Frustrating Writers

Hi, lovely people!

So, one of my occupations is going well. I'm still enjoying my job at B&N with working the cash register and helping out at customer service. There's been a few times when I make some minor mistakes because I'm still learning stuff, but my coworkers are awesome and I'm getting better every day. Our customers are pretty sweet, too; a lot of them are people my grandparents' age, but they're so nice to serve, as are those with kids because they're cute and make good conversation (as long as they're not crying). And thanks to my padded socks, my feet don't hurt as much as they used to. Finally, I had my first closing shift. B&N closes at 10, and when it does the people left in the store basically team up and walk around, rearranging messes and putting back out of place merchandise where its supposed to go before leaving the store as a group. Usually it's the second floor that needs more work than the first, and everyone says it's going to be a nightmare when the holidays start. But for now, it was really easy, and it was satisfying to walk out the door knowing I helped out.

The internship is another story. Not that I hate it; on the contrary, I love it and love doing it. The problem are the writer's I'm assigned. If I didn't say so last week, I had six articles to look over, but none of them were posted until Sunday afternoon and evening and I had to stay up late to get them done in time. This time, one writer did post her articles on time, but the other has only posted two so far out of four, and I REALLY don't want a repeat of last week. If this continues, I'm going to ask my boss if I can have another writer because I can't afford late nights with the early mornings I have. This makes me, as a writer, worry about my own relationship with Rich-the-editor; I hope I was never like this with him when we were working on SA.

Writing wise, no big news. Still chugging away at my latest manuscript and getting into the story.

Weekly (Dis)Likes:

Like 1: Phoenix Wright phone app. This is a game where you play as a lawyer trying to prove your clients' innocence in various cases, and it's addicting. It takes a fair bit of logic, but it really makes you think, and the stories are so funny. Worth it.

Like 2: My Pandora radio station. The radio in my car is busted, so my iPhone to the rescue!  

Dislike 1: Writers who don't meet deadlines. See above.

Dislike 2: Not getting enough sleep and sleeping half the day away. Enough said.

And quote!

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." -Milton Berle

Bye,
Colleen

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho (It's Off to Work I Go)

Hello, nation!

I know, I've been a bit overdue for a post, and that's partly do to my own laziness. See, I was working on an entry for last week, but the internet froze and I had to shut it down, which made me lose what I had written. Bad reasoning, I know, but don't say you haven't ever done the same before with something you've done.

Book writing front remains slow in terms of publishing and whatnot. I'm still writing, though, which is good after the long break I've had, not to mention I like where my current story is going. Right now I'm doing a chase scene with the main character and her friend vs. a whole bunch of cops and flying cars, so it's a good thing I've seen plenty of action movies to know how to end this.

My internship is excellent. In case you haven't been told, I applied for and was accepted for an associate editor's internship for a fashion blogging website called The Fashion Foot. It is unpaid, but it's good experience since I still do want to work at a publishing house, and it's something I can do straight from my house. The articles I've been working on are really fun: I basically look over 8 to 12 of them during the weekend and fix up the grammar and pictures, and they're about a variety of subjects. My favorite so favorite is an article about DC's Batgirl and her recently updated costume. Go and check it and other articles out at http://thefashionfoot.com/

Work is going well, too. I actually got to do customer service, which is more than just standing behind the assigned desk. I actually got to learn how to work a handheld scanner which I use to put books away in the right place, and I lead people around the store to wherever their book may be. Which is good, because I want to be moving since my feet STILL haven't gotten used to me being on them all the time. But yesterday I actually went shopping for some more work cloths, and not only did I get a cute pair of pants and some shirts, I got some padded socks that will help with feet. And cashier work is going smoothly too. One of my manager's actually told me that I've been doing a good job with selling B&N memberships, so that's a definite confidence booster. It's nice to know I'm doing my job well, and this makes me want to do it better.

Bi-Weekly (Dis)Likes:

Like 1: Getting told I've been doing a good job selling memberships. See above.

Like 2: My internship. See above again.

Like 3: Shopping and getting new cloths. See above again.

Like 4: Mt new sunglasses. I got a pair of gray-rimmed, dark Michael Kors sunglasses, and they look fabulous on me. It's helps that they're also prescription so I don't have to wear them over my regular glasses.

Like 5: Pandora radio app on my phone. The radio's on the fritz for the car I drive, so I just turn that on and it provides me with all the good music I want. Now if only it had a repeat button...

Dislike 1: Everybody leaving. My mom's moving to Arizona, and my baby sister's off to college. I love them very much, and while it's a little lonely, I'm glad they're living their lives and doing what they want to do.

Dislike 2: The smell of the B&N's bathroom. Being a somewhat public restroom, I can understand it for being smelly, and it probably isn't to a lot of people. But it is with my sensitive nose, and I wish they'd put some Febreze in there.

Dislike 3: Online banking. This isn't really a dislike because it basically does it for me, but me and Mom were talking about bills and stuff, and I ended up feeling stupid because I don't know the first thing about how to pay bills. American education seriously needs to start including personal finance in math classes for high school students, because out of all the useless junk math we're taught, how to pay out bills is not one of them!

