What's in a name?

Today's prompt from The Daily Post is:

Do you know the meaning of your name, and why your parents chose it? Do you think it suits you? What about your children's names?

My name is Silvia.

The first and last time I checked its meaning was in Grade 6 when I had to complete an assignment. It means something along the lines of 'girl in the woods' or 'girl in the forest' or 'girl in a place that's green and nature-y and filled with dangerous animals that would eat her as soon as she tried going feral'.

In that sense, no, my name doesn't suit me. I couldn't survive in the wild for even a day.

However, I've been thinking about my name in another sense. Just the other day, my Short Fiction tutor said my name is something to live up to. I'm assuming he was talking about Sylvia Plath, which is pretty cool because she was a great writer and I'm aspiring to be a great writer. I was happy he made that remark, at least until I remember Sylvia Plath committed suicide. Still, my name gives me a goal and I love it all the more for that.

Sylvia Plath

As for my children's names... don't get me started. I don't have children yet and I don't plan to for a long time, but those poor things are going to hate me for their ridiculous names. It's very likely I'll name them like I name my characters because they're both my babies. Wren, Junia, Mell, Alcor and Feri are some right off the top of my head. But I might go in another direction and name my children after my favourite anime characters. Ace, Zoro, Nico Robin and Law.

Nico Robin from One Piece

Either way, I'll be naming my children with love and I hope they'll learn to accept their names as I have accepted mine.

Far from Home

A prompt from The Daily Post is:

Tell us about the furtherest distance you've travelled from home.

I have ambitions to travel and see the world but as I'm still a struggling student who's low on cash, I don't really have that luxury. However, I have taken advantage of opportunity when it came and that was in my first year of university when I joined a group of fellow students travelling to the rural zone to aid the local economy because crops and businesses had been devastated by floods earlier in the year.

We stayed in a small caravan park by the most beautiful lake I'd ever seen-- it was calm and quiet and the bunch of us just sat on the edge, nibbling on biscuits and making small talk about anything and everything that interested us. We talked about things from our courses and our interests to things like morals, ethics and religion. I remember we talked about religion a lot because we all had different faiths and it still strikes me to this day how about ten of us managed to talk through homosexuality, the Bible and hell without raising our voices or shooting down each other's beliefs. Civil conversation about such prickly topics was something I'd never experienced and I found it so relaxing to be able to chat and find out more about other people and their values.

I know for a fact that travelling enlightens me and makes me feel like I am truly living because of the new experiences that it offers me. I was so disappointed to return home, not that I didn't miss my family and all, but I loved the freedom that travelling and learning about rural life gave me.

This is the picture of me that I took while sitting on the side of that beautiful lake.

The good news is, I will definitely be travelling a lot more. In fact, I have plans to go to South Africa at the start of next year-- I joined a volunteer group who made a presentation at my university and in a few months time, I will be overseas (the absolute furtherest I will probably ever be from my family) and doing both conservation and humanitarian work for three amazing weeks.

South Africa has always been the dream-- just a few more months!

Tumblr fun!

So I came upon this thing called the 30 Day Anime Challenge on Tumblr, which is basically posting different things about my favourite animes for the period of one month. I'm a bit of an anime freak so I'm definitely giving it a shot!

If you're interested in following this little journey, this is my Tumblr account. If anyone else is into anime or manga, talk to me! I'm always up for a discussion about this stuff :D

Dreams and travels

A prompt from The Daily Post is:

Tell us about something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail and why you haven’t tried it yet.

"I want to be a vet!"

I have loved animals for as long as I can remember and vividly remember my animal-crazy stages which shifted from cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses, lizards, penguins, lions and about a thousand other different animals. I was adamant I would be a vet when I grew up and even knew which university I'd attend to make my dream come true.

However, when I was thirteen I realised vets had to put down animals and in my young and naive eyes, that was equivalent to murder and I couldn't handle something as weighty as that. It didn't even take a minute for my dream to crash down into splinters.

But still, I loved animals and continued loving them to this day. I'm now studying interactions between animals and their environments and I love it. I'm a biology person and I'm always looking towards learning more about life. When I learned humans originated from Africa, I wanted to go there so badly. It made me want to go there more just because of the amazing wildlife and culture.

"South Africa has always been the dream!"

