The Nitty Gritty of Being a Novelist

Hi everyone,
I thought I would take time to let all of you know what I've been up to these days. If you haven't guessed from the title I've been finally getting myself back into novel writing. This has been a passion of mine since I was in my teens, but as life would have it, I've pushed it aside. Life happens and sometimes it gets the best of you, for me these past five years after graduating college have been a whirlwind. Getting married after being in a 10 year long relationship took center as well as building up my career and non-profit. Now that things are settling down a little bit, I've started to return to things that I've always wanted to complete. First thing on that list was telling my stories to the world. I've never seemed to shake that desire from me and I've let it consume a good amount of my life these days.

I was inspired to write this post because wanting to be a novelist and actually making it a part of your daily life are two completely different things. I also didn't see very many articles or blogs written on the web that weren't sugar coated or vague about novel writing. For something that has dramatically changed the way I live my life I can only imagine how difficult it would be to adapt to daily novel writing as a beginner. I hope that this post will help people that are starting out, or feel a sense of defeat from previous attempts of bringing writing into a daily part of their life.

Begin with a declaration that you are writing a novel: Your declaration will mentally prepare you to begin the changes when writing becomes a daily part of your life. It sounds silly, but this was one of the biggest and hardest things to do. All writers are hard on themselves; careful what to share with the world about their passion for story telling. I think that it's safe to say that there is this social stigma that any craft that involves feelings is a waste of time or left to be nothing more than hobby. You need to get yourself out of that mindset before you can emotionally and mentally dedicate yourself to the world you are creating. This declaration doesn't just stop with you. Your friends and family need to know about your conscious effort to begin writing. Whether the news is received with a supportive or negative vibes, you will need to let them know so to feel out the environment that you will be creating in. I started with a few friends and my close family; both were received with mixed reviews. Mostly they will be confused why you need to tell them, they will understand in time why you had to announce your choice to pursuit your dream as your schedule will change.

Second life/ second job: The biggest change I've found in my life is that I feel a constant drain and pull working my full time job and finding the time to write my novel. I've built my proper timing and routines, but the drain does get to me at least once a week. If you are serious about writing, this will become a second job. When I realized that there were days that I just had to write, and I had to dedicate myself to it that day, I found myself pulling that weight and making sure that it was done at any cost. Starting out you will need to stay up a few hours late at night, or even get up earlier to write. In time you will adjust and make the sacrifices necessary to give your writing a fighting chance to be in your life.

Alone time is golden, protect it: One thing I learned really quickly was the desire to want to be alone to write. Pulling yourself away where you can clear your mind for the daily task of 'adulting' and letting your mind wander in it's imaginative state is such a fine line. I've gotten to a point where I know that I need at least one hour of decompress time when I get home from work. On my days off I handle the chores first and give myself an hour of rest before I start to write. You will start to be aware of your time and how to work with the schedule you have. You will also have times when you will have to say no to meet ups with friends and family. This is one of the reasons you will need to tell them you are a novelist. A good friend will understand, and will probably be eager to read what you come up with.

You will need to build a stamina for it: I don't care how experienced or talented you are, rushed work never creates good work. Burn out is also something that is discouraging and has often stopped writers from creating a daily routine in their work. When you start, find your comfortable medium and raise your word count or time writing slowly. One site that has really helped me build my stamina is 750words.com . I don't use them daily, but when I do start writing, I promise myself that I will finish that 750 word count in that day. So far, my comfortable count is 875-1,200 words daily depending on the day and the parts I'm writing. I'm comfortable with the pace that I'm at but after hitting the half way point in my novel, I plan on raising up my word count to 1,000-1,700 words. I also want to add that you should schedule your breaks as well. When I suffer burn out, I promise myself a day or two to stay away from writing. During that time I try to inspire myself with documentaries, going to a museum, or seeing friends. Bottom line - you're in this to see the beginning and the end, this is not an a temporary affair.

