Scary Movies

I love Halloween. Love the fact that nearly every channel between now and then will be running scary movies all hours of the day. I LOVE horror movies. I tried to explain it to a few of my I-hate-horror-movie-and-you're-a-freak-if-you-do friends why it's my favorite genre. So here's my reasons for enjoying these nighmare-inducing flicks:

1. Total rush. A good horror movie will get your heart racing, your adrenaline pumping, and send a rush of endorphins to your brain. Instead of doing drugs, watch a scary movie!
   
2. Tough chicks. Maybe back in the old days, you had female leads fainting every time a shadow moved across the room and screaming a high-pitch, banshee-like squeal anytime a bug touched them. But horror was one of the first movie genres that gave us Ripley (one of the toughest, kick-ass female movie characters, who survived the aliens many times) and then there's Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, The Ring, Scream—all had strong female leads who survived and, most importantly, defeated (well, for that chapter) the monster/psycho. Rock on!!!!
3. Good vs. evil. It's the primal battle. It's boiled down to the basic battle of white hat wearing guy to black hat wearing creature. In a reality that blurs the line so many times, where many things seem neither right nor wrong but in some gray area, horror movies give it to you in black and white. Ripley is good and aliens are evil. Teenagers are good and Freddy is evil. Though a truly good horror movie will have a believable motivation for the villain (and may even have you feeling a bit of sympathy for what they've become).
4. Return of order. Continuing from above, generally good will win out in most horror movies. In real life, not all criminals are jailed or victims vindicated. But in horror movies, you most likely will get the satisfaction of seeing the blood-thirsty psychopath die a horrible death and possibly at the hands of one of their intended victims. Somehow it just feels right when order is restored and proper punishment is delivered. I don't know, maybe I'm a little twisted in that way. :P

So, why do you enjoy horror movies?

Bottles and Throttles Benefit

If you're in the Northern VA area on October 20th, join my friends at CatKlaw, Inc., along with Lou-Evil Psycles motorcycle club, as they host the 2nd Annual Bottles and Throttles (formerly Caring for Kids) Benefit at Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA. Their goal is to raise $3,000 for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

There will be a motorcycle staging at Motorcycle Factory, Inc., in Woodbridge, VA and from there the motorcyclists will follow a scenic route through Prince William and Fairfax counties.

Then from 12-4 pm, there will be presenters, photographers, vendors, a raffle, and entertainment by Just Wanna Play—a fun, talented, very entertaining local band that plays the gambit from current rock and pop hits to 70s and 80s rock. Every time I see them play, I end up on the dance floor! It's sure to be a fun-filled day. Bring the kids and stop by for a listen and buy a raffle ticket. Throughout the event, cash and check donations will be accepted with all proceeds benefiting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Hope to see you at Jammin' Javas on October 20th from 12-4pm! Have a blast and support an amazing cause.

Sad Stories They Say So Much

Yes, I'm getting overly emotional in my old age. I just got finished reading Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go for my book club. It was a very well-written, thought-provoking book in which the author did a great job revealing information in snippets throughout until in the end you finally see the full picture and have an understanding of what is really going on with the characters. And it's not pretty. No sir, not one bit.

Hence, this is where the crying came to play.

Now I'm not one to cry. I'm usually the stiff upper lip, German gal who just sucks it up and deals. At least in public I do. I hate crying in front of others. I don't like getting overly emotional and letting down my guard. Mostly, I don't want to upset others. (Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone.) And, mostly, I don't want to share what's going on deep inside, because, eventually, someone will ask what's wrong. And sometimes I'm not sure how to answer. Sometimes something sad will just hit me and I don't know how to explain what's wrong.

Which is what happened at first when I read the final scene. Then after crying for about an hour, I got it.

SPOILER ALERT: If you plan to read this book, stop here. It sort of discusses the ending.

