growing

Woke up this morning to find that the hyacinth plant I bought at the St. Lawrence Market last week had started blooming (see photo above). It's weird how such a little thing can make me so happy, but there you go. Jeff got a funny look on his face when I brought it home; he's familiar with my absymal record with houseplants. But it's still alive, ha ha!

Went out for lunch yesterday with some friends, and I found myself getting upset without realizing I was getting upset. Does that ever happen to any of you? The conversation had drifted to violent video games, and somehow that segued into ambulances and accidents and gruesome deaths.

I know part of it is a natural part of human nature. We fear death, so we're somewhat fascinated by it, though don't we don't like to admit it. It's the reason the media focuses so much on it...hearing about a violent murder draws in far more viewers than a feature about something happy and uplifting. Cars slow down on the highway if they see a police car or ambulance by the side of the road.

Events in my life, however, have changed my perspective somewhat. Whenever I hear about someone with cancer, I think of my mom, the suffering that she and my family went through, and I sympathise with the family. News about car accidents automatically make me think of my brother and his wife. I'm sure parents go through something similar whenever they hear about violent crimes involve young children (I experience outrage myself upon hearing these stories, and I'm just an aunt).

So when I hear jokes or excited speculation about car accidents or dead bodies or cancer, I am filled with a depth of anger and sadness I know is out of line. I've developed a bad (or good, depending how you look at it) tendency to be blunter than I should at times, especially recently, so try very hard to keep my mouth when this happens, at least until the clear voice of reason has stepped in.

Yes, I could have said something, asked that the topic be changed. But part of me is also aware of the fact that there are likely many things that I do or say that could be perceived as insensitive to others with different life experiences. I want to steer away from anything resembling the "political incorrectness" paranoia of the last decade, where everyone was afraid of saying anything that might possibly be interpreted as being even a TAD insensitive.

But it does help me understand (at least a little better) strongly opinionated older people who get angry about everything. Leaving aside the cliched cartoon of a wizened old man with a long beard, furiously waving around his walking cane and screaming and passersby, I can see how some of these seniors would make comments about the ignorance of youth, how "young people these days just don't understand", etc.

I can see the tendency in myself sometimes (and hey, I'm turning forty this year :-)) and I try to fight it. Someone makes an insensitive comment about car crashes and I automatically think, You wouldn't be saying that if you had lost someone you loved in a car accident. But then I tell myself, Geez, girl, lighten up. He's just joking around with friends..

I know I have a lot to learn. I'm glad I do...people who stop learning turn old and bitter (I've seen it happen).

And hey, just look at my hyacinth. Ten years ago, I wouldn't have any plant survive in my care more than a day or two.

Now it would be at LEAST a week. :-)

tokyo sushi

I almost got hit by a car yesterday. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been a life or death situation (which is likely why I didn't remember it again until just now), but it would have hurt.

I was walking home from working out at the gym, crossing a street on a green light, when a car failed to stop as it turned the corner. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, just like it does in the movies...it was pretty obvious that the driver didn't see me. From the split second or two when I looked up, it looked as if she was in la-la land, pretty distracted. Maybe she had just broken up with her boyfriend, or was wondering what was going to happen on the next episode of Temptation Island, or was worrying about a school assignment (she looked pretty young).

I ended up jumping back to avoid being hit. The driver didn't even slow down...she made a fast, wide corner at the intersection, as if she had panicked and forgotten how to use the brakes. Then she kept driving. Of course I was too stunned to take note of the license number. I don't even recall what the car looked like, what colour, anything. There wasn't anyone else around.

So I just walked home, my heart beating a little faster, with a lot of "if's" circling in my head. What if I hadn't been paying attention? What if she had panicked a little more, circled wider so that I couldn't jump out of the way? Ififif. I wasn't even thinking that I could have been killed or seriously hurt...I remember thinking what a pain it would be if I had had to be taken to the hospital because I was so looking forward to teaching my new Waiting For Frodo song to Allison and Jodi at practice that night, and we only had two practices left until Ad Astra.

Okay, so maybe my priorities were a tad skewed. :-)

In a way, brushes with reality like that are good for the soul. I think we all purposely seek them out from time to time, just to remind ourselves we're alive: situations with an element of risk, that challenge us. I tend to avoid the kind where I can get seriously hurt. :-)

Anyway, I did end up making it to Urban Tapestry practice last night. We're performing in some panels at Ad Astra next month, so I lugged my guitar and flute and music to Richmond Hill...it's always a joy travelling on the subway with my gear in rush hour, trying to squeeze my stuff into the smallest space possible, getting dirty looks from commuters who are getting poked by various pieces of musical gear. The trip to Allison's and Jodi's area usually takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour; last night was 45 minutes (sure seemed like a lot longer).

