Subject: Welcome back!
Author:
Posted on: 2015-03-06 14:45:00 UTC
Always a pleasure to see familiar faces coming back here.
Out of sheer curiosity, I typed in "Canada university strike" on Google and skimmed over the first few results. If you don't mind me asking-- York U student?
Hi everyone! Shall we play a game of 'who remembers me?' Nah, just kidding. Most of you probably still do remember me (hi all you newbies! There really are rather a lot of you, aren't there? Welcome! Remember to take some Swiss Bleepolate for your belated Welcome Gift!)
Anyway. 'The most unusual returnbie post yet?' you ask. 'What's so unusual about it?' Well, friends...my university is on strike. That is, the TAs and contact faculty are, and all classes have been canceled so that all students are disrupted equally (so say the emails I've been getting, in more or less that wording). So what to do with my sudden lack of schedule and increase of free time? Why, finally get around to making my first ever returnbie post, that's what!
Did you know that:
-I am now a published author? (In a collection of personal essays and other creative works, written by Canadian Jewish women about legacies. It's not fiction, although it does connect to my writing--I wrote about the impact my grandmother has had on my life despite passing away several months after I was born--but I'm very pleased with it. And, of course, I mean to post about this around the time of the book launch, which was in, oh, November or so. Figures.) (I can, and probably will, provide more details, especially if anyone's curious or interested).
-I wrote all this and even a bit more on a cellphone? And then was silly enough not to double-check that everything had saved and didn't notice that some of it hadn't...and am now rewriting the rest? No, why would you know that already? Anyway: technology woes, enabled by a bout of lack of common sense. Ah well. There wasn't much more yet.
-I have now been a Boarder for over two years? The mind boggles.
-I don't actually remember the rest of my news? (And I didn't when I was first writing this either, if you're curious). That's what happens when returnbie posts are delayed. Oh well!
Anyway. I do hope to be on more now, though we'll see just how much. It's really fun to be writing this, and to seeing everyone again! (figuratively speaking). Hi all! So lovely to be back!
~DF
Hi! I'm a newbie who never got to meet you before, but I read all the PPC stuff you wrote and you seem pretty cool, so hi! It's nice to get a chance to meet you.
Always a pleasure to see familiar faces coming back here.
Out of sheer curiosity, I typed in "Canada university strike" on Google and skimmed over the first few results. If you don't mind me asking-- York U student?
And funnily enough, yes, I am. Good guess :)
Did you know, the last time there was a strike it went on for three months? The government had to step in. No clue how long this one will last, which is really kind of annoying. Meanwhile, I hear from U of T that it's a mess--a lot of classes are canceled, but others aren't. Some are running with the prof but no TAs, and others are running with TAs but no prof. York actually seems stress-free in comparison.
At least I had Purim off. That was pretty nice. And I love the social media response to it all. So, overall, I don't mind too much. It is disrupting my placement, though, which is pretty annoying, and I wish I knew when it'll end so I can actually make plans for what to do during it without wondering whether they'll fall through.
~DF
I still remember when the Québecers were all up in arms about their tuition-- provincial-wide protests, IIRC. I'm so glad I'm going to uOttawa and don't have to deal with those nutters.
Regardless, welcome back and congratulations on being published! *hugs*
*adds Swiss Bleepolate to lifetime supply*
School on strike? Oh boy. What happened? I hope it's just pay negotiations or something like that.
Anyway, it's good to see you back! With spring break here, I'm actually going to see if I can crank out an important interlude and a large chunk of the My Little Unicorn mission. Any particular plans on your end?
Sweet, we're up to four published PPCers now, at least! I definitely want to buy that, if you don't mind sharing the title. You get some money from that, I hope?
I'm not sure I do, actually. I know I got a complimentary copy (I think?) but I can't remember if I get money from it. Probably not. But it's my first publication in an actual book, and it was a wonderful experience (okay, with stressful pieces due to school, but completely worth it).
