Blonde Ambition

I made the finals in Accentuate’s short story contest.

Phew! I was nervous. I still am. There were a lot more entries this time and I am competing against some very talented writers.

The writing contests have grown each time at Accentuate. As the forum grows, more writers try their hand at competing. More members are getting up the nerve to submit an entry. It has been amazing to watch. It is inspiring to see people grow with their writing.

I joined Accentuate in February of this year. I remember feeling like I was walking in shoes that were too big for me when I first joined. I was a dabbler…I dabbled in writing. I had the dream…I still do. But the thought of turning it into something lucrative was so far down the road in my mind that it was just a hazy dream.

Now I have started turning it into something. I have learned so much in such a short amount of time. I think I have shown improvement.

With each contest that I’ve entered there, I have advanced further. Even if I don’t make it any further than where I am right now with this contest, I still see it as an improvement because there was so much talent submitted by other writers.

Of course, I’d still like to win. Who wouldn’t? First place gets $300, their story published in the anthology due out in February, and their name on the cover of that book. I think my name would look damn good on the cover…but maybe that’s just me (hehehe).

Winners will be announced Friday. Woot!

Ambition (noun): desire to achieve a particular end (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

I’m giving myself, and this blog a fresh start. Everyone needs one once in awhile, don’t you think? So, I revamped the look of the blog, and I’ll be focusing on my ambitions for my life.

So, what are my ambitions?

Money, for one. I don’t need a lot of money. I’m a simple kind of girl. I don’t need or want a lot. But I would like enough to be able to pay off some bills so I can quit my part time job. Working two jobs is wearing me down fast.

I suck with money, so this one is going to be hard for me.

I would also like to be a (successful) writer.

I named this blog Blonde Ambition before I really knew what I wanted it to be about. I just liked the play on words (blind ambition)…and I’m blonde.

I could have joined the Boundless Living Challenge to motivate me to attain my goals. I considered doing that. But I’m not a very sociable person most of the time. I have my moments, but for the most part I don’t like feeling like I have to participate in things. And I can be very self-absorbed which makes me feel guilty when I don’t feel like I’m supportive enough for others in the group.

Okay, so my goals are to gain financial freedom and to work harder at my writing. Lucky for me, they’ll go hand-in-hand. The more successful I become at writing, the more money I’ll make, which will enable me to quit my part time job and focus on becoming even more successful as a writer.

So for the rest of this week, to help achieve my ambitions, i am going to:

1. Keep a log of every cent I spend
2. Submit my two Demand Studios articles
3. Write one article to submit to a magazine

That’s a pretty good start, don’t you think?

A quick search on Google trends this morning turned up another round of internet rumors that Criss Angel, star of the show “Mindfreak”, was dead…again.

It seems these rumors hit the internet every so often. Along with those rumors and questions of “Is he dead?” come comments that vary from “I hope so” to people coming off as panicked that he didn’t survive his latest stunt.

It would appear the latest rumor was instigated by a car stunt where he crashed at the end of his latest show. It apparently has thrown his legion of fans into a tizzy.

Not that these shows are taped or anything. (I’m rolling my eyes, here)

Take a look at his MySpace page and you’ll see a horde of comments from fans regarding his latest stunt. Some are even berating him for making them worry.

Some of these comments just make you think, wow…visit reality much?

He’s an illusionist, people…c’mon now.

His over-zealous, unquestionably loyal fans aside, I do think Criss Angel is talented as hell. I’ve watched his show a few times and he always leaves me wondering how he does what he does. That’s what he’s supposed to do.

In his line of work, he has to keep pushing the envelope. He’ll have to keep coming up with bigger and better stunts to wow his audience.

It makes me wonder, though…with these rumors continously making the rounds on the internet, if something does happen to him someday, will anyone believe it?

I don’t normally write about celebrities. I don’t follow them like they are long lost friends who I feel the need to keep tabs on. I really don’t care about what goes on in their lives, but this one had me unable to keep my mouth shut.

I’ll be honest, I’m not an Angelina Jolie fan. What I have seen of her doesn’t impress me at all. So maybe my already-low opinion of her makes this more harsh than it needs to be, but come on…

She can’t cook? Seriously?

Cooking is not hard. Of course, there are different levels of cooking skills. I get that. But to say you can’t cook translates to you never cared enough to learn. Just my opinion.

Here’s another opinion…if you’re going to have kids, I think it’s a good idea to learn how to cook. You don’t have to be great at it, just be able to do it.

I can’t even give her points for being honest. But, like I said…I’m not fond of her.

Wow, Autumn already. Today officially marks the first day of fall. The Autumnal Equinox marks a balance — where the days and nights are just about the same length.

I could use a little balance in my life. Lately I’ve had a constant sense of feelling off kilter just a little bit. I’m not sure what’s causing it. Maybe I’m afraid to delve too deep into the cause.

What you don’t know…blah, blah blah.

Anyway…

I’m not sure how I feel about fall being here already. Normally I love fall. The beauty of the changing colors, the crisp scent of the air, the maddening desire to bake apple crisp…I usually love all that.

But for some reason, this year I’ve been hoping that autumn would hold off just a little while longer.

Maybe it’s because here in Indiana, we had a late start to summer. I remember still being bundled up in warmer clothes towards the end of May. We didn’t get our pool set up until sometime in June. It seems like summer barely poked her head in the door before taking off again.

