by Christine | Life, Observations
I’m so thrilled that I’m carrying a camera with me everywhere. I had the great good fortune to speak at the monthly Orange County Chapter of RWA last week. Here’s me with the WANA folks that came. I was so happy to see them! From left to right – Jenny Hansen, me, Tameri Etherton, Kate Wood, Bethany Lopez, and Debra Kristi, all of whom are kick-ass writers and bloggers, so please go check them out. We have Kristen Lamb and the We Are Not Alone group in common, so it was doubly nice to see them in person.
The WANA gang at OCC RWA 1-12-13.
As you may know, we here in So Cal have been bitching whining upset about the cold temps we’ve been going through. A couple of weeks ago there was ice – not only all over my poor basil, killing it dead, but even in the streets. Here’s a photo of the partially-frozen gutter water. Hey, to a San Diegan, this is way cool stuff.
Ice in the gutter outside my office, about 9am.
The other day I tried to explain to someone my unreasoning hatred of palm trees. I couldn’t convince this guy from Ohio that palm trees are pretty dang useless. I mean, they don’t provide lots of shade from the sun, and they don’t give us anything to eat. And when they’re planted with a pine tree of some sort between, it causes a synapse interrupt for me. As in, these trees do not compute. (Don’t talk to me about date palms. Would you eat dates from a palm tree grown in Los Angeles? Yeah. Didn’t think so.)
Do the palm trees look out of place, or is it just me?
I guess there’s no changing the whole palm-tree thing now. I’m just a few decades too late. Are there trees planted in your neighborhood that just don’t go together? I’d love to know!
That’s it for today. Thanks for stopping by! On Writer Wednesday, Marian Lanouette will be here with her latest release, so we hope to see you then.
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Life, Observations
At two separate times, I’ve gone up to Tehachapi to spend time with my brother and both times found something I hadn’t been looking for, but very much needed – a sense of peace.
My brother Greg works as a freelance Computer Technician, because he’s that smart. A couple of guys he knew were wondering about social media, and if they should/HOW they should use it to promote their books. After mentioning my name a gazillion times as an example of how it should be done (my brother is a sweet guy, and doesn’t know any other authors, lol), he suggested – and they agreed – that I should come up and talk with them, and answer their multitudinous questions about social media and writers. (But this post isn’t about that.)
Me and my brother, Greg, at the Cesar Chavez Center, Tehachapi
The only catch? The date was set for Friday, December 14, at 2pm – right in the middle of my workday. But I did manage to get the day off and around 10am that morning, drove on up north.
The Tehachapi Mountains rise out of the San Joaquin Valley on one side and Mojave on the other. The pass is at just under 4000 ft above sea level. Once I drove into the small town, the temperature gauge on my car read 38 degrees. The air was crisp and cold and perfect for December. The house was small and sweet and perfect for Tina, the lady that owns it. We putzed around, went to lunch, drove out to a ranch, and I had a three hour talk on writing and social media with two other writers (one has 4 books out and has been writing magazine articles for twenty years; the other is a screenwriter who has had several scripts produced and has just written a memoir about Hollywood). These guys were sharp, smart, funny as hell, and willing to listen to me, and I had a total blast. I hope to showcase both of them here on the blog in the future.
After we’d talked each other out and darkness had fallen, we said goodbye to new friends and drove to the Souza Family Vineyards, where I bought two bottles of their Primitivo Zinfandel (because I’m a sucker for Zinfandel!). The 2007 won a silver medal, the 2009 won a bronze medal, and the 2010 won a gold medal, all at the San Francisco Chronical Wine Competition. (I’m looking forward to showcasing the winery and the wines on a future Friday blog.) At the winery, we drank wine, looked over the wares at a craft fair there inside the winery, and chatted. Bob and Patty are really cool people.
Bob and Patty Souza, Proprietors of the Souza Family Vineyards
Afterwards, we went back to the cute little house, where Tina made dinner and I drank wine. (Seems like a fair trade!) Greg futzed with the new sound system he’d put in place in the house. We talked and laughed and when I went to sleep, I slept soundly, surrounded in peace.
The Keene Cafe – lots of railroad workers eat here. Terrific food!
In the morning, we went to the Keene Cafe for an enormous breakfast (that’s all I ate until 7pm that night – fanTAStic ham steak!), then went to see some sights. We visited the Cesar Chavez Center and saw his grave and wandered around the peaceful grounds.
The headstone for Cesar Chavez is between the Angel and the Pointsettia.
We drove up the side of a hill so we’d have a good view of the Tehachapi Loop, an engineering marvel by William Hood (“one of the 7 wonders of the railroad world”) built in 1874 – 1876, the train tracks that loop through 18 tunnels and 10 bridges; at one point, if the train is long enough, a train can loop itself three times. This line is part of the last and final link of the first railroad line connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles. The single track line is still in constant use today, 136 years after its completion.
