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ROW80: New Goals for Round 3

2012 is moving so quickly that I feel like I have whiplash. Somehow it’s already July, and I’ve completed my fourth year in grad school (?!).

I write this post having just completed the “Big Move” from Santa Barbara to my parents’ house in the San Francisco Bay Area. For at least the next year, I’ll be living with them as I work on my dissertation.

It is SO good to be back in San Francisco. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Of course, July marks the start of Round 3 of A Round of Words in 80 Days, the writing challenge that “knows you have a life.” For more information, visit the “About” page.

My life seems to be conspiring against my ability to write of late; June was an absolutely insane month filled with grading, research, schoolwork, and packing up my apartment. Given the major deadlines I’m facing for school over the next couple of months, I gave serious thought to skipping Round 3, but I think I could use the accountability that ROW80 demands.

More importantly, I’ve been feeling at loose ends with my progress as a writer. Being back home in my parents’ house, living in the bedroom where I wrote my first poems and stories, brings into sharp relief the fact that I still haven’t reconnected with my creative impulse as deeply or as fully as I would like. The prospect of grappling with my dissertation for the next few months without any sort of creative outlet feels unbelievably bleak. Right now I’m less concerned with finishing the WIPs on my plate, and more concerned with remembering how it feels to wield words to bring the worlds within my head into existence.

For this round, I have a few goals with specific timelines, and a few others that will be ongoing. Here’s the breakdown:

JULY

Day Job:

Finish and submit a 12-15 page seminar paper on etiquette books and cultural theory. Approximate due date: July 15th
Finish and submit a 25-30 page literature review on my dissertation topic (19th century Catholic women religious in the United States, with an emphasis on the SF Bay Area). Approximate due date: July 31st

Writing:

Renew creativity with daily journaling sessions and lots of brainstorming. I’m not placing a word count requirement on this, because at this point I need to just get back into the rhythm and flow of writing. I don’t care what I write — flash fiction, current WIPs, random snippets, bad poetry, it’s all up for grabs at this point.

Social Media:

Start building a queue of 10-12 blog posts to begin sharing in August.

AUGUST

Day Job:

Continue dissertation reading and (hopefully) begin visiting convent archives to assess holdings and materials.
Write and submit 2-page dissertation summary. Approximate due date: August 15th
Meet with dissertation committee for the “little conversation” to discuss the dissertation proposal and advance to doctoral candidacy. Approximate deadline: August 30th

Writing:

Take part in August CampNaNoWriMo. I know, this might be a little crazy, but I’m not gunning for a 50k win. Instead, I’m hoping that whatever creative juices I unlock in July will allow me to focus on one project and flesh it out a little bit. This is a tentative plan, so we’ll see how July goes. Regardless, I will keep writing everyday so that I don’t lose the habit.

SEPTEMBER

Day Job:

Revise July’s seminar paper with the goal of producing (1) a conference presentation for November and (2) a co-written journal article. Due date TBA.
Draft proposals for dissertation grants and fellowships. Approximate due date: September 30th.

ON-GOING GOALS

Day Job:

Continue dissertation reading, visiting and working in convent archives, and writing weekly research memos.

Writing:

Write everyday. No exceptions.
Read 1 (non-academic) book a week.

Exercise:

Work out 4-5 days a week (I’m upping the minimum threshold by 1 day). Continue to eat balanced meals and drink plenty of water.

Social Media:

Visit and comment on 10 blogs each week.
Start using Triberr on a regular basis.
Adopt Anne R. Allen’s slow-blogging manifesto, and aim for 1-2 posts/week, starting in August.

As always, there’s a lot going on. For this round, however, I think this is going to be all about concrete goals and deadlines for the day job, and much looser goals for my writing. Once I unpack all my boxes, finish settling into my room (there’s a major painting project on the horizon), and hammer out a routine, it’ll hopefully be a lot easier to get things done.

I’m looking forward to connecting with everyone taking part in ROW80 this round. If you’d like to add your name to the list, or check out the other bloggers who have joined in on all the fun, visit the linkytools list.

