Over the years, I’ve been to school a whole helluva lot. Seriously. Half my life has been spent in a classroom as a student, a teacher, or a professor.
For the past three years, I’ve had the great pleasure of teaching Composition II at Austin Community College. Due to my time at ACC, I now get three tuition vouchers per fiscal year, so I’m starting with Cultural Anthropology this Fall and moving into Physics and Mathematics next Spring. I never took these types of courses when I was in college. My MA is in English Literature, and I did everything I could to avoid Math and Science classes back then. But now I’m up for the challenge and very excited to be taking college courses again.
That is… until I tried to get my textbooks.
OMG! $160 for ONE TEXTBOOK?
You’ve got to be fricken kidding me.
It has been a good ten years since I’ve taken a college course and a lot of things have changed. Do you know, for example, that you can now RENT textbooks?! What a wonderful idea! Textbooks are also available in eBook formats, although…
I tried the new Barnes & Noble Nook Study program on my computer, and it caused nothing but troubles. First, I had to upgrade my operating system to X10.6 (Snow Leopard) just to run the program. That upgrade cost me the use of my printer (no driver for Snow Leopard) and an afternoon of frustration to the point I nearly threw my MacBook Pro out the window. . . not to mention the $30 for the upgrade.
Next, it seems one can only rent eBooks on the thing, but they do offer a 7 day free trial. However, every time I tried to open my free trial textbook, the program crashed.
Every. Single. Time.
Needless to say, I deleted Nook Study from my computer and decided to just rent the textbook from Barnes & Noble, which by the way, was actually cheaper than renting the eBook on Nook Study.
Finally, once I confirmed those were actually the books I needed for the course, the shipping cost had doubled overnight. Still, I ordered the books, paying a few dollars more for 1-3 business day shipping (I have to get them sent to Ohio, as I’ll be on the road during my distance learning class).
Done, right?
Wrong.
I get the confirmation email only to see that it won’t ship until SEPTEMBER 2nd!
Really? I’m paying for 1-3 day shipping for a class that begins on August 23rd, and my rented textbooks won’t ship until nearly two weeks after the class starts?
Cancel.
Screw B&N.
Is this what my students have to go through every semester? Geesh!
With some help from a Facebook friend, I was turned on to a textbook rental place called CHEGG.com. And they fricken rock.
Affordable. Fast shipping (I’ll get it by the 19th). Helping students earn $$ for college in their Champion Program. PLUS…
They plant a tree for every textbook rented.
So fricken cool.
I saved over $100, and I’m hooked. I’m telling my students about Chegg.com.
Rent your textbooks this semester. Save time & $! **Use this PROMO CODE (CC132789) to save an extra 5%!**
With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, one could begin to feel pressured to spend a lot of money on a gift for one’s sweetheart. Jewelry. Flowers. Night on the town. They all can be quite expensive!
I grew up in a family who shows their love through the purchase of material items. It’s wonderful to receive so much and feel so special and loved, but this can become difficult when times get tough and money is tight. I certainly have felt like a complete failure because I couldn’t reciprocate with anything special. I don’t even mean expensive, lavish gifts… I mean just anything.
Such is the current reality for many, many, many people in our culture.
So this Valentine’s Day, show your love through your creativity, plus maybe a small <$30 purchased item on the side.
Here are some ideas:
BUDGET $0-$10
Scavenger Hunt. I *LOVE* these! Create a scavenger hunt where each find gives a clue to the next one. Spice it up with romantic or sexy couplets on each clue. You can even decorate the clues with red and pink markers or even make them on construction paper. Have something special waiting at the end of hunt, whether that’s you wrapped in a bow, a small gift, or a romantic meal! Have your sweetie find something with each clue: heart shaped cookie in a jar, CD with their favorite music, coupon book (see below), Valentine’s candy, flowers, etc. Presentation is everything. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you like!
Coupon Book.Make some love coupons for your sweetie to redeem at their desire! They can be sweet like “Free Pass – I’ll do the dishes tonight” to something hot and sexy! Cut up strips of paper (can even be reused blank side of junk mail) into approx 2″ x 5″ strips, decorate with markers, and staple together with a nice front and back cover (also designed by you). Or create some here.
Picnic! Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday this year, so it’s a perfect day for a romantic picnic! Too cold? Snow on the ground? Have a picnic on your living room floor in front of the fire. Be sure to indulge in decadent things like strawberries, fine cheeses, wine, and (of course) chocolate!
Romantic Texting (sexting?) If you have unlimited texting, plan out 14 special (loving or sexy) texts and send them periodically throughout the day. Create a special code, like 456838 (i love u) or SHMILY (See How Much I Love You), then you can use it periodically throughout the year, reminding your sweetie of your special Valentine’s Day together.
