Challenging Myself by Writing

Around the end of last month I decided that if I wanted to be a writer, I needed to write. A few of my friends had started blogs but nothing really caught my eye until I read Debra Kristi's blog.

One post in particular mentioned a writing challenge. I encourage you to read some of my other posts here as I have mentioned the writing challenge a few times. I misread the date, and then on the due date she sent me a message and asked if my story was ready, as she needed to link to it. I almost considered ignoring it, but thought about it for a couple of minutes. I decided that whatever else needed to be done around the home, the writing project had gained importance. So off I went and submitted my flash fiction link to her.

I have written short stories since I was a child and entered the Doctor Who fanzine field in the 1980's.

Something happened around the 1990's and 2000's and I was no longer interested in writing. Life obviously got in my way.

After I was laid off from my graphic design job in 2007 I found Associated Content. Non-fiction articles gained performance pennies, and occasionally a special project was offered. I decided to give it a try and did quite well for a couple of years. Many of my credit card articles can also be found here.

Yahoo bought up Associated Content around 2010 and turned it into Yahoo Voices. After Yahoo bought up the site, they stopped paying Canadian writers citing the tax laws. Don't you just love corporate values?

That didn't stop me from posting stories there, I continued to put up the odd one, and accepted a short story science fiction challenge they had which ended up being on a feature page.

Now we're back to the end of April and my flash fiction writing challenge. I decided I needed to incorporate the writing culture into my daily life.

I gave myself a 21-day blog writing challenge. Initially I was going to write about Steampunk and Queen Victoria every single day, but that never materialized. One day I wrote a graphic poem, another day I just posted photos.

I still have a couple more weeks to go, but since it only takes two weeks to develop a good habit such as writing every day, I intend on never stopping again!

Victoria Steampunk Exposition - A Journey in Photos

Here's my journey in photos from the 

Victoria Steam Exposition 2012, Victoria, BC.

A steam-powered bicycle

Abney Park with Mel Dawn

A seagull in front of the Union Club

A ray gun

Tie in his costume

Tie's pin made by Mel Dawn

Purse by Mel Dawn

Armor by Skinznhydez

Hand tatted trim on coat

The garden outside the Empress Hotel

In the garden at the Empress Hotel

A Walk in the Park

This morning after I opened up the curtains I saw that the the clouds had finally cleared from the sky. We didn't want to be stuck indoors watching The Avengers in a movie theatre so we decided to go for a lovely walk. 

We drove to Burnaby which was a bit counter-productive but Deer Lake Park has a new wooden walkway that we wanted to try. We strolled along and had a nice walk through the trees and marshes, and then we took a short walk around the lake.

This has been the second day in a row that the clouds cleared enough to enjoy a walk in the park.

We'll have to keep it up, rather than being stuck sitting in front of the TV all day on the weekends.

Will You Thank the Lord for the Apocalypse?

It's eerily quiet outside

An article on Yahoo entitled "Will the world end in 2012?" reports that 9 percent of Canadians believe in the December 21, 2012 Apocalypse. These people believe that according to the ancient Mayan calendar, the world will actually be ending!

There has been some dispute over whether the Mayans in fact have predicted this or they just hadn't invented an infinity symbol for their calendars yet.

What gives me a chuckle is the contingent that the Mayans got the date wrong, or that we have somehow miscalculated it due to the Gregorian calendar not existing during Mayan Times. Does this mean that these people believe that the Apocalypse is coming, but that we have the date wrong?!

For the 9%, I'd like to do a poll and find out how they believe the world will be ending. A World War III? Perhaps a drought or flood? An alien invasion? Or will it be an all-out zombie Apocalypse? Zombie fans are a-plenty on the online social groups.

I'm also finding it a bit troubling that 9% of Canadians even have this belief. Are they depressed over the Canadian economic predictions? They should be jubilant. Now there's no need to find a job, as one will not have to support oneself past December 21st.

Perhaps the believers are like me, a science fiction fan who has hopped on the bandwagon and decided that a big celebration is in order. I joined a Zombie Apocalypse survival group. She who is prepared has greater chances for survival. 

