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A blog to house my musings, curiosities, and fascinations. |
Thankfully, February has been a lot better on all fronts than the previous few months. I started going to therapy and have an interview for a new job coming up that I'm very excited about. Things are settling down and I have things to look forward to, including a new relationship, which is very exciting. ![]() Here's what I wrote in February:
In March, I will: Read: For "Angel Product Reviews" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Best, -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Things are slowly settling down and getting back to somewhere closer to normal. Things are still rough, lots of change going on, but I think there are good changes coming in February, so that will make it all worth it. You can tell by my writing the last month that I've been a bit down and out of sorts:
In February, I will: Read: For "Angel Product Reviews" ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() Fake it 'til you make it, -Emily ![]() ![]() |
It's been tough to write recently. Things in my personal life are shifting rapidly, and I'm in a constant state of unease. I feel on edge and frazzled and overwhelmed often, so writing is taking a bit of a back seat at the moment. Today is my 26th birthday, but it doesn't quite feel like a birthday. Work has been brutal, even through the holidays, so that wasn't fun at all. I'm feeling just generally out of sorts and really unlike myself. I hope the new year will bring some positive changes for my mental state. Here are the things I was able to write:
In January, I will: Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() Be well, -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Wow. Is anyone else having trouble believing that December is already here? I feel like November was one of the worst months for me this year for various reasons... I just hope December will be better, calmer, more joyous, and predictable. November was a wild ride ... in a bad way. I wasn't able to be on WDC as often as I normally am, but still managed to write a few things:
In December, I will: Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Be well, -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Entry in the contest:
Syllables: 24 Lines: 6 Prompt Word: Ominous ![]() Ominous streets before the storm – boarded windows is the new norm. What comes next is anyone’s guess. ~ ~ ~ |
November is here! We are now entering my favorite time of year ![]() In October, I wrote a lot because I was doing "Promptly Poetry Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() For the "Promptly Poetry Challenge" ![]()
For the "Dark Dreamscapes Poetry Contest" ![]()
Representing the "Witches of Ravenclaw" ![]() ![]()
Fifteen poems for "Resurrection Jukebox" ![]()
And one sexy thing for the "Naughty Quickie" ![]()
In November, I will: Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Okay. I had to allow myself a day to process ... this. This color. This title. This recognition. This honor. This privilege. Honestly, a day was not enough because I'm still feeling completely overwhelmed and shocked. Happy, of course, but just ... wow. I can't stop looking at my portfolio ![]() ![]() ![]()
It doesn't look real! If I just glance at it, it looks like someone else's blog. That's been happening to me more than I care to admit ... I posted the prompt over at the "30-Day Blogging Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() So, enough about that ... I have people to thank! First and above all others, thank you to the lovely The StoryMaster ![]() ![]() ![]() Next, I have to shout-out the brilliant group of ladies I'm fortunate to share this honor with. Lilli ☕ ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Finally, thank you to all you generous folks for the rad celebration! All the newsfeed posts, C-notes, badges, emails, texts even! You know who you are ![]() ![]() ![]() I did some portfolio cleaning today, and found it funny how many things I've written in the last few months related to the color blue ... ![]() ![]()
Thank you for reading and hit me up if you have mod-related questions. ![]() ![]() ![]() -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Happy 20 Years, WDC! What a huge accomplishment! It hardly seems real that this site has been around for a full 20 years. That is AGES in internet time! Before we get to the monthly listing, I have to share a little bit about the big thing I just did. I ... got a tattoo! A big one on my thigh. It is a memorial portrait of my dog Buddy who passed away three years ago in August of 2017. Here are some of the things I wrote about him: "In Memory" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In August, I wrote:
In September, I will: Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Happy September! -Emily ![]() ![]() |
