Novel Time!

For the unaware, tomorrow is the beginning of November. November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). That means there is currently less than a day left before the clock begins ticking and authors all over the world begin writing. The goal is to write 50,000 words by the end of 11:59:59pm November 30th.

Click on the link, read about the challenge, join the forums, add Myth as a writing buddy, and accompany me in my crazy attempt to put thousands of words on paper/computer in 30 days while still participating in something resembling a normal life. It'll be fun! And win or lose, we can all celebrate/console each other with pizza and sweet things and parties when November finally ends.

Still not convinced? I'll do a weekly count-down on my blog, and you can feel really really good about yourself when you consistantly beat my word count. You can all watch me suffer! C'mon.. that ought to be incentive enough! (And besides; you'll make me feel happy and loved. Aww... see, I knew you'd sign up!).

More October Birthday Wishes!

Because I can get to it before the real sibling (hehehe), and he got to dear Stephenie (nevertheless, a day late happy birthday to Steph!) first..!

When I came down to TX I found myself quickly incorporated into a wonderful family and made an honorary sibling. So, I want to wish a very happy birthday (18th! Yay!) to my new, awesome younger sister.

May you be filled with joy, peace, love, and many, many blessings in this new year of your life. Happy birthday Sarah!

Oklahoma City Vicinity, OK

One More Down

I started off my weekend by getting up early on Friday (well, that was the intention, anyway), throwing some bags into the car (packing some bags to put in the car), and after a three hour drive, showing up in Houston at 10:30 (11:30) in the morning to begin the drive to Oklahoma.

Despite the slow start, my travel companions and I managed to make it to the OK City vicinity around 8:30pm, eventually made it to the last few minutes of a holy hour, and wound up at a restaurant for a late dinner with various other Ave alumni. (The excitement of the evening managed to counterbalance Detroit's depressing loss.) The general tone of the weekend remained the same; many, many Ave alumni hanging out as much as possible and celebrating an Ave wedding. We stayed with a large family of four people and six on Sunday, and one very friendly cat that I was rather unfortunately stopped from bringing home with me, mainly due to the fact that it drooled.

Oklahoma, at least the part that we drove through, is in many respects very beautiful. There was countryside; rocks, fields, flowers, hills. There were colorful trees! The stars were visible and bright at night, the weather was closer to fall weather than TX has yet produced, and there was a light and warm breeze during much of the day. We even saw signs of wildlife (fine, so it was a raccoon) while driving.

The wedding itself also went beautifully, with all of the generally understood wedding stuff occurring, and much dancing afterwards. Of special note, there was an event with the bride's bouquet that needs mentioning. You see, I managed to catch it during the traditional throwing, despite my assurance that I would not do so. It was a result of pure instinct really; there was something large coming within a close distance of my head, an event which one naturally ought to do something about, and which when combined with many years of softball skills more often leads to an easy catch than any other possible reaction. There would have been the same result had it been a shoe, a grenade, or a frightened porcupine. (At least, I assume a porcupine would be frightened if it found itself flying through the air like that.) Now, one might expect that after such an event, I would be accommodating to the perceived rules and consider being the next of the group to get married. There are certain flaws in this line of thinking. For one thing, it supposes that I generally follow the rules instead of making my own.

I can't break my own traditions, so in keeping with my own usual acts, I have no intention of following the rules here either. I intend to let every one of those other girls marry first. This may be made somewhat more difficult by the fact that I don't know who they all were and so cannot keep track, but I will not give in so easily. I will have a long and happy life with my boots, who will be extremely faithful and follow me everywhere, and will finally get married at 93 to a man who thinks my cane and five inch thick glasses are beautiful. He will probably be named Arnold, drive a yellow tractor, and have five little dogs all called Toto.

I'm Close Enough I Could Touch You; You're It!

Tag is dangerous!