I can't explain it but I've always wanted to go to South Africa. I don't really know what's there or what it's like or even how far it is from Australia but I know it's beautiful and it's where I have to be at least once in my life. I can't explain to anyone why I want to go or why it has to be South Africa. But my wordlessness seems to get the message across and people say it must mean it's meant to be.

I hope so. I've never been before because of the dangers of travelling by myself and my parents are pretty strict about stuff like that.

But... I'm going next year!

I signed up with a volunteer organisation and I will be doing conservation and humanitarian work in South Africa. I thought my parents were going to blow their tops off but they were so chill I thought they thought I wasn't serious.

When I said, "Yeah, I'm going to South Africa." They were like, "Yeah, okay."

So I'd say the only reasons keeping me from my dream was money and anxiety. But I work so I can afford this luxury and my parents couldn't care less now (I don't think they love me anymore, sob).

Hey there, little fella!

A prompt from The Daily Post (this one's been sitting in my 'Draft' pile for a while) is:

Take a quote from your favourite movie — there’s the title of your post. Now, write!

That's right, one of my two most favourite movies is Finding Nemo. The other one is The Lion King. I've always wondered why the movies I like are all the kiddy ones. Maybe it's because they subtly appeal to a wide demographic so people of all ages can enjoy them, and kids can still enjoy them when they grow up, have intricate plots and amazing characters. Yeah, that's gotta be it.

Finding Nemo

The funniest character in Finding Nemo is Dory full stop. Without her, the movie wouldn't have been half as good as it was. Ellen Degeneres was the perfect voice actor, full of humour and life, and it showed. I mean, after the movie came out, kids everywhere were imitating her.

"Hey there, little fella!"
"I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine. He shall be my Squishy."
"BAWETJSTRGRAERHTRSJSTS!"

That last one was supposed to be whale-talk. I don't think it translates well over Blogger.

And OH MY GOD, FINDING DORY IS COMING OUT IN 2015! Words cannot express how excited I am.

The Lion King

I have only one word for this movie: Scar.

He was the coolest villain ever. You know when you watch movies nowadays and you get a ten minute monologue of the villain's evil plans and his sick, twisted background which made him into a sick, twisted person? Yeah, Scar didn't give us any of that shizz. Nope, he sang his song in that wondrous, growling voice 'BE PREPARED FOR THE DEATH OF THE KING, BE PREPARED!' and said, "Long live the king" right before he killed Mufasa.

No character is more badass than that. Plus the whole sly personality made me love and hate him at the time. When Simba was telling (the dearly departed) Mufasa to get up because it was time to go home, my heart broke and feels just came pouring out. All because of Scar. I have a love/hate relationship with him. It's mostly love though, because he's a good villain, if that makes sense.

Over and over again

Today's prompt from The Daily Post is:

Tell us about a book you can read again and again without getting bored — what is it that speaks to you?

I couldn't believe my eyes when this question popped up today of all days because I had just picked up one of my most favourite books from childhood for another round of reading: The Call of the Wild by Jack London.

I got my grubby hands on this book in primary school. I was flipping through the Book Club catalogue, saw a book with a dog on the front cover and without knowledge of the plot or characters, I filled in the form and ordered it. That's right, I bought the book (or rather, my mum did because ten-year-old me had no money) because a dog stood proudly on the cover. I was in an animal adoration phase at that time.

This lovely cover made me buy the book.

Weeks later, the book arrived. I snatched it and eagerly flipped to the first page. From then on, I was swept away by the beauty and simplicity of the writing. The story sucked me in and opened up a whole new world, filled with the harsh snow of the Artic, the greed and cruelty of man, the loyalty and ferocity of dogs, and the list goes on forever.

It was all so new to my ten-year-old brain I'm surprised my head didn't explode. I zipped through the book in a few hours and it left me with feelings of wonder and emptiness, feelings which I have ever since used as a benchmark to compare other books.

The Call of the Wild was unlike anything I've read and even now, ten years on, I can't find a book I would love to re-read more.

Afro circus

I am the biggest fan ever of kiddy movies. Whenever I see a trailer that looks like it would fill a giant screen with awesomeness, I head straight for the theatres for a ticket and a giant bucket of popcorn.

While I've watched most of the kiddy movies out there, I'm ashamed to admit I haven't seen Madagascar 3 even though a lot of people talked about it. I guess I wasn't all that interested in social activities at that point in my life because I was focusing on my studies.