Jodi, Allison and I tried a new sushi place that Jodi had discovered called Tokyo Sushi. The main thing that stood out about this place (for me, anyway) was the fact that each booth had a button you were supposed to push whenever you wanted service. Bizarre. They must hate it when families with little kids come in. The food was pretty good, though.

And Allison and Jodi did learn Waiting For Frodo! It sounds great, and they were even able to learn the extra counterpoint part I threw in at the end. Allison's going to add some additional counterpoint during the chorus, and I'm going to figure out a third harmony. This'll be a lot of fun to perform. :-)

Jodi, by the way, is looking for contract work. She found out yesterday that the company she is working for is doing some budget cuts, and part of this involves cutting her hours considerably.

Anyway, if you or anyone you know have contract work for an excellent online marketing specialist, please contact Jodi.

Writing update

Got two rejections yesterday, one by e-mail and one by snailmail. I sent out one of the rejected queries to a very similar market right away, but need to revamp the other one before sending it out again.

sometimes

Sometimes I really miss Inkspot.

Don't get me wrong...I love where I am and what I'm doing; it's wonderful to be able to be able to focus on writing rather than on managing a growing business (being a writer is a business in itself, I know, but it's not the same thing), to have autonomy again.

But from time to time I'll think about the whole experience, the immense satisfaction of turning a single page of links into a community resource that so many writers found useful. I'll remember what a joy it was to receive e-mail from new writers, ecstatic because they had made their first sale ever, and it was because of something they saw in Inkspot or Inklings. I'll remember how Inkspot gradually accumulated helpers, and how well we all worked together over the years, the chemistry we had.

Trying Inkspot's old URL just takes you to nothingness now. I guess I still haven't gotten over the fact that there's nothing left of Inkspot, that all those pages and discussion forums are gone.

Or maybe not.

If you want to check out what Inkspot used to look like in ancient times, you can still find it in WayBackMachine (type in "www.inkspot.com"). Thanks to Sal Towse for the link; she used to be Inkspot's wonderful Markets Editor...we're still friends :-). Jeff had told me about this site a long way back, I think, but I never checked it out (I suspect the Inkspot shutdown news was still too fresh for me at the time).

Looking through those old Inkspot pages was somewhat like browsing through an old family album, especially recalling what the site looked like back in '97. I wasn't wracked with anger or sadness as I explored these old pages, in case you're wondering. It was more like, "Hey, so this is what Inkspot looked like back then. Kind of cool that I did all that."

I still miss it sometimes, though.

Today's survey question:
What Web sites do you still check on a regular basis that have been around since the early days of the Web? Or at least for a few years? Post your answer here. I'll post the results in an upcoming Blathering.

Writing Update:
Signed up for the $4.95/month Yahoo Premium Document Search. I'm going to try it out to see if it's useful in my article research; I'll let you know if I decide to stick with it or not.

A good day yesterday...sent out six queries (two snailmail, four electronic). Looks like I now have ten queries circulating, two articles to write, one I submitted yesterday and am waiting to hear if it needs changes, two to appear in publications in March. I've written 10,000 wds in my novel (goal is about 45,000-50,000 words, average number of words for middle reader novel) and on target so far; most of my time is being spent nonfiction research, but my fiction output has at least been steady since the beginning of the year. AND I'm still caught up in my finances, woohoo!

I'm thinking of treating myself to a massage at the Sutherland-Chan clinic as a reward to myself at the end of next month, if I'm still on schedule in terms of my writing...it's been nearly five months since my last one; paying for a massage seems like such an extravagant indulgence nowadays. I have to get over the guilt of spending the money on myself first. :\

Other updates:

Bryan and Elizabeth came over last night for dinner (I made Pasta Primavera from the Moosewood Cookbook) and Enterprise. Good episode; Jeff and I both thought it was the best so far.

Blatherpics

Photo taken at brunch at La Hacienda a couple weeks ago.

writing schedule

Marketing Day/Admin day today! My goal: to catch up on my finances and to research, craft and send out three queries for articles; I'll probably spend much of today offline at the Toronto Reference Library. I currently have four queries still circulating. Finished and submitted one article yesterday, still have two articles to write within the next few weeks. One of these articles is for a print visual artist magazine in the U.S....I'm being paid to interview my sister, very cool.

