UGH! UGH! UGH! I've been sitting here for the last few hours going over my first chapter for The Seven Sisters Brandywine, trying to figure out a different way of writing it and getting my point across, but so far no ideas spring to mind. All I know is that this version of the chapter born last June was once beloved by me, and now I kind of hate it. I'm not sure why. I think it's all in my opening paragraph, it feels forced to me and I'm not quite yet sure what to do about it.
Of course, this chapter has come a very very very long way since my original prologue, which I did kind of love despite knowing it was incredibly problematic. I'm hoping to get some inspiration for a new way to open the book. The book opening always seems to be the place I stumble around the most and then tend to wallow in. I just have a hard time moving forward when I don't have the clearest sense possible of where I'm begining. At least I know that J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkein had the same problems. Apparently JK rewrote the very first chapter about 50 times. And Tolkein had to restart the LOTR several times (but that was mostly because he never plotted out what he was doing).
At least I know where I want to go and have a pretty decent draft and really detailed and intricate revision plan. Let's just hope that this current frustration over forced opening sentences that don't capture the enchantment I feel with this story passes and quickly so I can get on writing.
On a positive note, I typed up all of my creative writing exercises today and I am really quite pleased with them. It's probably keeping me from freaking out completely over this chapter at the moment, though after all of this time writing, I've come to learn that things work themselves out in a way that you don't always expect, and unfortunately, in a timeline you are not always counting on. Anyway, that is my mini-rant for the day, and I hope to report back soon able to say that I'm winning or have at least evened the score.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Driving Lessons!
So I have Eva and Elissa both vying for practice time in my car at the same time! And me being the cool nice sweet big sister that I am have been graciously taking them out to practice (Eva on the road, Elissa in parking lots). And wow, being a driving instructor is stressful. I don't know how the pros do it but at least they have the benefit of using a special insured car with their own set of brakes. I found it really hard to let go of the wheel even though I was in the passenger seat and if I had my own set of brakes, I'd be slamming on them every second. But I do have to say that Elissa has improved a ton over the course of three very short lessons and Eva is getting used to my car and parallel parking (using my technique) pretty well. I think I could see this as practice for when my own children are ready to drive, but seriously, I'll be calling up the driving instructors the minute they get their permits.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Back in the States!
Well, I'm back and I'm missing Scotland, a lot! I miss the people, I miss the landscape and the sky (but not that wet stuff that came out of it so constantly). I also miss the people, but I get to see most of them this weekend, yay! But here is what I appreciate about being back at home. I have access to my entire wardrobe. I can have cheap and good tasting vegan food anytime I want. When I spend a dollar, I am really spending a dollar, not $2.50 or whatever. And I'm back with all my sisters (except Julie who went off to her first year of college at Carnegie Mellon). It's very odd getting used to being back at home again and then it's not wierd at all. I did feel a bit rusty behind the wheel though and I had one (ok two) lapses in thinking I should be in the left lane rather than the right which is strange since I never actually drove in Scotland, AND when I backseat drove I always thought of driving in the wrong lane. So I guess Scotland's traffic laws got to me more than I thought. Maybe on my next trip to the UK I'll be the one renting a car. But anyway, here is the recap from my last night in Scotland. The Wheatgrass Shooters rocked the final party with our rendition of the final dance from Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion. Courtney we need that video! Thanks to Nora's fabulous directing skills, I had so much fun!!! And other highlights from the night, Courtney won an award for her hats. 
Here are some highlights from the Final final party. 
Courtney and I got pose happy...there are a lot more of these but I'll spare you the self love. 
The tutors reenacted Winnie the Pooh quite hilariously. 