July was a huge success for me. First, I paid off a big chunk of my student loans so I only have about $4,000 left to pay. I also got a raise at work, lost 10 pounds, and wrote A LOT! I mean ... WAY more than I normally write in a month. The things I wrote in July are listed below ![]() First, I open my little book, grab a pen, and write the prompt or topic of the poem. Whatever it is that I’m supposed to be writing about. Then, I start doing some word association and word vomiting everything the prompt makes me think about. Often, interesting phrases emerge in this stage, but nothing concrete. When the word vomiting is finished, I read through the random phrases I’ve jotted down and underline things I think are good. Sometimes I’ll draw arrows between different thoughts that might connect. Then, I’ll usually write the lines I liked on a new page in my book and add more structure to the thoughts. If new phrases come to me at this stage, I include those as well. Usually, at this point, the theme and story of the poem starts to emerge. I’ll start writing numbers in the margins to indicate if the line should belong at the beginning of the poem, middle, or end. I’ll also draw arrows and add more connecting words to start stringing the poem together. At this point, I’ll rewrite all the lines again in their new order and including the additional words. Now, the poem is nearing its final stage. I’ll type it on my computer, adding line and stanza breaks where appropriate and punctuation. Usually, I’ll let it sit for a while (few hours) before coming back to re-read it. I’ll edit my punctuation and word choice at least twice before posting to WDC. With this method, I feel less pressure at the beginning and it allows me to start writing even if I don’t know what I’ll write about. It is also a fairly fast process, quite different from how I used to write, laboring endlessly over a single line to make it perfect before moving on. How I write now allows the full picture to come out first and then find order on the page. And it’s working! Here’s what it helped me write in July:
In August, I will: Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Contest Challenge Catch-Up: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() Be proud of yourself! -Emily ![]() ![]() |
I don't understand how half of 2020 is over already. I must be getting old. Before getting into this, I need to take a moment to thank the entire Quills team for putting on the 2019 Quill Awards ceremony last month (read the ceremony notes here: "Quill Ceremony Notes" ![]() ![]() I was blessed to receive 3 Quill wins, 3 Honorable Mentions, and place as a finalist in 2 additional categories. Notably, "Callused Hands" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() And this shiny is pretty sweet too ![]() ![]() In June, I managed to keep up with the "Promptly Poetry Challenge" ![]()
In July, I will: Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Review: ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Catch-Up: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Contests to use if nothing is open ▼ Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Do something that inspires you, -Emily ![]() ![]() |
I don't know what to say. I feel nauseated. If you know where I live, you know what I'm talking about. I have no words and feel gut-wrenching pain and horror at the state of everything going on right now. I'm overwhelmed and terrified. And that's all I'll say about that because I've already cried enough these last few days. In May I wrote:
My emotions are clearly fueling my writing. In June, I will: Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Catch-Up: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Contests to use if nothing is open ▼ Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() Take care of your mental health. -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Entry in the contest:
Character Count: 137 It's dawn when I drift to sleep to the quiet patter of rain. Her shivers finally still, she rests - a warm fur nest in my lap after the storm. ![]() |
Hello hello hello! I've been working from home for seven weeks now and honestly .... I'm settling in fairly well. Besides the fact that I have less work to do, I still have enough to keep me occupied, and I'm making good progress on long term projects that would have otherwise been put on the back-burner. I have my standing desk set up in the house, which I absolutely love. I also love that I don't have to put on "work clothes" to go to work. I can get out of the shower and immediately go to my desk and start working. Okay ... head out of the gutter, people. I have PJs on! My dogs are also thrilled I'm home all the time now. I don't know how they are going to cope when I have to go back to the office. My job has been very accommodating with allowing everyone to work from home, and I think it might be the new normal for many of us. I can do everything I need to do from home, it saves me time, and I'm still productive, so what's the harm? I think many good things will come out of this crisis including more virtual meetings (less wasted travel time and carbon emissions) and more lenient remote working policies, especially for people with young kids and new parents. I also think there is opportunity for many folks to pursue activities that will better themselves. With so many "bored in the house, in the house bored," new hobbies could be formed, new workout routines, new family bonding activities, and so much more. We can still be productive during this time, and I hope we take advantage of it. Anyway, let's get into the goals: In April, I only wrote one thing and didn't get to enter all the contests I had planned to:
In May, I will: Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I need to make a plan for catching up in the "The Contest Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Contests to use if nothing is open ▼ Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Take care! -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Well... the world certainly has changed since my last entry. I've been working from home for the past 3 weeks due to the stay at home order in my state. COVID-19 pandemic is still ramping up, and the uncertainty is really hard to deal with. Anyway, I don't want to go on a rant ... I'm still doing well, but this new normal is very strange overall. Let's talk about some good things. In March, I wrote:
