The Moment I Knew

Guys I have come to a realization over the last few months. Which is:

I am not Taylor Swift.


I know the hair and my inablity not to look like a five year playing dress up when I try dramatic lip colors should have been a give away.

 And the money.

And my lack of dating drama.


But really "The Moment I Knew" I wasn't Taylor Swift was when I realized I was hearing her lyrics wrong. Well, probably hearing them correctly but translating them to my own life.

Like in her song "22" there is a line where she says "It feels like a perfect night to make fun of our exes."

I realized I was singing "It feels like a perfect night to make fun of our accents."

I have a thick American accent. My friends here in Ireland have a wide range of accents. And we all tent to make fun of each others. And the people from Cork. We all make fun of the Cork accent. My "22" friends and I are more likely to make fun of our own and others accents than we are to make fun of our exes. So, I tend to just assume that is what Taylor is singing.

Then in her song "All Too Well" she says something about stairs. " Down the stairs I was there, I remember it all too well." I hear "County Clare, I was there, I remember it all too well." I guess I have stronger memories of the lovely County Clare than I do any given stair case.












I don't have the energy to come up with a concluding paragraph. Here are two pictures.

Zombies

Okay I really don't understand the fascination/phobia that culture has with zombies. I mean I guess the idea of undead is scary, but I mean no one is talking about preparing for the vampire apocalypse. I mean there are lots of scary mythical creatures. And yes, they are mythical creatures much like vampires. Not an invention of twentieth or twenty first century.  The living dead come up in historical Welsh legends I'm pretty sure. I can't be bothered to actually look it up now though.

Anyway. Today I was talking to my mom-- this does connect with the ramble above. I promise.

My mom started telling me she had to go and do school work with my little brother. He is home schooled. In a frantic attempt to keep me online, talking to mom and thus delaying the inevitable of his getting back to work, he started asking me questions. This is a common practice of his. But as a verteran of homeschooling I understand the ingrained need to struggle against math assignments out of principle so I usually help the kid out.

Eli (frantically) : "Madi! I have a question!"

Me: "Go for it."

Eli: "This is an important question. And I believe your answer reveals a great deal about your personality. How would you respond to the zombie apocalypse?"

Me: "Seriously zombies? Why does everyone go on about zombies--"

Mom (in desperate attempt to avoid a rant similar to my opening paragraph): "You want to know what I would do?"

Eli: "No. Shhh. Don't help her."

Me: "NO!! Guys I know what I would do!! I would round up all the annoying people into one place. Then I would inject them with a virus. Then I would leave them for the zombies. The zombies would eat them but also be poisoned. Thus solving our problem of annoying people and zombies. We could get rid of zombies and annoying people! It is another step in evolution!"

Mom (slowly):"Eli's right. That answer does say a lot about your personality."

Being a Grown Up

Somethings about being a grown up really aren't fun.

This shouldn't be news to anyone.

But I'm trying to look on the bright side. Here is a list of things I like about being a grown up.

1. I can eat chocolate before dinner.

2. I can eat chocolate whenever I want.

3. I can stay up incredibly late watching TV/movies that I have memorized.

4. I can check out library books I already have memorized. Yes this is a big perk. When I was in my pre-teens I distinctly remember my mom sending me back to get a Boxcar Children book I hadn't read because I had read the first one "too many times". This coming from the woman who basically continuously reads Persuasion.

5. I don't have to take gym class.

6. When I do work out I can do what I want. Like yoga as opposed to basket ball.

7. I don't have to take math.

8. I don't get told to play outside more.

9. I shop for myself.

10. I can smirk at people younger than myself.

11. I have learned not to get bangs/fringe.

12. Sometimes quitters win.

13. It is great to still have relationships with your siblings without having to share with them.

Okay I thought of thirteen reasons. Which might be ominous somehow. I'm sure there are more reasons. But now I have to go watch more TV... or maybe just sleep. 

