What I've Learned Thus Far

1. I'm pretty sure that to be an "adult" I need to own more than two winter coats.  An everyday coat and a dressy coat don't cut it anymore.  I see people who wear a different winter coat every day.  These coats match their outfits, their shoes, or even their freakin' earrings.  

2. I've realized that if you say "no" to tiny things, people get mad.  Oh well.  If I don't want to do something or help you do something so small that my five-year-old niece could do herself without complaining, then I'm going to say no.  Get over it.  Or don't.  It's up to you.

3. Camping is probably the most exciting thing in my life that I have to look forward to at the moment.  Only four more months! 

4. When I look at my day and rate the success of it, I base it all on two things:
   a) Did I accomplish everything I wanted to/needed to?
   b) Were the emotions I experienced valid?
 If I answer yes to both of those questions, then I had a successful day. 

5. Don't let people think you need to be happy all of the time. It's healthy to be sad, mad, frustrated, happy, nervous, excited, scared, etc.  You have a ton of emotions - feel them and feel them all.

Syd Field

Syd Field died on Sunday, November 17 of hemolytic anemia.  He was 77.

If you don't know the name Syd Field, let me acquaint you.  Syd Field was known as "the guru of screenwriting."  He was one of the best, if not the best, screenwriting teachers the world (yes, the WORLD) had to offer.

I was lucky enough to attend the Screenwriter's Summit in Los Angeles in December 2010 where Syd Field was speaking - Christopher Vogler, John Truby, and Michael Hauge also provided their unmatched depth of screenwriting.

It was an amazing experience to be listening and taking notes from renown theorists and writing instructors.  I wanted to learn more about writing, how screenwriting worked on and off the page, and how to develop a well-written story.  I was provided much more than that.  I experienced it.  I sat among other hopeful screenwriters and it felt right.

Even when I'm not writing, I'm developing the story of my screenplay in my head.  Every single day I think about the story.  With Syd Field passing, I am dedicating my extra time at home to writing. 

It's been a busy few months.  Heck, it's been a busy year!  But that's no excuse.  I need to get this story on the page and that is what I am going to do.

RIP in Syd Field.  You will be missed. 

Working OUT!

YEAH!

I started working out again today.  I joined Anytime Fitness at an amazing price and am so happy that I did.

I haven't belonged to a gym since...gosh...I can't even remember how long ago it was.  Maybe six years ago? Seven years ago?  I don't even know.  And that was a temporary two- or three-month deal.

I forgot how great it feels after a good jog on the treadmill.  I get a healthy dose of energy back and I feel better about myself.

About a month and a half ago I started running again, but the weather was slowly getting cooler and I just couldn't stay motivated. 

So I'm hoping this time is different and I stick to it!  I am paying for it...so that will be enough motivation for me.  ;)

Spooky! Scary!

Yesterday I spent my day with close friends. We dressed up in our costumes, carved pumpkins, went to a wine-cork pull raffle (didn't win anything), and went to a couple of bars.

It was so much just hanging out with good people. We laughed about memories and laughed about everything else. I don't really have a real "blog post" to write about...but I'm just going to say, "LIVE AND HAVE FUN! SMILE! SURROUND YOURSELF WITH GOOD COMPANY."

That's all you really need. Surround yourself with people (friends and family), people who truly care about your well-being. You will never be disappointed.

Carving our awesome pumpkins!

Hayley and Kyle and Marvin the cat.

Me and Liz as Thelma and Louise. I'm Louise.

Jenny the construction worker and me!

Me as Louise.

Liz as Thelma.

Hayley as Robin Hood, me, and Kyle as no one.

Beep. Boop. Deactivate.

*robot noises*

I have deactivated my Facebook account.

Does it feel weird? Not yet.

Will it feel weird not reading that PoopyDoopy is at the gym "getting her workout on," again, like she does every single day (and I know this because PoopyDoopy posts it every single morning)?  No. Because I don't want to hear about anyone working out...ever...and especially not when I think about getting up early for a run and then I don't do it because I'm tired. Ummmm, no thanks.

Will I feel a dissatisfaction in my soul by not seeing the terribly-lit photo of FoodieMcCroody's lunch? Nope.

I think I'm going to do just fine without Facebook.

;)

*more robot noises*

How old are you? Seriously!

Working in an office environment can have its ups and downs. I love my job. It's perfect for me. I'm so grateful for it.

