Where I Stand

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Sometimes I wonder why I take quizzes that tell me what I already knew, but it’s nice to be validated, I guess. Borrowed from Scott’s blog.

You are a
Social Moderate
(43% permissive)
and an…
Economic Liberal
(25% permissive)
You are best described as a:

Democrat

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid
Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

NaNo kickoff this Saturday. Holy cow. Where did October go? Sheesh. At least I have an idea. Not a plot, mind you. An idea. But the plot will come. Oh yes, it will.

Coincidence

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Bones is investigating a murder on an island with the same name as the street I grew up on. Things like that make me blink.
Less than a month to both NaNo and the election. I’ll have a lot more fun with one than the other. I’ll leave you to guess which one.

Playing cards

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I’m terminally behind in my reading of Newsweek to which my mother’s friend Debbie so thoughtfully subscribed me. So if you read that mag, you might recognize this quote from the Last Word essay of the Aug 18/25 issue:

If people make assumptions about you simply on the basis of your appearance all your life, assumptions ranging from criminality to sloth to unearned opportunity, it can make you bitter and hard and cynical. That none of those things is part of the Obama character means that he has turned his particular version of the race card into an ace and is using it to play with the full deck. That is not a deficit. It is an advantage.

(source: Anna Quindlen’s “The Caucasian Card“)
It just resonated with me. Earlier in the article she talks about how Obama’s race is indivisible from his campaign. He *is* black, he can’t help mentioning his experiences from that circumstance. But he isn’t a stereotype, thank goodness.
I don’t like getting too political in public. I think it’s probably obvious that I’m a liberal. Honestly, if someone feels differently and can articulate it, then more power to them. But please, please think first before you make a decision.

Happy Fall

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Let’s hear it for the beginning of the season of pretty trees.
Also, huzzah to the Drumsticks, who capped off their week 22 of 12 with a winning the post-season tournament! Three games, played a week after they were scheduled, thanks to Hurricane Ike’s leftovers, one beaned ankle (mine, because I *still* can’t field freakish direct-to-the-second-baseman ground balls), and one fake-marble trophy later, you get this.
2008champions.jpg
And happy birthday, Mike. Hope you enjoyed your cake. It is not a lie!

Patriot Day

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As much as I hate the name, today is a day to remember those lost seven years ago. Seven years. How could it be that long ago?

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Today is also the day in which a large white sheet is covering the in-progress building across the alley at work. We think they’re fireproofing things, and the sheet is to keep our building from getting inadvertently sprayed. But it looks like it’s snowing out there. Looking out the window just gives a blank view, and it’s very disconcerting.
Today is also the day of our last regular season make-up of a rainout of a rainout softball game. As my coach put it, nothing short of biblical will stop us from playing, so I forsee a soggy evening on a muddy or grassy field. Maybe my cleats are dried out from last week…

what’s my type?

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Your result for The What type of MAN turns you on Test…

Naughty boy

You scored 35% masculine, 47% athletic, 36% exotic, and 44% refined!

You like your men with a more boyish look. The huge muscle-popping men don’t do it for you as much as the sleeker toned guys. You like the all-American look, but not the squeaky clean type – a little on the bad boy side. Someone like…..Ashton Kutcher. But let’s face it, the whole point of this was to look at a bunch of hot guys. If you liked what you saw, please rate my test!

Take The What type of MAN turns you on Test at HelloQuizzy

Research

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Sometimes I forget how much I love it.
Take right now, for example: I have this idea for this year’s NaNo that it will have a quasi-Victorian setting, maybe based on reality, maybe a little steampunk, so I looked up books on Victorian history. For those keeping score, that was when Queen Victoria ruled England, circa 1840-1870. I now own three books on Victorian history, because not only are the books full of information and juicy little tidbits that will pad out my daily word count nicely, but sometimes they’re just hilarious. I’m sure that someday people will look back at our time and wonder what we were thinking, because that’s what’s happening when I read these. And I’m having fun. I like learning. History can be interesting!
But I’m not the sort of person to seek out nonfiction books normally. I have to have a good reason. And research for NaNo is a pretty darn good reason.
This is why I know I could be a professional writer. Because I don’t mind the research. It’s quite fun to absorb all the bits of information during the research phase then have them suddenly coalesce in a somewhat coherent whole during the draft phase.
Here’s to research. May it never get boring.
And here’s to me, who got a whole lot of books (and the 2nd season of Heroes), because it’s that little thing known as my birthday. Huzzah.