ROW80: A Bloggy Birthday

May 19, 2012 / Lena Corazon / 34 Comments

Happy Sunday, ROWers! This weekend is a special one, as I’m celebrating my blog’s first birthday. I’m actually a week late — my very first post, a ROW80 check-in, was posted on May 15th — but better late than never, right?

In celebration, I’m bringing out Party Sloth…

…and you know that festivities would be incomplete without Hugh…

For fun, I thought I’d make a mini-vlog, just to wave and say hello. It’s nothing fancy, but I wanted a chance to thank all of you in “person.” Without this amazing, wonderful, phenomenal community, I think I would’ve abandoned both the blogging experiment and my writing attempts ages ago. 😀

I missed last week’s check-in due to grading, but here’s how things are going so far:

Day Job: The stack of midterms is never-ending, the reading is never-ending, the homework is never-ending. The quarter ends in three weeks, and till then, I will be furiously working my buns off to get things done. My brain is buzzing, I’m learning a ton, and I really am having fun… I just wish the pressure would ease off just a teeny bit. But grading will be done on Tuesday, and I’ll have a couple of weeks to take care of my work before it’s time to tackle the students’ final papers.

Writing: Okay, so, the week before last was my awesome writing week. The plot for STRANGE BEDFELLOWS dropped into my lap, completely unbidden, and I wrote about 4500 words between all 3 of my projects. Not much has happened this week, though, but I did raid the university library for books on 19th century San Francisco as part of my research for TELL ME NO LIES. Now, er, I just have to find time to read them. 😛

Exercise: I’ve been a little under the weather for the last few days, so I scaled back to a couple of short workouts instead of the usual 4 mile walk. But altogether I had 4 days of activity, which is pretty good.

Social Media: Ugh, a total bust. I’ve been unplugged for the last week because I can’t concentrate on grading otherwise. Operation KEEP TRYING is in progress.

Here’s what I’ve been reading and watching this week:

I finally got around to reading, CONSPIRACY, the fourth book in Lindsay Buroker‘s phenomenal EMPEROR’S EDGE series. The EE series is a blend of steampunk and fantasy, and features an unlikely band of outlaws striving to evade the law and do enough good deeds for the emperor to clear their names. Like the previous three, CONSPIRACY is a ton of fun — lots of tension, lots of action, lots of humor, and a great plot.

As far as movies go, I finished the last two episodes of the Zen miniseries, and I think it’s an absolute crime that it was cancelled after only one season (seriously, y’all, it’s soooo sad). I also caught The Raven, which I enjoyed, though not as much as other creepy period pieces, like Perfume or The Prestige. Next up is the miniseries Case Histories, starring Jason Isaacs, which I’ve been dying to watch.

…And with that, I am crawling back into my reading/grading/working cave. Hope you’ve all had an awesome week!

ROW80: Picking Up Steam, and a New Tattoo

May 5, 2012 / Lena Corazon / 44 Comments

Good grief, I can’t believe it’s Sunday already. The last week sort of sped on by, and I feel like I’ve got whiplash. Also, can someone tell me exactly when May happened? Time seems to be hurtling past me.

All in all, it hasn’t been too terrible of a week. Here’s the shakedown:

Day Job: Not much work done by way of research this week, though I took a couple of hours today to take some reading notes and write up a summary of what I’ve learned thus far. I still need to meet with committee members (I’ve been dragging my feet on making appointments), so this is going to be my goal for the week.

Writing: Things are getting a little better here. I’ve logged at least 5 or 6 hours this week on brainstorming, outlining, and world-building. Better yet, I’ve written close to 5k. Not sure how much will survive my next round of edits, but the good news is that Part 1 of PATH TO THE PEACOCK THRONE is finally coming together. Progress is slow, but if I can make sure that it’s steady, I’ll feel a lot better about things.

Exercise: Shockingly enough, I managed to get 6 days of exercise in. Morning walks are becoming second nature, and way too enjoyable to ignore. There’s nothing like listening to a swelling chorus of birdsong and basking in the sunlight to start my day off right.

Social Media: It was another off week for social media. Not much by way to blog hopping, and only 1 post written outside of my ROW80 check-in. I’ve got a few drafts that need to be fixed up and finalized, so hopefully I can get those posted in the week to come.

