Today, I showed up to work and was humbled by all of the interest that I received about my book. For some reason, I forget that I broadcast pieces of my life on the internet, so it always throws me off when my real and cyber worlds collide.
The question that I received repeatedly, "What is your book about?"
Seems easy enough. I just get so self-conscious about sharing my writing soul to real live people, (somehow internet people, even if they're actually the same people, are less intimidating!).
My one sentence answer: A couple that is frustrated with their jobs and life and decides to sell everything to travel separately.
Not the most poetic response, but truthful.
Even trickier, however, is putting my 59,089 words into a couple of meaningful and engaging paragraphs. If you've already read my previous attempts, save yourself the time now, stop reading. Tonight's attempt is likely no better than before, and more likely than not, will drive me crazy with revisions.
However, if you're new to my explanation of my book, read on! As always, thoughtful input is welcomed.
Expecting Happiness
Kristen and Jake are like many couples in their late twenties. They were told that they could be anything they wanted when they grew up. The problem is, beside each other, they can’t figure out what they want. Somehow, they’ve found themselves stuck in windowless cubes, trudging to meaningless jobs, grasping for purpose. Most nights, they forget to even look at each other.
After a failed pregnancy reawakens their dreams of adventure, they quit their jobs and sell their house to travel. Unable to agree on a shared vision of escape, they embark on separate journeys. Jake, a lanky but attractive runner, heads across country by car, intent to live out his teenaged fantasy of the open road. His first destination, Las Vegas, Nevada, hotbed of sin. Kristen, a striking contrast of dark hair blue eyes, sets off for Germany, feigning the desire to visit a long-lost cousin. In truth, she secretly hopes to reunite with a handsome Spaniard living in Paris.
Torn between the allure of seductive foreigners and their own unrelenting longing for one another, an ironic twist of fate ultimately forces Kristen and Jake to decide whether the life that they left behind held the secret to what they truly wanted all along.
Expecting Happiness is part travelogue, part love story, part cathartic escape from a generation’s discontent.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
59,089 words later...
Holy smokes. I just finished editing my book after my second read and the momentary sense of completion is exhilarating.
59,089 words... Six months of work after work... 144 pdf'ed pages... Approximately 240 actual book pages...
Phew. Now it's time to wait for my kind readers to give me their input so that I can make my final changes and submit to agents this summer! I already have one request for my manuscript, which is a pretty cool feeling, (and a lot of pressure to make it perfect!).
I feel like it's also time to manage my own expectations. I was reading the blog of a published author this morning, where he shared that he has written four books, the first of which is still unpublished. I know that this is pretty common for authors to write multiple books before they get published.
Still, I'm hopeful.
If nothing else, I've learned how to do it, so I can do it again, and again, and again, until it works.
Happy productive Sunday!
59,089 words... Six months of work after work... 144 pdf'ed pages... Approximately 240 actual book pages...
Phew. Now it's time to wait for my kind readers to give me their input so that I can make my final changes and submit to agents this summer! I already have one request for my manuscript, which is a pretty cool feeling, (and a lot of pressure to make it perfect!).
I feel like it's also time to manage my own expectations. I was reading the blog of a published author this morning, where he shared that he has written four books, the first of which is still unpublished. I know that this is pretty common for authors to write multiple books before they get published.
Still, I'm hopeful.
If nothing else, I've learned how to do it, so I can do it again, and again, and again, until it works.
Happy productive Sunday!
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| Done! (For now...) |
Saturday, April 28, 2012
You Can Go Back
Last night, I went to Woodstock's Pizza in Davis with my husband and a friend. I never realized how many memories I have connected to this place. Late night post-party pizza trips with beloved friends, pizza deliveries to the dorms in order to avoid the dreaded DC, infamous stories of fake IDs confiscated in the pursuit of alcohol... Apparently, Woodstock's Pizza was much more memorable than I ever realized back in college.
It has been six years since I graduated, which means that some of these memories are ten years old. Whoa. I loved college, but I never fully appreciated this glorious period of my life until it was over. Sleep until whenever, do whatever, surrounded by friends, (even if do whatever was fairly tame for me!). I loved studying outside underneath the trees on the quad, giggling with friends over dinner, riding my bicycle all over town, claiming my apartments. Really, college was my first real chance to be independent, and I loved it!
This past week, the theme in my life has been that you can go back in time, it just won't be exactly the same. Stepping out of the car in downtown Davis, I felt old. Not in a bad way, but in a wow, I really was a baby 10 years ago way. Standing in line to order pizza, I felt so much wiser than the giggling bunch of girls in front of us. I once was them.
