What Font are You?

I thought it might be fun to find out what font I am.

Helvetica.

You’re like an industry standard. Classic. Reliable. Okay, maybe a bit boring. But don’t let the haters get you down—you’ve still got friends who think you’re the best.

Usually I have trouble with these sort of tests because 'none of the above' isn't really a choice. Nonetheless, this was fairly accurate. I am boring. I like it that way.

What font are you?

16 Things Meme

I haven't been tagged, but I'll play along with this one.

1. I love Diet Pepsi. It's my lifeblood. But, caffeine has no discernible affect on me. I can drink a glass of Diet Pepsi right before bed and sleep just fine. I can also give it up for days and weeks... but I prefer not to. It's my carbonated caramel colored drink of choice.

2. I get bored easily.

3. I'm a serious procrastinator. I work best under pressure. I have been known to cook, bake, even organize the linen closet in an attempt to delay the inevitable.

4. I am allergic/ intolerant/ oversensitve to gluten (wheat) and corn. This includes corn syrup. These dietary restrictions are only a few years old. So I spent twenty-some years eating everything normally...

5. I think Babylon 5 is the best TV show ever. I watch it on DVD almost every year with Hubby.

6. I have never owned a car with less than 100k miles on it. But, sadly, I have only ever rolled one car past 200k miles. The rest have rusted out before that.

7. I was born in Indiana, but I have lived in Michigan since I was 4.

8. I think Michigan is the coolest shaped state, ever. I like getting to use my hand as a map.

9. I actually enjoy troubleshooting computers. And I like helping people make their computer obey.

10. I have had my own computer since I was in middle school. I have always had hand-me-down computers that was replaced by an upgrade.

11. I'm a PC-- I am part of the Microsoft Collective. You will be assimilated.

12. I am both pragmatic and cheap. I have a dreadfully hard time spending money to replace something that works perfectly fine. That's why I still have an old typewriter stand for my nightstand.

13. I hate being cold. There is nothing else I hate more than being cold.

14. I play the Pokemon Trading Card game. So does my Hubby. Because of him, we now travel to local tournaments.

15. I don't carry a purse. Though, by necessity, I sometimes have a mini backpack with my own salad dressing or ketchup for eating out.

16. One of my goals in life is to type my keyboard to death. I have had that keyboard since 1997. It works perfectly! Not a single key has any problems. But I'm still working at it.

If you wanna play, grab a keyboard and join in.

I'm gonna go get my warm fuzzy blanket, close the curtains so I can't see the continually-falling snow, and work on a story. With a glass of Diet Pepsi at my side.

Sex Appeal is Evil?

Watched a movie the other day, and as soon as this one female character walked on screen and spoke a few lines, I knew she was going to be one of the bad guys.

I was so disappointed, really. She was confident, sexy, and intelligent. She was deffered to by the men she spoke to and the implication I came away with at first was that it was because she was smart and took no bullshit.

Alas. She's one of the baddies.

Sex appeal, time and time again, is one of the easiest ways to tell when a female character is good or bad. Particularly, if the woman is aware of and able (willing) to use her sex appeal to her own ends.

Some how, it's okay for the suave stud-muffin male lead to make the ladies swoon. But it's not okay for a sexy woman to turn heads and be pleased with it.

It's a little disappointing because I know this sort of culture is going to make it hard for Bo Fexler to find a publisher for her novels. But it's also empowering because I know I have something different. Something that does have an audience.

In fact, I just got another story accepted. It's nice to know that even after a long drought, I still have the ability to write things that (some) publishers want. The trick, I suppose, is finding the right ones.

What do you tell yourself to keep going?

New Year

A new year in a new house. With a new office for this writer/ teacher/ wife.

So much is different at the start of this year. Most of it is tied to the new house. Plus a new part time job. (For those counting, this puts me back up to four jobs.) But the new house is closer to everything, which should save quite a bit of commute time.

