Monday, September 3, 2007

Please Allow Me to Introduce My 3’s



I’ve been tagged again! This time, I even dropped my snow cone. Joanne from The Laidback Buddhist owes me a new snow cone. It isn’t nice to just tag people while they are relaxing in the park.

(Just kidding. Joanne is awesome.)

Here are my 3’s. As you can see, the third thing that scares me is a bit irrational. I purposely chose my sleeping position based on this fear.

(They’ll take Rob. Yeah. I’ll be safe.)

3 things that scare me:

  1. The knowledge that my mother will die one day
  2. Seeing that another woman has vanished here in the TriState (I want to find them all)
  3. Aliens (from other planets)

3 people who make me laugh:

  1. Rob (my boyfriend)
  2. Rolando
  3. Joanne

3 things I love:

  1. Writing
  2. College
  3. My cat that passed away when I was seven years old

3 things I hate:

  1. Sexism
  2. Abusive men and women
  3. Seeing my friends get hurt

3 things I don’t understand:

  1. Sexism
  2. Most math
  3. People that drive like maniacs

3 things on my desk:

  1. My laptop computer
  2. A mouse pad
  3. A mouse

(I don’t have a desk because I can’t afford one. I actually use an antique sewing table. It is only big enough for me to put my computer and mouse on. My printer actually sits on a kitchen chair that is positioned next to the sewing table.)

3 things I’m doing right now:

  1. Realizing that I have amazing friends in the Blogosphere
  2. Thinking about how a soda would be great at the moment
  3. Procrastinating the fact that I need to fix a spelling error on my blog (I’ll get to it later)

3 things I want to do before I die:

  1. Become a professor
  2. Become a published writer (I’m often too scared to try)
  3. Learn to love myself

3 things I can do:

  1. Write
  2. Teach
  3. Blog until daybreak

3 things I can’t do:

  1. Honestly tell myself I’m beautiful
  2. Keep my car clean
  3. Give up

3 things I think you should listen to:

  1. Your gut
  2. The sound of crickets
  3. All people (But, don’t believe everything you hear.)

3 things you should never listen to:

(I can’t tell anyone not to listen. It goes against everything I believe. Listen to everything. Choose what you believe in.)

3 shows I watched as a kid:

  1. The X-Files
  2. Xena: Warrior Princess
  3. Reading Rainbow

I should tag people now, but I know that most of my friends are busy. I’ll hold off for a few days. That way everyone can make their deadlines.


By the way, I’ve had some people message me to explain that they are upset because they can’t leave comments on Into the Inkpot. This is due to the fact that I make all visitors have a Blogger ID if they wish to post. I’ve always enforced this rule because I like to visit the blogs of my visitors, I want people to stand by their comments, and I don’t want this blog to be flooded with rude, ignorant “anonymous” messages. I couldn’t bear to see my friends being harassed.

With that said, I am opening comments up to everyone. You no longer need a Blogger ID. If this goes well, I will leave the feature. If my friends are harassed, I will return to previous methods.

I welcome the following visitors: Petercrys, Lisa C, and Staci Rose! I hope you all decide to stay. I am excited to know all of you.

33 comments:

Staci Rose said...

I love this entry. It really does show how we are each living contradictions while still embodying our own uniqueness.

You're a doll - I love coming here. :)

mikkers said...

Hi!

I traveled over from Joanne's blog and found your wonderful writing, so don't be alarmed..I'm not a stalker!

And you know what? I don't understand math either. :).

Unknown said...

I feel you with the math part...at least you can write though; it's the other best extreme.

Rolando said...

Good thing you're not here right now. You wouldn't want to see a grown man cry - '(I don’t have a desk because I can’t afford one. I actually use an antique sewing table. It is only big enough for me to put my computer and mouse on. My printer actually sits on a kitchen chair that is positioned next to the sewing table.)'

Where can I find Erina's college fund account.

Rob is a lucky man because he knows, as well as we do, that you ARE beautiful inside and out. I'm sure the aliens would agree.

