MJ's Musings

I believe I may have mentioned that I have been having back problems, including numbness in my extremities, lack of coordination, etc. I had an MRI yesterday so hopefully we'll have answers soon.

I hve found over the past few days, tho, that typing is very very difficult. I feel like my fingers flail over the keyboard and it takes a serious amount of concnetration to get them to type what I want thenm too. I'm sure it's all connected, but this in particular is very frustrating. Especailly since I want to be an author when I grow up.

SO, if you don't hear from me as much, I do apologize. I'll try to respond to friends' posts, etc, but actually typing long posts is very difficult.

This one took about 12 minutes to type. UGH!

Sorry- but I've just gotta say it!

North Korea is testing nuclear weapons (Yes - mr president, that's "Nuclear, not NUKULAR!). And everyone is in an uproar. Hmmm... Did they not tell the world, what? A couple of years ago that they were developing nuclear weapons? Hmmm... I'm sure I'm not the only one who heard that. (Note- W? IF you'd pull your head outta your ass, you might hear things too!!!)

OK, so we knew they were doin this. AND they've said they've got said weapons pointed toward the good ol' U. S. of A. OOOOKKKAY. With this in mind, I can see why we've been so freakin obsessed with Iraq. NOT! What the beep? Why hasn't that spineless piece of crap in the White House and his equally worthless cronies been doing anything about Korea? My guess? Cuz they can't bully them into submission.

Now, all this said, I have to say something that may make me sound unpatriotic, which believe me, I'm not. For all the disappointment and disgust I feel for this administration, I love this country cuz in so many other countries around the world, I could be killed for ranting. So, yeah, as Lee Greenwood sings, "I"m proud to be an American."

But I have this burning question- Do we not have nuclear weapons? And, if so, how can we tell someone else they can't have them? And who made W king of the world?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

I just gotta share!!!

I just bought the coolest pair of OP Shoes! I tried to find a pic. I'll keep lookin. They're slip on skate shoes, you know, like Vans? They're black with flames on the tips! They are awesome! I'm sooo happy right now :)

Yeah- I do have a bit of a political side to me ;)


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061006/ap_on_re_us/gay_marriage

And a special thanks to Jean for turning me onto these :)

You Are 25 Years Old
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.


Your Love Style is Eros
For you, love is all about the passion!
And chances are, you're currently in love.
You have a strong physical response to love...
And you are great at committing
(As long as the person makes your toes curl!)

I sent Mystic Sage off to the publisher. I am totally psyched and pretty freakin nervous. I swear it took all day to get the whole thang ready to send off. And Tara called so she could be with me when I hit sent. :) She's a sweetied.

I then sent off The Roundup, my AC for Rad's list (For those of you who understand what I'm saying.)

Now I've got three short stories due in December and then I'll be able to focus 100% on my New Orleans novel.

My three stories cover a variety of topics:

1) Jean's favorite- the packing plumber
2) Tango dancers in Argentina
3) Just to show my total comfort with the fast track to hell - my final story deals with a naughty nun.

Is it any wonder I live in my fantasy world? Reality simply can't compare ;A)

Do y'all ever take those online tests? OMG! I love them! LOL! I just took an inkblot test. The result was not at all surprising! LOL!

By the way- see the image they included? They asked me if I saw a gazelle drinking water... HELLO!!?? NAKED WOMAN! DUH!

Your subconscious mind is driven most by Sexuality

The world is a sexy place for you — your erotic self leads the way. Whether this is because you're presently in a great physical relationship or simply want one, you are much more aware of the sexual undertones in situations than most people.

This heightened focus, coupled with your vivid imagination, can make you more likely to have original — at times risqué — interpretations of things that other people might see as innocuous.

Your subconscious is telling you that you are very much alive, and have a great deal of passion to bring to life.

And that's just some o

OY FLIPPIN VEY!!!  OK, Foley had cybersex with a minor right before a vote in the House. I don't object to cybersex.... I have HUGE issues with underage sex. It's wrong for an adult to mess around with kids.... ESPECIALLY kids who work for/with him.  So, yeah, no matter how you slice it, Foley is a flippin pedophile. Surely he has an excuse... oh yeah... he does - He's gay! O!M!F!G! That's right folks. All us homos are pedophiles!!! Puh-LEASE!!! Oh, but wait, even with that, some people might expect him to assume responsibility for his actions, so let's throw out the other cliche- he was molested by clergy as a young man.

Now don't get all ticked. People are molested. I know this. But doesn't it just seem too convenient?

OK, so we all know that the bigwigs in the Republican Party knew about this a long time ago. They didn't come forward with it. And what do have to say about that?

The Democrats leaked it cuz it's an election year.

Another FINE example of not assuming responsibility. And these people are running this country?

VOTE people! PLEASE VOTE! Get rid of these scumbags!!!!!

"Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?" - Ernest Gaines

We would like to know who really believes in gay rights on livejournal. There is no bribe of a miracle or anything like that. If you truly believe in gay rights, then repost this and title the post as "Gay Rights". If you don't believe in gay rights, then just ignore this. Thanks.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind.

I know we've discussed Free Cell, Bejeweled, Jewel Quest, and Age of Empires as things to do when you've got too much to do :)

My "real" job, if you will, is in the incredibly boring world of Finance. Specifically, I work with 401k Plans. It's a new quarter, which means things are always nuts here. Waaay too much to do and NEVER enough time. Which is why I just finished a few games of "Collapse". Anybody else play that? It's WICKEDLY addicting!

