Another awesome ABNA entry: The Origin of Ta Mo by Michael Sobie. It’s sort of a Chinese version of The Alchemist, but actually Sobie writes better than Coelho. (And don’t get me wrong, I like Coelho.)

In un-writing-related news, Spring is here! Well, sort of. Things are starting to green up, and I even busted out some flip flops, but my coworker said there’s a chance for snow on Monday. To which I replied, What’s a Monday?

Hey, does anyone know what kind of flowers these are? Right now I call them the “sweaty balls flowers,” but I’m thinking that’s probably not their real name. Nor is it very polite to Mother Nature. However, Mother Nature is the one that created said flowers, which do in fact smell like sweaty balls, so maybe I’m the one who should feel offended…

I think Riley would enjoy Spring more if it wasn’t ushered in with rainstorms. Last night he was being a big baby because of some thunder and lightning, and he kept trying to sit in my lap. That might have worked and been rather cute if it weren’t for the fact that I was using my lap to hold the computer on which I was trying to be productive. So when I turn 87 and someone asks me why I never achieved my life dream of becoming a famous author, I will say, “Because my dog is giant wuss.”

But what Spring ruins with rain, it makes up for with sticks. At least that’s what Riley always says.

From Paulo Coelho‘s newsletter “Warrior of Light”:

The common man worries too much about loving others, or being loved by them. A warrior knows what he wants – that is all in his life and that is where he concentrates all his energy. The common man spends the present acting as winner or loser, and depending on the results he becomes persecutor or victim. The warrior, on the other hand, worries only about his acts, which will lead him to the objective he has traced for himself.

Rule #1: Do your own thing.

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Every now and then, I get into a phase. Some might call it obsession. Me, I just call it enthusiasm.

Among my past phases: Sanrio, the Spice Girls, boys, and Harry Potter. Because I’m extremely nostalgic, and still a kid at heart, I will love each and every one of them until the day I die, but (thankfully) the intensity of that love will fade.

(Making room for NEW intensity!)

Right now I think my friends would agree, Dooce is my big obsession current phase.

I’ll be honest, I’m addicted. But I do think I’m learning a lot by reading each and every post in her archives. Sometimes it’s useless info (like what she was reading on July 30th of 2004) but sometimes it’s truly brave, or hopeful, or heartbreaking (in the most beautiful way), or just plain hysterical.

Her ability to turn anything — the ordinary – into a captivating story, it’s spectacular. It’s what I’m enjoying, and what I’m trying to learn.

That’s why I originally had “learning to be funny one dooce at a time” as the subtitle in my header image. But as Andy pointed out, that sort of gives the impression that I’m copying her, that I’m not that original, that I’m not doing my own thing. And that isn’t true.

(I’ve since changed the subtitle to “always leaping before she looks,” which IS true. I plan to change the header every few months anyway.)

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I FINISHED ANOTHER SHORT STORY!! YAAAAHHH!!!

Now I have to revise.

-_-

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In general, I don’t do well with things that are hyped up. Like, god forbid I take part in a trend, right? So I refuse and resist beyond all reason (just ask Angie) and I deny myself the wonder of things like capri pants, ballet flats, and Harry Potter. FOOL! (And yes, Angie, you were right about all of the above.)

In short: me? Not so good with the fads. And in literature, writing in the first person seems to be a very, very big fad right now. It’s something I’ve always sort of thought of as a cop-out, like, shouldn’t you be able to tell a story without having to pretend that YOU are actually telling the story?

BUT. (Butt!) I’ve read a lot of great books written in first person (like anything by Paulo Coelho and Amy Tan) and I know that this stupid prejudice of mine is just that: a STUPID PREJUDICE.

Not only that, but I’ve been thinking. And let me tell you, me thinking only leads to bad things. (Often tears. My own, of course. I don’t make other people cry.) In this case, the bad thing I thought of is that I probably need to rewrite The Good Daughters. In first person.

(I bet if I’d asked Angie, she would have told me that from the start.)

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From Paulo Coelho’s blog:

Writing is a constant challenge, where you have to dig into your soul, having discipline, inspiration, and courage at the same time.