..."Fifteen Things
Last week, I added five more things to my list of “25 Random Things About Me.” I’m actually enjoying this more than I thought I would, so let’s just try five more. Here, then, is The Third Set of Five Odd Facts and Figures You May or May Not Already Know About Me.
11. I don’t really like to travel. If others’ didn’t force me into it, I doubt I’d ever go anywhere. From the moment I leave on a trip, I begin the mental countdown to when I get to go home. Yes. I am abnormal. It’s similar to the way I don’t like Fridays because they do nothing more than remind me that another week has come and gone forever and I still haven’t made any serious progress on my big goals.
12. I spend a fair amount of time in the car going to and from work. I spend most of this time listening to NPR. I like NPR because they report a lot of news. It’s the exact opposite of those inane “morning shows” you see on the major networks. I do not like those shows AM. I do not like them, Sam I am.
13. I’m looking for a “writing buddy.” I have not found anyone yet. I don’t think I will.
14. I don’t understand coffee. I don’t understand why (most) people are so addicted to coffee. I don’t understand why so many people spend so much time, money, and effort on coffee. It’s just a bunch of dirty, smelly beans that have been cooked, ground up, and had hot water poured through them. Please don’t leave a comment below telling me how you “can’t start your day” without this substance. You need to get addicted to something better for you, like beer.
15. I like beer. Many people don’t understand why a lot of people like beer. It’s just a bunch of dirty, bitter plant-things that have been cooked and fermented. I can’t explain it. All I know is that I can’t start my day without it.
15b. I’m kidding about the beer. I only very rarely have it for breakfast.
We’re 60% done, folks! What could the last 40% possibly have in store for us?! I have no idea. I’m making this up as I go along. I’m surprised I’ve gotten this far already. Please leave a comment below. I will randomly select one winner, look up into the night sky, and name a star after him or her.
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on February 25, 2009 at 5:55 am
lol on 14 and 15!
on February 25, 2009 at 6:07 am
You’re looking for a writing buddy? What are you looking for in a writing buddy? Inquiring minds want to know!
on February 25, 2009 at 6:54 am
11. Love to travel. Love to come home too.
12. NPR? Yes, please.
13. Is a writing buddy like a pen pal for the wordly gifted?
14. I’m too much of a cheapskate to pay 5 bucks for a cup, but I love my morning java. Decaf, though, so it’s a taste thing for me.
15. Not a beer drinker. Sorry, you got me there.
15b. I cook with it, though. Now that you’ve issued the challenge, I’ll have to figure out how to get it into a breakfast recipe.
Great post, thanks for making me laugh my number 14 over the keyboard.
on February 25, 2009 at 7:17 am
I just can’t start my day without coffee… sorry, I had to. It’s not the coffee, its the CAFFEINE!!!
on February 25, 2009 at 7:17 am
You need someone to drive you to work, then you can do more productive things with the waste of time they call a commute. Of course my husband doesn’t always love my commute endvors but that is another post.
I’m in total agreement with 14 & 15, perhaps that accounts for my size?
on February 25, 2009 at 7:23 am
I love learning all these things about you!! I am kind of that way with traveling. I like it, but I always crave going back home to my comforts and routines.
on February 25, 2009 at 7:27 am
Never can figure out why anyone likes the taste of beer. And I have to admit I only like coffee with lost of Splenda and milk in it but I do have it every morning
(
on February 25, 2009 at 7:34 am
Charlie,
I don’t get the coffee thing either. Other souls that are closely attached to me by blood or love drink this mostly morning concoction, but I don’t need this at all. Now beer on the other hand is a gift from gods. How or why some person way back in time decided to grind up root and herb things and soak them to make this nectar is beyond me, but I think him or her just the same. And it’s incredible how pizza was invented just so beer drinkers could enjoy this tasty bite with a smile on their face.
on February 25, 2009 at 7:37 am
I think him but mostly thank him or her. [edit above comment to match brain, not fingers]
on February 25, 2009 at 9:06 am
I drink a cup of tea in the morning. Very occasionally, a cup of decaf. I used to be a huge coffee drinker but then I accidentally gave up caffeine and can’t drink much of it since then. Even 2 cups of decaf gets me jittery. I really don’t understand how my co-workers at my last job used to go out and get starbucks 2-3 times a day. That’s like…15 bucks on coffee a day and probably close to 75% of the calories a normal human should ingest…
I used to love beer too, but I’ve had to switch to healthier things, like whiskey or vodka. Beer just makes me awful to be around the next day, but I can handle my liquor! =)
on February 25, 2009 at 9:14 am
Coffee is gross, and beer rocks. I am so with you!
on February 25, 2009 at 9:35 am
I love to travel. But, I also need an extra day or two at home before I go back to work to un-travel (laundry, unpacking, etc).
I’m with you on coffee. I don’t get it. I do need the caffeine, though. I drink Diet Coke in the mornings.
Beer. I don’t drink beer regularly, but I have a craving from time to time and must have beer and a cheeseburger.
on February 25, 2009 at 10:14 am
Sorry, I should have been more clear on the whole “writing buddy” thing.
In short, a writing buddy is someone a writer can use to help with his own writing. It’s a person he can bounce ideas off of, or do “first reads” of chapters, or collaborate with. It’s someone who can criticize mercilessly. This person is also a writer, so, if necessary, all of this can go both directions (though bidirectional help isn’t required). It takes a very specific and peculiar set of personality traits to make something like this work, so someone with nothing more than, “Ooo! That sounds fun!” probably won’t fit the bill. Which is why it’s so hard to find and why I don’t have much hope in doing so. But it seemed important enough to put on the Twenty-Five.
on February 25, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Hey Charlie,
I don’t know if you’re only referring to a non-fiction writing buddy (in which case, what I’m going to say is going to help), but you can workshop poetry, short-stories, screenplays, photos, novellas and other stuff at: zoetrope.com. I’ll explain how it works: you review x number of works for each category (for poetry, you review 5 poems, as an example), for every one that you can post. People review what you post, etc., etc. It’s a nice and helpful online community. Only fiction, though.
