The Project: Setting Up

My brilliant writing project is starting to get underway. I’m attempting to get my ducks in a row. I was going to put a row of ducks in the pic up there, but realized we are all different with some things in common…  and I liked that picture. I am thrilled to have the people I wanted agreeing to participate . They are very creative folks. I know this because they are nearly all part of my family. Yup, no bias here!

I was sitting at dinner with my aunt a few weeks ago. My Aunt Sandy is much like a sister to me, as she is only four years my senior. We lived together off and on growing up. We fought with each other, laughed, and cried.  Today we share stories that make us laugh so hard we cry…

Anyway, at dinner I shared with her about mom wanting me to write and how I was humoring her. Then it struck me! Sandy has always wanted to write. My youngest son, Da (pronounced Day, and no his name is NOT a tribute to Felicia Day,) already writes and has numerous characters developed (just found out he has about 17 nearly fully developed characters.) My middle son, Hagardly, writes music and comics; I knew he would be a tremendous creative talent. I was so excited my hands started their flailing in Applebee’s.

My aunt just stared at me, then started to smile. I told her about the Star Wars fiction writing group that I am part of. I explained how we all collaborate to make a story happen. I excitedly told her our litte group of creatives needed to do the same thing! We needed to write a book collaboratively! She listened, but there was something in her eyes. She asked some questions, but I knew she was intrigued by the idea.

Our current stage of the project is being set. I created a Google group for our coordination efforts. I invited everyone. Now it’s time to move forward into character development. *rubs hands together in excited anticipation* 

Everyone can be a part a part of the project. I am going to create a blog chronicling our efforts. Each of the participants will be posting about their own experiences and processes, how well it’s going, what our thoughts are…

Only problem is.. We still need a name for it! Twitter Contest For The Win! I’m going to offer a $15 gift certificate to Amazon.com for the winner of the naming contest. I hope that will entice people to help me name our blog.

Exciting times ahead! I hope you will all join us in our journey, it won’t always be smooth, but I’m thinking it will almost be an internet writing version of reality TV! (eewww, did I really just say that?)

LISTS!!!

I went back to college at 40; the class I dreaded the most was English Composition. I discovered I am a very good writer. At one point, my teacher said I was so good at writing because I wrote about what I knew. I do write on things I’m passionate about, or tend to have a strong opinion.

I am working to be a better writer and I want to share what I write with others. My current project is working with problogger.net on their 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. You all get to … ummm, reap the benefits… or suffer the torture… you choose, of what I experiment with for the next 30 days. Yesterday was day one, I haven’t shared that with you yet!

We are being challenged to write a list. I love lists! I try to put most of my work emails and reports and others things into lists so people can read the majority of the content easily. To this end, I’m going to create a list of the things I’m currently passionate about! *wicked grins* although you could just look at my blog cloud to see the same thing.

Ready? Set? GO!

·         MMO’s – Massive Multiplayer Online game. Often it’s MMORPG, with the RPG meaning roleplaying game. I love these games. Why? Not so much for the game, but for the Multiplayer part. I LOVE PEOPLE! I’m a social person. I’ve always enjoyed playing games on computer, but add in the social aspect and I’m totally hooked. Not addictively anymore, but it’s so amazing to see people come together to achieve common goals. I build teams and the principles for real life team building absolutely applies here in MMO’s.

o   Star Wars Galaxies (past favorite)

o   Star Trek Online (looking to a near future)

o   World of Warcraft (current)

·         Family – I’m 50 now. I am not oriented on raising my boys any longer, but I am interested in their lives and watching them mature, grow, and supporting them (hopefully not financially) to become the amazing young men I know they can be.

o   Hagardly (writes music and is starting a comic series based on MMOs)

o   Da (pronounced Day. He’s a fiction writer who is incredibly intrigued with the psychology of relationships)

o   Mike (In the Army, and has a true artist’s heart. He plays instruments by ear and wants desperately to be an actor)

o   Mom (terrifically smart woman)

o   Extended (so many, and I love them all, even when they make me crazy)

·         Role Playing – This is the area that I get to still make-believe in. I get to be someone I’d not, but it’s not crazy, it’s accepted and enjoyed by me and others. Star Wars is usually my chosen universe for RP, but I’ve dabbled in Star Trek and it has a tremendous appeal for me.

·         Writing – I’m exploring my new found love of writing. I’ve written short fiction stories that have won an award. I’ve writing dozens of boring technical manuals, but now… I want to explore reaching out to others.

o   Twitter (fast, furious, fun).

o   Blogging (therapeutic)

·         Something Different – The clickable tab at the top of the page. This is my current passion right now.