And once again, here’s what I’m reading and watching this week:

Rufus Sewell as Aurelio Zen

Films: I’m halfway through the BBC Mystery series, Zen, based on the series of novels by Michael Dibdin. The absolutely dishy Rufus Sewell plays the title character, Venetian detective Aurelio Zen, who is one of the few men of integrity, honor, and honesty working in the corrupt Roman police department. Zen reminds me a lot of my detective protag in TELL ME NO LIES, so I’ve been watching Zen with both my writing and “I’m-going-to-veg-out-and-enjoy-this” hats on.

Books: I just finished Jessica Grey‘s novel, AWAKE, which is a modern-day YA retelling of the “Sleeping Beauty” fairy tale. I absolutely adored it, so if you like fairy tale adaptations with romance and magic and lore, I recommend it.

In other news, I got my first tattoo on Friday! It wasn’t nearly as bad as I had feared (I worked myself up into such a tizzy over the potential pain that I lost sleep for about 2 weeks), though there were definitely moments when I wondered exactly what sort of torture I signed up for. However, I am in love with the final product, and that’s all that counts. The tattoo is on my right arm — my writing arm — and will hopefully remind me of my duty to myself as a writer.

The quote, “Words have been all my life,” comes from POSSESSION by A.S. Byatt, one of my favorite books of all time. The original passage, part of a letter that the fictional 19th century poet Christabel LaMotte writes to fellow poet Randolph Henry Ash, is as follows:

…Words have been all my life, all my life — this need is like the Spider’s need who carries before her a huge Burden of Silk which she must spin out — the silk is her life, her home, her safety — her food and drink too — and if it is attacked or pulled down, why, what can she do but make more, spin afresh, design anew…

Like the fictional Christabel, I am, have always been, and always will be, compelled to write, to create, to spin out words and myths and tales. Writing is something that I must do in order to remain whole, in order to survive. That lesson is one that I learned the hard way during my 2 year bout with writer’s block, when I thought that I could walk away from fiction and submerge myself completely in the world of academia.

So yay for tattoos, and for a bit of writing progress! I’m looking forward to finally seeing The Avengers on Sunday afternoon — I feel like I’ve been waiting forever. I actually had an Avengers-themed dream the other night, where I was some sort of hybrid X-Men/Avengers superhero flying around and solving crime… before I turned back into academic me, taking a midterm of Foucault. My grad school friends have termed this the “supertheoro” (super-theory-hero), and I think that is going to be my new alter ego. 😀

Don’t forget to swing by and wish the rest of the merry band of ROWers well! How’s everyone else doing?

ROW80: Down the Rabbit Hole of Academe

April 22, 2012 / Lena Corazon / 17 Comments

As the title of this ROW80 check-in attests, this last week has been all about the day job and not much else. I spent my weekend doing lots of reading, lots of thinking, lots of note-taking, and in my downtime, lots of videogaming (I am simultaneously replaying Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, which really deserves a blog post all its own). Here’s how things played out:

Day Job: I’m all caught up with the work that piled up while I was sick, which is great. Better yet, I’ve embarked on all of the reading and thinking work associated with the dissertation. There’s now a lot of information in my head; I’ve spent the weekend reading a ridiculous array of books and articles. I can now tell you about the early modern period and the construction of the English “Christian gentleman,” the ways in which modern-day upper class white men in France and the United States conceptualize social status and morality, and the importance of French phenomenology in current feminist thought.

I am not only shocked that my brain hasn’t yet exploded, but that it seems to be hungry for more. We’ll see how long this productive mood lasts, but cross your fingers that it continues indefinitely, because I have so friggin’ much to do in the next 6 weeks. In the meantime, there will be lots of tea-drinking (as tea is essential for the production of scholarly knowledge, lol) and lots of thinking.

Writing: I wrote roughly 800 words this week, not nearly what I wanted to get done. My class schedule this quarter conflicts with the #ROW80 writing sprints 3 out of 5 days in the week, which means I am going to have to figure out where I can fit writing into my (semi-) daily routine. I am coming to the conclusion, however, that the day job is going to have to be my priority during this round. Not sure how/if that translates into changing my writing goals, but we’ll see.

