This year I signed up for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)'challenge'. The goal was to write 50,000 words in a month or less. I've been beta-reading and researching for a friend who has authored several Austen alternates over the years. Bob has often told me I should write a book and that, in concert with the harassment I received from my so-called friend, the idea to try my own hand at writing was born.
They say write what you know. Over the years I've read more P&P related miscellany than I care to admit. Some was exceptionally well done but most was not. Too much fan-fic on the Internet has dumbed-down our expectations and so much has felt like it's been done before. I have a passion for history and had this great idea to set P&P against WWII. The stage is wide and there's a lot you can use for obstacles. The possibilities are nearly limitless.
The essentials of the characters, their nature as it were, wholly belong to Austen. That said, these characters- William Darcy, Ellie Bennet, Richard Fitzwilliam, Jane Bennet, Charles Bingley, Georgie Darcy and the ever-nefarious Wickham belong to me. Their neurosis and pathos are (sorry Shakespeare) fashioned from my own pure brain.
Will gets stretched more,and Ellie gets to be more outspoken. I love writing for Richard...the Colonel may be my favorite side character! Jane is made stronger, her quiet nature has more to do with earlier circumstance and Bingley is quicker in wit and is much more self-assured here. I admit I've treated poor Georgie awfully, but out of tragedy good things often come. And, well, I may just end up killing Wickham before all is said and done.
What I am writing is mostly for my own benefit. After I 'won' the challenge, I understood what Jane Austen had meant when she talked about her characters being real to her, My Ellie and Will are NOT Mr. Darcy and Miss Eliza. The circumstances and period warrant changes and I find I have to continue writing. I cannot leave Ellie stranded in Gander and Georgie needs some happiness and Bingley and Jane have had it too easy thus far!
What I have posted on my blog is chiefly to help keep me accountable in my writing. Some things will inevitably be altered as the novel continues to take shape. I thank all of you for indulging in my new found passion. I need to do this and see it through!
Thanks everyone for bearing with me. Happy New Year!
-michchick
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Out with the old....
2008 is at an end and 2009 is rapidly approaching whether we like it or not....
A very long time ago my friend Doug had demonstrated that life is fluid, like water. When you remove a seemingly immovable object from water, like a rock or a piling, the water simply fills in the gap. The point was no matter what happens in life, change is inevitable and life goes on without us.
This was a lesson played out when I lost my job. I had identified with my job far more than I had realized. I am ashamed to admit it took far longer than it should have to realize that I already had several, much more important jobs. I was privileged to spend the bulk of the year simply being a wife and mother.
It was hard, and sacrifices were made. Not so many new video games nor trips to Chuck E. Cheese, but instead we spent a great deal more time together as a family. It was awesome and I found such delight in my family that whatever constraints on my time there may be in the future, I will always be able to look back on this time and cherish the memories we made as a family.
2009 will be a different sort of year altogether. I will procure some sort of job and I really don't care what it may be. My priority is my family and no job or career is worth putting the ones I love on hold as I've done so often over the years.
With this new perspective I look forward to what 2009 may bring. There will be some interesting times...(my 20th high school reunion!) and I look forward to them all!
A very long time ago my friend Doug had demonstrated that life is fluid, like water. When you remove a seemingly immovable object from water, like a rock or a piling, the water simply fills in the gap. The point was no matter what happens in life, change is inevitable and life goes on without us.
This was a lesson played out when I lost my job. I had identified with my job far more than I had realized. I am ashamed to admit it took far longer than it should have to realize that I already had several, much more important jobs. I was privileged to spend the bulk of the year simply being a wife and mother.
It was hard, and sacrifices were made. Not so many new video games nor trips to Chuck E. Cheese, but instead we spent a great deal more time together as a family. It was awesome and I found such delight in my family that whatever constraints on my time there may be in the future, I will always be able to look back on this time and cherish the memories we made as a family.
