two birds, two stones, one post...

       wow. i've been busy the last few days. being a self-professed news whore is starting to pay off. a little. early in july i applied to be a freelance restaurant review writer for examiner.com. i knew from the start that it wasn't going to be a lucrative position by any means -- i wanted it for the exposure, the writing practice, the resume/portfolio boost, and whatever i could get financially. because right now all i have is plasma and random jobs for the 'rents. because i'm awesome like that. i may have talked about this before? but anyway, they wanted me to be their "glbt business examiner" instead (i know, it should be lgbtq, but i don't have enough clout to change my title yet), so after more samples were sent they said i was a "go." little did i know how much work i'd be putting into it for so very, very little pay, lol. and i've only published two articles so far (just submitted the second one tonight). but i like it. it's getting me writing again, even if it's not my desired style of writing -- it's still writing. sort of. but the research is fun. and it will look good for my real job applications, especially if i do well.

       i'm paid a paltry flat rate by the article, but i'm also paid a commission based on subscriptions, page views, session length, and advertiser interest. so click here and check it out. pretty please? thanks. love you. yes, you. mhm.

---

featured grownups. first august topic. if you could live in any book world, which one would it be?

<nerd>

       middle earth. post sauron, of course. or pre. just not during any of that war crap because that wouldn't be fun. i'm slightly torn between the shire and rivendell and lothlorien. the shire would be nice on vacations, though, a place to kick back in the country and have a pint. and lothlorien would be freakin' gorgeous, but i'd be afraid to fall out of the trees while sleeping unless they had something similar to those vine/bed/thingies in avatar. so it'd probably be rivendell. it's perpetually autumn there anyway, which is my favorite season. and it's homey while still technologically advanced. and i love wood and stone work and water features. yes, probably rivendell. i'm sure the elves are very progressive. and it's closer to the shire when i feel like kicking back and having a pint. which sounds really good right now.

</nerd>

       oh, and don't forget to click here and read my articles and subscribe and be nice to me. =)

keep on keepin' on (again)...

 

       "i think we're all that way, a little bit." her words took me off guard. this eighty-something woman who grew up so poor she didn't even know what the "great depression" was, loved and married a man through world war two, raised four children and tons of grandchildren, and who i'd always known as "gramma" was telling me that not only was it ok to be gay, but that she might have also had similar thoughts. "god is love, after all."

       we weren't talking about me. we were talking about my cousin, who is a lesbian, and to whom my mother had just sent a large package of "change ministries" materials. i never got a chance to tell her. she died several years before i even began to think about coming out, but she simultaneously comforted me with her words and fueled the growing struggle within me. and even now that i've moved on to other struggles, her last words to me, "keep on keepin' on" (possibly stolen from the allman brothers), still gives me that little bit of strength that seems to help my world keep turning.

       i've blogged about her before, i know, but the current featured grownups challenge began on her birthday and i couldn't resist. ha. random memory: even when i was in college she'd still address her christmas presents to me "to: chris, from: santa"

---

day seven. a photo that makes you happy.

       oh my. i wish i had a digital picture of my grandma that i could post here, but i don't and neither do i have a scanner on hand. boo. instead: hermes. the night he came to live with me.