But a friend mentioned it a few weeks ago and started talking about this funny part in the movie:

I laughed. But not as hard as I snorted when I found mash-ups.

And even though this has nothing to do with Madagascar 3 or even Chris Rock, I stumbled upon this and laughed so hard I almost cried:

What even?

Today I received a rejection email from a magazine I submitted to last year. I'm disappointed because I put a lot of effort into my story but hey, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

The good thing about this magazine is that they give feedback to all the work they receive, so despite the rejection, I was quite pumped to know how I could improve my writing. I read through their comments and thought, "Hmm, yeah, okay. Not really my style but I see where you're going with this. I'll think about it."

Then one word caught me out.Voyeurism. The sub-editor who looked at my work said it had a sense of voyeurism. I didn't know what it meant, only that it sounded like voyage so maybe it had something to do with a journey, which would make sense because my story takes place in a train. Just to be sure though, I looked it up in the dictionary and saw this:

Voyeur n person who obtains pleasure from watching people undressing or having s*x.
Voyeurism n

And the first thing I thought was, "What the freak?"

I don't even know how that works. My mind was completely broken and I couldn't function straight for about half an hour. When I think back to it, I still don't, although I laugh at the reaction I had.

To end this post on a happy note, here's something that made me laugh:

Mess. Mess! EVERYWHERE!

Today's prompt from The Daily Post is:

Does a messy home (or office) make you anxious and cranky, or is cleaning something you just do before company comes over?

I'm messy by nature so books on the desk instead of the shelf and pencils rolling around instead of standing in a pencil jar doesn't faze me at all. In fact, my creativity and motivation thrive on mess because as Einstein so eloquently put it: "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?"

After reading that quote, I became quite proud of my desk, what with papers filled with novel ideas, lecture notes, books and sketches scattered everywhere. Lots of people look at it and see a giant towering stack of rubbish but most things making up that tower are important and systematically filed. By systematically, I mean everything is stacked in the order of: Monday's things, Tuesday's things, Wednesday's things etc. and then Wren, Fall, plot bunny #1, plot bunny #2, plot bunny #3 and so on.

However, I do become quite cranky when I lose a piece of paper in that tower and can't find it, or when there isn't enough space to work. That's when I roll up my sleeves and do a massive purging/exorcism of the unwanted things lurking in my desk. I tear through everything and separate it into three categories: bin, recycle and keep. I am heartless when it comes to cleaning. I keep what's necessary and everything else is rejected. Sentimental value? Those words aren't in my dictionary.

The only other time I clean is when guests come over and I am commanded by a scary dragon called Mother to clean up my desk and my room so our special visitors won't think I'm a troll who crawled out from under its bridge. Instead, they'll think I'm a civilised person with normal hobbies and tastes.

It's like false advertising.

Dun-dun-duuuun!

Today's prompt from the The Daily Post is:

If you were to judge your favourite book by its cover, would you still read it?

There are so many books I've read and loved, I don't know if I can choose one. I've got about thirty books in front of me right now and I'm scanning them to see which one I should talk about for this post and my indecisiveness is getting to the point where my eye is about to start twitching.

I'm settling on Matthew's Reilly's Ice Station.

Matthew Reilly is the god of action thrillers and his works are filled with guns, explosions, blood, swearing and a lot of humour stemming mainly from a character called Mother, who is the least motherly character I can think of. His sentences are short, sharp and everything swooshes by at a pace so fast I was flipping through the pages like a crazed bibliophile who couldn't get enough of words.

Once, I stayed up till three in the morning to finish one of Matthew Reilly's books. It was a great idea at the time but a couple of hours later in school, I really regretted it.

I digress.

Although this cover doesn't tell the reader much about the epic and violent content inside, there is a dark feel to it because of the rolling clouds above the silhouette of a darkened ice station. It's almost a prelude to the horror that the Marines find themselves in, a quiet photo to lull the reader into a false sense of security before throwing them neck-high into action.

I'd pick this up based on the cover alone. I'm more of a minimalist when it comes to covers and if it's clean and simple then I'm more likely to pick it up. That's not to say I won't pick up a book that's got characters and words crammed onto the cover, no, of course not. But it will deter me quite a bit.

Anonymity on the internet

One of the many things I cannot stand is bullying and more specifically, cyberbullying.

