What's Up Wednesday (41)

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, so we can check in with each other. To join, just check out Jaime Morrow or Erin Funk's blogs for the link widget and sign up!


WHAT I'M READING

Long Lankin! It's a long book, and also Comic Con ate all my time. I'm getting back to reading this week.


WHAT I'M WRITING

The verse story. I'm not even going to link you to my Ready.Set.Write! update for this week because it's sad. I have not written anything new or even thought about it. Again, blame SDCC!


WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

The general kindness and friendliness of the nerd herd. I can't even begin to tell you how many nice Fannibals I met this past weekend or how many random not-my-fandom line friends I made while dealing with the special kind of purgatory that is waiting in Comic Con lines. Thanks for keeping me sane, geeks!


WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

I missed last week's post, but right before SDCC we got manicures!

The Sister's (Cat) cat manicure.

Flower manicure for me.

But what you want to know about really is SAN DIEGO COMIC CON!!! Or as my friend likes to say Comic KHAAAAAAAN~!

This last is actually quite accurate because this year's SDCC presented frustrations my first time at SDCC didn't. I predicted last year that nothing would top that 1st year, and I was right! Not that this year wasn't fun, and not that incredibly cool things didn't happen, but it was also a lot more frustrating & generally kind of a lull year?

And I didn't go in with the mindset that I wanted it to top/be like last year because that would have been an exercise in disappointment, but 1st year was definitely better. (I mean, c'mon. Tom Hiddleston (2x). Hugh Dancy. Lee Pace. The entire cast of X-Men Days of Future Past!)

Again, not to make it sound like this year wasn't amazing because it was! SDCC is its own kind of magic. Anyway, I will post separate SDCC recap posts because I know some of you are interested/requested pics & I have way too many of them to post here.

But to give you a taste, here's some cool stuff that happened + pics!

• We did the exclusives thing AND the booth signing thing (namely, I met the cast of Hannibal!)!

All black end-credit jaegers. Yaaaaaassss!

• We did the (casual) cosplay thing.

Aquaman was too tall to fit in this shot.

• We spotted people on the Exhibit Hall floor!

Scott Thompson post-Hannibal signing.

Peter S. Beagle, author of my favorite book!!!

• We did the party thing. Hey, Nerd HQ!

Free photo booth shenanigans at Nerd HQ dance party.

• We did NOT do the Hall H thing. :( The line was way too crazy (more on that in future posts). But actually, I don't regret not being in there on Saturday.

• We did do the Hall H thing Saturday night for WB's DC Entertainment night & saw the pilots for CW's THE FLASH, FOX's GOTHAM, and NBC's CONSTANTINE. Thoughts on that in future recaps (all are good but Gotham is fantastic).

• We obviously did the photo-booth/ gif-booth thing.

Zip-lining through Gotham, no big deal.

• We made it to the Hannibal PANNIBAL!

Appropriate attire: stag, dinner setting,
plaid, flower crown (not pictured).

• OCULUS RIFT everything. 360 degree virtual reality thing that allows me to pilot a jaeger & ascend the Night Watch's Wall? Yes, please!

• Meeting online friends! I finally met author and blogger friend LYDIA KANG!! She is the sweetest, and we chatted about SDCC craziness and soupy dumplings (because we love food).

• GOTHAM everything. (They had the best stuff.)

• Oh and most importantly, we actually ate at least 1 REAL MEAL a day (dinner)!

I will begin my SDCC full recap this Friday next week! (Too exhausted. Pictures still on camera...)

What's up with you?

Ready. Set. Write! (Week 8)

RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by Jaime Morrow, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, and Erin Funk. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go here.

1. How I did on last week’s goals
Um, basically they didn't happen. Comic Con ate my life.

2. My goal(s) for this week

Same as last week, but particularly, I would like to achieve the bolded one the most.

• Write a stanza
• Start reading a verse novel.
• Get some more sleep, especially before SDCC.

3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.
This sums up this week for me: COMIC CON.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.
Time and energy and focus again. With Comic Con eating up my schedule, the start of the week was all about preparation and finishing work stuff. Then the end of the week was all about epic geekery. No real time to think much about my WIP. Poor thing.

