auria “Hussein” cortes

More cheap meme cruft:

Welcome to the new 2008 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then [send this to a bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person who sent it to you] post it. Some of you may get this several times; that means you have lots of friends. Have fun and be truthful!

1. What is your occupation right now? Self-employed
2. What color are your socks right now? I’m barefoot.
3. What are you listening to right now? The voices in my head
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Tostones (fried plantains)
5. Can you drive a stick shift? No
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My big sister. Who said she would call me back and never did.
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes.
8. How old are you today? 35
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? The last five minutes of a basketball game.
10. What is your favorite drink? Water
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes. The sun lightened my hair. I wanted  to darken it. And yep, you guessed it, my hair turned blonde. Which is not a good thing. So I was blonde for about three months. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself every time I looked in the mirror.
12. Favorite food? White bread.
13. What is the last movie you watched? Sex and the City
14. Favorite day of the year? I don’t have one.
15. How do you vent anger? I cry.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I can’t remember.
17. What is your favorite season? Fall
18. Cherries or Blueberries? I’ll take Diane’s answer. Grapes.
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail(blog) you back? Yes.
20. Who is the most likely to respond? I’m not sure who I’ll send this to.
21. Who is least likely to respond? See above.
22. Living arrangements? Live alone in my house.
23. When was the last time you cried? I don’t remember.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Sneakers.
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest {that you are sending to}? Not sure who I’m sending this to.
26. What did you do last night? Wrote.
27. What are you most afraid of? Being sick.
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? No burgers.
29. Favorite dog breed? Not a fan of dogs.
30. Favorite day of the week? Friday
31. What is your favorite number? I don’t have one.
32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds.
33. What is your favorite flower? I don’t know the names of flowers. But I like wild ones.

Aaron Crocco’s post on Why I Write inspired today’s Thursday Thirteen. Writers have different reasons for putting pen to paper. Some say it’s passion, but I say it’s ego. Here’s thirteen reasons why:

1. It’s egotistical to think we have something to say that the world is meant to hear. Who are we? Most likely nobodies. Nobodies just like the rest of the population. But we writers think we’re somebody. And that our voices must be heard.
2. It’s egotiscal to think that a story that does fits in the “must be told” category should be written by us. Why us? Yeah, some stories need to be told, but that don’t mean we gotta be the ones to write it.   
3. It’s egotistical to think you aren’t egostical. Did that make sense? ::scratches head:: Let me put it this way: there are some writers that say they write for themself. Give me a break. If you write for yourself then you’d be quiet about. Stop trying to get published.
4. It’s egotistical to hand over your work to a publisher. Yeah, that’s right. When you submit your work the implication is that your story is good enough to be on bookshelves. Talk about an ego.
5. It’s egotistical to submit your work to a vanity press. I mean it’s called a vanity press for a reason. Right?
6. It’s egotistical to daydream about our books making the bestseller list. I mean really. Out of the hundreds of thousands of books published every year, we dare dream that our story will reach millions. You know, because it’s that special. ((she says sarcastically))
7. It’s egotistical to call yourself a writer when you rarely write. But the label “writer” sounds cool so you buy into the old, but tired, adage: when you put words to paper you are a writer. Um, no. You aren’t. If you are in the writing club for the label, it’s all about ego, baby doll.
8. It’s egotistical to think we can take a story that has been retold time after time and give it a different spin. Can’t we come up with our own original ideas? Oh, there are no original ideas? That’s kinda true isn’t it? All the books out there are recycled versions of older stories. So if that is the case, then why retell a story. Oh yeah, because we can tell it in a better way. That would be called an ego, my friends.
9. It’s egotistical to write something, sit back and say, “Hey, this is good stuff. People may just be interested in reading this.” Newsflash: I could care less about a dragon in another universe who is being chased by a unicorn.
10. It’s egotistical to ask your publisher to send you 50 copies of your book when you know you aren’t going to give any away. You just want a box full of your book. ((Linda are you listening? The books are gathering dust. You know that, right? But you don’t care. Do you? Because you get a kick every time you peek in the box))
11. It’s egotistical to write specifically to get positive feedback. Almost all of us have been part of a writing group where a participant is shocked that there were recommendations on how to make a story better…and this brings up point number twelve.
12. It’s egotistical to think that we know so much about writing that we can beta read someone else’s work. Who are we really? Yeah, say it with me. Unpublished. That’s what we are. 
13. It’s egotistical to think that just because one book of yours is published that you can consider yourself a writer. Linda learned this lesson the hard way:

         13 year old: What do you do?
         Linda: I’m a writer.
         13 year old: What have you written.
         Linda: I wrote X.
         13 year old: You only wrote one book and you call yourself a writer?

Earlier this year, I posted my experience with helping out a fellow writer who signed with PublishAmerica. In short, for those of you too lazy to click on the link and read what happened, I contacted a writer and offered my assistance. She was able to get out of her contract with PublishAmerica.

I reviewed her proposal, made suggestions, and off she went querying. This morning, I found the following message in my inbox. Note that I deleted information that could in some way identify this writer. But please know that the publisher is a legit one.

I want to share some good news with you.  My book manuscript on ______ in the ______ has been accepted for publication by ________, which is a division of ________.  It took quite a while, but I finally found a publisher and an editor who believe in the book and its potential.