2009 will be a different sort of year altogether. I will procure some sort of job and I really don't care what it may be. My priority is my family and no job or career is worth putting the ones I love on hold as I've done so often over the years.
With this new perspective I look forward to what 2009 may bring. There will be some interesting times...(my 20th high school reunion!) and I look forward to them all!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
michchick's love of cars, or, It's a Jeep thing....
Okay, over the years I admit I've owned my fair share of automobiles.
In high school I shared my mom's Chevy Celebrity Station Wagon. It was gold and my friends and I affectionately nicknamed it the 'Chuckwagon'. It was great because we could jam 7 of us in there and the stereo cranked decently loud. It's greatest problem was it rode low and when you went through too much water it would flood and stall.
For graduation I inherited my Aunt Tree's 84 1/2 (the half is important because it signaled production changes) Ford Escort. It was my first car that was wholly mine and though it caused me lots of grief I loved it truly. It was a color I always referred to as 'a Smurf-caught-in-the-Chernobyl-accident-blue'. I put 100,000 miles on that car myself in less than five years. Trips to anywhere and everywhere, the 'smurfmobile' was intrepid. Usually. They say Ford isn't just the family's name but an acronym. I have lived it and can attest to it's truth.
Ford stands for: Found On Road Dead or Fix Or Repair Daily. Both seemed to be the case in my beloved smurfmobile's case.
When at last the Escort would journey no more, I bought my first Chrysler product. I became the proud owner of a Plymouth Sundance. It was exactly the same car as the more familiar Dodge Shadow, they just plated them differently. It was a lovely mid-size car but I was fiscally irresponsible and had to part ways with my lovely car.
It was then I bought a car that I disliked so much I can't even remember what it was. A friend of my mom's had been in it when it was hit by a SEMTA bus and the seat was broken and wouldn't stay upright. It also had an odd odor I couldn't get rid of. My dear husband was my fiance at the time and he drove my wreck and let me instead drive his Pontiac Grand Am. The car was so truly awful he can't remember what it was either except it was a black hatchback.
When we were married we purchased a four-door 'family' car. We bought a blue Chevy Cavalier with the upgraded engine and all the bells and whistles available way back in '97.
Shortly after that my husband parted ways with his Grand Am and we inherited a Dodge Dakota complete with cap. Neither of us had ever owned a truck and it was a unique experience. With a small baby though, a truck isn't practical so we did what all families eventually do...we got a bigger vehicle.
We bought our first minivan. It was a bright-red Plymouth Voyager. I never in my life thought I'd ever own a minivan, let alone before I turned 30. The dirty little secret they don't tell you is that once you have one, you don't know how you lived without one!
Along the way we inherited my Grandpa's Buick Century Station Wagon which was a sister vehicle, though newer, to my mom's old chuckwagon. I still get flashbacks when I drive it to this day!
Our red van was totaled by a distracted driver on her cell phone one day. As we had the Cavalier and the Century, we didn't replace it right away. Then a few months later the Cav blew up. (We had it paid off for over a year and Murphy's law clearly stated it was time for something to go wrong!)
We set out to find a new car. We found the best deal ever...we bought a forest-green Plymouth Town and Country that was beyond loaded and completely within our price range. What made it even sweeter was when the salesman explained he'd have to change out the all-gold (read: pimp) wheels for the plainer, Chrysler-logo wheels. For the inconvenience he took an extra $500 bucks off the price. We drove my minivan everywhere! It was comfortable and convenient, it was part of our family for many years. As all family members get older, so do vehicles. Finally around the ripe-old age of 190,000 miles, the transmission dropped. There were other signs of aging we'd been trying to ignore, the trans was simply the death knell for my T&C.
It's no secret that I've spent most of this year unemployed. It's been difficult but we've managed to get by. We are simply not budgeted at this time for the expense of a second vehicle.