But what is it about the office that turns 60-year-olds into 14-year-olds? Let me be more specific...dramatic, I-just-realized-that-I-have-all-these-feelings-about-things, I-don't-know-how-to-express-them-in-a-mature-fashion-yet, GET OFF MY BACK, 14-year-olds.

Yes, offices are filled with these types of women. I can honestly say that I haven't run into any men that act like this.

I'm 25 and every single day I feel like I have more control over my actions and words than my co-workers that have been in the office for 10+ years.

Maybe that's why they've all gone crazy!

Hmmmmm...

Anyway, if it's your job to do something and you decide to have a fit one day and then proceed to stop doing that certain job, then I have lost all respect for you.

***

Here ends my rant about this past week at work.

GRRRR!

I feel better now.

Hold on to Your Hats, It's Resolution Season!

On the first day of 2013, Kinsey went out and ordered a Caramel White Chocolate Mocha at Starbucks. It's a new beginning. 2012 has ended. 2013 has begun.

On her way to Starbucks, Kinsey passed only a few cars. Not a lot of people out on the brisk day of her new beginning. Hmmm, where are all the people? And then it hit her. Probably at home making resolutions!

This got Kinsey to thinking, "I need to make some resolutions!" It doesn't take much for Kinsey to hop on the train. Last year she resolved to do Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown. By doing this DVD meant that she would have to do it without pause. No rests, nothing...do the DVD all the way through. No "breathers" on the mat. POWER THROUGH IT! NO PAIN, NO GAIN! Motivation from her high school coaches resounded loudly through her head.

Kinsey was naive back in 2012 when she dreamed of six-pack abs and arms made of steel. Jillian Michaels takes no prisoners. She is haunting. In the end, Kinsey died a slow death on her yoga mat without achieving her goal of doing one workout from beginning to end.

"This year will be different," she said to herself on her drive home from Starbucks. And as she sang and cried to Lonestar's "I'm Already There," she pumped her first in the air and said, "This year is going to be the best year EVER!" *sniffle* "Why is the song ripping my heart out?" *sobs*

When she got back to her little apartment, she sat down and thought about what she wanted for the year, but she kept thinking too big. So she detoured and took a picture of her Starbucks cup, played with Instagram, and uploaded it to Facebook.

One hour later.

"Focus!" she said to herself. Kinsey talked to herself a lot, because people do that...they might not admit it, but Kinsey did.

"First resolution," she said as she admired her Christmas tree, "Take down the tree, take pictures of my new ornaments, and take down the rest of my Christmas decorations, including my lights outside." An hour or so later she was finished.

"Okay, now for my next resolution." And as she cringed while listening to an overrated Taylor Swift song, it came to her: "I will make three resolutions. One resolution for a better mind, one for a better heart, and one for a better body." She smiled because she knew, after 25 years of living, she had made some sensible resolutions.

To achieve these resolutions would be quite simple.

To form a better mind, she would read one chapter a day out of a current book she is reading and/or write (either blogging, journaling, or screenplay writing). 

To build a better heart, she would look for the best in people, especially herself, and she wouldn't let opinions from others bring her down, because life is too short to worry about what other people think of her. 

To build a better body, she would tackle Jillian Michaels' ball-busting Yoga Meltdown in stride, get back on a running schedule, and try to eat more vegetables and, sadly, less pizza.

Kinsey's 2013 ultimate resolution is to be endlessly happy, less stressed, and healthy. She sat on her couch with tears in her eyes, nodding at the resolutions in front of her. "UGH!" she said as she wiped her eyes, "I better be getting my period soon."

What?! It's almost 2013!

Thank goodness we're all still alive after the 2012 apocalypse. ;) I know you all thought I was dead since I haven't been active since November 2011. Holy crap, I'm so sorry I haven't posted. My sister-in-law nudged me to start blogging again and I agree, I do need to start blogging again.

My how my life has changed. I started a new job in May 2012 as a proofreader at an accounting firm. I love my job. I moved out in August 2012, and I live in a one-bedroom unit of a 4-plex. I absolutely adore my place. It's cute and just the right size. I should post pictures. I'll do that tomorrow. Right now I'm sitting on my couch and I don't feel like moving to grab my camera. I shouldn't have cleaned today. My camera (new camera, btw, and it's totally awesome!) used to be in arms length. Now it is not. Cleaning...I tell ya! *shakes fist*

Also, I had another one of my ten minute plays produced at the children's theater. It was fun, as always. I don't know if I'll submit one for 2013...we'll see. 

