Chit Chat: The Anxiety of it All

Hello Friends! Miss me? It’s been a while since I have been a way for so long…though it wasn’t that long really. I just had to take a moment and not worry about posting.

I have been overly stressed lately and it has been causing anxiety issues. I was able to write a short story this past week simply because I knew it would make me feel a little better. Lucky for me the anxiety attacks seem to be dying off and I am doing better.

There are a few things that caused my anxiety. One being the news. All the crap on the news really gets to me. I can’t watch the news and this is exactly why. I don’t need the news to tell me that the world is crazy and evil, I work retail, I know. But I made the mistake and followed all the crap going on and I had trouble sleeping.

Another factor that caused my anxiety is work and thinking about being stuck in the same job for the rest of my life. But it wasn’t so much the thought of working the same job all my life as much as watching my dreams die. I have let one of my dreams die. I wanted to go into the military and I played around until it was too late. It’s not to late to become the author I know I can be. It’s going to be hard work to get my name out there, but I know once the world sees me, it’s going to be a fantastic relationship. I just have to write.

The last thing that caused my anxiety attacks is my over active imagination. I have been playing out scenarios in my head and they never go well. I get scared and I recoil from life and try to hide in the shadows, thinking the shadows are safe, but we all know they are even worse.

I decided that instead of trying to keep up with my blog for the week, I would take a break and let my mind settle down. I have stayed away from the news. I have been writing more and I have been trying to calm my mind down. I will not preach religion on my blog, because I do not force my own opinions on others, but through this all I have found comfort in my own faith, the only little nook that has helped me cope. Even when I try to deny my own faith, it’s the only thing that can sometimes help calm down the chaos in my  mind.

I had two amazing friends step up this week that really helped me out. I didn’t know I had friends that would care to make an effort to find my in my own dark prison. And I am grateful to see that I have friends I can count on. Of course that is on top of my parents and my brother, who are ALWAYS there when I need a little help.

So here I am again, telling you that I am back and hopefully I am better. Hopefully I have this anxiety under control…until the next time. I can actually sleep with my lights off again.

Do you suffer from anxiety?? What are your tips and tricks to dealing with it?

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Chit Chat: Wrong Cast

Hello Friends! Kind of a late post today because I have the day off and I’m a little lazy…or a lot lazy.

Anyways, it’s time for another little chit chat!

As any Stephen King fan would know, they have decided to do a Dark Tower movie. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it is a series that Stephen King wrote about a Gunslinger and his quest to find the Dark Tower. Don’t ask me too many details because they are all a little foggy right now. I need to read the entire series again and soon. It’s a great series, I know that much.

I also know that Roland, the main character, is a white man (the color of his skin is important for this post) who travels worlds looking for the Dark Tower and either running from or chasing after the Man in Black. I think later on in the series the Man in Black ends up being Randell Flag, which is the bad guy from The Stand. So, now that I have let that little spoiler out…though is it really a spoiler??

So, the other day I noticed that they have cast Matthew McConaughey as the Man in Black. I have not been following the casting, I just don’t follow castings to movies that often. I wait until it’s all cast and they have started showing previews for the movie. I was reading some of the comments about Matthew McConaughey being cast, to be honest I think he will make a great Man in Black.

In the comments I noticed someone say something about who they had cast as Roland, they didn’t name any names and they didn’t say what the problem was, they just said they wouldn’t even mention the issues with who they cast for Roland.

I looked it up, being the curious person I am and I actually got a little angry. They have cast Idris Elba as Roland Deschain. Is it because he is a black man that I am angry? For once, yes, yes it is.  But before you yell at me and call me racist let me explain why this angers me.

In the book Roland comes across a black lady in a wheelchair, Susannah. She is a lovely woman, until her other personality kicks in. This other personailty is extremely racist and calls Roland all kinds of names. She is ruthless in her racism and Roland basically lets her speak, without saying a word. There is also another character in this. Eddie, a white man who falls in love with Susannah and marries her.

Now, I am a little foggy on ALL the details, but I do know that Roland was

Susannah and Eddie

a white man that was hackled by a sick personality of a wheel chair bound black woman. I also remember her hackling Eddie, the man that she marries. Also, at some point
this personality of hers becomes and important aspect of the story as it is born into a child and becomes a new bad guy for the gang to chase down.

So my only problem with Idris Elba being cast is the fact that the storyline is going to completely change. Are they going to cast Susannah as a white woman, to keep the racism of the story intact? Or do they even plan to make it past the first book in this movie?

