Mood:  silly

No, I'm not a lesbian. Wanted to go ahead and clear the air, just in case. For the record, I like men, a lot. 

Now we've got that settled, I've got a new blog to share with you. Well, not a new blog, it's a little old, but new to me and hopefully, new to you—The 100 Girls, 100 Days Project by "Travis Dillinger." He explains this project as such:

"After a break up and more than a few beers, I decided to start this little project/social experiment/playing with fire.  I started this to see if I could get involved with 100 different girls in 100 days. A lot of it has to do with the things men will do to get women, but it’s more honestly about me playing the field and the numbers game that goes along with that."

If that doesn't make you want to read this blog, then I don't know what will. So, I started with Day 1 and went from there. This is what I discovered, although I don't want to give anything away—read it for yourself!

Day 1 begins November 6, 2009 at Jamba Juice. Travis is digging the girl behind the counter who always gets him a drink—"I have a thing for a damaged girl," he writes. Loves it. 

Each entry begins with the girl's stats—age, height, hair color, method, and advancement. Sounds horrible, right? Well this whole blog sounds horrible, but once you get into it, it's really not as bad as it sounds...in fact, it's great! After awhile, there are girls I can relate to, others I can't, and some I'd like to see stick around after the project. 

Day 4, Travis goes on a coffee date on a Monday! Eeck! This encounter ended in a nice kiss. How sweet.

By Day 8, I'm loving it. "The ex called me because she decided she wanted to initiate round five-thousand of the trying to make each other feel like complete shit game. I think she can bring out the worst in me sometimes, I swear she brings out the meanness, the spitefulness, and the pettiness in me.  And this was the start of my day. I clearly had no choice but to continue the day in a self destructive spiral."

Day 22 & 23 are shockers—who gets dates on the Thanksgiving holiday? Travis does. When you think about it, how DOES someone go about a dating-like encounter every single day for 100 days? It's pretty entertaining.

Day 26, he's hooking up with the recently single coworker: "She was trying to get herself drunk. I was the rebound, and the bad mistake. This was okay, because she was just number 26."

Who is loving this as much as me? Wait...what does that say about my life? Don't answer that. 

Around Day 30, I'm realizing that this dude could be anyone. Travis is obviously not his real name, it doesn't say where he lives, or works (although I'm assuming the New York region). So all the ladies out there, disgusted by this...yeah you could've been one of 100. BLAM!

My fascination from this blog is purely getting into the male mind; the same curiosity that drove me to read The Average American Male, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, etc. But there's more emotion in Travis' writing, which I enjoy. It's nice to know that guys get hurt by exes, too and there are still some out there searching for love than knocks them off their feet.  

Day 37, Travis says he's becoming disenchanted with the whole thing. Oh no! How can it be?

Although I know what happens, you might not! Will Travis find the woman of his dreams? Will he end up with his lady friend, Kara (this is what I'm hoping for). As I'm following Travis on Twitter, I see he's trying to get a book deal out of his project. 

Travis, if you're reading this, two things—good luck with the book! And...how did you keep all of these ladies straight; didn't some of them call or text you again to meet up? 

Read Travis' 100 Girls, 100 Days Project blog at http://100girls100days.com or click the link to the left if you're viewing this from my blog page. Happy reading!

Posted by wittywriter7 at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Tuesday, March 9, 2010 8:22 AM CST

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Mood:  happy

Months ago, as you may recall I was upset because the film, The September Issue was only released in the big, cool, chic cities—meaning, not Baton Rouge. Well, somehow I survived months without seeing it until it came out on DVD.

So Saturday night, I finally got to see it. The September Issue: Anna Wintour &The Making of Vogue is a documentary-type film by R.J. Cutler. The previews kept calling it the “real-life Devil Wears Prada.” In ways, it was—there was definitely the intern scrambling for coffee and every newspaper and magazine to lay on Wintour’s desk before her arrival. Which made me think one thing—I need an intern. 

I guess I should back up here; Anna Wintour is the editor of Vogue. As it was said it the documentary, Wintour doesn’t follow the fashion designers, rather they follow her. It soulds cliché, but it’s true—Prada would show her something new they designed, if she didn’t love it, they redid it. Now that’s power.

