A Little Place Called Crazy

I’m right smack in the middle of crazy on this Monday morning. I am finally putting the manuscript aside for a couple of weeks. After attempting to write several endings and being thoroughly unhappy with any version, I’ve decided to put it away and clear my head. I spent most of Sunday cleaning my apartment. It’s needed a scrub down. Bathroom, living room and hallways are sparkling clean. Bedroom is still a mess but we’re not discussing that at the moment. I managed to run some errands and buy a much needed laptop battery to replace the warping version that was in my MacBook. Ergh!

I asked the salesperson at the Apple store if they would be able to properly recycle the old warped battery and he said he’d absolutely take it off my hands but he wanted to know if it was leaking contaminants. Without missing a beat and as straight-face as I could manage, I replied, “Probably.” The sales associate took one look at me and burst out laughing. It took him a moment to recover before he went off to look for a compatible battery. It’s always a bit odd at how I amuse complete strangers.

I dashed off to go do some window shopping on Fifth Avenue. There is no point in entering any of these clothing stores because 1) can’t afford it and 2) can’t fit into their very tiny clothing line. Then a visit to Pier 1 to take a look at furniture. My sister announced to me a couple of weeks ago that she’s going to be moving out around mid-summer. * sigh * I’ve had enough time to process that information and not panic (kind-of). Really most of my head space has been occupied over this novel and the news that she was going to move out surprised me enough to bury my head into my story. I sent a few queries out to some friends and I have someone interested in being roommates. So panic has been diverted to looking at the living space and knowing when my sister leaves she’s going to take with her the dining room table and chairs. For the record, I think it’s ridiculous that a dining room table should cost over $1,000. There is no reason why it should cost that much. It’s ridiculous. So I was feeling grumbly over how expensive furniture is, let me revise that, how expensive things are in NYC. And no, I don’t want to buy a table from Ikea. I’m a bit fed up with particle board furniture.

So what’s the alternative? Craigslist? Garage sales? Or maybe, I won’t buy a table. It’s all just “stuff”. Perhaps a bit more bare existence won’t be so bad. This morning, on my way to the train station, one of our neighbors decided to throw out their couch (in the middle of the night) and leave it out on the front lawn of the apartment building. Really? It will snow with freezing rain today and that’s how they decide to dispose of their old couch. People just boggle my mind sometimes.

Tonight I am off to see Tegan and Sara in concert at the Beacon. This duo is a guilty pleasure of mine and I can’t wait to see them live. Yay! Dancing around to live music is exactly what I need to shake off these Monday grumbly blahs. Peace, L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

grumbly

I woke up feeling grumbly this morning. If I was a little kid, I’d be on the side of a road somewhere kicking a tire over and over again. It’s a hiding-under-the-duvet kind of day. But alas, there is much work to be done. The ending to my story is not working, which makes me feel crummy and whingy. It just lies there like a corpse. Ergh! Maybe it’s time to just let it be. Put it in the drawer. Let it rest for the next three weeks and come back to it with fresh eyes to start on the revising process. * sigh *. I’d just really hate to leave it where it is at this point because it’s not working. What to do, what to do, what to do. * rubbing my eyebrows off * It’s a cold rainy Wednesday and I want to scream. I’m just unbelievably frustrated, I feel deadlocked. The story’s run amok again and I don’t know how to fix it yet. I need a new profession because I absolutely suck at this creative writing bit. Now I have to sit in this quiet corporate office with too much time on my hands to twist myself up over this story, which is a special kind of hell made just for writers. I should give it another stab, go back to the place where my protagonist enters the Headquarters, and her plan goes awry. How do I get the others there? I keep leaving her allies behind. She doesn’t trust them. There are all these ulterior motives for each of them but they are necessary in this last confrontation. I need to focus on my day job obligations first…that should take me until noon to finish out then I should have the afternoon free to write. Hope so…let’s see how the day pans out.   Wish me luck
Peace,
L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

What Day Is It?

Hmm, it’s been 10 days since my last entry and I’m trying to collect my thoughts as I write this entry.

I went to see the movie Silver Lining Playbook last week. I thought it was an intense movie in the very beginning so much so that I almost walked out of the theater. Cooper playing the part of Pat reminded me too much of my ex-brother-in-law. I got fidgety and uncomfortable and I really wanted to leave. But I stayed put and kept watching and the movie shifted when Lawrence character Tiffany stalks / jogs Pat. The humor started to emerge and the movie snuck up on me and won me over. DeNiro is fantastic as Pat’s dad. I know Jennifer Lawrence is the new “IT” girl because of the Hunger Games movies and I told someone recently that she struck me as a flat character actress. But I was reminded that she was amazing as Ree in Winter’s Bone. A little indie movie that came out a couple of years ago. Silver Lining Playbook a decent movie and I’m glad people are checking it out now that there’s so much Oscar buzz.

Let’s see my latest music obsession is Pearl and the Beard. Little indie music group from Brooklyn. Their music is on perpetual play on my iPod. I picked up both their albums, Killing Their Darlings (2011) and God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson (2009). I love, love, love this group and I’m attaching Voice in My Throat to this entry. More people need to know about them because they are too fantastic to miss. Lovely music.
Lastly, work on the novel is still moving along. I find myself fighting to go back and make major revisions. I’m just trying to reach the end at this point. I’m closer than I was yesterday.
Best,
Lily~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2013 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.