The other day, I was trying to convince Hannah to do something she didn't want to do.
"You're totally bailing on me!" I wailed.
"I never technically agreed to go," she replied.
Diego piped up: You got Hannah'd.
What is Hannah-ing, you might ask? Well, it's when you silent sit through other people making plans, allowing them to assume that you acquiesce, and then quietly going down to the basement without saying goodbye.
"Come on, Hannah, it will be sooo fun!" I argued.
Hannah raised her eyebrows. "You know you're Ru'ing right now, don't you?"
Ru'ing is apparently when you try to sell an activity as more fun than it is, even if you know it will probably suck. ("We're all going to get sooo tan after working in the yard all day!")
Diego pointed out many past examples of Hannah'ing and getting Ru'd, and finally Hannah said, "So what is Diego'ing?"
Oh, that one's easy. Saying you're going to be somewhere at 7:30 PM, and showing up at a quarter to 9.
This is what happens when you've known your roommates for 13 (Diego and Hannah), 10 (me and Hannah), and 7 (me and Diego) years.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Sunday, April 28, 2013
What book made you LOVE books?
This article in Publisher's Weekly got me thinking about what first fired up the need-to-read in me.
In first grade, I hated reading. This was mostly due to the fact that my first grade teacher, Mrs. Nielson,* had assigned me extra work to do at home. My mom would make me sit at the dinner table and do extra workbooks while she made dinner and my siblings played.
(Freakish Hermione nerd alert: I found out later that all this extra attention was due to the fact that in 20+ years of teaching, Mrs. Nielson had never come across a kid who never got anything wrong. The extra workbooks were designed to challenge me. But because my parents and Mrs. Nielson didn't want me to get a big head, they never pointed that out until I was in high school. Who knew?)
But by third grade, I had discovered the lure of Ann M. Martin and The Baby-Sitters Club, which I found enjoyable primarily on the basis that (1) Kristy was awesome and (2) you could read an entire BSC book in one night, partly because you can always skip the second and third chapters, which tend to just re-explain the business structure of the club. ("One night when Kristy was eating pizza, listening to her mom on the phone trying to find a babysitter for her little brother David Michael ...")
In fourth grade, though, the reading fever really took hold, thanks to a little book called Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper. I tore through that series and then everything else that followed.
What was the first book that made you interested in reading?
* Here's a brief ode to Mrs. Nielson, who passed away a few years ago. In addition to being my first grade teacher, she was also my Sunbeams teacher in church, and a good friend of my parents', so I was always slightly confused about whether I was allowed to called her Nanette, Sister Nielson, or Mrs. Nielson (since I had been using all three interchangeably my whole life.) Believe it or not, there was one other relationship Mrs. Nielson and I shared, I found out later -- sorority sister. After I went to college, I found out that Mrs. Nielson had also been a member of Theta Phi Chapter, Delta Delta Delta.
Mrs. Nielson was also an artist, and when she illustrated her first book, she used me and my sister Echo for her illustrations. (We--and Echo in particular--were weirdly beautiful children. It must be so disappointing for our parents that we turned into merely-adequate-looking adults.) Unfortunately, the book was never published, so no one ever gave a crap that we were former-baby-models. C'est la vie.
But man, that book was a winner. It was based on a true story from Mrs. Nielson's childhood. If I recall the story correctly, it was about a little girl named Emma who loved ducks. Her parents told her to never let the ducks get into her mom's poppy patch, but one day Emma wasn't paying attention, the ducks ate the poppies, got stoned, passed out, and little Emma was super sad because she thought they were all dead. She planned a funeral for the ducks, and when she started singing to them, BAM! all the ducks woke up. I'm pretty sure some other stuff happened too, but it's been awhile.
In first grade, I hated reading. This was mostly due to the fact that my first grade teacher, Mrs. Nielson,* had assigned me extra work to do at home. My mom would make me sit at the dinner table and do extra workbooks while she made dinner and my siblings played.