I've even bought a calendar containing the countdown, plus survival tips. The calendar does go past December 21st, but all those days are crossed off. I was a bit annoyed at first that there is no space to write anything on the calendar, but then realized that there really is no point in celebrating or doing anything this year, unless it is in direct correlation to the Apocalypse.

The title of this post is in reference to a song by Abney Park. They'll be entertaining us after the Apocalypse.

I'd like to tell everyone that I'll see you all there, but sadly I can't.

Steampunk Kitty Poem

From the Spyglass of an Adventurer: The Flight of the Absinthe Addict

I’ve given myself two writing challenges this month. The first one is to write a brief piece of fiction for Thrilling Thursdays. The second is to post a little steamy something to my blog for 21 days in a row, as a countdown to Queen Victoria’s 150th birthday this year.

A couple of weekends ago I attended the third annual Victoria Steam Exposition 

at the Empress Hotel, located in Victoria, BC.

Our first evening was spent across the street at the nostalgic Union Club where many Members of Parliament plotted their next move. This gentlemen's only club has since opened its doors to everyone.

Here is a brief review in photos of this delightful evening spent in the company of ladies and gentlemen, while sipping absinthe. Photo: A cabinet from one of the meeting rooms, me wearing my fascinator, the outside of the Union Club, a theremin, a bottle of absinthe, wood panelled ceilings and light fixture, and an absinthe spoon.

The room was resplendent in finely carved wood panelling, comfortable furniture, bone china and antique lamps. We had the chance to take a tour of the entire building.

After being regalled with the history of absinthe, we had the chance to sample three different bottles, with my favourite being "Taboo" from the Okanagan. This liquid has a highly toxic alcohol content but after being treated to the ice cold water fountain and a sugar cube it became delicious. After several flights our companions started feeling grand. Perhaps this was because of the wormwood content?

This enjoyable Friday evening was spent socializing with the creative and yet technological society of the steampunk community and sampling tasty concoctions.

Finding Isabel - Day Two of the Countdown to Queen Victoria's Birthday

Tabby cats were popular with the Victorians so today I'll tell my tabby stories. 

Today is Isabel's ninth birthday. I bought her a new kitty blanket, some treats, and made her a fascinator. 

She's only lived with me for two and a half years. It took a while before she came into my life. 

My entire life I had cats, except for an extremely long 14 years of renting apartments. In 2004 I adopted a tabby, but in the summer of 2009, the unthinkable happened. For her last year she rapidly declined, until I learned she had cancer. By the time we knew, she was already in her final days. I had become so attached to her in only five short years. I was devastated by her vet bills on my part-time income, and totally devastated in my heart. I knew I would adopt another cat one day, I just didn't know when. 

Several months passed. I graduated from college and found a better job. Not a day went past that I did not think of her. My boyfriend T drove me around to all the local shelters. I viewed hundreds of cats, but in my heart none of them were as special to me as Cristobel had been. 

"Leave the carrier in the car," I told T, at Katie's Place Cat Shelter in Maple Ridge, BC, November 2009. "I won't find a cat here either." He didn't listen to me and brought the pet taxi inside anyway. 

We spent two hours looking at cats. I wanted one around two years old, so I would have her for a long time. The staff helped me narrow down the cats that I had seen online. They didn't think a feisty young tabby was the right cat for me, so the hunt continued. They weren't going to let me leave without a cat in that pet taxi!

Discouraged, none of the cats really stood out for me. It was going on the third hour when I knew I wouldn't find one here either. The hunt for a cat would continue. I was taking this adoption seriously, and we had to be right for each other.

Finally, I decided to look at the older cats. There was nothing else to do on that day but go home anyway. I looked at 100 more, even the ones in the hospital area. 

I entered what must have been the last room of the shelter. All these cats were older, around 6 or more years. Not the right age, but I was just looking. 

And then I turned and I saw a gorgeous black, brown and peach tabby sitting on top of a tall scratching post. She had the sweetest expression on her face as I stroked her. She had the softest fur, her ears were rounded, and she seemed quite gentle. This was the cat I had been waiting for months to adopt!

She was named Cherub, like an angel, but she looked like an Isabel to me, so Cherub became her middle name. We brought her home and she cuddled up to me on that first night. There were no issues settling in, she immediately knew she was home.

That is how I found my kitty angel. Happy Birthday Isabel!