The aliens would first examine your beautiful brain, then steal your second snow cone from Joanne.

So long as we are friends I will always remind you of that.

Rolando

mikkers said...

you know, i didnt want to like Britney Spear's new song...I wanted to hate it. i wanted to say "hah! that's what you get for flashing your hoo-ha everywhere and dropping your baby!" I wanted to be victorious in the fact that she has been so messed up lately that she will finally realize "oh my god...my new song sucks...wait...what have i been doing lately? Maybe this is a sign!"

but...I am so ashamed! the song is pretty catchy! and everyone who I have forced to listen to it has grumpily liked it too! It's like...some sort of addiction. Maybe she put in some sort of perusasionistic brainwave in her sonb. Because, even though I cannot connect her with being hot after seeing scenes of her beat the paparazzi with an umbrella shaving her head...i want that single.

jon said...

Loved your 3s. Made my way over from Joanne's.

Sunshine said...

I am also afraid of Aliens. I call them ET to makes it a little bit less scary. And knowing that my mom and my grandmother will die one day freaks me out. Very nice blog. I like it.

Lisa R Charles said...

Blogging until daybreak is one of my weaknesses. I keep telling myself to go to bed already! :)

I came over to thank you for stopping by and taking a guess at my age. I will post the answer on Saturday.

My hubby was tagged also and is planning on tagging me. I'm going to have fun with this. I'll let you know when my 3's are posted!

NIHAL said...

Hi Erina,

Looks like we have something in common : maths and aliens !!! Yikes, the thought of these two, simply gives me the shivers :)

Anonymous said...

Cool Blog..

Will be back !

Anonymous said...

3 things I don't want to be, otherwise Erina will hate me :
1) Abusive man
2) Person who drive like a maniac
3) Alien
:-)

Suzie said...

luv your 3's... i'm afraid of aliens too and being re-incarnated into some one I don't like.

Erina Hart said...

Sorry that I am taking so long to respond! I’m going to post a response to all of your messages today. I see there are some new people. I’ll be checking out your blogs soon!

Thanks everyone!

(If you posted on "Make Me a Sandwich" or "Please Allow Me to Introduce my 3's", I have replied to your message. Great talking with all of you!)

Erina Hart said...

Staci Rose, I think everyone embodies contradictions. We are all but a shadow of the imagined flesh.

Thank you for coming back. I am happy to see you again. I hope you received the message I left on your blog.

Mikkers, welcome to Into the Inkpot! Any friend of Joanne’s is alright with me. I figure that since she is awesome, you must be awesome by default. Am I correct in my assumption?

Math is a trial. I was thrilled to find out that I only had to take one math class in college. Plus, my professor was amazing (he made math fun).

I did not like Brittany Spears’ new song. However, I am guilty of having both “Toxic” and “Stronger” on my iPod. I guess there is no escaping her. She is bound to take over all that is living.

What a horrifying world that would be.

Erina Hart said...

Christina, it seems that many of us are bonded in our dislike for math! We should start a club. We’ll need a president, a vice president, a secretary, a treas—

…oh my! A treasurer would be our downfall. We’re not ones for numbers :)

Rolando, my “desk” isn’t that bad. It has a couple little sewing drawers that I can keep pens, tape, and glue in. I’m happy with it. I just keep telling myself that one day I’ll have a career, and therefore, I’ll have a polished-wood desk.

Oh, the things I dream about on sleepless nights!

Those aliens better stay away from my second snow cone! And Joanne! I can’t lose either to a bunch of scary aliens!

I think I’ll sleep with the light on tonight. They’re afraid of light, right?

[wishful thinking]

Jon, welcome to Into the Inkpot! I am so pleased to make your acquaintance. I invite you to come back any time you wish :)

Erina Hart said...

Sunshine, I am pleased to meet you. I guess in the event of an alien invasion we should both just hide under a table. Hopefully, ET can’t get us under our canopy of pressed wood.