Special Meal. Decorate the table with a red table cloth and put (cheap!) tea lights all around it and perhaps even leading to the room. Set the table in a beautiful and special way and serve them their favorite dinner!
Dress Up! If your love likes a specific theme or time, dress up in something similar. For example, American History: wear a tri-corn hat (little pirate hats can be purchased at most dollar stores) and a corset or even homemade waist-cincher over a little petticoat or skirt. Knee high boots! And serve dinner (or just serve him) dressed like that!
Romantic Drive/Walk & Reminiscing. Agree not to talk about the kids or bills or work. Just experience each other and life around you! Listen to the sounds of nature or feel the wind on your skin. Hold hands. Talk about when you met, fell in love, had a special time, etc. Just be here now with your love.
Make a Sweetheart Box. Cover a box with hearts and stickers and ribbon, then place special, romantic mementos inside from your time together. This can be actual items from places you’ve been or just reminders of such places, love letters, cards, photos, etc.
Budget <$30
Add a small gift to one of the above things as a bonus.
Below are many gift ideas for under $30. Remember, spend $25 and get free shipping from Amazon! (Better get it today, though, as you only have a week!)
Gifts for HER on the left and HIM on the right!
Ethan and I got each other one thing last Christmas, and neither gift was over $15. We don’t have to spend $$ to show our love. It will be the same for Valentines’ Day, which, by the way, is the 10th anniversary of when he proposed!
Our time together is gift enough, and we get that.
The new Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law (directed by Guy Ritchie) is coming out on Christmas Day.
I’ll be there with jingle bells on.
Why? When so very many intellectuals, Doyle fans, and writers have condemned the movie because it’s “not true to the character” or “it’s not like the books” or other such complaints. My response is: so? When are movies *ever* like the books? At best a movie will either contain the essence or the storyline, but rarely to never both.
Stories are told differently on screen than they are on the page. Always. End of story. A movie is a different animal than a book. A movie in the 21st century is *really* different than a book from the 19th century.
Take the LORD OF THE RINGS movie trilogy as opposed to the books. My husband found those films mostly unwatchable. I loved them.
Take the HARRY POTTER movies. More than half the books are left out of the films. I still love them. Why? Because when I go see a movie, I *know* that it won’t be like the books. It’s a different way of telling the story about characters we love… and it’s for a different audience than those who read books.
We live in an extremely self-centered, illiterate, visually-based, Idle-watching-the-Idol society. Good or bad. Right or wrong. There it is.
So why am I, a writer and lover of literature, going to see this, what some call, blasphemous film?
Simple: I like movies. I really like period movies. I *LOVE* (I mean absolutely adore) Robert Downey, Jr and Jude Law. I’m hoping that this film will usher in the Steampunk subgenre into mainstream (esp. since our publisher is releasing a Steampunk novel in a few months)… and I think it will generate an entire new generation of Sherlock Holmes fans. (Just as now Twilight fans are reading Wuthering Heights)
On top of that… I’m READING “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” for the first time in my life because this movie is coming out. I have a Master’s Degree in English Literature and am a college professor, and I have never read Doyle. Shameful? Definitely. There is so very much literature out there; it’s impossible to read it all. My graduate emphasis was in Medieval/Renaissance British Literature, so I have read very little before or after that. I’ve always loved Sherlock Holmes as a character, but I knew him by reputation only. I went to Baker Street and saw his office and residence when I was in London 20 years ago. I bought a Sherlock Holmes hat, too. I’ve said “Elementary, my dear Watson” countless times throughout my life.
But I never really knew the character. Now, because of this film, I’m starting to. I’m about halfway through “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” on my new Kindle, and I’m loving it.
So thanks, Guy Ritchie, for bringing this beloved character into a new generation.
My co-author husband and I will be at the cinema on Christmas Day with jingle bells on, popcorn in one hand, and dark chocolate M&Ms in the other.
Last week, we took a huge financial hit when our mortgage company, GMAC, told us we had to pay a $4400+ balloon payment or risk foreclosure proceedings on our home. They had also destroyed my credit, even though I paid what they had told me to pay on time, every month.
We decided the only positive thing that we could do was to spread the word, so we worked for days drafting and revising a press release, which I then took to PRWeb, a press release distribution service, to distribute nationally. I paid their fee, but they wouldn’t send the press release. They claimed that it’s intent was “to exact personal revenge or harm a person or group.”
They would not distribute the release unless we removed all mention of GMAC and made it about a “generic mortgage company.” Of course, the story is about GMAC, their billions in government bailout, and their treatment of customers.
Consumers should know that #1 they’re not alone in this situation, #2 GMAC shouldn’t get another dime in bailout money, and #3 not to borrow through GMAC if you’re about to get a loan.