I also got word from Applied Arts and Harp Column about when my articles will be appearing. "Online Resources For Harpists" will appear in the March issue of Harp Column, and my profile of Vancouver illustrator, Luc Latulippe, will appear in the March/April issue of Applied Arts. It will mean being able to add some nice-looking clippings to my portfolio (clippings from online publications are great, of course, but aren't as impressive-looking to some print editors).

My daily work schedule has pretty much settled into the following these days: get up at 6-6:30 a.m. Write my Market Watch column for about an hour...sometimes less, sometimes more (I usually browse for publishing news items later in the day as well). Write my Blatherings for about an hour, then have some breakfast, sometimes a shower...since I usually go to the gym in the afternoon and shower then, however, I sometimes wait until then.

I spend more time on my Blatherings than I did when I first started because I take it more seriously as a writing exercise, and also because I've realized that many of my Blathering columns are potential fodder for article queries. Then again, I'm seeing potential articles in almost everything these days. :-) I keep a brainstorming page on my computer (and on paper) so that if inspiration strikes, I can write it down and get it out of my head (else the idea(s) tend to flutter around and bang into things, distracting me from what I should be focussing on). On Marketing/Admin day, I go through these brainstorm lists and whittle them down to the most promising topics, then choose the best to turn into actual queries.

It's funny how valuable my Blatherings have become to me in my writing...I highly recommend a daily journal (even if it's not public :-)) for any serious writer, or even anyone who is thinking about becoming a serious writer. Just the act of forcing yourself to write about something every day is an excellent exercise. I know it's definitely helped my writing.

In The Right To Write, author Julia Cameron refers to this exercise as "Morning Pages". For sheer inspiration to just write, I highly recommend Julia Cameron's book, Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down The Bones, and Anne Lamott's Bird By Bird. Whenever I start feeling like my writing's getting stagnant or unmotivated, I take out one of these books and read a random chapter. All three are laced with personal anecdotes.

Those of you who prefer inspiration that leans more heavily toward practical instruction tips should try the Anne Lamott book first. Julia Cameron's book is especially good for those with little time to write and who aren't sure how you'll -ever- have time to write. It's sometimes too easy to give into the image of the writer as an angst-ridden artist, spending far more time talking about writing than actually writing.

Which reminds of one of my favourite writing-related quotes, by Noel Coward: "What I adore is supreme professionalism. I'm bored by writers who can write only when it's raining." I used to have this printed out on a piece of cardstock and stuck up on my cork message board.

I also tend to be one of those writers who don't like talking about her current writing projects in detail, especially my fiction. If you ask me what my novel is about, I'm likely to be blunt and say I don't want to talk about it. I think I've ticked off certain acquaintances by this reply. For me, most of the energy and enjoyment of writing a novel is in the act of telling. If I talk about it before writing it down, then I'm not nearly as motivated to tell it again. Just it call it a writerly idiosyncrasy of mine. :-)

But I've gotten off the topic of scheduling. After I Blather (for me, this is the equivalent of a morning cup of coffee), I catch up on admin stuff a bit...planning my day, answering urgent work-related e-mail, then work on my fiction writing for a couple hours. Lunch break for about half an hour, usually leftovers from a meal cooked earlier in the week (these days I purposely plan cooking dinners to end up having enough extra for my lunches). Sometimes I go out for lunch with a friend, but I try not to do this more than once or twice a week. Afternoons are focussed on research and writing nonfiction.

I usually hit a slump around 2:30 or 3 pm, so take a break to do errands outside and/or work out at the gym. I know this seems like early for some people, but remember that by this time I've usually put in about 6-8 hours of work. When I get back, I work on stuff that doesn't take a ton of creative concentration...sending out requests for submission guidelines, for example, going through snailmail, general administrative stuff.

So far, this schedule seems to be working out okay for me. Since getting back from our sabbaticals, Jeff and I have both resolved not to work in the evenings. I also find that my schedule leaves me with enough energy and time to do a lot more cooking at home. Last night I tried cooking Indian food for the first time, and it actually turned out okay! I made makkani murghi (from scratch) and coconut thai rice (from a box). With enough leftovers for a couple lunches, yum. :-)



Blatherpics

	Sack o' sauce ad. Bizarre thing is, it was really used as an ad at some point in the past by someone (the Oscar Mayer people, I assume). I'm trying to imagine some advertising agency having a board meeting and saying, "WOW, this is REALLY GOING TO BLOW EVERYONE AWAY!"
	This ad for beer we saw on Queen Street had the blurb: "Resist the temptation of convenience." ?!?!?! What the heck is that supposed to mean? Other beers are convenient, but this particular beer isn't? It's more convenient to not drink? I don't get it. I would make a terrible advertising executive.

bubble tea

I've always liked trying new types of food. Or maybe that's not entirely true. I actually paused for a full fifteen seconds after typing that paragraph opening sentence, thinking about it.