It turns out our neighbor, who'd worked years ago with my husband at Delphi, had an extra vehicle in his backyard that he had no use for. Our neighbor gave us his Jeep Cherokee. My husband is the nicest man on the planet and it warms my heart greatly to know that someone thought so well of him to be this generous. Who gives away a car? We are very blessed indeed!
Anyways, we currently own the Century Wagon and a 1992 Jeep Cherokee (it has half the miles the van did and though it's 17 years old, it's in fantastic shape). I had a friend in college named CJ who had a Jeep Wrangler and would always say you never could explain what owning a Jeep was like, it was something you just had to do. I always thought CJ had been exaggerating about 'Jeepdom'. It seems I was wrong, and Christian Alan Johnson...if you're out there...I'm sorry! You were right and I was wrong!
We've had significant amounts of snow already this year and I've not gotten stuck even once. The high clearance of the car, combined with the short wheelbase makes a huge difference. When you start to slide even a little, the recovery is shorter and easier and that's all before you even think about engaging the 4-wheel drive! Extra bonuses are my neighbor had put a PA system and a 'police' bumper on the Jeep. I also have a tow-hitch so it seems I'm now well-prepared for anything. I miss my van's spacious interior and regret I can't pick up a carload of my kid's friends to go to Chuck E. Cheese anymore but I confess driving in this mess is much preferable in the Jeep.
I now belong to CJ's ranks of people who say 'it's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand...'
In high school I shared my mom's Chevy Celebrity Station Wagon. It was gold and my friends and I affectionately nicknamed it the 'Chuckwagon'. It was great because we could jam 7 of us in there and the stereo cranked decently loud. It's greatest problem was it rode low and when you went through too much water it would flood and stall.
For graduation I inherited my Aunt Tree's 84 1/2 (the half is important because it signaled production changes) Ford Escort. It was my first car that was wholly mine and though it caused me lots of grief I loved it truly. It was a color I always referred to as 'a Smurf-caught-in-the-Chernobyl-accident-blue'. I put 100,000 miles on that car myself in less than five years. Trips to anywhere and everywhere, the 'smurfmobile' was intrepid. Usually. They say Ford isn't just the family's name but an acronym. I have lived it and can attest to it's truth.
Ford stands for: Found On Road Dead or Fix Or Repair Daily. Both seemed to be the case in my beloved smurfmobile's case.
When at last the Escort would journey no more, I bought my first Chrysler product. I became the proud owner of a Plymouth Sundance. It was exactly the same car as the more familiar Dodge Shadow, they just plated them differently. It was a lovely mid-size car but I was fiscally irresponsible and had to part ways with my lovely car.
It was then I bought a car that I disliked so much I can't even remember what it was. A friend of my mom's had been in it when it was hit by a SEMTA bus and the seat was broken and wouldn't stay upright. It also had an odd odor I couldn't get rid of. My dear husband was my fiance at the time and he drove my wreck and let me instead drive his Pontiac Grand Am. The car was so truly awful he can't remember what it was either except it was a black hatchback.
When we were married we purchased a four-door 'family' car. We bought a blue Chevy Cavalier with the upgraded engine and all the bells and whistles available way back in '97.
Shortly after that my husband parted ways with his Grand Am and we inherited a Dodge Dakota complete with cap. Neither of us had ever owned a truck and it was a unique experience. With a small baby though, a truck isn't practical so we did what all families eventually do...we got a bigger vehicle.
We bought our first minivan. It was a bright-red Plymouth Voyager. I never in my life thought I'd ever own a minivan, let alone before I turned 30. The dirty little secret they don't tell you is that once you have one, you don't know how you lived without one!
Along the way we inherited my Grandpa's Buick Century Station Wagon which was a sister vehicle, though newer, to my mom's old chuckwagon. I still get flashbacks when I drive it to this day!