New Years Resolutions but not

I have this thing about following traditions. I don't like to. At all. Which might be considered ironic when one considers that I have fairly traditional values. But then maybe it is because of that. Anyway.

I have several reasons for not making New Years Resolutions this year.

1. There is much too much chocolate in this house to consider abstaining from it.

2. I made several goals for my year in Ireland which began and will end in June. I'm still focusing on those.

3. I don't want to make goals at this traditional time. Simply because, yes, I like to flaunt tradition. Even good ones. I do think that the yearly practice of evaluating yourself and trying to improve yourself is a good one.

But while my mom and I were discussing this we came up with a brilliant idea. Even by our standards.

Anti-New Years Resolutions

Examples

1. Eat all the chocolate in the house.

2. Watch too much tv

3. Read all the novels you want

4. Sleep in

 I don't know. They seem like more fun than giving up chocolate. Even if that is what I should probably do.

2012 in review

One of said manuscripts was a NANOWRIMO, which means I wrote 50'000 words plus in 30 days 

Lived in: 
Orlando-- I was still there for a couple days at the beginning of 2012
Idaho-- Lived there until April.
Colorado-- Lived there April/May.
Pennsylvania-- Lived here about a week before moving to drum-roll please.
Galway Ireland.-- Lived here since June 2nd.

Visited:
Ireland (Republic of)
Galway-- Well, I live here but it is great and a major tourist attraction so there.
Cliffs of Moher
Poulnabrone Dolmen-- older than the pyramids.
Connemara 
 Kylemore Abbey 
Cork --practically lived here, traveling every week for a class.
Limerick-- There was a castle
Dublin-- I've been before but it's only a few hours by bus and a great city.
Northern Ireland
Belfast-- how could I be so ignorant of current events????
Also a YSA conference I didn't hate, lots of new friends and Latin dancing. Latin dancing isn't what I think of when I think of Northern Ireland (Well, it wasn't until this activity) but it was really fun.
Scotland
Edinburgh-- One of my favorite cities I have ever been too. The whole time I felt like I was in Hogsmede because it is such a historic city. I had breakfast twice at the Elephant House, a.k.a. the birthplace of Harry Potter.


Pretty sure I've left stuff out. But oh well.

Done 
Completed Disney College Program Internship 

Tech. Phedra out of the goodness of my heart with two nights to learn my part.

Graduated College with Degree in English and minor in theatre

Had play accepted into BYU-I Research and Creative Works Conference

Said play won best dramatic work in advanced creative writing class. I won a Gothic candle stick as a prize. Only slightly marred by the fact that I was the only student to attempt to write a script.

Got a job  abroad

Moved abroad 

Took a film acting class

Wrote 2 novel manuscripts


Discovered I like photography

Own a briefcase

Called as Youth Sunday School Teacher

Started wearing small, stud earrings because it is more difficult for children to yank them out of your ear lobes

Started reading for fun again

My brother got married. I wasn't there and it isn't by any means my accomplishment, but it would be wrong not to mention it.

Started sketching again
 
Now I have for sure left stuff out here.

Story telling/literary pet peeves.

I have a degree in English, emphasis in creative writing with a minor in theatre.
So basically I have spent a lot of time and money one being able to see a movie, read a book, see a play and point out what they should have done differently.

Now I don't believe if you follow the rules you will end up with a perfect story. That's rediculous. And your loyality, as an artist, is to your piece,  not to your critics.
But here are somethings that I feel are very important for artists to take note of.

1. "In the beginning" (Janelle, if you or any Children of Eden veterans are reading this then you are welcome for the song now pulling you into a post-traumatic stress disorder flash back.)


Writer's, especially beginning writers, begin too early. You need to know what you write. But your reader doesn't need to know all that.

Expostition should be as short as possible.
Who are we with?
Where are we?

Answer those questions and move on to the plot.

