C.J. Sullivan's Blog, page 6
April 16, 2015
OMG STAR WARS TRAILER!
When I was a young teen, I lived in the world of Star Wars (in my head of course). I watched the movies over and over, not kidding you. Every day I'd watch one of them. I'd sync up my stereo to play parts of the soundtrack so I had surround-sound. When the remastered versions came out, I saw each of them like 12 times in the theater. I had the posters on my walls, along with plastic glow stars so I could pretend I was in a galaxy far far away. I read the books, I wrote fan fiction--and seeing this trailer tonight, I CRIED TEARS OF JOY! OMG I AM SO FILLED WITH NOSTALGIA AND EMOTION!! I CAN DIE HAPPY!
April 10, 2015
2015 Main Street Art Festival Find
It's become a tradition that every year Drew and I go to Fort Worth's Main Street Arts Festival to look around and find a little something for the house. This is what we found this year (isn't it cute??):
April 9, 2015
April 3, 2015
RIP Bear
My friend Lainie is putting her horse, Bear, to sleep today because he's going into kidney failure. Lainie had bear for nearly 39 years! Isn't that incredible?
Bear has lived a long, happy life.
But like many of us who grow close to our animal friends, Lainie will be heartbroken for a while... They're both in my thoughts and in my heart this weekend.
Animals are truly wonderful companions. Even though they don't speak our language, they speak the universal language of Love. I believe they have thoughts and feelings just like we do, only they aren't so concerned with worry and obsession like humans. Animals live in the moment and are authentic beings. I also believe they have souls. They can teach us so much about friendship, compassion, sacrifice... I can't imagine a world without animals, especially life-long friends like Bear.
And so this post is dedicated to Bear, the horse who lived a very long, happy life and provided the blessing of friendship to a loving human being for many years.
RIP Bear.
Bear has lived a long, happy life.
But like many of us who grow close to our animal friends, Lainie will be heartbroken for a while... They're both in my thoughts and in my heart this weekend.
Animals are truly wonderful companions. Even though they don't speak our language, they speak the universal language of Love. I believe they have thoughts and feelings just like we do, only they aren't so concerned with worry and obsession like humans. Animals live in the moment and are authentic beings. I also believe they have souls. They can teach us so much about friendship, compassion, sacrifice... I can't imagine a world without animals, especially life-long friends like Bear.
And so this post is dedicated to Bear, the horse who lived a very long, happy life and provided the blessing of friendship to a loving human being for many years.
RIP Bear.
March 29, 2015
More Alike than Different
Yesterday, Drew and I stopped at Panera Bread to have an afternoon snack, when Drew made a new little friend. We were sitting by the window wall, and this kid, maybe 7 years old and sitting on the other side of the window (he was out on the patio), knocked on the glass to get Drew's attention.
The kid pointed at his own black and white Converse shoes and then at Drew's. When Drew realized they were wearing the same shoes, he smiled and laughed, and the kid gave a thumbs up and did a little dance. Drew returned the thumbs up.
After that, the kid made reference to his own long hair and then pointed at Drew's. More thumbs ups, smiles, and dancing.
Following that similarity, the kid pointed at his cargo shorts and then at Drew's. They were practically twins! It was so adorable.
I thought this moment was really neat, and here's why: this young person chose to see the similarities between him and Drew, rather than the differences. He saw the two of them as more alike than different.
Even though he was a kid and Drew was a grownup.
Even though his skin was black and Drew's white.
Even though his hair was in ebony dreadlocks and Drew's wavy and blond.
It was a sweet moment that I wish the rest of the world could have seen.
The kid pointed at his own black and white Converse shoes and then at Drew's. When Drew realized they were wearing the same shoes, he smiled and laughed, and the kid gave a thumbs up and did a little dance. Drew returned the thumbs up.
After that, the kid made reference to his own long hair and then pointed at Drew's. More thumbs ups, smiles, and dancing.
Following that similarity, the kid pointed at his cargo shorts and then at Drew's. They were practically twins! It was so adorable.
I thought this moment was really neat, and here's why: this young person chose to see the similarities between him and Drew, rather than the differences. He saw the two of them as more alike than different.
Even though he was a kid and Drew was a grownup.
Even though his skin was black and Drew's white.
Even though his hair was in ebony dreadlocks and Drew's wavy and blond.
It was a sweet moment that I wish the rest of the world could have seen.
March 28, 2015
Springy Thingies
The sun is out and starting to get warm! I just got back in after cleaning out the shed and pulling weeds in the flower beds. I'm ready to start planting some new things soon. Thinking I might actually try some vegetables this year like tomato and bell pepper.
Though it's very pollen-y out there, I think my allergy shots may finally be kicking in a little bit. I'm still having some trouble, but I'm not knocked on my ass like I was last year, so that's good.
For my spring reads, I'm finishing up the Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz. These books have been fast reads and just what I need during those breaks in between working on my graduate coursework.
In addition to grad school, I've also gotten an 8-week teaching gig at the ELI. This is a Level 1 Grammar/Writing class. And it's the smallest class I've ever taught at 2 students! But I'm learning quite a bit--and also spending a lot more time on lesson plans than I would a large class, so that's good experience, too.