OK, I NEED to invest some money now, so I best get to it....... I'll be ba-a-a-ck :)

Hmmm... if I'm really writing, why do I keep posting here? LMAO! Can you say avoidance?



I am actually working on the story about the packing plumber this evening. I posted a portion of it on http://mjzerotica.livejournal.com/ if anyone is interested in reading it.



This one was particularly fun to write. I was emailing with Tara one day while I was at work. She was waiting for the plumber since something was wrong with her sink. I told her if I was her plumber, I'd be there ASAP to check out her fixtures <eg>. What ended up happening was I sent her the beginning of a story via email. She started asking what happened next. It was pretty much a "Story on demand." It was a lot of fun. And not as hard as you'd think. Anyway- if you're at all interested, check out what I've posted.



As always, feedback always appreciated :)

The GCLS has held conventions each of the past two summers. I love going to them- interacting with other authors, meeting publishers, editors, readers. The whole thing just rocks! 

Being the Harry Potter fan that I am, I tell people that at these conventions, I feel like we (wannabe authors) are first years at Hogwarts and we're waiting for the sorting hat to tell us which house we will belong to. Only in our case, it's which publisher will be the best fit for each of us.

That said, I'm curious - to other authors- how do you decide where to peddle your wares? Short stories are different- we go to whomever has a Call for Submissions. But what about novels? How do the rest of you choose which publisher you're gonna submit to?

It's all put together and sent off to Tara for a final once over :)

AND... The Ducks kicked ever lovin bootay! GO DUCKS!

And yet I'm watching the Duck game (GO DUCKS!!) and playing Age of Empires.

Last night I tried to copy all the finished chapters that Tara and I have worked on and put them in one document. But the Valium and Vicodin had other ideas. LOL! I suppose I should try again... but it's only third quarter at the moment....

I worked in health care for over ten years so I have a bit more patience than a lot of people when it comes to waiting, etc. But my doctor told me this morning that she had sent the order for my MRI while I was sitting there. She told me to all them this afternoon. So I just called them and guess what? She hadn't sent the order! Augh!

OK. That said, I do love my doctor and  know that her mom was having chest pains this morning so maybe she was a bit preoccupied, huh?

ROCK ON!!!! Today has been a long time coming!

I started this morning at the doctor's office. I had kind of a freaky thang happen to me yesterday. See,  I have a bad back. And it's been gettin worse over the past year. When it hurts really bad, I lose feeling in my arms and legs. Yeah- I'll be out workin in the yard, I'll turn to do something and whammo! I'm face down on the ground (Go ahead and laugh! I'm sure it would be funny to observe! LMAO!) I will think I'm telling my feet to move, but they don't and I fall.

My arms are that way too - fine motor skills go first and then I'll be at the point where I can't control my arms at all.

So yesterday I was at the store and my back seized up. I kid you not - it took me twenty minutes to get out of the store. I couldn't make my legs move. It hurt like a mother f'er too.

Anyway, I finally gave in and went to see the doctor (Yes - Tara is quite happy I finally did that LOL)

But I'm here now! Where's the party?

OMG! My supervisor is SUCH a jerk. He really has no people skills. And it is literally painful to listen to him talk on the  phone. He has such a condescending attitude and yet, he stutters and mumbles and is so nervous his voice shakes.

So I'm over here working away (Sorta) and he's on the phone and I'm trying everything in my power to block the sound of his voice as he talks to a software representative.

And suddenly I hear myself say, "Oh my gawd shut up!"

I can't believe I said that!!!

Do any of you suffer from writer's hangover? Usually, but not always, preceded by writer's high?

I find when I just start a new project- be it story or novel - that I can't sleep after writing. I get soooo buzzed and I keep getting up and writing more or tossing and turning thinkin about characters, plot, setting, dialogue. You name it, I hash it over. Now, in my life, I've been known to party more than my share, but I gotta say writer's high is about the best (Not counting sex, of course ;) (Can I say that here? LOL)

Well, today, I seem to be suffering from Writer's Hangover. Mind you- I don't enjoy coming to work on the best day, but after a night of serious creativity and wrapping up projects like last night... well, I'm ready to move on, you know? I've got three more stories in the works. And that makes it even harder to come to work and sit at this stupid desk and try to think of something besides tied up ranch hands, packing plumbers, tango threesomes, voodoo... You get my drift, I'm sure.

Tonight I'll do the final (I hope) edits on Mystic Sage and send it in. This morning I finished "The Roundup", a short story to post on Rad's Group. And now here I sit at work, when I've got so much I'm just chompin at the bit to get to.

So I ask you - have any of you had writer's hangover?

I just sent the final chapters of Mystic Sage to my "personal editor" LOL for a final once over. She's working on the ten previous chapters right now! I'm totally jacked! I can't WAIT to submit this novel. It's  been a long, hard journey, but there is light at the end of the tunnel right now.

Just so you know, Mystic Sage is the story of a woman who essentially runs away from her old life. She witnesses something that makes her just want to get as far away from her home as she can. She (Rhett) ends up taking a job on a cattle ranch in Montana. For three months out of the year, part of the cattle ranch is opened as a dude ranch. The staff of the dude ranch and the staff of the cattle ranch don't comingle. Usually. 

Rhett is perfectly content driving to the city (Missoula) on occasion to slake her lust. No strings attached sex is what she likes now. Usually.

One summer, things change. How? Well, you'll have to wait for the book, won't you? :)

I'm not even a Saints fan, but was last night AWESOME or what???
The shots of Bourbon Street, the feel that New Orleans is coming alive again... it was just incredible. I am planning on going to New Orleans in February and I can't WAIT!