The funny thing is that I kept watching the door, expecting old friends from college to walk through. I found myself looking for Rachel, Tanya, Liz, and Katie. I felt the ghosts of us sitting around a table in the center of the restaurant, laughing, gossiping, planning our futures. Now, the future is here, and I am alright that I can't fully go back. It was enough to sit there and remember.
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| As Alex and Ryan talked about the present, I remembered everything I loved about Davis! |
Sunday, April 22, 2012
The Next Twenty Years
I celebrated my grandmother's 80th birthday in Bodega Bay with my family this weekend. It was a surprise party, much like the party that we threw for her twenty years earlier, for her 60th birthday. My family, and my mom in particular, gets a big kick out of surprising my grandma.
As we ended last night watching family videos of a beach house that we rented two decades ago, I reflected on life, time, and family. We all know that time goes by too quickly, but gathered in a house perched over the ocean, there was a comforting sense of repetition, that we can still have the past in the present, if we remember to try.
I look forward to many more new memories with my family smushed together in beach houses, and, if fortune is on our side, another "surprise" party for my grandmother's 100th birthday twenty years from now!
As we ended last night watching family videos of a beach house that we rented two decades ago, I reflected on life, time, and family. We all know that time goes by too quickly, but gathered in a house perched over the ocean, there was a comforting sense of repetition, that we can still have the past in the present, if we remember to try.
I look forward to many more new memories with my family smushed together in beach houses, and, if fortune is on our side, another "surprise" party for my grandmother's 100th birthday twenty years from now!
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| There is something magical about Polaroids, like they instantaneously validate the present as classic memories. Thanks Nick for taking these, (and letting me steal them while you napped!). |
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A Happy Little Story...
Today was one of those days that I remembered why I like teaching. Please understand, there are many days that I forget. Between challenging behaviors, long hours, and pressure to have high test scores, it can be easy to lose sight of why I chose this profession.
Today I remembered.
After school, I work with a group of students that need extra academic support. One student, a girl who is routinely behaviorally challenging and does not easily express herself with words, did not feel like learning. It was too much hard work. As the other students worked away at converting fractions to decimals on their white boards, she gave up.
However, our little group decided that we were not leaving her behind. She had to do the hard work whether she liked it or not because we believed she could. Still, she didn't believe in herself.
To sweeten the deal, I told the students we would have a party if she could figure it out. Reluctantly, she and another student went to the back of the room and worked diligently for twenty minutes. They called me back. She still could not do it.
I told them to keep working, and they did, until finally she was able to show me she that understood. The look on her face told me she was proud. We were all proud. The students cheered, the CD player flew on, and we danced, and laughed, and played catch with their stuffed class mascot, a Husky.
Still, the student was quiet. She was too busy doing something to join us. I didn't know what it was. Then, she appeared, proudly holding up what she had typed on her Barbie laptop, her show-and-tell for the day:
Mrs. M, You're Nice.
I smiled, she smiled, then she joined the dance party. The afternoon light soaking through my windows, happy children dancing because they were proud to learn and help each other, I felt happy. I danced too.
Today I remembered.
After school, I work with a group of students that need extra academic support. One student, a girl who is routinely behaviorally challenging and does not easily express herself with words, did not feel like learning. It was too much hard work. As the other students worked away at converting fractions to decimals on their white boards, she gave up.
However, our little group decided that we were not leaving her behind. She had to do the hard work whether she liked it or not because we believed she could. Still, she didn't believe in herself.
To sweeten the deal, I told the students we would have a party if she could figure it out. Reluctantly, she and another student went to the back of the room and worked diligently for twenty minutes. They called me back. She still could not do it.
I told them to keep working, and they did, until finally she was able to show me she that understood. The look on her face told me she was proud. We were all proud. The students cheered, the CD player flew on, and we danced, and laughed, and played catch with their stuffed class mascot, a Husky.
Still, the student was quiet. She was too busy doing something to join us. I didn't know what it was. Then, she appeared, proudly holding up what she had typed on her Barbie laptop, her show-and-tell for the day:
Mrs. M, You're Nice.
I smiled, she smiled, then she joined the dance party. The afternoon light soaking through my windows, happy children dancing because they were proud to learn and help each other, I felt happy. I danced too.
Monday, April 16, 2012
You're as smart as you work to be!
I love this!
I'm telling my students over and over this month that you're not born smart, you work hard to become smarter: "Your brain is like a muscle. The harder you work it out, the smarter you get!"