From what I have seen so far, this movie will not be as long as The Stand. It’s not a movie series. It’s going to be a regular length movie. So in the end all those people that have not read the books are going to be completely lost. And the fans of the series are going to be disappointed. I have always loved movies based on Stephen King novels. Because Stephen King still has some input in the movie and it never ventures too far from the book. At least, that is what I have seen so far. If you have seen different, please share with me which movies you have seen completely different. I would like to check it out and see for myself.

I have been so excited for this movie. I always get my hopes up every time they start talking about it. A few years ago they had talked about turning it into a TV series, which to be honest would have been the best route. There has been talk about movies before now as well. It never pans out. Now they are actually filming the movie and have a release date for sometime in 2017. I am trying to not get my hopes up, because it will either be canceled or it’s going to be extremely disappointing.

What are your thoughts on the movie?

Chit Chat: A Little Confession

Hello Friends! I am thinking about making this chit chat thing a regular weekly thing. Though, I am still thinking about it. What do you think?

Today I want to tell you a little secret. I little confession. I have seen BookTubers do unpopular opinion videos and, well, this is my unpopular opinion. I am not doing a disclaimer…if you disagree with me, let me know in the comments. I would love to have a discussion with you. If you get offended…it’s not my fault you are so sensitive.

So, this unpopular opinion/confession is that I seriously dislike and almost hate John Green books and movies. I hate how popular they are and how EVERYONE seems to love everything about them.

 

I have read Looking for Alaska and honestly…I could have done without reading it. At the time I thought it was great! Then I let it sit on the back of my shelf for a little while, I let my mind stew on it a bit, and I hate it. I don’t like it one bit. Will I see the movie? Maybe if I can see it for free. Just to compare it to what I read at least.

I went to theaters to see The Fault in Our Stars with my cousin. I didn’t like it. I felt it was a waste of my money. I disliked it so much that I couldn’t even bring myself to TRY and read the book. I’m not going to do it. Yeah, it’s sad. Yeah, there is a cute love story…I guess. But it was horrible.

A few weeks ago I watched Paper Towns. I was so looking forward to this movie. I even bought the book, because I was GOING to read the book before I saw the movie. Well, the book just collected dust on my shelf and I gave up and just watched the movie. Sorely disappointed! I thought it was so boring and just unrealistic to be honest. I will never watch it again, and I will never read the book.

I am done with John Green. I will not read any more of his books that are out now. I will not bother to find out when he has new books coming out. I just don’t like his writing or his stories. Of course, if you have been around long enough you know that I do not like contemporary novels, which is what John Green writes. I have read a few contemporary novels that I liked, but John Green does not belong on that list. 

It also annoys me that the ending of his books are so sad. If you have read them or seen the movies, you know what I am talking about. I don’t mind a book that doesn’t have a happy ending. I am okay with that, really, but all of his books??

Anyways, I do not like him, Sam-I-am. I do not like John Green the ham.

Ha! 

Sorry…I am not insulting anyone, I just had Dr. Seuss pop into my head for a minute.

What are your thoughts on John Green??

Chit Chat: Childhood Books

Hello Friends! I am lucky to have had the time to sit down and write this post. Things at work are crazy as always, but we have inventory coming up. If you have ever worked in retail you can understand the stress of this time. If you have not worked in retail, think about watching a handful of toddlers on a sugar high, and just as many puppies, and only one you. It’s like 10 times worse than that.

Anyways. I found this article the other day talking about weird children’s books. You can read the article HERE.

I just thought it was a nice article and hit me right in the nostalgia.

The first book mentioned, Sideways Stories From the Wayside School, was on of my favorite books when I was a kid. I loved the weird stories! I honestly want to get this book and read it again.

I also remember Freckle Juice by Judy Blume. Again, one of my favorites.

And of course I LOVED Goosebumps!

I have always been a strange person. I loved all the strange stories.

One that wasn’t mentioned in the article was Amelia Bedelia.

Poor Amelia was always just trying to help, but always made an even bigger mess. She may have been a role model when I was growing up.

The thing is, these are the stories that have stuck with me all through my life. Not the classics that they make you read in high school, but the books that made me fall in love with reading. I guess, if something you read in high school made you fall in love with reading then you have a better connection with those. But I came out of the gate loving to read. I wanted to read everything I could get my grubby little hands on.

The books on this list here are the ones that gave me a love and a desire to devour all the words I could. And I will never forget them. I will make sure that I have these books for my kids, and I will more than likely read them ghost stories…

and stories of fairies from the time they are conceived until the moment they take the book and run on their own.