As a kid, I don't recall purposely going out and trying new things to eat and drink. I even avoided certain things...what is it about childhood that makes one so much more picky? I don't know of any child below the age of twelve who will eat pretty much anything (please feel free to contradict me...I'd like to be contradicted).

I've heard some theories that children instinctively know what vitamins they do and don't need, but that nugget of wisdom rings pretty hollow when you observe kids sticking their noses up at all the things that are supposed to be good for you, like carrots, peas, and so on. Jeff's brother, Case, used to surreptitiously scoop his peas into a small drawer in side of the antique dining room table during family dinnertime. His mom apparently found out when she was doing some housecleaning and discovered the petrified pea horde.

As an adult, however, I'm willing to try pretty much anything new, once. I purposely go out of my way and seek out interesting things to eat on a regular basis, just to keep my tastebuds from going into a rut. This past weekend, I bought some smoked apple cheddar at St. Lawrence Market. It was my indulgence of the week...a modest slice cost about six bucks. But it was SO worth it! Gustatory orgasmic heaven. Or is that somewhat of an oxymoron?



Food poll: What about you all? Do you consider yourself an Adventurous Eater? Do you like trying new things, or stick to what you know you can tolerate? Do you have any food allergies? If so, how do you cope? Is there any type of food you absolutely cannot stand? What's the weirdest thing you ever ate? Post your answer here.

I think I used to have mild allergies to bananas and kiwi fruit, but I'm fine with both now. I think I'm allergic to something in Thai food, but haven't figured out exactly what yet...I suspect lemongrass is the culprit, but I'm not sure. Sad thing is, I love Thai food. Having to now regard it with suspicion is truly frustrating.

Every so often, I purposely try foods I don't like to see if I still don't like them. I recently discovered that kiwi fruit isn't so bad after all. Still am not all that keen on sea urchin, however (still tastes like soap). As far as I can tell, I don't have any other food dislikes.

Parki and I met for lunch yesterday at Tiger Lily on Queen Street, and he ordered something called bubble tea out of curiosity (see photo at top of my Blathering). Bubble tea seems to be all the rage in Toronto these days; I see bubble tea signs in a lot of restaurants. Come eat here! We have bubble tea, we really do!

When his mango bubble tea came to the table, it was nothing like either of us expected. Mango juice on the top, round black spherical things on the bottom of the glass. Very odd-looking. Parki says it was okay, but that he likely wouldn't order it again. He let me try one of the black spheres...it was firm, chewy, with a faint unusual flavour I couldn't place. When asked, our waitperson said the black things were made from tapioca. Tapioca???

Intrigued and revolted all at the same time, I did a little reearch when I got home. Bubble tea is apparently an import from Taiwan (craze began in the early '90s), and is a mix of tea, milk, sugar and giant black tapioca balls, served hot or cold. There seems to be a massive selection of flavours in some bubble tea places, including coconut, chocolate (!), peanut, and mung bean. The bubble tea craze hit California a couple of years ago, so this is likely so pass|AMP|eacute; for you all by now.

So in my quest to seek out and explore new gustatory experiences, I've added a new 2002 goal to my list: find and try chocolate bubble tea. :-)

News/Links

Lots of interesting responses to my shower poll yesterday; do check them out in Blatherchat. Christo's comment made me laugh:

"Debbie - A whole blathering on showers and not one photo! I thought you took your camera everywhere!"

:-)

(By the way, check out
this photo of Christo performing with ex-Monkee, Peter Tork! More photos in his Web site)

Other links...

CNN.com ran an article in Nov/2000 called "Tapioca milk tea creating waves as fun coffee alternative".

BubbleTeaOnline.com
"The Ultimate Guide To Your Bubble Tea Needs". Even includes a bubble tea discussion forum, if you're so inclined. Also offers a Bubble Tea Starter Kit "for those of you who would rather make your own Bubble Tea at home".

CafeScene.com
An online guide to finding the best "bubble tea experience" in Toronto.

Blatherpics

	Bubble tea that Parki ordered at Tiger Lily yesterday.
	Snowy scene from my office window yesterday.
	Hello Kitty toilet paper holder in the women's restroom at Azul's on the weekend. I took this to show Parki and Jeff.