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Midnight walks in Paradise

/ Alex Whitehall / 6 Comments

Happy 4th of July, America. Okay, now that that’s done with, onto the post!

My new loveseat arrive with some adventure* but arrived and is being used and has found its place among us. It’s green and big and awkward, but I have seating for more than two people, which is really nice when..you know..more than two people show up.

My current book list hasn’t changed much lately, which happens when you don’t read. Hah. It’s too nice out to spend the time inside reading, and I feel weird reading in open public spaces. It could be said that if I spent less time on the computer I could spend more time reading. I could also hold my breath until my face turns blue, but I’m not gonna!

The audiobook I’m reading is going well, but I run into a slight mixed feeling about it (not the book, the audio version). The reader is good, but per its format, they can’t talk as fast as I read. I wonder if I was reading the book if I’d be done by now (I probably would be, or at least could be). But then I consider how much time I spend reading the books I actually read and I wonder if it would be sitting in a pile with the rest. It’s nice to do work around my apartment and get reading done at the same time (though I’m highly amused when I find myself talking to the air, making snarky comments about what was just said in the book).

I have two days of a riding clinic, which hopefully will be fun, and then another day off before I go back to work. All this time off is spoiling me something rotten. It also makes me want to bake. A lot. I made angel food on Thursday, angel/demon cookies last night, and Monday might be monkey bread. It’s a good think I like feeding people.

Hope everyone enjoys what promises to be a beautiful weekend!

* The adventure: Took one vehicle (Honda Fit) to location. Not big enough. Drive to get truck. Bring truck to location. Not big enough. Strap couch to roof and drive (slowly) to apartment. Get couch off roof (with just two itty bitty girls) and half way through first door. Get stuck. Neighbor comes. He and I get it unstuck and up 3 sets of 8 steps, with me on the bottom–for some reason. Second door is not a problem and I have a couch! I should mention I did this on 2 hours of sleep. And that four hours later I went riding.

The sky is the color of a mango..the inside fleshy part

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

Today was my first day on mandatory closure, which I think I desperately needed and it was nice. Just like getting out of a shower after a long day of sun and sweat and a full belly of spaghetti. This is my current state and it is good.

I lounged around most the morning, doing none of the things I swore I would. Eventually I went running 4 miles. I showered, lounged around some more (mostly because I was doing a task, got distracted, and forgot the task I was doing).

I headed to the barn, where I lounged for a bit (a small bit) and then rode, a nice long trail on a horse that didn’t seem to understand the meaning of “move forward”. My legs snarked, “Maybe you shouldn’t have run 4 miles this morning.” I ignored them and we arrived back in time to clean off our horses (and ourselves), grab a bite to eat before heading to the ring to judge the pony camp. After that (which involves more manual labor than most judges do at shows), and after helping the kids get done their horses, and putting out horses, and scheduling my horses for the next week, I went home. 7 hours at a barn isn’t unreasonable, right?

Home offers me food, cleanliness and places where my feet can rest above my chest. It’s good.

I’ll probably be lacking internet for the next two days *weeps* but will be back to business once the work week starts. It will either prove very productive or very unproductive. Knowing me, it’ll be the latter. Although my apartment is cleaned enough to welcome a second love seat into my home. The only productive thing I’ve done all day. Yet. Hopefully more will come.

I’m craving Rita’s Water Ice right now. I’m not really dressed for it and it sucks to go alone. So no water ice. Just more of Lipton’s Diet Raspberry White Iced Tea*.

* Which is good, but not as good as Turkey Hill Diet Peach White Iced Tea. Perhaps just my preference of peaches.

I keep thinking ‘Today is the day’

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

Another week has slipped by.

Even when I’m not busy I’m busy and it’s kind of an odd feeling. Wouldn’t it be great if we could take those “in between moments” (like the few minutes before you leave for something or while you’re waiting for the bus or the likes) and gather them up and use them all at once? Maybe this is just me, since I try to never be late (thus am always early) and so I always am waiting for the set time that I planned to leave.

I’m hoping to go to the Celtic Fling this weekend. It’s not really hoping, since as long as it’s not perfectly miserable out we’ll be going, I’m sure. I had fun last year and I think I’ll have fun this year. It’s one of those things to not do anything, just experience. No pressure.

Riding has been normal, when I get to. We’ve gotten so much rain I’ve missed alot of days, and then Sunday instead of riding one of my horses I rode someone else’s, which could lead to more riding of his horses, but we’ll see. I’ll be exercising someone’s horse this week, which matches up to pony camp well, so it works out.

*I also just realized that while typing in “edit html” option I can still use the shortcuts for italics, bold, etc. Perhaps I’m silly for not realizing this earlier.

it’s always been forever

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

I keep thinking, “It’s been forever since I updated my blog!” when in reality it’s never more than a week. I’ve just been busy, none of it terribly important, or news-worthy.

1. Cosplay is going well. Updates can be found on my Whimsy blog. I have one major thing I need to do, one major thing I may do and a few minor things I keep putting off. Plus buying super glue and tide pens.

2. Writing is going well. I’ve been spending much of my free time the past week writing. Thus the state of my dishes. But I’d rather be writing. Mmm, writing.

3. In fact, I was so busy writing Sunday that I forgot that I had to cook food for lunch this week. It’s cool, I had PBJ today and cooked the food for the rest of the week. Err, and may have been too busy writing to realize I overcooked it. Que sera, or something.