·         Internet and/or Celebrities – I’ve always been a little fascinated with the entertainment world, from the days of my youth.

o   Felicia Day – She is an incredible young woman. I enjoy following her career because she’s utilized the current technology to make her dreams happen. She’s worked hard and is probably the biggest celebrity on the Internet and will be in other media soon as well if things keep going as they are. She’s a writer, actress, singer, director. Those are things I always wanted to do, and so I feel a certain kinship with her. I’m twice her age, but she’s a role model. She is a gamer girl who is loved and adored by so many people.

I’ve spent time explaining my fascination for her here, because many of the people my age have been asking why I’m so intrigued. This is why: She’s an Awesome Geek Chic!

o   Dr Horrible’s Sing-along Blog – Jos Whedon – what an amazing talent. Firefly, Dollhouse. My boys and I all have the DVD’s for Dr. Horrible. If you haven’t seen it, just stop what you are doing, and go watch it now! It’s on the Internet. DO IT! DO IT NOW!

 

… and that concludes today’s list of Zannniee’s Interests!

 

Victory!

It was only one of many battles; the war isn’t over and won’t be for awhile.

STILL.

IT.

WAS.

A.

VICTORY!

Does it really matter to anyone what my battle was or what my war is? Probably not to too many people, but what I’m learning is to win my war; one battle at a time, even if no one else cares.

What is this war I’m talking about? If you need to satisfy curiousity, click on Something Different at the top of this blog.

Some people have actually clicked on my Something Different tab at the top without any prompting. It’s the area where I’m beginning to document my battles. I’ll win some, lose some. Hopefully there will be more wins than losses and eventually the War will over and I am the victor!

I’ll continue to blog about all the other things I’m passionate about here on the main page. Things like my kids, role playing, MMOs, the celebrities that intrigue me such as Felicia Day ((you *knew* I would put that in there, didn’t you!)) I enjoy the interactions of people and the dynamics. Especially people who’ve never met each other, but still there a connection formed.

I want to write. I want to connect with people. I have more than one battle going on, but the Something Different page is for my current,most difficult War.

It’s a Brand New Day…

Yesterday was a great day. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a great day. My blog post was well received and that was heartwarming. I solved some problems at work that have gotten pushed to the wayside and that was rewarding. But I think what touched my heart the most and humbled me was an event that took someone else just a few minutes.

Those of you who read my blog and follow me on Twitter, know I’m a huge Felicia Day fan. I am fascinated with what she’s done and her entrepreneurial spirit.

((If you haven’t watched The Guild or Dr Horrible’s Sing-along blog, it’s time. Stop reading my blog and go do it now!))

 I watch the shows she’s in, find the Sears’ commercial I’d heard about, read and watch her interviews, but it’s more than that. She had a dream and wasn’t willing to let it go. She persevered and started reaching her goals. She thought outside the box and started to soar. She is an inspiration and role model to all of us.

I’m 50. I’m smart. I have a great personality. I’ve never really let myself soar.

Yesterday, I sent a message to my role model… Does it seem odd to anyone that my role model is probably more than half my age? It doesn’t to me, not when this role model is on the Internet. The Internet blurs so many things like age, race, and distance. It’s about the person and who they are. It brings people closer. So, I sent an @reply to her, letting her know I mentioned her in my blog. Sure, other posts have gushed about her much more than this one. Sure, she’s got over 227,000 followers who must send her a bazillion messages, but I did it anyway. I did it for me.

Later in the evening, no one in the house, no one online that I normally hang out with, I received an email saying I had a Direct Message… from Felicia Day.

That amazing young woman, took a few minutes of her precious time to read my blog and respond. Not just with a “thank you for mentioning me.” But with a quick, insightful few lines that let me know she’s just as incredible as I’ve perceived her to be.

So, from one Geek Chic to another, have a delightful time in your endeavors and don’t stop taking a few minutes to touch others lives.

 

Okay, time for me to go soaring now!

XOXO

Zannniee

Choices…

I'm in good company!

I’m 50!

I know that isn’t earth shattering to any of you. Still, I’m 50. I went into a funk about it months before the actual date. I did NOT want to be 50. Guess what? I didn’t have a choice.

Actually, I have many choices. I can choose what to do with the rest of my life. I decided the main choice is this:

“Start my life now, or die.”

I’m starting my life now! I feel a new motivation. A new energy. A new excitement.

I started a diet almost two weeks ago. However, for the FIRST time, it’s more of a lifestyle change than a diet. The real test came today. I actually chose to pass up Rice Krispie treats. I LOVE those, but today it wasn’t worth it.

So, now it’s time to decide who I am and what motivates me. I am not the fat woman whom people enjoy talking to and laughing with. I’m the woman who is going to be thinner and healthier, whom people enjoy talking to and laughing with.

