Sneak preview of upcoming novel.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
eBay SaleYou guys, I'm selling some crafty products on eBay, meaning products I crafted myself, as well as a few other things. Feel free to look at them or to ignore them, as you please. Either way, it won't hurt my feelings. I just have to sell things periodically so I can continue to write off my craft supply purchases on my taxes. It's a sickness, I know.
For sale:
bracelet with dangling pastel beads
carnelian and red agate necklace #1
carnelian and red agate necklace #2
rhodonite and rose quartz necklace
bronze and pink freshwater pearl necklace
pink and gray dangly pearl necklace
pale jade necklace
green wood bead necklace
amber earrings
silver ring
amber ring
garnet ring
silver cuff bracelet
vintage cross pendant
that painting I did a while back, of the woman
There you go. Happy browsing.
Get Rich Quick Scheme
The other day I saw a People magazine, and its cover gave me an idea. So I turned to my son who has Asperger's, and I said, "Hey, Dallas, how would you like it if Mommy wrote a book all about your Asperger's and how tragic it is and how dramatic it's made Mommy's life? And then Mommy could go on book tour and make a lot of money?"
My son said, "More money than you make writing fiction?"
I said, "Way, way more."
He said, "Would you tell heart-rending personal stories about your strength, your struggle, and your survival that would embarrass me, later, when I'm old enough to understand them fully?"
I said, "Maybe. Then again, maybe not, since you do have Asperger's. Maybe you'll never fully understand, or else it simply won't hurt your feelings. We can always hope, but either way, we'll make money. Don't forget the money."
He said, "Will you use the money to buy me a PS3, an XBox 360, and a bigger TV?"
I said, "Of course I will, honey."
He said, "Then sell our story, Mommy. Sell it away!"
Just kidding. That conversation never took place.
[Edited to clarify: Hey, everybody. This segment of the entry is referring to Jenny McCarthy, as featured on the latest cover of People magazine, promoting her book about her personal struggles with her kid's autism, and the power of Jim Carrey's penis helping her through it.
This segment of the entry is not about my long-time fellow blogger and author Rob Rummel-Hudson. For the record, although I've been catty in my time, I'm not catty/lame/rondo enough to hate on Rob on my blog, while linking to him and Facebook-friending him at the same time. If I thought Rob was selling out his kid for money, I wouldn't link him or Facebook friend him. C'mon, people. Y'all should know better than that.]
Inspirational
On the way to work, I pass a company that performs a very specialized service for other companies. It's not a service that I'll ever need, but I always stare at the company and remember its name, because it has an inspirational marquee. Know what I mean? They have one of those LED signs on which the owner has chosen to put a different motivational saying each day.
Weirdly, although I normally ignore crap like that, this marquee frequently inspires me. Like, one day, a while back, it said something like "If you knew you wouldn't fail, what would you attempt?" Something like that -- poorly worded, but it got the point across. What would I try to do if I knew for certain that I wouldn't fail? I thought about it until the end of my commute.
Usually, I end up thinking about the owner of this company and what his motivation is for providing these thoughts. He could use the marquee for advertisements, but instead, he tries to inspire us all. Why? What kind of person does something like that?
It's something to think about on a long, long drive.
Dazed and Confused and Swollen
If none of this makes sense, it's because I'm on drugs, because I recently had surgery, because my teeth are sad and lame, and yet strong and stubborn and constantly having to be messed with by surgical means. I had this jacked-up tooth remnant, under an old crown, and it turned bad, so my dentist (who is the best dentist in the world, fyi) tried to remove it with pliers and such, but it wouldn't come out because the rotten tooth was holding on with all its might to my jawbone, as all my teeth like to do, apparently...
... and so my dentist was forced to give up, sweatily and reluctantly, and he sent me to his friend, the best oral surgeon in the world, and she removed my tooth (and I told y'all before how she looks sort of like Mimi Rogers, but I never told y'all that she studied dance at the same school, at the same time, as Madonna!), and it went as well as possible, but now I'm kind of achy and drugged up. Bleh.
Oh, well, that's life, though. My super power is fast healing. My kryptonite is cavity-prone teeth. If teeth being fused to jawbones were a super power of any use, I'd be bragging that I had that, too. But it hasn't done anything for me yet. We'll see what happens, though. Maybe one day my stubborn teeth will save the world. 10:14 PM #
Comments:
Last time I had to have teeth pulled-- wisdom teeth-- I was so loopy on the nitrous oxide, I was telling myself jokes in my head while in the chair and laughing, but then when it was over, I couldn't remember the jokes :( (I'm sure they were drug induced funny, not real funny, anyway.)I feel for you. My teeth are the same way. My husband can skip the dentist for years and need nothing more than a cleaning. I would need 8 root canals.