Find your routine with trial by fire: They say that it takes two weeks to build or destroy a habit. I can say from personal experience that this is true. I felt like a zombie my first two weeks. To get myself used to writing I stayed up an extra hour or two every night. I also feel like writing, especially creatively is very exhausting and will wear you down after awhile. The times of the day that you write are also important, I used to think that I was a morning writer but later found that my peak is between late afternoon to evening. To know what works best for you, you will have to try different times and methods. You will also find your strengths and weaknesses take less and more time. I am very strong in narrative and can write it almost anywhere. Dialogue is my weakness, so I have to take a little longer when I write it. Test yourself with trial and error. Be forgiving of failures and mistakes, but be swift to change to things that do work.

I hope that this post inspires you. Keep writing, and your tea close!
Cheers

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Scooter Update: Painting Part 2

Hello everyone,
Between Ninja con this past weekend and a few career changes, my scooter has unfortunately been pushed to the side. I wanted to update you on the progress of the painting and the steps that I've taken. I'm almost finished with the entire body of the scooter, with a few mess ups here and there. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes. This post is going to focus on the prep work before the paint work. This is the messiest and most exhausting part of the process, but gives you the greatest pay off in the end. I'll dive right into it:

Removing the parts: I know that this seems like a no-brainer, but it was actually harder than I thought it would be.  Scooter parts are layered on each other to provide a sleeker put together look. Be very careful as to what you remove, you would do yourself a favor if you can get yourself an extra hand. The better of a handle you have on the parts, the less likely you will spread or make any new crack to the body. Another thing that you need to be careful about is grease and dirt build up. It can easily deceive you that the part is stuck to something or needs extra force to pry. I know this was especially a problem on the bottom part of my bike. Some cases, you will also go through corroding issues where bolts have completely locked in to the bike and won't release the body part due to rust. I had this happen to the fender, and I was able to get it free with the handy use of my chisel and a hammer. I had to sacrifice the bolt because of it, fortunately it was a standard bolt.

Speaking of bolts, keep your excess smaller parts in a safe place. I simply put mine in a plastic cup off to the side. You can also keep track of all of the bolts with your mechanic manual, allowing you to put the pieces back in the right place.

Evaluating the damage: Once you have everything off, you'll have to take a look at what work needs to be done. You might have some major gashes and scratches, or you might find plenty of cracks in your body. One thing that I wish I knew before the project was to work on the parts with the worse damage first. You really want to make sure that the extra bonding bits dry well and that you give yourself plenty of time to sand them down. I'll touch more on this later on.

She's a natural red head!

Cleaning and chisel work: I started to get to work on my bike by spraying it down with water and that Awesome degreaser that I had mentioned in the first post. Start on the surface first and move towards the inner parts last. It turned into a really messy paste like substance after the end of it. Be generous with your degreaser if you have to, and let it set. This will do most of the work for you. When using your brush, go in a circular motion. It lifts the grease easier and gives you a deeper scrub.

I found the chisel really useful for dried on gunk. The scooters emblems were these really thick resin stickers that were painted over (I found out that Lucky was originally red!) by the blue coat that was over the scooter. The previous owner also kept the scooter together with some duct tape. The chisel really helped to get these things off of the scooter without any extra damage. It was a very slow process, but the results were a smooth surface without any buildup.

Rough sand: Take that 60 or 80 grit and get rid of all the major gashes you might have. This was such a life saver for the bottom of the scooter and the edges that looked like they were gashed when the bike dropped. Be careful around parts that have a crack in them, you might want to wait before you file those down in case all that you need is filler or a patch to even it out. Also be weary of sanding a surface to thin, if a gash is very deep and on the thin side, reach for the filler first.

Filler and patching: These will be one of a few steps that you will need to be very patient with. The drier the epoxy bond is, the easier it is to work with. It also gives you a smoother surface when you wet sand it to work with. I like to give my time to set at the very least half the day, but I would recommend up to 24 hours.

When laying out your patching, try to find the balance between thick and thin. It just creates a better seal. Too think will make the patch brittle, and too thick will destroy its flexibility. I think another great tip I learned is to give yourself a 5 minute working time frame with the epoxy, if you have to work in smaller sections do so. It will give you less to sand in the finished product.