I'm living happily. Life is an amazing thing. I've thoroughly enjoyed 2012 and what it has brought me. I can't wait for 2013. I have a feeling it's going to be a glorious year!

I hope all is well with you!

Robot Bank

I feel like I have certain situations that happen to me more than any other person I know. For example, the other day I ran to the bank to make a deposit. One would assume this a simple task. So did I, believe me, so did I...

I've never been to this bank before, but I expected it to be like most banks. Tellers greeting you with their sad smiles, that ONE guy holding a bucket full of change, a smelly but very tan dude with sweat stains on the back of his cut-off tee, and the mother trying to control her wild children and then threatening them with "NO wii time tonight!!" Ahhh, the joys of banks.

When I entered the bank something seemed off. I felt like Dorothy walking from black & white into the world of color. Except my world of color was a world where no tellers were to be seen. Odd, I thought. Where have all the tellers gone?? Hmmm, whatever, I'll fill out my deposit slip and worry about that little problem later.

About one minute later...frick, where are the tellers?? How am I supposed to make a deposit? I stood in the room looking awkward as awkward could be. I see a couple offices, a few "stations" with tv screens and telephones, and a roped off path that led to it. I walked around looking for a teller with my deposit slip in hand and a confused look glued to my face, when finally I decided to ask the guy that was in one of the "stations," "Hey, I'm trying to make a deposit. Where do I do that?"

He smiled and answered politely: "Right here. It's like a drive-up window, but inside. It's weird, but this bank is close to my house..." He shrugged.

"Are you kidding me?" I said, and walked to my little cubby of a "station." I then proceeded to tap on the tv screen thinking it was a touch screen...nothing happened. "I don't know what I'm doing," I said, still tapping on the NON-touch screen tv.

The polite guy walked me through it, "Put the money in the container and push the button, then someone will show up. I know it's weird, believe me. I feel like I'm banking in the future."

"This is crazy. I'm never coming to this bank again," I said. And with that I made my deposit talking to the guy in the tv screen who works in the basement. I seriously just walked into the bank and had no human contact with a teller. Unbelievable. Also, these poor tellers are working in a basement...ummmm, sucks for them.

Honestly, they might as well have robots working there. What's the point? I walk into a bank expecting to interact with another person, and I talk to a man in a tv. I know that's what the drive-up is for, and if my car window rolled down believe me, I'd be all over that.

But I have to walk in and do my business inside. It's the way of the world for me and my Pontiac Grand Am. So as you can see, this kind of awkward banking experience happens to me a lot. Seriously, I don't think Julia Roberts has ever had to go through something like this.

Lawn Gnomes Camping in the Yard

There should be a Regulation Lawn Toy(s) Law. It may be "in style" to put out lawn gnomes in your garden here and there, or eye-pleasing to stick a wind-powered flower light generator in your yard, and it's even welcoming to hang a seasoned flag from your door, but when you cross that thin line of too much stuff in your yard, I have a problem.

And like the saying goes: too much is not always a good thing.

I drive back and forth to work everyday. You see, because I need to go to work and then come back home. Hence: back and forth. While I take this monotonous drive every morning and every night, I pass by this two-story home.

This home could be beautiful. Some little fixes to the siding and the roof would make this house look like a pleasant place to live. The problem is, though, that this place is a dump.

The owners have a hodge-podge of items scattered throughout their front lawn. More like junk than actually items. A run-down pop-up camper sits directly in the front of the house. Poles stick up randomly throughout the yard, a "fort" made out of boards and black and green, ripped tarp sits next to the camper, and lawn ornaments (if I can even call them ornaments) are scattered in no particular fashion throughout. There are boards laying everywhere with words painted on them...none of which say "For Sale" or "Free, please take it so my house doesn't look like a dump!"

If only there was a law that made the owners of this house clean up their place. It amazes me that they can come home every night and manage to navigate through their yard without stepping on a land-mine.

And here's what really bothers me: these people probably have NO problem with how their house looks to the public. I think people should be able to put anything (that is legal) in their BACKyard. The front yard, however, should have some regulations, because this house is an eye sore.

Now, I have always thought that lawn gnomes are pretty frickin' cute. And if there's one hiding in your garden watching over your plants, that's wonderful...because that gnome has a purpose.

On the other hand, if you have a tarp-tent and a gross, old camper sitting right next to each other in the middle of Winter...I have a serious issue with that. It's hard to believe that someone is residing in the holey tarp-tent, or windowless camper in January. No Purpose - get rid of it.

