(definition further explained in this post if you still aren't satisfied)

Friday, January 29, 2010

Elegy

Mimi passed away last night. Since March 1st of last year, she was in and out of the hospital, but it wasn't until two days ago that she was finally diagnosed. They said it was cancer. My brother and I knew nothing of treatments, of plans; we only knew that we finally had a name for the thing that gave her bad days sometimes, and at other times let her have good ones.

My mother, who was staying with her yesterday, told us that it was definitely a good day. She was sitting up, breathing fine, eating dinner. She wasn't gasping for air like she sometimes had to. The doctors said that her heart just...stopped. We're all very thankful that she went so peacefully, without pain.

Our family is beginning arrangements. If the snowstorm of the century doesn't blow through like the weathermen promised, we plan to have the funeral on Sunday.

2010 is turning out to be a year of deaths already. First a friend from church passed away in a car accident as a young man just out of his teen years, and now Mimi. The beautiful thing about it is, we know that both our grandmother and our friend have gone somewhere wonderful. We miss them already, and can't wait to see them again. Really, we'll just have to wait. Some of us more impatiently than others.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Back On Track

Today is the restarting of classes at University. With break over, blog posts will be coming more regularly again! Hopefully, there will be a new post about every Tuesday.

In other good news, the BFS List is going very well! I find that without guidance, I turn into quite the unmotivated slob of a female, so it was one of my better ideas to set up some rules. I was even productive over my Christmas break, for once! I've been writing a story concept every night, and have actually managed to come up with a few things that I like very much and plan to develop. One of the more recent ones was a sort of mock-heroic satire of romance. Not of love, but of the misconception most people have about romance being the end-all be-all of life (especially teen and pre-teen girls). People have completely unrealistic expectations, and I had tons of fun proving that point, let me tell you. I'll keep you updated, and hopefully, I'll keep this up all year!

Also over 2010, I hope to bring us into a new era of RRR (That's Reflect Review Respond, or perhaps just a magnificent growl)! Some new traditions may be established before the year is out. This could mean that a weekly trend pops up, or that we start doing interviews, themes, drawings, or any number of other surprises... Also, a redesign may be in order! Just watch this space and see what happens.

As we kick things back into gear, do you have any plans for the year that I haven't heard of yet? Feel free to leave a comment below!

P.S. By the way, I haven't forgotten about the famous Bathroom Review Series. There will be more coming your way soon!

Friday, January 15, 2010

She Emerges Triumphant

Hallelujah! Mimi goes home today!

She has made me laugh so many times throughout this ordeal. She's very honest around me, I must say! And with her nurses, as well. She told one that she looked tired, to which the nurse replied that Mimi had told her that multpile times. "Well, I meant no offense," she said. Then, today, she got sarcastic with the nurse that was taking her for a walk. "This is good for you," the nurse told her. "Oh, well, everything is. Everything's good for me." The nurse didn't catch the sideways sarcasm. I laughed from my chair.

Of course, none of this is meant to make her sound mean at all. She just gets discouraged from the situation, but I try to keep her positive, and it works. We''ve definitely come closer through this time.

I'm very excited for her to be home, and she's looking forward to it too.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

BFS

Welcome to 2010!

In lieu of resolutions, which I, like every American, have come to resent, I've taken up a tradition from many NaNoers before me. They make BFS Lists for the new year. BFS? Yes, silly. It stands for a Big Fun Scary List.

There are three good reasons to make a list like this instead of making a “resolution”.
One: A person can choose more than one change they would like to make about themselves in the new year. It sounds much better to say “my list” than to refer to “New Years' resolutions” in the plural. We're not talking about problem-solving; we're making ourselves into new people. Besides, the list is designed to be more of an expansion of oneself than a fixing of something we perceive to be wrong about ourselves.
Two: NaNoers have taken to posting their BFS lists online. They feel more obligated to keep to their decisions if they're held accountable by all the people on the web who have read what they've promised to do throughout the year. Much easier than counting on your family and friends to keep you on the right track. (Our family and friends love us. They cut us too much slack—we need someone unforgiving and mean to kick our butts in gear.)
Three: It's so much more fun to say.

Well, I'm convinced. I made up a list with different categories, hoping to become a better and more well-rounded person in different areas. I won't tell you the specifics; you'll just be pleasantly surprised when I show you results. On the other hand, it wouldn't hurt to share categories, which you can take ideas from if you'd like for your own BFS list. I plan to improve in: writing, drawing, DIY, magic, reading, television, art, language, public behavior, and poetry. Hopefully, I'll come out on the side of 2011 as a better, more learned and interesting person. One way or the other, the journey will be interesting.

What decisions have you made for the new year?