(Freakish Hermione nerd alert: I found out later that all this extra attention was due to the fact that in 20+ years of teaching, Mrs. Nielson had never come across a kid who never got anything wrong. The extra workbooks were designed to challenge me. But because my parents and Mrs. Nielson didn't want me to get a big head, they never pointed that out until I was in high school. Who knew?)
But by third grade, I had discovered the lure of Ann M. Martin and The Baby-Sitters Club, which I found enjoyable primarily on the basis that (1) Kristy was awesome and (2) you could read an entire BSC book in one night, partly because you can always skip the second and third chapters, which tend to just re-explain the business structure of the club. ("One night when Kristy was eating pizza, listening to her mom on the phone trying to find a babysitter for her little brother David Michael ...")
In fourth grade, though, the reading fever really took hold, thanks to a little book called Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper. I tore through that series and then everything else that followed.
What was the first book that made you interested in reading?
* Here's a brief ode to Mrs. Nielson, who passed away a few years ago. In addition to being my first grade teacher, she was also my Sunbeams teacher in church, and a good friend of my parents', so I was always slightly confused about whether I was allowed to called her Nanette, Sister Nielson, or Mrs. Nielson (since I had been using all three interchangeably my whole life.) Believe it or not, there was one other relationship Mrs. Nielson and I shared, I found out later -- sorority sister. After I went to college, I found out that Mrs. Nielson had also been a member of Theta Phi Chapter, Delta Delta Delta.
Mrs. Nielson was also an artist, and when she illustrated her first book, she used me and my sister Echo for her illustrations. (We--and Echo in particular--were weirdly beautiful children. It must be so disappointing for our parents that we turned into merely-adequate-looking adults.) Unfortunately, the book was never published, so no one ever gave a crap that we were former-baby-models. C'est la vie.
But man, that book was a winner. It was based on a true story from Mrs. Nielson's childhood. If I recall the story correctly, it was about a little girl named Emma who loved ducks. Her parents told her to never let the ducks get into her mom's poppy patch, but one day Emma wasn't paying attention, the ducks ate the poppies, got stoned, passed out, and little Emma was super sad because she thought they were all dead. She planned a funeral for the ducks, and when she started singing to them, BAM! all the ducks woke up. I'm pretty sure some other stuff happened too, but it's been awhile.
Friday, April 26, 2013
I need to ask for a favor (and oh yeah, I'm quitting that A to Z thing)
I need to think of a name.
It has to be a girl's name. It has to start with J.
Ideally, I want it to be unique -- but not so unique that no one will know how to say it.
I could go to a baby name book or website, but here's the kicker -- I want to know what names people like, and not just what names exist.
So if you guys could get me started, you'd have my eternal gratitude. :)
Finally, regarding A to Z: I've done it for the last three years, and for some reason this was the first time I found myself struggling with it. I've enjoyed finding some other blogs, and I hope some readers enjoyed finding me. (Hi, readers!) But I think that's all for now.
It has to be a girl's name. It has to start with J.
Ideally, I want it to be unique -- but not so unique that no one will know how to say it.
I could go to a baby name book or website, but here's the kicker -- I want to know what names people like, and not just what names exist.
So if you guys could get me started, you'd have my eternal gratitude. :)
Finally, regarding A to Z: I've done it for the last three years, and for some reason this was the first time I found myself struggling with it. I've enjoyed finding some other blogs, and I hope some readers enjoyed finding me. (Hi, readers!) But I think that's all for now.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
U is for UMBRAGE!
About two years ago, I lost a lot of pictures on blogger, including the adorable header a reader friend made me. And no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to recover any of it.*
* When I say "try," I mean "don't do anything," since the issue really is that all the backups were on my computer that died.
Big sigh.
* When I say "try," I mean "don't do anything," since the issue really is that all the backups were on my computer that died.
Big sigh.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
S is for slapped with the sillies, T is for tuckered
I have a secret.
And it's going to stay a secret for at least a little while longer.
But do you want to know a secret about the secret?