In April, I will: Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Take care! -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Yesterday was February 29th - Leap Day! The reason we have this monthly extension of our shortest month is to synchronize the Gregorian calendar with the solar year – without it we would lose six hours every year. ![]() ![]() "30-Day Blogging Challenge" ![]() Happy March, all! It really felt like February flew by! Or maybe it leaped by ![]() I took my headphones and plunked myself in a corner desk in the library facing a wall and tuned the whole world out for 5 hours. And I did get a lot done! I'm almost done with this grant I'm writing, but it's all feeling a little fruitless because I'm not even sure we'll qualify for it. I was somehow looped into writing it on behalf of 5 or 6 of our partners, but the deadline is March 11th, and so much needs to happen before then, that I'm not sure we'll get it done. So I fear the work I put in will all be in vain. All that extra stress I put on myself to follow through and keep in everyone's good graces even though I think we don't have a chance to get the funding. It's more about not failing than actually succeeding. Anyway, I still have the deliverables and budget spreadsheet to do today, so I'll put at least a few more hours into it and then be able to pass it off on Monday. Get it off my plate. In summary, my leap day was spent facing a blank wall for 5 hours getting ahead on work tasks that I think won't amount to anything. At least the day doesn't count, right? ![]() ~ ~ ~ Now, let's talk successes and goals. In February, I managed to write a few things:
It took me a long time to be able to write that second one, but I think I did a lot of healing while in Hawaii that was helpful to let that pain go. In March, I will: Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Take care! -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Hello WDC! This start of the month blog post is a little late because I just returned home from a two week vacation to Hawaii! It was my dad's and grandfather's big birthday bash, so my bf and I spent a long time there with family, which was really rejuvenating. ![]() ![]() ![]() Okay, moving on to your regularly scheduled programming. ![]() In January, I wrote a few things (one of which already won something cool ![]()
As always, I have a few goals for February Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() Yay! (I think I'm still on ![]() ![]() -Emily ![]() ![]() |
I'm 25! Woop! It's the start of a new decade and I'm excited to see what the years ahead will bring! Outside of WDC, I've started a daily personal journal. I hope to write just a page in that every day about whatever is on my mind minus the stress of trying to think of what I want to say. Freewriting, I guess you could call it. It'll be a simple experiment to see if I can keep it up. I've done two days so far and haven't failed yet! ![]() First, a reminder for myself of what I wrote in December:
I also realized that I did not list the books I read last year in my "Decade Review" post from a few days ago. A la Jeff, the list of books I read in 2019 is in this little dropnote: 2019 Reading List ▼ And now, my goals for the first month of the new year! Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Happy New Year! -Emily ![]() ![]() |
Hey hey heyyy!!! There are only three days remaining in this decade. Let me say that again. There are only THREE days remaining in this DECADE! I mean ... what?! ![]() I don't know quite what to say .. so much has happened since January 1st, 2010! I was 15 years old in 2010. I had not found WDC yet. I was still in high school for Pete's sake! Let's take a little walk down memory lane at some of the milestones over the past 10 years: June 12, 2011 (clearly nothing note-worthy happened in the first year of the decade if this is the first event I thought of...) I joined WDC! I was 16 and a half years old and thought I was such a prolific writer because I had written a story about a unicorn and a rat in an invisible kingdom in the back of my Gifted and Talented class instead of paying attention like I was supposed to be doing. Then I moved on to a novel about something I knew nothing about - a Secret Service agent in the White House. I taped two composition notebooks together and filled them both with purple-ink scrawl. When I finally got access to a computer, I laboriously transcribed my flawless story and threw it online for the world to see. The anonymity of WDC was kind of cool. I didn't have to be a child here. I could pretend I was the character in my story, a strong, confident, beautiful agent of the secret service sharing my real life story. Needless to say, I learned more than I bargained for. May 18, 2013 I graduated high school - there's a video of it online I think if you search hard enough. The whole graduating class performed a hula to thank our parents and teachers for supporting our journey, but there weren't enough boys in my class to go around so I was one of the girls without a partner who danced alone on the sidelines. September 4, 2014 After a