This has fascinating implications for praise. If we tell our kids that they're smart, they're less likely to take risks, because they're afraid they'll look dumb if they make mistakes. On the other hand, if we praise their hard work, they're more likely to take risks, grow, succeed. For anyone interested in this concept, New York Magazine has a great article from a few years back: "How Not to Talk to Your Kids."
Makes total sense to me. It took me 26 years to decide to try something that I might be bad at, (and, it's still painful when I don't immediately succeed). Granted, my parents did not just praise intelligence, they also praised hard work, but I'd be curious to know how much praise I've received in life based on intelligence alone.
Maybe effort-based praise does not solve everything, but it's still a very motivating concept for kids. Anyone can be the "smart one" if he/she works at it! I guess it's a good reminder for us adults too...
Time to do some brain push-ups!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Good News: I no longer feel like I'm going to die!
One of the occupational hazards of teaching is germs. I am constantly surrounded by germs. In fact, something so nasty is going around my classroom that I had 6 students absent on Tuesday. While this was pretty wonderful for the sake of quiet, focus, and my ability to teach, it was also downright horrible because I got sick too.
Even though I still do not feel great, I'm past that absolutely terrifying point where you feel like you're going to die. Seriously, my head and neck hurt so much that I was busy googling Meningitis.
Thankfully, it feels like the worst is over and I'm ready to drag my tired little body back to school tomorrow.
The only upside of being sick?
The honest to goodness excuse to do nothing productive. I did not clean, I did not cook, I did not work, I just sat on my butt. Generally, I find the need to do six productive things at once, so this little mental break was nice, even if it was excruciating to speak or move.
Among my more entertaining discoveries while sequestered to the couch was the documentary The Hollywood Complex, streamable on Netflix. It chronicles families that move their children to an apartment complex in Hollywood that caters to parents hoping their children will become big stars. The complex even touts famous alumni like Zac Efron and Hilary Duff, (speaking of which, Hilary's now a mom, what the heck?!).
Don't get me wrong-- this is cheap entertainment, verging on trashy even, and definitely an interesting commentary on our societal obsession with celebrity. However, for anyone like me that harbored childhood dreams of stardom, it is highly amusing! As a teacher, it also made me wince at the education these kids are receiving. One scene at a private school for child actors actually made me feel like an amazing teacher by comparison.
At any rate, sick or not, if you're looking for something to pass the time, check it out! Otherwise, take some vitamin C, wash you hands, and don't let children cough in your face, (words of advice from an expert).
Even though I still do not feel great, I'm past that absolutely terrifying point where you feel like you're going to die. Seriously, my head and neck hurt so much that I was busy googling Meningitis.
Thankfully, it feels like the worst is over and I'm ready to drag my tired little body back to school tomorrow.
The only upside of being sick?
The honest to goodness excuse to do nothing productive. I did not clean, I did not cook, I did not work, I just sat on my butt. Generally, I find the need to do six productive things at once, so this little mental break was nice, even if it was excruciating to speak or move.
Among my more entertaining discoveries while sequestered to the couch was the documentary The Hollywood Complex, streamable on Netflix. It chronicles families that move their children to an apartment complex in Hollywood that caters to parents hoping their children will become big stars. The complex even touts famous alumni like Zac Efron and Hilary Duff, (speaking of which, Hilary's now a mom, what the heck?!).
Don't get me wrong-- this is cheap entertainment, verging on trashy even, and definitely an interesting commentary on our societal obsession with celebrity. However, for anyone like me that harbored childhood dreams of stardom, it is highly amusing! As a teacher, it also made me wince at the education these kids are receiving. One scene at a private school for child actors actually made me feel like an amazing teacher by comparison.
At any rate, sick or not, if you're looking for something to pass the time, check it out! Otherwise, take some vitamin C, wash you hands, and don't let children cough in your face, (words of advice from an expert).
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| Photo courtesy of http://www.thehollywoodcomplex.com/ |
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Finding my green thumb!
What I need least in the entire world is another hobby.
However, this weekend I found one anyway. Gardening. I never thought I'd say it. I used to think it was the hobby of very patient old people, or my mom, (and, no, mom, I'm not calling you old!). Maybe I was wrong or maybe I'm getting older, more patient, and more like my mom.
Either way, this weekend I reclaimed my backyard from the cold ugly fingers of winter. While there is still work to do, it went from an overgrown disaster zone, to a place that I might actually want to eat my breakfast. I pulled out the lawn furniture, killed a few black widows, (after blessing them first), and replanted my little planter box with fruits, herbs, and veggies that I hope will survive long enough for me to actually eat.