They banned Red Rover while I was in elementary school. We were all extremely upset about it. There's something about running across a yard and crashing into people that was extremely enjoyable, particularly as I was good at it (there are certain benefits to being one of the tallest students in the class). Tag really doesn't seem to be on the same level as far as dangerousness goes.. then again, there's no doubt in my mind that some parents would sue if their child got hurt while playing it. And possibly even win.

This is a strange, strange world these days.

I'll Get There Eventually

I'm old. So very, very old; there's gray in my hair and a cane in my hand; I have two real teeth and a fondness for tea and cats, a collection of antique furniture that I used when I was young and could now sell for millions, and never stay up past nine at night.

Some of that may be an exaggeration, but I'm admitting nothing.

Today I am 23. Perhaps most people don't announce their own birthdays, but after all, it is my blog, and what else am I to do with it? One ought to make a big deal of the day one becomes old. I'm off to a good start celebrating by staying up far past midnight when I really should be in bed attempting to become healthy again, on the theory that others won't want to spend 6-7 hours in a car with me coughing (heaven knows why not), yet staying at a friend's house until 11:45 seemed so much more pleasant a way to spend the evening.

And then there's the fact that one of my closest friends shares a birthday with me. He's a year younger, which means he can tease me about my age, but I already claimed to be one year short of ancient (old; but still that one year short of ancient), so it's all okay - there are benefits to being in the middle of the sandwich. For one thing, the strawberry jam is quite tasty.

In regards to shared birthdays, it isn't fair sending a message before midnight, yet I have to be up and at a computer at exactly midnight to make sure I'm the first to send birthday greetings. I have to win of course. But this year he proved his ability to beat me, if not at timing, then at an equally important aspect of the tradition. Rather than a simple email, I recently found myself in posession of two emailed voicemails (three cheers for gmail) lamenting my own quick timing, wishing me a happy birthday, and singing what I believe was Happy Birthday in a language I don't want to admit not knowing. For which he received multiple points, not only for style, but for giving me the final smile of what turned out to be an enjoyable day, and also the first great joy experienced after midnight struck and my birthday actually began. And so I believe he wins.

Instead of about my birthday, I suppose this post could be about the benefits of gmail and of computers with reasonable sound systems, but I think, after all, it's actually a round-about attempt to praise this particular close friend, who is always able to make me smile and bring some joy to my day. Even if chances are that he won't ever read this post.

So, to Domenic: happy 22nd birthday! Wishing the best of days to you, and of years to come, and happiness always. Your friend, Bronwyn.

Collector's Item

Some people collect nice things like old paintings or baseball cards or model airplanes. Or maybe coins. I have a small coin collection, at that (along with a keychain collection, some posters, and a ton of old pencils). But I also collect books. Not nice, rare, famous books, but any particular book at all by... wait, wait... oh, you guessed it! Orson Scott Card.

I doubt either of my parents have started looking into buying Christmas presents yet. If I got a couple people in my family to work together, I might be able to convince them to buy me something a bit more expensive. Still, at this point I don't really feel I should be drooling over a $250 lettered edition Saints. Nor so much as acknowledging the fact that there are only 15 copies and that if I want one, I really need to do something about it NOW instead of later. I really shouldn't be going and looking at the site every day and worrying over the fact that the regular, non-fancy limited edition is already sold out.

Not that it's stopping me. Saints is the only specifically Mormon work of OSC's that I've read, and it's specifically Mormon in the sense of being a story about the people who founded the religion rather than teaching Mormon beliefs. I've not read nor will ever likely add to my collection any of his more directly Mormon works of any type, but found this one to be a good read and contain nothing objectionable. I've only ever spent a lot of money on one book for myself (which later was reprinted so I could have gotten it for $20 instead of $200.. not fair) and own one other more expensive book, and I try not to often make extremely large or outrageous purchases, but we'll have to wait and see whether this sells out before I start talking myself into it instead of out of it.

It just sounds so pretty.

The Great Two Dozen

Wishing a very happy birthday to my friend over at A Theme of the Creator's Music.