# posted by
: 11:10 AM
I was sure you were going to mention the wretchedly, horribly, mind-bogglingly banal crap Perry Pools regularly posts on the Billboard-by-the-Day. Not that "The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work," courtesy of the company to which you're referring, isn't equally banal.
Although the message you mention WAS one of the better ones, I often wonder if the two companies conspire to make my morning commute that much more irritating...
# posted by
: 2:32 PM
Keri: I don't even remember that much. The nurse said "twilight sedation," and the doctor said, "Nitrous oxide," and all I remember is feeling like I went underwater, then hearing everyone's conversations around me on high-speed dub. But... thank you for admitting that you have bad teeth, too! I was starting to get a complex about it, thinking I was poor or dirty or disease-ridden or something. (Me: "I'm gonna be toothless." Nurse: "No, you have great teeth." Me: "WHY ARE YOU LYING TO ME? WHY-Y-Y-Y-Y???")
Jennifer: Oh, dude, I don't even look at Perry Pools. You know who I'm talking about... I'm talking about COTTON.
What's up with the all caps? Every time I see it, I'm like "COTTON! Today's the day to make it happen, COTTON!!!"
Plus, it's weird that Cotton is the name of a company that specializes in cleaning up other company's fires. Or whatever. COTTON!
# posted by
Gwen : 3:03 PM
I read the Jenny McCarthy article, because I'm a sucker for People, and I don't know. She says she needed the money to care for her son, and provide early intervention, and maybe that is true. She also says she didn't notice until her doctor pointed it out, which...I'm a much bigger worrier than that, I guess.
Are you watching Top Model with the girl who has Aspergers? Of course Top Model is a train wreck, but I was wondering if you have an opinion.
I like the crafts!
Kate
# posted by
kate : 3:57 PM
I'll admit that I was biased to begin with, since she's been outspoken about her belief that vaccinations cause autism. (I believe the evidence that shows it's genetic, and believe in working for acceptance, not for "cures.") But something about People's paraphrase about Jim Carrey helping her get through it... I don't know. It just sets me off. I imagine her kid growing up, thinking, "Wow, good thing mom had a boyfriend to help her survive me." Or whatever.
I'm not watching Top Model this season, but I heard about Heather and I'm keeping up with it via Television Without Pity. I guess it's cool that an Aspie has the same opportunity to participate in the reality TV trainwreck that all the NT "models" have. :)
# posted by
Gwen : 4:12 PM
Yeah, the vaccination thing bugs me too. I did ask my pediatrician about it, because I think there are some issues with mercury, but it freaks me out that there are all these kids running around without vaccinations now. Although I guess it's too controvesial, because People didn't mention that at all - I know she talked about it on Oprah. Did you read the article? She basically says that she dumped Carrey the first time because she had to make her kid the first priority, and that he was supportive and good with him. But People's paraphrase sort of seemed unrelated.
I don't know why I'm defending Jenny McCarthy. I don't even like her (or dislike her). I just find the topic interesting, really.
I guess it is good, the ANTM thing, but it's hard with Tyra's whole, talk about your tragic past crap, not to view it as somewhat exploitive.
# posted by
kate : 4:55 PM
Gwen, I swear that while I was showering this morning I was wondering if you were going to comment about Jenny McCarthy here. I saw a bit of her appearance on Larry King last week and her malapropisms and generally poor grammar really irritated me so I turned it off. Well, that and the whole "I cured my kid of autism" rah-rah.
I didn't know that she has admitted to "writing" the book just to make money. (Not sure how much of it she wrote. I imagine she likely just printed out a bunch of stuff from the net and highlighted it in pink and added some exclamation points and some hearts. Same goes for the information about Jim Carrey's cure-all anatomy, too.) In the bit of the interview I saw she was talking about helping other parents so they wouldn't have to go through what she has.
I want to go back to knowing almost nothing about her life.
- Maggie
# posted by
: 7:42 PM
Hey! Gwen! COTTON wants you to Make it happen, today!
# posted by
: 9:00 AM
Have you heard of etsy.com? It's a site dedicated to helping people sell their handmade items. It might be a great venue for selling your jewelry. It's crafty heaven.
# posted by
Kimberly : 11:08 AM
Kate: You're playing devil's advocate, which is good. I really should read the article before I go off half-cocked on it, I know. And, yeah, I'm more than willing to believe that People threw in the Jim Carrey blurb to spice it up, in a completely inappropriate/annoying way.
And: What you said, re: Tyra. I tell myself that this Heather's parents must have seen the show before, though, so they know what kind of exploitation they're getting into. PS, why does anyone even apply for that show anymore, considering that it doesn't result in actual modeling careers?