Iman's awesome rendition of Flight of the Conchords songage 
The Turkish Delights taught us a song 
The Korean girls performed a skit 
Mohsen sang an incredibly beautiful song 
Justin's solo I got to watch Iron Man on my flight home (finally) and as much as I like Robert Downey Jr.....I really don't know what all the fuss is about. I also watched some of Made of Honor, but fell asleep by the time they got to Scotland, and then I watched a little bit of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and squeeled internally when I saw the Highlands flashing past them through their Hogwarts Express window. And I can officially say that all fear of flying is gone baby gone. Coming to Scotland was bearable (which is saying something) but the ride home was a breeze! I didn't feel a thing and I successfully ate my entire vegan meal on board and snack. Yay! I can be a frequent flyer now. One small snag though in my flying bliss is that they lost one of my bags. Though honestly I was surprised that any of my bags made it onto the flight since I barely made it on. I was totally reliving that scene at the end of Love Actually when the super cute kid whose in love with the American girl and then plays the younger version of Tristan in Tristan and Isolde is racing through Heathrow. My flight from Edinburgh got to Heathrow in record time, and then suddenly we were all sitting on the plane for a half hour while we waited for stairs.
The chase comes about 3 mins into the clip. So just imagine me...minus the guards. Ok, so the big exciting news in my life is that my baby sister went to college, the last of us to do so. So in true Gilmore Girls fashion and in my attempts to continually act the part of the embarassing mother when it comes to Julie, here are pictures of her leaving for Carnegie Mellon.
And one final taste of Scotland and the Fringe festival. I taped this my last time I walked on the Royal Mile just to give you an idea of how crazy the Fringe can get.
Here are some highlights from the Final final party. 
Courtney and I got pose happy...there are a lot more of these but I'll spare you the self love. 
The tutors reenacted Winnie the Pooh quite hilariously. 
Iman's awesome rendition of Flight of the Conchords songage 
The Turkish Delights taught us a song 
The Korean girls performed a skit 
Mohsen sang an incredibly beautiful song 
Justin's solo I got to watch Iron Man on my flight home (finally) and as much as I like Robert Downey Jr.....I really don't know what all the fuss is about. I also watched some of Made of Honor, but fell asleep by the time they got to Scotland, and then I watched a little bit of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and squeeled internally when I saw the Highlands flashing past them through their Hogwarts Express window. And I can officially say that all fear of flying is gone baby gone. Coming to Scotland was bearable (which is saying something) but the ride home was a breeze! I didn't feel a thing and I successfully ate my entire vegan meal on board and snack. Yay! I can be a frequent flyer now. One small snag though in my flying bliss is that they lost one of my bags. Though honestly I was surprised that any of my bags made it onto the flight since I barely made it on. I was totally reliving that scene at the end of Love Actually when the super cute kid whose in love with the American girl and then plays the younger version of Tristan in Tristan and Isolde is racing through Heathrow. My flight from Edinburgh got to Heathrow in record time, and then suddenly we were all sitting on the plane for a half hour while we waited for stairs.The chase comes about 3 mins into the clip. So just imagine me...minus the guards. Ok, so the big exciting news in my life is that my baby sister went to college, the last of us to do so. So in true Gilmore Girls fashion and in my attempts to continually act the part of the embarassing mother when it comes to Julie, here are pictures of her leaving for Carnegie Mellon.
And one final taste of Scotland and the Fringe festival. I taped this my last time I walked on the Royal Mile just to give you an idea of how crazy the Fringe can get.Thursday, August 14, 2008
OMG Last Days at SUISS!!!
It's soooo hard to believe since these 6 weeks just flew on by like nothing, but today was actually the last day of SUISS and my last official day in Scotland:-( The last two weeks have been down right insane between attending class and lecture, finding myself at various Fringe shows (dance, comedy, theatre) and going to the Edinburgh International Book Festival....I don't know where the time went, and also, not quite sure what happened in between the time I wasn't blogging. There was just so much going on. So I'm going to try and recap the highlights for you, so you can experience the magic for yourself, but also so I don't forget!
So first major thing to discuss here would be THE SILENT DISCO!!!!!!
