tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62771006730027350412024-03-05T01:49:24.526-08:00The I-Pod ExperimentWelcome to my writing experiment.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-32607998281760968612010-04-26T12:51:00.000-07:002010-04-26T13:00:55.030-07:00Homework Help Part 2!I think I am going to make this a regular series. The antics of Tim, part DEUX!<br /><br /><br />Tim circled around me like a vulture around a beached whale (do vultures eat whale?). As a preemptive strike, I asked.<br /><br /> “Do you need help with your homework, Tim?”<br /><br /> “What, you think that’s all I talk to you for? Fine, then.”<br /><br /> “Well, do you?”<br /><br /> “No! Forget this! I’m just going to ask google dot com!”<br /><br /> Fine by me.<br /><br /> I knew I should have been a good big sister and checked up on his homework, especially after the concerning reference to google. But honestly, I didn’t have the energy to care. I had my own problems: school, work, and news editor of the college paper. So my brother’s misuse of Internet sources wasn’t high on my priority list.<br /><br /> The week after that little tantrum, dad had to go to Tim’s parent-teacher meetings. He dreaded them ever since the incident with the raw bacon. The meetings never really went well. Teachers just told dad that Tim was failing, but that they’d bump his grades to push him to the next level.<br /><br /> Dad had us when he was still a teenager, and so now he was in his late-thirties and still a good-looking guy. I could just imagine what the teachers were thinking:<br /><br /> “That Tim has to be held back. As a responsible teacher, I have to do the right thing. His father probably won’t like to hear it, but it’s a disservice to the other children and to my profession if…hey now. Who’s that. Hmm…no ring. Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt if I bumped Tim’s grade up. By eighteen points.”<br /><br /> This time, when dad went, they started with a discussion about Tim’s “wandering eyes.”<br /><br /> “Let’s just say that…he has trouble…focusing. So we have this cubicle for him to take tests in.”<br /><br /> “You put my son in a box?”<br /><br /> “It’s not really a box…it’s more of a shield so that he…doesn’t get distracted.”<br /><br /> “How do you know that he’s not just getting his notes out of his backpack while he’s in the box? I mean, you can’t see him, either.”<br /><br /> “Tim’s scores…lead me to believe that this is not the case.”<br /><br /> “OK. So he has trouble keeping his eyes on his paper. I’ll talk to him about that. What else?”<br /><br /> The teacher shifted. Dad could be pretty intense. He used to be on the side of the teachers until he realized that they were simply passing him and not making sure he learned anything.<br /><br /> “I have a question, and I hope you don’t take offense. Are you of Italian descent?”<br /><br /> “No…”<br /><br /> “Is there anyone…what I mean to ask, Mr. Rios, is that do you know of any reason why Tim would speak with an Italian accent?”<br /><br /> “No.”<br /><br /> “OK…then maybe you should speak with him about that as well.”<br /><br /> “Wooden cube and accents. Anything else?”<br /><br /> “One more thing. As you may know, I am your son’s health teacher.”<br /><br /> “Yes, my son takes your class twice instead of learning a foreign language. I’m aware of the setup.”<br /><br /> “All right. The students were supposed to make a little booklet on a vitamin or mineral…something the body needs. They were supposed to present it to the class. Like this…”<br /><br /> The teacher opened a bound and laminated booklet labeled “iron.” It was five pages long and featured pictures of a steak and beans. “They were supposed to present it to the class and turn it in. This is an example of an A project.”<br /><br /> “All right.”<br /><br /> “This is what Tim turned in…” Tim had folded two pieces of computer together and glued pink print to one side. Dad’s eyebrows came together.<br /><br /> “Why is it pink? And why did he cut out the writing just to glue it to more paper?”<br /> “I really don’t know, Mr. Rios. So Tim was unable to read his report to the class, and gave it to me to read for him. I think he just copied a website…and I believe he may have misunderstood the assignment.” Instead of talking about the health benefits of potassium, there was a picture of the atom of element K and a list of how it reacted with the rest of the periodic table.<br /><br /> “As for the pictures, here is what he put.”<br /><br /> Dad pulled apart the computer paper and saw a picture of a banana on the inside. The caption read, in his scraggly handwriting in silver gel pen, “Bananas have a lot of Element K.”<br /><br />“That’s good, right? At least he got that right. Bananas have potassium.”<br /><br /> “Look at the second picture on the back.”<br /><br /> Dad flipped the page.