Amy Adams, Meryl Streep, and Me

Julie and Julia is a good movie. Yes, I probably should've seen this movie when it first came out, but I didn't. I'm the type of person who likes to talk about movies like they're new when in actuality, they are old or not fresh to hit the cinemas.

Speaking of Meryl Streep...have you seen Kramer vs. Kramer???

Anyway, for those of you who have seen Julie and Julia, I'm not going to bore you with the details. Basically, to refresh some people, it's about a woman - Amy Adams, cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook and blogging about it. While Meryl Streep portrays Julia Child as she takes cooking classes and writes a cookbook.

If you haven't seen it, please rent it, or catch it on tv like me.

To get to my point, as there should always be a point, this movie not only inspired to keep on blogging, but it reiterated why I started blogging in the first place. To keep writing.

Sometimes, most of the time, it's difficult to tell people what I want to do with my life. On top of which, it's hard to tell people that "Yes, I have a job, but it has nothing to do with my college degree." And although I love, love, love my job, I can't help but think about writing everyday...or writing as a living. But how do you write for a living without any experience and expect to get paid? Believe it or not, but I need money. So I might as well work at a place that treats me wonderfully and flowers me with respect and "gifts" for a job well done. Plus, I truly look forward to going to work each day. (If you're wondering why I'm not working at this moment, but I have a day off...it's a slow day at my company. Lucky for me, I get to watch my little nephew Alec! Who smiled about a dozen times at me already.)

So to everyone who thinks that I need a job in my "major" right out of college is crazy. If I were a teacher or a nurse, and was working at Burger King...this would be another story. You see, teachers get jobs at schools, and nurses work in a facility where people need care. Writers don't work that way. Unless you're a writer for a television show and you work in the writers' room. Or if you work for a published magazine or newspaper. But I don't want to be a journalist.

I want to be a screenwriter.

I said it. And after the invisible eye rolls from people I've told, it hurts a bit inside to see people who I thought believed in me all this time, scoff it off as a joke. Well my friends, soon I'm going to be taking a big next step to further my dream career as a screenwriter. (Details in another post...hopefully soon!)

And there was a quote in the movie that really resonated with me, but I can't remember it word for word. It was about being able to be "published" without being published. This is done by blogging. Sure, anyone can do it, but I feel special enough to have a blog and have followers, so in a way, I'm a "published writer."

This blog may not be Casablanca or even Julie and Julia, but it is...something.

O Tetris! My Tetris!

I was playing Tetris today on a really old school Nintendo Game Boy. Not the huge gray old school ones, but the ones just before Game Boy Color came out. BTW, I have one of those :) I got Donkey Kong Country for Christmas one year and had the game beat by New Years.

The thing with Tetris is that I'm always waiting for the long cube. The skinny, long four cube one (I think the technical term is the "I shape"). I seem to get myself into a Tetris rut and the only way to knock out four rows to get more points is all up the skinny, tall one. I'm naming this few and far between block "Skinny B!*@#"...because truly, that is what it is.

My favorite block is the one that can go in all directions - the "T Shape." This one is the best!!! Seriously, I can use it anywhere. Whenever I'm in trouble and the "T" is on deck, I know it will hit one out of the park for me. I see good things for "Mr. T."

Now, the "O Shape" seems to come at all the wrong times. Like when I just placed Skinny B!*@# somewhere because I had no place else to put it, then all of sudden "Oprah" comes sailing down WAY too fast and I'm out of luck. Thus, a difficult situation has occurred and now my whole game is screwed up. Oprah...this is the only time when I'm not a big fan. You may take up a lot of space, and you really do change people's lives, but you're giving me one helluva run for survival.

The "Z, S, J, and L" shapes give me trouble too. Whenever I need the "Z" I get the "S" - and vice versa. Same goes for the "J" and the "L." It's like when I'm watching "Saved by the Bell" and I really want to watch Zach, but Screech comes in with a doofy look on his face. Or when I'm looking for comic relief and I actually prefer Screech to be on tv, but Zach Morris starts one of his monologues. And with J. Lo...I like her music, but "Gigli," really? Really????

Tetris is like life. You get what you get. Sometimes a fastball, sometimes a slider. Sometimes Screech and Jennifer Lopez are slamming you with their bricks, and Oprah and Zach are nowhere in sight. You want to "Pity the fool" more times than not, but the Skinny B!*@# always squeezes her way in and either makes your life a living hell, or saves you.