Although people who work around her say Wintour is standoffish and speaks her mind, I didn’t really get that impression. She doesn’t have a harsh look about her; in fact, she looks pretty inviting. Speaking of her look, dare I bash Wintour? I’ll never work at Vogue anyway, right? Hmm….oh, hell. I wasn’t impressed by her wardrobe. She wears Ralph Lauren boat-ready looks. Don’t get me wrong, nothing she wore was odd , weird, or ugly. I was just expecting her to be in fur coats and tall heels, and of course covered in diamonds, dah-ling.

Having said that, the entire Vogue staff shocked me with their lack of style. A few of them just wear random pieces of all-black clothes. Some look professional. But some, some were wearing jeans. JEANS?! AT VOGUE?! I know jeans are still a classic fashion staple, but so help me God, if I ever step foot into Vogue or any other Conde Nast office, I would never ever wear denim.

Several of the employees they interviewed, weren’t American. Which makes me wonder two things: 1. How American is Vogue? And, 2. Do Europeans think we are that stupid and unstylish that we can’t even work at our very own magazine?

Wintour grew up in London in the 60s—a time when women’s fashion was going through many changes. Her father was a newspaper editor and basically told Wintour she was going to be the editor of Vogue one day…odd how that works, isn’t it? Although there are no signs of love or men in Wintour’s life now, she does have a college-aged daughter who basically laughed at the thought of working at the magazine. She said something about how fashion isn’t a career or something. I’m all for making and taking your own path, but damn, you have the opportunity of a lifetime falling into your lap and you laugh in its face.

Anyway, back at Vogue, the entire documentary is the staff piecing together the September 2007 issue, which is the introduction to fall fashion, i.e. the direction of fashion for the following year. As a result, the September issue of Vogue is the thickest, and the most popular.

What surprised me the most in the film was how Vogue handles their production cycle. They schedule several different photo shoots; one for color, one for texture, one for accessories, etc. They hire models, pull the clothing, get photographers, storyboard the shoot, do the shoot, layout the prints…then Wintour walks in. If she doesn’t like  half of the prints (which is likely), the shoot must be redone. That’s $50,000 of work gone in a matter of 10 seconds. Daaaaaaamn. I understand the best is what ends up in the magazine, but it seems like a lot of money, time, and work wasted.

Two things made me happy about Vogue: 1. When Wintour edits people’s work, they still get upset and throw fits. This makes me happy to know that even at Vogue, it sucks to get edited. And 2. The office itself wasn’t chic. They still had some cubicles; there were no sleek modern desks or light fixtures. So glad to know that even in the office of cool kids, they sit at crappy desks. 

There were a few "Vogue" moments in some episodes of Sex and the City—anyone remember that show? There's one episode where Carrie tells her friend Stanford she used to buy Vogue on a Saturday night instead of dinner because she "felt it fed me more." Oh pull yourself together, Carrie! I'm not quite THAT obsessed with Wintour's creation; I'd take a pizza over an issue of Vogue any day (and what does that say about me?). However I do love magazines and I should be so lucky as to have anything to do with Vogue one day...

Except...remember when Carrie got a freelance job at Vogue for $4 per word? Yeah, I don't think even Vogue pays that much. Just sayin'.  

Posted by wittywriter7 at 8:27 AM CST

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Mood:  special

Well, it finally happened. I know all you cynics out there were just waiting for the day I had my first baking failure. Well happy, happy. joy, joy! You should’ve seen me last Saturday cursing in my kitchen over a batch of 3-layer brownies.

For me, cooking and baking is sometimes a challenge, but most of the time I enjoy getting the chance to make something new…and when it tastes good, I feel proud of myself knowing that I will never starve and I can make a 5-star dinner, even in a cave (with only a rock and a candle).

So I had my heart set on baking these raspberry cheesecake brownies for a “happy moving day” treat for a friend. Well…let me tell you…I had the recipe in my Hummingbird Bakery cookbook—a book that’s not failed me thus far. Everything I bake from there tastes great, and even looks just like the photos.

I was ready for action, with all of my ammo in check; the brownie dough, the cheesecake mixture, and the cream topping.

So I pour the brownie mix into the pan first, as it forms the bottom layer of the triple-layer dessert. Next, I poured the cheesecake. At this part, it said to put in the oven at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheesecake is firm to the touch and a light golden around the edges.

Ok, will do.

Well I had that cheesecake brownie thing in the oven for at least 45 minutes and it STILL wasn’t looking “light golden around the edges.” Well, I didn’t want to burn it, so I took it out and started the cooling process…which I then saw the recipe said “Let cool completely, then cover and refigerate for 2 hours or overnight if possible.”