<br /><br /> It was the LG Chocolate phone from Verizon. The caption? “My dad won’t buy me this phone.”MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-73374053818268726942010-04-24T06:16:00.000-07:002010-04-24T06:17:39.736-07:00Homework HelpPlease don’t say it. Please. I beg the gods and Jesus and Buddha and the spirits of voodooo. I will go to bat for any religion right now, as long as the dieties are merciful enough to spare me this pain.<br /><br />But no. I see it on his face. He is going to ask. His eyes are wet and sparkling. He has a Joker grin and his head is tilted so that he is looking “up” at me with a smile.<br /><br />“Layla, can you help me with my homework?”<br /><br />Shit.<br /><br />I fold my copy of Fitzgerald’s short stories into the layers of the couch. The world of decadence and glamor and girls in love fade into this Levittown home and my fifteen-year old brother.<br /><br />I sit up and plan my next words. One wrong move, and I would be doing the entire assignment for him. That’s just how it went.<br /><br />“I have to write an essay on why the Roman Empire fell.” He handed me a piece of paper. “We started it in class.”<br /><br />My eyes met half of a paragraph written in light pencil. Tim liked to write finely so he could erase his work and reuse the paper. His theory was that teachers and paper companies worked together, and that was why school made you waste so much paper, and he wasn’t going to participate in that.<br /><br />I sighed. I knew how this went. Every year, Tim’s teachers passed him on to the next grade level. If he didn’t pass, they fudged the numbers. If he didn’t get it, they said he didn’t have to. Instead of a foreign language, Simon took an extra gym class. He still couldn’t do long division and thought England was a man.<br /><br />the “roman empire” colapsed because the people in the government “were” taking money called bribes and i think that maybe it is like today with everyone saying the “government” is taking our money with taxes it is like a bribe and maybe it will be different because when obama was elected everyone was happy except for the “arrest in africa” because there had to be a reason why<br /><br />I held my breath. Oh, Fitzgerald, oh my lovely ladies, and the diamond as big as the Ritz! Wait for me, I want to bob my hair and join you, and I swear I’ll only be a minute…<br /><br />Who was I kidding. This would take hours.<br /><br />“So, you started out all right, but you seemed to get…distracted.”<br /><br />“She said we would get extra credit if we compared the Roman Empire to modern times.”<br /><br />“First, let’s start with punctuation. Commas, periods, you know, capitalizing things. And why the random quotation marks?”<br /><br />“The what? Oh, you mean the high-up commas? The teacher said we had to use them.”<br /><br />There is no god.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-58701938277601000242010-04-20T09:50:00.000-07:002010-04-20T09:53:04.760-07:00Cured anger issues.I had a friend who was a real badass, a runaway, didn't take crap from anybody...and now she is a shadow of her former self. Maybe she's better off this way, but I can't help but feel that something is lost in therapy. I wrote this for her:<br /><br />She told me about the steps she was taking in a prayer drone. Some therapist had told her something she liked but couldn’t believe, and then said therapist had convinced her that liking something was enough to make it true.<br /><br /><i>Thinking positive…learning about different countries…wow that president of Africa needs to get his shit together…oh, it’s not one country? And I want to learn more languages, like Spanish, maybe French…and I want to learn about dentistry. Maybe I can become a dentist. Anyway, I wanted to talk to everyone in my past and say that I’m sorry and talk about my new plan…</i><br /><br />How could she be like this? We shared suicidal thoughts together. We created a language. For human beings, that was like tinkering with the fabric of existence.<br /><br />I had to get her back on my side, away from the chants and solemn penance of recovery. I considered her feelings the way a rapist considers the weather: as an obstacle.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-48733747339116924692010-04-19T10:10:00.000-07:002010-04-19T12:57:31.605-07:00Video update and LIMITED TIME paper discount...Posted a new update; there's some footage of a local tope in Atenas, Costa Rica...I hope you enjoy.<br /><br />http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bricked/iwrite-the-ipod-xperiment/posts/11377<br /><br /><3<br /><br /><i>New York Magazine</i> mentioned Kickstarter in an article. I hope it boosts views of the site..there's a movie trying to make 20 K that right now has 2 K. It's dangerous; If I had more money, I could easily go broke with this website. But hey, I'm already broke (NYU tuition has that effect...)