Today someone expressed her opinion on her blog. It was her opinion about her experience and it was looking on the upside of a medical condition that most people tended to look down upon. Soon after that, a person commented. No, not even that. It didn't resemble a comment because every second word was 'bullsh*t'. The comment expressed no opinion. It was, quite literally, all 'bullsh*t'.

Oddly enough, the commenter didn't have the guts to post under his or her name. Just 'Anonymous'. A cruel and profane message delivered without a name, without a picture or even initials.

And that pissed me off, big time.

Would the commenter have said the same cruel and profane words if the anonymous function had been disabled? No, of course not because that's not what cowards do. They can't make a comment and stand by it because they know they'd be attacked if they left their real name. They know they deserve it so they hide behind their computers like the pathetic wimps they are, with their fake bravado and big words.

I should hate cyberbullies. And maybe I do, just a little bit. A part of me pities their miserable existence. But mostly, I laugh at them because they think they're powerful and dominating when the truth is, they are nothing without their computers.

I stand up for my opinions without shame and I don't diss others for theirs. What do you do?

Growing up or growing old?

Today's prompt from The Daily Post is:

When was the first time you really felt like a grown up (if ever)?

There's been no specific time when I thought, "Wow, I'm all grown up now!"

It doesn't matter that I'm over eighteen, that I'm actually in my twenties and study at university or that I can drive (sort of) because I have the mentality of a ten year old and that's reflected in my childish personality.

However, there have been moments in my life, particularly in the past three or four years, when reality snuck up behind me and whispered, "Wow, you're old."

That usually happens when I'm talking to people younger than me and I start my sentences with one of these three beginnings:

1. When I was younger...
2. When I was your age...
3. I remember when...

I don't think I've lived a long life by far, but throughout my childhood, technology has made leaps and bounds so far I'm still scrambling to catch up. All the little things I told myself I'd have as a child are now obsolete. Like VHS, walkmans and the old Nintendos. It's like having my dreams taken away from me.

It doesn't help that children have asked me if I'm married or pregnant (!), call me Miss and Lady and see me as a teacher figure because I am their tutor. It's even worse when new tutors, fresh out of high school, come in and they say, "You must have a lot of experience since you've worked here for so long!"

It's even worse when my friends say, "Silvia is like the grandma of this place!"

Growing up is fine. But growing old is not and I don't think I will ever truly feel like a grown up. Maybe not until I'm married or have my own kids or something I associate completely with adulthood.

So much for my happy ending

Today's prompt from The Daily Post is:

“And they lived happily ever after.” Think about this line for a few minutes. Are you living happily ever after? If not, what will it take for you to get there?

This was the first thing that came into my mind after I read the prompt. Yes, it's an old video and I honestly have not heard the song in years but for some reason the lyrics resurfaced and my brain started singing the song with burning passion. Even in my head, I am off-key.

Now, about my happy ending: I don't believe I have achieved it yet.

I don't know what I want to do career-wise. I study the zoological aspects of science and as much as I hate to admit it, I can't see myself working in this field twenty years from now.

Instead, I see myself typing away on my laptop with a mug of hot chocolate steaming next to my hands. I'm a novelist and I create worlds and people and stories for a living. That's what I want to do more than anything.

But I know, and everyone has mentioned it far too many times for me to count, that writers don't earn a lot. In fact, unless my books become a bestseller like Harry Potter, I won't be able to support myself much less a family and my dream pets.

In that case, I decided I would do both as a career-- a journalist who reports on new findings or something to that effect. If I can't, then I could always work in the labs or fields during the day and become a writer by night.

When I really think about it, I realise I'm not really fussed about myself in terms of careers. There are thousands of possibilities out there and as long as I can live without too many hardships, I'll be happy.

What I am burning to do is to finish and publish my manuscript. It's been tough work so far but I'm running as fast as I can because the end is in sight. I can see my dream slowly taking form each day I work on Wren, Fall and until I hold it in book format, I won't feel like I have achieved anything worthwhile.

So my happy ending is some time away but rest assured I am working my best towards that goal.

Penny for your thoughts?

I admit even though I used that expression, I don't actually know what a penny looks like or how much it's worth. But it ties in well with today's prompt from The Daily Post which is:

Dig through your couch cushions, your purse, or the floor of your car and look at the year printed on the first coin you find. What were you doing that year?

My couch doesn't have gaps between the cushions, I don't own a purse and the only cars I own are in my dreams. I had to do a little improvising today and went to this little bowl where my family and I keep our silvers and a few golds.

