What is this? A real blog entry? Who knew?
It has been just short of forever since I posted a real entry, and I figured it was about damn time that I did so, so here I am.
Life looks completely different than it did the last time I updated, and to be honest a) I don't remember when that was and b) I don't intend to expend the effort to go look.
First, my daughter is officially a fifteen month old, which absolutely blows my mind. I can't make sense of how fast the first year has gone, and while I don't feel like she'll be starting kindergarten tomorrow or anything, it has definitely been a whirlwind. She talks, babbles, crawls, walks with assistance and self-entertains now, and I am already wondering where my baby has gone.
Second, we are no longer living on our own. All my venting about how rough the last two years have been culminated in my having to break a lease thanks largely to the fact that my job was outsourced to India. That lack of an income was the final nail in the coffin of our own life. Now, we are temporarily living with my family until we get things current. Thankfully, I have finally been offered a job, and once that income begins rolling in, we'll finally see some kind of return to normalcy. It feels good to know that soon - I start November 16th - I will be back to contributing, to having a regular income. Finally, we can see a light at the end of what has been a hell of a long, dark tunnel, and it's so refreshing to be able to have a positive view on life as opposed to such a negative one. Let me tell you: that negativity is, all at once, toxic and unavoidable, and therefore wrecks everything it touches. My husband and I are really fucking lucky that it didn't tear us apart.
But anyway, moving on to more amazing, happier things.
October 2-4 was the Austin City Limits Festival. It was really freaking amazing. I saw an insane amount of bands, ate really fantastic tacos, and spent those three days with wonderful company: Sue, Jen L., and Kimber (who flew in for the Fest from out of state). The following lists the bands I saw, in order:
The Low Anthem
The Knux
The Parlor Mob
The Walkmen
Phoenix
Thievery Corporation
KINGS OF LEON
The Virgins
MuteMath
Airborne Toxic Event
Citizen Cope
The Levon Helm Band
Dave Matthews Band
I actually skipped the third day thanks to unbearably painful sunburn and mud at the park that a small child could drown in. Still, that averages to $14 a band. Pretty fucking sweet if I do say so myself.
I will return to ACL next year, regardless of who the headliners are. Kings of Leon rocked my face off...again...despite the fact that I'd seen them a mere four and a half months prior. Thievery was so freaking cool, Phoenix was the epitome of fun and MuteMath has such a phenomenal energy that it's nearly exhausting to watch them perform. I absolutely loved it.
A few pics:
The Main Entrance
Dude from The Walkmen
The Downtown Austin Skyline (and the crowd)
Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon. THUD.
In other news, I would like to blab about a worthwhile charity called Alex's Lemonade Stand Fund. Alex was a little girl who was diagnosed with cancer as a very young child. She defied several of the odds - which were clearly stacked against her - but eventually passed away, her small body succumbing to the illness that had invaded it. The story is amazing, and you should read it. All that said, I am part of an auction for ALSF; three fellow fanfiction authors have created the Fandom Gives Back Auction, in which people will bid for fanfiction pieces to be written and all proceeds will go to ALSF. I know what you're thinking: Riiiiight. Because that's going to make so much money. *epic eye roll* Well, to that I would say that in September, there was an auction for another worthy cause - breast cancer - and 35K was made.
Take that.
Anyway, I'm offering quite a bit, and my goal is to make at least $500 for the charity with my words alone. It would be amazing to make more, but honestly, I know that every dollar helps. Cancer is children seems so unfair, and terrifying, and heartbreaking; I am confident that this fund can make a difference.
Let me think. Is there anything else I can ramble on about? Hmm. Oh. Am going to attempt NaNoWriMo this year (National Novel Writing Month), but we'll see how it goes. I intend to finish the writing for my work of original fiction and then self edit it during the month of November, when NaNo runs, but I'm uncertain as to how much I'll actually accomplish. If I get at least half of the remaining writing completed, I'll be a happy camper, but finishing the writing and self-editing means I can submit it for publication faster, which is obviously the intended goal.
Anyway, it is officially fifteenminutes past my bedtime (I'm trying to go to bed by 12:30 these days in an effort to get back on a 'daytime' schedule), so I must bid you all adieu.
