Five on Friday

 1. Looking over my blog posts recently I can report that they are decidedly political. (Go figure) I am not apologetic because politics is a lot of what makes me, me. But, since this blog is mostly about me and my pursuit of the allusive book contract, I’m posting more policy and political stuff on my Obama.com blog page here. So many feel a sense of ownership after this week’s amazing events. Come on over if you’d like to stay apart of the Obama community.

2. Like d_michiko_f  I have a husband who is often out and about on business. (I haven’t counted the total days this year Debbie, but I’m sure you’ve got me beat.) To those of you who single parent all the time you know that it is no piece of cake. But I think the difference is that when you are always the single parent you own that constant sense of decision making and responsibility in a way that on again off again single parenting does not allow. Hubby will be home on Sunday. Good thing because I’ve run out of energy. Last night we went out for dinner, this morning we ate breakfast at McDonald’s, and tonight we had macaroni and cheese (and broccoli)  Needless to say, I’m ready for my sweetie to come home.

3. The reason we ate at McDonald’s is because my children left their homework papers at school. This has been a regular issue for my organizationally challenged (OC) child so last night I barked, "We will wake up and go to school at 7 to get those papers and you will complete your work!" Well at 7:30 we did indeed make it school. "Mom," says my OC child, "it’s not going to be open." "Why didn’t you say that to me last night," I asked, "or this morning when we got in the car." "Because I didn’t think you’d really make us do it," he said. I got a chuckle out of that one. Once in, we got the papers and staked out the McDonald’s fun room as a quiet study hall away from the old guy coffee club. (free refills) They finished everything.

4. I finished my freelance newsletter and a press release in the midst of election euphoria. So glad! Today, I worked on getting out the rest of the workshop contracts. Now onto the folks who are doing any sort of crits. Hopefully I can take a few days to just do novel work and not worry about freelance stuff. I’ve noticed that my internet cruising has decreased sharply since the election was decided.

5. Today is poetry Friday. Here is a fall acrostic from my son. E.C. Boll (his own spelling)
Leaves chanje color
Evereone is playing
Apples are ripe
Varee quiet
Everething is still
Sharing
It reminds me a little of cfaughnan ‘s thoughts today.

Victory Speech

I keep reading and rereading the news today to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming. To make sure that the results stuck and to feel a sense of connection with the rest of the country and the world. I am in awe of the international reaction and feel a sense of America’s importance in a way I’ve never experienced. So many were looking to our nation to see what we would do. Many have commented that Obama, a single human being, does not bring change to America, it is a changing America that made Obama the President-elect. This is close to how I explained it to my boys.

I told them that America is growing up. She is learning to judge people by who they are and not just what they look like. She is learning to share and be kind to others. She appreciates intellectual conversation. Below is the part of Obama’s speech that resonated for me, especially when that huge crowd responded with "Yes we can." I called out too. Did you? Click for the entire transcript.

"This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight’s about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She is a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election, except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons, because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America: the heartache and the hope, the struggle and the progress, the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed, yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the Dust Bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge inSelma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We shall overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the Moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there’s so much more to do. So tonight let us ask ourselves, if our children should live to see the next century, if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time — to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope; and where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can."

 There comes  a point in my WIP where I am almost done and then I decide that I suck. I cannot write. I shouldn’t be writing and the thought of writing one more word will be pointless. No more pointless, might I say, then pilfering my child’s Halloween candy, checking election news for some infamous gaffe, checking my email every 2 seconds, walking around my house aimlessly, starting and stopping various projects…. ARGH I cannot focus today but this is the day that I put aside for novel writing. I hate it when the schedule doesn’t work. How did it get to be 1:30. I’ve been up for so long and feel that I’ve done nothing. Some one please give me a good cyber- kick in the pants. 

Recent Reads

Recently, much of my time alone has been spent working on my freelance writing or reading. Here is a short list with brief notes and thoughts.
Papertowns: This brandy new young adult release from Co-King of Nerdfighteria, John Green debuted on the New York Times Bestsellers list. (With a little help from his brother, Co-King Hank Green and a whole lot of help from the nerdfighters.) Q, the main character, while journeying to find his missing next door neighbor, Margo, also goes on an existential journey to find himself. What do we project to the world? Who are we under our projections? Do we really know the people we call our friends? What are we capable of? How are we connected? Q, tackles all of these questions as he explores a clue that Margo left behind. "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman. John delivers a smart mystery (both the clues and the structure) and his grasp of modern young adult technology and dialogue is spot on. 

Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, Wendy Mass: Jeremy Fink also has an existential journey to find out the meaning of life and his place in the world. Jeremy’s father sends him a locked box on his 13th birthday that holds the meaning of life. The problem? Jeremy’s dad died five years ago and the keys are missing. Jeremy and his best friend go on a path that intersects with interesting people and forces them to look at the importance (or irrelevance) of things. This book is best when Mass introduces us (and Jeremy) to interesting characters but I had a hard time believing the structure of the mystery. Without spoiling, it seemed that too many adults were involved in helping Jeremy make the discoveries that were necessary.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: There are few Holocaust/World War II books that I would characterize as light but this is one of them. Let me explain that by light I don’t mean slight or funny but hopeful and accessible. This book is told at the end of the war in letters from a London writer, Juliet Ashton, to her publisher and the inhabitants of Guernsey Island. Their trials and tribulations are made light by Juliet’s positive spirit and the amazing island community into which she is adopted. Readers be warned: there are tears involved. The book was written by Marianne Shaffer who died earlier this year and the task to complete the book was take on by Anne Barrows. A huge thank you to kellyrfineman for reviewing this book and bringing it to my attention. Perhaps she’ll post the link to her review in the comments. There is a video interview with the one of the author’s here.

Audio Books:

Rowan Hood, Nancy Springer: An English adventure is made even more believable with the narration of Emily Gray. Rowan is the daughter of Robin Hood. That is what she’s always been told by her magical mother. But is she? In this swashbuckling coming of age tale, Rowan (Rosemary) reconnects with the spirits of the Earth, the Alpha, and taps her inner strength to become a true outlaw. 

The Subtle Knife, Philip Pullman: Perhaps I am the only one to come so late to the His Dark Materials series but I am truly enjoying it. As any good second in a trilogy, (for movies think Empire Strikes Back or Dead Man’s Chest (Pirates of the Carribean)) The Subtle Knife takes us deeper into the characters and defines the hero’s journey more clearly. It also leaves us with an ending that is less than satisfying but leads us deftly into the third book (The Amber Spyglass) and into the inevitable battle. Pullman introduces worlds upon worlds that all have their own set of rules and characters. This full cast recording was fabulous. The voices help you keep the worlds distinct and also make the listener’s imagining more vivd. 

What are your reading?

Reunions and such

This weekend I didn’t attend my 20th reunion but I did go to a lovely party hosted by a fellow classmate. If you read my blog regularly you know that before the event I was full of healthy anxiety. I didn’t need to worry. Twenty years seems to mellow out people and the cliques in which they were involved. It was interesting to find out what everyone has been doing in their lives. There were a lot of people who had gone into teaching, and many involved in politics and production work. A modern twist on an old ritual, everyone passed around their cell phones with pictures of their children on the screen. This made me smile.

The counterpoint to this experience was High School Musical 3. Yes, I was one of those families helping the Disney empire rake in billions this weekend. The movie is everything you’ve come to expect from the franchise. My two boys love the hip hop scenes and there were too few of those. Instead they had to deal with quite a bit of romance and even a … kiss. (GROSS!) This was actually the funniest part of the movie. Troy and Gabriella finally kiss, it is all serious and in the packed theatre we hear a single kid, "Ewwwww" which started a chorus of "Ewwww…" and then all of the parents laughed hysterically because we each thought that it would be our kid to start the chorus.

After the flick, I went into Disney repair mode. I’m a sucker for a sappy Disney flick but I can see the misogyny coming a mile away and always feel required to point it out to the kids. I’d like to have boys who are respectful to whoever it is they choose to like and know that not all girls feel that they’ve "waited their whole lives for prom." That said, coupled with my reunion and my walk down memory lane I think that when I was 15 and 16, I really wanted the East High experience however ridiculous and romantic and absolutely unattainable that is. Maybe these movies and teen mags are so successful because as mature and educated and wordly as they may be, so many teen girls have these expectations. As a writer for children, I  think we have to challenge this assumption but I do wonder. 

I think the biggest discoveries at a reunion is within one’s self. I often remember my high school experience as one of being unwanted. I certainly had my share of unrequited love. I identified myself as having only one or two good friends. Looking back, it is sort of silly actually. I was very involved I was on the crew team, in plays, ran for senior class president…but still I always felt on the outside looking in.  Perhaps this is the angst of high school no matter who you are and how involved you choose to be. Perhaps with the expectations I had, nothing would have been good. Perhaps I just need some therapy.

Five on Friday

 1. I am almost done with my freelance articles for the month and they are due next Wednesday. I thought they were due today. Isn’t it nice when you find a little breathing room?
2. I am going to a party tonight thrown by a woman I knew in HS. Tomorrow is my 20th reunion. ($200 per couple) I’m not going to that but I am going to this before party (donation to support elementary baseball, I can do that). I’m going to see a bunch of people who have recently become my friend on facebook. Isn’t it funny how cyberfriendships grow easier than real-time friendships?
3. So I’m kinda freakin’ out about this and went into a tizzy of doing laundry at 6:45 this morning so I’d be sure to have the right thing to wear. ACK! I already sound like I’m in High School again. Maybe I can at least get some research out of this.
4. Saturday, I get to see my good buddy Jen, we’re meeting for breakfast. Then I’m going to the homecoming football game which actually sounds fun to me.
5. The personal trainer at the gym must think that I’m way stronger than I am ’cause the workout she made for me is wicked hard. I guess I’ll need the strong back and arms to finish my novel.