tumultuous first year of college, I found my soulmate. This was the date we first saw each other in person, though I can't say I loved him at first sight. That came later. But we've been together ever since ![]() June 2, 2016 While I was studying abroad in Australia, my man bought our house! It was in a horrific state when we bought it. The walls were caked in cigarette smoke from the previous owners and the carpet was basically one huge hairball. Luckily, I was diving on the Great Barrier Reef while my man cleaned the place up and made it a home for us. I officially moved in in July. Late 2016? Sometime after we bought the house, we adopted our first dog together! We took Roo the shih tzu in when my man's aunt could no longer care for her and she's been our little snuggle bug ever since. ![]() May 21, 2017 I graduated college! Woop! The ceremony was outside and I was boiling in my black gown, but it was all worth it ![]() September 19, 2018 Since graduating college, I got my foot in the door of local government with an internship, but on September 19th, I was officially hired! My pay tripled from my internship to my real job, and for the first time, I felt stable. I was on the right track and doing a job I loved. I was also saving money finally, which made me able to contribute to the household and not feel so guilty that my man was holding us up financially. November 2018 I bought my first car! A black Jeep Cherokee 2019 Limited ![]() May 2019 I finished my Environmental Education Certificate! ![]() May 18, 2019 We made another big decision and adopted another dog! Joy was from a local rescue - you can read more about her here: "A Happy Home" ![]() October 1, 2019 My job went from 30 hours a week to 40 hours a week! Woohoo! This meant I was able to save even more money and have real vacation days! ![]() Those dates sum up the important milestones I can think of at the moment. I'm excited to see what the next ten years will bring! Every month this past year, I kept up with posting my monthly writing accomplishments in this blog as well for the sole purpose than when it came time to write this post I'm writing now, I will have a timeline of what I wrote throughout the year and something to remind myself of what I can do when I put my mind to it ![]() January 8th: "The Winning Color" ![]() ![]() January 8th: "Grandmasters Through History" ![]() January 17th: "Anxiety" ![]() ![]() January 21st: "Red Wing" ![]() ![]() February 7th: "Vestiges of Life" ![]() February 9th: "Kona Coffee" ![]() February 16th: "The Symptoms of Repression" ![]() February 17th: "Follow Me to the Horizon" ![]() ![]() March 5th: "Perspective" ![]() March 10th: "Enlightenment" ![]() March 10th: "The Age of Enlightenment" ![]() March 17th: "Winter Glass" ![]() March 19th: "The Raucous Song of Spring" ![]() ![]() March 28th: "Body Memory" ![]() ![]() March 29th: "Fleeting Moments" ![]() April 1st: "Callused Hands" ![]() ![]() April 4th: "Mud." ![]() ![]() April 9th: "He Was Too Young" ![]() April 27th: "The Golden Age" ![]() May 12th: "Home Again" ![]() ![]() May 12th: "As Hard As Soft" ![]() May 14th: "Sanguinaria canadensis" ![]() June 7th: "The Cast" ![]() June 20th, "Belonging" ![]() June 20th: "In the sea, I leave a piece of me" ![]() July 4th: "All the Things You've Given Me" ![]() ![]() July 21st: "Over the Coral Jewels" ![]() August 25th: "How Often?" ![]() ![]() September 2nd: "Patches of Red - Rewrite" ![]() ![]() September 2nd: "Diptera's Prize" ![]() ![]() September 5th: "Can't Stop The Feeling" ![]() October 20th: "Fall in Focus" ![]() ![]() October 26th: "A Happy Home" ![]() November 24th: "Attention Seeker" ![]() December 27th: "Another Year Gone By" ![]() December 28th: "Eulogy to the Place that Raised Me" ![]() Not bad ![]() Alrighty! I think I've written long enough. I'll see you again in 2020! Here's to the next ten years! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Happy December! There is now officially one month left until my quarter century birthday! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I only wrote one new thing in November. It was for the 75 word contest and dang! So hard to cram a whole story in 75 words! I wrote the first draft of this on my phone thinking I couldn't possibly have more than 100 or so words, but then got it on the computer and found out it was 375 words! Editing it down was hard, but good practice. You really have to trim it down to only the bare essentials necessary to tell the story, so there wasn't room for all of the description I usually like to add. Anyway, I haven't gotten any reviews for it yet, so I'd love to hear what you have to say. It's short and sweet after all!
I was also blessed to have received a sweet award on this piece, another short story I wrote a few months back:
Oh! And I completed my goal of reading 40 books this year thanks to the WDC Reading Challenge! Breaking the task into monthly chunks was really helpful and made the reading not seem so daunting. Oh, and the Libby app is a life-saver! It means I can be productive during my hour in the car every day ![]() ![]() My goals for December are really trimmed down because I have a bunch of pesky end of year reporting that needs doing for my real world job. I am looking forward to the holiday festivities though! Holiday Stuffs! ![]() ![]() Enter Contests: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Continue Regular Commitments: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Have a great day! -Emily ![]() ![]() |