Ramblings of Reality

'Ello, mates!

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us and I am still extremely busy.

I entirely abandoned Nano. (Oops.)

I'm doing online college courses.

I'm going to see my favorite CCM band tomorrow (Friday) night.
(Any other Tenth fans?)
^This is one of the benefits of Florida. Yes, I've found they do exist.

I'm currently part of an awesome bible study group. Every other Thursday night, and Sunday afternoon once a month just to get together.
The group only started six Thursdays ago. So today was the 3rd meeting + the game night this past Sunday afternoon. (Yes, we called it a game night, anyway. We're cool like that.)

No, it's not Christmas yet.
Christmas comes after Thanksgiving and not before.
Thank you.
That said, I am looking forward to the white Christmas I'll hopefully be seeing in Pennsylvania when I visit.

I really have nothing in particular to say right now. Only making an appearance, I suppose.
You know, so y'all know I'm still here.
Sorry I've been so neglective my blogs! I do miss it all.

Ohhhh, I never posted Part 2, did I?! Wow, to be honest, I don't think I ever finished editing it. It's been actually written since before I saw the first episode, just not properly edited. Or posted, obviously...
Terribly sorry, I'll have to get on that sometime...
I honestly do mean that.

Woah, it's already almost 1am! I'd better get to sleep.
Black says hi. He has a name now but I guess I'm not publishing it tonight.

Goodnight, everyone.

Sunshine Award

Hello, dearies!

I apologize for my sudden absence. I've been busy with things like moving to a different state, planning things with new and best of friends, attending a wedding, and all manner of otherness. I also seem to have abandoned An Ocean Raging... I'll get back to that once I'm moved (beginning of October).

For those of you anxiously awaiting part two (of Curse Me For Loving You), I'm still working on that, and planning on finishing it before Sunday night when season four of Once Upon a Time premiers.

In the meantime, Carly from Books and Etc. has nominated me for the Sunshine Award. (Still not sure why these things are called awards?) Thanks, Carly!

rules

thank the person who nominated you

tell us five facts about yourself

answer the five questions given

write five questions for your nominees to answer

nominate five bloggers for this award

(and let them know about it)

random facts

I finally got my hair cut. I went from hair all the way down my back to hair above my shoulders with side bangs. And I love it.

My friend and I came up with an entire book plot (on accident) and cast of five characters (including names, personality, etc.) in less than twenty minutes. Also, the title for the book and ideas for a four-book series. Which she's actually going to write. And I get to know everything about everything and yell at her when I don't like something (and praise her when I do. I'm not all jerk). Yay and awesome sauce.

I'm moving from Pennsylvania to Florida in less than two weeks. (Just me, not my family. I'll be living with my aunt as a nanny for her son.)

I turned 20 fifteen days ago

I'm sick of giving random fact about myself. I'm boring, anyhow.

carly's questions

what is your favorite memory from middle school?

I don't know what my favorite memory is. But a memory is seeing the stars in the African sky so much more clearly than are usually seen here in America. There were so many, and it was so beautiful. The closest the Pennsylvanian sky has gotten to that are on clear winter nights. The sky is so much more clear and beautiful in wintertime.

if you were a book, who would you want in your story and who would write it?

plus, what genre would your book be (personality-wise)?

Markus Zusak would write it.

Hmm... I have to actually choose people? I don't know... I need a limit.

My closest friends, my closest family members, and a few random strangers just to make it interesting.

Genre? Based on my personality? Hmm. Adventure, maybe? With a dash of darkness and a hint of horror. Then throw in a small slice of sunshine to balance it out a bit.

if you could change your name, what would you change it to and why?

Jinger.

Not really. That's just what a friend kept thinking my name was when we first met. Apparently, it's now my nickname.

Honestly, I don't know.

if you could turn back time and relive a year of your life, what year would it be and why?

I wouldn't.

But, if I've got to choose...

Nope. Sorry. Too much brain power needed.

Perhaps another time, dearie.

Next!

if you were a superhero, what would be your superpower and who would be your partner(s) in crime?

what would you call yourselves?

My superpower would be that I never had to sleep. I can if I want to, but I don't have to. That would be absolutely lovely in so many ways.

I wasn't aware that superheros committed crimes? Very well. Anne-girl and Aaron. We would be all kinds of things, from Robin Hood to Charlotte Doyle to something out of Little Women, to the idiots who do things like eat pudding out of mayonnaise jars and put on fake accents when no one knows who we are. Also cosplays (which basically means mature dress-up and play-acting, minus "mature"). I'd mostly provide the insults and insanity.

We'd call ourselves kameraden. Obviously.

I'm really not usually the one to come up with the name.

I'm just the one who changes the original words around properly.

(Fine, I'll tell you. Kameraden is German for comrades.)

yeah, I used Google translate...

my questions

what kind of posts would you like to see (more of) on my blog?

if you could be a new character in your favorite TV show, which show would that be?

what role would you play in the show?

why is the sky blue?

tell me your worst nightmare

how and when did the writer's curse first consume you?

nominees

Westmoure || Revelations

Anna || Anna's Notebook

MaddieJ || The Wonderful World of My Life

Evi || Where Books Never End

magicandwriting583 || Magic and Writing

I've one other announcement. Two, actually. And neither of them have anything to do with anything associated with my blog. Yet. I have two new Monte Cristo converts. And I have become a Sherlockian.

Now we'll see how I do about getting that fanfic finished...

Collaborations

Hello dearies!

Just a note to let you all know about an internet friend of mine, Nadd from Revelations. We're currently working on two collabs together:

1. This month's Chatterbox
2. A series of short stories

We'll be posting them one our blogs, some parts on mine and some on his. So go give Revelations a visit, and keep an eye out for our collabs, both here and there!

Beautiful People: Jess

1) What's his favorite food? Spaghetti

2) What does he absolutely hate? Hypocrites

3) What does he enjoy learning about? Anything. He reads a lot and loves to learn.

4) Who is the most influential person in his life? His youth pastor.

5) What is his childhood fear? He was afraid a tree would be struck by lightning, fall on the house, and crush someone.

6) What is something he has always secretly dreamed of but thought impossible? Winning gold at the Winter Olympics for snowboarding and at the Summer Olympics for skateboarding.

7) What is something he is impractically afraid of? Losing his best friend.

8) Is he a night owl or a morning person? Night owl, definitely.

9) Does he say everything that pops into his head or leave a lot unsaid? He doesn't usually say everything that pops into his head, but he doesn't necessarily leave things unsaid, either.

10) What are his nervous habits? Stretching, hands in pockets, moving.

Beautiful People Linkup II

After I wrote "Myrna", I decided to do Beautiful People's June linkup for Jainie.

I know, I know, I already did this month's. But where is it said that I can't do it twice?

So, here's June's "Beautiful People" for Jainie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) What is her full name and is there a story behind why she got it?

Jainie Ruth Alexander

Jainie: I made this name up. No reason other than she whispered the sounds of her name to me, and when I came up with "Jainie", she told me that was her name.

     (meanings based on the name "Jane")

     Origin: Hebrew

     Meaning: God is gracious

          • already explained

          • we made it up together

Ruth because it sounded good as a middle name with "Jainie."

     Origin: Hebrew | English

     Meaning: friend | compassion

          • as I said, it sounded good with "Jainie"

          • I also liked the meaning, which goes with her personality

Alexander, being her father's surname, became her own

     Origin: Greek

     Meaning: defending man

          • I think I said something about this here

2) How old is she, and when was she born?

That depends on what part of the story you're in. She's either almost 11 or dead.

She was born on 24 August 2001.

3) Describe her physical appearance.

Long brown hair. Light/dark brown eyes (they're darker than medium brown, but they have a certain light to them which makes them seem lighter-colored). Shapely face, naturally shaped eyebrows. Slender nose; graceful, nicely reddish-colored lips. An almost invisible dusting of several freckles. Tall and slender yet petite; seemingly delicate but insanely tough.

        Bonus Questions:

          1. What is her race/nationality/ethnicity?

                    She's Alex's sister, so I'm not sure yet except that she's American.

          2. Do you have a picture of her? If so, include it!

                    

                                         

4) Describe your character's personality first in one word, and then elaborate with a few sentences.

Giving. She's extremely generous and tends to think of others first. She wants to help however she can.

5) What theme song(s) fit her personality and story arc?

I'd never given this any thought but as soon as I read the question, "Who You'd Be Today" by Kenny Chesney popped in my head.

After listening to it, that's definitely Alex's theme song. I'm still not sure what Jainie's song would be.

6) Which one of the seven deadly sins (gluttony, greed, lust, envy, slothfulness, wrath, pride) describes your character?

Jainie isn't a lazy person, but she does struggle with a certain amount of slothfulness.

7) If she was an element (fire, water, earth, air), which one would she be?

Water. She's flexible. (That's not all but the words aren't coming for me.)

8) What is her favorite word?

Brother. He was her stability growing up, the one she looked to, the one who care for her and told her stories of their father. If there was a god in her life, it was her brother. Not in an idolatrous way, but more in that he was the god-figure. She knew nothing of God and so Alex was the one who filled that gap. (Is this sounding the way I'm wanting it to?) 

I guess what I'm saying is that the word "brother" stands for everything good in her life. Every good memory, every good thought, anything that was good always included her brother. And so, of course, when she thinks "good," she thinks "brother" and visa versa.

"Brother" is synonymous with "home."

9) Who is one person she really misses? (It could be someone who's passed away, or someone she's not close to anymore, or someone who's moved away.)

Jake Tanner. He still lives next door, but things have changed since she was small. Jake is in the same grade as Alex, and since there's a 5-year age difference between him and Jainie, it makes it very difficult to spend any time with him. Especially when you've got Uncle Ken expecting you to be back as soon as school is over; cook, clean, do your homework, do whatever Ken wants. She still gets time with her brother, and Alex still hangs out with Jake, but the three of them are never able to do anything together anymore, especially not Jainie.

10) What sights, sounds, and smells remind them of that person?

Small bodies of water; anything that's linked to something they've done or somewhere they've been together. I don't really know specifically, because the only memory I've discovered is the one in "Myrna".

From the Air

I'm traveling this week with some family friends (Josiah & Tiffany) to help take care of their special-needs son, Dillon. His brain was damaged at birth and as a result he requires round-the-clock care. They didn't have a nurse who could go with them to watch him overnight, and so that is why I am here. He doesn't talk but he sighs from time to time. I'd never heard his voice before last night, and he's sighing quite a bit tonight. <3

I'm also helping watch their 3 other children, ages [almost] seven, [almost] four, and two. No lack of energy there! Boarding planes (we had one connection) and then driving several hours was a lot of work but we did it, with some help from the airport.

Tiffany picked me up yesterday afternoon and I spent the night with them before leaving today. Between the time I arrived and dinner & bedtime that night (the kids went to bed early, since we had to get up around 4:30 or 5 am), I mostly watched the kids. We went outside and climbed trees, dug in the dirt, rode bikes, flew a kite, and chased each other with water guns. The oldest of the three, Jay, informed me that he was going to stay outside all day and all night long. Kids can be a lot of fun (and I'm not saying that sarcastically!).

It was awesome seeing the ground from the plane. This is the second time I've flown, the first being in 2006 from Pennsylvania to South Africa (one stop in...I can't remember, somewhere in Africa). From the 2006 flight, I mostly remember the water. It was really neat, seeing it from so high up. The waves were like small ripples in a flowing, silken tapestry. Incredible. Especially when you think of just how large those waves really are.

Besides the water, I also remember the clouds when we were above them -- huge, fluffy clouds that looked like mountains. I took a mind-picture of one in particular that I'll never forget. They looked good enough to eat! And to climb. If that makes sense.

Also, the shadows. The clouds made shadows on the ground. When you're on the ground, these shadows are known as "shade". But from an airplane, they are clearly shadows. It was awesome. Everything was so small compared to its size from the ground. The clouds engulfed whole fields! Again, it was incredible.

This flight, the flight from this morning/afternoon, I noticed mostly the landscape. When we took off, I watched the city until it faded and faded and...suddenly it was engulfed by white, the clouds had become too thick to be seen through. And then they got brighter and brighter -- the clouds, that is -- as we climbed higher and higher. When we descended, I could tell when we were almost below them again because the clouds got less bright; not darker, just less bright. The sun is intense up there. That's something else I remember from 2006, the sun. It was so very bright above the clouds. I had to squint just to look sideways out the window at first. And just as my eyes were adjusting, I had to close the windows and the airplane's lights were turned off because it was time for sleep. Except, we were flying to Africa from the US, so I had been planning on staying up late to help with the jet lag (I'm a night person, anyway). It would have been so easy. But they made me turn the lights out and even close my one small window. Oh, well.

Back to today's flight...or, I guess it's yesterday's flight, by now, seeing as it's 2:17am. As we descended, it was awesome to watch as the landscape came suddenly into view, much the way it had disappeared earlier, and then to watch it slowly grow. Jay (who was sitting next to me) commented on how the wings moved -- there were different flaps that raised or lowered. I remember watching that when I was 11 in 2006. Anyhow, it was neat, landing in the west, to see the thought-out/planned landscape, versus the more chaoticness of the east. Everything here was more square, more OCD. Which is cool, since I am. But I like chaos, too, in it's place. So both east and west is just as awesome. Oh, and there were no mountains or even hills. North Dakota is flat.

Jay and I also saw some trains on the ground. We got to see them again after we'd landed; we drove past them on our way to a restaurant for a much-wanted, very late lunch.

Moving on, through the airport, into the rental car, to the restaurant, into the other rental car (just me...since we met up with Josiah's parents, I rode with them to give the kids more room), taking a nap, crossing the boarder, seeing a quaint little church (which I wasn't able to get a picture of), talking about their family, talking about random other things, getting close, almost there, arriving at our destination, looking for the right house, remembering it'd been painted, parking, meeting the grandparents, hauling all the luggage in (of which there was much, almost all of it Dillon's), getting settled, eating dinner (it being 9 pm, or 10 pm where we came from), talking a bit, going to bed, making sure Dillon was all set up for the night, and here I am eating more pie and typing and making sure he gets everything he needs. And muting those demon machines when they scream at me for no good reason.

Now I simply must wait until morning. Or 3 am, at which time I must stop and give him more stuff.

There you have it: the ramblings of a sleep-deprived nineteen-year-old watching a sleeping almost-eight-year-old as he's hooked up to machines after a long day of travel, watching six- and four- and two-year-olds, and toting luggage around from place to place.

I am not a morning person.



(all pictures in this post were taken by and belong to me)