Friends, please help me spread the word. Post it on your blog, Tweet it, share it on Facebook, email it to your local TV/newspapers… Hell! Send it to Oprah & Ellen & Obama. Just get the word out about GMAC and their criminal activity.
This is the press release PR Web won’t distribute:
GMAC Leave Texas Authors with Few Choices
Austin, TX…GMAC, the home and auto financing arm of General Motors, has received two government bailouts totaling $12.5 billion in taxpayers’ money over the last 12 months. They’re now trying to get $2.8 billion more. The money is supposed to help the corporation help homeowners who are having problems keeping up with their mortgages hold on to their homes. However, according to at least one Austin couple, that is not what is happening. They allege that GMAC gave them false information regarding their Loan Modification, forcing them into a corner.
Christine and Ethan Rose, award-winning authors of the “Rowan of the Wood” fantasy series, own a small home in the Austin area. Self-employed, they purchased their house in April 2006 on stated income with an 8.25% fixed rate, set to adjust after two years. During the first two years of their mortgage, they were never late with a payment, and they raised their credit score to 780, well above the national average. However, as time came to refinance, the mortgage crisis hit and the interest rate on stated income loans went “out the window.” For example, from April 2008 to April 2009, the Rose’s then-adjustable interest rate climbed to nearly 12%. Even so, Christine and Ethan continued to pay their mortgage on time.
Beginning in April 2008, Christine tried to refinance their mortgage with both GMAC and other lenders, but no loans were available for stated income. Then in March ’09, after talking with several mortgage specialists, she and Ethan applied for a loan modification through GMAC. The specialists advised them that they would have to have fallen behind on their mortgage however in order to be considered for a modification. A GMAC representative provided them with the same advice and also noted that the Rose’s credit history would not be damaged if they missed just one payment.
The Roses did just what GMAC suggested. However four months went by and the couple had not heard back from GMAC regarding their request for a loan modification. When Christine called to find out what was going on, she was told that their loan modification paperwork would have to be resubmitted because it had somehow “fallen through the cracks.” The person Christine spoke with also proposed that while their modification request was under review, they make reduced mortgage payments. Again, the Roses were reassured that making the smaller payments would not damage their credit history. As a result, they did exactly what GMAC advised them to do.
Jump forward to today. A month after their new book “Witch on the Water” was released, the authors returned home from a five-month book tour to a huge surprise. Their credit score had dropped to 649 because GMAC had reported them delinquent every month for the previous four months, even though the couple had paid the amount that they and GMAC had agreed on in full and on time every month. Additionally, the Roses had received a bill for nearly $4,400 — a “balloon payment” that they now owed because of the reduced mortgage payments. Furthermore, according to GMAC, the couple’s application for a loan modification had been denied on June 30th because the Roses didn’t make enough money to modify the loan. Yet, the couple was not notified of this denial until Christine called the lender on November 3rd.
According to Gerri Detweiler, a Credit.com expert and a nationally known authority on consumer debt and credit, the situation faced by the Roses is not unusual. “Many, many homeowners are having difficulty modifying their mortgage loans through the federal government’s loan modification program, which was designed to help homeowners hold on to their homes in these difficult economic times. This is because homeowners are receiving conflicting information about modifications from mortgage lender personnel, their paperwork is being lost and there are delays processing their modification requests, among other problems. In addition, some lenders are reporting mortgage loan modifications to the credit bureaus in such a way that home owners’ FICO stores are being damaged, which then further complicates the owners’ financial situations. It sounds to me like the Roses are the victims of many of these very problems.”
Christine and Ethan are understandably upset at GMAC’s business dealings. “I’ll be forty next week,” Christine said, “and I don’t want a foreclosure for my birthday.” Ethan added, “It seems like GMAC is trying to force us into foreclosure. Perhaps the more foreclosures they have, the more bailout money they can get.”
The last month has been torturous, with the big FOUR OH hanging over my head. All the things I said I’d have accomplished by 40 screaming at me from all sides.
My failures magnified.
But it’s here. I’m 40, and I’m relieved.
After all, I’m just at the beginning of middle age. I figure the next decade is more or less the middle of life. There is still more ahead than there is behind, if I’m lucky and stay healthy, and these next 40-50 yrs I don’t have to learn to walk, talk, and take care of myself. I don’t have to suffer over my first date or first kiss or first time. I don’t have to go to college and earn a degree (or two). I don’t have to find my life partner, because I’m already spending every day with him. I don’t have to start a business, travel to Europe, make a movie (or two), write a book (or two)… I’ve already done all those things.
I still can do those things, but I do them from experience. I will definitely write more books. As for movies, that’s yet to be seen. Perhaps from the sidelines as a producer to when our ROWAN series is picked up. Not as a director. Never again as a director.
I will most definitely travel to Europe again…and beyond! I hope to actually live in Europe (at least part time) one day soon.
