I had to take a blogging break due to some eyestrain and a weird problem with my eye muscles. I guess you could say I’ve been having eye cramps. I saw the eye doctor about it and we’re keeping an eye on it (hah!). I also started wearing a sleep mask at night, just in case my eye is cracking open as I sleep, letting my corneas dry out.
I also went to visit my parents to celebrate my 45th birthday.
Turning 45 is weird. I don’t feel 45. I still feel seventeen. I suspect I’ll still feel seventeen when I’m 80. Seventeen, by the way, was one of those birthdays that I consider pivotal. Here are the others:
- 11–for some reason, this one stands out. When I was 11, I first became an avid reader. Maybe that’s why.
- 17–By this age, I wasn’t a kid anymore. That actually happened when I was 15, but by the time I was 17, others recognized it as well.
- 28–This was the age when I considered myself fully grown up. There was some change in my thinking that occurred between 25 and 28, and I finally felt like an adult. I think this has been backed up scientifically, that we have one last bit of brain development in our mid-20s. If you’re in your mid 20s or just emerged from it, you probably know what I mean. I considered 28 the perfect age to be. At least, until I turned 35. Then, that became the perfect age. Why?
- 35–Others start taking you seriously as a grown-up. Unfair, but true. When you’re 35, you still look young (if you’ve been taking care of your skin and haven’t been a smoker), but you look mature enough that no one dismisses you as a kid anymore. Unless they’re 60 or older. It’s all relative, you know.
I don’t know if 45 will be another pivotal birthday until later in the year. Happy Birthday to me!
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I am also putting the finishing touches of a prequel to my Cinderella retelling. Often, I find myself writing backstory that I know I will never use, but the writing of which helps with the actual story. I am taking the example of Jennifer Estep and Dee Carney and I’m packaging it up as a free read. I’ll upload it to Amazon and everything, if it isn’t too time-consuming. It’s short–only 3000 words.
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Just finished Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. It was pretty good but I had to put myself back into an epic fantasy novel mindset. The point-of-view in fantasy doesn’t tend to be as deep as what you get with the romance subgenres. I enjoyed it highly and I want to get the second book in the series now. I’ve been sampling some other books including Stephen King’s Under the Dome, which I borrowed from my Dad. It’s interesting but right now there are so many points of views–including one that was killed off right away–that I don’t yet feel invested in it. There are also a number of books on my shelf that were given to me as review copies, and I’d still like to read many of them.
I tried to buy a copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at Barnes & Noble for my Nook, but I eventually gave up. Why? Because they refused to accept a perfectly good gift card that I tried to use up there. I actually had to call customer support to find out why the book was in “My Library” but was not downloadable. I entered the card information twice and finally I told the customer support person that I gave up. If I attempt to buy it again, I’ll buy it at Diesel Ebooks.
I actually told my husband that I wish I got a Kindle. The Nook is very nice, but everything associated with it is awkward and difficult to use, including the My Library feature at Barnes & Noble.com, the Nook for the PC (which is especially awful) and apparently, the experience of actually buying an ebook for the Nook. This was my first attempt since I usually buy my ebooks elsewhere, and I guess I’ll continue to do so. The saving grace for the Nook is I”m not stuck with only buying books at Barnes & Noble. Which is why I didn’t want a Kindle.
So anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to. I hope to post more frequently this week.
Happy belated birthday, Tia! I’m looking forward to reading your take on Cinderella.
Thank you, Kristen!
Happy belated birthday! (I hope everything works out with your eyes!)
Happy birthday! When is prequel ready?
I am seriously hoping to have it done and posted by the end of this weekend. But I don’t know–we have a major Cheerleading thing on Saturday, and that may sap the entire day. It’s not the sort of thing you can bring your laptop to. That’s what I’m shooting for, though!
Oh cool. Can’t wait. Have fun at cheerleading thing.
Happy Birthday! {Smile}
I found 33 an interesting year.
1) I told folks as often as the subject came up that I was finally old enough to an adult even if I was a Hobbit.
2) Folks finally stopped asking about my major. They also stopped acting surprised that I’d graduated from college. So I didn’t have to explain that I’d not only graduated from college, but gone on to graduate school, and graduated from that after enitrely too many semesters for what was supposed to be a short degree. I guess that was the year I really did feel more grown up. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
Anne, I forgot about that little bit of LOTR trivia! Isn’t it interesting how we get slapped with the adult label when we are 18, but don’t feel truly grown up until we are much older? I guess this is why some inheritances don’t kick in until the heir is 35.
Dad’s enough of a Hobbit fan, I was aware that Frodo had become an adult at 33. It is odd how becoming an adult takes longer than everyone tells you it does. I hadn’t heard about inheritances kicking in at 35, but it makes sense. By then, most people have learned something about money management if they’re going to. I’m firmly convinced that it’s best to make the early mistakes that are so hard to avoid with small amounts of money. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
P.S. I hope the eye trouble works out soon. It sounds rough. {sympathetic smile}
A.E.B.
I hope you have fun at the cheerleading rally, and that your eyes are feeling better soon.
On birthdays- I really hated when I turned eighteen, because people kept telling me how these were the best years of my life! I was going through a really rough time right then, and hearing that that was `the best’ made me feel like crawling under my bed and living there forever among the dust-bunnies.
When I was twenty-five, I finally got to do all the wonderful things people thought I should be doing at eighteen, and these past few years really HAVE been among the best in my life. 🙂 (I’m turning thirty this March. Don’t know yet if it’ll be a pivotal birthday or not.) 🙂
Aah, yes. Those are some great years. My only regret from my 20s is that I gained so much weight. I was quite a waif in high school, but was decidedly hefty by the time I turned 30. (I was really strong too, but no longer). And I never got thin again … I keep trying, though!
Happy belated birthday. 🙂
I like getting older. I hated the thought that my teenage years were supposed to be the best days of my life. And everything else is supposed to be downhill? No way. 🙂
I’m with you, Rabia. I’d hate to try to pin down my own best years.
I do enjoy a good book shopping session. I still need to do one to celebrate the fact that my brithday is past, so I don’t have to hold back on buying and ordering anymore. I’m really looking forward to that! {SMILE}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin