Things I've noticed/learned this week:

[kitchen_kink]

1. My mood seems significantly better during the first couple weeks of my cycle, before/during ovulation, than it does in the latter half. As in, feeling really good and happy as opposed to dragged out and despairing, with the same life circumstances in place. (Ah, chemicals.)

2. 'Kill your babies' is really good writerly advice. (For those who don't know, it's the adage that if you write a passage that you feel you absolutely can't live without, strike it out immediately. Something better is waiting behind it.) I learned this by accident when writing the 'love' entry you all liked so much. (Thanks.) I had it almost finished when I hit some mysterious combination of keys which caused it to be erased. I sat at my desk, hitting 'paste' and 'undo' and trying to figure out what the hell I'd done, then nearly burst into tears of frustration, right here at the front desk of a law firm. Clenched my jaw and quietly hit my fist against the desk for a minute, then breathed deeply and started again. What came out the second time was ten times better.

3. New England weather is a stone cold bitch. (Actually, I already knew that, but it seems I have to relearn it every year I'm here.)

4. Being helpful, I mean really helpful, to a friend, especially one who has trouble letting people in, is one of the great rewards of my life. (Hi, Enneagram Type 2.) The trick for an empath is to keep the positive energy flowing and not let the other person's problems drag me down to a place where I become unhelpful and useless. I think that's the great balancing act for me: being intuitive, listening, and helping people heal is one of my greatest pleasures. But this week I think I've managed to step back a bit and keep an objective eye.

5. I got a $10,000 per year scholarship to Northeastern Law. Go me!

Comments

[northbard.livejournal.com]

you go girl!!

It amazes me how many queer and/or pagan and/or freak wymmin-type lawyers I know at this point.

More!!

Too fucking weird.

[wurmwyd.livejournal.com]

Hi There!

In my capacity as Geek Extrodinaire, I subscribe to an online role-playing magazine called "Pyramid Online". It's done by the Steve Jackson Games company, and it's a cheap $15 a year subscription. There are several interesting articles about role-games and other geeky shit, and they update every Friday morning. Which is good, because it gives me another updated web page to look forward to.

This morning, I was reading an article in which the editor gives advice to Game Masters. This article was basically: "What to do when your players hijack the wonderful plot devices you've set out for them, and take the adventure in a totally new direction."

An excerpt:
In one of my more memorable creative writing classes back in college, our professor encouraged us to "throw away our babies." No, she wasn't some Elizabeth Bathory wannabe. What she meant was that, in some creative pieces, there are often instances where an entire work is written and built around some central concept -- perhaps a scene or line of text. And very often the rest of the piece is completely fine and laudable . . . except that one bit, which stands out like a sore thumb. When it's suggested that the unusual bit be exorcised, the writer often exclaims, "But that's my baby!" . . . to which the teacher would respond, "Well, then, you may just need to get rid of that baby."

That was just so damn incredibly bizarre. Stop doing that

[greendalek.livejournal.com]

Sound advice, and CONGRATULATIONS. If/when this freakin' snow ever goes away, allow me to buy you a drink.

re: 2, 4 and 5

[amber-phoenix.livejournal.com]

go you indeed!! congratulations.

[dilletante.livejournal.com]

i always assumed that the adage about excising any passage you felt was particularly wonderful was because it was likely to be florid and overwritten; not because your previous attachment to it was likely to be preventing you from making it fit smoothly into the rest of the piece.

hm.

congrats on the scholarship!

[crownedclown.livejournal.com]

'Kill your babies' is really good writerly advice.

Sounds like some acting advice I got once from an old school acting teacher of mine. He said, "Beware of what you like" However, he never said anything about something being behind it. It solidified my theory about acting teachers. Many of them want to break their students. BTW, I added you to my friends list despite the fact I have no idea who you are. But the political rants and the accompanying comments are usually an interesting read. Congrats on your latest achievement, Miss Shizzlemah.

[kahoki.livejournal.com]

I try and compose on a Word document before posting, as I have lost e-mails and gramtical errors abound sometimes. I have found that I have to have those original thoughts to hammer out in rewriting, as if I lose something I tend to dismiss the idea entirely, something I nver used to do.

Congrats on the scholarship, as that is a pretty significant stipend! My friend nyyvonne could definately use one of those.

[ladytabitha.livejournal.com]

Amusingly enough, just yesterday, zsquirrelboy and I were discussing the instinct in animals to kill their children if they find a superior mate who could give them superior children.  Spoooky.