Final wet sand: When everything has dried, start giving it the final sand with the finer grit sandpapers. It also helps immensely to get yourself a wet sandpaper. Working a little water on the surface with the sandpaper allows you to see all the details and any minor scratches you might not have caught. When your sure your finished (or absolutely tired) give yourself a few hours to let the left of residue dry and wipe the surface with a dry paper towel.

Some painting preview

 Last thoughts or tips:

• Always double check your cracks which you filled in case of some minor spider cracks you missed.
• I can't reiterate enough to be patient with the chisel. Watch some Netflix if you have to.
• You might have to fine sand more than once, or go back and repeat steps to get the desired smoothness.
• Make a day out of the epoxy. Dust and glue are a terrible combination.
• Pace yourself. It's so easy to get caught up in wanting to finish the project. But the slower you are, the more aware you'll be of detail.

I think that this is all that I can really say about the prep process. Next we'll get to move onward to the painting! Thank you for joining me on this journey, hopefully this will help some of you other painting armatures like me out there.

Cheers!

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Scooter Update: Painting Part 1

My Dad and me taking the body off of Lucky

Hi everyone,
This past weekend has been a doozy for me and I'm always happy to return here to be in the little corner of the internet with you. I just wanted to update you on the progress of my scooter.

Before I continue, I just want to say that this scooter is asking more out of me than I expected. I knew that I would have to go through the safety school to get my licence, my equipment to ride the thing, and of course getting used to and practicing with the vehicle. But buying an older scooter has proven to be more challenging just because of what age will do to a vehicle in general. This has led to further repairs that I had not expected. The strange thing about it is that it seems to be making me fall in love with it more and more. I feel like I'm really taking the care to enjoy the whole experience rather than rushing into the process. Because of this I've grown more appreciative of what I have in front of me. As my first two wheeler, I can honestly say that it feels like it's mine. So that being said, I wanted to write about my experience with painting my scooter. This is probably the biggest labor of love I've put into her.

When I had gotten Lucky, she came with so many broken parts, the paint was scuffed everywhere, and she was cosmetically not in the best of places. I knew that to get her in a better condition and it was going to be much more work. So I decided that if I was going to go through the process of patching her up, that I wanted to paint the whole scooter. I wanted to give the scooter a new lead on it's life. I am now it's 3rd owner and the last owner didn't take the best of care of her. So my first step was to begin with research.

I'll spare you the couple of weeks of exhausting research, you tube videos, and ebooks and tell you the few things I realized:

• A real paint job with and auto body shop was going to cost me between 1,000 - 3,000 which was so much more than what I paid for my bike. It was also money I did not have.
  
• This budget would not have included patching all of the cracks in the body.
  
• Paint is great, but what makes a great paint job and overall good bike is a well structured shell. So my cracks would have to be repaired and done right.
  
• One last thing: it makes me so sad that the auto painting community has this wave of arrogance and bullying in them. Tearing others down because you could do better doesn't make you any better or help them learn. (Seriously, just read the comments on any auto painting tutorial in a forum or you tube.)

My early concept attempt at a two-toned paint job. I was thinking of a metal flake Bronze bottom. 

So this being said, I went for the poor mans option and opted for spray painting my bike. My father has spray painted a few things before, particularly his trailer frame and hitch for his teardrop trailer which looks fantastic! (I ought to make a post about that) After his advice I decided to go with his favorite brand of Rustoleum. He says that it has the right in between of going on even and not too runny.

I waited on a few days and finally settled on their color of Apple Green. I love the lightness of the color and how it has a cool vintage feeling to it. It was a bit of an homage to the mod colors of the 60s scooters with a clean kick of the green in it. Plus the lighter color would make me safer on the road and be more visible. I had also decided that I was going to go all out and paint a pattern on my scooter. Originally I had wanted a two tone look, but the design of the scooter was too organic and curvy for it to look right. Instead of fighting it, I went with a cherry blossom pattern. It was something nostalgic that reminded me of my teens when I was really into Japanese pop culture. Some of that still reflects in my style, and since my scooter represents freedom and fun in a new lead on my life I thought it was perfect.