Maggie: First, your characterization of her editing process cracked me up. Second: I just assume she's doing it for the money. Or, actually, worse, for sheer narcissism. Because she already wrote a pregnancy book that apparently had nothing new to offer the genre, simply because she got pregnant. It's like, "OMG, you guys -- can you believe that **I** got pregnant??" I mean, what's next... a book about her son going through puberty? A book about how she published some books? A book about how hilariously, astoundingly, and heart-breakingly, she is getting older?
Okay, now I just sound bitter and sour grapey. Maybe that's all it is. :)
Jennifer: It needs a theme song, sort of a like the Academy commercial song. Here are the lyrics: "COTTON! Today's the day... you're gonna do it, yeah-eah-eah-eah... COTTON! Today's the first day of the... rest of your life! COTTON! What would you do if you would... never fai-ai-ai-ail! COTTON! COTTON! COTTON!"
Kimberly: Yes! Dude, I even have an Etsy account. I'm too lazy and disorganized so far to sell stuff on there, though. Really, I'm just doing the eBay for the tax purposes. If I sell, like, one thing, then I'm good.
Etsy rocks, though. Y'all should go check it out, if you haven't. People sell some really nice stuff there.
# posted by
Gwen : 2:09 PM
I do believe that vaccinations are given more credit than they deserve. Have you seen what some of them are made of? I have no proof that vaccinations might be a factor in autism and such, but do you have proof that it isn't a factor?
I think, even if vaccinations do play a part, that it obviously isn't the only factor. Otherwise, everyone who's been vaccinated would have autism. But it's still important to at least look into. And your doctor isn't going to believe that vaccinations are a cause because a doctor HAS to push vaccinations.
Most importantly, it isn't the parents fault that a child has autism, if they find out that vaccinations were partly the cause.
But what if it was true. Yes, for the parents whose children have autism, finding a way to deal or make it better is the best thing. But if vaccines play a part, then wouldn't it be good to know, so they could figure out the other part of what causes it?
# posted by
Rebekah : 4:40 PM
Your craft products? Lovely.
Your son? Priceless.
# posted by
That Chick Over There : 7:43 AM
Oooh, the jewellery's so pretty! Don't suppose you'd ship to the UK?
# posted by
Alice : 11:38 AM
Rebekah: Like you, I don't have proof that vaccines are a factor. And, to answer your question, I also don't have proof that they aren't. And that's precisely why I'm not joining class action lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers, and I'm not getting on web sites and preaching that vaccines are the cause, and I'm not writing books about my "survival" of my child's autism in which I claim that they are or are not the cause. Get it?
You said, "Most importantly, it isn't the parents fault that a child has autism, if they find out that vaccinations were partly the cause."
Is that what's most important to you -- finding out that it isn't the parents' fault? If so, you and I have different priorities. I'm not looking for someone/something to blame, or a reason not to blame myself. I've already accepted the fact that my kid has autism, and now I'm making the best choices I can to ensure that he has a good life -- just like I'd do for my other kids.
What was the point of your comment? How about you go post all your own thoughts about autism on your own blog, and I promise not to try to change your mind?
Bonus: I also won't use blog comments to argue with you about your own religious beliefs, and, from now on, you can do the same for me. :)
Does that sound good? :)
Is it a deal? :):):)
# posted by
Gwen : 1:02 PM
That chick: Thanks. :)
Alice: I would, actually. I'll ship to anywhere, for the actual shipping price. I was too lazy/dimwitted to figure out how to make eBay tell y'all that, though.
# posted by
Gwen : 1:03 PM
As you can tell, I'm not a writer. I worded that wrong. As I said "for the parents whose children have autism, finding a way to deal or make it better is the best thing".
I wasn't attacking you. Why would I? Like I said, I'm a terrible writer. Forgive me? I didn't mean to offend you. So, no. Please don't argue with me on my blog. I wasn't arguing with you. I was just looking at the possibility. Sorry. Really.
# posted by
Rebekah : 8:35 PM
Hi, Rebekah. I'm not accusing you of attacking me. And no forgiveness is necessary, because it doesn't offend me that you have a different opinion.
The reason I'm kind of scolding here is that I have vague memories of other comments you've made on this blog. They all consisted of you pointing out your religious beliefs, which are obviously very different from mine.
If you're only reading this blog to find things you disagree with, then you should find a blog you like better. That's all I'm telling you.
If I'm confusing you with another Rebekah, then please ignore all this. Either way, happy net surfing to you.
# posted by
Gwen : 9:06 AM
Sorry, everybody else. I know it's grody to have that discussion here in the comments, but I figure I may as well have it and leave it here, so other peeps will know where I stand.
