Maid of Honor, Novelist, and Future Ph.D Holder?
So ... a lot has been happening lately. And I'm going to try to cover it all in one long, random blog. Let's see how this goes ...
For starters, Cindy and Buck are getting married, which I know I have already written on here, BUT I have not stated that yours truly is going to be the maid of honor. Isn't that cool? I've never even been to a wedding before, and now I get to be
someone's maid of honor. I'm very excited. Cindy and Buck are also planning on having the wedding much sooner than they originally thought, which is exciting as well. I am extremely happy for them.
Next ... the professor who agreed to read the first chapter of my novel loved it. He said that his agent knows other agents who specialize in young adult novels, and guess what? They are based in New York! This means so much to me because this is someone who doesn't know me at all, and he really does think that my novel could make it. He also said that he would do whatever he could to help me. I'm going to continue editing for the rest of the summer, and maybe sometime this fall I will officially be able to say that I have an agent. I'm so excited. I have realized over the past six months that being a novelist is what I want to do (on top of many other things of course). But seeing a novel of mine on a self in a bookstore is my number one goal. And I really do think it's possible now.
Speaking of books that are actually on shelves in bookstores ... If you haven't read
Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill or
Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas, I definitely recommend them. I've been doing some research on Rob Thomas (I get bored at work, and I have nothing else to do), and his writing style is very different. He uses a ton of flashbacks in
Rats Saw God, which cracks me up because my professor told me to take out all of my flashbacks. Rob Thomas is also the creator of
Veronica Mars, so if you've watched the show (or at least the first season), you can tell that he is a fan of flashbacks. Maybe that's why I like them so much.
I went to a fishing camp today for the
Gainesville Parks and Recreation, and it reminded me of bait casting class. One of the editors at work came over to me the other day and asked how bait casting was going. I replied with, "Oh, it's been over for a while. Now I'm taking online P.E. and Film and Culture." He then said, "Online P.E.? I'm going to have to look into your college education! I'm worried!" I'm glad that I've been able to take some odd classes. Of course, I'm going to
cherish the days before fall semester. I'll be taking 16 hours. I've never
attempted this before...
As for online P.E. ... It is well, somewhat over. I don't have to go to the gym anymore, but I do have one more exam to do. I am so thankful that I'm done. This class took up so much of my free time, and even though I somewhat yelled at the professor through an e-mail (with good reason), I think he liked me. This is what was posted on my last lab assignment:
Another fine paper, Jennifer. It has been a pleasure to read your work. Keep it up, and in no time, you'll be getting your PH.D in something :)So ... PH.D. here I come!
:)
Engagement
Yes, I am finally engaged!
:)Just kidding! But my best friend since the sixth grade is! I am so happy for her, yet I am so astounded by it. I mean, she's been with her boyfriend for five years now, and they're definitely meant for each other, so I knew that it was going to happen eventually, but it just leaves me in
awe that one of my friends is actually engaged. I sat with this girl in the back of the chorus room in sixth grade, and we talked about boys and put glow-in-the-dark star-printed nail polish on our finger nails! Now she's this beautiful, amazing woman who is
someone's fiance! How crazy is that? Anyway, I am so happy for her, and I wish her and her
fiance the best for the future.
CONGRATULATIONS CINDY AND BUCK! <3
Stress, Soccer, Stability, & Surprise
Stress. Online P.E. ... Oh, if only it were as easy as it sounds. Unfortunately, I am required to take two physical education classes at GSC. I completed one of those requirements during Maymester by taking bait casting, which ended up being so much better than I ever thought it would be. Well, for summer session, I have decided to take online P.E. I have a friend who took it during Maymester, and all she had to do was go to the gym everyday and keep a journal of what she accomplished. Well, I’m taking a different professor who requires you to go to the gym only three days during the week, but he also makes you do exams and other assignments over the internet. Now, this wouldn’t have been too bad if everything had been on the internet when it was supposed to be. Early last week I e-mailed the professor, asking where the labs were, and guess what he wrote back? He basically insulted me, asking if I had gone to the orientation. The orientation was mandatory. He knew that I was there. He was implying that I didn’t pay attention. So I tried to figure out what the heck I was doing wrong, but I couldn’t come up with anything, so I e-mailed him again … and again … and again, and believe me, the e-mails weren’t sweet and sugar-coated. So finally, after a few days of no reply, I get two e-mails. One was an e-mail to the entire class, explaining that there was an issue with the web site, and everything was officially on the web. The other was a personal e-mail to me, apologizing for the inconvenience. I’ll admit, it felt very good to be right. Anyone who went to high school with me knows that I don't stand up for myself that often. And believe me, I never thought I would stand up to a professor like that, but hey, it worked! Of course, I now have been working on lab assignments like crazy because the professor didn’t decide to extend the deadline like he should have. Oh well. At least I actually have the assignments now.