I’m still a gamer mom. I still enjoy Dr Horrible. I’m still a HUGE Felicia Day fan.

I Tweet, I blog, I play WoW. I’m a Star Trek fan, even more than Star Wars. I roleplay, I write fiction.

I’m a geek. I enjoy the challenges of SharePoint. I like troubleshooting and giving the solutions to someone else to manage.

I love to read, I like puzzles and solving mysteries.

I am the mother to 3 amazing boys.

I think there is more to me than even these things. My life is my own. I have choices.

I’m 50!

 

((I’m pretty sure I need a 50th Anniversary Barbie now…))

WoW and Politics…

Who’da thought!?

Well, apparently Sandeep Parikh thought about it. He’s working on a project involving polling WoW players to see who their presidential choice for is. Actually, I found out about the project because I follow Felicia Day on Twitter.  I can feel another blog post about Internet celebrities just wanting to be written…

Anyway, after following the link she provided, I emailed answers to the questions and indicated that a follow-up phone call was welcome if they needed more information. Guess what?!? They called and the hilarity and fun ensued.

They were good sports. I knew going in I would probably be on the opposite political side, but that’s fine, the pollster’s questions and interaction was professional. He inquired about my WoW character (Human), her class (70 Mage) and professions (375 Enchanter/Tailor). Then asked who I was voting for. I replied and the normal questions followed, things like “Why him? What’s the most important issue in the election?” You know, the basics.

Then came the fun… “So, which WoW race and class do you view each candidate as being?! Three of them were easy:

 

McCain: Human Warrior
Palin: Troll Shaman (I do want to explain… Trolls in WoW are incredibly colorful and Shaman are hybrids, capable of many roles)
Obama: Night Elf Mage (Mages have amazing magical abilities, which seems to explain some otherwise unexplainable things, while Night  Elves are very charismatic.)

Then the Biden question. Mr Biden, I have disagreed with for years and years. I respect him as a person, but we are so far opposite on certain issues. I’m not getting into the politics here, but I did let my bias show. I picked the race I liked the least… a Dwarf. For the class, a sneaky rogue.

What I haven’t mentioned yet is that my youngest son, Da (pronounced Day) was standing there listening to the call and participating in the fun. It was at this point that he got all dramatic on me and was mortally offended (okay, not really, but he does know drama!) His WoW character is a…   Dwarf Rogue.

It was then that the pollster asked to talk to Da and got his opinions. His first question to Da was, “Do you agree or disagree with your mom?” To which Da replied, “I disagree with several things, I just can’t remember which ones now.”

So many questions asked like,  ”What would each candidate’s attributes be, what spells would I cast on them?” It was just a great time and we all laughed a lot.

When the video is released, I’ll be sure to let everyone know. Sandeep is one of the main characters in an awesome web show called The Guild, and produces a web show, The Legend of Neil, which my middle son, Hagardly, absolutely loves.

So, do WoW and politics mix? Quite possibly. Just… stay away from guild chat with it, trust me.

Nerds are cool…

There was a song a number of years back, I was Country when Country Wasn’t Cool. I’m fairly certain it was sung by Barbara Mandrell. At first I was thinking Marie Osmond, but she did “I’m a little bit county…” or something like that.

…but back to nerds. I’m thinking nerds are starting to be the cool thing! There are two outstanding pieces of evidence for this.

First, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along-Blog. If you haven’t seen this musical web series, you have to drop what you are doing and watch it now! The two male leads are gorgeous, Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion. I fell for Nathan Fillion as Malcom Reynolds in the Firefly series (yet another MUST SEE series for everyone!) But I think it is Felicia Day that captures everyone’s heart in this webisode.

In one scene, Captain Hammer (played by Fillion) sings about how his girlfriend is hot in a nerdy sort of way. (need to go see it for about the 20th time to get the quote right!) Felicia Day is amazing, and is my personal hero. I want to be like her when I grow up!

The second huge piece of evidence for nerds being cool is the television series, The Big Bang Theory. This show is hilarious. Shadowcall is heading to New York for a few days (I am so jealous!) and he’s letting me watching the series he rented from Netflix, so long as I get them in the mail in time to get his next choices back. (note to self, check out Netflix)

… ANYWAY, I was laughing so hard, my youngest son Day comes to see what’s going on, recognizes the show, heads downstairs to make popcorn. By the time he’s back, his brother Hagardly has come to investigate the hilarity and has plopped down on my bed to watch too.

Talk about quality family time! You MUST watch this show!

So, if my premise is correct… “I was Nerdy, when being a Nerd wasn’t cool!“