Upside Down Inside Out

Ramadan has got me turned upside down and inside out. My routine has been shot to hell. I haven’t been sleeping enough which has translated into me being groggy/cranky most of the time. Forget about being productive. It’s impossible in these circumstances.

I’m usually on top of my game at work and know the status of every project I’m working on, but for the past three weeks I have been oblivious to what’s on my plate. I don’t know what’s coming in and what’s going out on my desk anymore. For those reasons, I’m glad Eid is coming up this Friday. I will miss five-hour work days but at least I’ll have my sanity back (who am I kidding, I lost that years ago!).

Ramadan started on a sad and tragic note the first week due to the suicide bombing. Many of my friends were scared to go out the first few days after the tragedy, but then all they wanted to do was meet up and unite. It was nice to have that sense of kinship and community during a low time. I’ve been pretty active socially this Ramadan. Many people cancelled their ghabgat (Ramadan gatherings) but closer friends decided to meet up. I think I’ve seen more friends over the past two weeks than I have during the past six months.

I’ve done a lot of introspection during this month and I came to the conclusion that I need to make changes to my life. I’m going to take the steps to live a healthier lifestyle (AKA diet&workout) and be more social and outgoing (AKA date). I’ve also decided there are certain people in my circle that I have to phase out of my life. It’s not that they’re bad people, it’s just that most of their energy is negative. And I’m done with negativity. I can’t anymore. I need positive people who are out there doing interesting things. If all you’re doing with your life is complaining, I’m sorry but I can’t be around you. GYST (Get your shit together) and then we’ll talk.

CryoBurn by Lois McMaster Bujold

In an attempt to add even MORE books to my To Read shelf on Goodreads, I browsed the list of Hugo and Nebula nominated novels over the past few decades. When I saw CryoBurn on the list, I blinked. It didn’t sound like a familiar title and I was sure I had read every single book Lois McMaster Bujold has come out with. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t read this book in the Miles Vorkosigan saga!

200px-Cryoburn

I read the book in two sittings. It was bittersweet. I loved being immersed back into Miles’ world even though he was an adult (with four kids!). Seeing Roic again was nice. I’m glad he’s become comfortable with being Miles’ Armsman even if Roic still had a penchant for dramatics whenever he thought he failed Miles. It was interesting seeing Miles be more responsible even while he was turning an entire planet upside down. And I loved seeing Mark. Mark amuses me.

The ending took me aback. I did not expect it to end that way. The drabbles at the end of the book brought tears to my eyes. I won’t spoil it for you but it’s a must read.

I hope there are more Miles books in the future. I’m not sure how much I like this new responsible Miles but he reminds me of his father. I also would love more books with Civil. I love the whole Barrayar cast.

Book Giveaway

I love it when I get random messages from book lovers.

Tanya, a book blogger, reached out to me on Goodreads and asked if I would be interested in having her promote my book. Her blog A Book Paradise was celebrating its 3rd anniversary and she offered to do cover reveals, giveaways and excerpts. Would I be interested?

Of course!

I decided to particpate in an ebook giveaway and sent her all the relevant information for THE ENCHANTED ROSE. I’ll post the link to the blog once it goes live.

One of the best things about self-publishing is the community. Everyone is so supportive. I’m so proud to be part of it.

Happy anniversary Tanya & A Book Paradise!

Singledom

Reasons I’m single:

  • I’m picky
  • I’m insecure (about my body, among other things…maybe it’s time to go to a gym)
  • When I meet a guy I determine his friendship potential instead of relationship potential (maybe it’s time to change my outlook >.<)
  • I deflect compliments automatically (see #2) which makes the guy think I’m not into him
  • I make a lot of excuses for why that guy isn’t right
  • I automatically see the demise of the relationship and find reasons why it won’t work out
  • When a guy expresses interest in me, I laugh it off and discuss what a great friend he is or deflect

Now I have a list of habits to change.

I Bought Myself a Dragon

After reading Elizabeth’s post on Kboards, “1 Week Training My Dragon” I went ahead and bought my own Dragon.

The Dragon I’m referring to is Dragon NaturallySpeaking program that I can dictate to and will transcribe my ramblings. I was encouraged to purchase the program in the aim of writing more words. I waste a lot of time and it would be helpful if I could tape whenever I didn’t have a laptop around and have it transcribed later.

So far, my Dragon and I have worked together for about half an hour. He hasn’t shared his name with me yet. I didn’t see any increase pace, if anything it was the opposite. It was slow going and frustrating at times when I couldn’t make myself understood.

Despite the frustration, it was funny when I realized my Dragon couldn’t dictate “aunt” whenever I said it. Every time I would say the word I would get a completely different one instead. At one point Dragon typed “goat”.

Aunt. Goat. Aunt. Goat. Aunt. Goat. Aunt. Goat.

I really don’t hear myself pronouncing them the same at all!

I’m on a tight schedule at the moment so I don’t have much time to train my Dragon but I’m hoping I can after ten days. That’s my deadline for finishing my edits.