Seriously? Damn. So it took around three hours for the dish to cool so I could put it in the fridge. Once there, I went to bed and was going to have to finish things in the morning.

Rise and shine! In the morning, I had to make the top layer for the brownie/cheesecake—the cream topping, basically a homemade raspberry whipped cream. It was my first time ever making my own whipped cream, so I was nervous. I mixed the cream, sugar, and raspberries until firm…and already it was not looking like the picture. The picture looked like the cream had been colored a nice magenta…mine was barely pink.

Oh well, no biggie (in reality, this bugged the hell out of me. I am big on presentation and if Hummingbird Bakery used food coloring, then they need to tell me!). So the recipe said “turn the brownies out onto a board and turn right-side up.” Okie dokie. So I flip the dish over onto a large cutting board.

Nothing happens. The dish and brownie/cheesecake was TOO COLD from being in the fridge all night that it wasn’t coming out of the damn dish. So I tried pulling on the parchment paper I had lined the dish with, still nothing. I let it sit for an hour to warm up, still nothing. So I put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. 

Pretty big mistake. Although it came out of the dish, I had to let it cool before I could put the cream topping on, or else it would melt. So there I was, waiting again.

Once cooled, I plopped the topping on. It didn’t look like the picture’s set of cute lil thriple brownies, it was a damn cake. So whatever, I got all the cream topping on and started to do the cutting.

Biggest pain in my ass! This is when the cursing started. Every time I would make a slice, I had to wipe my knife so the layers wouldn’t mix. Do that 24 times and see how you like it. So as I’m starting to cut and rinse and wipe my way to the middle of this god-forsaken dessert, I’m noticing more and more chocolate on my knife. Yeah, the flipping brownies weren’t even done in the middle! After 45 minutes of baking, the damn thing wasn’t even cooked! Argghh!!!!

I ended up dumping about half of the dessert down the drain. It tasted good, I’ll give it that, but it was too complicated and didn’t look as pretty as the picture. Don’t even THINK about baking these brownies! 

Posted by wittywriter7 at 8:43 AM CST

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Mood:  cool

Episode 10—Last week, we were left hanging, while Andrew was splattered across the cement after Ty pushed him over the balcony. So what will tonight bring?

The episode opens with a recap and the roommates are trying to piece together what happened. Ty says Andrew is fine and that he must be faking. Shockingly, the roommates are dumber than I thought, when they go ahead and pick Andrew up and take their sweet time calling an ambulance.

Ty doesn't understand what the problem is, saying he loves Andrew more than anyone. Throughout the evening, the roommates keep getting pissed because Ty keeps laughing at everyone. Probably the most hilarious part of the night is Andrew saying, "I'M TIRED! MY HEAD HURTS!"

Help arrives for Andrew, or "Panda" as the house has now named him. Cute. Josh, who my friend Angela and I dubbed "Jheri Curl Josh" (after a few sangrias), rode with Panda to the hospital.  

When Panda gets home safe, the roommates decide that Panda could've died. They want to have a "house meeting" before anything else happens. Ty is just finding out that Panda went to the hospital and he thinks it's just for drinking alcohol. Oh Ty...

At the house meeting, Ty says he should never drink again and apologizes to Panda. Callie is pissed and doesn't understand Ty. Ashley...is "disappointed." Jheri Curl says he sees 2 different sides to Josh, one sober, one drunk (don't we all have 2 sides, then?). Emily feels like Ty was mad at her, and the anger was taken out on Panda.

Out of everyone, Andrew doesn't care and thinks Ty should stay. He says it was an accident. By the end of the meeting, Ty promises to never drink again. Sure. Everyone is certain Ty understands just how serious they are.

Sooo...let me get this straight. When Irene got slapped by Steven on RW Seattle, he got sent home (and Irene actually deserved it). Buuuut, Ty pushes someone off a 10 ft balcony and all is good in the world? Yet another reason why this season of RW sucks.

Ty has some sort of interview which I didn't watch because I don't care.

Next thing you know, the housemates are at a party and, wait...what? Ty is drinking! Ha...Back at the hizzie, Jheri Curl, Panda and Ty are all sitting around talking about interventions. Panda says he had an intervention about not getting laid, Jheri Curl says he had a real intervention for drugs or being a douche. Then everyone jokes that Ty had an intervention because while he drinks just as much as everyone in the house, he's out of control because he's big and black. Emily overhears the conversation and remains annoyed with Ty.

