Adventures of Awkward Situations and Spilling Coffee on Myself

It's the start of a new year, and I've been thinking a lot...about myself. Yeah, that sounds really conceited, but not in the way you would think. I've been thinking about things I do, all of my little quirks, and the awkward situations I seem to inevitably find myself in. I've made a few notes on the things I've noticed about myself lately, and devised a list. This will probably be a very nonsensical blog post filled with aimless rambling, so fasten your seatbelt.

1. Coffee Spillage

Okay, this is a relatively new observation. I've noticed lately that I can't take a sip of my coffee without a little splash or two landing on my handmade crocheted circle scarves I wear practically on a daily basis. That first sip...aaaaaaaand drip, drip. I look down and wipe off the aforementioned coffee splash with my hand, looking somewhat like a slob, and then go about my business on my laptop. I don't know why this annoys me so much, and I'm beginning to think there's a hole in my lip that I'm not yet aware of.

2. The Awkward Laugh of Doom

Ever talked to a guy who you're attracted to, you say something (that you think) is funny, and you follow it with a laugh that comes out cringe-worthy? And then you think, oh God, that sounded reeeeally bad. This may not be as big of a deal as I make it out to be, but I always end up letting out a laugh that just comes out as a strange noise that could never be replicated again.

3. Sorry I Can't Dance, I'm Allergic 

This actually works as a comic relief to a potentially awkward situation. I went out with my best friend the other night, and she was dancing with a guy she's currently dating, while I was leaning against a wall and being a spectator. I just don't really like to dance, unless it's with a group of people, in which I'm okay with that. However, I don't like dancing one-on-one with someone. Maybe it's just me, but I start laughing if a guy comes up and tries to dance with me. I'm still not sure why, to this day. Nerves, perhaps? I tend to laugh and giggle when I'm nervous. But, moving on, a guy asked to dance the other night, and I told him I was allergic to dancing. He laughed, and we started chatting for a little bit, so this handy excuse can be good for a conversation-starter, or he'll just walk away in a trail of confusion.

4. Weirdness Acceptability

I was always a weird kid, finding it fun to read the dictionary and try to take polaroid pictures of myself sneezing when I was home alone and bored. At twenty-five, I'm still weird, just in different ways. I think the hardest thing I've had to do is teach myself not to be hurt by what others think. It's much easier said than done. It really is important to be yourself, and not try to be what others want or expect you to be.

On a random, conclusive note, my new current obsession is painting every one of my nails a different color.

White Christmas

For Christmas Eve, my family and I went up to Sequoia National Forest to hopefully see some snow. I was definitely in for a surprise, to say the least! I'd never actually been in snow before (yes, kind of shocking, I know). So here's a few snapshots from yesterday afternoon.

Icicles! I've never seen them in person before, so I was quite amazed by this. 

Had to take a picture holding a huge snowball, of course. 

Me standing next to a gigantic wreath. 

We went into a little gift shop. Cute Christmas tree by the window.

Sunset. It was a beautiful day! 

Merry Christmas! :)

25 Years

Today is my 25th birthday, and I've spent a quiet morning to myself drinking coffee and just reflecting on all the things I've learned this past year. I've had lots of good experiences and some not-so-good ones, but overall, it's made me that much more of a stronger person. :) I thought turning twenty-five was going to be a huge deal and I'd feel hesitant about it, but I'm actually feeling quite positive.

That's all for now...be jolly everyone. :)

Product Review: Tote Bag from ModCloth!

One of my favorite online shops EVER is ModCloth. Everything on their site is quirky and vintage-y, and they have an array of products that are one-of-a-kind. I received a birthday gift recently, and it was a tote bag from ModCloth:

This bag is so quirky, I absolutely love it! It's surprisingly quite spacious on the interior, and even fits my 17 inch MacBook Pro. I take it back and forth to school with no problems, and the material is similar to a canvas. Very sturdy. There are still more bags like these on their website, and you can find it here.

More product reviews to come!

Love,
Samantha

eBook Review: "Tiny Little Crystals"

Synopsis: 

To every romance, there is a beginning. 

To every beginning, there is an end. 

To every end, lies guilt.

Thirty-year-old Seth England is living the life he never thought he would have. With wealth, endless female admirers and a house near the beach, he has no complaints to speak of.

All of that changes once he finds out that his high school girlfriend from twelve years ago was found dead, due to a longtime struggle with crystal meth addiction.

Memories of his relationship with the girl he first fell in love with flood into his life suddenly, making him rethink who he has become. With peculiar events and unexpected people coming into his life, Seth realizes that the girl he left behind in 1999 has finally come back to haunt him.

The idea for "Tiny Little Crystals" kind of came out of nowhere, and somehow it only took me two months to write it. It's my personal favorite!

This one in particular was very hard for me to write, however. It's some pretty dark subject matter, so trying to get into the mindset of the characters was tough. It was challenging, yet fun to work on at the same time. 