This was the by far the best event we went to at the Fringe, ok the best event in Scotland...this was the BEST event EVER!!!! At the disco, everyone is given a set of headphones that tune into two radio stations playing the music of two djs at the event. So you might be the only person in your area dancing to a song or people are singing out loud because no one can really hear them. The funniest thing was taking the headphones off because you could hear really off tune choirs singing two different songs simultaneously. Wearing the headphones made the event a little bit internal. There wasn't the sense of people watching you, so you were free to let loose and dance like an idiot because, well, no one could say for sure if you were dancing to the wrong beat. It was liberating!!! Nora and I ran around the dance floor like idiots not caring what we looked like or who saw us. The disco ran until 4am and we stayed until the very end like true champions!! Here are a few pics from the event. If there is a silent disco anywhere in the US, I am there!
So after 4 and half hours of dancing...yes...4 and half hours of dancing (WOO!) I slept really really really late the next day and luckily Courtney came to wake me up just in time to get ready to go see the Fringe comedy show, Potter Potted where all seven Harry Potter books are parodied in 70 minutes. It was pretty hilarious and the audience even got to play a makeshift game of quidditch which was awesome. Probably the best part was the finale where Harry and Voldemort both sang "I Will Survive."
Courtney and I walked around a bit checking out some of the vintage stores and tents on the Grassmarket, where some really interesting people walked by.
And I found the greatest necklace EVER!!!
Later that night became the first of a long week of late night take out carpet picnics. By week 6, Pollock halls food was just not cutting it for any of us, and we began attending all kinds of events at the Book Festival and Fringe shows that always seemed to conflict with dinner. So Courtney Jen and I went for some Chinese food (I can't believe how much the Chinese food follows me, I'll never escape!) and sat on the floor and ate until we were really really really happy, lather rinse repeat etc...
Phil had his 28th birthday this week too -Happy Birthday Phil! And to celebrate we all went out and got to meet his girlfriend, Jen who is sooo fun!
At Oddfellows...
The next section of the blog is entitled...WHEAT GRASS WHEAT GRASS WHEAT GRASS!!!!!
On my way to the book festival one morning I happened to pass by a smoothie/juice bar and went in to get a smoothie. They had wheat grass shots so I ordered one thinking it would be added to my drink the way it usually is when I make my smoothies at home...but instead, I got a small shot glass of wheat grass on a plate with an orange. Ok...I didn't know it would do this, but I felt the shot going through my body instantly and had this sensation that nutrients and nourishment were pouring into my blood stream. I felt sooo great afterwards and it showed so much that Nora decided, she wanted the experiend too.
So the next day we were going to the festival, we went into do some wheat grass shots together and made Brendan try it too.
We were bouncing off the walls after this and since the three of us were performing together at the final party, we decided to name ourselves The Wheat Grass Shooters!
I am definitely going to start growing my own wheat grass when I get home and start making shots of it. It was the coolest thing and exactly what I envisioned for the raw cafe Eva and I eventually want to open (The Cacao Tree).
Wednesday we returned to Rosslyn Chapel to see a production of Romeo and Juliet which I was super excited about, because honestly, how much better could it get than Romeo and Juliet in Rosslyn Chapel! This time though, we were determined when we got there to go down those steps that we'd seen before and find William Wallace's hiding cave!!! It was our mission. But as soon as we began heading down the path and down the stairs, it became clear that maybe this was not the best decision because it was really muddy and because all of my shoes were still soaking wet from the 50 days of rain we've had here, I opted for flip flops. Bad move!!! Luckily I never slipped or fell but came close. Anyway, walking towards the cave was really pretty.
20 minutes til our show was to begin, we realized exactly why Wallace hid in this cave...it was too well hidden. We couldn't find it. Perhaps we would have if we had a guide book with us, or we weren't in a rush to get seats for the show, but once we hit a fork in the paths, we knew it was time for the show. Thwarted by fate again!!!