May your day, and the coming year, be full of His love and of blessings greater than you've yet imagined.

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...and in case other important October dates were in danger of being overlooked, here are a few that also occur on October 15th:

1582 - institution of the Gregorian calendar, when October 15 immediately followed October 4th
70 BC - birth of Virgil
1844 - birth of Nietzsche
1881 - birth of P.G. Wodehouse

It is also, lest such an important event be forgotten, National Grouch Day. And don't skip these other important observances: October is "Go Hog Wild - Eat Country Ham" month, International Starman Month, National Bake and Decorate Month, National Book Month (!!), National Sarcastics Awareness Month, Photographer Appreciation Month, and "Right Brainers Rule!" Month.

Bringing this back to a much more serious note, today is also the feast of St Teresa of Avila, who died on October 4th of 1582.

O Wonderful daughter of Spain, you taught us to walk the way of Christian perfection which is the Way of the Cross. You inspired innumerable men and women by your writings as well as your conduct, deserving the title of Doctor of the Church. Ever faithful to St. Peter's successors, inspire fidelity to religious vows on the part of those who have taken them and make them ever true to their vocation. Amen.

(Thanks to the following sites for making this post possible: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_15, http://www.brownielocks.com/october.html, http://www.2heartsnetwork.org/Avila.htm.)

It Would Be The Year I Leave, Of Course

We're going to the World Series! GO DETROIT TIGERS!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Friend in the Sky

I'm going to be 77 years old the next time Halley's comet passes Earth (fair warning to anyone who's around when I make my trip somewhere where I can see it - I'm not traveling alone at 77!).

Luckily, she left a part of herself behind. The Orionid meteor shower peaks this month from October 20-24th. That includes a weekend, so there is no excuse for not staying up late to watch. The best part of the show will be from 1-2am until dawn, when Orion (particularly his club) is easily visible.

Saturday

An afternoon at the beach.

Sunday

Acolyte service, seminary tour, and a birthday party.

TX Travel Priorities

I spent the past weekend on the road - Saturday at a beach in Galveston, and Sunday at Saint Mary's Seminary in Houston as well as at a nearby park. This isn't going to be much of a tour-guide type post; there wasn't much touring involved. Oh, the drive through Galveston was nice enough with the rich houses, but I can't tell you where to find them except that we passed the intersection of Broadway and 42nd Street. The beach was nice enough, as far as that goes, but I've no idea what it was called or how to get there again. And the seminary was gorgeous, but that's hardly the sort of place I can recommend everyone go. About the only recommendation I can give is that the Hampton Inn we stayed at was lovely, and most likely far far out of my price range if I hadn't been sharing a room with others.

Unlike so many of my trips, I wound up with far more pictures of people than of scenery. It was nothing I would have done by myself and all the better for it. I went for the music and games in the van, the sand castle built using a snow shovel, being given the opportunity to sing, taking up the entire hotel lobby at breakfast, honoring the new acolytes (and particularly admiring how well the readings fit the occassion*), and the birthday party complete with cakes in the park. Most times when I go somewhere, it's at least partly because there's something there I really want to see; at the very least, I end up finding something I'm interested in seeing by devoring tour guides after selecting a general location or two. But there's something to be said for simply hanging out and enjoying family time away from home. Someday I'll return, and visit NASA, and the museums, and whatever else catches my eye as a particularly interesting goal.. but all in all, if I can choose to have trips like this, I'll gladly forego the tour books with starred destinations and outlined maps, and find my career doing something other than travel writing.

*for the unaware, we only barely avoided telling the new acolytes to give up and immediately find wives, after which, no divorcing allowed!

Shamelessly Promoting My Favorite Breed of Dog

I would like to point out the beneficial effects of growing up with pets. In this case, it's a potentially lower risk of developing allergies and asthma, though there are certain factors that complicate matters when trying to decide how much having a cat or dog really prevents these difficulties.