In the three hours that I spent engaged in manual labor, I felt strong, healthy, and connected with my little piece of earth. It was a meditation. I appreciated all of the work that goes into everything that we eat. I felt happy even. And, to top it all off-- it was a workout! I am still sore from all of that squatting and shoveling.
Here is the book that inspired it all. Alex surprised me with it last year and I'm finally putting it to good use:
It convinced me that if its author could grow a cool garden on an apartment patio, I could do alright with a full-sized backyard. Prior to reading it, my plant kill rate was about 100%. Now I'm successfully keeping plants alive, well, most of them!
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| My happy little spot. The lavender in the middle was one of the first plants that I managed NOT to kill! In fact, it has quadrupled in size under my loving inattention! |
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| Goodbye winter! Hello outdoor furniture! |
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| My box runneth over! |
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Entrepreneur Love
Alright, I know that I've shared these fabulous entrepreneurs on Facebook, but I am all about giving love to the entrepreneurs in my life. Growing up the daughter of one of the world's great entrepreneurs, (as well as the sister to a girl that once sold rocks in our front yard and will likely be another great), I have always deeply admired people that take risks to create financial independence.
Heck, I have even tried unsuccessfully myself, (wedding videography/documentary maker anyone?!), so I definitely know the spirit when I see it and strive to continue chasing it through my writing. Soon enough, I will also be married to an entrepreneur again, as Alex is imminently headed back to real estate. Which reminds me, does anyone want to buy or sell a house? Oh, wait, that's a different post!
Back to the point, it seems like I am surrounded by inspiring entrepreneurs. Here are a few recent inspirations in my life, thank you ladies for reminding me to be brave and take risks!
1. Shaka Soaps
My husband's cousin recently launched her own home business making all-natural soaps and spa products in Hawaii. Not only are the ingredients wonderful, but the products are stylish. Jessica followed her heart to take the risk to move her family to Hawaii and has not looked back. I admire the guts! Her home business is experiencing great success, including the use of her products by celebrities. Doesn't get much better than that!
2. Tanya Leigh
My dear friend Tanya is blessed with the courage to pursue her creative endeavors. She has sold gorgeous wedding veils, fabulous dresses, and handsome silk neck ties. As a design major at UC Davis, she kept us all on our toes in her various fashion shows, (excuse the rhyming!). Currently, she blogs for Style Bistro and does amazing freelance fashion illustrations. I truly cannot wait to see what she does next!
Heck, I have even tried unsuccessfully myself, (wedding videography/documentary maker anyone?!), so I definitely know the spirit when I see it and strive to continue chasing it through my writing. Soon enough, I will also be married to an entrepreneur again, as Alex is imminently headed back to real estate. Which reminds me, does anyone want to buy or sell a house? Oh, wait, that's a different post!
Back to the point, it seems like I am surrounded by inspiring entrepreneurs. Here are a few recent inspirations in my life, thank you ladies for reminding me to be brave and take risks!
1. Shaka Soaps
My husband's cousin recently launched her own home business making all-natural soaps and spa products in Hawaii. Not only are the ingredients wonderful, but the products are stylish. Jessica followed her heart to take the risk to move her family to Hawaii and has not looked back. I admire the guts! Her home business is experiencing great success, including the use of her products by celebrities. Doesn't get much better than that!
Check out Jess' awesome products at: http://www.shaka-soap.com/
2. Tanya Leigh
My dear friend Tanya is blessed with the courage to pursue her creative endeavors. She has sold gorgeous wedding veils, fabulous dresses, and handsome silk neck ties. As a design major at UC Davis, she kept us all on our toes in her various fashion shows, (excuse the rhyming!). Currently, she blogs for Style Bistro and does amazing freelance fashion illustrations. I truly cannot wait to see what she does next!
Check out Tanya's creativity: http://drawntostyle.blogspot.com/
3. Botany Factory
Apparently UC Davis is just a hotbed of creativity, because another lovely friend from college, Katie, is a designer for Old Navy as well as the owner of Botany Factory, a quirky cute company that creates terrariums and offers occasional terrarium-making classes set to live Blue Grass music in the Mission in SF. Katie has also received press attention for her terrariums, and I cannot wait to buy one!
Check out Botany Factory and adorable Katie: http://www.botanyfactory.com/index.html
4. Flock & Farm
Staying at my aunt Colleen's house was always the biggest treat when I was growing up. She has been an entrepreneur longer than I have been alive, and her house was always abuzz with her pursuits. Whether I was pouring through the blue prints for her contracting jobs or chasing around baby chicks for her pet store, I was always in kid heaven. The best of course, was when she had baby sheep that I could bottle feed and cuddle. I can still remember the wooly softness of a baby sheep hug! Now, Colleen turns the wool from her sheep into gorgeous blankets for her business Flock & Farm. With baby sheep season upon us, I think I may have to go visit sometime soon!