5. Something I love about my WiP.
It is patient and is waiting for me to come back to it. :)

How did you do this week?

Ready. Set. Write! (Week 7)

RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by Jaime Morrow, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, and Erin Funk. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go here.

1. How I did on last week’s goals
Opposite of last week: kind of terrible! I was way too busy- both at home and at work- to get much writing done. I think I figured something out in an old WIP though, so yay! I also did not start reading a new verse book, but I did read more of my other book. Failed on getting more sleep.

2. My goal(s) for this week

• Write a stanza
• Start reading a verse novel.
• Get some more sleep, especially before SDCC.

3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.
Breakthrough. Not on the verse novel, but I had a breakthrough on one of my older WIPs.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.
Time and energy again. Work has been uber busy, and I've been planning and getting ready for Comic Con later this week!

5. Something I love about my WiP.
The 3 POVs continue to be a challenge, but I find I'm enjoying crafting the voices.


How did you do this week?


P.S. Comic Con is here! I can't believe it! It's later this week, so I have much to prepare. Hoping to get some writing done, but not sure how successful I'll be. Will try to make it around to some blogs but also not sure how successful I'll be. See you next time!

What's Up Wednesday (40)

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, so we can check in with each other. To join, just check out Jaime Morrow or Erin Funk's blogs for the link widget and sign up!


WHAT I'M READING

I'm still reading Long Lankin (things have gotten decidedly creepier), and haven't decided which verse book to read next yet.


WHAT I'M WRITING

The verse story and I tinkered a bit with an old WIP . Here's my RSW Week 6 update with a verse excerpt.


WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

The World Cup! Of course it helps that my (No. 2...No. 1 being my home team) team won, but the whole international sporting event thing is just so incredible. There's so much emotion and feats of human ability. Okay, and the really dramatic documentary intros that the sports networks put together help too. But yes, fun times. I'm kind of sad it's over.


WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

Other than being super busy at work, taking pictures of books, and anticipating the final World Cup game, a few things...

1. San Diego Comic Con is ONE WEEK away! I am FREAKING OUT. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I am so excited. I have so much more geeky clothing items this year, that I'm a little overwhelmed about what I'm going to wear, haha.

2. My handsome boy Loki (thanks to his mommy aka my Sister) has been making his way around the web. You can see him in this LA Times gallery of smiling dogs (he's like the 8th or so in) AND featured in this Buzzfeed post about World Cup Pups! I bet you can't guess who he's representing. ;)

Why yes, he is wearing the Sister's pre-final acquired German team jersey.

3. We're trying not to spend too much money on Disney's newest collectible toy product. They've had them in Japan for a while now but have finally brought them over. These little guys are called Tsum Tsum, and they're freaking adorable.

Dumbo and Donald Duck in the smallest tsum tsum size.

4. Last, but not least, as I mentioned above, one of my teams won the World Cup! YAY GERMANY!!!

The Sister has been a fan since like 2006, so die Mannschaft has kind of been in my periphery since then (plus, we both studied German in school for a stretch, which probably sparked some initial interest in the team come World Cup time). But it was not until this World Cup that I was charmed by their adorkable-ness. Also, we watched a few of the games at my friends' house, and one of them actually knows soccer and could answer all my non-soccer-person questions. So it made things more interesting and way more fun. We have so many inside jokes.

BUT I DIGRESS.

On Saturday, I went with the Sister and her newly converted to die Mannschaft friend to Downtown Disney ESPNZone to watch the final match. It was the most uncomfortable 90+ minutes of sports I've ever watched. We were way too invested in their success; we were bundles of nerves. I stress ate half a huge plate of chips. BUT IT WAS WORTH IT because Germany won!

I'm so happy for them. They won as a team (the Machine as they were sometimes nicknamed in media hereabouts) and one that has been working to make it here since the last few tournaments. Besides, they are just so dang cute. I mean, look at this. This is how they presented their trophy at home to their fans:

And here's more Vines of adorableness in this Buzzfeed article: Germany's Epic Dance Moves While Unveiling the World Cup Trophy in Berlin.

See: so cute, so charming.