Our red van was totaled by a distracted driver on her cell phone one day. As we had the Cavalier and the Century, we didn't replace it right away. Then a few months later the Cav blew up. (We had it paid off for over a year and Murphy's law clearly stated it was time for something to go wrong!)
We set out to find a new car. We found the best deal ever...we bought a forest-green Plymouth Town and Country that was beyond loaded and completely within our price range. What made it even sweeter was when the salesman explained he'd have to change out the all-gold (read: pimp) wheels for the plainer, Chrysler-logo wheels. For the inconvenience he took an extra $500 bucks off the price. We drove my minivan everywhere! It was comfortable and convenient, it was part of our family for many years. As all family members get older, so do vehicles. Finally around the ripe-old age of 190,000 miles, the transmission dropped. There were other signs of aging we'd been trying to ignore, the trans was simply the death knell for my T&C.
It's no secret that I've spent most of this year unemployed. It's been difficult but we've managed to get by. We are simply not budgeted at this time for the expense of a second vehicle.
It turns out our neighbor, who'd worked years ago with my husband at Delphi, had an extra vehicle in his backyard that he had no use for. Our neighbor gave us his Jeep Cherokee. My husband is the nicest man on the planet and it warms my heart greatly to know that someone thought so well of him to be this generous. Who gives away a car? We are very blessed indeed!
Anyways, we currently own the Century Wagon and a 1992 Jeep Cherokee (it has half the miles the van did and though it's 17 years old, it's in fantastic shape). I had a friend in college named CJ who had a Jeep Wrangler and would always say you never could explain what owning a Jeep was like, it was something you just had to do. I always thought CJ had been exaggerating about 'Jeepdom'. It seems I was wrong, and Christian Alan Johnson...if you're out there...I'm sorry! You were right and I was wrong!
We've had significant amounts of snow already this year and I've not gotten stuck even once. The high clearance of the car, combined with the short wheelbase makes a huge difference. When you start to slide even a little, the recovery is shorter and easier and that's all before you even think about engaging the 4-wheel drive! Extra bonuses are my neighbor had put a PA system and a 'police' bumper on the Jeep. I also have a tow-hitch so it seems I'm now well-prepared for anything. I miss my van's spacious interior and regret I can't pick up a carload of my kid's friends to go to Chuck E. Cheese anymore but I confess driving in this mess is much preferable in the Jeep.
I now belong to CJ's ranks of people who say 'it's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand...'
Monday, December 22, 2008
Quiet!
Today my boys, all of them including the 37-year-old one, are out of the house. I honestly forgot what quiet sounds like. I've not turned on the radio, left my computer's music files silent, I'm not streaming anything, nor have I turned the TV on. I'm just simply enjoying the quiet and solitude.
This Christmas season we've all been terribly rushed...finish up school for the year, complete various projects before it's too late, clean the house from top to bottom (maybe not the last one) and so many other things that just aren't important in the long run.
Today I am enjoying the quiet. There is too much noise already and just for one day, I am enjoying some peace. My kids would interject here and say, "I'm bored!" Instead of our usual crazy pace, I'd actually like to try some boredom for a lttle while. ;)
This Christmas season we've all been terribly rushed...finish up school for the year, complete various projects before it's too late, clean the house from top to bottom (maybe not the last one) and so many other things that just aren't important in the long run.
Today I am enjoying the quiet. There is too much noise already and just for one day, I am enjoying some peace. My kids would interject here and say, "I'm bored!" Instead of our usual crazy pace, I'd actually like to try some boredom for a lttle while. ;)
Professional Indoor Soccer?
My kids play soccer. Both of them. The older one plays because his friends do and he likes it well enough. My younger son plays because he has to....it's like his life depends on it or something.
Being a soccer mom was not what I signed up for as I really always hated the sport. My boyfriend in high school played travel, school and rec with games year round and, being the dutiful girlfriend I was, I went to way too many games as a result. Yes, Mr. HS-BF wrecked soccer forever for me, or so I thought.
