irrelevant (and sometimes questionable) ramblings

I tried out the new heated mattress pad last night.

I turned it on approximately 10 minutes before getting into bed. At that point, it was a gentle warmth — definitely nice. But I wondered if it would get better. So I left it on for a little while longer.

Oh. Mah. Gawd. It was SO awesome. It’ll be unbelievable when it’s -30C outside…

‘Scuse me. I need a moment alone.

For the end of October in Northern Canuckland, today was stunningly beautiful.

It was something like +14C, with sunshine and blue skies.

The predicted weather for tomorrow–Hallowe’en?

Rain and/or SNOW.

Why? Why, God? Why??

*shakes fist at sky*

ps. Wrote a lot today. Don’t know what the final word count was, but it was healthy. And I already know I’ve got to go back and layer in an element that I mistakenly left out. So that’ll keep me busy.

pps. Officially signed up for the 5K run on NYE today, too. Yes, in fact, I *do* think I’m certifiable. Oy.

Just discovered today that:

1. Season One of Flight of the Conchords will be released on DVD November 6th.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will be released December 4th. and
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be released December 11th.

I’ve updated my wish list for Christmas. Oh, it’s going to be a good holiday for movies.

So my heated mattress pad finally arrived. I picked it up from the Post Office Saturday morning.

Silly me, I opened the box it was shipped in, but not the actual packaging. Intent on changing my sheets and throwing on the new mattress pad today, I opened the package and read all the instructions. (Yes, I read instructions. Wanna make somethin’ of it?)

Imagine my consternation when I read We recommend you wash this product before using it.

Reading further, I see it is machine-washable, which is great, but it’s only meant to be in the dryer for a few minutes on a cool setting (which means it ain’t gonna dry in there). It needs to be hung up to dry fully.

So I wash the thing, do the dryer thing for the allotted time, and then hang it over the clotheslines in the laundry room.

The moral of the story?

It’s not dry yet. And it won’t be dry until tomorrow at the earliest.

And being an electric pad, one would not want to plug the thing in until it is thoroughly dry. (Which is only reasonable, seeing as how I don’t have a death wish…)

So. I must wait one more night before I can be surrounded by luxurious warmth.

Oh, well. At least it isn’t -30C yet…

Picture the scene: WAY past bedtime for a six-year-old on a school night. The six-year-old has brand new glow-in-the-dark plastic creepy crawlies (oh, yay) and wants to test them out.

Parent: Sweetie, it’s time for bed.

Kid: One minute!

Parent: No, sweetie. Now. Bed.

Kid: But I have to do this!

Parent: What did I just say to you?

Kid: Nooooo! I just have to try this out!

Parent: When I ask you to do something, I’d like you to do it right away, please.

Kid: Wait! Not yet! I’m not done!

Parent: Are you listening to me?

Kid: Just wait! I have to do this now!

Parent: You can do that tomorrow. Come to bed. Now.

Kid: No! You don’t understand!

Parent: Oh, I understand, all right. You come to bed now, or those toys will go in the garbage.

Kid (bursting into tears): But I wanna make them glow noooooooooow!

Parent: *bangs head against wall, contemplates possible selling price for child, then contemplates contents of liquor cabinet*

Well, Gentle Readers, your Hostess with the Mostess got to gnaw on frozen entrees and packaged snack foods today—not that that was the best thing in the world.

See, Clan Starr’s trusty refrigerator decided to give up the ghost after almost 20 years of faithful service, and last night, the Mater and Pater had gutted the thing in preparation for the new appliance’s arrival today.

As a result, the kitchen looked as though the fridge had vomited its contents everywhere. The portable electric mini-fridge was jammed to the gills, and so was every possible insulated cooler that the clan owns. Everything else was spread over the countertop, and bunched in the cool spot on the floor beside the patio door.

I am certain you can imagine just how much fun it was to try and put together a lunch for today. Luckily, yours truly was prepared with dee-lish microwaveable delights from the deep-freeze in the basement.

At least after today, everything should be back to normal. Keep your fingers crossed.

It’s amazing, you know. Put two writers (or creative types of any kind, really) into the same room (or internet chat window ) together and watch the sparks fly, wheels turn, and smoke pour out.

Brainstorming has got to be one of the best tools in the writer’s arsenal. We all tend to work in such a solitary way that we have a habit of becoming entrenched and mired in what’s between our own two ears. Another pair of eyes and a brain that works in probably a completely different way than your own can work miracles, because that brain will view your plotholes and characterization problems differently than you do. (Oh, and if we could somehow bottle and sell this power? We’d be zillionaires. SRSLY.)

I’ve spent some time recently helping out my good buddy Donna Alward (Harlequin Romance writer extraordinaire — buy her books!) work on a couple of story outlines, and it’s amazing how one off-the-cuff comment can take an idea in a completely new and exciting direction. Not to mention the fact that one writer’s enthusiasm can be completely infectious.

So I’m pleased to say Donna will be knockin’ out a few bestsellers in the next several months (she owes me, big time. Heh.), and I will definitely keep you all posted as to when they hit the shelves.

In the meantime, Donna was highly supportive of my own current attempt, which I was thrilled to hear. This’ll be an interesting one, lemme tell you. Why my brain would pick turn-of-the-century Paris as a setting, I will never know.

Brain? Yeah. You, up there. WTF, dude?!?

I’ll let you know how this pans out. I’m rather excited, actually, myself.

Writer buds — here’s your chance. Tell me what’s so great about your brainstorming partners!

Well. I haven’t gotten as far today as I would have liked, however, I suppose I must take what I can get.

I’ve got a synopsis for my new Spice Briefs story hashed out, though, so now I have a slightly better idea of where this little tale is going to go.

Now, I think I’m going to take a quick break and go for a run. The sun’s still shining out there, but rain is predicted for this afternoon, and I’d much rather run in the sun versus get soaked.

We’ll see where after lunch will get me. Stay tuned, folks.

…this is what I saw out our back door. I love when the morning sun gilds the leaves like this. Not to mention the full arc rainbow that appeared in the misty air.

I tend to lump authors and lyricists in the same group. Both use words to convey a message, to make an impact, to evoke emotion.

Being on the authorly side of the equation, I am in awe of lyricists. I have anywhere from a few thousand words, to upwards of 100K in which to make my statement. And having too many words to work with has its own set of problems, but songwriters have the merest fraction of time and space to paint a picture. I can’t imagine the skill it takes to craft a three-minute song that moves people. But then again, lyricists are poets in their own right. (Although there may be some debate on whether or not “hey, baby baby, shake that thang” carries true sentiment or not…)

We’ve all got songs that immediately evoke memories, don’t we? Lyrics that strike a chord (ahem, no pun intended), bring back times and places, and push emotional buttons or move us with their poignancy. I’ve been listening to MP3s a lot recently and sometimes really listening closely to the lyrics.

So if you follow me below the cut, I’ll snip out a few lines of my favourites for you. (Upon reflection, I see that most of these aren’t necessarily poetic, but those ones are here because they push emotional buttons for me.)
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