I stuck my hand into the bowl, pulled out a 20 cent piece and flipped to Queen Elizabeth's head. I almost burst out laughing because the coin was made in 1975 and at that time, I wasn't even alive. Hell, my parents were still children then!

So I tossed the 20 cents back and dug out another one. The next coin was made in 2010, which was perfect.

Twenty-ten, as I call it, was the year I graduated from high school. It was the most stressful year of my life yet because my school had us preparing for exams which they insisted would determine the outcomes of the rest of our lives. Of course, they were lying but they wanted us to do well so I spent a lot of my days slaving away on homework and practice exam papers.

It wasn't as depressing as it sounded. I had many free periods at school and because I'm me, I'd spend them in the library either reading a good book or going over my (many) mistakes in tests and other papers. However, my best friend often persuaded me to dump my work and muck around at the playground that's a five minute walk from the school.

We spent practically every free period there and to be honest, it was the highlight of my year. There's nothing better than shouting and running around, being a kid and going down slides, across flying foxes, taking pretty pictures, ugly pictures and being silly. It made me forget the pressure that seemed to box me in around my desk and chain me there.

I have never regretted spending time with my best friend when I "should have" been studying, not even when some people hear about it and give me a look of derision to imply I could have gotten much better marks and gotten into a better course at university. But their opinion doesn't mean a thing to me because in the end, I got into the university I wanted and I'm doing the course I wanted.

I might not have gotten the highest marks but I got enough to get me where I wanted to be. I'm happy with that.

Food. Need I say more?

Today's prompt from The Daily Post is:

Describe the most satisfying meal you've ever eaten, in glorious detail.

Have you ever been so hungry that your stomach cells ooze hydrochloric acid and practically digests itself to make you feel like there's a bottomless abyss in the pit of your torso while your guts growl like the big, bad wolf and demand that you shove some food into your mouth and fill up your stomach?

I've had that feeling a few times.

Now that I think about it, every time I felt like dropping dead in hunger were when I holidayed in little 'tourist' spots and crawled all around the little towns to find little shops that were open. In my experience, places with low population densities have shops that open their doors just before noon and close them in the afternoon.

Dinner wasn't much of an option.

But after trawling around, I chanced upon a tiny fish 'n chip shop which I never would have noticed if it weren't for the lights shining out of the windows-- they were a beacon of hope in the dark, dark night. I managed to scrape myself off the sidewalk where I'd collapsed from hunger and stagger through the doors, which welcomed me with a gust of warm air from the heaters. Almost crying with relief, I croaked at the cashier for a burger.

I don't usually eat burgers because they're too simple. They're something I could toss together at home, fail-cook me. But at that moment, I was desperate for something huge and filling that I could devour without being delicate and a giant burger stuffed with everything was the first thing that surfaced in my energy-deprived brain.

It was the best burger I had ever eaten. The buns were soft and when I poked it, they sprang back to their original form like puffy marshmallows and I swear the meat was still sizzling in juices and fat when it was served. The mayonnaise was sweet on my tongue and it complemented the lettuce and tomatoes well, which was a big deal because I don't eat tomatoes if I can help it.

As Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory put it: "This has a much more satisfying meat to bun to condiment ratio."

Everything about that burger was perfect. The buns, the meat, the sauce, the condiments. It all worked and it satisfied my starving body well.

Long live the burger!

Trees, flowers and goats

Today's prompt from The Daily Post is:

You’re given a plot of land and have the financial resources to do what you please. What’s the plan?

Wait, someone gave me land and money? Is there a long-lost uncle who left it to me in his will?

If I'm ever that lucky, the first thing that shoots into my head is re-vegetation.

I love walking past trees because their whispering leaves beckon to me every time. They urge me to grab onto a branch and climb to the top where I could imagine, just for a few minutes, that I was a perching bird overlooking a small part of its kingdom.

If there were trees, there would be flowers. Flowers are pristine and one of my favourites is jasmine. They have a beautiful scent, especially in the evenings and they remind me of quiet times when I sat down with a good book and a mug of jasmine tea.

However, I'm a pragmatist. Re-vegetation is good for the wildlife however it would do me no good. I can't live in the trees or off the trees so I'd add a veggie patch full of carrots, peas and potatoes. I love fruit so I'd section off another area for a strawberry patch, a raspberry vine, and an orchard of nectarines and apples.