"Tiny Little Crystals" is a nostalgia-fueled story. It focuses on a 30-year-old man named Seth England, and he's taken back to a time he doesn't particularly want to remember, as it holds his darkest life secrets. Of course, the past has a tendency of catching up with us. 

Hearing the news of the death of his high school girlfriend, Chloe Tremaine, sends him emotionally over the edge. He is swiftly washed back to the time he knew her, during the years of 1998-1999--"the innocent years", as he remembers them.

The young love between Seth and Chloe is remarkably genuine and pure, but a dark turn devours everything they had between each other. And what is Seth left with, twelve years later? The ghost of his true love, always lingering in the back of his mind.

eBook Review: "Heroin(e)"

I would like to take the time to introduce my eBooks. :) I will start off with my first one:

The first eBook I ever wrote was Heroin(e), and I began writing it in October 2010. Here is the synopsis:

Twenty-two-year-old Ella Chapman is ready to spend a carefree summer with her best friend in Santa Monica, CA.

Sweet, innocent, and adorably quirky, Ella quickly finds herself entranced by her best friend's strikingly gorgeous older brother—Preston Siler. Thirty-three years old and recently divorced, Preston is trying to find himself again as he travels down a bitter path, consistently being chased by his own demons.
Preston and Ella are complete opposites, but a defining friendship develops as the summer unfolds, revealing painfully dark secrets and creating an emotional bond between two people at completely different stages in life.

Innocence and guilt come together to unexpectedly heal old wounds and prove that, in order to move forward in life, we must let go of the past.

The story takes on two different perspectives: one from Ella, the bright-eyed sweetheart with a quirky sense of style, and Preston, the charismatic heartthrob in his early thirties, trying to find his way through the bitterness and guilt he experiences after a recent divorce.

Being in two different stages in life, it seems hard to imagine the two have anything in common. Ella has an innocent charm about her and looks at life with unadulterated eyes. She is the quintessential good girl, coming from a sheltered upbringing.

Preston, on the other hand, is polar opposite. He's managed to skate through life with his good looks and charm, married his high school sweetheart, Jennifer, and lived in Malibu during his marriage to her. However, they end up getting a divorce after unmanageable complications, leaving Preston in a daze of confusion about where he stands in his life at that point. 

The main premise of Heroin(e) is to show how our differences can sometimes mend together and create something unexpected. Preston and Ella are completely different people, but somehow they balance each other. Ella's purity soothes the emotional agony Preston goes through. The secrets he hesitantly shares with Ella make her realize that life can be much darker than she ever imagined. 

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My Top 5 Writing Tips

I've had a few of my friends ask me how I manage to have the patience to write. Some have asked me how I get my ideas down on paper, how I organize my thoughts, and how I break everything down into a flowing story. Thus, I decided to write a post about these topics so that it may be helpful to anyone who reads it!


1. Notes


Scribbling down ideas that pop into your mind is essential for getting a story idea together. Any idea you get should be written down so you don't forget it later when you go to write. 


2. Story Outline


Making an outline for a story is helpful because then you can begin making a structure of the events in your story. I never get too descriptive when I make an outline, I simply put down the general things that take place.


3. Drafts


When I go to write a story, I write the rough draft in a fairly simple form. Generally I don't elaborate too much, I just write to get the foundation for it. Then, I give it to someone to read so they can give me their input of what they think. After that, I move onto the second draft, in which I go through it from the beginning and add more dialogue if needed, more events for depth, etc. I let someone proofread it again, and sometimes I am satisfied with the second draft. Other times, I feel it needs more and I make a third draft, or fourth. It all depends on the writer! 


4. Finding Your Comfort Zone


Finding your comfort zone makes writing so much easier. I've had people mention that they get writer's block or can't think of ideas, which is normal of course. It took me awhile to figure out what genre I enjoyed writing. Initially, I thought writing stories from long-ago time periods was perfect for me. I tried writing historical fiction, but I kept getting stuck. I just couldn't get over my writer's block. I gave up on it and had no other idea for a story for quite some time. Then, October of 2010, I suddenly had a random idea for a contemporary story. I began writing it, and miraculously, it flowed quite smoothly for me. I realized that writing contemporary fiction was comfortable and easy for me, so that's what I stick to. For others, they may find it more comfortable to write sci-fi, mystery, historical fiction, etc. It all depends on the person! 


5. Inspiration

Finding something that inspires you to write is very, very helpful. For me, it's always been music. When I go to write a story, I find music that relates to my idea. For example, my second eBook "Tiny Little Crystals" is (in parts of the story) set in 1998/1999. I was constantly listening to music from those years to get in that frame of mind. Songs with lyrics that go well with the story are also good to listen to. I try to picture what I write as a movie, and I ask myself: "What kind of songs would I want for it?"


These are the top five writing tips that really work for me. Of course, everyone is different and I'm sure not all of these may be helpful for everyone, but they have helped me out a lot, personally.


- Samantha