Mash Up

I have several odds and ends so this is a hodge podge post, a smorgasboard of stuff, a buffet of bits and bobs, a bevy of….oh you get the point.

1. Writers Writin

Right. So I hope 2010 will be The Year of the Good Writing Group. I love a good writing group. I love talking about writing and reading and whatnot. My history with writing groups has fallen into two categories: Groups Where Everybody Moves Out of Town and There Are Like Two People Left and That’s Not A Writing Group It’s A Writing Pair, and, everybody’s favorite, Groups Out of Which I Have Been Kicked (SEE: Captain Crazypants). Luckily, I have only been booted from one group. Last year, I became part of a small but robust group that I really enjoyed, got a lot out of….and then 50% of the group moved. (See above.)

Instead of toiling in isolation, the remaining 50% of the group (I and one other person), have reformed and brought in two more writers (one of which was also kicked out of Captain Crazypants’ little salon, too!). We met last night for the first time and it went so well, I’m terrified to be excited about it, lest my poor writer’s heart be dashed to smithereens again. We will meet twice monthly and each meeting will consist of one critique piece from a group member and two writing prompts. It’s a typical workshop environment, I’d say, and I hope we stay committed.

2. The Curious Case of Thug Life and Greek Row

For many months, I have had zero reason to consider the motives of our neighbors. This last week, two little incidents popped them momentarily on the radar. The first was our fraternity boy neighbors across the parking lot who decided 11 pm was a GREAT time to shovel their walkways. Not really a big deal, but…geez.We have heard nary a peep from the Sorority Girl next door.

I came home from work and while picking up the mail from the mailbox, which is conveniently located right outside Thug Life’s front door so we can all live with the fear that we may be gunned down whilst retrieving our Papa John’s coupons and cable bills, there was a young man talking to someone in the Thug Life compound. As I approached, he jumped in his vehicle and drove off. WHen I say ‘vehicle’ I mean ‘a 1987 minivan with ripped plastic and duct tape for a rear window and more Bondo than you can shake a stick at.’

Later, I happened to walk by an upstairs window to see 3 marked police cars and one unmarked Crown Vic, plus an EMS truck lined up in the parking lot. There was the Bondomobile, too. The uniformed officers were wandering around, talking with the guy in the Bondovan. Then they all drove off.

It’s a mystery!

3. Update My fairy tale project has begun and for research I am working through re-reading or reading for the first time the original Grimms stories. I love it! I love how Disney appropriated the supernatural elements of the stories for their own watered down pabulum versions. Currently I’m working through Peter and Iona Opie’s collection from 1974, I believe.