Exercise: I worked out 5 days in the past week, which is absolutely fantastic. The daily walk/at-home Pilates session is starting to become a habit that I look forward to. My clothes are fitting slightly better, which is also a good thing.

Social Media: This is another fail, along with the writing this week. This is actually my first time touching my laptop in 3 or 4 days, which is crazy for me. So, yet again, I’ve got something to work on in the week to come.

-oOo-

So that’s my life right now: lots of books, and lots of unwinding through escapist fantasy of Mass Effect-land. Hopefully there will be more writing in the week to come, but in the meantime, I am retreating back into my wee rabbit hole. 😛

How’s everyone else doing?

ROW80: It’s all About Bitty Baby Steps

April 14, 2012 / Lena Corazon / 40 Comments

As I mentioned in my post on Friday, I got derailed this past week by an unexpected bout with food poisoning. I’m back to normal now, thank goodness, but my ROW80 progress has been pretty limited.

Day Job: I ended up missing a full week of school because I was sick, but I’ve done a teeny bit of reading towards the dissertation proposal. Also, I found out a few days ago that a paper proposal I submitted for a conference in November was accepted. The paper is going to be an adaptation of my MA thesis, and will also serve as prep for both my dissertation proposal, and the journal article I’ll be co-writing with my advisor. I am going to make this paper work for me. 😛

Writing: I wrote 3437 words this week, most of them towards PATH TO THE PEACOCK throne. PPT wasn’t really on my radar until I used it to answer the Lucky 7 meme and was reminded how darn AWESOME this book is. TELL ME NO LIES is still on the agenda, but I might switch my focus to PPT for a while. It’s got a surprisingly strong structure, and while I’m fuzzy on how it’s going to end, ideas are flowing.

Exercise: I managed two short workouts this week, which isn’t too terrible. I think I may have lost a couple of pounds from being sick, so right now my goal is to keep those pounds off, and hopefully lose a little more. Walking and at-home Pilates are on the docket for next week.

Social Media: I wrote one blog post this week, but I haven’t had a chance to really visit any blogs. It’ll be something to work on in the week to come.

-oOo-

Before all the yuckiness hit, there were lots and lots of fun times! We kicked it off with the amazing and wonderful #ROW80 Twitter party, co-hosted by my partner-in-crime, Barbara McDowell. Once again, she and I were the last partiers left standing, which I think ought to earn us some sort of medal. 😉

Even better, I channeled my awesome ’80s side-ponytailing for the occasion. I’m showcasing the original, ’cause it really did rock:

It's ALL about the side pony.

Barbara and I will be going through all of the entries for the photo/blog contest over the next week. If you created a post with the “throwback” theme and didn’t post it to the linky, go ahead and add the link in the comments below.

Who else is easing into this round with bitty baby steps like I am? Or are you blazing along, tackling your goals effortlessly? Let me know, and while you’re at it, be sure to swing by and wave at the other ROWers who are checking in.

ROW80: We Are The Champions

March 21, 2012 / Lena Corazon / 40 Comments

First, a heads-up: I am doing my first guest post ever over at Nicole Basaraba’s blog. I’m chatting about the basics of the steampunk genre, so if you’ve ever been curious about the ins and outs of steampunk books, swing by and check it out.

-oOo-

All right, all right, I know — Queen’s “We Are The Champions” is such an over-done anthem theme these days that it almost verges on cliche and corny, but it is still such an awesome song. Better yet, it captures the sentiment that I have as we close out Round 1 of A Round of Words in 80 Days.

This is the end of my 3rd round of ROW80, and I’m more grateful than ever for participating. I’ve faltered on a few of my goals here and there. The bottom line, though, is that I have done more writing — and more learning about writing — in the last few months than ever before.