My younger son's passion for the game is rather infectious. He is a rock star in goal, and a super-tough forward as well. He has a very competitive nature which helped drive his team's fall session to go undefeated.
Trying to be the involved parents we want to be, my husband has been working as assistant coach for one of the teams and recently went for his certification training. As a bonus, he received some tix for the Detroit Ignition. The Ignition play in the XSL at Compuware in Plymouth.
Let me say indoor extreme soccer is soccer on ADHD. It's soccer that plays with the speed of hockey and scores like basketball. It's completely insane and if you have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it. In normal soccer, play is stopped frequently for out-of-bounds. In indoor soccer, they play purposefully off the boards and it's absolutely cool to watch!
Also, they've 'amped' it up to compete with other pro sports. There's giveaways, dancers, cheerleaders, extremely loud music, more giveaways, pyrotechnics and a roaming mascot to boot. I found it to be surprisingly great entertainment. I just know Mr. HS-BF would laugh really hard if he knew I liked soccer now.
Being a soccer mom was not what I signed up for as I really always hated the sport. My boyfriend in high school played travel, school and rec with games year round and, being the dutiful girlfriend I was, I went to way too many games as a result. Yes, Mr. HS-BF wrecked soccer forever for me, or so I thought.
My younger son's passion for the game is rather infectious. He is a rock star in goal, and a super-tough forward as well. He has a very competitive nature which helped drive his team's fall session to go undefeated.
Trying to be the involved parents we want to be, my husband has been working as assistant coach for one of the teams and recently went for his certification training. As a bonus, he received some tix for the Detroit Ignition. The Ignition play in the XSL at Compuware in Plymouth.
Let me say indoor extreme soccer is soccer on ADHD. It's soccer that plays with the speed of hockey and scores like basketball. It's completely insane and if you have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it. In normal soccer, play is stopped frequently for out-of-bounds. In indoor soccer, they play purposefully off the boards and it's absolutely cool to watch!
Also, they've 'amped' it up to compete with other pro sports. There's giveaways, dancers, cheerleaders, extremely loud music, more giveaways, pyrotechnics and a roaming mascot to boot. I found it to be surprisingly great entertainment. I just know Mr. HS-BF would laugh really hard if he knew I liked soccer now.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Australia!
This is a most amazing movie! Yes, I am particularly obsessing about WWII at present but I promise that has nothing to do with my admiration for this film.
Till just twenty-five years ago, in Australia there was a hundred-odd year practice of taking so-called 'half-caste' children away from their aboriginal families to 'remove the black' from them.
This abominable practice was sanctioned by the government and the church who both thought it was their moral duty to provide this service for these poor, immoral souls. Nevermind the fact that if the European settlers hadn't engaged in 'immoral' practices, there would not have been the half-caste issue in the first place.
The movie does a very decent office in shedding some light on this practice. Sociological texts such as the awful Races of Europe perpetuated myths about the physical superiority of certain races over others. This in particular was a text revered by Hitler himself, for it gave him the 'scientific' evidence he wanted to prove his claims regarding Jews as less-than-human. The church and government held erroneous beliefs that the aboriginal peoples didn't value their children, and would forget them because of the importance of self-reliance in their culture.
The half-caste children, almost entirely born within the aboriginal communities, were removed and taken to 'centers' where they would be trained to forget the heritage entirely and learn how to be a domestic servant. The disgusting behavior to the aboriginal women was an excellent means of continuing to provide what was essentially free labor for many generations. The men bore no reprecussions as the women were never believed, and the offspring, often derogatorrially called 'creamies', would in turn be forced to work in white people's homes and the vicious cycle would continue on.
The lighter the shade of half-caste, the more prestigious position you could gain. This horrendous practice continued until 1973 and the Australian government only apologized to the aboriginal peoples this very year of 2008. There is no talk of restitution for the 'lost generations'.