<br /><br /><b>ALSO<br /><br />IF YOU NEED YOUR COLLEGE/HIGH SCHOOL PAPER EDITED, THE FIRST 3 TO RESPOND TO THIS BLOG/EMAIL BOLDBRACKETS@LIVE.COM WITH "2X1" WILL GET 2X1 PAPERS EDITED (40 DOLLARS/TWO PAPERS, USUALLY I CHARGE 40/PAPER).<br /><br />So tell any students you know, freaking for finals!</b><br /><br />By the way, I edit college papers for money now. Hopefully things will pick up in that department since Finals are coming around. If you're interested, email boldbrackets@live.com. I'm good. I swear.<br /><br />- The expat with the iPod.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-13273082575077893492010-04-17T20:17:00.000-07:002010-04-17T20:29:08.819-07:00Flash fiction from my iPod to you...I'm on my little machine right now, just brainstorming, listening to crickets, eating a mango, thinking about anger and babies, and how the two do not mix well. <br /><br />Here it goes:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"></span><br />She learned through a series of family arguments right before her college graduation that she'd been put into foster care as a baby. She had been put up for adoption and then returned to her biological family like a rejected Christmas present.<br /><br />No one really guessed whether or not she was in pain. Her grandmother was too busy trying to convince her mom to feel lifelong guilt ("You weren't there for your own daughter, only I was!"), and her mom was too busy defending herself ("I was so young, I just wanted a better life for her!").<br /><br />But she wasn't in pain; she was numb. It was like they told her something she already knew. In her earliest memories, she remembered shadows and screaming and a dark brown carpet and pressing herself against a cool, white wall, hoping to fall into it, be a part of it. <span style="font-style:italic;"></span><br /><br />that's all, folks. Now to read your blogs.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-4791752906472292212010-04-17T10:52:00.000-07:002010-04-17T11:29:36.591-07:00What I've Learned Traveling in Costa RicaTrial and error can be the best way to do things, but it can also be terrifying. If you are traveling through Costa Rica by bus, here are a few tips to get you started. This article should serve as a beginner's guide to traveling near San Jose, the capital city. <br /><br />Thanks to the new highway that opened in January 2010, commuting from San Jose to the towns of Escazu, Santa Ana, Cuidad Colon and Puriscal is much. much easier (yes, buses are allowed on the highway). But do not go expecting a transportation system like the one in your city. There are no maps, there are not many clear signs, and, in some cases, there is no bus stop. People simply "know" where the bus stop is. Buses in Costa Rica are owned by different companies, and so they look different. They usually vary in color based on the towns they serve. <br /><br />This is not always true, but usually: <br /><br />1. Blue buses with white lettering on top - Service to Santa Ana or Escazu <br />2. Red and white buses with TUASA written on the side - Service to Alajuela via the OLD highway. <br />3. Yellow and red - Service to Heredia via the OLD highway (this is a very modern bus company). <br />4. Yellow and purple - Service from La Sabana (the large, beautiful park near the new highway) to the heart of San Jose (these buses are usually very cheap, like twenty cents). <br />5. Orange and white - to Puriscal or Ciudad Colon <br /><br />Local buses in small towns are usually old schoolbuses. <br /><br />Buses that say "servicios especiales" will not stop for you. <br /><br /><i>The Pista (the new highway) </i><br />Stopping along the new highway can be dangerous because there are not always bus stops or bridges to cross the road. Running across the highway is very common. If you are not comfortable running across the highway, there are pedestrian bridges by the Hipermas (the large supermarket with the whale icon) CIMA (the hospital) and before Puente Pozos (Pozos bridge). Hopefully they will build more. <br /><br />If you wish to catch a pista bus, you can wait at the Northern end of La Sabana instead of waiting in the Coca Cola. The Coca Cola is a major bus hub, but it is also known for its high levels of crime and pick-pocketers. If you are traveling along the new pista, it is easy to avoid. Wait for your bus along the Nothern end of La Sabana or the Western end of the city near a restaurant called Soda Tapia. The pista buses to Santa Ana and Ciudad Colon pass by there. <br /><br />Remember to always ask, and if a bus says "calle vieja" on it, that means "old road." It means it does not follow the new highway. <br /><br /><i>Pavas</i><br /><br />To avoid the Coca Cola, wait along the Southern end of La Sabana in front of the Burger King. All of the buses to Pavas pass by there. Always ask before