You Might Be A Writer If...

Recently I've had the pleasure of stumbling across Messy Mondays on YouTube. These videos are all very funny, but if I had to pick a favorite it would be this one right here.

"You Might Be A Homeschooler If..."

It's inspired me to try and come up with my own "If" list. So here goes.

You Might Be a Writer If...

1. Instead of insulting people, you go home and make them villains or monsters in your latest story. Or the village idiot...it depends on how mad they made you.

2. Although you may use them from time to time, "words" like LOL, ROTFLOL, YOLO, and #anything outside of personal social networking make you want to cover your dictionary's ears.

3.  You cry when you write your own character's death scene.

4. You go into cardiac arrest when a real live spider crosses your path, but your dream job is slaying horrifying monsters in a fictional world.

5. You think Coffee has water in it, so it counts.

6. You can't remember where you put  anything, but you have all your notes and drafts organized perfectly in your laptop and/or binder.

7. You're one reason thinking while driving should be illegal.

8. When the inspiration is flowing, cookies and milk are a balanced meal.

9. You start basing your opinion of music on how it relates to the story you're working on at the time.

10.  You've had your friends and family read so many drafts that they feel like lab rats by now.

11. You and your local coffee shop barista are on a first name basis.

12. You have you own special chair in said coffee shop — right next to the outlet.

13. If you ever find someone sitting in that chair, refer to #1.

14. You have an opinion on lined paper and word fonts.

15. Your internet search history looks like the content index for 1000 Ways to Die for Dummies.

16. You get excited when you find real typewriters in antique shops.

17. Writer's block feels like Multiple Personality Disorder, because you're arguing with the creative voices in your head.

18. No matter how bad writer's block gets, or how many negative reviews you receive, you know you will never stop writing. The creative voices won't shut up if you do...

There you have it. At least, these are the ones I've thought of. If you have something you'd like to add, please comment below. I'd love to hear what you think.

First Impressions of Canada

It's official! I'm a globe trotter! This past week, I visited a foreign country for the first time — Canada. My aunt and uncle live there, and I flew to Alberta in order to pay them a much overdue visit. Here is a brief summary of my trip, with lots of pictures.

I'll start my story with describing the baggage claim area. There was one little football display in a corner of the room, but everything else was hockey, Hockey, HOCKEY! Let me tell you, I've heard that Canadians love their hockey, but I didn't realize just how much they loved it until then. It's like you walk through customs, and then BAM! Welcome to Canada! Coming from a country that loves football more than just a little bit, this sight caused me to literally laugh out loud (in a good way...I'm easily entertained). Hope the border agent didn't hear me...

Next my aunt took me to Tim Horton's, a beloved Canadian coffee/sandwich/pastry chain, and I have to say I'm sold. No, I'm not going to go on and on about everything I ate as well as what I saw, but I am going to take a moment to say this. The food was delicious. Two thumbs up from me.

Then we went to the West Edmonton Mall, which is the largest mall in North America and the tenth largest in the world. Most of the time I'm not a mall person unless I'm with friends, but this place is almost an inclusive resort. It contains a theme park, a water park, a hotel, a movie theater, a full sized skating rink (apparently the term skating automatically implies ice there), and a lagoon with a life size replica of the Santa Maria and a sea lion show. I didn't try to count the stores. 

 

 

 

 

 

 Afterward I spent a lovely week with my aunt and uncle in their home in the country. Here are a few scenic pictures of the area. 

Even with all the fun things I experienced in Edmonton, I think this was my favorite portion of the trip. The community was tight-knit and warmly greeted me as if I was already one of their own, making me feel right at home. Even though this was my first visit and I only stayed a week, I don't think they've seen the last of me.

 

 

 My cousins' tree fort —>

  Photo credit goes to Cousin H

 

 

 

 <— Photo credit to Cousin H

         again.

Finally, my aunt and I spent my last night in Edmonton so we could have a girls' night out and see the

sights on Whyte Avenue. It's a really cute shopping center with lots of nook-and-cranny type stores, as well as cool little pubs and bars. I must confess that the latter was especially interesting to me, because the legal drinking age in Canada is eighteen. Therefore, I had the unique
experience of dining in an Irish pub for the first time. It will be a few more months before I can do that here, so I guess I'll have to exercise some patience now that I've had a taste of
"freedom." Ha ha.

Just before I left, my aunt asked me if Canada lived up to my expectations. The honest answer to that question is no, but only because I didn't have expectations to "live up to" in the first place. Canada is a country I've wanted to visit for a long time, but the draw was more my family than because I had a burning desire to be a tourist. I simply hadn't thought much about it, that's all. Well, it definitely surprised me with its beauty, and it's people doubled that beauty with their friendliness.

I think I can say that it gave me expectations by the time I left.