It's making it close to impossible for me to get anything done.
And it's going to stay a secret for at least a little while longer.
But do you want to know a secret about the secret?
It's making it close to impossible for me to get anything done.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
R is for Ru is Reading
I am currently reading The Litigators by John Grisham. I went through a Grisham phase in junior high (my all-time favorite was A Time To Kill), though he eventually lost my interest.
Recently my dad suggested I give The Litigators a try, and I'm so glad he did. As a grownup Lawyer Girl, Mr. Grisham is cracking me the hell up. In case you want to know, yes, this is how it goes sometimes. I heartily recommend it to lawyers and non-lawyers alike.
Next up at bat is Confederacy of Dunces.
What are you reading? What are you planning to read?
Recently my dad suggested I give The Litigators a try, and I'm so glad he did. As a grownup Lawyer Girl, Mr. Grisham is cracking me the hell up. In case you want to know, yes, this is how it goes sometimes. I heartily recommend it to lawyers and non-lawyers alike.
Next up at bat is Confederacy of Dunces.
What are you reading? What are you planning to read?
Friday, April 19, 2013
P and Q are for your P's and Q's
In high school, I had an English teacher who was really big into "allusions" and the origins of common phrases. We had to bring in 4 examples of allusions every quarter, and memorize fun facts about phrases as a part of a "cultural literacy" unit.
The phrase "mind your P's and Q's" means to mind your manners and be on your best behavior. There are two probably origins of this phrase, as I recall from 10th grade English. The first is from old timey pubs, where innkeepers and bartenders would keep track of patrons' tabs by writing down how many pints and quarts a person had consumed. So mind your p's and q's meant, for the bartender, keep track of what people owe you, and for the customer, be a good guest and pay your bill.
The second alternative is stems from the first printing presses that used individual letter keys. Lowercase p and q could be easily switched, since on a press, each letter is a mirror image of itself. So the phrase was a reminder to the printer to always double check his work.
So how have I been minding my Ps and Qs these days?
Well, I'm gearing up to attend a writing conference in May, where I signed up to pitch a project to an agent. My initial plan was to pitch a project I have been working on-and-off for I-don't-want-to-reveal-how-much time.
Some time ago, I realized that this project is my white whale (allusion!) and as much as I love it, I may need to buckle in and try something new. In the last year, I came to a new philosophy about my writing ambitions: internal deadlines. If I can't move on from Project X in Y amount of time, it might be best to give Project X a rest and start in on Project Z.
And that's what I've done, and it's going swimmingly. I hope to have Project Z to critiquers and beta readers in time, because gosh, it's going to be awkward if I don't. But that's what's new with me!
What's new with you?
The phrase "mind your P's and Q's" means to mind your manners and be on your best behavior. There are two probably origins of this phrase, as I recall from 10th grade English. The first is from old timey pubs, where innkeepers and bartenders would keep track of patrons' tabs by writing down how many pints and quarts a person had consumed. So mind your p's and q's meant, for the bartender, keep track of what people owe you, and for the customer, be a good guest and pay your bill.
The second alternative is stems from the first printing presses that used individual letter keys. Lowercase p and q could be easily switched, since on a press, each letter is a mirror image of itself. So the phrase was a reminder to the printer to always double check his work.
So how have I been minding my Ps and Qs these days?
Well, I'm gearing up to attend a writing conference in May, where I signed up to pitch a project to an agent. My initial plan was to pitch a project I have been working on-and-off for I-don't-want-to-reveal-how-much time.
Some time ago, I realized that this project is my white whale (allusion!) and as much as I love it, I may need to buckle in and try something new. In the last year, I came to a new philosophy about my writing ambitions: internal deadlines. If I can't move on from Project X in Y amount of time, it might be best to give Project X a rest and start in on Project Z.
And that's what I've done, and it's going swimmingly. I hope to have Project Z to critiquers and beta readers in time, because gosh, it's going to be awkward if I don't. But that's what's new with me!
What's new with you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)