You could potentially post a chapter as a short story, but most people get kind of pissed off about that sort of thing.
on February 25, 2009 at 1:43 pm
In the 2nd line, I meant NOT going to help.
Ruth
on February 25, 2009 at 5:17 pm
I’ve never understood how BOTH you and Jennifer don’t like coffee and me and Hannah love it!
on February 25, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Oh no, not Hannah…
on February 25, 2009 at 7:07 pm
The beer and coffee comments on your list are hilarious. ME, I love coffee, and I Hate beer. But maybe if I tried the beer in my oatmeal….
on February 25, 2009 at 7:40 pm
I don’t even like coffee at all. I don’t get it either, but I can’t really judge because I’m at least 3 cans a day of Diet Pepsi.
on February 25, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Am all about #14- I have never understood the coffee-craze.
on February 26, 2009 at 6:53 am
What kind of writing are you looking for a buddy for? Genre, that is?
I’m already a writing buddy with a buddy (we do fantasy and romance) but I can send kick-you-in-the-kiester emails with the best of them.
But it’s harder if the subject/genre isn’t one that I like. =]
on February 26, 2009 at 7:11 am
Ruth: Yes, I should have mentioned what I’m doing. Contrary to the evidence provided by my last three books, I’ve really been trying to write fiction for fifteen sixteen years now. I’ll check out zoetrope, but I really am more looking for a personal and indefinite one on one “relationship”, for lack of a better word.
Tami: Yes, I should have mentioned what I’m doing. As you’ve now seen, it’s fiction. I actually have two major projects in the works, one very current, the other will probably end up being my personal “Silmarillion.”
Project C is the big one and probably 174 years from completion. The genre is … well, I suppose if I had to label it, it’s fantasy. But not really. But you can think of it as “sword and sorcery” but without any swords or sorcery.
Project G is the newer one. I decided to finally play to my strengths by combining the fantasy genre with the humor writing people tell me I’m good at. So far, it’s not exactly working out, but I’m still trying.
on February 27, 2009 at 6:14 am
Have you considered NaNoWriMo? I wouldn’t use any of your beloved projects for it, but I learned SO much when I did it last year, I recommend it to anyone who is struggling to write.
Also, since you aren’t likely to have 174 years to write your book, you could always just say “screw it!” and start writing now!
What are you waiting for? Muses are mythical creatures who live in coffee (or..in your case, perhaps beer). If you wait for them to visit you, you’ll be stuck with the inspiration equivalent of mass produced Christmas cards!
Write, write, write! (And my brain just inserted “Threshold! Take us to the Threshold!” because it has no concept of appropriate yelling and just likes to yell)
This edition of random encouragement has been brought to you by the letter “L”
on February 27, 2009 at 6:36 am
Re: NaNoWriMo, yes, I’ve definitely considered it. Every year for the past five years I think to myself, “This is the year!” And every single year, something else comes up. For most of those year, I was already in the middle of writing a book and just couldn’t devote the time. Last year was the first “free” year I had, but also the first time I had a blog to feed and care for. You wouldn’t believe how much time this thing sucks up and I have so little to begin with.
That said, I am still writing. I have a “Twenty Minute” rule (itself soon to be a blog post here) which forces me to write. I’m a good 9,000 words into the current book so I hope I haven’t given the impression I’m just sitting around and waiting for inspiration.
That said, I haven’t written since the 15th, which I will hopefully amend soon.
on February 27, 2009 at 9:20 am
Hmm, very cognitive post.
Is this theme good unough for the Digg?
on February 27, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I like NPR because of the sound effects that go with the stories. Its like you are there. My favorite is Ira Glass’s show and Car Talk which is on Saturday Morning. I also like “wait, wait, don’t tell me”
They tape that show 15 minutes from my house, I’ve always wanted to go, but never have gotten around to it!
on February 28, 2009 at 5:57 pm
I like coffee…but don’t need it. Water’s more my bag. Boring, me.
I cannot drink beer – I’m allergic. I guess I’ll just have to drink rum. Dang.
I haven’t listened to NPR in years. Sigh. No radio in the house, and I’m rarely in the car.
What’s a writing buddy?
Also, NaNoWriMo was fun, but who thought it’s a good idea to put it smack in the middle of the Silly Season (AKA, holidays)??
Shade and Sweetwater,
K (who is slogging her way through 90,00 words of editing and would very much like to be distracted by the kindly word fairies, who will then make everything perfect for her so she can bake brownies or wax her nostrils or something equally more amusing than editing 90,00 words)(ack!)
on March 1, 2009 at 11:50 pm
to Bet:
my roommate has altered a recipe for beer bread. instead of merely taking liquid bread and turning it into, um, bread, he takes liquid bread and turns it into sugar-coated, fruit-filled, nut-studded *breakfast* bread.
see? you *can* have your beer and break your fast with it, too.
on March 3, 2009 at 6:44 am
I need to get my laptop reconfigured so I can start hitting the library to write after work again and do some sprints. I’ve been “planning” so much that I haven’t been “writing” on my own stuff since I finished NaNoWriMo.
And I’m totally with you on the blog. I’ve got my gaming blog, my personal blog and two writing project blogs. And work and a family and all that other stuff. *winks*
I’m very glad to hear you are indeed writing! If you ever need a kick in the pants, let me know. I can race you to a thousand words!