you climb on, because the Pavas buses all have their own routes. <br /><br /><i>Escazu</i> <br /><br />Escazu buses all pass by the Northern end of La Sabana. They will have the destinations (Chimba, Corazon, etc.) written in front. If you are not sure, ask. <br /><br /><i>Into the Heart of San Jose</i><br /><br />Taking a bus from La Sabana into the city is a good way to save time and avoid the sketchy Coca-Cola. These buses take you right to the museums, best shops, and the national theatre. Also, from the heart of San Jose you can easily reach the buses to the University of Costa Rica in San Pedro. That area is a typical college town and is fun to visit (and safe!) <br /><br /><i>La Coca Cola</i><br /><br />Or simply known as "La Coca." It is near the two main public hospitals (San Juan de Dios and the children's hospital). Buses to Escazu, Atenas, Jaco beach, Quepos, Puntarenas, Santa Ana, Ciudad Colon and Pavas all start here.<br /><br /><i>El Caribe</i><br /><br />Aside from the Coca-Cola, there is a major bus hub called "El Caribe." These buses go to Limon and to the Carribean side. Buses to National Park Braulio Carillo are also there. To get to El Caribe, I highly recommend taking a cab from the center of San Jose. While the bus hub itself is safe, you must go through an unsafe neighborhood to get there. If you are alone, this would not be a good walk. If you wish to walk, follow the large yellow building, and ask policemen for directions. They will probably not tell you in street names, but in meters. 50 meters = one block. So, "go straight 100 meters" really means, "go straight for two blocks."<br /><br /><i>Main Street</i><br /><br />Near the Coca-Cola on Main Street (also known as Paseo Colon) you will find buses to Alajuela, Belen, and San Rafael de Abajo. Continue going up main street towards the heart of San Jose and you will run into the Heredia buses and the buses to La Sabana. Continue past the National Theatre and you will find buses to San Pedro and the University of Costa Rica.<br /><br /><br /><i>What does 'el centro' mean? </i><br /><br />You may get directions to change at "el centro." What does this mean? Every town has its own "center," which is where all the buses from that town will meet up. The "centro" literally refers to the middle of town. It is usually close to where the church and the main plaza are. Santa Ana has its own centro that you can recognize from a "Piedades Brasilia" sign. Escazu's "centro" is right in front of the cream-colored church, near the Musmanni. If you are not sure, ask! <br /><br />I hope this helps your journey to Costa Rica! <br /><br /><br />Since graduating from NYU, I have been teaching English in Costa Rica...and learning the hard way.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-65851174542174077742010-04-16T15:48:00.000-07:002010-04-16T16:06:31.748-07:00Sex, drugs, rock n' roll...none of these describe my lifeBut still, a lot has happened since my last post.<br /><br />I succeeded in finishing the book (55,000 words!!) under time.<br /><br />I finished school, moved to Costa Rica, and decided to try to "Kickstart" my project.<br /><br />I teach English...because...it's something I know.<br /><br />I'm at my grandma's place right now. She is sweet. Her goal is to own a butterfly farm: <a href="http://www.normasvillas.com/">http://www.normasvillas.com/</a><br /><br />and, of course, my project hopefully come to life! <a href="http://kck.st/aK9fEd">http://kck.st/aK9fEd</a>MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-80072219994190844452009-09-03T20:48:00.000-07:002009-09-03T21:06:40.510-07:0045 K!!!My iPods, Homer and Maggie, have been doing well. In case you forgot, Homer is the oldddd 2005 first-color iPod EVARR, and Maggie is my iPod Touch.<br /><br />Today on the subway, Maggie crashed twice until I reset her. But I didn't lose much work. I've learned that I have to reset every time I reach a high word count in a particular document. Usually between 500-1000. Homer is all right, but he runs out of battery a lot faster than Maggie. It makes sense. He's the dad. She's the energetic kid.<br /><br />...OK now that I've entered into the realm of creepy...<br /><br />45,000 words. Ten more to go. And now I'm at the stage where I'm thinking about promoting, marketing, pitching. And creating content for sites. And basically trying to whore myself to multiple media markets.<br /><br />But but but I'm not a good whore :-(.<br /><br /><br />Megan Fox claimed to have schizophrenia. Now there's a girl who is good at whoring herself to multiple media markets. Maybe I should take a page from her book.<br /><br />But I'd have to lose a billion pounds first...<br /><br />Homer and Maggie are charging. Gotta get 'em ready for the morning subway ride...MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-8434832564515433002009-08-31T18:56:00.000-07:002009-08-31T18:58:52.281-07:00Oh boy...School starts in a week.