And quote!

"Work isn't to make money; you work to justify life." -Marc Chagall

Love your faces,
Colleen

In the Biz

Hello, people!

So, it was the first week of work this week, and it was good. Most of it was training with how to work the cash register and the system B&N uses to find that one book you're looking for. Yes, it sounds boring, but it wasn't too boring for me; it's when I don't have something to do that I get bored, so I was fine with this. Best part was actual cashier work; I was put up at the front registers and got to help people buy stuff. I made some mistakes, but that's normal, and everyone I've talked to so far says it takes some time to get a hang of all the details of register work. And I believe them; the instruction guide to working the cash wrap was BIG, and there's a lot of things I have to remember. But it's fun talking to people and seeing what they're buying, and I get to see friends; my friend Niki from high school came in to pick up an order she made, and we talked some. It was nice to see her, and I hope other people I know pop in as well.

As far as writing, no news on the book front, but I'm taking on an internship! It's an associate editorial internship for a website called The Fashion Foot, basically it's my job to look through a certain number of articles each week and clean them up. It's a good counter balance to the bookseller job, and it'll give me more experience in the way of publishing. Because while I already like my job at B&N, I do hope to someday work in a publishing house. Here's hoping!

To BURN IN LIGHT, the character's name is Enid Delacroix. She's a high school senior, an average student, and quite frankly scares the pants off of anyone she meets. Part of it is how she looks: she has pale skin, white blonde hair, and amber eyes that look orange depending on the lighting. Here's a picture drawn by my best friend Tina:

Another reason she scares people is her attitude: tough, no hold bars, intolerant of any sort of bullying or bad behavior whether it comes from a ghost or human. She's nice only to those she considers her friends and family; anyone nice but unknown to her she's wary of until she knows them better (that is if she decides she wants to know them at all). She's kick ass and powerful when it comes to dealing with ghosts; she does not like chasing dead people sometimes, but she has accepted her abilities and does the best she can.

And that's this week's news. Onto the Weekly (Dis)Likes!

Like 1: Went to the Royals vs. Giants game, and we won. It was a really good game made better by the company I kept: my sister's friend and her sister. It was a good evening.

Like 2: It's Shark Week! Shark Week, oooh haha!

Like 3: My job. See above.

Like 4: My internship. See above again.

Like 5: Got my hand on The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith, aka JK Rowling. I love her to death, so I can't wait to read her latest work.

Like 6: My new shoes. I got some light brown wingtips to wear to work. They're comfy, and a whole lot better than my regular flats.

Dislike 1: Achy feet. The one thing about working at a cash register is you're standing a lot, and that equals feet that really hurt. Hence the shoes I got.

And quote!

"Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you.' Mature love says: 'I need you because I love you." -Erich Fromm

Bye,
Colleen

I GOT A JOB!!

Hello, everyone!

As the title says, I have a job! It's a part time bookseller position at one of the local Barnes and Noble, and I am so happy to get started. Today was orientation with tours and paperwork, so it wasn't too terribly exciting, but I start training tomorrow, so hopefully everything will get more interesting soon.

While the job front is fulfilled, there's been no news from either the agent or Rich-the-editor on BURN IN LIGHT's potential publication, so I'm just going to assume it's been put on hold. But I'm okay with that. Because I, finally, have started writing again. It's back to the normal half a page schedule, but that's normal for me. Not to mention it's just great to get back into the story; I've missed it. Said story, by the way, is my sci-fi story MOA-27, with the cyborg out to take down the scientist who made her and rediscover her past by means of the connections she forms with her teammates. Very high-paced, very techy, and something I love completely.

So back to BURN IN LIGHT. I talked about how I don't remember exactly where the idea for the book came from, but have I told the story behind the location it's set in? The story takes place in Philadelphia, PA. There is a big difference between a real city and the made up Florida town where I placed SWAMP ANGEL, but I wanted to see how location affected the plot (to tell how it did would be giving spoilers away). But I was mainly inspired by the time I spent in Philly taking a mouth long art study at Moore College, a small art school in the city. While I was there, I made art, lived in a dorm, and explored Philadelphia, which I liked for its history and just the general feel it gave off. I think what struck me about the city was how it was both old and new, and that both those sides fit together. This in turn was kind of how I saw the story: you have the new (humans) working with the very old (ghosts) to keep the life (and unlife) of each being the safest it can be from those that go bump in the night.

Weekly (Dis)Likes:

Like 1: I got a job! See above.

Like 2: I've gotten back into writing. See above also.

Like 3: Royals' baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, and we won. :)

Dislike 1: Blisters. If I've said it before, I'll say it again. I hate blisters. I got one wearing heels, and it hurt something awful. I hope my feet can get used to that certain pair, because they are adorable.

Dislike 2: The rate my DS and iPhone die. It's not like I try to make it so that I need to recharge them every day, but it seems like I have to. :P

And quote!

"If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it." -Lucy Larcom

Bye,
Colleen