If I had any land left over, I'd keep a few goats (I don't know why, but I love goats) for milk and cheese and perhaps a chicken or two for their eggs. I would also have two dogs, not just because I love dogs, but also because the other animals and the land need to be protected and I can think of no better guards than two faithful German Shepherds.

Nightmare

Today's prompt from The Daily Post is:

Describe the last nightmare you remember having. What do you think it meant?

I'm not the type of person who remembers dreams. But nightmares? I remember a few of them, especially if they're enough to scare me awake. You know what it's like: heart racing in fear, panting in fright and sweating so much you have to change shirts.

Surprisingly, my last nightmare didn't scare me a lot. I say surprisingly because I'm a big chicken and jump at the smallest things. But I remembered it because while I was dreaming, I thought, "Wow, this would make such a cool book!"

It was similar to a zombie apocalypse. No, don't roll your eyes! It was good, I swear!

My friends and I lived in a Big Brother-esque society that sheltered people from zombies. These zombies looked a lot like the Darkseekers in the movie I am Legend and everyone lived in fear of them.

One day, when we were mucking around in some public toilets (I believe we were vandalising) we stumbled across a strange mechanism built into the walls and the roof. We investigated further and pulled it apart only to find it was covered in blood.

The blade on the roof swung down to chop off the heads of unsuspecting victims. The head would fly into a chute in the wall and somehow, in the way that only happens in dreams, my friends and I figured out that our government was creating these zombies to control society and used this very contraption to kill those who found out.

This family would be ideal zombies.

We devised a plan to trek to the capital and destroy their zombie-making equipment. A large group joined us on our journey. Old friends and people I haven't seen in years made guest appearances in my nightmare.

On our way, we ran into groups of zombies but we were always safe because these weird little creatures, which looked like sea slugs with fluorescent red dots and green stripes, always appeared, like a sign that the zombies were approaching.

At one point, we were fighting zombies in a handbag store and I was standing on a shelf and chucking handbags at zombie's heads while shoving two children (I don't know where they came from) behind me.

The next thing I knew, my eyes were creaking open and I rolled over to grab a notebook and a pen, which I keep on my nightstand for these purposes, and scribbled every detail down before I forgot. My brain kept saying, "It's fine, Silvia, you'll remember. Just grab another hour of sleep."

But I've been tricked by my scumbag brain before and knew better than to trust it.

End result: a fantastic plot bunny I intend to work on!

Guest post: setting

I've been gathering usable bits and pieces of Wren, Fall and while I did so, I noticed that I focused a lot on aspects such as plot and characterisation and neglected any mention of setting. For example, I'd go on and on about the terrible things that were happening and who was affected by such events but rarely told the readers where the scene took place, much less what the surroundings looked like.

Aghast that I'd left out such a crucial element, I grabbed my trusty pen and prepared to describe the heck out of my imaginary world, city, buildings and rooms. But I couldn't do it. I didn't know how to do it properly-- that is, to incorporate setting into my story without making it sound like I'd just shoved it in there for the sake of having a setting.

When I am unsure of something, I conduct research so that's what I did. I sat in front of my laptop for hours and read scores of blogs and articles and other media where I could grab some advice. The thing about writing is, is that it's subjective. Nothing is every truly right nor is it ever truly wrong. The sites couldn't tell me what to do but they could tell me what not to do.

I let the advice sink in. I hmm-ed and mm-ed and finally, I ah-ha-ed!

Lightbulb moment!

You can read about my epiphany right here as a guest post written by yours truly at the Laura Thomas Communication blog, where I outline the basics of combining characterisation and setting.

As always, this writing style might not be for everybody and that's okay!

University rage

I have memories of high school where people came in and talked to us about what to expect in university. They told us tales of hard work and triumph but assured us the atmosphere was laid-back and stress-free because that was how older people lived.

Lies.

Okay, not all of them were lies. But still, there's one thing that stresses me out every semester and I feel like choking people whenever it comes up. You can read about my aversion for timetables in my university's blog.

As far from normal as you can get

Today's prompt from The Daily Post is:

Many of us think of our lives as boringly normal, while others live the high life. Take a step back, and take a look at your life as an outsider might. Now, tell us at least six unique, exciting, or just plain odd things about yourself.

Unique? Exciting? Plain odd? Yup, here's your list!

