery still exists.

This semester I will be working on math and I can't even tell you how much it freaks me out. It's kind of the same way that kids are scared of what's under the bed. In my case I shrink in terror at the thought of an Algebra jumping out from under the bed. Its' giant X mouth screaming at me that I need to know what it's square root is.

OK, OK, I know. Those two things don't really go together, at least I don't think they do. So you get the idea- this is the stuff that nightmares are made of. Freddy Kreuger is a rank amateur. - - - Give me a minute, I need to breathe.

Right, so math is kind of like a phobia. I knew a few things about phobias before psychology class and now I know how to fix them. In theory. Phobias are quite interesting so I'll keep them in mind for a different day.

I bet you're less bored with the thought that I'll share some of my back to school adventures with you. Other peoples' fears have a way of drawing in an audience. You'll see.

Welcome

Hello everyone. Maybe that should be anyone. Anyways, this is my blog and I honestly have no idea where to start except to say that I have a dilemma. My Psych instructor this year is not impressed that the 'n' was removed from the word dilemma. Just this once I will say it like so- 'dilemNa'. No, technically this is not sucking up because my grades are already in.

I suppose stating some of the basics is a good way to get this party started. So here are a couple of my goals/plans:

1. I want to be a writer- again.
2. I want to keep traveling the world- watch out Italy, I'm comin' back.
3. I want to graduate with honours from my Associate Arts Degree
4. Then I have some big decisions to make after that- I'll thrill you with those revelations at a later date.

I think this gives you a little idea about my future goals. More immediately, there are a couple of online places I want to write for and they would like to see my work. Herein lies my dilemma.

I used to write for a local newspaper called the "Little Gazette." Sadly, it has been defunct for many years and our library does not have any copies. It appears that I may no longer have mine either. I was looking at them about two years ago and noticed that the pages had yellowed and become brittle. I thought to myself, "Self, do I keep these until they become dust or do I put them in one of those 'safe places' for later."

If you have one of those 'safe places' at home you know, and I know, that safe actually means that the item was dumped into a blackhole because it will never be seen again. Add to the dilemma the fact that I can't even remember what my final decision was regarding my brittle newspapers. Do not worry, I'll keep searching and I think I may have a solution. My Grandma.

Don't laugh. I'm tellin' the truth. My Grandma keeps all sorts of stuff. Except, I think she sent me the articles she had in order to clear out some of her things.

Ok, that's my dilemma in a nutshell- bigger than a walnut shell granted. Unless you've seen "Land of the Lost" with Will Ferrell- that is one big nut (take that however you may).