2. Deus ex Machina -- Don't do it.
For those of you who had a life in college beyond classic Greek texts this means when a god-like figure arrives at the last minute and saves everything.
Biggest let down for audience or readers who wanted to see how your protagonist was going to triumph against all odds. Now all they get to see is a plot interrupted.

3. CONFLICT

I cannot emphasize this enough.

Now, just in case you are confused. Conflict is not a battle. It is not agent X stopping the bomb with minutes to spare. It is not even your name being drawn in a death lottery.

These things are "external conflict". It does have its place. That is where most the plot comes from.

However, external conflict is never, never, enough on its own. It needs its friend Internal conflict. Faulkner wrote that the only thing worth writing about was "the human heart in conflict with itself".

 For example in the King Arthur legend Guinevere loves Lancelot. Lancelot loves Gueneiver. But she is married to King Arthur. Who is a good king and a good husband. Gueniever refuses to leave him. She loves him. Lancelot hates himself for his love of Gueienver because Arthur is a beacon of all that is good to him. Arthur knows what they are doing behind his back. But he refuses to do anything about it because he thinks that if he admits he knows the truth they will both leave him. They are his family. So one does anything until the enemies of Camelot take advantage and Arthur is faced with a choice-- watch his wife be burned alive or allow the kingdom of justice he has fought for crumble.
See that is conflict!! Impossible made worse by relationships.
Beautiful. That is why the King Arthur legend has lasted so long.
Unfortunately is is a tragedy so in this particular case the situation really is impossible. They all die and the kingdom is destroyed anyway. Sorry if I just gave something away. 

The Irish

Guys the Irish are so nice.

When I first got here my host mom was like "People here are the nicest in the world."
Being my cynical self I was like "Okay." But thinking. Well, you would of course think that. It is just what you are going to think. 


But it is true. It is completely true.

I have lived a lot of places. But the Irish are just so naturally nice.

Like this weekend I was freezing because the heating was off in my acting studio and I already had a cold.
Then this classmate of mine went down to restaurant (we use a room upstairs) to ask them if they would please turn the heating on for us. They weren't able to please turn up the heating. They couldn't because the manager with the keys had left for Mass. "Welcome to Ireland." As my friend said. But then instead of just running back upstairs she bought herself a tea and me a hot chocolate. This is a great girl, but we are little more than aquaintances. But she still bought me a warm drink just because.

Not only that she bought me a warm beverage that wasn't tea or coffee. Possibly the only thing that the Irish and the English agree on is the necessity of tea.

The thing with this film class is the commute. I am sure I have ranted about this before. But, anyway here we go again. To get to this class I have to leave Friday night, 3 hours on a bus. Then stay at a hostel. They know me by name now. Then Saturday I go to class  and then another 3 hours on a bus.

Upon hearing this two people-- neither of whom had known me more than the morning-- offered that I could stay with them. Like it was the most natural thing in the world to offer a spare room to a stranger. Which, at least in America, it isn't. One even said. "I've only just met you but you don't seem like an axe murderer or a thief of any kind. So here is my card. We women have to look out for each other."

Then there are the people at the hostel I stay at weekely (despite the nice invitations my American sense of privacy can't just let me invade someone's home unless we are blood relatives or have known each other long enough we might as well be.)

They let me skip the line to check in or check out.
They give me travel tips.
They are my friends.

Then sometimes when I am walking with my kids ( the kids that I mind)  and waiting to cross a road someone in oncoming traffic will stop, thus stopping all traffic, just to let us pass.

Today this happened. And while I was walking with the little girl across the road she starts screaming. I knew she had dropped her glove. So I told her we would just wait until the cars went by  and we'd go back and get it.

Then the nice guy who had stopped traffic for us pulled over. Got out of his car, picked up her glove and crossed the road to give it to us.

It was so nice.

And these are (relative) strangers. Not the awesome people in my ward or my awesome family. These are just people on the street. Bottom line. The Irish are awesome.