Hopefully you can see three sections of train in this photo. If you google it, you’ll see better photos of the area…
But aside from the Loop, aside from Keene’s Cafe and the Cesar Chavez Center, aside from the flurry of snow that quickly melted and the frost that rimed the grass, the sense of peace was overwhelming. Part of it was the unconditional love that is so much a part of my brother; part of it was the crisp, cold air; part of it was me, without husband, sons, or responsibilities for a few hours.
It was lovely. A peace I desperately needed after hearing about the tragedy in Connecticut on my drive north. (After half an hour, I turned off the radio and kept it off.)
I had been worrying that this Christmas wouldn’t be the “best” Christmas, due to a shortage of funds and a new unwillingness to go into debt just to buy stuff. But after my time in Tehachapi, and after the events in Newtown, I am fine with a simpler Christmas. Blessed that everyone I know and love is well and alive. We aren’t traveling this holiday, and we don’t have guests, so I think perhaps the family will go on a journey of some sort. A photo safari, or local hiking, or a neighborhood we don’t get to very often (there are SO MANY of them in the Los Angeles area). Or maybe we’ll stay home and watch the first season of Game of Thrones.
Whatever we do, I shall do my best not to stress, and hold tightly to the peace I experienced in Tehachapi.
May you have many blessings, peace, and happy days, from my house to yours.
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Life, Observations
I’ve never been to a midnight movie opening. Ever. But tonight, I’m going to see Breaking Dawn Part 2 with a gal I met briefly at a friend’s opening night of a play, over a month ago. Yes, that’s right. I’m going to see a movie with a person I barely know.
Why? She asked, plus she said if I’d never been to a Twilight Saga midnight show, this would be my last chance. She said it’s fun – everyone’s reactions are over the top, and you get as much a kick out of the audience as the film.
So, even though I’m going to see BD2 tomorrow night with friends, I’m also going out to the ArcLight on Sepulveda to see the 12:20am show tonight. I’ll hole up in a coffee shop prior to and write my fingers off, but then – the movie. My first time in an ArcLight – we’ve got reserved seats (no waiting in line!).
My hubby told me to make sure my phone is charged, and to text him a couple of times so he knows I haven’t been abducted or anything, which I think is a hoot. But – I did recharge my phone!
I will say, this is way out of my comfort zone – and I’m determined to enjoy myself. See a midnight movie, meet new friends, have new experiences – what’s not to like?!
What have you done lately that’s been out of your comfort zone?
by Christine | Life, Observations
I’d spent most of the day today working. First a blog post (which will go up tomorrow) and then on the play. The first half is being read aloud by actors at Fierce Backbone, the play development group, tomorrow.
But there came a time when I desperately needed to get outside. So I grabbed my camera, panicked because the battery was dead, found the fresh battery, charged the other one,and finally set off for the arroyo, where the hubs and I walked last Sunday morning. Here’s a little of what I saw. All photos, of course, taken by me.
The Arroyo.
Gorgeous, ain’t it?
Then I caught sight of the birds. Here we go, lots of pretty birds.
Crane, posing.
And this one…
Crane, upset.
Here’s another one…I really liked this bird…
Crane, showing his wingspan
And we switch to a peaceful pond…
Peaceful Pond
But the most majestic animal still waited. I probably passed him on my way downstream; but I didn’t see him until I was on my way back.
Gray Bird
I managed to get him as he flew away, below.
Leaving for the evening.
After such a wonderful walk, I felt much refreshed and went to the grocery store, where I promptly bought a turkey which I shall cook this coming weekend, since we’re going to my nephew & niece’s house for the actual feasting day.
Thanks for hanging out and checking out my photos. I had a wonderful walk. The only thing that would have made it better is if Tom could have been with me. But I know we’ll both be out there again. I took over 400 photos in around an hour…easy to do with a digital camera.
What do you do when you need to unwind?
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Life, Observations
Most of the time, I know my place. I love my place – it’s got hubby in it, and my kids, my cat, my relatives, my friends, a terrific garden and a comfy bed to snuggle into at night. It’s also got stuffed animals that like to greet me when I come home from a writer’s conference.
My welcome home from Desert Dreams – stuffed animals guarding an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne. Isn’t my hubby the sweetest?
But it’s taken me some time to get to this place. I stumbled across what I thought was a brand-new journal book and took it along to a new playwright’s workshop I take on Monday nights. Imagine my surprise when I opened it up and found notes from a scam possible job opportunity, back in May of 2010.