What Went Well:

TELL ME NO LIES isn’t finished, but I’ve made a lot of progress in plotting and rewriting the first 1/4 of the novel. The new characters and subplots that I have introduced are going to make the book a lot stronger, and give it more depth.
For the most part, I’ve managed to integrate exercise into my weekly routine. I’ve had a few slip-ups here and there, and I’m trying to learn how to exercise when I’m feeling stressed out, but I still count this as a win.
The day job still saps most of my energy, but I did manage to defend my MA thesis, which means I can sign my name “Lena Corazon, MA.” Squeee!
I’ve succeeded in being social during this round, which is a huge shock. I was such a loner last round that I thought I would really have to work at reminding myself to go out and see people, but apparently not. 😀

What I Can Work On:

Ugh, blogging on a regular basis still seems to elude me. I have to be in a specific mood and frame of mind to write blog posts, and I still haven’t learned to summon it on a whim. I’m hoping to try and build up a cache of posts over spring break, but… we’ll see how that goes. Next round, I may try to set aside 1 writing sprint each week to work on blog posts.
I’d like to make time for reading. After my delicious book binge over Winter break, I’ve been reading in dribs and drabs, and it makes me cranky.

Things to Eagerly Anticipate:

Finishing my last class ever, and moving closer to narrowing down a dissertation topic.
Enjoying my last few months in Santa Barbara, and prepping for the big move back up to my parents’ house in San Francisco.
That tattoo I mentioned during the last check-in? It’s one step closer to becoming reality. I snagged an appointment for May 4th (the only opening the artist had before July), so now I’m just busy counting down the days. For those of you who have asked, I am getting my inner right forearm tattooed with my favorite quote from POSSESSION by A.S. Byatt: “Words have been all my life.” It will be accompanied by a peacock feather quill, similar to the one below.

So rock on, ROW-ers! From what I’ve seen over the last 80 days, you are all doing an amazing job, even if you have experienced some rough patches here and there.

Because we’ve all worked so hard, wouldn’t you say that it’s time for a PARTY?

Our first ROCK THE ROW was simply epic (if you need a reminder, check out Jenny Hansen’s recap of the shenanigans and mayhem that occurred), but I think we can ratchet up the crazy even more for our next ROCKING celebration!

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Barbara McDowell and I are taking on hosting duties from our glitterific predecessors, Jenny Hansen and Nicole Basaraba. Plans for further madness are afoot, but for the moment, mark APRIL 4, 2012 into your calendars. More details to come!

ROW80: Spring Break is (Almost) Here!

March 18, 2012 / Lena Corazon / 35 Comments

Happy Sunday, ROW-ing loves! I trust everyone is doing well?

After my big ol’ thesis win, I sort of unintentionally dropped off the radar. I went from prepping for the defense to prepping for a guest lecture the following week — my third of the quarter, and the first time ever that my advisor has seen me present (no pressure, right?). It went really well, and I even got a chance to show a short clip from Kate and Leopold — fitting for a lecture on “Love, Commitment and Ambivalence” in American films from the 1970s to the present-day.

Once all was said and done, I was a little exhausted. I’ve spent the last week and a half doing nothing but grading papers, playing Mass Effect, and streaming television shows on Netflix. So far I’ve learned that Downton Abbey really IS phenomenal, that Friday Night Lights is just as brilliant as all my friends promised, and that I should’ve been watching Supernatural since the day it premiered in 2005, because it was MADE for me. Supernatural is kinda like crack, and I can’t get enough; I watched the first season (21 episodes, folks) in under a week.

Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) are my new favorites. Image via Wikipedia

But it’s the end of the quarter, and once I finish grading term papers, spring break begins! Better yet, my mom is coming to visit me next weekend, and she’ll be here for a week. We will embark on our usual adventures of shopping, drinking, and eating out, along with a trip to see my sister and head to DISNEYLAND. [Insert major squee here]

Anywhoo, here’s a review of my goals from the last couple of weeks:

Day Job: I’m on track to have final grades finished by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. I’d like to do a little dissertation research/thinking/planning over spring break, but I’m not sure how realistic that goal is.

Writing: I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I won’t have a full draft of TELL ME NO LIES finished by the end of this round, which was my original goal. One of the hardest things about all of this is the fact that I am trying to learn how to write a novel, and that sort of thing takes time. I’m trying to push myself, to make sure that I am moving forward and not wandering in circles (I realized a couple of weeks ago that I’ve been rewriting the same 3 scenes over and over again — whoops). However, I’m also trying to be patient with myself and enjoy the process.