I do not mind sharing the title! My post-book launch post was actually supposed to have a picture of me holding it. Some other time, I guess. It's called Living Legacies - A Collection of Writing by Contemporary Canadian Jewish Women (Volume IV), or Living Legacies, Volume IV, for short, and is edited by Liz Pearl. This seems to be the main link to look at, since it's not on Amazon (or if it is, I can't find it); there's a button marked Order Form in the navigation at the top, which seems to be how you buy it. Once you're actually looking at the table of contents, I'm on page...40 or 41, I think, with a piece titled "A Granddaughter's Muse". And I am completely honored (and flattered) that you want to buy it, by the way. I hope you find it interesting--I'm actually the youngest author in there, so the perspectives vary quite a bit. We're also from a variety of religious backgrounds (within Judaism, that is), if I remember correctly, so that adds to it...anyway. Enjoy (and I am open to comments, as most authors tend to be :))
On another note, who are our other published authors? I can't believe I don't know this.
~DF
It's definitely awesome to have a writing credit, but I wish you were making some bank from it. Don't know if I'll be able to buy it anytime soon, since I usually get books from Amazon, but I'll give it a try.
As for your sisters in the realm of published PPCers:
Kippur was an old-timey PPCer who returned a little while ago to plug her non-fiction book, "The Tropes of Fantasy Fiction." She's putting her old sporking criticisms of The Inheritance Cycle to work!
Another . . . well, I know for a fact she wouldn't want her real and online identities in the same place, so I'm going to defer from linking her stuff. She's published two urban fantasy novels, though.
Lastly is D. J. Natelson, who hasn't been active since before I joined. I still won't share her old online name, for privacy concerns. Take my word for it? :D I found out that she was published purely by accident, when I was archiving her PPC spin-off last year and clicked through to her LJ, which then linked to that Amazon page. (And she's churned out two more novels since I was last here! Yikes!)
So! We grow closer and closer to That Awkward Moment When some newbie does a mission to a canon created by a former PPCer!
*offers a plate of SPaGhetti*
Congratulations on the publishing thing, too! Good for you! Come on, surely there's more to share?
Now I feel special. And you've been taking on Rose Potter! Well done, Ix! (Ixi? Maz? Hm. Not sure how well any of those work). I've only read the first one so far, but it was fun. Very well done.
Ooh, SPaGhetti. I don't think I've ever had that before (or did you give me some before? You might have...hm.) Thanks very much! *noms*
And thanks! Hm, more to share...well, I got to read at the book launch, which was unexpected and very fun :D I also did the smart thing of taking a course in Israel over winter break (missed the chance for a mini-Gathering while I was there due to programming and exhaustion from programming)...and then flying back on the first day of classes and going directly to an 8:30 am class. Fun, but not too smart overall, if you take jet lag into account. I had a lot of fun there, though--the course was interesting, and I got to immediately see my newest baby cousin (he's absolutely adorable, I flew in on his eighth day of life and got to see him and his family for Chanukah candlelighting the same evening, and I held him multiple times and sang "Goodnight Irene" and other songs to him. I also got to spend time with some very close friends, and even got to celebrate their youngest twins' birthday just before I flew back to Canada.) As to flying back to Canada, there was snow and I was in a pretty light coat. I survived, though!
How's that for more to share? :)
I've also been working on some writing projects, though I had very little time to do that during December...oh! Did I write here that I won NaNoWriMo for the very first time last November? Because I did. I'm still somewhat in shock. I wrote 15,000 words on the last day, too, and I'm still wondering how I did it (Karen and another friend spurred me on, as did word sprints and, I don't know, desperation or something). Oh! And I've been making friends this year. It's exactly what I wanted to do last year, but better late than never, right?
And that really probably is enough to read at one time, so I'll leave it there for now.
~DF
I dunno, I'm fine with any of those.
I give lots of people SPaGhetti, so it's probably a good bet I've given you some before.
Aww, fun stuff! I can still remember the first time I held my baby brother. My only thought was that he was ugly, but to be fair, I was only three at the time. ^^;
I would never be able to do NaNo. I'm fairly prolific in the PPC, but that's because I don't have to hit a certain number of words by a certain point in time. I don't work well with deadlines, which can make school projects a nightmare at times. Still, total respect to you for completing it!