A
P.S. For the record, I am still madly in love with Rob Pattinson.
*fucking THUD*
Life looks completely different than it did the last time I updated, and to be honest a) I don't remember when that was and b) I don't intend to expend the effort to go look.
First, my daughter is officially a fifteen month old, which absolutely blows my mind. I can't make sense of how fast the first year has gone, and while I don't feel like she'll be starting kindergarten tomorrow or anything, it has definitely been a whirlwind. She talks, babbles, crawls, walks with assistance and self-entertains now, and I am already wondering where my baby has gone.
Second, we are no longer living on our own. All my venting about how rough the last two years have been culminated in my having to break a lease thanks largely to the fact that my job was outsourced to India. That lack of an income was the final nail in the coffin of our own life. Now, we are temporarily living with my family until we get things current. Thankfully, I have finally been offered a job, and once that income begins rolling in, we'll finally see some kind of return to normalcy. It feels good to know that soon - I start November 16th - I will be back to contributing, to having a regular income. Finally, we can see a light at the end of what has been a hell of a long, dark tunnel, and it's so refreshing to be able to have a positive view on life as opposed to such a negative one. Let me tell you: that negativity is, all at once, toxic and unavoidable, and therefore wrecks everything it touches. My husband and I are really fucking lucky that it didn't tear us apart.
But anyway, moving on to more amazing, happier things.
October 2-4 was the Austin City Limits Festival. It was really freaking amazing. I saw an insane amount of bands, ate really fantastic tacos, and spent those three days with wonderful company: Sue, Jen L., and Kimber (who flew in for the Fest from out of state). The following lists the bands I saw, in order:
The Low Anthem
The Knux
The Parlor Mob
The Walkmen
Phoenix
Thievery Corporation
KINGS OF LEON
The Virgins
MuteMath
Airborne Toxic Event
Citizen Cope
The Levon Helm Band
Dave Matthews Band
I actually skipped the third day thanks to unbearably painful sunburn and mud at the park that a small child could drown in. Still, that averages to $14 a band. Pretty fucking sweet if I do say so myself.
I will return to ACL next year, regardless of who the headliners are. Kings of Leon rocked my face off...again...despite the fact that I'd seen them a mere four and a half months prior. Thievery was so freaking cool, Phoenix was the epitome of fun and MuteMath has such a phenomenal energy that it's nearly exhausting to watch them perform. I absolutely loved it.
A few pics:
The Main Entrance
Dude from The Walkmen
The Downtown Austin Skyline (and the crowd)
Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon. THUD.
In other news, I would like to blab about a worthwhile charity called Alex's Lemonade Stand Fund. Alex was a little girl who was diagnosed with cancer as a very young child. She defied several of the odds - which were clearly stacked against her - but eventually passed away, her small body succumbing to the illness that had invaded it. The story is amazing, and you should read it. All that said, I am part of an auction for ALSF; three fellow fanfiction authors have created the Fandom Gives Back Auction, in which people will bid for fanfiction pieces to be written and all proceeds will go to ALSF. I know what you're thinking: Riiiiight. Because that's going to make so much money. *epic eye roll* Well, to that I would say that in September, there was an auction for another worthy cause - breast cancer - and 35K was made.
Take that.
Anyway, I'm offering quite a bit, and my goal is to make at least $500 for the charity with my words alone. It would be amazing to make more, but honestly, I know that every dollar helps. Cancer is children seems so unfair, and terrifying, and heartbreaking; I am confident that this fund can make a difference.
Let me think. Is there anything else I can ramble on about? Hmm. Oh. Am going to attempt NaNoWriMo this year (National Novel Writing Month), but we'll see how it goes. I intend to finish the writing for my work of original fiction and then self edit it during the month of November, when NaNo runs, but I'm uncertain as to how much I'll actually accomplish. If I get at least half of the remaining writing completed, I'll be a happy camper, but finishing the writing and self-editing means I can submit it for publication faster, which is obviously the intended goal.
Anyway, it is officially fifteenminutes past my bedtime (I'm trying to go to bed by 12:30 these days in an effort to get back on a 'daytime' schedule), so I must bid you all adieu.
A
P.S. For the record, I am still madly in love with Rob Pattinson.
*fucking THUD*