Before I continue on with the process I'm going to write a list here of the products that I've been using in case anyone might need to get their hands on these things. I'll also include links when I can to the places that I got them:

Sandpaper Sheets: I've been using these grits- 80 for stripping and smoothing out deep scratches. 150 for the overall sanding of the surface to prepare it for painting. 220 for last minute detail before painting. It's also good to look for sandpaper that can be used wet. Sometimes all the details come out when you wet the body, it's the best way to look for scratches.

Bumper Repair Kit: I've been using Bondo from Pep Boys. Try to look for something with meshing and and squeegee tool to lay out your material. This stuff is also great for bigger noticeable scratches you can't get out with sand paper. My only regret in using this product was how much of it I need to buy. One kit will do about 2-3 major cracks. Then again, my scooter is full of cracks that I didn't know it even had.

Apple Green Rustoleum: This was my choice mainly because of the color. There are so many to choose from. The only downside of my color is the satin finish it has. I'll be making up for this with my clear finish.

Clear Finish from Rustoleum: You've been warned, you will be needed a lot of this stuff! Even in the professional industry a lacquered clear coat on a restored car can be up to 30 layers thick. I'm currently up to my third coat and I think it needs at least three coats more. If there is a sale do stock up, this has cut my paint budget down by half.

Chisel: I would have never guessed how useful a chisel was until I started this project. It gets out most of the gunky sticky stuff on your body. You just need to be very patient with it, but its very effective.

Degreaser: I found the brand called Awesome at a dollar store and it works great!

Dishwashing brush: Trust me, you do not want to get all that grease and road gunk off with your bare hands. Let the brush for all the work for you. Get the ones that look like large tooth brushes, the handle will help you plenty in the long run. Again, I found this in the dollar store.

Spray Paint Handle Gun: This has been such a God send! I can't believe that I didn't buy one sooner. It takes the pain out of spray painting and assures you make even coats to your body. Even if you don't plan on doing a project like this but spray paint a lot, get one.

Paint Brushes: I used acrylic brushes of mine that were getting a little old and frayed. These worked great on all of my detailing after the base coat was laid down.

Testors Model Paints: These are so under appreciated. They have some of the most beautiful intense colors out there. They also go on with the glide of a watercolor. Building up these pigments in the details of my scooter was such a dream. There also super cheap in comparison to vinyl decals. If you have an artistic hand give them a try.

Brush Cleaner: I've been using my trusty Masters Brush Cleaner. If you clean your brushes immediately after using the Testors, they come right off. You will also need this for your hands, even with a spray handle gun, paint will get on you.

Handkerchief or face mask: I learned the hard way that you inhale so much of the left over spray. Cover your face, it will get you sick.

I'm going to end this post here as it seems like this is going to be a long journey. Next post I'll go into detail on how I prepared my scooter and started to get painting.

Thank you everyone for joining me. I hope that these posts will be a friendly and honest way to learn how to repaint an old moped.

Cheers!

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Thoughts: Lively Competition?

Concept Illustration from my novel. link

The year of 2013 has grown to be a fascinating one. I notice the hostility that was in the Holidays of 2012 seeping across the gap into the new year and coming full force. Be it Diet, Lifestyles, or just plain being the better person (...whatever that is...); this endless crankiness and gloating is concerning. I see it on blogs, Facebook, and most prevalent in the public. I'm concerned of how we've become a society of desperate individuals.

Then just when I was about to give up on humanity all together and hide in my shell at home; I see the spark of inspiration that is unique to L.A. life. Actors going full force, writers finishing script treatments, and live events organized to celebrate interest. Its a corner of the universe thats spreading and giving the glum a run for its money. Oh L.A.; the land of broken dreams and a thousand new ones. People often think that this obsession with artistic careers are all about fame and easy money, but I can tell you as a witness of this industry that its far from that: the reality is that people just love what they do and any form of it is a step to a happier reality.

In response I say all thats missing is encouragement. I've been going out on a whim to encourage people these days, and the response has been alarming. Being in a society that is constantly degrading your worth through comparisons and ideals its so easy to feel like you're alone. I hope that I can remind you that you've got a resource of positivity out there, be it your personal acquaintances or a supportive online community, there is someone always ready to listen. Do yourself a favor today by encouraging someone in their life endeavors. Whether its an artistic pursuit, or some new changes in their lives. Make them aware that you are listening, make an effort to understand them, and most importantly; make it known that they matter to you.