<br /><br />I will then have to work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all while going to school Mon-Thurs. And while writing a book on my iPod. I think the only way this could be harder is if I had kids.<br /><br />But...it shall be done. I will endure!<br /><br />43 K words...must get to 55 K! I'm now trying to think of ways to promote. Maybe since I go to NYU, they could help me out with reviews?<br /><br />I don't know. It's a long shot.<br /><br />So it's been a while. How's everybody doing?! I must leech off your blogs.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-63923713318751450602009-07-31T18:31:00.000-07:002009-07-31T18:40:46.638-07:00Huge Books and Long Lists.The 2010 Writer's Market<br /><br />is a BEAST.<br /><br />the Writer's Market comes out annually, and it's the giant bible of publishing. Just like praying, there's no guarantee that you'll get what you want. So I guess comparing the Writer's Market to the bible isn't so off. The difference is, the Writer's Market is definitely updated more often.<br /><br />And the agents and publishers don't try to tell you what meat to eat or the correct way of sacrificing oxen.<br /><br />But...it's scary.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uBn3IKlOSuozO0_Ql7Uy15c4v39mKWbXRfMkeoPOXEi6FrHZC5623X798naR_T0lI9XE_6Ro25ywggzr66Ic_JtjEN5j0whQTKbJJL2VNVvxqrcj0xvpeTGtKhqn5yQHAHk7cdmAftA/s1600-h/Photo+11.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uBn3IKlOSuozO0_Ql7Uy15c4v39mKWbXRfMkeoPOXEi6FrHZC5623X798naR_T0lI9XE_6Ro25ywggzr66Ic_JtjEN5j0whQTKbJJL2VNVvxqrcj0xvpeTGtKhqn5yQHAHk7cdmAftA/s320/Photo+11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364803294533448290" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />TERRORRRRR!!!!<br /><br />I bought this thing yesterday, and let me tell you, it's an absolute monster. Here's what I gotta do:<br /><br />1. Look through the list of agents.<br /><br />2. Pick which ones I got a shot with (accept new writers, accept fiction, accept MY GENRE of fiction, accept unsolicited pitches...)<br /><br />3. From these, pick the agents I'm going to send letters to.<br /><br />4. Begin the painful query process.<br /><br />A query letter is a one-page summary of the book, basically. You're selling your book to the agent. You have to put the genre, target audience, length of book, description of book, description of self, and qualifications of self. In really short paragraphs. Lots of words.<br /><br />Luckily, I have a helper.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGZStLg9-XICnx-KpD2twxITZ4gbSs2TjLqa46rjb3-O_QgyfAdMJrLODOZFfKeC4aDB8H51pFqgG9IKMjHhwJHvwlWtvlC9aDXpQDuuh6OZakq_46n-KFEFcn2ATopueb3hmH2hkTYk/s1600-h/Photo+12.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTGZStLg9-XICnx-KpD2twxITZ4gbSs2TjLqa46rjb3-O_QgyfAdMJrLODOZFfKeC4aDB8H51pFqgG9IKMjHhwJHvwlWtvlC9aDXpQDuuh6OZakq_46n-KFEFcn2ATopueb3hmH2hkTYk/s320/Photo+12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364804200902853682" border="0" /></a>MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-82463726574358801912009-07-22T19:05:00.000-07:002009-07-22T19:18:27.813-07:00Uh-oh, guys!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIj95R0cOihRLBt1Xe7ipB2fn-FNvNxOHeoTz_75M9lMsGqsqTf15Y3Bn2mcQBOCSLgGiIcybzHgivSYAwRDB256wAkE-CvUHLdbeTD7VUX5WvcFUtd0W6EM1oUWaF2uhD8zEO4FAolY/s1600-h/Photo+7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIj95R0cOihRLBt1Xe7ipB2fn-FNvNxOHeoTz_75M9lMsGqsqTf15Y3Bn2mcQBOCSLgGiIcybzHgivSYAwRDB256wAkE-CvUHLdbeTD7VUX5WvcFUtd0W6EM1oUWaF2uhD8zEO4FAolY/s320/Photo+7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361474201612993458" border="0" /></a><br />So I was denied for a loan for school, and I don't have any cosigners.<br /><br />This is bad.<br /><br />I have one semester left, and now I'm afraid that I may not be able to finish.<br /><br />Nooooooo...<br /><br />My iPods have been properly named: Homer and Maggie. Maggie is the iPod Touch, and Homer is the blubbering old iPod. Why? They work as a team. Maggie is always the silent partner, protecting her father from rooftops with rifles, shooting her dad's boss and making it look innocent. She even saves him again in THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. Maggie is very specialized, and yet she is a baby. She needs help even to eat. Hence the pickiness.<br /><br />Homer is the breadwinner. He does the dirty work, but he's not as skilled. He's just kind of a body that does the necessary, grungy, unspecialized stuff. He's a body. He takes up room. He can lift stuff. This is Homer. Also, Homer is older, and a little beat up. Maggie is a newer model, but the kinks still have to be worked out. She's gotta grow up.<br /><br />Homer and Maggie, please get me through these tough times!!!MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-58675499457887812222009-07-20T20:04:00.000-07:002009-07-20T20:10:05.563-07:00Best of both worlds.