Then we are graced with the presence of Panda's brother, William. I did get a kick out of William mistaking Wicked Liquid (we make HITS yo!) for a game of rock band. Other than that, William's visit was pretty pointless.

Then Ashley crimps her hair. Hey the 80's called...

Side note: it seems Sweet Leaf tea is sponsoring The Real World because I keep seeing bottles of it all over the hizzie. If you haven't had it, get you some—the peach tea and the mint & honey green tea are divine.

All the housemates are out at the club and Ty is drinking AGAIN...yet everyone is cool with it...whatevs.

Ty heads to "media day" at his work, which once again, is nothing I care to see.

Panda, JC, and Ty are all out for drinks, which naturally pisses off the girls. And, big shocker, Ty and Emily hash it out once they get back to the house. Panda sticks up for Ty and says Emily is overreacting. Later Emily goes into the confessional crying and Panda joins her...they discuss the issue, which we've all heard—Ty promised he wouldn't drink while at the house and he broke his promise. 

In the end, Emily concludes that Ty does everything on his own time. Isn't that great? Everything just wrapped up in a pretty little bow. Tra-la-la.

NEXT WEEK—It's Ericka time! Ericka's turn to bitch again about not getting what she wants...and then, Panda finds a girl he actually likes!

Posted by wittywriter7 at 12:27 PM CST

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Mood:  cool

The February 18 issue of Rolling Stone featured, once again, Lil Wayne. If you weren't here for my last rant about RS magazine, let me brief you. 

I have a love/hate relationship with RS when they feature people I admire on the cover. I always look forward to reading the story, but then those pretentious journalists have to write all the nasty truth about drugs and sex and then I get pissed, curl up in a ball, and eat Girl Scout thin mints by the roll (ok, so now you discovered my Saturday night plans).

The issue before Lil Wayne was my beloved John Mayer (see you in 7 days, 4th row, seat 4. Coincidence? I think not. Call me!). You see, the story was great, the cover photo was H-O-T, but then RS just haaaaad to crap all over my dreams and remind me that, indeed, John Mayer might be a douche (I date douches. Call me).

Such was the problem about the Lil Wayne cover feature. The article, "Lil Wayne Goes to Jail: up all night with hip-hop's unstoppable machine as he prepares to spend the next year behind bars," shocked me the most to find out Wayne has like 10 kids all from different baby mama. WTF, RS?! Now you try to tell me that Lil Weezy is a skeezy?! Dammit, RS, who do you expect me to date and grow old with if you keep outing the great men of the world?

Now would be a good place to mention that when RS featured the lovely and talented Amy Winehouse on the cover two years ago, I nearly cried when they said she did drugs. So maybe the problem isn't RS, it's the fact that I'm naive and forget that other people may be careless about drugs and sex and I have a judgment problem. 

If RS featured me on the cover, what would the story say? I don't have to think twice before knowing it would say men fall at my feet begging  to spend time with me. My Saturday nights are full of martinis and piano bars. My writing? Superb. Novel? Best-seller. 

Okay, really. It would say I suck at Scrabble even though I'm an editor. That I spend my money on concerts instead of traveling the world. I know lots about wine, but less about coffee. I dated more in high school, and I collect cocktail rings that my leasing agent thinks are real diamonds. 

Would RS put a little spice into my life, or would they reveal the ugly truth? Food for thought.

Back to the issue—the Weezy article talked alot about how Wayne's camp is going to make it seem like he's not in jail by releasing work he did the days before he went in, thank the good Lord. Of course, the issue of drugs and the styrofoam cup was brought up:

"When I ask about other drugs, he says, 'I smoke weed all day.' When I ask him if he's an addict, he says, 'I'm a very successful addict. And a very smart one. And a very charismatic one. And one that just won four Grammys, and one that, sold a million records in a week. One that still appears on everybody's songs, one that still sounds better than any rapper rapping. One that has four kids and is the greatest father ever to the kids,' He laughs. 'What am I addicted to, being great?'"

When I ask you, Chris Norris, writer, didn't j-school ever teach you not to put yourself in a story that clearly isn't about you? And never to put things like, "when asked about..."?

Even I know better than that. However, after reading tens and twenties of RS articles, it seems they just love for their writers to do so.

Dear RS, please see my resume at www.wittywriter7.com/ As you will find, I've years of writing experience behind me. While I would love to write for your publication, I will not, under any circumstances, put myself in a story that isn't headlined "Holly-lujah: Latest Pulitzer Prize winner reveals all." 