Knowing our loved ones will die is terrifying, especially those loved ones that were mentors to us. It is odd to think that I fear their death more than my own. I have already accepted the fact I will face the Reaper. I haven’t quite acknowledged that my mother will too.

I hope to see you again!

Lisa C, so we are both blogoholics, huh? How else could we describe our readiness to lose sleep over a blog?

I quite enjoy my sleepless nights.

I will be sure to come back and check your age. You look so young. I will be amazed if you are a day over twenty-four.

Please, do tell me when your 3’s are posted. I would love to visit your blog and post a comment :)

Erina Hart said...

Nihal, you may also need to join us—under tables— when the aliens attack (see the above comment to Sunshine). We’ll all just gang up on those aliens…

…or we’ll run like cowards.

(The latter might keep us alive. If it means going up against aliens, I can live with being a coward.)

Keeyit, welcome! I’m glad you came by. Do come back. I’d like to know more about you.

Zunnur, you have hit the target! Those three things bother me so much I could scream.

(I promise I would scream if aliens were attacking. All of those UFO and alien abduction documentaries give me the heebie-jeebies.)

Suzie, being reincarnated as a person you don’t like would be awful! Talk about contemplating the meaning of life! Sheesh!

Joanne said...

Your 3's are awesome, I share many similar ones (i.e. that mothers don't live forever, only forever in hearts). Oh, I forgot I used to watch Xena: warrior princess, too!

Oi, I'm so slow at this tagging thing (you tagged me before me AND completed your tag before me as well)...it's like I'm perpetually It, lols! =)

Erina Hart said...

Jon, do you have a blog? I tried to find it, but had no luck.

Thanks!

Erina Hart said...

Joanne, I miss Xena: Warrior Princess. My dad and I would watch the USA Network rerun every day, and we would always watch the new episode each weekend. I was pretty upset when Kevin Smith died. He was the actor that played Ares.

Don’t worry about your tags being slow. You have a lot of great material on your blog. That means you have big ideas. It is important to get those big ideas out. You can play games with us whenever you please :)

Trix said...

LoveD reading all about you here.Those tag thingies have a way of opening us up to our friends, a little more with each tag.I also wont abide any abusive males in my life.Another thing I can relate to is having no desk for my pc, lolz, for a long time I used to sit with my laptop on my knees, cuddled up in bed, surfin the net ! Pity I wasnt a blogger back then, would have been a great way to blog! Now I have a desktop pc, so he needs a big desk ! :) Oh, and I have to say, if you cannot tell yourself that you are beautiful, let me do it for ya !! 'You are beautiful, Erina'....there, I said it, your lovely photo made me do it..!!
have a great day, Lady Erina .. :)

Anonymous said...

I agree, we should listen to crickets once in a while. And math used to make me cry. But now I try to keep an open mind when i see those boggling numbers :):)

Erina Hart said...

Thira, crickets are melodious.

Numbers can be your friends…sometimes :)

Thanks for the visit! I hope I see you again soon!

Rolando said...

Actually your sewing desk is better than mine. I don't even have drawers.

I usually work with my laptop on the kitchen table. I have no excuse and I am a career. :)

Just a reminder, you are beautiful. There, I said it again.

Erina Hart said...

Jesse, yes the tags do unite us well. I enjoy reading all of the different answers.

I’m glad you don’t allow abusive men into your life. You are such a beautiful person. I would hate for that beauty to be compromised.

I am cuddled up on the couch, and my laptop is sitting on my lap in this very moment. It is a great setup! You are right!

As for the beautiful part, thank you. I would be lying if I told you I believed you. I don’t lie to my friends, so I’ll just say that I hear your words. They mean a lot to me. I will try to accept them :)

It is great having you as a friend, Jesse!

Erina Hart said...

Rolando, you have no drawers? That is not good.

The kitchen table would work. I would try that. You probably need a desk with drawers, though. Plenty of places for all of your stalking equipment ;)

And, thanks for that last part.

Rolando said...

