15.7.10

Tom Jones, Mean Girls, et al

  Okay, this is going to be a totally random rant, so  bear  with me.

  Okay, we get "Duck Dodgers" over here, a cartoon starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, only sci-fi.  The theme song is sung by none other than Tom Jones.  I hate it and love it at the  same time.  Love it cause the lyrics are hysterical, at least I think so, and I hate it cause I can't stand to hear Tom Jones sing. Seriously, the guy sounds like he's in pain when he sings.  Take his voice and Aaron Neville's face and it ain't nothing but an auditory and visual pain fest!  Tom sounds as if in pain, and Aaron looks like he's in pain!  Uggg....

  So my writer cousin wrote a blog the other day reviewing a YA (that's Young Adult)  novel about mean girls, and it spurned discussions in the comments about our own kids; our thoughts, fears etc. for our own daughters, as well as our own experiences growing up.  Her post can be found here.  I had a hard time as a kid.  I didn't have a big house, or new car, heck one parent  was MIA.  I wore hand me downs, lived in what looked like an over sized building block - no lie - it had a flat roof, and was made out of cinder blocks.   My brother was ADHD and  was constantly in trouble with the teachers and other students,  and I was always bailing him out.  I wanted to fit in hang out with the "cool" kids, only they didn't like me.  It  wasn't till high school that I realized that these people didn't matter, that once we got out of school I would probably never see them again for as long as I lived.  I wish I would have gotten that earlier, woulda saved myself a lot of heartache, and probably would have focused more on my books!  Ah hind-sight!  Gotta love it!  Too little too late, I guess.  But I see my oldest daughter headed down the same path, she will do anything for approval, and that scares me.  The other  kids have figured this out, and use it to their advantage.  If I give Kelly a few bucks to buy herself some chips, or candy, that's when she has "friends".  If she doesn't have anything, they don't play with her.  I tried to explain to her what took me so long to learn.  I don't know if she gets it.  I don't want my kids to feel like I did, nor do I want them to be like the girls that were mean to me, which is what I have to worry about with my middle child, also a girl.  She is cute, and she knows it!  She loves you if you are pretty!!!  She only really likes people who are pretty!  She bases everything on looks.  She plays with kids who are older than her.  Only once have I seen her play with another kid her own age, and this was only a few weeks ago.  And this little girl was pretty, and knew it too.  Talk about 2 peas in a pod!  Isabel isn't mean  to other kids,  but she will tell you point blank if she doesn't like you, she doesn't let anyone push her around.  Somewhat scary!  I pray for wisdom daily!  God, hello, do you hear me down here?  Can you help me?  Can you help my kids?  Hello?  HELLOOOOOO???????

  So I have taken some advice and started writing, not sure if it will be a novel yet, I'm kinda stuck, and I'm only in the 3rd chapter - not a great prospect!  No, it's not about my life as an ex-pat, etc.  Completely fictional.  I should write about my life,  I mean they say to write what you know, right?  I just don't know how to put our story on paper without some serious repercussions - for those of you not familiar with my situation and why I'm here, basically it could land my hubby in some serious political/criminal trouble with his government.  No, he didn't kill anyone or anything like that, but hello, it's only been 20 years since  Communism fell here, and  all the politicians are old Commies!  But I digress.  It should be interesting if I can figure out exactly what I want to do with my female lead.  I have the guy figured out, but not sure what to do with her, she's complicate,  but then again, aren't all  women???

  Last rant.  I wrote last week about how much it's been raining here.  Towns  have completely flooded, etc.  It's  been pretty bad.  But it finally stopped, only this week - the heat has been unbearable.  There is no such thing as central A/C, they do have units, and we could get one, but it would jack my electric bill up.  Electricity and gas are SKY HIGH here.  We have a fan, but I only run it during nap time, and at bed time in the kids room.  Anyway, so it rained today for about an hour, and I was happy, cause it cooled off for a few hours! WHOO-HOO!!!  But it stopped, and now it's stifling again!  GAG!!!


  I thought about something else to rant about, but it has now escaped my mind!  Help me Lord!  The gray hairs have penetrated the brain!

3 comments:

LTM said...

Hang in there, missy! And it's good to vent. Try to relax your mind about the book and let your imagination wander. I get good ideas in the shower sometimes... ;o)

Gorges Smythe said...

All you can do with your girls is do the best that you can to teach them the need for self-respect, but not self-love. Sounds so easy; doesn't it? If you pull it off, you'll probably be the first parent in history to do so. Most kids, like most adults, have to learn everything on their own.

Unknown said...

Your blog is fantastic! I'm definitely a fan of rants and yours is no exception!

Mean girls are tough. I don't envy kids having to go through it now a days with all the fancy phones, cars, and constant upgrades in the clothing and electronics department. The cool thing in my time was cell phones and I knew I couldn't afford it, nor could my parents. It sucked until I grew up and realized the kids that made fun of me would soon get what they deserved. Those kids don't matter but it's hard to tell your children that because they are living it and when your parents warned you, you thought they were too old to understand, lol.

The blanket statement Write what you know is certainly open to your viewing. I write YA fantasy so everything I write about I make up, but somehow I know about it all, it's my world. I created it, it's my own which makes me writing what I know, it's from my perspective. I wish you the best of luck on your writing journey and look forward to checking back to see the progress! I've just finished writing my second novel and it's leaps and bounds better from the first one I've ever completed.