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25 Random Things

So I sat down to the laptop this morning to craft today’s witty bit o’ banter and what do you think happened? Nothing. Nada. Zip, zero, zilch. I have no ideas today. Nothing fiction-y strikes me, nothing non-fiction-y appeals. Tomorrow is Book Review Tuesday, so I can’t do a Top Ten List (a good default for me when I don’t know what else to write). I have three ongoing fiction things, including one that has been humming along, and when I look at what I have written so far and where I need to pick up, there are no words or pictures in my head. Literally nothing in me seems to want to be said today.

Eek, she said!

So I did what I always do when I’m stuck, and went to my notes. Today, what caught my eye was a document titled “Facebook Notes” – it contains a few of the random notes/lists/things that have circulated in the past couple of years on which I have commented. As I flipped through, I found something from 2009 that I thought might make for entertaining reading both today and another day this week. So today, you get the original note with annotations from the fabulous vantage point of two years later – original posts will be in italics. Later this week you will get a new version, and perhaps two years from now you will get to see annotations on top of annotations… (teehee)

***

25 Random Things
by Jill Arent on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 3:18pm

Rules: Once you have been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.

1. I am perhaps the only person at my company – which is in the midst of being acquired – that actually WANTS to be acquired and then let go with a big (semi)fat payout…
This one makes me giggle. You see, I DID get let go with a payout. And I was one of a very small (dare I say miniscule) minority of people who wanted to be let go at the time. And it turns out I was prescient and wise beyond my years (as I am wont to be – teehee), because very many (dare I say maxi-scule) of the people who wanted to stay are now either gone or trying/wanting to leave. Walking away from this company/job/life was, single-handedly, the best decision of my life. It led to everything that is great and good and wonderful in my life, and I will never ever be able to thank the universe or my lucky stars or whomever is Up There enough for giving me the original idea to do it and then the courage to see it through. Never ever.

2. Logic behind #1: I don’t want to work anymore. Seriously.
In hindsight, it was foolish to think I could ever not work anymore. Seriously. I mean, everyone has to do something, right? Even if it’s just taking care of themselves. And that is work too. I enjoyed a good, long run of not working at all, and it was great. Do not get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed being a sluggish lay-a-bout for almost a year and a half. But I was starting to feel like I was spending my life on line at the dentist… You know, playing Angry Birds on the phone, reading magazines and books, talking to friends – all good things, don’t get me wrong, but nothing productive or with a purpose other than to kill time. And killing time is no way to spend one’s life. Writing may be hard and frustrating and there may be many a time when I want to return to dentist-line days, but on the whole, I wouldn’t trade what I am doing now for anything. Not even more time to read. Or finish Angry Birds. (teehee)

3. Like Devon, I too secretly wish I was British so I could say things like “you daft cow” without people getting REALLY mad at me or radically misunderstanding…
Teehee – my friend Devon and I harboured (teehee, like my British spelling? Are the Brits the greatest, or what?!) this secret wish for a long time (I don’t know if she still does – Dev, if you see this, weigh in please!), because let’s face it, there are a number of great British-isms (“daft cow” being one of the best, but certainly not the only – I mean, they also have “gotta go to the loo!” “Bollocks!” and “oh bugger!”/”bugger off!”), plus the accent makes everything sound cool. I love accents and also secretly wish I had one – so much so that I sometimes find myself picking up on someone else’s and using it unconsciously. Which can be really embarrassing, because it can seem like I’m making fun, when really I’m just jealously stealing…

4. My new favorite author is Winifred Watson – she wrote “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” which is a FABULOUSLY fun book about life in the 1930s.
I still love Winifred. This really is a most fabulous book, and if you haven’t read it, I cannot say enough good things about it. It makes me very very sad that none of her other pieces are available anymore – see number 11 below! I would have to say that my current new favorite is Richard Kadrey – the Sandman Slim books and Butcher Bird being top-of-list for me lately. I’ve reviewed both Sandman books (Sandman Slim and Kill the Dead: A Sandman Slim Novel) on Amazon, if you’re interested in my thoughts. Suffice to say he’s the best possible kind of dark, and writes clever and interesting characters who get into and out of trouble the way regular people get into and out of cars. Great reads – fast-paced and engaging!

5. I have always thought it would have been fun to have a big brother.
I still think this.

6. I love wearing very high heels. This is not a sex-kitten thing and I’m not a masochist. I just like being taller than other people.
I do still love wearing heels and being taller. I don’t have as many occasions to wear very high or very fancy shoes though, now that I don’t work in an office. And I do find that they are less comfortable and less natural to walk in when one does not wear them so much. Teehee – nothing sex-kittenish or hot about worrying that someone will yell “timber!” when you fall, now is there??