Anyway, let me leave you with these pertinent tweets from my dear friend Sarah, whose tweets helped me not implode from nerves during the final match.

Edit: In case you're wondering who Sarah is talking about...

Source: this pinterest link S sent me.

Edit 2: Another edit for this amazing Mirror post the Sister found showing "17 absolutely ubergeschnappt Gifs, Vines and Tweets that show Germany won the World Cup of Cool." Basically, they're precious.


What's up with you?

Ready. Set. Write! (Week 6)

RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by Jaime Morrow, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, and Erin Funk. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go here.

1. How I did on last week’s goals
Pretty good! I wrote 2 stanzas and half a scene in an old WiP. I also finished reading Psyche in a Dress.

2. My goal(s) for this week

• Write 2 more stanzas
• Start reading another verse novel.
• Get some more sleep.

3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.

But the rooms are largely stripped, cluttered
only by shadow and the accumulation of
years of neglect. It’s just dust.
We’ll have space to fill
with us.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.
Time and energy. It's been really busy, not just social gatherings/World Cup-wise, but also at work. It's been super busy with things piling on at the same time. So it's hard to have energy for writing when I get home. On the other hand, when I'm stressed I do end up wanting to write more (and clearly did this week) because it's kind of like procrastination from what I should be doing?

5. Something I love about my WiP.
I looked at my pinterest board for my verse story a lot this week, and it just inspires me every time. I love the mood and delicate darkness of it. Here's hoping I can capture this feeling in words.


How did you do this week?


P.S. Still so happy Germany won the World Cup! Woohoo!

What's Up Wednesday (39)

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, so we can check in with each other. To join, just check out Jaime Morrow or Erin Funk's blogs for the link widget and sign up!


WHAT I'M READING
I'm doing the best I've been doing all year with my reading! I just finished Ruin & Rising, which was so good! I'm still thinking about it. Very fitting and satisfying end to the trilogy - and no, I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book (though I thought the world was fantastic & Leigh Bardugo's writing quite lovely), but the 2nd and 3rd have completely won me over.

I bought the B&N Special Edition because it comes with a Darkling prequel story, and oh, it just makes me love him more. (To quote Book 2's tagline: DARKNESS NEVER DIES) But I love Nikolai too, and at the end of this whole journey, I think I might love him as much as I love the Darkling. Basically, I usually go for 2 types of dudes in books and the Darkling & Nikolai are those 2 types. I had no chance.

I also finished reading Francesca Lia Block's Psyche in a Dress, which is a book written in free verse and it plays with one of my most favorite things - classical mythology. I liked the motifs and themes, and it was definitely helpful to me since I'm working on a verse story.

I'm now reading the creepy Long Lankin at the behest of April Tucholke. I think we're on the same creepy wave-length when it comes to these things. We're sort of book-clubbing this thing.


WHAT I'M WRITING
Still the verse novel, but also tinkering with some older things (things that sadly still have no plot). For more detailed writing updates, swing by on Mondays when I post for Ready.Set.Write! Here's this week's update: RSW Week 5


WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
Good reads and poetry! It always makes me want to write.


WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
Fourth of July weekend was fun times because yay! 3-day weekend and actually being able to watch some World Cup games. There was also food and puppy play time and fireworks. I even bought this amazing star-spangled skirt for the occasion (I saw it randomly & it was on sale!)

Speaking of the World Cup, yesterday Germany played an unbelievable semi-final game against Brazil. 7 goals, 5 of them in the first half in a crazy goal-blitz! My Twitter feed kept blowing up with goals. It was something else. I feel bad for Brazil, but yay Deutschland! Fingers crossed for them in the final!

Loki would like to eat 1 milkbone for every goal that was scored. (We didn't let him eat all 7.)

Lastly, I've been having a lot of fun with Jaime's YA Photo A Day challenge. Here are my entries so far.



What's up with you?

Ready. Set. Write! (Week 5)

RSW is a summer writing intensive hosted by Jaime Morrow, Alison Miller, Katy Upperman, and Erin Funk. You can sign up on the linky at any of the host blogs every Monday. Remember to encourage other participants too! For more info on RSW and a link to the lovely buttons, go here.

