Treasures Found!

So I know I haven't posted anything in the longest time and I have a bit to balb about so here I go:

Firstly, this picture that I've posted is a picture that I found on one of my dad's CD's that I burned for him ages ago. There were all kinds of pictures on it, everything from this one of his family Christmas when he was about ten (the kid with his dukes up was my dad) to my high school graduation. Some of the pictures I don't even remember him taking... anyways it was a really good find and made me really happy! The other people in the photo (left to right and back to front) are Mami, my grandmother Rachel (nee Duval) Rousseau, the shorter one in front of her is my Aunt Carolle, Tante Francine, my dad Michel, Uncle Claude is in the suit and my grandfather Charles-August is on the floor. I never got to know my grandfather, he must have died shortly after this picture was taken since he died when my dad was twelve or so give or take a year.

Secondly, I didn't complete NaNoWriMo. I'm very dissappointed with myself but I got stuck at the midway point...it still aggrivates me and I am determined to finish this story before my birthday. Grrr...anyways November turned out to be a really busy month for me, busier than I anticipated and so I think that was part of my problem. I'm still working on it though! never fear!

I'm off to the Vineyard again today for another Jewelry show which is great plus I get to see mom. The only real down side is that I have to take a early boat to get to work on time on Sunday. Oh well. I also found out that we may or may not be going to England this summer. We're supposed to be renting a flat but that is dependant on if Nick's stepdad gets his bonus or not since it's quite substantial. I've decided that even if we don't go I'm still going to go to Austria to visit my family there. I hate to go alone but maybe mom or Uncle Hansi will go as well. Who knows, I haven't really ironed out all the details yet but I know I should and the sooner the better since plane ticket prices only go up and up.

Because Vineyard Kids ARE Just That Cool

So I was talking with one of my firends from high school from the Vineyard and we suddenly started to realize that a lot of them are wickedly talented and alrady famous. This left us feeling a bit down but I couldn't help of being really proud of them. I know it's completely selfish and vain but these are a few of the cool kids I had the pleasure of being in the same grade/class/school with and I actually knew....

Willy Mason...I remember when he first sang this song on the MVPAC stage...

May V. Oskan...author and all around creative genius published her first book at 21 and is sold all over the world and on Amazon.com...

                                 Becoming The Crane

Nina Violet..folk musician who used to play the viola in the MVRHS String Orchestra with Mr. Tinus and sister to May Oskan. You can listen to here here on her MySpace page.

Tim Correira...Photographer extraordinaire. He was working for the Boston Globe but you can Google his name and you'll see hundreds of articles for all kinds of news publications.

Those are just a few but I thought it was really kind of cool and these are amaing people so definately check out their stuff!!

NEW!! (layout that is...)

So after a lot of monkying around last night (until abotu 4am this morning) and this afternoon I have been able to decipher the wonders (somewhat) of HTML! *big grin*

I was getting bored with my other templates for both this blog and my other one here. You'll also see that I have the same post in both places but I'm trying to stop procrastinating as I am way far behind on my NaNoWriMo-ing. So I hope you like it and while I'm fairly certain almost everything works there may be some glitches that I still need to iron out so bear with me! Thanks!

PS- you like?

*Muahahaha!*

So I am a genius...well maybe not really but I am fabulous when it comes to finding things. Last night I tried to get my webcam up and running but I had a couple of major hang ups. Problem number one is that I couldn't find the CD for my camera and the drivers that Windows downloaded were freeware and sucked. The second problem was that the company that made my webcam is no longer around...the end reslut of this last night was that it had me banging around the condo trying to find that stupid CD which I know I have but couldn't remember what CD case it's in or where the other CD cases are.

It's rather silly of me but I dreamt about this last night. I woke up this morning DETERMINED to find a donwloadable copy of the drivers and software that I needed to run my apparently ancient webcam. I mus have had about eight or nine tabs in three windows open searching for all different terms for this thing and guess what? I found it!!! *hehehe* Now I have a fully functioning webcam (at lease on my end of things, I've yet to try it out with other people) and I have burned a compressed version of the software onto a blank CD and backed it up on my external drive so hopefully I will never have to go through this particular headache again!

Sniffles

Well actually I have more than the sniffles. I have been laid low with the common cold. My bew best friend is Robitessun and I have been downing tea with honey at an alarming rate. Right now my one wish is to make it through this evening (I have to work) and then tomorrow I will have the whole day off so I can rest. My thinking is that I have only a couple of days to get better since NaNoWriMo starts on the 1st! 