I specifically want to thank you for contacting me initially to warn me about that glorified self-publishing outfit.  Thanks to you, I was able to get out of that contract and keep working to secure a legitimate publisher.  I have now found a publishing home and am truly happy about that.  I’m currently working closely with an editor and I expect the book to be available sometime in the first few months of 2009.

Once again, thank you for your assistance at a time when I really needed it.  I have to admit that I was really discouraged (I got 116 rejection notices before I was accepted by ________!), but now I’m very confident in the book’s potential to make a difference in ________.

The bolding is mine. One hundred and sixteen rejections. Though that sounds like a lot, it’s not enough rejections to give up finding a commericial publisher.

I’ve mentioned the following in my blog before, but it’s a quote that I love: the problem with people is not their dreams, its that they change their dreams in the middle of the game because things aren’t going their way (paraphrased) ~ Carroll O’Connor

If you want to be a published author, don’t settle for less. Don’t change your dreams in the middle just because it’s difficult to get published.

Yes, it’s difficult.

And your writing and reputation is worth the effort.

On a related topic, Jay Soloman has an interesting post on self-publishing. Go check it out.

PS - For those of you thinking I’m knocking vanity presses or self-publishing, I’m not. This post is for those writers who want to become published authors and have given up or are down on the publishing process. If you are self-published and are happy, then I’m happy for you.

She’s one of the smartest people I know. Every job she’s had since High School she created for herself. She’d start off as an entry-level employee and within a few months convinced management that a new position must be developed. One specifically for her.

She got her wish everytime.

She created her own opportunities. I always admired that about her.

She also never went to college.

I don’t believe that college is for everyone, but college was for her. For years I pressed. I wanted to know why she didn’t go to college. She always had her nose in a book. She always wanted to learn something new.

Her response to me was always vague. “Oh, I don’t know” was an answer I never bought into. Then one day she finally came clean.

Avoiding eye contact she said, “Because I’m fat.” 

That is true. She is fat. Obese is really the word. She weighs in 300Ibs.

She waited for me to say something, but I remained silent. “I won’t fit in the lecture chair. They’d have to bring in a regular desk and chair for me. That’s embarrassing,” she continued.

I didn’t know what to say. So I didn’t say anything. And I never brought the subject up again.

As what happens to many, we slowly began to lose contact. Then we reached a point where we no longer spoke. There was no disagreement. No hurt feelings. Just life leading us in different directions.

I think about her often, tho. Especially when I want to give up. When I don’t think I am a good enough <fill in the blank here>. When I lose passion for <fill in the blank here>.

She serves as a motivator for me when my own head trash speaks loudly and overwhelms my spirit. 

My fellow atheist has died. He inspired a Thursday Thirteen a while back. Click on the link to listen to his Seven Dirty Words routine.

The embedded video is his thoughts on voting. I agree with his assessment. Though I do vote.

Rosemerry from Puttin’ Words on Paper tagged with me a meme.

A-Attached or Single? Single. The most frustrating thing about being single is that everyone always asks why I’m single. My parents always ask when I’m getting married. It seems that only fat, ugly women are allowed to be single. Because there is a “good” reason - men aren’t interested. Not!

B-Best Friend? My two sisters. Bobbi and Tata.

C-Cake or Pie? Cake. I prefer Betty Crocker out of the box cake.

D-Day of Choice? I like Friday afternoons.

E-Essential Items? computer, canvas, paint brush, pen and paper, ipod, guitar

F-Favorite Color? Blue is my favorite.  I also love white, but can’t wear it because I don’t own a bra and my nips show. Was that TMI?

G-Gummy Bears or Worms? Do I have to choose? Those candies are flavorless. Okay, bears.

H-Hometown? Still live here so mums the words.

I-Indulgence? One of the great things about being single is that indulgence is part of my every day life. I indulge in everything - but my fav is silence.

J-January or July? January. Definately.

K-Kids? Nope. I don’t plan on having any. I’m not a fan of kids and the responsibility that comes along with it.

L-Life isn’t complete without…money. Yeah, I said it. Relationships be damned.

M-Marriage Date? Et tu, meme? Trying to make a dig because I’m single? Im single by choice? Okay? Sheesh.

N-Number of Siblings? Technically four. Three I know and grew up with.

O-Oranges or Apples? Oranges because they are juicy.

P-Phobias or Fears? Living in a nursing home disabled. Sorry, Diane. Through your blog I learn every day, but it’s still a fear of mine.

Q-Quote? “My mother wanted me to be a doctor. Instead I became Picasso.”

R-Reason to Smile? I don’t know the answer for this one.

S-Superman or Wonder Woman? Wonder Woman. I own her comics books, books, key chain, lunch box, t shirt, all the videos.

T-Tag 5 people. Aaron Crocco, Wendy from Writes in the City, Writings and Ramblings (I found out recently that he isn’t grey haired. Now I want to know more), The Zen of South Park (Jay interviews ex-cult members)

V-Vegetables? Broc.

W-Worst Habit? I curse like a mother fucker.

X-Ray or Ultrasound? I have no idea what this question is asking.

Y-Your Favorite Food? Bread. The white kind.

Z-Zodiac Sign? Sorry can’t give the info away. Except for my family, no one knows my birthday. I just tell people that my birthday is in June and they can celebrate it any day they wish. It’s really fantastic, because most every day in June I receive calls, emails, presents from people. Try it. It’s fun.