In the past week, I’ve taken time for (1) brainstorming and plotting, (2) research, and (3) character development. I’m really excited about #3, because I’ve finally taken advantage of the character profile pinboards in Scrivener.

Squee, so pretty! One of the best things that I can say is that I think I am achieving greater depth as far as this story is concerned. There are growing layers of complexity, and both my characters and the plot are getting more interesting (in my opinion, anyway).

Exercise: I actually fulfilled my exercise goal and used my glider 4 times this week. Yay!

Social Time: Last weekend was the department’s “recruitment weekend,” so I had way too much social time: dinners out and movie nights and a department beach bbq, among other events. I’ve been hiding out the past few days, and it has been lovely.

50/50 Challenge: Last weekend I saw John Carter (fun, and better than I expected), as well as Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, starring Gerard Butler, Tom Hardy, Thandie Newton, and a host of other amazing actors (abso-freaking-lutely awesome). I also read two books: Maggie Stiefvater’s Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception and Gabrielle Kimm’s His Last Duchess.

I have lots of fun things to look forward to this week, like the midnight showing of The Hunger Games. And I just might get myself a tattoo next week, ’cause my mom finally gave me the green light (!!!). My current idea is to have the phrase, “Words have been all my life” (from A.S. Byatt’s Possession) tattooed on my right forearm, with a peacock feather quill… but we’ll see what happens. I’ll keep you all posted. 😀

ROW80: Under Pressure

February 25, 2012 / Lena Corazon / 37 Comments

I was on top of the world when I checked in on Monday, and for good reason: I had enjoyed an absolutely fantastic weekend away, and I was buoyed up by all of the good vibes and happiness that had been sent my way. Everything was grand for a few days… and then around Wednesday, panic set in.

Source: Pinterest

Like so many of you, I have a vast to-do list of things that absolutely must get done, and what sucks is that my biggest priorities have nothing to do with writing. I have a conference paper proposal due next week, along with the oral defense for my thesis and the regular load of 60-70 papers to grade. Add on everything else that I’d rather be doing (writing flash fiction and blog posts, visiting everyone else’s blogs, working on my WIPs, tweeting, reading books, watching movies and eating Cheetoes), and I basically need, oh, an extra 24 hours in a day to accomplish everything.

The anxiety and panic are physically paralyzing, to the point where I end up with fierce migraines and nausea. I sit down to tackle something on the to-do list, and I get so overwhelmed at the thought of everything else that I should be doing that I can’t do anything at all.

The thing is, I know much of this is self-inflicted. I am capable of finishing everything that I have on my plate. As so many of you have pointed out, I’ve lived with this thesis long enough that I know it inside and out. A 5-10 minute presentation, and the conversation that will follow with my committee, really shouldn’t be challenging. The conference paper proposal is only a short abstract, again one that is based on the work that I’ve already been doing. And the blog posts and social media are fun, nothing that should be giving me heart palpitations and sweaty palms.

So much of my problems stem from self-doubt and fear — fear that I won’t be good enough, that I’ll crash and burn in a spectacular display of epic failure, that I’ll embarrass myself (and my advisor) with my sheer incompetence.

All of this has started me to thinking over the last few days, and the question that reoccurs in my mind is one that is startlingly simple, yet also challenging: How much would I get done if I just abandoned self-doubt? I’m not talking about embarking on projects armed with hubris and arrogance. Rather, I’m thinking about approaching all areas of my life with the confidence that I am equipped and prepared to tackle any challenges that come my way. In my heart of hearts, I feel like I know more than I give myself credit for, and those things that I don’t know can be learned.

Perhaps this is one of those overarching goals that I can try to adopt for the remainder of this round: Abandon self-doubt. It’s not something that can really be measured directly, unless we’re talking about potential decreases in panic attacks, but I’d like to strive towards it all the same.

Here’s the short list of what I did get done this week:

Writing: Not too much happened here. I have ideas that are demanding to be released, and I am dying to just sit down and allow them to run free. This will maybe-hopefully happen this weekend.

