Blogging 101: Be a Good Neighbor

FYI, I’m going to use the Canadian spelling of neighbour from now onwards because I live in Canada, and not the United States. Besides “neighbour” just doesn’t look the same without the ‘u’.

In real life, I’d be a horrible neighbour.

So to compensate, I try to be a good neighbour here on WordPress.

Leave comments on at least four blogs that you’ve never commented on before.

Of course once I starting reading and commenting on other people’s blogs, I had a hard time stopping myself. So the task took longer than I initially intended.

Afterwards, I printed out an assignment for class. This was before I realized I royally screwed up the page numbering. So my essay is flawed. I’m flawed. My life is flawed. It all works out.

The old me would whine about how horrible my writing is. I’d say things like “I’m going to fail” or “I hate my essay” but the new me isn’t about that life. Also, people tell me I complain even though my marks are great. (Do I really do that?)

Thank you writing. Thank you reading. I owe my good grades to writers, authors, and bloggers. Shout-out to all of my wonderful neighbours.

Happy Family Day! Happy Presidents’ Day!

Happy Family Day! (If that holiday pertains to you at all.)

If not, Happy President’s Day! (If, once again, this is any concern to you.)

Or should I just say happy Monday? Unless of course, it’s not Monday where you live since different places have different time zones, which is something I learned in a class I completely despised, but now that I think about it, I guess I did learn something…as much as I hate to admit it. I shall digress no further.

I hope you are able to spend some time with your family today or tonight regardless of whether or not you have Family Day where you live. And take a moment to honour/honor the prime ministers/presidents/leaders who have done great acts for your province/state/country/nation. You know what I mean.

And if you were wondering—although you probably weren’t—I did not happen to write a poem for either of the two holidays. There’s always next year.

Have a great one!

A Call For Help (Learning All 50 States In The United States)

This Canadian writer is attempting to learn all 50 states of America and their exact locations in a mere few days. It’s actually for a class, although, this geography test might be beneficial for my personal reference for future novels.

I am so proud to be Canadian as we only have 10 provinces and 3 territories to know. At least now I can sympathize with all the American (past, present, and prospective) students in the world.

So this is my call for help: do you have any ideas or mnemonics as to how to memorize them all?

I wonder if anybody can spell and locate all 50 states correctly (without cheating, of course)? I’m sure some of you out there do! Much respect to all those who have mastered the names and places of the states for fun or out of force.

The map below is for everybody’s reference and also to refresh everyone’s memory of the states in the United States. If you click on the image, the map enlarges and the quality is much better.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far. I’ll be back tomorrow updating you on my progress and a lighthearted post on writers.

Happy Thanksgiving…Are Writers Allowed To Have A Day Off?

The simple answer to that question posed in the title of this post is no.

Do you honestly think you deserve a break from work just because everyone else does too?

Didn’t you sign a contract that explicitly told you that you’ll be working 365 days a year or 366 days in leap years?

Don’t you remember as a writer you don’t get to have the same privileges as a normal working person?

I’m kidding. If you desperately need a holiday to recharge your batteries, go ahead. If you are willing to spend this Thanksgiving plowing away at a poem, story, manuscript, etc., be my guest.

Happy Thanksgiving Day if you’re Canadian!

Happy Columbus Day if you’re American!

16 Random Facts About Me

A little bit more about me. Each fact is accompanied with a picture which explains why I had to work on this post for the past two weeks. After reading, you might conclude I am a boring, normal, and average person. If that’s the case, you are correct.

When is my life not boring, normal, or average? When I am writing.

16 Random Facts About Me

• I have natural highlights. Emphasis on natural. They don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.
• I am a huge fan of the band Simple Plan. Check out the door hanger I made during class. 
• I have read most of Christopher Pike’s books. I can’t wait to read Chain Letter and the fifth installment of Thirst which I purchased at Chapters a little while back. Also, I vow to keep them in pristine condition.
• I like being neat, organized, and keeping everything clean. A before and after of my drawer. 
• I received my very first writing related check of $25 in the mail. Don’t judge me. This happened in grade 9.
• My personal Facebook account has a display picture of me in the middle of a one handed cartwheel. Seriously. I spend as much time dancing as I do writing. OK maybe not.  
• I participated and successfully completed NaNoWriMo twice. Writing a novel in a month is challenging but worthwhile. 
• I think crossword puzzles are a great way of passing time. And this is my somewhat fail attempt at doing one.
• I used to wear braces. I still use retainers.
• My very first novel was called “Breaking Ground.” I started it in grade 8 and finished it in grade 10 after writing 73,336 words.  
• I’ve collected Ikea catalogs since 2009. When I was young, I had an obsession with interior design and real estate. I still do. 
• I want to travel across all 50 states in the United States. So far I’ve visited Boston, New York, and Chicago.
• I never leave home without my lip gloss. Although, I rarely use or put on any other type of make-up since I prefer going natural, I still love wearing lip gloss.
• I’m an emotional eater. Whenever I’m upset or depressed, I will devour anything in sight particularly, chips of any kind, any brand, and any flavour. 
• I own 5 bottles of nail polish. Only 5. I have no intentions of purchasing more.  
• I have horrendous eyesight. I wear contacts or glasses all the time.