Its so easy to get lost in our shells of fear and hurt. If we keep this pattern of kindness and support moving; we can de-stress ourselves as a community. Then we can get down to the business of growth.

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Thoughts: I am Creative

"I need to be around someone like you where I can throw ideas around and get some back."

The stress of this whole business plan thing is getting to me. I have days where I have a hard time sleeping or even waking up and getting out of bed. I'm scatter brained, and my thoughts fly everywhere except where they need to be. So far what I could really ask for is focus, that is the main thing I am lacking... But through the days there is always something that just rushes to my head and gives me that sudden struck by lightning feeling: I get an idea and my inspiration comes to me. This is nothing new, this is something that I've learned to harness from my childhood until the adult I am today; this is my creativity.

I can't imagine not being a creative person. It's just a part of who I am and how I do things. Even as I started running my non-profit the value of me was that I could think creatively and beyond the technical jargon and budget to make timeless productions and events. Even now as a struggling fresh out of college grad, I wouldn't have it any other way as this is who I am. There just comes a point where a person cannot be defined by occupation, form of study, or even their upbringing. I'd like to think that creative is a personality trait, a noun, an existing factor in my life that represents me as much as my appearance and gender.


The quote above is a sentence that has been haunting me this entire week. My mentor and friend Grace has been seeing more of me recently and I've been partaking in all sorts of crazy. One of the candid ones is making and designing the cupcakes above. Grace's career as an event designer and florist makes her creative mind work overtime 24/7. Its amazing the things that come out of a few trips around town and some objects laid before her. Granted her job isn't all fun and games, but it's a beautiful kind of crazy, a fulfilling kind of crazy. When all is said and done, isn't this what us creative people strive for?

I've been blogging for just a short while now, but what I can say honestly drives me to this type of community are the amazing creative individuals that are found on this corner of the internet. Be it OOTDs, Baking, drawing, or even Crafting; we are a unique breed of creative. Everyone is different in their own way and we don't apologize for it, we celebrate it! This post is to declare this very point: we are creative.

I encourage you to take time out of your day and meditate on the way that your creative mind has changed and set you away from the rest as an individual. You'll be amazed at how profound this simple truth has impacted your life. Surround yourself with creativity and relish in the free amazing gift that life has given you.

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My Blooming Tea Experience

I hope everyone is having a Blessed Sunday today! As Sunday is usually a Sabbath of rest and rejuvenation I thought it would be a perfect day to tell you about my Blooming Tea experience.As you know, I just finished reading my lovely book Meditation with Tea by Diana Rosen. One of the chapters was on conversation over tea and understanding the ones you love in this bonding experience.

A tea that was recommended was blooming teas. This is because it takes an estimated 30 minutes to completely bloom and give you a proper steeped tea.  From my earlier Classic Savory Tea Haul, I got the Sprinkled Stars. After a long day I took out my mini tea cups and put the bud into my French Press. I had my regular teapot filled with hot water to keep adding water to my French Press.

I picked this tea because of the beautiful floral notes in the description.Easter Lilies, Jasmine, and more recently Osmanthus have been favorite flowers of mine. As Eugene and I sipped the tea in it's different stages, we really appreciate the variety of flavors it gave. It really did put us in a good mood and made us comfortable enough to talk about deeper things like our future plans and ambitions. It was a nice break from our current busy schedule and emptied wallets. At the final stages of the bloom, the Othmanthus blossoms rose out blending it's floral creamy taste to the mix.

I know that most people dread having blooming teas because they're a bit showy and need special pots to enjoy them completely. But I have to tell you not to be afraid of it, anything thats clear will do, life a glass mug or in my case my $4 mini French Press from Ikea. Treat yourself to the pleasure of relaxing with tea and try something different by partaking in conversation with a loved one over a blooming tea. Its great to meditate alone, but every now and then meditating with others is empowering and rejuvenating.