Day Job: Met with my advisor on Thursday and started hammering out the next year of my life, including the directed study I’ll be taking with her next quarter, a list of the grants and fellowships I plan to apply for this fall, and plans to work as her research assistant next school year. There was also chatter about co-writing an article based on my thesis, and brainstorming potential syllabi I’ll want to have under my belt when I hit the job market in a couple of years. Overwhelming, but exciting.

Exercise: I squeezed in 4 days this week, even though 3 of those days were 15 minute stints on the glider, rather than the 30 minutes that I usually do. But I figure it’s better for me to at least move a little instead of sit around for days at a time.

Social Time: Surprisingly, there is lots of this happening — an impromptu girls’ night out on Monday, a birthday celebration for a colleague Thursday night, and a mock bachelorette party on Saturday night (it’s for Science, people, a sociological study of whether or not one of my single friends can “pass” as an engaged woman — long story).

50/50 Challenge: I haven’t had a chance to do any reading, but I finally saw Midnight in Paris, and I am in LOVE. So many people told me to watch it, and I’m delighted that I finally got the chance. As someone who has always felt like I was born in the wrong era, the movie resonated with me, and made me miss Paris all the more. I highly recommend it.

For anyone else who is feeling ridiculously overwhelmed, I dedicate the following song. Turn up the volume and dance it out, ’cause there’s nothing like a little Queen and David Bowie to make the world a better place. 😀

Be sure to swing by and send warm fuzzies to all the other ROW80 participants!

ROW80: Refreshed and Ready to Rock

February 20, 2012 / Lena Corazon / 20 Comments

As some of you know, I celebrated my twenty-fifth birthday by taking a road trip down to Los Angeles to visit my good friend and colleague, Nicki, along with my not-so-little sister, Jaymie, who will be turning twenty in May. I don’t think I realized how badly I needed a short get-away, but now that I’ve had a couple of days to do absolutely nothing but enjoy myself, I feel like I’m ready to get back to work.

I had a short work week and a long weekend, so the progress I’ve made towards my goals reflects that. Here’s how the last week turned out:

Writing: Last Monday was basically a day of writing: lots of brainstorming, lots of editing, and a couple of new scenes planned out for TELL ME NO LIES. I’m starting to wonder, though, if I am going to be able to have a complete draft by the end of this round, which was my ultimate goal. In the weeks to come, I’m going to need to figure out the game-plan for pulling things together, and trying to get it finished.

Day Job: Oh boy, people, things are moving as far as the day job is concerned. I’ve filled out all the paperwork and set the date for the oral defense for my MA thesis. The official date is Thursday, March 1st, and I will be ~~freaking out~~ prepping industriously for the next week and a half. I only need to make a 5-10 minute presentation on my findings and conclusions, and brave the Q&A segment, but I am trying to remind myself that I know this project inside and out, and that committees don’t schedule defenses for students who aren’t deemed ready.

In other news I’ve signed up for the last two courses I will ever take as a graduate student (thrilling, frightening, exciting). One of them will be a directed study with my advisor, which will hopefully help me to gear up for the dissertation proposal that I need to write and defend by the end of the summer. No pressure, right? 😉

Social Time: There were a lot of good times over the past week: a fantastically awesome Valentine’s celebration with two of my besties that involved a hilarious movie (This Means War), cocktails, and cheesecake; an overnight visit with Nicki, complete with gabbing and tasty cupcakes; and a couple of days worth of shopping and hanging out with this kid:

She is, of course, way older these days and approaching adulthood, but I’m really grateful that we got to spend some time together one-on-one. My sister and I are nothing alike, and because we’re 5 years apart in age, and 6 years apart in school, finding common ground is even harder (I think there’s a blog post in this). But the older she gets, the more we have to talk about. I’m looking forward to this becoming an ongoing trend.

Exercise: Exercise and nutrition are always a major challenge around my birthday, because I am very good at justifying excesses, like this cupcake. Just look at it, will you? It clearly was something that was just begging to be eaten.

