Girls Day

Today’s post is not going to be meaningful and possibly not even interesting. Mostly I’m going to share some picture from my fun.

Yesterday I spent the day out with my best friend having a much needed girls day out. I have been working very hard on my writing goals, trying to become a better writer so that one day when I share my stories with the world they will be the shiniest possible form of them. This doesn’t leave much time for play with a full time job on top of it.

So yesterday we had lunch, went shopping for crafty stuff, electronics, a hoodie and most importantly, shoes! I came away from the shoe store with 5 pairs of awesome shoes for $99. Pretty good shopping if I do say so myself.

Also, I found a pair of shoes that are supposed to help you trim down just by walking, or even just standing in them. I did not purchase them because most were ghastly to look at, but in flipping through the pamphlet that accompanied the shoes I discovered a pair that are quite cute. I am going to seek them out when in Anchorage this week.

They are $99 for a pair alone, on sale, which hurts me to even consider. (I refuse to pay more than $20 to $25 for a pair of shoes and since I have tiny feet I usually get my way.) But they are much cheaper than a gym membership or a piece of workout equipment so I think I’ll try them out, in light of being away from my treadmill while I’m in Anchorage during the week.

I’ll keep you posted on how they work out.

Here are just a couple of my prizes:

Keeping the Dream Alive

This week was a rude awakening for me at work. I finished reading the amazing: Forest of Hands and Teeth last week and also finished writing my novel on Sunday. With both those worlds still swirling around in my head, I found it hard to focus on the ordinary and often mundane task of working my day job.

At first I thought it was because in many books the characters don’t have tedious jobs so we get lost in a world where we are free of such things ourselves. When we have to re-enter our old lives, it is hard to go back to working everyday at a job that isn’t always fulfilling.

The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that isn’t it at all.

When I was young, even though my rational mind told me it was impossible. I always felt in my heart I was meant for something more, something amazing. I think all kids feel that way.

As we get older I think we forget about that belief or repress it so we can do things that may not be shiny or even pleasant. But it never really goes away.

Reading gives voice to this unspoken hope buried deep in our subconscious. Hope that there is something more. That we are meant for something fantastical. By reading a book, we find a way into a world where anything is possible. Where a life that seems ordinary, when viewed as a whole, we find is often extraordinary.

Thank you to all the writers that inspire me. That open their worlds to me and allow me to share the spotlight with their characters, for a few shining moments of glory. Thank you for helping me to keep dreaming. I hope to inspire others in this same way, someday.

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Zombies, Love, and an Epiphany.

This week I read a book that was really thought provoking. The Forest of Hands and Teeth. The first time I past this book in Waldenbooks, I stopped dead in my tracks. The title was so awesome I nearly bought it solely based on that alone but then I read the back and am saddened now at how the publisher failed with the back of the book hook. It so miserably fell short of expressing this books awesomeness! So I didn’t buy it that day.

Zombies!!! Would have done the job better, but I digress.

So I finally read the book this week and was astounded to find that a book full of zombies could reveal a truth about my own life. *Spoiler Alert* If you have not read the book and don’t want your view tainted, don’t read on. (Also, you should go out and buy it right now!)

Mary, the main character is never satisfied. She lets her desire for something more cause her to take the important things for granted until it is too late.

After reading it, this book stuck with me. I kept thinking back to all Mary’s choices and wondering if they were worth it. In the end, was getting what she wanted worth losing everything else? I wondered about what happens after the story ends. Would she then be unhappy with what she finally got? Wish she had stayed and loved Travis, or Harry? Would she ever be satisfied?

Why would this eat at me you ask? It’s just a story, you say. But isn’t that what reading is about? Looking at others experiences and seeing ourselves? This is where the epiphany comes in. I realized it was eating at me because I wondered if I am just like Mary, never satisfied.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to go through life trying new things only to find they bore me once I’ve proved I can do them. It’s the one reason I knew that I was meant to be a writer. I haven’t lost interest yet. But this book made me question everything else. Am I missing the important things by always trying to find something better?

When I’m old and grown will I look back on my life and wish I had enjoyed the things I had instead of always searching for something more? Will I wish I had just been content to follow the path society tells me I should? Will I ever be satisfied? Or will I always want more than I have till there is nothing left?

With no answers to these questions, I end with a hope. I hope that someday I am able to write well enough to put out a book that is as thought provoking for someone as this one was for me.

(p.s. I did not know when I wrote this post that this is a series and there is a second book that will be released March 9^th 2010!!!)