There are new zines that seem like places where Bo might make an apperance, preferrably in low-rise jeans and a tight tee shirt. Maybe she'll sidle up to Diana Andrews (Al Tucher's sexy woman) since the two seem like they'd have lots to talk about.

I'm looking forward to 2009. Another year full of days to write and submit.

And maybe 2009 will be the year that Bo Fexler finds an agent who wants her.

Until then, I might just come up with a few short stories to tease those who already like a smart, sexy woman.

Happy New Year.

One of the boxes must have my stories in it...

Not the printed ones... the ones that usually play through my head.

We've been moving into our new house. For the last week and a half, I have spent nearly every waking minute working on and moving into the house. And it feels like it'll never get done.

Luckily, I'm so busy that there are only a few minutes to even miss writing. I miss crafting stories and polishing up snappy dialogue for maximum bite. I miss finishing a story and feeling all the little peacock feathers fan out in appreciation of my own genius.

I can't even get into the room that is designated my office. Since it's not "important" to the running of the house, it is last on the list of the places to deal with. (This is my determination, not Hubby's.)

I think somewhere, in the piles of boxes that contain my office things, is my writing. My story telling ability. My mind has been strangely quiet as we've embarked on our journey into indentured servitude home ownership. No snippets of stories or great ideas have nudged my cerebral cortex while I've worked on washing dishes, painting, or hanging up curtains.

But, after all this time, I think we're finally getting to the end. Soon, things should be much quieter in life. And hopefully much noisier in my brain.

I like being crazy... the people in my head keep my company.

The Story of A House

Once upon a time... or about last year, we saw a house. Hubby and I had been househunting for a while by that point. All we'd found so far was that we didn't make enough money to live in Livingston County. Unless we went all the way to the boonies. At the time, for those with short memories, gas was already over three bucks a gallon. We wanted to live close to work and put our money towards a home and life. Plus, we prefer to spend our time together/ at home rather than driving around.

About a year ago, we spotted a house outside town that was for sale. Wonderful house, great location. It had all the features we wanted in a house, a layout we liked, great size for the family we one day hope to have. Even a two car garage so my car can come in out of the cold. But our wallet was three sizes too small. We kept looking. It was hard, though, because every house was compared to this one, unattainable dream house. And none could stand up to the comparison.

Then, sometime late in spring, we drove by the house again and noticed, oddly that the grass was about eye-ball high. When we'd seen this house before, it was rather well maintained. We soon confirmed that the house had gone into foreclosure. But that meant that when it came back on the market (as a bank-owned property) that it might, just might, be within our meager price range.

Time passed. The required waiting period ended, but the house was not for sale. We waffled. We had continued looking, but the pickings had become slim in the area. The tide of foreclosures had dwindled, leaving mainly super-expensive houses, site condos, or "handyman special."

Then, THE house came back on the market. With an incredible price. We rushed to make an offer. Then waited. The offer was verbally accepted and then the paperwork began. Back and forth. Then we went to the bank to beg for money. More paperwork. A flurry of emails, nearly daily, to make sure all the little ducks lined up. Anxiety. Doubt. Excitement.

And then, on top of all this house-buying stuff, I had a large final project for my grad school course and my normal teaching duties. Somehow, there was barely time to eat, sleep, and play with Hubby. Hence my absence from blogging and writing.

Now, it's all over. My grad school course is finished. School is out for Christmas Break.

But, best of all, we have our dream house. This is the best Christmas gift... ever.

Hey, look! It's a story!

It's been a long long time, but finally there's another new Bo Fexler story out. Yellow Mama's latest issue includes "Mighty Maids Mystery."

A maid is found dead in one of the houses she's cleaning. Can Bo figure out who did it? Well, of course. It's more a matter of how she finds out and who's behind it.

I miss Bo as much as the rest of you. She's been out on hiatus for a while. I'm hoping she'll be back for Christmas. Bo in a Santa hat... now there's something to find under the tree. ;-)