No drawers. We use creative filing, meaning where ever you see carpet, is where stuff is filed j/k

The stalking equipment goes in my 'special' hiding place. Maybe I'll write about it, hahaha.

My pleasure on the last part.

Anonymous said...

You're not a published writer yet? I became a published writer shortly after high school. If I can do it, you most certainly can too!

Probably the most difficult part is finding the right market for your work.

Erina Hart said...

Rolando, creative filing is always fun. I call mine “organized chaos.” I know where it all is. Nothing else matters :)

You keep the stalking stuff in your sock drawer. Isn’t that right? I bet that is where it is. Every time a man tries to hide something he seems to either put it in the sock drawer or under the bed.

Erina Hart said...

dcr, thank you for your words. It isn’t that I don’t wish to become a published writer. I just feel I am never equipped to do so. I have been looking into different markets. There are just so many aspects to the publishing world. At times, it can seem a bit overwhelming.

I did send out publishing packets a month ago. They were comprised of poetry. Hopefully, one of my works will be accepted. If not, I will still be happy. Many writers face a pummeling of rejection letters before their work is published. I will consider it a great achievement to receive my first rejection notice.

If you have any tips about the publishing world, please share. I am always open to new ideas.

Anonymous said...

Just keep trying. That's the best advice.

Be careful of writers' groups. Some are there just to stroke their own egos or put others down. Online or offline. And some seem more interested in discouraging people than in helping them.

Don't trust the critiques offered by friends, or anyone who owes you money or who you owe money. The responses may be biased.

Some people will advise you to start at the top (the best publications, websites, etc.) and work your way down if/as you get rejected. Others advise you to start with easy markets and work your way up. The best thing to do is find a market that publishes stuff like you write and target them.

Be careful of markets that offer no payment, just a byline for "exposure." Some are just looking for free content.

Be ware of critics, even if they are published writers. Many seem to thrive more on patting each others' backs and writing stuff only their own elite little group actually enjoys, and put down writers that write stuff for real audiences and not just elitist writing communities.

Rejection should be the least of your concerns.

Erina Hart said...

dcr, thank you for offering so much advice.

I have not approached any writers’ groups. You are not the first one to tell me to be wary. I am not interested in stroking my own ego. Therefore, I would hope that I am equipped with the proper knowledge to avoid such groups.

I will be sure not to fully trust the critiques of friends and families. I understand that they may not see my art for what it truly is (whether it be ill-conceived art or well created).

In regards to starting either from the top or bottom, I have heard both claims. You are correct in stating that there is a difference of opinion.

I know that poetry journals do not offer payment usually. Instead, they often offer you two copies of the edition that your work is printed in. I don’t know if that is quite the same as the markets you are speaking of. Is it?

I have not yet tried to publish any of my short stories or articles.

Everyone tells me to ignore critics. I suppose writers really do hate them!

Rejection didn’t hurt at all. I just received my first rejection in the mail yesterday. It didn’t even leave a bruise.

Once again, thank you for your advice. I do appreciate your words.

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes, I forgot about contributor's copies! I was thinking mainly of websites that offer you "exposure" instead of payment. Contributor's copies are okay, especially for poetry and small markets where there may not be a lot of profit for the publisher.

Be wary of ones that only offer "exposure" or even want you to buy copies of the book your work appears in. (If they give you a contributor's copy, but tell you that you may purchase additional copies, that's not necessarily bad. Just be careful of the ones where you'll only be published if you buy a copy of the book.)

As for websites, it is kind of difficult to give you a contributor's copy. ;-) Just be careful there.

My first "published" poem was one where you bought a copy of the book. I don't remember if buying the book was required or not, but I bought a copy. I don't regret it. I was in high school at the time, and it wasn't expensive. Not something you want to do on a regular basis though!

And, I don't count that among my published works when I've sent out cover letters or query letters.

Use www.ralan.com to check for markets and find out free and paying markets, as well as some idea as to the potential quality and reliability of a market.