4. I may have decided on the topic for Nanowrimo. Of course it’s several months away, so I may change my mind. Actually, the odds are probably in favor of me changing my mind ^.^

5. If I’ve been ignoring you, or being vague and distracted, it’s because I’m probably thinking, “I could be writing now.” I do this probably twelve times an hour at work. Please don’t take offense. I just hit 30,000 words with my one story while the other X take hiatus. I’m sure they’ll get their chance to play too. But the vampire boys are taking over for the moment.

6. I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting something. But, HI EVERYBODY!!

Haven’t seen rain in forever…

/ Alex Whitehall / 3 Comments

Today’s dawn rose almost grayish-white, only to become a dark and foreboding gray as the hour passed. So dark that the lights on the street flickered back on to offer some guidance in the misery. It’s not really matching my mood, but it’s matching something…

Yesterday I was cosplay productive, which excited me greatly since my time spent on that has been (err) nonexistent. I downloaded a book on tape from my library and played it while working, which made the work factor more enjoyable, although I do enjoy the work (just not the time spent doing it, if that makes any sense). I now have pants and a jacket. I just need an eyepatch and straps. I can do it!

It’s begun pouring now. This seems like a passing spring storm type rain, but if thursday and friday taught me anything, it’s that the rain can keep falling like that for a while. Unlike those days, today we have the rumble of thunder. Who knows how long it will last.

And now lightning.

BTW, the book on tape I’m listening to is Wicked Lovely and rather enjoyable (it’s young adult fantasy). I find it amusing, since I was always an avid, fast reader, that I’ve become such an advocate for audio books (a more appropriate term). I think this is helped by the fact that I can DL books from my library without having to actually go there. The downside is that some (most) of the books seem to be WMA and cannot be converted to go on my ipod. Which makes me sad.

Should this be called an update?

/ Alex Whitehall / 2 Comments

I don’t know if I’ve done anything that could be considered particularly productive recently, but I haven’t been a shmuck either. And I just got done a really intense work out–one of those work outs where I look like I just got out of the shower. I’m gonna pay for it, but it was worth it. Plus I get pizza tonight!

To my brother: You may have noticed a certain chapter review didn’t happen. I read it, I did, but I figured I was busy and you were obviously busy, so it could wait. This reading thing should be enjoyable, not work. So, whenever.

~ BL

PS. I love you all!

Life in Brief

/ Alex Whitehall / 2 Comments

I had an absolutely amazing weekend.

I love short weeks.

I don’t even mind that today was raining.

I wrote some tonight and I wish I could stay up and feed off this energy I currently feel, but sleep is important (I can’t survive off my office mother’s chocolate).

I love you all!

Too Busy for One’s Own Good

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

I’ve been busy lately, in that way that I’m realizing my home needs major cleaning and care, it’s not getting it, and I don’t know when it will. I think the dishes are possibly most noticeable, but other things have begun to show…abuse.

My time is spent working, riding, writing or with friends/family. Arguably it’s the writing that has become almost compulsive that is keeping me from doing the most cleaning. Mondays, usually prime do-the-dishes time, was spent curled up with my laptop either reading or writing. I’ve officially run out of forks, and I think that’s a sign.

Too tired to go into anything else.

A post about horses

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

I was at the Tom Curtin Clinic all weekend, which was, of course, amazing. More information oozing out of my brain while more gets shoved in. If I see you and don’t remember your name, you know why. Blame Tom and his amazing riding.

I took Friday off from work and we left the barn at 7 to get there and tacked by 9. I went to the barn even earlier to feed and take care of the horses. I didn’t go to ride, just watch, but 3 hours of watching a break, then three more hours of watching, leaves you a bit overwhelmed with what can be learned.

Saturday was pretty much a repeat of Friday with a group dinner thrown in. Sunday my one friend and I only stayed for the first session, which was good, because we were both pretty sleepy by the time we got home. I haven’t done a single productive thing since I’ve been home except eat and shower, and it’s a little sad that I call them productive. (I’m so tired right now that my fingers have revolted and aren’t hitting the keys that my brain is telling them to. They are just flailing wildly at this point.)

I learned far too much to even do an overview in an entry, and since none of you are horse people, I wouldn’t want to bore you. But, I’m going next year, even if it requires making certain cutbacks (such as it will be sorta my vacation next year–at least major spending wise). I don’t know if I’ll be taking a colt to be started or a horse to work with (since I don’t think I can afford both), but I will be going. Donations welcome 🙂

ZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZ

Who We Write For

/ Alex Whitehall / 1 Comment

Somewhere along the lines of writing my first book, telling my brother to “write for himself” and try to start working on my second book, I seem to have forgotten that I should, indeed, be writing for MYSELF. This entry by Neil Gaiman reminded me. Not only to not feel that the writer should be obligated to entertain us, but also that as the writer, we should not feel obligated to produce. Obviously producing earns money and money is, at least a little, good.

But if after my first book I want to scale some giant mountain instead of writing the second book, I can.

Of course no one is waiting for my second book, sitting on pins and needles, wondering if ___ and ____ survive and if ____ get’s that bag he’s been drooling over. But sometimes when I write I wonder if I’m making good decisions in my writing, and I wonder what my audience things. What I should be thinking about is if these actions are true to the story. I need to work on that a bit more.