I know I can be quick to argue with commenters who disagree with me, and that can be intimidating to people who don't have the power to delete comments. :)
But I hope y'all feel free to disagree with me, anyway. I've learned a lot from our disagreements -- like the Flickr photo discussion where I learned that not everyone uses Flickr the same way I do, or the bike discussion where I learned that bikers do in fact have the legal right to slow me down on Waugh Drive. That was fun. Those were good times.
I mean, if you dislike me and you just read to find more evidence for your dislike, or to find what you think is drama between me and other bloggers, then that's not a very productive use of your time (but I can't stop you, either).
If you like my writing but just think I'm full of shit from time to time, that's fine. Tell me and we'll learn from each other.
Love,
the Management
# posted by
Gwen : 10:00 AM
Man, I totally missed the Flickr photograph discussion, which saddens me, because I can't imagine more than one way to use Flickr. Or I guess I sort of can - commercial and not commercial - but that hardly sounds like it would start an argument.
I feel like the girls on ANTM are too stupid to realize that they're not going to get a modeling career out of this. But maybe I'm just being judgemental. It's a flaw of mine.
# posted by
kate : 2:57 PM
Flickr thing was regarding tags. I was upset that people tag their photos in a way that makes it difficult for me to find images I want. Other people argued that they tag their Flickr pics for their own convenience, not for the convenience of the bunny photo searches of others.
ANTM: I can totally see that. However, I want to believe that after 5+ seasons of winners not getting famous, even the dumbest hamsters would finally realize there's no fame in it.
Maybe I'm a naive optimist, and you're a jaded realist. :)
# posted by
Gwen : 3:06 PM
I just keep commenting away because I go back to work on Monday, so I'm taking advantage of the internet while I can. I'm sorry if it's irritating.
I use flickr (and not even my flickr, which has like four pictures on it, but my husband's flickr, which I've sort of co-opted) as a "show off my baby page" which shows my level of sophistication. Are tags the same as titles? Mine are very generically descriptive, so useful to no one.
# posted by
kate : 3:55 PM
Tags are the descriptive words you add on the side. They come up in searches. Like...
On this particular page,
http://flickr.com/photos/juliettek/1394342237/
you see the tags on the right. They say September, 2007, bento, and lunch.
So, if I went up to the Search box and typed bento, this pic would come up.
I was being a Flickr nazi one day, and I typed "bunny," looking for cute bunny pics, and I was annoyed that I got a lot of pictures for things that, in my mind, had nothing to do with bunnies.
And then, gentle readers pointed out that it wasn't always about me and my needs. And, three months later, I was able to accept that.
(Don't worry about being comment-happy. I'm in the mood to use these comments as my personal chat forum today, obviously.)
# posted by
Gwen : 4:34 PM
Gwen: If you an I had a "whose teeth suck the most" contest, I bet I'd win, hands down ;)
I max out my dental insurance by feburary EVERY SINGLE YEAR *sob*. Right now I have five (yes, FIVE) root canals that are waiting on crowns, but alas, as crowns are 500 bucks a pop, I'm crownless. Also, I have about five MORE teeth that need root canals.
Bad teeth run rampant in my family, and when I was about 17, my dentist told me that I could expect crowns on every. single. tooth. by the time I was 30. He was right. I'm 29 and have three teeth that don't need crowns. As I'm pregnant right now, I'm sure those three will go south very soon. I have 8 crowns now, and need 8 more (oh, and if you're counting, yes, I do have less teeth than most people. Another thing that runs in my family). The last time I went to the dentist, I was so frustrated and disappointed, I asked him how much it would cost to just get them all yanked out, since I'm practically there anyway. I'd love, love, LOVE to get those implants where they bolt the teeth to your jaw, but each tooth is 1000 or more, and insurance only covers 1/2 of it with a 2K max. Siiiiiigh.
Keri - my husband is the same way about his teeth. He's 33 and had ONE CAVITY his whole life. And he came from a third world country (and what I mean by that is that he didn't go to the dentist as a kid, didn't have braces, etc...). His teeth are perfectly straight (I wore braces for seven years, then had to have extensive oral surgery to repair an accident I had when I was a kid.) and white and obviously impervious to cavities *sob, sniffle*. I can only hope that our kids got his fabulous teeth and not my shitty ones.
# posted by
Ellie : 11:55 AM
re:teeth
have you thought about getting sealants done? I haven't gotten a single cavity since I did.
# posted by
: 12:00 PM
I love your post because since the whole Jenny McCarthy Oprah/People spotlight, I have heard atleast 5 conversations about how you can *cure* autism if you catch it early on- just like Jenny McCarthy. Sorry, but I don't think my niece needs curing, but more acceptance.
# posted by
: 5:48 PM
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