Halloween is tomorrow...I have no plans and since we live in a condo I doubt that I'll have many or even any kids ringing ringing the doorbell. Nick is working and it seems that everyone else has parties to go to. I have decided to go to a get together for people who are participating in NaNoWriMo in Burlington. It ought to be a lot of fun and I'll get to meet some new people! Well I am off to shower and get dressed for work since I need to stop by CVS for tissues and purell. Hope everyone has a very Happy Halloween!

Say

"Say"

By John Mayer

Take all of your wasted honor

Every little past frustration

Take all of your so-called problems,

Better put 'em in quotations

Say what you need to say [x8]

Walking like a one man army

Fighting with the shadows in your head

Living out the same old moment

Knowing you'd be better off instead,

If you could only . . .

Say what you need to say [x8]

Have no fear for giving in

Have no fear for giving over

You'd better know that in the end

Its better to say too much

Then never say what you need to say again

Even if your hands are shaking

And your faith is broken

Even as the eyes are closing

Do it with a heart wide open

Say what you need to say [x24]

So my question to everyone is this: how different would you life be today if throughout your life you had said what you really neded to say?

New Blog

So I've started a new blog. Why? Because I can. It's accessible through my profile page and has to do with my adventures in Literary Land...aka my attempt at finishing one of my stories to become a book. Only two posts so far but it's a work in progress I even have a nifty little meter thing at the bottom of my entries to track my progress. 

Anyhow...I passed my MTEL (the Mass. teacher's test) which is fabulous considering that I don't know of anyone that passed both tests on the first try. I usually suck at tests so I'm pretty damn pround. I've tried to look for positions (English for High School) but since the school year is well under way I don't think that I will be able to find anything to apply for until the spring. My current license lasts for five years at which point have to prove the completetion of a certified teacher's program. For the meantime I'm putting that on the back burner since I have to deal with something a little more immediate. 

Monday morning I was let go from my current job. It was a combination of things...lack of incoming work (I was a concierge) and no part-time position openings at the office where I worked. I would have had to do an hour and a half commute paying $168 for a monthly commuter rail pass when my check would be half of what I make now. On top of which I would lose my medical insurance. Definately not worth it. Overall I think it's best for me I've ben happier since then and have been really concentrating on my job search for something better and on my writing (hence the other blog).

In reference to my previous blog I'm still on the fence. My friend Christa once told me a long time ago that if you pick something apart too thouroughly you may kill it. Those weren't her exact words but the general gist of the thing and I'm wondering if maybe that's what I've done here. 

Tangent: Have you ever had a conversation that you had a while ago, even years ago, sometime just pop back into your head? It's like they're connected to trigger words or something. This spouts from my comment that Christa made above. 

Maybe not thinking about it will fix it but then would that make me a hopeless romantic?

The Benifits of Optimisim

So, long story short - I didn't get the job at Meditech. No biggie. Surprising, right? I thought I was going to be far more dissappointed than I am. That can only be a good thing.

In my long absence from my blog I have actually done quite a bit. I've gone on a vacation, applied for a job in Boston and come to a few important realizations about myself. The realizations are the most important of the three since I seem to get them infrequently.

I am a cynic and a sarcastic one to boot. Steph said it best, "When did you get this way?" In all honesty, I don't know. Over vacation I have realized that I am far more cynical about life that I thought I was. For instance I realized that I don't really belive in love. Sure I love people, I care about them and worry about them, but love in the "ever after" or "forever" sense I don't belive in. Maybe it's beacuse of all the rotten relationships I've seen people go through, the divorces that have rocked just about every couple's life that I know, who knows. In the end, I think that the best people can hope for in life is a love (an infatuation mixed with a degree of lust) that lasts for several years and in the end leaves you with a dear friend. As bleak as this picture may seem, there is one golden ray of hope. I can always be wrong. Heaven only knows that it wouldn't be the first time and I hope that I am. I think deep down everyone is looking for an "ever after" I just have ceased to believe in it. Most likely I'll change my mind about this but maybe not. I still am in the process of sorting this out in my own head and so much of what I'm writitng are me getting this all out on "paper" so to speak.

I used to be such an opptimistic child too...I wonder what happened?

Espresso is my friend.

After a wonderful evening that included sushi, pizza and more than enough drinks I am feeling great! Thanks to Meg, Meg, and Nick for having us all over last night especially since our spur of the moment visit turned into an overnight stay.
All in all it was a good evening for almost everyone involved. I will say one thing though: Thank God for cold showers and espresso! After Nick and I got home this morning the only thing I wanted to do was crash into bed. I ended up pulling out a little espresso pot that my mom gave me and made myself an iced mocha (which by the way was fabulous but not quite Mocha Mott's) and proceeded to take a cool shower. I am now feeling much refreshed and ready to go out again! I am not going to do that however since I have a fairly major interview at Meditech in Framingham tomorrow and I REALLY want this job!

That being said, isn't espresso great?