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A Big Girl with an Athletic Friend

Perhaps I'm just lucky, but as a plus bigger girl my social life has never missed a beat for it. I go shopping, do cocktail parties, and whatever other outings fall in between. I also owe it to the fact that I have wonderful friends. This blog is dedicated to my childhood friend Candice, and our relationship as it has grown through the years. It also happens to be her birthday today, and we spent the weekend doing little things to celebrate her turning 28! We did a little shopping at Macy's which explains the pictures below.

 A little bit of how we know each other: we've known each other since Kindergarten, but we had a falling out around the age of 10 when I moved to public school. I found her again give or take 5 years ago as I was getting some fabric, she was the general manager. I also found out that the house that I had moved into at the time was on the same block, so we got into the habit of walking everyday together.  I've moved away to the current house I'm in now, but we still see each other when we can. Her current hobby is running, and I'm proud to say that she completed her first 5k/obstacle course last year. She's also an archer and her family breeds and trains hunting Labradors. The reason why I'm telling you all this is to show how very different we are. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Trust me, this didn't happen over night. We've worked out together, dieted together, binged together, and have gotten into plenty of fights about weight and lifestyle. I can't even really say that I've been there for her on her running journey; because I just can't relate. Just as much as she finds it difficult to understand that I have to fight a bit harder and be a bit tougher as a larger woman in the arts industry. The one thing that binds us together is that we want the best for each other, because we love who each of us has grown up to be. Other than the desire to travel and paint the town red, the only thing that binds us are our years of being together.

Recently, I've noticed Candice standing up for me and my weight. We were in a discussion with someone where they made a comment about me being on the verge of diabetes because of the way I looked. Politely, Candice did me the favor of mentioning how light of an eater I really am and confessed that she was the sweet tooth of the bunch. It was a subtle gesture but I really appreciated it. I'm so sick and tired of being the one that people pick on when they have issues with themselves because I'm an easy target due to appearance. I don't feel like I have a need to really defend the weight that I am or be ashamed because I'm a different from the rest. I eat healthy and I exercise daily, but my body doesn't quite work like everyone else. It helps to have friends of different walks of life than me that understand this. Because when it comes down to it, we're both still young women chipping their path into this world. This fact alone is why we need as much support as we can get! As I mentioned it doesn't happen over night, but when you do have that balance and it's golden.

Never apologize for who you are, there is strength in variety. I hope that sharing my relationship with Candice inspires you and help if your struggling with acceptance of who you are in your friend circles. Because there is too much pain in this world to be hurting the people we care about.

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Thoughts: Strength through Support

There was something missing for my Thanksgiving this year; part of my family was missing. My childhood Nanny, whom I now call my Aunt, called us the day after that she was admitted in the hospital and operated that day with Appendicitis. As you can imagine she was utterly depressed, switching her feast for a couple of lousy days of runny soup.

She's the manager of a vintage Hollywood Apartment complex that has been converted as a Senior Living center and lives there with her husband. Part of her job is that she's not allowed to leave the premises for a majority of the day. So what we did was bring Thanksgiving to her! My mom and I brought her favorite: Filipino food, and we had a second holiday with them.

The reason why I'm sharing this with you is because the experience was a changing point in my journey of discovering myself. In my earlier parts of this blog I expressed that I was going through a time of isolation where I wanted to get to the bottom of my feelings and the way that my life was moving. Slowly I've been going out again, seeing friends and family. I can say that this little Thanksgiving was a 'graduation' of my self dwelling and coming out refreshed and composed as the person I'm learning to be.

With a smiley face balloon in hand, I discovered that I as a positive being can be a healing force to others. Her face that night when I walked through the door was priceless. The meal around the television with styrofoam and plastic silverware was better than my traditional meal early this week. We laughed, shared stories, and did what families do: support. Perhaps this all sounds cheesy, or over said, but there is a simple truth in letting moments highlight your life and existence as a soul.

Be positive not just for you, but for the others that need you. You may not see it yet because you're in your process of self discovery; but you're a jewel to someone's life. The closer they get to that person you really are, the stronger the unity and support will be.

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