1. How I did on last week’s goals
Ho-hum. I didn't write a new stanza, though I did tinker around with something else. However, I revised the stanzas I had, working on making the voices more distinct. I read a little more of the verse novel but didn't finish it.

2. My goal(s) for this week

• Write 2 stanzas
• Continue working on making the 3 POV voices distinct
• Finish reading the verse novel.

3. A favorite line from my story OR one word/phrase that sums up what I wrote/revised.
Not from the verse WIP, but from something I wrote this week:
Maybe distance didn’t make the heart grow fonder, just more desperate.

4. The biggest challenge I faced this week.
As I suspected, finding the time to read/write. With the long weekend (4th of July, yay!) and the World Cup, socializing came a-calling and I could not resist the siren. But I did manage to finish reading 1 book (Ruin & Rising) and write a little.

5. Something I love about my WiP.
Not to do with my verse WiP since I didn't do too much with it this week, but since I was tinkering with an older WiP, I remembered how much I love the characters. Hope to be able to figure out their story in the near future!

How did you do this week?

What's Up Wednesday (38)

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, so we can check in with each other. To join, just check out Jaime Morrow or Erin Funk's blogs for the link widget and sign up!


WHAT I'M READING

I'm reading Ruin & Rising and loving it. Also, I don't think I mention this enough, but I kind of adore Nikolai. I might love him as much as I love the Darkling...


WHAT I'M WRITING
The verse novel/story. Check out my RSW post from Monday for deets! Here's a line for you:

The house though is beautiful, cloaked as it is in
ivy and age, crowned with Hawthorne’s seven gables.

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

The World Cup. Because seriously, how do they even do that with their feet?! Also, I enjoy watching my Twitter stream blow up every time USA plays (which they will not anymore & I'm pretty sad about that). I'm going to miss the memes and Teddy Goalsevelt.

Last week, Loki was a little torn as to which team to cheer for when USA played Germany. Ultimately, homeland > Vaterland though!

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

Other than watching World Cup games with friends and swearing off Belgian waffles (in support of Team USA for their game yesterday against Belgium), I've mainly been up to trying to get more sleep and failing!

The Sister and I were also invited to a soft opening for Philz Coffee, which was previously only found in San Francisco. It's like fancy hand-poured coffee that I never had in the 4 years I spent up in the Bay Area because I...really have no idea why. ANYWAY, it was lovely because it was free coffee & it was delicious!

Their signature mint mojito iced coffee!

The other super awesome thing we did this weekend was put together "Sawafest 2014" with 2 of our friends. What is Sawafest, you ask? It is a celebration of Devon Sawa movies - particularly, we watched films from the early 90s.

This Sawa retrospective was spawned by a discussion we had about how as elementary school girls, we saw him in Casper (as in the friendly ghost) and we thought, "Boys are gross, but heeeey maybe this one is okay. He's kinda cute." So none of us were Sawa fangirls, but he was probably one of the first boys we even vaguely considered crushin' on.

And thus our reminiscing spawned Sawafest. As usual, we always go big or go home, so we even have a Twitter account for it. You can see our live-tweets from the day at @Sawafest. Feel free to follow, Sawa fans! :D

@Sawafest's profile pic courtesy of Gennia's mad photoshop skills.

We had way too much fun and discovered which of these old movies held up (Now & Then is great / Casper is surprisingly okay) and which didn't (Wild America was a hot mess of a brothers' road trip movie).

Oh and it was the best food I've had at any fest. We made brunch: homemade blueberry ricotta pancakes, turkey bacon, french toast with fresh berries, eggs, and mimosas. (NO Belgian waffles!!)

We came, we sawa, we conquered. (Many Sawa puns were made as well.)

Lastly, I'm trying to get more on top of my Photo A Day challenge game on Instagram. If you're on there, our very own Jaime Morrow has created YA-themed challenge starting this month! I'll be attempting to keep up. (I'm akangaru if you want to follow me.)

And your weekly moment of geek chic:

Mermaiding in Blackmilk Mermaid leggings.

Her Universe exploding TARDIS skirt.

What's up with you?