I do hope to have many more firsts, however… and I have no doubt that I will.
Twenty years later. It’s finally on national television. It’s finally the subject of a drama. The reality for all American to see.
I watched Bones last night, and I *loved* it!
I’ve been an ethical vegetarian for the better part of 20 years. It was in 1990 that I found out about the horror of factory farms. When I saw how the meat industry treated animals, that was it for me.
They weren’t going to torture animals with my money. Nope.
And so, I gave up eating animals. I gave up using products from companies that test on animals, like Procter & Gamble.
At first it was extremely difficult, especially since I lived in a small East Texas town when this started, but now even meat substitutes can be found at Super Wal-marts and virtually every grocery store across the country. Free Range eggs can be, too. The soy milk is right along side the regular milk, whereas up until less than 10 years ago on would’ve had to go to a health food store.
Now cruelty-free choices are everywhere, and I’m thrilled about it.
Then I saw last night’s episode of Bones. Brilliant.
The story was around a murder at a chicken “farm.” Sure, the animal rights activists were still shown as extremists, but the underlying message was certainly anti-factory farms.
The disfigurement and chronic illnesses of the employees.
The barbaric practices of cutting off beaks of baby chickens.
The outrage of the community who must live in such a stench.
The poetic justice of the lascivious, sexual harassing owner of the chicken farm who’s finger tips got cut off, assumedly with the beak cutter, breaded and deep fried, and served up as chicken nuggets to some unsuspecting consumer.
Seems only fitting to post this now, as I’m currently reading A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King, in which Sherlock Holmes is a peripheral character.
It really makes me want to read the original Sherlock Holmes stories by Doyle. Perhaps when I get a KINDLE for my 40th BD next month
I, for one, am really looking forward to this film because I totally love Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law! Many people aren’t happy with this because they say this isn’t the real Sherlock Holmes.
I’ll make sure to not read Doyle until after the film, then, because I enjoy seeing literary characters come to life. In order to enjoy them on screen, I cannot be too familiar with them on the page. Because it’s never as good.
What do you think of the trailer?
Of course, you can get King’s book (as well as our new one) on Amazon:
On the drive down yesterday, I used my handy-dandy MiFi to get some work done on the 10-hour drive.
You know me, never a down moment without doing some kind of work. Although, I’m trying *very* hard to take a few days off during our unscheduled trip home. As I say that, I’m working on this blog and have the accounting program open in the background, ready to catch up on that.
But tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow. Rest, relax, and read.
Anyway – I digress!
Etsy! That’s right!
Several times over the past few months, people have asked if my artwork was available on Etsy. I didn’t know what it was, but I soon learned. It’s kinda like eBay for handmade and vintage items.
Cool.
I set up an Etsy account but didn’t take the time to populate it with items until yesterday. Now I have four items up for sale! Our Etsy page is at http://RowanOfTheWood.etsy.com. I will be putting more of both Ethan’s and my artwork up there as time marches on.
Up until Star, I always named my animals after authors or literary figures.
Bronte — still have her. She’ll be 14 this year! (She’s my girl!)
Then there was Dante, who died back in 99; Virgil, who I had to give to a friend back when I was 20; and Medusa, my boa constrictor, who I gave to a friend when I got Bronte.
And now there’s Shakespeare. Seems only fitting since we found him at a Renaissance Festival.
I’m not sure Shakespeare will stay with us, however. We’re looking for a good home for him, but he’ll need some special care for awhile. My cat Shadow (10 yrs old) is NOT happy about the kitten. She even hisses at me when I try to pet her if I still smell like Shakespeare. . . so I have to wash my hands before Shadow will let me touch her.
Dilemma.
On top of that, I’m really concerned for Shakespeare because he hasn’t pooped yet. This is, of course, essential. He has to be able to poop without tearing his stitches.
I’ll keep you all posted.
The other Christine is still passing the hat at the faire to help with the vet bill. Special thanks to Leigh & her kids for their generous donation yesterday! If you’d like to contribute a few dollars to help with the vet bills for Shakespeare, then please do so via the PayPal button below.
Over the years, I’ve been to school a whole helluva lot. Seriously. Half my life has been spent in a classroom as a student, a teacher, or a professor.
I tried the new Barnes & Noble Nook Study program on my computer, and it caused nothing but troubles. First, I had to upgrade my operating system to X10.6 (Snow Leopard) just to run the program. That upgrade cost me the use of my printer (no driver for Snow Leopard) and an afternoon of frustration to the point I nearly threw my MacBook Pro out the window. . . not to mention the $30 for the upgrade.
Such is the current reality for many, many, many people in our culture.
The new Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law (directed by Guy Ritchie) is coming out on Christmas Day.
That’s what we named him.