Thing the first:

"That's enough ice-cream for a week." -Father

I like ice-cream therefore I eat lots of ice-cream. It's basic maths. However as good as this maths is, my family doesn't agree. Little Sister once remarked I eat more ice-cream than I do rice, which is a big deal considering I'm Chinese and love my rice. Father also constantly tells Mother not to buy ice-cream because I apparently eat too much.

Thing the second:

"Why are you laughing? Are you mad?" -Father, Mother and Little Sister

If only I laugh as prettily as she does.

I spend some of my free time watching anime or reading manga. On occasion, I stumble upon funny dialogue or facial expressions which make me laugh. Not a normal 'Haha, that was funny!' laugh, but a high-pitched, cackling shriek which turns into a giggle which then fades into silence. But I am still laughing, so I'm basically a shaking mess of bones, muscles and skin. I also clap my hands like a retarded seal.

Thing the third:

"You're such a stick." -Everyone

I was a skinny kid and everyone told me I needed to gain weight, although I never understood it. But a few years back, I was out with friends and saw myself in a mirror. I was horrified by how skeletal I looked and vowed to gain weight. Now I'm heavier but still need to eat more, as evidenced when I offered to help a friend move a couch and she started screaming, "NO, NO, NO, SILVIA, NO! GET AWAY, YOU'LL SNAP IN TWO!"

Thing the fourth:

"You've got daddy-long legs." -Longtime childhood friend

My hips are relatively high on my body so by default I am a bit leggy. I've received a few comments about this but my longtime childhood friend's comment is the one that stuck because it made me laugh. Sometimes I think back to our silliness and end up laughing all over again, to the point of respiratory failure and tears.

Thing the fifth:

"You have too many stuffed toys." -Mother

I love animals and since my parents won't buy me another pet (I have a beautiful Belgian Shepherd/German Shepherd cross) I resorted to collecting stuffed ones. They've come from all the places I've ever visited and people buy me stuffed toys for birthdays and other celebrations. Each toy has a gender and a name and they share my bed, my nightstand, my shelf and my wall. Yes, my wall. Father strung string across my wall and hung toys up with pegs.

Thing the sixth:

"You're such a man." -Everyone

I don't wear skirts or dresses because the wind could decide to blow up at any time and show every passing pedestrian and car my choice of undies for the day. Wearing shorts is not a possibility when the skirt/dress material is so flimsy you can see the colour of your shorts through it. So jeans all the way for me!

How I procrastinate

I'm a bit of a procrastinator. Just a bit. A little bit. A very little bit.

One way I avoid working, studying or even writing is grabbing a handful of chocolate bars, jumping online onto Youtube and watching a few funny videos. Yeah, just a few. Okay, not a few. A couple. Actually, it's more a few dozen.

Oh, all right. I can easily spend an hour or two re-watching videos that make me laugh. Since I try to spread happiness and laughter, I thought I'd share some videos that elicited either giggles or bales of laughter from me.

The first one is a compilation of animals being shot at and playing dead. I think the hamsters are the funniest.

The second one is guys acting like girls on Facebook. This one... um, maybe it should be rated PG because of the suggestive ending. In everyday terms, maybe you shouldn't watch it if you're under thirteen years old. But it's up to you, I'm not your mother.

This third one is David So, singing about his experiences with dating and diarrhoea. Warning: David swears so this should probably be rated PG as well. But, as we all know, everyone swears so what the heck-- watch the video!

  

Braving the blank page

After re-evaluating my story and cutting most of it, I tried starting it over again but I couldn't face a blank page on Microsoft Word after making such a heartbreaking decision.

To fill in the time, I wrote character synopses which helped me figure out motives and direction and consequently, to figure out which scenes were important and which scenes could be scrapped. This means I won't write another 57,000 words and find something wrong with it. I won't be wasting time.

I thought I had it done, so I could brave the blank page again but when I did, my brain went dead and my fingers tapped random words on the keyboard. I felt like this, only not as happy:

http://dailypicksandflicks.com/2012/06/20/daily-picdump-495/brain-fart-dolphin/

As I clearly wasn't ready to start my story again, I started writing a scene list and ordering everything so I won't have to format or snip and tie threads later. I find it therapeutic to build my story, world and characters from scratch instead of plunging straight in-- I've had too many disasters and I'm going to work through this so I won't be disappointed again.