I managed to work out 3 days last week, and tried to balance out all the tasty desserts and eating out I did with extra servings of veggies. My jeans still button and I don’t feel like I’m busting out of my clothes (yet?), so I suppose I haven’t failed too terribly.

50/50 Challenge: Okay, I basically took Thursday to do nothing but read, and I devoured DARK CURRENTS and DEADLY GAMES, books 2 and 3 in Lindsay Buroker‘s THE EMPEROR’S EDGE series. I pretty much love everything Lindsay has written, and these two weren’t any different. If you like steampunk and fantasy, check them out.

I also hit the movies twice this week and caught This Means War and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy for a double dose of Tom Hardy. This Means War was a lot funnier than I thought it would be, and even though I was irked by the ending, I really enjoyed it. And wow, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was amazing… though I will say that it was definitely worth my $9.75 to watch Colin Firth ooze and smarm his way around in the background (Gary Oldman is pretty spectacular as well).

Zemanta is encouraging me to give you all a picture of the wondrous Tom Hardy, so who am I to disagree?

Image via Wikipedia

Thanks to everyone for all the fantastic birthday wishes! I have to say, twenty-five feels pretty darn good. 😀 I’ll be working through all the comments and posts that I’ve missed over the last few days, and hopefully I’ll get caught up on bloggy things sometime this week.

ROW80: Is It Spring Break Yet?

February 12, 2012 / Lena Corazon / 12 Comments

Screen capture from The Avengers: Earth's Migh...

Image via Wikipedia

It’s a late afternoon ROW80 check-in for me, as I’ve spent the past few days feeling sort of brain-dead, and generally useless — lots of laying on the couch and binging on The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, which is actually a pretty awesome cartoon series. However, it has inspired my latest life goal, which is to create and teach a course that explores the sociology of comic books and superheroes (!!!).

The theme of the past week? Small victories. Here’s how things went down:

Writing: Didn’t get as much done here as I’d like, but I did start some legitimate editing, instead of just writing up random scenes that may or may not end up in the final product. I’ve also been taking time out to “walk” my way through each scene, and to really start thinking about the wants, needs, and motivations of each character. All that background work is helping things to take shape.

Day Job: I finished my 2nd guest lecture this week, and it was lots of fun (the topic was film noir and post-World War II cinema). Even better, one of the students told me after class that I did a really great job, which saved me a whole weekend of self-doubt. The downside is that I’m still trying to adjust to the workload of grading 60-70 two page papers each week, so hopefully I pull that together soon.

I’ll be scheduling my MA thesis defense for sometime in the beginning of March, so prepping for that will be on my to-do list in the coming days. *bites nails* This is exciting and utterly terrifying all at once.

Social Time: I’ve been hunkered down at home all week, though I did get a chance to hit the beach last Sunday and hang out with friends. There have also been a couple of gossip-filled afternoons out to grab Indian food (always awesome), but I’m saving up my energy for next weekend, when I head to LA to spend my birthday with my little sister.

Exercise: Okay, I think I reached my goals… but it’s been one of those weeks when I can’t even remember what I had for dinner yesterday, let alone the number of times I worked out. I think it was 3 or 4 days, at any rate.

50/50 Challenge: No new movies, but I did get a chance to read fellow WANA-ite/ROW’er Jennette Marie Powell‘s Time’s Enemy, and wow — I was totally enthralled with it. If you’re into time travel, science-fiction novels, complete with romance, I highly recommend it. (Jen, is it March yet? Can I have book 2? I’m seriously dying to read it.)

-oOo-

If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend that you all swing by and check out August McLaughlin‘s Beauty of a Woman blogfest — there are some incredible stories that have been shared. Also, sign-ups for Rachael Harrie’s Writers’ Platform-Building Campaign end on February 15th, so if you’re interested in taking part, head over here.

Lena Corazon

Flights of Fancy

Tag: exercise (page 2 of 4)

ROW80: New Goals for Round 3

ROW80: Picking Up Steam, and a New Tattoo

ROW80: We Are The Champions

ROW80: Spring Break is (Almost) Here!

ROW80: Under Pressure

ROW80: Refreshed and Ready to Rock

ROW80: Is It Spring Break Yet?

Lena Corazon

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