The play was really neat. The actors performed in the middle of the Chapel with all of us sitting in a circle around them (so getting front row seats was a piece of cake). There were only three actors for the entire thing and they all played each others parts when neccessary though Romeo and Juliet stayed consistent throughout. It was a pretty decent production though not the best I've seen. I know not a lot of people are a fan of Baz Lurhman's Romeo and Juliet or the Zefirelli one, but I can't help but love them a lot since I was introduced to them at age 13 (I mean come on, who doesn't love that at 13!). So it was hard to get those versions out of my head and I was sad that Mercutio's Queen Mab speech was cut. Romeo was played kind of goofy at the begining and then a little bit like a whiny kid in the second half rather than a lover torn into despair. I know that Romeo is a pretty fickle immature character, but still, if he and Juliet are willing to die for each other (or from lack of being together...whatever) there needs to be a little bit more to show us why they are ready to go to such desperate means (however immature and irrational they are). So not my favorite Romeo. ROmeo also played Lady Capulet. I could handle all of the other actors switching roles and genders left and right, but I just could not buy Lady Capulet. I think a wig or a headpiece would have helped.
Probably the best production Ive seen of ROmeo and Juliet was at Pennstate by a group I thinked named No Refund Theatre. That was excellent! But this was also very entertaining. One cool thing was they took everyone outside for the balcony scene and Juliet stood up on her makeshift balcony (scaffolding) outside the chapel. It was really neat. It was like it wasn't a play anymore, but you were actually witnessing something happening. I really enjoyed it!
Afterwards we had to walk about a mile in the rain through the country side to get a bus home...not the best, but it worked out well in the end and led to another very satisfying carpet picnice, lather rinse repeat.
And then it was the last day of class and the SUISS program:(
We got early and headed to the Pear Tree as is the custom.
Afterwards we took our final romp around town before it was time to go home and pack
and get ready for the final party. And since I am supposed to check out of my room in 10 minutes, we will end here and I will finish blogging on Scotland when I return home sometime around midnight tonight. I am so sad to leave especially so many of my friends here, but so excited to see the people I love from home. So until then!
So first major thing to discuss here would be THE SILENT DISCO!!!!!!
This was the by far the best event we went to at the Fringe, ok the best event in Scotland...this was the BEST event EVER!!!! At the disco, everyone is given a set of headphones that tune into two radio stations playing the music of two djs at the event. So you might be the only person in your area dancing to a song or people are singing out loud because no one can really hear them. The funniest thing was taking the headphones off because you could hear really off tune choirs singing two different songs simultaneously. Wearing the headphones made the event a little bit internal. There wasn't the sense of people watching you, so you were free to let loose and dance like an idiot because, well, no one could say for sure if you were dancing to the wrong beat. It was liberating!!! Nora and I ran around the dance floor like idiots not caring what we looked like or who saw us. The disco ran until 4am and we stayed until the very end like true champions!! Here are a few pics from the event. If there is a silent disco anywhere in the US, I am there!
So after 4 and half hours of dancing...yes...4 and half hours of dancing (WOO!) I slept really really really late the next day and luckily Courtney came to wake me up just in time to get ready to go see the Fringe comedy show, Potter Potted where all seven Harry Potter books are parodied in 70 minutes. It was pretty hilarious and the audience even got to play a makeshift game of quidditch which was awesome. Probably the best part was the finale where Harry and Voldemort both sang "I Will Survive."
Courtney and I walked around a bit checking out some of the vintage stores and tents on the Grassmarket, where some really interesting people walked by.
And I found the greatest necklace EVER!!!
Later that night became the first of a long week of late night take out carpet picnics. By week 6, Pollock halls food was just not cutting it for any of us, and we began attending all kinds of events at the Book Festival and Fringe shows that always seemed to conflict with dinner. So Courtney Jen and I went for some Chinese food (I can't believe how much the Chinese food follows me, I'll never escape!) and sat on the floor and ate until we were really really really happy, lather rinse repeat etc...
Phil had his 28th birthday this week too -Happy Birthday Phil! And to celebrate we all went out and got to meet his girlfriend, Jen who is sooo fun!
At Oddfellows...
The next section of the blog is entitled...WHEAT GRASS WHEAT GRASS WHEAT GRASS!!!!!