Posted by wittywriter7 at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 8:30 AM CST

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Mood:  caffeinated

Well, I’m going to go ahead and say what every woman in America was thinking last night: Jake The Bachelor, is Jake the Asshole. The final episode of The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love, was more than just a Texan choosing between a Disney princess and Floridian white trash. It was a battle between good and evil, the woman you want to be vs. the girl at the frat party getting a…well, you know.

I hope you didn’t put me above watching The Bachelor, because I used to be super addicted—as in having to sit in front of the TV with no other distractions during each episode. I’ve cooled my jets since then, but I’m still interested.

But after last night’s episode, I wonder why? Why am I still interested in seeing something that is either fabricated, or really annoying as it displays the inner workings of a man who is portrayed to be perfect, but ends up picking the slutbag.

The answer is simple: I’m a masochist. 

When we met Jake, we were all feeling sorry for him after the last Bachelorette, Julian, sent him packing and is now marrying someone else. Poor Jake, all he wants is a wife! He was perfect—a pilot, a Texan, good-looking, sharp, and even a little bit funny.

The drama this season was worth my Monday evenings; there was no shortage of crazies among this bunch o’ bitches! There was the blonde who showed up with a basket of gifts for all the girls that got kicked off (including her). Then we had the brunette who told Jake never to kiss her until she would be the last girl he would ever kiss…and then she kept saying, “sooooo you wanna kiss me, right?!” And buh bye. And then there was the Tennessee mom, who brought her son to meet Jake, only to get sent home soon afterward. And, we will never forget Roselyn, the whore who slept with the producer after she told Jake she was “here for him,” and was sent packing.

It was getting down to the nitty gritty when we had Tenley, Allie, Vienna, and Gia remaining. But then, Allie left to go back to her awesome work. Who trades work for love? Allie the Idiot does. Gia was the next to go—probably the most attractive gal of the bunch, but it was no shocker she was asked to leave.

When I began watching this season of The Bachelor, the morning radio show I listen to hosted a guy named Reality Steve who claimed he had an insider at The Bachelor. From there, he rattled off each woman and who would leave during each episode. He also claimed Vienna would be the one left at the end. Naturally, I didn’t believe him. I hoped Jake would chose Tenley, the sweet caring woman we’d loved from day one. So I continued to watch, even though all of Steve’s predictions came true. 

Tenley is so optimistic it’s probably annoying in real life. But on the show, she opens up about being married once before, to the only man she’d ever been with. He cheated on her, they divorced, and now she was out to find love again.

Vienna, on the other hand, was the youngest of the bunch. She is also a little on the hefty side, needed her roots done, was loud, and admitted to being a daddy’s girl (read: he bought her lots of cars and jewelry). All of the girls distanced themselves from Vienna and couldn’t understand her and Jake’s chemistry.

But Jake The Asshole kept saying it was physical. To me that means Tenley didn’t sleep with him in the fantasy sweet or she didn’t try some wack-a-do freaky shit like Vienna. So when Jake sent Tenley away without a ring, it was a slap in the face to all of us women who have a little grace, a little dignity, and great hair.

The crazier part about last night’s episode, was Tenley’s reaction to Jake dumping her. She was thankful for having been shown love again. Wow. I’m going to try that line once I get dumped again, I mean girl, who is writing your script? During the “After the Final Rose” segment, Jake told Tenley they could be “life friends.” What in the hell is that, Jake the Asshole? No one wants a “life friend,” it’s called a husband here in America proper. Tenley didn’t go on national television to make a friend, she came for love and you ripped her heart out on the wings of love. I simply said that so you all would have that song in your head all day.

So Jake, I hope Vienna gives you a mean case of the clap. Have a safe flight, jerk. Oh and as for your upcoming stint on Dancing With the Stars, I hope you trip. 

Posted by wittywriter7 at 8:20 AM CST

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Mood:  a-ok

I am on the ball when it comes to keeping up with all things bloggerish. Just last week, I discovered "Stuff Journalists Like," a very similar, although not authored by, the hilarious "Stuff White People Like."

Stuff Journalists Like is edited by two journalists—Chris and David. The blog is a random list of, you guessed it, things journalists like...and it's pretty funny, probably because it's pretty true.