In the final scene, the heroine (the story is story is told through her eyes in first person) says goodbye to the hero. Normally, this would just be another lost love, come Against All Odds or Thornbirds kind of moment. But in this story, they knew the hopelessness of their situation and they didn't try to fight it. They didn't try to fight to live and be together. They accepted their fate. They accepted that they were created for one purpose and that they could never live a normal life. In fact, their lives were not destined to be that long so there wasn't much time to live together anyway. And, finally, when I considered my reaction some more, I realized that it was also the fact that they were saying goodbye and it was final. It was to be their last day together ... forever. They would never see each other again. He was going to die within the next few weeks and she was going to die probably within the year. So when she rides off (because he doesn't want her to see him die) and watches him wave to her in the rear view mirror, I lost it. Mostly, because I've been there. I've had two relatives, one who was elderly and another who was battling cancer, with whom I had lived that scene. In each instance, I drove away in the car and watched them waving at me from their front door. And each time, in the front of my mind, I kept thinking "I'll see you again." But in my subconscious, I knew that was the last time I'd ever see them. I never cried then when I drove off—knowing and not knowing that we'd meet again. But I did when I read that scene in Never Let Me Go.

It's funny how powerful a story can be.

You say it's your birthday! It's my birthday, too, yeah!

Yep, it's B-day for me. Time to gorge myself on cake and good food and celebrate that I was born and ... most importantly ... that I'm not dead, yet.

I'm looking at my goal list which I had written a year ago with such vigor, such high hope, such excitement for what would be a jammed pack year full of organization, accomplishment, elevation from distracted procrastinator to a woman with a road map of success—in her career (writing and otherwise) and her personal life.

But, alas, I've fallen short.

Rooms have been left unpainted. Molding has not been put up. (Pretty much only one item out of the, oh, 15 items has been accomplished for the house.) The 5 lbs I had kept off has crept back on. I have begun my next novel, but have not finished it. No trips with my mom.

Now to accomplish at least another item on the list: Focus on the positive and believe in myself.

There are some who are opposed to making goal lists. Mostly, because they can lead to feelings of worthlessness because all your goals were not accomplished. But sometimes goals change midway through the year. And I did help to accomplish some important ones. We sold out of my husband's books in a year (actually less than) and made people more aware of BDG's products and services. Our web traffic has increased nearly 10 fold. We've made back our initial investment and then some. Right now, I've put my stuff aside to finish editing his book. He's been working so much with both companies that all my spare time has been devoted to daily house stuff, BDG, making extra money freelancing, taking care of investments, and arranging any leftover time to see friends and family since that's the only time my husband will stop for a moment to take a breath. If I actually force him. For the beginning of last year, Mike supported me while I took time to write. This past year has been about me supporting him as he started this new company, and it's been a lot harder and a lot more time consuming than I previously anticipated when I made my goals list. I've still been writing and I've been meeting my goal (at least the majority of the time) of writing at least an hour a day. I still have my manuscript out there with several editors. I've seen my writing improve tremendously. I've made lots of new writing friends, who are absolutely amazing writers and supporters and have expanded my writing network.

So it's been a good year. Maybe not exactly what I'd planned but that's life, sometimes.

Save the Ta Tas

I was walking my dog the other day and I saw this slogan on a bumper sticker for breast cancer awareness: "Save the Ta Tas." I just about fell over with laughter. Love it!

Da Funk

Been in a funk ever since I got back from vacation. I'm totally drawing a blank on what to blog about. I went to Newport, Rhode Island; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; and Hartford, Connecticut. And I have to say that I love New England. Beautiful scenery with the leaves starting to change around the small towns scattered throughout the countryside. Very picturesque. We did the Cliff Walk in Newport which was amazing. The royalty of America built their homes at the turn of the century on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Some of these homes would dwarf Darcy's Pemberly. Can't even imagine living there. Went on a whale watch and saw several Humpback Whales. They were so close, I could almost reach out and pet them. Went to Martha's Vineyard and had the best clam strips ever at this dockside stand (which I've been hungry for ever since ... ugh!). Everything was so laid back at all the towns we visited that returning home was a shock to the system. Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard are home to lots of artists and writers. I can see why writers in particular would flock there. You're so removed from everything. The towns are sleepy so there's not much distraction. My husband asked if I could leave there. Yes, I definitely could. At least for the time when I'm writing. And what I need right now is NO distractions. This past week flew by without any writing getting done on my part. I've been slacking, I know. The mind is willing, but the flesh is coping out. Maybe I'll run away. Now that will give me some inspiration.