I read through my notes (which were substantial – I believe I went to a week’s worth of “training”). There was a lot of leadership stuff in there – really good leadership stuff, I might add, which I will re-read again. Plus there was a lot of manipulation stuff in there, too; which bugged me at the time. But it took actually trying to sell this stuff before I realized that this job was not for me, no matter how much money I could make doing it.
Which got me to thinking about another job I had, spanning four months, not many months before I checked into the scam other possible job opportunity. That was a real job, with a real paycheck and real expense reports and real work. I was good at it, too. By the fourth month, I knew what I was doing, I could handle the work with my eyes shut and hands tied behind my back, and I was absolutely and positively miserable. Part of the misery was some family issues that were happening, and I was far away from home each day. So when I quit – and that, in fact, has been the only job I have quit – I did so as politely as I could, telling them that I was needed at home and this job wasn’t the right fit for me. They tried to keep me but I held firm. More money wouldn’t have done it (and boy was I underpaid). I spent the next two weeks getting everything in order, making sure the people who were taking my accounts knew what was going on in each area, copying my boss on all the details. I didn’t want to be badmouthed about my work when I left, and I wanted to make sure that if I ever HAD to, I could go back.
I have thought about these two jobs quite a bit in the last few days. I knew I could have handled them both, but there comes a time when you should just back away. Just because you CAN do a job doesn’t mean you SHOULD do it. Not at the expense of your own personal health and happiness, or how your mood affects your family.
Writing is a job. Luckily, I can and should and do write, and even though it can be difficult at times I never feel like I’m wearing ill-fitting clothes. I never feel out of place. I am never insanely miserable.
Writing, I’m happy to say, is my “place”. (So is my current day job, which I’m lucky to have and I’m grateful that it’s a good fit for my personality.)
At Desert Dreams Booksigning, with a part of the Arizona contingent of the Ashworth clan. One of the good writing days! (The one that voids warranties is Young Son.)
I’m thinking young people today are trying to find their own “place” almost too quickly, thereby abandoning part of the journey to self discovery for “place”. Later, they wonder why they’re unhappy. Maybe choosing your “place” too young is a bad thing?
Or maybe not enough people are lucky enough to find their “place” early in life? I don’t know. But heck, I’m happy where I am.
I guess you could say I’m in my happy place, lol, every time I sit down to write or go to the day job. Yes, I count myself lucky!
I also know that I’m a strong, intelligent woman and I’m friends with other strong, intelligent women (and men). Amidst all the change and upheaval and births and deaths and angst and incredible happiness and terrible storms, it helps to remember we are all human. What divides is is minor compared to what should unite us. We are strong and breakable; we all live, love, laugh, cry, eat, sleep, dream, bleed and die, and the earth is our “place”. Right now, it’s the only earth we’ve got.
I guess I’ve said enough. I’ve got dinner to make and more words to write. Peace out, people – and remember to be gentle with each other, even when we may disagree. Hugs!
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Life, Observations
Me, contemplating selling my sons on eBay. Or thinking about having a second beer before the first one is finished.
Parents start out with this squalling bundle of fragile skin, bones, and big eyes. It has no control over its bodily functions. We get this thing thrust into our arms and we’re told to help it grow.
That includes teaching them about potty training, and training wheels on bikes. It includes soccer games, video games, knowing when to say no. It includes a huge no-whining rule. Homework, and housework, and learning to cook. And that death of loved ones is also a part of living, and loving.
(Of course, all this training of kids is done without ANY manual because the manuals you’ve read are all outdated/touchy-feely/tigerish/ and don’t fit with YOUR family and lifestyle. So we’re all skidding along, without a map and without a guide, going purely on gut instinct and learning as we go.)
Then come talks about sex. Safe sane and consensual sex. Condoms. Gentlemanly behavior. Dating. Driver’s Education. Driver’s license. College applications.
All these things have hit my husband and I as parents, and we’ve dealt with it. The one thing that we can’t seem to get past? The one thing that has taken more lectures, more tantrums, more angry glares and slammed doors from all parties concerned than all the other things combined?
Getting our spawn to get out there and find JOBS. Yes, the economy is bad. But you know what? Teenagers are getting jobs all the time. Mine aren’t. (Okay, at 19 and 22, only one is a teen, and that one barely.) I can only think they’re sabotaging themselves.
So it’s holiday hire time. I’m having to hold my sons’ hands as they fill out applications (so I know for sure they’ve done it) and drive them to the mall for those outlets that don’t have online applications (again, so I know they’ve done it). Every weekend from now until DOOMSDAY will be spent getting them to find work.
It’s exhausting. Does anyone want two bright, strong boys? I’ll sell hire them out, cheap….
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