In an effort to make more people pet people I'm going to claim that it works. Through the course of my life I have lived with (not all at the same time) 7 dogs and 12 cats. Not to mention the added effect 2 hampsters, 4 llamas, 7 sheep, 6 goats, 1 donkey, and 2 miniature donkeys may have had in the "not allergic to fur or animal hair" area. I'm sure the countless chickens and fish, as well as 1 duck, were also somehow important, despite their lack of hair or fur.

See? Pets are good! Go buy many cats and dogs. Buy a Belgian Tervuren.

Prayers, Please

For once you get a serious post out of me.

A lady I once worked very closely with (and my Mom still does) back at the University of MI collapsed in a meeting this morning. She's in the hospital now, and they aren't yet sure whether it was a heart attack or something else, though I know she has previously had (and obviously recovered from) at least one heart attack.

I'd be grateful if any of my (granted, few) readers would offer prayers for her today.

One Reason I Want to Teach

I want to do things like this!

I'm sure out of however many thousands, I would be picked. Really. How could they deny me?

Today's Outstanding Society

About the updating of Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, the etiquette guide... I think this line says it all:

"The core values of Debrett's remain --
elegance, composure and dignity are all important,
whether you are dining with the Queen or cheating on your husband."

I'm Not Alone

In case I was ever worried about having a kindred spirit in this house, I can rest my mind now.

As per usual routine (whether or not it was really being followed today), I asked the three year old what he wanted for breakfast this morning. His reply?

"Something very sweet."

Corn Mazes!

I've harbored a desire to get lost in.. err, I mean, explore.. a corn maze for many years now. Various attempts were made while growing up, usually as a special birthday outing (isn't the end of October great?), but all were disappointingly small, none taking more than a couple minutes to walk through and all but one short enough to see over the walls and find the path before even starting. Perhaps this all had something to do with them being made of hay instead of grown in corn; perhaps simply the fact that we only found nearby mazes made for children. I was, for one thing, a tall child, and for another, quite unable to please with anything designed to be so simple. The one adult maze we found at a nearby orchard (my 15th birthday, that one was) was the one taller maze we found, but as a maze it was sadly pathetic. I really felt sorry for the poor thing.

It wasn't until within the last few years that I actually found real, long, worth-while corn mazes, and I've yet to get to any of them. Those I came across were many states away, and besides, until last year I was always too busy with school. Last year proved equally as difficult when the closest maze I found would have required an entire weekend trip to reach, and I couldn't drag anyone with me.

You'd think I would have looked harder, given just how long I've been wishing for a good lifesize maze to walk through. But it wasn't until this year that I came across this website listing mazes all across - and outside of - the United States. While none happen to be in Austin, a few are close enough to be a day's trip (even if it's my version of a day's trip). I can't make my family take me, and I'm too old to organize my own party at one, but perhaps I'll celebrate my birthday myself and find a free day to drive out this fall. Hey, if I like it as much as I expect to, perhaps I'll visit two.

Bright Shiny New Home

I refuse to use the original title of this article. But it discusses the possibility that a black hole will prevent stars from forming in its galaxy by heating up the gasses around it.

In other words, slow killers, weakening the galaxies as one by one the older stars die while no new stars are able to form. It's the intergalactic form of the atomic bomb; find a way to harness black holes, speed up the dying process of stars (either seperately or by, I don't know, altering the black hole somehow), and turn it loose on the galaxies that belong to your enemies. Not that I'd advocate using something like this, but I don't think we're exactly in danger of that now. Though it provides some frightening ideas about the fact that we can make miniature black holes. Something to keep in mind if I ever need to write a huge multi-galaxy war.

Then again, in the same article it mentioned previous research indicating that black holes may help new stars form. Perhaps we could use the same methods to build our own new galaxies. And from there it's only a rather long, long step to custom building our own planets. I want mine to look like Christmas lights, but I'm not bringing any mice.

Intergalactic Medicine Show #3

The newest issue of Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show is out! Get it here, including an Enderverse story about Han Tzu.