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU49EqCUe7ixbHMiUmHWHfGbEydnXcHMxjIeHPRZI9vBUfpDQ6Qyu009G0lrPcB1kzOjCD-8B_y0FQ4qym11WnPpXOhQfpXQpdbA4d55gx33JPp535fT6OKmC2zAe1KjnP_cdbKFypYcU/s1600-h/Photo+4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU49EqCUe7ixbHMiUmHWHfGbEydnXcHMxjIeHPRZI9vBUfpDQ6Qyu009G0lrPcB1kzOjCD-8B_y0FQ4qym11WnPpXOhQfpXQpdbA4d55gx33JPp535fT6OKmC2zAe1KjnP_cdbKFypYcU/s320/Photo+4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360744681661731474" border="0" /></a><br />So, my iPod Touch crashes when I try to do too many things on it. It gets confused, particularly if I play music while writing. Understandable. It's a lot to remember.<br /><br />So I'm busting out my old, 30 GB iPod from 2005. It's the first color iPod EVARRR. This is back when having pictures on the iPod was a big deal...it was my high school graduation present. This iPod will be for music, and the other shall be for novel-writing.<br /><br />Two iPods, working together towards one goal.<br /><br />Beautiful!!!<br /><br />I'm thinking of naming both of my iPods. Suggestions? Something that says something about their personalities. I'll give a brief description of them.<br /><br />The Touch - Black, sleek, sassy, but very picky. Got a lot of funk. High maintenance. Definitely the brains of the operation, but doesn't have as much memory. Specialized.<br /><br />The old iPod - Durable, a little bigger and tougher. Older, but doesn't let that get in the way. Does a great job doing what it does best - playing music. Not as fancy, very down to business, very down to earth. The down and dirty worker.<br /><br />That's right, they have personalities now.<br /><br />Together, they are unstoppable! They are yin and yang.<br /><br />Name-deciding will happen soon. Ideas appreciated.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-72966989526440589962009-07-14T19:42:00.000-07:002009-07-14T19:46:20.158-07:00Technology is not without its flaws...So I have encountered a semi-serious issue, and I am begging my more tech-savvy friends to help me out here.<br /><br />Microsoft Word for iPod Touch apparently gets really confused a lot. So it will randomly shut down, and usually when I've got a good flow going. It's absolutely crushing, because it doesn't always recover anything. I would hate to have this put a damper on my iX. So far, it's been nothing but roses. But I really can't be writing with the constant fear that I'm going to lose stuff!<br /><br />Psychologically...just not possible.<br /><br />So, at work, someone asked me a really dumb question. They asked where the Staten Island ferry goes. My response? "The Staten Island ferry goes to Staten Island."<br /><br />And they actually seemed to appreciate the response.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-13559274755412529612009-07-06T18:02:00.000-07:002009-07-06T18:37:05.181-07:00My Precious...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSREX-pEwsh22Zmd502tKUUKbvFR7r8hklMpqljY78JUrBY0eB8i5lTHr_Aa0s0fu_iKmdS7wSTAnb61Yak2G4rxNINZptActoQJM-UIf1Hp-uYlkNNOIRm7tzUVgZrgsQ9oxC9VeZJA/s1600-h/sc00283314.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 114px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSREX-pEwsh22Zmd502tKUUKbvFR7r8hklMpqljY78JUrBY0eB8i5lTHr_Aa0s0fu_iKmdS7wSTAnb61Yak2G4rxNINZptActoQJM-UIf1Hp-uYlkNNOIRm7tzUVgZrgsQ9oxC9VeZJA/s320/sc00283314.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355518284073596114" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I left my iPod at work. In my prop bag. For those of you who don't know, I give tours. I've started taking the iPod with me so that when it's slow, I can do some scribbling.<br /><br />I left it.<br /><br />In my prop bag.<br /><br />And I can't get it until Wednesday.<br /><br />Help...<br /><br />I pay homage to thee, sweet iPod. May you survive.<br /><br /><br /><br />I'm going to try to contact Apple about this whole thing. If I'm going to be drawing and paying homage to my iPod Touch, I might as well let them know how nuts I am.<br /><br />Luck <333MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-25248930683965594622009-07-01T17:28:00.001-07:002009-07-01T17:43:24.973-07:00Shock and awe.I am still recovering from what I just discovered...<br /><br /><br />I am less than Internet savvy. Less than technology-savvy. I tried to change the channel on my friend's TV and fucked up the cable. So really, I dunno why I'm doing this whole thing...or maybe that's MORE reason for me to do it, who knows.<br /><br />So I was bitching to my friend that I wanted a netbook, one of those mini-laptops, because I want Microsoft Word on the go...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: what are those really small laptops called?