I'm pumped! I'm going to get this done. I won't finish by the deadline I previously imposed but I can still see myself sending out query letters before my birthday, so still that's my main goal. No more brain fart. I'm going off to finish my scene list!

Planning

I'm not much of a planner. I tend to 'pants' which means I take the story wherever my pen (or keyboard) takes me and enjoy the journey from there. I don't worry about planning and when someone mentions plot or structure or even motive, I'm all like this:

http://title2come.tumblr.com/

Through NaNoWriMo, I found that working with a plan works for me because I know where my story is going and I don't end up with an incoherent mess afterwards, complemented with plot holes, vague settings and character inconsistencies.

Unfortunately I didn't plan Wren, Fall enough. While I was revising, I realised I have to work in another subplot to make a later arc believable. It doesn't sound like much but this particular subplot is large, dynamic and explosive and it demands attention because it's awesome.

That led to me pulling out a pad of paper and a multi-coloured pen and rewriting my 'three-act structure' all over again. This was a bittersweet choice because 1) I found loose threads and 2) I have to tighten them up. By 'tightening up' I mean discarding everything I've already written because hardly any of it will be of use.

That means scrapping all 57,000 words of my so-far second draft.

http://title2come.tumblr.com/

Cries. So many cries.

Lord of the Rings

I’m not much of a movie buff and I don’t do the fangirling thing (except with select anime and manga) but a few months ago, I talked with a bunch of kids about books and they couldn’t believe it when I confessed I hadn’t read or watched Lord of the Rings.

Feeling significantly inferior, I resolved to get into the series but nothing happened until two weeks ago when I went shopping and spotted a bargain—all three LOTR books printed and bound in giant book for a measly $22. I didn’t hesitate to buy it and when I proudly showed it off to my mum, she said, “You bought a dictionary?”

I suppose it looks like one. The cover is fire-engine red and it’s the thickest book in my shelves.

I decided to watch The Hobbit, which came out recently and I loved it. So I went bought The Hobbit book and read that first, which I also loved and once I was done I delved straight into LOTR. I’m almost halfway through my fat book *mental celebratory dance*.

Now when people ask what I’ve been to, I tell them about my new-found love for LOTR and instead of being happy for me, they’re scandalised I only got into it now. To be truthful, I’m kind of scandalised myself.

The characters are vivid and their habits make me laugh. I like Gollum and Treebeard best, then Merry and Pippin. When the Ents went on and on in their language, I giggled at Pippin’s reaction and I had to smile at Gimli and Legolas’ rivalry when they killed Orcs.

I’m having so much fun reading this series and I have to ask myself why I didn’t pick this up earlier.

Found at http://9gag.com/gag/6421931

Finding my laptop's name

My friend Hanada names almost every object she owns. Her old phone was Miguel, her new phone is DiCardiac, her old laptop was Aang the Airbender, her new laptop is Korra Tenzin, her calculator is Refridgerator, her USB is Tardis and her desk is Narnia. That's only off the top of her head!

I never understood it. I'd just call them 'her old phone, her new phone, her old laptop, her new laptop, her calculator, her USB and her desk'. That’s what I call my possessions too, because they’re objects. But when I laid eyes on my first laptop, I couldn't stop looking at the beautiful metal casing, the black keys and its slim design. I knew it was female and I knew her name was Halle.

Halle served me well but unfortunately she didn't last long—a water bottle with a loose cap saw to that. I got a replacement laptop which was the same make and model and almost two years later, it still doesn't speak to me. It has no gender and no name so it has been called ‘my laptop’ since we first met.

Not my laptop but it looks similar.

It’s a good laptop. It handles hours and hours of Facebook, Blogspot, Tumblr, writing, revising and editing. It’s sturdy and takes everything I throw at it. Or rather, it survives anything I throw it at. The metal casing has dents and dings and there’s ink (mostly red) all over the keyboard.

As it survived way longer than Halle, I decided to go the opposite way—this second laptop is a male and it needs a strong, masculine name. I'm thinking Alastor. No, not Alastor Moody from Harry Potter. I'm talking about Alastor, Lord of the Crimson Realm from Shakugan no Shana. The voice actor for this character has a deep, booming voice that fits my laptop perfectly.

Alastor, Lord of the Crimson Realm as a pendant.

In this case, it wasn't so much that he didn't speak to me— I had to be patient and get to know him better before he revealed his name.

Alastor!