Although I consider myself a writer, not a journalist, I do many of the same tasks as journalists do...I just make more money doing them (insert evil laugh here). Regardless, I've never dreamed of being a journalist, but don't be surprised if I'm knocking down the newspaper room door in 5 months.

Here are a few things Chris and David say journalists like—

#5 The Good Old Days: "For most journalists, the best days are behind them." I work with many people who used to be journalists/reporters (ahem, for their college papers). And hey, I did it too. It was a great time in my life (ah, the good old days...), but there comes a time when reliving those days gets really old. Trust me, the water cooler is tired of hearing about it. 

#9 Coffee: "It's the Gatorade for journalists." Now THERE'S a true statement if I ever heard one. As the blog says, even the mere mention of coffee gets me excited. Although I drink my coffee black, and enjoy about six cups a morning, I don't think it will ever cure my chronic fatigue. 

#12 Inverted Pyramids: "Inverted pyramids are part of a journalist's life as much as budget meetings, deadlines and alcohol-induced romantic encounters." Although I learned about the lovely inverted pyramid in high school (as a pub rat), I have since abandoned that awful creative-sucking formula. However, I understand and appreciate its logic.

#14 Bylines: "After all of it, journalists are left with only their cherished bylines." I LOVE BYLINES. I write and type and interview and scribble away all to get that byline. I cannot explain to you how excited I get when a byline is mine. And if you get a byline AND a photo, well you've hit the (figurative) jackpot. 

#48 Desk Dining: "In a world of tightening deadlines, decreased staffing and increased workloads, lunch in the formal sense, doesn't really exist for journalists." So, so true. I eat lunch at my desk everyday and I really feel bad for anyone that steps into my office after lunch because chances are, my leftovers are still sitting on my sloppy desk. That's just how lazy I am.

#64 College Newspapers: "It's at their college newspapers where journalists first learn to ignore friends, responsibilities and hygiene to meet deadline." This just goes back to those good old days...except I don't remember not showering. 

#99 Year-in-Reviews: "Journalists have their own end of the year ritual and this is compiling year in review stories and segments." I'm not one to love putting together year-in-review pieces, but I sure as hell love reading them. Hey, sometimes you just forget all the crazy things that happened in a year!

If you thought these were funny, be sure to check out the entire blog (I posted a link to the left). Since I'm in the business of sending out pitches, I think I should send Chris and David a few ideas...(#702 Sending Pitches). 

Posted by wittywriter7 at 9:42 AM CST

Updated: Monday, March 1, 2010 9:43 AM CST

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Mood:  rushed

It's been a little while since I filled you in on my writing world. I started off 2010 with a promise to write more, and that I have done. I'm still keeping up with this blog, writing for my job, doing lots of freelance, and still trying to get grips on my memoir. 

But I have a confession to make—my memoir isn't where I wish I was. And that, my friends, has a simple explanation. I have put myself on the back burner. Well, kind of.

I have heard that writing is like prostitution—first, you do it for love, then, you do it for friends, but in end, it's just for money. Right now, amidst a severe budget crisis, I am doing it for the money. And writing a memoir isn't making me money. I have been putting work first, writing as much as I can, to not only prove my worth, but to fill my portfolio in case I find myself looking for work soon. I have nearly drowned in my freelance assignments—in April, I will have two stories in House & Home Magazine, instead of my usual one. And I will also begin work at another local magazine; my assignment is to be determined.

Between all that, I've been making pitches to other publications, trying to make an extra dollar (Dear The Frisky, please hear my cry). Of course, I love writing. This is not a chance for me to complain, but simply fill you in on what I actually do—you know I read, cook, bake, drink heavily, and watch television. But I spend a majority of my life writing.

Lately, it's been hard for me to find things to even blog about because my life has dwindled to simple survival—making money, then putting it into savings. Nights out are very rare (maybe once a month), nights in are nearly pathetic. I don't know what many of you like to read in my blog (I get lots of notes about the Real World recaps), but sometimes I've got to do the housecleaning and impress the outsiders—so I write about writing.

So today, I wanted to take some time to look back on some features I've written for LSU this year, mainly because in only two months, I've met some amazing students.