An excellent docudrama on this subject is Rabbit-Proof Fence. There is some artistic liscense taken with the movie but the core story is based on an actual events. This is the imdb decription:
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) IMDB
This is the true story of Molly Craig, a young black Australian girl who leads her younger sister and cousin in an escape from an official government camp, set up as part of an official government policy to train them as domestic workers and integrate them into white society. With grit and determination Molly guides the girls on an epic journey, one step ahead of the authorities, over 1,500 miles of Australia's outback in search of the rabbit-proof fence that bisects the continent and will lead them home. These three girls are part of what is referred to today as the 'Stolen Generations.'
Western Australia, 1931. Government policy includes taking half-caste children from their Aboriginal mothers and sending them a thousand miles away to what amounts to indentured servitude, "to save them from themselves." Molly, Daisy, and Grace (two sisters and a cousin who are 14, 10, and 8) arrive at their Gulag and promptly escape, under Molly's lead. For days they walk north, following a fence that keeps rabbits from settlements, eluding a native tracker and the regional constabulary. Their pursuers take orders from the government's "chief protector of Aborigines," A.O. Neville, blinded by Anglo-Christian certainty, evolutionary world view and conventional wisdom. Can the girls survive?
Till just twenty-five years ago, in Australia there was a hundred-odd year practice of taking so-called 'half-caste' children away from their aboriginal families to 'remove the black' from them.
This abominable practice was sanctioned by the government and the church who both thought it was their moral duty to provide this service for these poor, immoral souls. Nevermind the fact that if the European settlers hadn't engaged in 'immoral' practices, there would not have been the half-caste issue in the first place.
The movie does a very decent office in shedding some light on this practice. Sociological texts such as the awful Races of Europe perpetuated myths about the physical superiority of certain races over others. This in particular was a text revered by Hitler himself, for it gave him the 'scientific' evidence he wanted to prove his claims regarding Jews as less-than-human. The church and government held erroneous beliefs that the aboriginal peoples didn't value their children, and would forget them because of the importance of self-reliance in their culture.
The half-caste children, almost entirely born within the aboriginal communities, were removed and taken to 'centers' where they would be trained to forget the heritage entirely and learn how to be a domestic servant. The disgusting behavior to the aboriginal women was an excellent means of continuing to provide what was essentially free labor for many generations. The men bore no reprecussions as the women were never believed, and the offspring, often derogatorrially called 'creamies', would in turn be forced to work in white people's homes and the vicious cycle would continue on.
The lighter the shade of half-caste, the more prestigious position you could gain. This horrendous practice continued until 1973 and the Australian government only apologized to the aboriginal peoples this very year of 2008. There is no talk of restitution for the 'lost generations'.
An excellent docudrama on this subject is Rabbit-Proof Fence. There is some artistic liscense taken with the movie but the core story is based on an actual events. This is the imdb decription:
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) IMDB
This is the true story of Molly Craig, a young black Australian girl who leads her younger sister and cousin in an escape from an official government camp, set up as part of an official government policy to train them as domestic workers and integrate them into white society. With grit and determination Molly guides the girls on an epic journey, one step ahead of the authorities, over 1,500 miles of Australia's outback in search of the rabbit-proof fence that bisects the continent and will lead them home. These three girls are part of what is referred to today as the 'Stolen Generations.'
Western Australia, 1931. Government policy includes taking half-caste children from their Aboriginal mothers and sending them a thousand miles away to what amounts to indentured servitude, "to save them from themselves." Molly, Daisy, and Grace (two sisters and a cousin who are 14, 10, and 8) arrive at their Gulag and promptly escape, under Molly's lead. For days they walk north, following a fence that keeps rabbits from settlements, eluding a native tracker and the regional constabulary. Their pursuers take orders from the government's "chief protector of Aborigines," A.O. Neville, blinded by Anglo-Christian certainty, evolutionary world view and conventional wisdom. Can the girls survive?
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