I know I’ll adjust. I’ll eventually slip out of this funk I’m in and embrace the coming of fall like I usually do. It just may take a little longer than I’d like.

Maybe a good batch of apple crisp will do the trick.

It’s almost that time of year again. Every year, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

My grandmother was a breast cancer survivor. I still remember standing in her hospital room and watching as she lifted up her gown to show the bright red scar criss-crossed with staples where her breast used to be.

I think she was almost proud of that scar. It was like a tribute to one more thing in her life that she had survived.

Because of her, I am an avid supporter of breast cancer awareness and research.

I want to encourage each of you to visit www.thebreastcancersite.com and sign up for daily emails reminding you to click to give. Each time someone clicks, the site sponsors will help underprivileged women receive a free mammogram.

They also have free emails that you can send. There is one, the “Fund Research Free” ecard that will help fund breast cancer research each time it’s opened.

If you have a little extra money, go to the shop they have on their website and purchase items to show your support. They have items starting at just $2.00 and each purchase you make helps fund additional mammograms.

It’s a great way to help out. Please, check out their website and click to give someone a free mammogram.

And don’t forget to schedule your own mammogram and/or do a self examination!

I love the weekend. I always have. It’s the perfect opportunity to do whatever you want, whenever you want. It is also the perfect opportunity to be lazy. I love being lazy…I’m so good at it.

I hate when there’s something I have to do on the weekend. I only get two days here. I don’t want to muck it up by having a schedule I need to adhere to. Schedules are for Monday through Friday, not for weekends.

This weekend, I have nothing planned. Just two whole days of absolute nothing-ness. I may have to run to the grocery store for food, though. It depends on how creative I can get with what we have here in the house. If it was just me living here, I could survive on Ramen noodles and be perfectly happy. But I have a man with a man-sized appetite. Meat and potatoes, all the way.

I hate shopping. I may be one the the very few women on this earth who hate shopping. Any kind of shopping. The only time I don’t mind shopping is when I have the money to do it. That doesn’t happen very often. I suck with money.

But anyway, at least for the right now, I have nothing planned and no schedule. Sigh…there’s just nothing better for a Saturday, except maybe a nap.

Yeah…a nap sounds really good right now. I told you I was good at being lazy.

A few weeks ago, I started noticing something was up with the pipes in our house. Every once in awhile, when one pipe was draining water, another part of the house would start gurgling.

“Something’s up with the pipes,” I told my significant other.

“It’s probably all the rain we’ve been getting. I think it’s done that before,” he replied with his eyes glued to the television. That should have been a clue right there. I should have known he would quickly search for an answer that would fix itself…even if it wasn’t the right one.

Then I started noticing a funky smell. Since both my SO and the dog looked innocent whenever I noticed the smell, I mentioned the pipes again.

“It’s all the rain we’ve been getting.”

“It hasn’t rained in over a week, dear,” I replied.

Eventually, this all progressed into the pipes backing up into each other. When the tub or washer would drain, water would back up into the toilets and the sink. Then, a few days ago, the toilets started backing up into…everything.

Nice.

“There must be a blockage in the pipes. I’ll have to snake it.” My SO told me.

Really? Do tell…a problem with the pipes, you say? Huh…go figure.

So we tried snaking it last night. Then we pried off the lid to the septic…it was full.

Okay, so it wasn’t a problem with the pipes exactly. But it also wasn’t the rain, either. In my self-righteous mind, I’m thinking that if he had listened to me a few weeks ago, we could have had this fixed before our house started smelling like a porta-potty.

I love the man beyond words, I really do, but sometimes I think if I said the sky was blue…well, you get the picture.

At least it will be fixed today.

Do you remember how Joe Pesci had the scene in Lethal Weapon 2 where he was talking about how much drive-thru restaurants suck? You know…the “They f**k you at the drive-thru” scene. It’s classic.

It’s also funny as hell because it’s true.

It happened to me this morning. I went to the McDonald’s drive-thru for breakfast before work. I was running late so I didn’t check the bag to make sure I received what I ordered.

I should have known better. They forgot half of what I ordered.

Now, a few people know I have a temper. I can get irate if the mood strikes me. But I am proud to say I held my temper and my tongue when I called McDonalds to let them know they screwed up…again.

I was rewarded for my control. The manager I spoke with said he would put my name down in a book (he really said book…it makes you wonder how big that book is and how many times they need to use that book if they short so many customers that it requires an actual book) So anyway, he put my name down and said they would reimburse me whenever I happened that way again.

I was still hungry so I told my boss I was going back to get my food. He put in his order for breakfast.

Yeah, sure…why not? I was going that anyway (I’m rolling my eyes, here).

Okay, to wrap up my story, I not only received the rest of my order, but I also received my boss’s order free of charge. I thought that was a nice touch, since gas isn’t cheap and I had to go back across town again to get the food that they forgot.

So, the point I am trying to make is that every once in awhile, somebody somewhere revives the almost-dead concept of customer service. It’s extra nice when it comes from a world-wide franchise because, to be honest, I think they’re the ones who started killing off customer service in the first place.

It was nice to have McDonald’s “make it right” and take the extra step to reimburse me for my trouble.

It’s enough to give a girl hope.