My first story of 2010 fell into my lap when a colleague sent me an e-mail about a student, Vashti. Vashti gave birth to her son during her senior year of high school. Having to work to take care of him, she never thought of going to college, so she graduated from high school and went straight into the work force. Her parents pushed her to seek higher education, so she enrolled in the community college. There, she succeeded in her first semester before she found out more information about transferring to LSU. Of course, she was accepted and landed herself a spot in a service-learning course. As part of the class, Vashti was required to visit a local elementary school each week and spend time reading with a student. Her experience was so enlightening, she enrolled in another class with a service-learning component. This time, she worked with women living in a battered women's shelter. Now, Vashti's son is 5 years old. She is a senior, set to graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She is looking to get her master's from LSU afterward.

When I heard Vashti's story, I was touched. Here was a woman raising a child, going to school, working, dating, AND doing community service. Wow! On paper, she's outstanding. In real life, what a breath of fresh air. Vashti arrived at our offices for a photo shoot on one of the coldest days of the year, and stood outside for the pictures we needed. She is one of the most cheerful, optimistic people I've met in a long time.

When her story when live on the Web site, we got many e-malis from her friends saying what a delight she is. Even people who didn't know her wrote in to say how emotional the story was. But when her story began to fade from the Web site, I found out something more telling—a week after we met, Vashti's house burned to ashes. Nothing was spared, except for her and her son's lives.

I ran into Vashti days later. If I hadn't heard about the fire, I sure wouldn't have known about it then. She was still the same girl, as happy as could be. I expressed my condolences and she merely said, "well, at least no one was hurt."

After Vashti's story, I wrote on Academic Programs Abroad's Study Abroad Fair; students get a chance to meet professors and find out information about studying overseas. Next, I interviewed and wrote about LSU alumnus and Emmy-award winning director Robert Zimmerman as he mentored LSU students for their Forever LSU Campaign videos. I then wrote a feature on something many in the LSU community didn't know about—the LSU Fishing team. 

Monday, another one of my stories will go live.  That would be the story of Sgt. Brad McKee and his Disposable Heroes Project. McKee graduated high school and wanted to go to college like everyone else. But once he got into the classroom, he felt he wasn't serving his country the way many other men and women were in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, without consulting anyone, McKee signed up for the Marines. Since then, he's served in Iraq twice as a sniper. When he left Iraq the second time, he told himself if he got back to the states he would make a promise to continue to serve those who've served him. Shortly after his return, he enrolled in classes at LSU. He then saw a news story on a man who'd injured his legs from an IED—yet this man had just run 100 miles in one day, raising money for wounded soldiers. The light bulb burned bright, McKee would run a 100-mile ultramarathon to raise money for wounded warriors and their families. 

So in April, McKee will host the marathon. He has invited anyone who has served to run with him. The ironic part is...McKee told me he hasn't run more than 10 consecutive miles in his life. He said he doesn't care if he's walking, limping, or crawling, he will always be moving forward to finish the race.

Talk about motivation, right? It's one of the more incredible stories I've heard and really felt the pressure to make it as great written as it is to hear. Makes me feel kind of wrong for that prostitution comment I said earlier. Eh, well, here's to writing more great stories this year, well for love, or just for the money.  

Posted by wittywriter7 at 2:09 PM CST

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Mood:  crushed out

Episode 9—Finally! It’s the episode we’ve all been waiting for…okay, so maybe just me. But the previews fur reals promised that clip we’ve been seeing all season (not nearly exciting as the Snooki knockout, but you get the picture).

During the lil recap in the beginning of the episode it “reminds” me that last week Josh hooked up with yet another woman who was not his girlfriend. Did that happen? Because I thought that was supposed to happen in this week’s show?? Eh, who knows. Frankly, who cares. We all know this show gets so boring sometimes they all just run together anyhow.

So Andrew is out at the club and meets a dumb girl (his words, not mine) and they take things back to da hizzie. Things are getting pretty hot n’ heavy, Andrew says something about an e-mail, dumb gal laughs, and then leaves.

Things get moral again when Josh and Ash are outside talking about cheating. Ashley says she’s never cheated and blah, blah, blah. While Josh declares “it’s crazy being together.” Right. Well, naturally Josh takes his mo-money-mo-problems to da studio and spits some rhymes, because he is Josh and that’s just what he does. Until…he calls his mom, who is worried about something that I wasn’t listening to.

Back at the club, Andrew is capitalizing on his swag (his words, not mine). For reals, all the girlies are lining up to make out with the Real World guys. So Andrew brings back ditsy girl number 2 to da hizzie…and so does Josh. Apparently Josh’s chica calls Emily stupid and everyone just erupts. Ashley is all “these guys here just don’t act like men.”