Soccer. As you probably know, I have been volunteering with the Gainesville Parks and Recreation this summer as a photographer. I went to a four to six-year-old soccer camp on Friday, and I honestly had a lot of fun. I played soccer when I was in the fourth grade, and although I eventually realized that sports + me = a bad idea, it was fun when I was able to just goof off with my friends. I was there Friday just as a photographer, but one of the little girls started kicking the ball toward me, and I kept kicking it back. The coach was hilarious, and Beth, the woman who helps coordinate everything, is extremely nice. I’m actually thinking about seeing if I can help with coaching next summer. Soccer is probably the one sport that I could handle. Well, that and fishing, which will actually be the next camp that I’m going to.
Stability. Work has been drifting at a stable pace lately. I helped out with the "Life on Lake Lanier" piece that we’re hoping to publish during the week of the 4th of July by interviewing the owners and customers at a restaurant on the marina. I also had a column published in Friday’s Outdoors section on the bait casting class that I took. I loved writing that article, mostly because I was able to write it from my point of view and make it funny. Having to write straight news stories, where I have no room to include my own thoughts, are difficult for me sometimes. I’m not sure what my next assignment is going to be, but I can officially say that I have been working at the Times for six months now. I can’t believe it’s been that long. I also am very glad that I have had this opportunity. It has helped me realize what my priorities are, and it has (in an odd way) showed me what it is that I really want to do with my life. Of course, I never said that my job wasn't risky. A bomb threat was called into the Times on Friday, and no one could come to work until eleven o'clock. I didn’t know about this because I don’t go in until three, but apparently they had the bomb squad show up and everything. Apparently someone
really didn’t like something we published. Of course, it also could have been that woman who left me a voice message on Thursday, screaming at me for not running her obituary (which I never received from the funeral home). You know, I never thought that I would end up getting yelled at so much with this job, but I'm pretty much used to it now.
Surprise. I’m taking Film and Culture right now, and the professor that I have for it is amazing. He has accomplished so much as a writer, and I am honestly astounded by what he has done over the years. He writes young adult and children novels, and he actually was the writer for some of the
Wishbone and
Are You Afraid of the Dark? novels. He also knows one of the scriptwriters for the
Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and he clued us in on something very important that they left out in the third movie. Anyway, I told him that I’ve been trying to find a publisher for my third novel, and I asked if he could give me any advice. Well, he is currently reading the first chapter of
Catch Me When I Fall, and he said he’d let me know what he thinks on Tuesday. I’m nervous, but at the same time, I’m very excited. He seems to have a lot of connections in the writing and publishing world. I was in a bookstore yesterday, and I started reading a few of the back covers of some of the young adult novels. Let me tell you, there are some pretty dumb books on shelves these days. If they can get there, why can’t mine?
Summer Music
The Great Escape LyricsBoys Like GirlsPaper bags and plastic hearts / All are belongings in shopping carts / It's goodbye / But we got one more night / Let's get drunk and ride around / And make peace with an empty town / We can make it right / Throw it away / Forget yesterday / We'll make the great escape / We won't hear a word they say / They don't know us anyway / Watch it burn / Let it die / Cause we are finally free tonight / Tonight will change our lives / It's so good to be by your side / But we'll cry / We won't give up the fight / We'll scream loud at the top of our lungs / And they'll think it's just cause were young / And we'll feel so alive / Throw it away / Forget yesterday / We'll make the great escape / We won't hear a word they say / They don't know us anyway / Watch it burn / Let it die / Cause we are finally free tonight / All of the wasted time / The hours that were left behind / The answers that we'll never find / They don't mean a thing tonight / Throw it away / Forget yesterday / We'll make the great escape / We won't hear a word they say / They don't know us anyway / Throw it away / Forget yesterday / We'll make the great escape / We won't hear a word they say / They don't know us anyway / Throw it away / Forget yesterday / We'll make the great escape / We won't hear a word they say / They don't know us anyway / Watch it burn / Let it die / Cause we are finally free tonight
Big Girls Don't Cry LyricsFergieDa Da Da Da / The smell of your skin lingers on me now / You're probably on your flight back to your home town / I need some shelter of my own protection baby / To be with myself instead of calamity / Peace, Serenity / I hope you know, I hope you know / That this has nothing to do with you / It's personal, Myself and I / We've got some straightenin' out to do / And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket / But I’ve got to get a move on with my life / Its time to be a big girl now / And big girls don't cry / Don't cry / Don't cry / Don't cry / The path that I'm walking / I must go alone / I must take the baby steps until I'm full grown, full grown / Fairy tales don't always have a happy ending, do they / And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay / I hope you know, I hope you know / That this has nothing to with you / It's personal, Myself and I / We've got some straightenin' out to do / And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket / But I've got to get a move on with my life / Its time to be a big girl now / And big girls don't cry / Like the little school mate in the school yard / We'll play jacks and uno cards / I'll be your best friend and you'll be my Valentine / Yes you can hold my hand if you want to / Cause I want to hold yours too / We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds / But its time for me to go home / Its getting late, dark outside / I need to be with myself instead of calamity / Peace, Serenity / I hope you know, I hope you know / That this has nothing to do with you / It's personal, Myself and I / We've got some straightenin' out to do / And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket / But I've got to get a move on with my life / Its time to be a big girl now / And big girls don't cry / Don't cry / Don't cry / Don't cry