7. That said, I wish I was taller – not a lot, just an inch or two. That way I’d be over 6 feet tall in heels and taller than even MORE people…
I actually don’t wish this so much anymore. I can wear high shoes when I want to be taller (and sometimes I do; The Fiancee is Very Tall and I do enjoy being able to look him more closely in the eye!). But I also sometimes find that it’s nice to feel little and girl-like, as I do when I wear regular shoes and stand next to him. I don’t have as much to prove these days, I guess, because I’m much more comfortable in my own life than I ever thought I could/would be – or more than I ever realized I wanted to be. It’s odd how you can live your life and never even realize that there are things you want, when those things are out of reach/not available/not part of your life, you know? Odd indeed, she said.

8. I have always always always wanted to write – a book, a movie, for TV, whatever. I’m hoping to take my big (semi)fat payout and actually be able to do it while I’m still young enough to be cynical without being bitter (because bitter is sad, but cynical is very funny).
Hooray – I am doing what I always always always wanted to do! Teehee. Granted, I never realized quite how difficult or challenging it would be. Seriously. I rather foolishly and naively thought that the words would just come pouring out of me. Sometimes they do, in targeted bits. Those are Very Good Days. But sometimes they have to be teased out. And sometimes they stubbornly hide in the back of my head and have to either be rudely forced out or ignored altogether. I have found that words are rather like small children in this regard. Often then will refuse to do what you want them to – even if it is also, in point of fact, what they want to do – until they decide they are ready, at which point, they will concede graciously or otherwise and all will be as it should.

9. I HATE having my picture taken.
This is not entirely true anymore. Or, is it just that I have resigned myself to having my picture taken, now that my life is inextricably linked with that of a photographer?? Teehee – either way, there are a great deal more pictures of me in the world these days, and I even must grudgingly concede that I actually find some of them to be somewhat flattering. Hey, maybe that’s it – I don’t mind them as much now because I have found someone who takes pictures that make me look better than I really do! (teehee again – lots of teehees today, sorry!)

10. Despite working in government affairs/policy, I do not read a single newspaper or watch a single news show regularly.
I still do not. I find the news/newspaper horrifically depressing. All anyone ever focuses on is the bad stuff. If I want to be depressed, I will read a sad book or watch a sad movie – at least then I’m entertained as well as depressed.

11. I hate it when authors/books/music I like go out of print and can’t be found. In this day and age, I find it unbelievable that there is ANYTHING that I can’t find and instantly order on the internet (if I’m willing to pay for it)…
I still think this is ridiculous, although have found that it is a tish easier these days to get a hold of out-of-print stuff now that the on-demand printers/publishers are getting more into the game. If you are not familiar, they basically are online repositories of books who do not keep printed stock but instead print you a copy of a book when you place an order for it. Intriguing concept, and apparently growing in popularity in the self-publishing world…

12. I am a Republican. I do not feel defensive or apologetic about this. I do, however, resent the hell out of the radical nut-jobs that have taken over the organized Republican party and made other Republicans feel defensive…
Still am. Still do not. Still do. In that order.

[So this one got a little long… In the interest of you, my readers, I am going to stop here and resume on Wednesday. This way, not only will you not go blind and lose three hours as I ramble, but maybe you’ll also come back! (teehee) And how cool is it, incidentally, that on the day I could not come up with a single blog idea, I ended up with three new posts?! God I love writing…]

4 comments to 25 Random Things

  • How fun. Must love Britishisms, we would all sound jollier when cursing. Also laughed right out loud when you said you like wearing heels just to be taller than other people! Great list.

  • It is true – I wonder why it is that the British always manage to make angry/rude things sound so polite?? Teehee – there was a great episode of Will & Grace that made fun of this which has always stuck with me. Joan Collins is an interior designer Grace is competing with for a job – Grace asks her why the British, when offending you, always ask you to agree with them. Joan’s response: “That’s because you Americans are just a little bit silly, don’t you think?” 😉

  • Carol Marrs Phipps

    Wow! For having absolutely nothing to write about you certainly managed to create a really fun-to-read post!

    Also, thank you for signing on to follow me, I’m now following you, too.

    • Thank you so much Carol! Teehee – I was rather surprised myself at how quickly “nothing” turned in to a lot of words! Now if only my fiction writing went quite that well… Thanks again!

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