This spurs a massive and weird fight between Ty and Em. Ty is defending Josh and his girl, so he’s trying to keep Emily away from ruining Josh’s hookup. Ty ends up pushing Emily, so of course Ahsley steps in and gets on her psychological soapbox and is sure that “someone is going to get hurt.”

In the morning, Josh’s girlfriend calls and asks if he was kissing anyone. He says no, that he was good, and that he can’t wait to see her. Ew, God I hate hate hate guys! He tells her he loves her and then gets back in the bed with the random girl. Ugh.

m///? (introducing my cat Orange Julius!). Emily is on her way to an interview at Kid Power…while back at the house Callie and Ericka are discussing last night’s fight with Ty, who refuses to apologize to Emily, buuuut then he does.

So Andrew takes one of the girls he’s slept with on a date, in order to maybe sleep with her again. The date is probably one of the most boring things I’ve ever witnessed in my life.

Callie and Ashley hound Josh about his relationship and the one night stand, but he says he knows he has a choice to make. So here comes his girlfriend. Then there’s all kinds of gross mushy scenes between them and it totally makes me sick that Josh is such a piece of shit.

The next 30 minutes are filled with scenes I am choosing not to recap. Josh has no respect for women and I refuse to celebrate that type of behavior. I know I asked for drama, but I never said I wanted to remember why so many men are scumbags.

Later, Callie’s brother comes to visit, which doesn’t really have a point. Later Ty is drunk and I’m prreettty sure this is leading up to that EVENT I mentioned earlier. Everyone is back at da hizzie, drunk, but Ty wants to talk to Emily. She doesn’t want to talk and things head out to the porch. 

Ty is wasted. Andrew comes onto the porch and wants pizza. I don’t know the exact order of events but Andrew ends up on the stairs and Ty pushes him over the ledge.

TO BE CONTINUED…!!! Argh! 

Posted by wittywriter7 at 8:24 AM CST

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Mood:  mischievious

Remember last week when I was telling you about my favorite fabulous blog, The Frisky? Well, if you haven't checked it out, do so. What amazes me the most about it, is the variety of available topics to choose from. 

So in the last week of doing research (on getting the Frisky), I came across a great weekly column—365 Days in Paris written by Leonora "Leo" Epstein. It's literally that, the blogger dropped everything in her life in New York City and moved to Paris, beginning last August. Each week is a 500-word or so account of her wonderful life in Pair-eeeee.

Oh la la! C'est tres bien! Last week's blog on Valentine's Day caught my eye (Leo declares February 14 as the one day it's acceptable to get drunk alone and spends an evening in with her girlfriend, but later drunk IMs her ex—AMEN!). After loving that post, I promptly went back to blog #1 (when Leo announces she is moving to Paris for a year) and caught up on every one since then.

So Leo leaves NYC at the end of August and arrives in Paris knowing only a handful of people, yet manages to snag a studio apartment overlooking the Seine (tres fantastique!). Having participated in plenty of online dating in NYC, Leo sets up a date with an older man she names "Mr. Cupid." By date no. 3 they are back at Cupid's place drinking champagne and eating Italian chocolates (sigh, my dream!). However, Leo is worried things are moving too fast with him and sets up another date with a man who turns out to be Mr. Married Guy.

See, isn't it great?!

By date no. 4, Cupid is cooking dinner for Leo, at her place, listening to the delightful sounds of Sinatra...seeeeeriousllyyy girl! I don't know if my boyfriend reads my blog, but if he does, he's probably hating Leo right now. How hot would it be to have a meal prepped for you, in your Paris apartment, overlooking the Seine!? Ugh, where is my striped boat neck shirt with red scarf when I need it?

I'll leave it a mystery as to what happens between Leo and Cupid—you'll have to see it for yourself at www.thefrisky.com

Regardless, this blog makes me dream about the city of love more than ever—and it makes me want to sit in a bed of down that overlooks Le Tower D'Eiffel while smoking a cigarette out of one of those tree-branch-like holders. Sexy, I know right? Since I don't have a view of anything but dead grass outside my stupid apartment, I'm going to paste a poster over my window and tape Christmas lights on it. Then I'm going to le pour moi a le fluke of champagne and le nosh on a wheel of le brie. 

Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading Leo's next six months in Paris, no matter what happens. In the meantime, I sent my first article pitch to The Frisky yesterday, so cross your fingers. 

Posted by wittywriter7 at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 8:19 AM CST

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