"OTN" is a term I invented for something I do in my writing. It means it's a chapter or scene where I tell about what's been happening over a period of time without really going into detail. In the notes to one of my books several bits were labeled "OTN." I no longer know what the letters stand for, but I know what the abbreviation means: Montage. Short version.
Here's some OTN for my life lately.
I had a cool visit with Dieter. It was a couple weeks back but I never wrote about it, so I should. He's a cool guy I met on the 'Net. He's eighteen. His parents and friends were worried about him coming to meet me--he's from Georgia by the way. One friend advised him to bring a gun. You know, in case I attack him. But then you think about how it sounds to other people: "Yeah, I met this chick on the Internet. She's twenty-six and I'm gonna go stay at her apartment for a couple days for no reason. No, I don't know why she wants to hang out with a teenager. . . ." Yeah it does sound freaky. But Dieter and I get along. :)
He brought his video camera. He videotaped me making (and, initially, butchering) waffles. He taped me wagging my ass on the DDR machine--and I don't look anywhere near as dorky as I'd imagined I would. And he videotaped my Po doll saying something that sounds dirty. Bite my butt, indeed.
Dieter and I made Valentine cookies that week--I made "Rose Cakes" from a recipe published in the year 1610. They called cookies "cakes" back then. The recipe has rose water and honey in it. It tastes weird but GOOD. Unfortunately I'd decorated a plate for the people at my work to eat the cookies off of, and had done so with pink cellophane and red heart doilies, and so when the cookies turned out to be a crispity yellow-brown, they just looked un-Valentine-ish. I took these cookies from 1610 and put a very twenty-first-century strawberry icing on it. Well, maybe twentieth century, because I did make it from scratch (I make everything from scratch, duh!), but they were sprinkled with Valentine sugars and whatnot from a kit, so hey . . . they can't be completely authentic. Especially since I bought my rose water at the health food store, fearing to make my own from roses since I can't grow them and I don't trust florists to give me roses with no pesticides on them.
Anyway Dieter and I had a good time, despite his missing the bus on the way here and not arriving until half a day after he was supposed to. Blah.
I just finished my friend Jeremy's book. I am so happy to be able to deliver to him the verdict and all my nitpicky editing. Yay. There was a very minor character in the book who seemed to be based on me, considering the description--she was a good citizen, trying to call the police when she spotted a guy who was a kidnapper. Should I be insulted that the kidnapper figured out what she was doing and tried to kill her? Disturbing.
I had some problems with sugar last week. Felt weird after I ate anything sugary. I got a bad taste in my mouth, got really thirsty, and felt kind of weak. I thought maybe I was developing some bad sugar-related condition, plus I'm cold all the time. So I didn't eat sugar at all for two and a half days. Then I chowed down on some candy. Nothing happened. Guess it was a fluke. Ugh. Jeaux thinks maybe I'm iron deficient because that has a lot of the same symptoms. But I take a multivitamin that includes iron, plus the foods that have lots of iron are green leafy vegetables and I eat a salad EVERY DAY. And broccoli! And artichokes!
My friend Dan gave me a really cool Anime music video someone made for the show Haibane Renmei. You should see that Anime if you haven't . . . it's pretty damn good. But weird. Surprise! What does one expect from the makers of Serial Experiments Lain?
Y'all all know I wrote a bad review on Amazon.com of that book Eragon. I've now been approached twice by people who thought my review ruled and wanted to hit me up for editing services based on my critique. Yeah, they want to pay me. That's damn cool. I never thought public bitching could be so lucrative.
I've determined that my manager Pat should be queen of the world despite her lack of people skills. That woman is just God. Not only does she know everything about the bookstore (AND she claims she DOESN'T: another sign of divinity), but she knows all this crap about life and how people should live. She was talking about how to make kids go to sleep: Give them peanut butter and hold them still for maybe fifteen or twenty minutes. They will be out like a light. I thought that was cool. Then she said that if she was in charge, people who went on welfare would have to agree to automatic permanent sterilization. She said that when she was in the Army, she had to waive some Constitutional rights. She said people who are in a bad situation have the right to have someone pick them up and dust them off. But since too many people abuse the system (i.e., purposely have more kids to qualify them for food stamps), she figures that if they decide to become a drain on the government's resources, damned if she would allow them to continue to have all their usual rights to overpopulate the planet with more kids they can't take care of. Personally, I think it's a human rights violation to say "you have to be sterilized," and the public perception of welfare fraud is grossly exaggerated in the public eye. But . . . I just might vote for Pat in the next election. Or at least go out and get her a nice sparkly tiara.
Ooh, I see Fred in a matter of days! w00t!
Last thing: My pal Stacy dropped by the store today and gave me random gifts. She does that a lot. I think it's awesome. This time she gave me a square--well, a rectangle--of fuzzy black fabric to do "something" with, and also she had ordered for me a square of fabric with a Flower Fairy on it--you know, of Cicely Mary Barker fame. WOO! How awesome is THAT?? I gave her an eggnog bar in thanks.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
Notes:
eeeeeeeeeeeee Fred eeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! [Meggie]
Happy Day! ^___^ I've got to get someone try that peanut butter thing on me - I don't sleep very much. Dunno.
You know why it's nice to read this? Because it's nice to "hear" something that isn't piss. :)
I'm glad your Eragon review killed two "Urgals" with one dragon (sorry, weak pun). You get a chance to get $$$ AND you showed that Eragon whose got the talent :D BOOYAH! [katqueen]
Hmm, if you start feelin cruddy again (and if you have insurance :(:() go to the doc. They could at least give you a blood test proper to see if anything's missing. LIKE BLOOD CELLS. I hope to see you again some day!
You are pal,
Ian
I'm going to try that peanut butter trick with Aidan. - Ronni