</span><br />Friend: They're called netbooks<br />Friend: And theyre pointless<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: why are they pointless?</span><br />Friend: Because for the price you pay for one of those, you might as well buy yourself an iPhone or blackberry.<br />Friend: It is not worth spending 200 on a netbook...<br />Friend: When you have pen and pencil. And a good laptop already in your possession. And an iPod touch...where you can buy a word document program for 5 bucks<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: what?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: what?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: what?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: WHAT?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: WHAT?!?!?!?!</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: why didnt you tell me this before?!</span><br />Friend: You shouldve asked or looked yourself<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: i thought apps were just fuckin...waitress and airplane games!</span><br />Friend: You're stupid<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Me: you knew i was writing a book on an ipod! why wouldnt you tell me this?!?!</span><br /><br /><br />So apparently...yes....there is Microsoft Word for iPod touch. Wow, I'm an idiot.<br /><br />I'll let you know how this works. Technology, don't cease to amaze me now!!!MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-71624505345585155322009-06-21T21:32:00.000-07:002009-06-21T21:35:20.452-07:00Today...Today at work, a man with two fingers (he only had a part of one hand) gave me a CD and said, "This will change your life." I'm now listening to four really bad punk rock songs, and the chorus is something like, "Help me fuck you, get a fuckin' clue."<br /><br />I have to incorporate this into my iPod story somehow.<br /><br />The new iPod update is amazing. I can copy. I can paste. I can sync notes instead of looking for a wireless connection to email them to myself. It's great fun.<br /><br />That bein' said:<br /><br /><b>Help<br /><br />me<br /><br />fuck<br /><br />you.</b>MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-15957888787154151712009-06-17T19:21:00.001-07:002009-06-17T19:22:40.939-07:00iPod update..Today an iPod Touch/iPhone update came out that's supposed to let you sync notes. This would mean I don't have to keep emailing them to myself. It's a minor nuisance, but this new update would help out.<br /><br />I bought the update.<br /><br />Now I can't figure it out.<br /><br />I'm so technologically challenged...<br /><br />I'm up to 11 k words in this experiment...so far, so good? Helpppp...MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-60027537105729705662009-06-10T19:19:00.000-07:002009-06-10T19:24:15.198-07:00HBOA.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvD_2Zs_mCbCf04zzuhR5k9zni0lzBUEl8sTop826k9vWW9nr08H6YZbz_HUR7XOZ77AGnvXUERYwyAAz3sRzTGoreCi-Erfkh8RgTdI1_Ptu6hSRdMTJsoUiXHoB4OQkAQIf7gupiow/s1600-h/Photo+35.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvD_2Zs_mCbCf04zzuhR5k9zni0lzBUEl8sTop826k9vWW9nr08H6YZbz_HUR7XOZ77AGnvXUERYwyAAz3sRzTGoreCi-Erfkh8RgTdI1_Ptu6hSRdMTJsoUiXHoB4OQkAQIf7gupiow/s320/Photo+35.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345889264919853410" border="0" /></a><br />Honey Bunches of Oats.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Don't Eff with my <b>HONEY BUNCHES OF OATS</b><br /><br />The unofficial cereal of all of existence.<br /><br />OK, so I just really like it, and I'm not being given anything to advertise. I just wanna. I'm such a tool, you don't even need to pay me to take a picture of myself with Honey Bunches of Oats and put it on my blog. You don't have to pay me for it to be a recurring motto in my blogs, either.<br /><br />That's right. Prepare to read a lot more about me eating HBOA at 3 a.m.<br /><br />Maybe this is why only three people are following my blog...<br /><br />Anyways, I recently found out that, within the month, iPod will have an application for syncing notes to your computer...which will be great, so I don't have to keep emailing myself and getting paranoid. I think I'll keep emailing myself the notes anyway, though. It's good to know I have backups. Ya know, just in case no one believes I actually wrote this book on my iPod.<br /><br />Go eats you some HBOA.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-35921510327278353002009-06-02T20:11:00.000-07:002009-06-02T20:28:12.176-07:00Some early observations...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7KIdJ40nlO7EoyWdXu8tMDSv570vBLEUC5JB4xbQcTp3wTGJ9DgxxvwBk9GP7bhNFlWx3D3F-egO3xsAfSyXTEr0-2yzFbdnzaUOY3ym-GSJlLsPEM4e1XGBrY4vZ0617atKmgKmnmw/s1600-h/Photo+32.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7KIdJ40nlO7EoyWdXu8tMDSv570vBLEUC5JB4xbQcTp3wTGJ9DgxxvwBk9GP7bhNFlWx3D3F-egO3xsAfSyXTEr0-2yzFbdnzaUOY3ym-GSJlLsPEM4e1XGBrY4vZ0617atKmgKmnmw/s320/Photo+32.