On my way to the book festival one morning I happened to pass by a smoothie/juice bar and went in to get a smoothie. They had wheat grass shots so I ordered one thinking it would be added to my drink the way it usually is when I make my smoothies at home...but instead, I got a small shot glass of wheat grass on a plate with an orange. Ok...I didn't know it would do this, but I felt the shot going through my body instantly and had this sensation that nutrients and nourishment were pouring into my blood stream. I felt sooo great afterwards and it showed so much that Nora decided, she wanted the experiend too.
So the next day we were going to the festival, we went into do some wheat grass shots together and made Brendan try it too.
We were bouncing off the walls after this and since the three of us were performing together at the final party, we decided to name ourselves The Wheat Grass Shooters!
I am definitely going to start growing my own wheat grass when I get home and start making shots of it. It was the coolest thing and exactly what I envisioned for the raw cafe Eva and I eventually want to open (The Cacao Tree).
Wednesday we returned to Rosslyn Chapel to see a production of Romeo and Juliet which I was super excited about, because honestly, how much better could it get than Romeo and Juliet in Rosslyn Chapel! This time though, we were determined when we got there to go down those steps that we'd seen before and find William Wallace's hiding cave!!! It was our mission. But as soon as we began heading down the path and down the stairs, it became clear that maybe this was not the best decision because it was really muddy and because all of my shoes were still soaking wet from the 50 days of rain we've had here, I opted for flip flops. Bad move!!! Luckily I never slipped or fell but came close. Anyway, walking towards the cave was really pretty.
20 minutes til our show was to begin, we realized exactly why Wallace hid in this cave...it was too well hidden. We couldn't find it. Perhaps we would have if we had a guide book with us, or we weren't in a rush to get seats for the show, but once we hit a fork in the paths, we knew it was time for the show. Thwarted by fate again!!!
The play was really neat. The actors performed in the middle of the Chapel with all of us sitting in a circle around them (so getting front row seats was a piece of cake). There were only three actors for the entire thing and they all played each others parts when neccessary though Romeo and Juliet stayed consistent throughout. It was a pretty decent production though not the best I've seen. I know not a lot of people are a fan of Baz Lurhman's Romeo and Juliet or the Zefirelli one, but I can't help but love them a lot since I was introduced to them at age 13 (I mean come on, who doesn't love that at 13!). So it was hard to get those versions out of my head and I was sad that Mercutio's Queen Mab speech was cut. Romeo was played kind of goofy at the begining and then a little bit like a whiny kid in the second half rather than a lover torn into despair. I know that Romeo is a pretty fickle immature character, but still, if he and Juliet are willing to die for each other (or from lack of being together...whatever) there needs to be a little bit more to show us why they are ready to go to such desperate means (however immature and irrational they are). So not my favorite Romeo. ROmeo also played Lady Capulet. I could handle all of the other actors switching roles and genders left and right, but I just could not buy Lady Capulet. I think a wig or a headpiece would have helped.
Probably the best production Ive seen of ROmeo and Juliet was at Pennstate by a group I thinked named No Refund Theatre. That was excellent! But this was also very entertaining. One cool thing was they took everyone outside for the balcony scene and Juliet stood up on her makeshift balcony (scaffolding) outside the chapel. It was really neat. It was like it wasn't a play anymore, but you were actually witnessing something happening. I really enjoyed it!
Afterwards we had to walk about a mile in the rain through the country side to get a bus home...not the best, but it worked out well in the end and led to another very satisfying carpet picnice, lather rinse repeat.
And then it was the last day of class and the SUISS program:(
We got early and headed to the Pear Tree as is the custom.
Afterwards we took our final romp around town before it was time to go home and pack
and get ready for the final party. And since I am supposed to check out of my room in 10 minutes, we will end here and I will finish blogging on Scotland when I return home sometime around midnight tonight. I am so sad to leave especially so many of my friends here, but so excited to see the people I love from home. So until then!
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