Until I have kids of my own, beware, if I see your kid I WILL offer them books to read. I WILL suggest all the great stories I have loved. It’s one of the reasons I make an effort to read the latest middle grade stories. I want to spread my love of reading to the rest of the world, because not enough people read.

Tell me, what books do you remember from your childhood?

Chit Chat: I Can’t Read That?

Hello Friends! Today I bring you a new segment called Chit Chat. It’s where I just talk about something I want to comment on…or you know, I have nothing else to post that day and got something off the top of my head. 😉

The other day I read an article about letting kids read what they want. You can find the article HERE.

As a young girl I remember reading Little House on the Prairie with my mom. Alone I read a lot of Goosebumps, Amelia Bedelia, Box Car Children…So many books. It wasn’t long before I found my way to Stephen King and I am fairly certain I started reading his books way before I was technically old enough to do so. My mom never held me back from reading what I wanted to read. I never had a problem with anyone telling me what I could and could not read until I was older.

Funny isn’t it? You get older and think you can make your own decisions and then…BAM the world tries to tell you everything. Pay this bill, pay that bill, pay taxes on all the things you own…

I thought I would be safe in my little book world, and then I got more into the whole book community. Suddenly people were telling me what I shouldn’t be reading. We are told that adults shouldn’t be reading YA books or Middle Grade books. “We are too old for that.”

Now I know that it has long passed since this debate was so big and everyone had a say, but reading the article about letting kids read just sparked a new fire in me. I read a ton of YA. I love YA novels…well the fantasy ones. I love the instant love stories and the complaining teenagers. I love middle grade books and the innocence of the stories.

Adult novels can be so heavy. Or there is just so much about sex and sometimes you just want a story to read.

Why are we putting ages on novels? Why can’t we just pick up a book and decide for ourselves if we will enjoy it? I won’t judge you for what you decide to read. I used to use the excuse that I read middle grade novels so I can suggest books to young kids. But the truth is I actually enjoy the middle grade novels as much as YA.

I read them all. If it’s fantasy I will read it. I may even pick up a contemporary novel from time to time if there is enough hype around it. And I will occasionally pick up a classic novel and try to read it, but stupid school ruined the classics for making me read them.

In the end, we are already killing ourselves to be healthy. We don’t eat everything we want, we don’t sit and watch all of our favorite shows because we have to exercise, we even have to go to work to pay the bills. So why should we restrict ourselves in what we read? It’s not bad for our health to read whatever books we want. Reading actually strengthen our brains no matter what we are reading. So read what you want and don’t be ashamed!

Let’s Talk About It

Hey friends!

So, today is supposed to be a little recap/discussion about shows I have watched through the week. Sadly, I didn’t take notes on shows this week. And there were a lot of shows that were on hiatus this week, so I just didn’t bother.

I was trying to figure out what I was going to blog about today and I had this idea. A new segment that I can add to my blog for when I have something to say or discuss. I’m going to call it “Let’s Talk About It.” It will still be related to reading and writing and all that fun stuff. But it will just be a little rant that I have.

I’m not going to put some lame disclaimer on here about how these are my opinions…obviously you know that already and I don’t care if you disagree with me, just be respectful with your disagreement. There is no room for childish behavior. 🙂

Now, I have to e-mail a few people about things that concern my blog. As you know, I have author interviews, and of course I am in contact with the authors for that. And a few other people.

I always thought that e-mail was this thing that people checked everyday and responded to as quickly as possible. Usually when you are working with someone that is how it goes. You wait for their e-mail and respond as quickly as you can. But it seems, within my experience with a few people, some people just don’t answer e-mails as quickly.

I don’t like to pester people or continue to bug them. I like to send out what I need to send out and patiently wait for a response, but when I am on a deadline myself, it’s really hard to be patient.

Now, I understand that people are busy. People have full time jobs, families, and other things they do on a daily basis. But when you know someone is waiting on you to respond to something, shouldn’t that take a bit of priority?

I usually check my e-mail everyday. Usually, several times a day. I even have it linked to my phone and my phone will alert me when an important e-mail comes through. If I am at work, I usually take the first moment I can to read the e-mail and respond as quickly as I can. I thought everyone did that, but I am finding that I was completely wrong.

It’s actually a little irritating, but I am a Leo and I hate to be ignored, which is what it feels like when people don’t respond to my e-mails. Am I silly for being this way?

What are your thoughts on replying to e-mails and waiting for a response?