Check out Flock & Farm: http://flockfarm.com/
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Every nerd has her day.
Are you from Harvard?
Are you a professor?
Are you a nerd?
No, I'm just highly intelligent.
That's what I told my students every time they inquired about my attire today. It was Nerd Day. Every Wednesday in April, we dress up with a different theme for the equivalent of a pep rally to get kids excited about the otherwise dull act of taking the STAR test. We started the day in the gym, rocking out to Teach Me How to Study, (aka Teach Me How to Dougie). The result: students loved it, I'm pretty sure that nerd fashion will be making an instant comeback, and that silly song is still stuck in my head.
Teach me how to study,
All my teachers love me.
While I was happy to dress up, I realized that it hit a nerve. I was a nerd, am a nerd, will always be a nerd, and, let's be honest, people are not always nice to nerds. I remember walking around high school keeping my intelligence very quiet because it didn't feel cool. Heck, even my own siblings gave me a hard time about studying all of the time.
So, today, I dawned my nerd gear, (items that I regularly wear anyway, just not all at once), and set off to tell the world that I'd rather be called highly intelligent than a nerd. It felt good. I let my nerd flag fly.
Who knew that telling ten year olds that it is better to label people as highly intelligent than as nerds would feel so cathartic? I guess it makes sense that a nerd would grow up to be a teacher. Who better to love school and push others to do the same?
Today, this nerd, I mean highly intelligent person, had her day.
Sidenote: I can take no credit for finding this YouTube gem, the other teachers on my team are responsible!
Are you a professor?
Are you a nerd?
No, I'm just highly intelligent.
That's what I told my students every time they inquired about my attire today. It was Nerd Day. Every Wednesday in April, we dress up with a different theme for the equivalent of a pep rally to get kids excited about the otherwise dull act of taking the STAR test. We started the day in the gym, rocking out to Teach Me How to Study, (aka Teach Me How to Dougie). The result: students loved it, I'm pretty sure that nerd fashion will be making an instant comeback, and that silly song is still stuck in my head.
Teach me how to study,
All my teachers love me.
While I was happy to dress up, I realized that it hit a nerve. I was a nerd, am a nerd, will always be a nerd, and, let's be honest, people are not always nice to nerds. I remember walking around high school keeping my intelligence very quiet because it didn't feel cool. Heck, even my own siblings gave me a hard time about studying all of the time.
So, today, I dawned my nerd gear, (items that I regularly wear anyway, just not all at once), and set off to tell the world that I'd rather be called highly intelligent than a nerd. It felt good. I let my nerd flag fly.
Who knew that telling ten year olds that it is better to label people as highly intelligent than as nerds would feel so cathartic? I guess it makes sense that a nerd would grow up to be a teacher. Who better to love school and push others to do the same?
Today, this nerd, I mean highly intelligent person, had her day.
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| My best nerd face. |
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| It's a good day when the sparkly Toms make the cut. |
Sidenote: I can take no credit for finding this YouTube gem, the other teachers on my team are responsible!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Anticipation...
Anticipation is a funny piece of happiness.
Lately, when I am feeling the most stressed in my classroom, I've just closed my eyes and reminded myself that summer is just two months away. For the briefest second, I allow my thoughts to slip off to everything that summer holds. Pool parties, warm evenings, time to write. I remind myself that I get to go to Kauai, too. Then I smile, and I'm fine again.
Anticipation is pretty wonderful.
I remember being a kid and marking my happiness by what I had to look forward to. It was always a letdown when my short-windowed calendar ran out of good stuff in the foreseeable future. Thankfully, that's the coolest part of being an adult-- I can always find something to add to my calendar, even if it's just making time to go out with friends or planning a weekend escape.
We're pushed to believe that anticipation is not as valuable as being present in the moment, but if it makes us happy, what difference does it make? Can't we find happiness in the moment by thinking about the future? Our large frontal lobes exist for a reason. We're planners by nature. According to one study, we actually derive great happiness from planning a trip, (eight weeks worth!).
As such, I think it is okay to revel in the excitement of what is to come. Why not take pleasure in this simple act?
Tonight, I'm letting myself savor the thought of a warm Hawaiian beach, a cold Piña Colada, and the soft sand between my toes.
As such, I think it is okay to revel in the excitement of what is to come. Why not take pleasure in this simple act?
Tonight, I'm letting myself savor the thought of a warm Hawaiian beach, a cold Piña Colada, and the soft sand between my toes.
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