Hmm, what else? I'm just glad spring is, or at least seems to be, here for North Texas. I'm definitely someone strongly affected by the weather and the amount of sunshine outside. More sun = happier Carrie.
Anybody have any plans for spring? Doing some cleaning? Gardening? Going out for more walks? Feel free to say hi in the comments :)
Though it's very pollen-y out there, I think my allergy shots may finally be kicking in a little bit. I'm still having some trouble, but I'm not knocked on my ass like I was last year, so that's good.
For my spring reads, I'm finishing up the Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz. These books have been fast reads and just what I need during those breaks in between working on my graduate coursework.
In addition to grad school, I've also gotten an 8-week teaching gig at the ELI. This is a Level 1 Grammar/Writing class. And it's the smallest class I've ever taught at 2 students! But I'm learning quite a bit--and also spending a lot more time on lesson plans than I would a large class, so that's good experience, too.
Hmm, what else? I'm just glad spring is, or at least seems to be, here for North Texas. I'm definitely someone strongly affected by the weather and the amount of sunshine outside. More sun = happier Carrie.
Anybody have any plans for spring? Doing some cleaning? Gardening? Going out for more walks? Feel free to say hi in the comments :)
March 12, 2015
Reminds me of Malynko
I do not know who the artist is. Wish I did.This guy looks a lot like how I pictured Malynko when I wrote the angel trilogy.
Hmm...
Okay, back to reading scholarly articles and creating power point presentations for class... (So much for "Spring Break"!)
March 7, 2015
March 5, 2015
Comic Book Movie Era
This is a really cool post about all the superhero/comic book movies slated to come out within the next few years: Upcoming Superhero Movies - 2015 & Beyond.
As I read, it reminded me of how much I love sci-fi/fantasy and got my creative gears churning.
I'm busy with grad school right now, on the downhill slide and set for graduation in December. I will be picking up a small grammar/writing class after Spring Break - thank God for employment!! - so there's not a massive amount of time to write. But I have still been reading.
I want to read more graphic novels. Years ago, I started reading the series Preacher and the series Transmetropolitan, both of which I'd like to pick back up and finish. I'm also down for trying out some new speculative fiction novels, too, if you have any recommendations.
Feel free to comment!
As I read, it reminded me of how much I love sci-fi/fantasy and got my creative gears churning.
I'm busy with grad school right now, on the downhill slide and set for graduation in December. I will be picking up a small grammar/writing class after Spring Break - thank God for employment!! - so there's not a massive amount of time to write. But I have still been reading.
I want to read more graphic novels. Years ago, I started reading the series Preacher and the series Transmetropolitan, both of which I'd like to pick back up and finish. I'm also down for trying out some new speculative fiction novels, too, if you have any recommendations.
Feel free to comment!
February 25, 2015
Faced my Biggest Fear
I actually did face my biggest fear last week. For many of you, this would have been something fairly easy to do, but because of past trauma, it was one of the hardest things I've forced myself into doing.
I got my blood drawn..............
**cringe**
I had them do a full scan of everything, so they took 3 or 4 vials. I'm not sure because I didn't look. I was pretty brave up until the moment she slid the tourniquet on. Then when she stuck me, it was like a lightning bolt of pure horror struck me. I didn't cry or throw up or faint, but I was clammy and trembling and overall, completely humbled by how out-of-control my feelings were.
I at least waited until hours later, when I was home, to shed some stress tears.
It had taken me twenty years (yes, you heard me right) to willingly face that and get it done. Luckily, I ended up getting a good report. All systems normal. I'm in good health. Whew!
I wish I could say that I'm cured of my fear, and that by facing it, the terror is somehow less now. It's not. I still think it's my biggest challenge, as far as phobias go. But at least I made that first step to confront it. I stopped running from it. So at least now I can say that I did it, and it didn't kill me, so I could do it in the future if I had to.
What about you? Do you have any phobias that you are afraid to face, or that you avoided for a long time and eventually did face?
I got my blood drawn..............
**cringe**
I had them do a full scan of everything, so they took 3 or 4 vials. I'm not sure because I didn't look. I was pretty brave up until the moment she slid the tourniquet on. Then when she stuck me, it was like a lightning bolt of pure horror struck me. I didn't cry or throw up or faint, but I was clammy and trembling and overall, completely humbled by how out-of-control my feelings were.
I at least waited until hours later, when I was home, to shed some stress tears.
It had taken me twenty years (yes, you heard me right) to willingly face that and get it done. Luckily, I ended up getting a good report. All systems normal. I'm in good health. Whew!
I wish I could say that I'm cured of my fear, and that by facing it, the terror is somehow less now. It's not. I still think it's my biggest challenge, as far as phobias go. But at least I made that first step to confront it. I stopped running from it. So at least now I can say that I did it, and it didn't kill me, so I could do it in the future if I had to.
What about you? Do you have any phobias that you are afraid to face, or that you avoided for a long time and eventually did face?