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342937953293693682" border="0" /></a><br />I LOVE MY IPOD SO MUCH THAT I COULD JUST EAT IT.<br /><br />So I'm about 6k words into my iPod experiment. So far, a real plot has yet to form. But I've got a voice down, and a definite character. Her favorite sentence is, "It's not that serious." Sadly, it's turning out to be a sketchy version of my own self and life. But I guess I'm just another self-absorbed writer. Just the kind I profess hatred for. FML.<br /><br />It's not that serious.<br /><br />Some things I've noticed:<br />1. Spelling the names of places...especially two-word places...is highly annoying because autocorrect won't capitalize shit. Like "New York." Type it out on the iPod, and it types new York. Yep. It corrects the second word but doesn't understand they're a part of a set.<br /><br />2. There's no grammar check. I hate hate HATE when Word underlines something in green squiggly, and then when I see what the problem is, it says, "<b>LONG SENTENCE</b>." I'm sorry, but when did a long sentence become forbidden in the English language? When did that become an error? The iPod doesn't give me such nonsense phrases, and it automatically corrects words instead of underlining them with red.<br /><br />3. On the same token, the autocorrect is sometimes a huge pain in the ass, especially when it comes to small words. "On" and "in"..."I'd" and "is"...impossible for the iPod to tell the appropriate difference.<br /><br />I'm sure more will come up. But so far, so...egh, I won't say it. I'll jynx myself.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-7164326083289139062009-05-29T17:37:00.000-07:002009-05-29T17:48:33.162-07:00THE RULESSo there have to be rules.<br /><br />Here's the goal and whatnot:<br /><br />I will write a book on my iPod touch using the NOTES application...no less than 45,000 words. I hope to have this done by the time school starts...let's say September 5 is my deadline.<br /><br />1. I cannot write on the computer, just on the iPod. Editing spacing on the computer will eventually be acceptable, but I will not do so until the entire book has been completed.<br /><br />2. I will save a "raw" copy on my harddrive untainted, and all the emails to myself from my iPod just in case anyone eventually wants to test the validity of the experiment.<br /><br />3. Major editing must also be done on the iPod. Major editing is anything other than spacing or changing incorrect autocorrect words. The Notes app in the iPod touch will sometimes incorrectly autocorrect words ("on" instead of "in"...etc). I can see no harm in allowing myself to correct these kinds of errors on the computer.<br /><br />4. I will periodically email myself the notes to keep track of the word count, keep all the words together in chronological order, and for backup in case something happens to my iPod. When I do this, I will copy and paste the unedited data into a Microsoft Word document. I will continue doing this and I will keep the emails to myself just as extra proof (just in case someone wants to question whether or not I really copied and pasted straight from the email).<br /><br /><br />The point is to have fun, type less so my wrists stop hurting, and use time on the subway and on the road more constructively. Goodbye to dragging around a laptop or a spiral notebook - all I need is my iPod touch!<br /><br />Any suggestions? Any other rules I should include??? Feedback more than welcome!!!MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6277100673002735041.post-17421961102373360762009-05-24T20:37:00.001-07:002009-05-24T20:43:05.104-07:00Writing on the Subway.Writing with pen and paper on the subway is all sorts of ridiculous. For one, it's outside of the cultural norm of the subway system. You read, you listen to your mp3 or play games with your phone, you flip through magazines. Pen and paper are just pompous things of the past. People look at you funny, and secretly think shit like, "I hope they don't slip up and get pen on me." It's a really pompous environment. Handling a pen is almost as bad as putting a wet umbrella on a seat (OK, not really. That's like a sin of the highest degree).<br /><br />Let me tell you people who don't ride the subway - it can be an intimidating thing. Other subway people judge you if you look at the subway map or talk to loud or look around a lot. There's this code of quiet, and this code of how much room it's acceptable to take. An open spiral, during a crowded train ride, will violate that code.<br /><br />But doodling on the iPod is alright. It's on the list of socially acceptable things. So my anxiety is quelled.<br /><br />It's not just me, man, it's like...scientific fact or something.MARZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11766301688333803609noreply@blogger.com1