workin' the net

i've discovered a word that makes shivers run down my back. ready for it?

Networking.

blech.

my crit partner and i went to a meet/greet, social, party favors, in a bar, writers get together kind of thing last night. obviously a lot of hard work went into it. so i'm not going to say it was awful.

what? i said i wasn't going to say it.

sorry. i don't want to sound unkind. there wasn't anything wrong with the event. it was lovely.

but why do the networking things i've been to leave me feeling like the last kid picked on the dance floor? it's not like people aren't friendly. everyone is chatting and talking. outside of the event, i'm sure everyone is extra lovely.

maybe it's knowing that you're in a room full of people who wouldn't be there if they were where they'd like to be in their careers. hmm. yeah that could be it.

granted, every time i do a "social" function like this, i meet a few people who were worth the creepy yikes feeling of it all. which, i hear my agent patiently saying, is the whole point of it. so i did meet a few nice gals. one of whom is considering becoming a crit partner for me to constantly hyper-link.

all in all, it was a fine evening. i'm glad my writers org sponsored it and i'm glad i went. the weird feeling in my belly for the rest of the night was probably from the korean food and plum wine crit parter and i consumed afterwords. not the social event.

you're smiling now, corrie. give it a few hours.

i just can't wait for the day when my life more resembles this:

laughing teenagers who squeal when they see me because they've followed my musical career since they were babies read my book. then we all dance together. that day will come. right?

mebbe not?

how 'bout just the a teenager reads my book part?

okay and the dancing part, too. please? gracias.

gimme a break

oomph. monday. blogging. is the Folgers ready?
ahhh. okay, better.

today i'm going to blog about an issue that might Ensure your discomfort. certainly, some will think it's tacky to mention. today at corriewachob.blogspot.com we'll be discussing...money.

or you know, i'll be discussing money, 'cause it's my blog.

whilst re-designing my blog i monetized it. which means there are two eyesores now running somewhere along the right side of your screen.

if you blog you know how much times it takes up. also, chances are if you blog, you have a friend who has a friend who "doesn't need to work anymore because she now lives off her blog." how the hell do they do it? (no. really. how?) i think it's called Adsense.

i've gone back and forth on the idea for months. i don't buy into advertising. my shelves are filled with generic brands (mainly because i'm cheap). but there's something hugely skeevy about putting ads on a blog that you're supposed to be doing out of love (not because every writer has one and your agent highly recommends it). you just don't see a lot of ads on writer's blogs.

when poor nathan bransford (and by poor, i mean successful, former agent, published writer, bastion and beacon of writerly advice) floated the idea of monetizing his blog, the Tide of the comment section swirled into a Whirlpool of hate. "whenever i see ads on a blog i stop reading and stop visiting that site." as with all the blogs i visit, i mentally but didn't actually comment: that's just dumb.

heaven forbid that Nathan, who is a Wikipedia of info and YMCA of community for countless people, actually make a living off of being so.

screw it, i thought. i spend half of my time worrying about making the wrong decisions. better to do something than nothing.

my sister sent me links to blogs that she thought were Tops at including ads (a Buffalo grocery store chain is the reference on that one, folks). with my crit partner offering a Nike slogan of moral support, i just did it.

a day later, as with most of my agonized, over-thought purchases, i was disappointed.

my ads looked so...addy. i wanted Cathy Erway's blog's ads. hers are Tiffany's. mine are.. ahh screw this trying to come up with dumb ad references... my ads are ghetto.

why don't writers advertise on their blogs? (though Nathan Brandsford, you totally should, dude.) to see any profit you need thousands of hits a day.

corriewachob.blogspot.com hits a day: 50. err 40. and never you mind that 20 of those clicks are from my mom checking to see if i've posted.

more than that? of those thousands of hits, i'd need viewers who actually click on ads. ain't gonna happen. nevermind that i don't know anyone who clicks on any website ads, but writers and readers are a bunch of smarties.

ain't nobody sayin': "Man, if only i knew where to look to find info about online creative writing classes. What? OMG! There's a very ugly column ad. Thank you corriewachob.blogspot.com!"

perhaps monetizing the blog is a bad idea. but it's fun to watch my ads change.

yesterday, i read a NY Times article having to do with healthcare. i'd get more specific, but for the life of me, i can't remember a thing about the article. so much for bettering myself. when i looked at my blog minutes later, the ugly column now displayed an ad for online nursing degrees.

online nursing degrees? is that what accounts for the health care awfulness i've met with?

i wonder if the ads will be like Twitter? you tweet about making sure you wear nice undies with your skirts 'cause you never know when said skirt might fly over your head as you cross the BQE overpass (true story), and suddenly you have lingerie companies following you.

if that's the case, then William Sonoma, Disney, Gap. can my ads please not follow my own online browsing? i see a future in which this advertising gets embarrassing.

"looks like corrie's shopping for zit cream again. today the ugly column ad's offering online dermatology classes."

* that was a joke people. i don't buy zit cream...online. i buy it at the store. also i don't like to say zit. but have not found a more appropriate word for pimple. which is equally gross and probably also tacky to talk about. ** that zit cream bought at store comment was also a joke. i don't buy zit cream seeing as i have flawless skin. *** fine. i don't have flawless skin, but i really don't buy zit cream.

also, for the record, my coffee of cheap choice is Cafe Bustello, not Folgers. i wouldn't want anyone thinking i was into false advertising.

cheap thrills. no, for real.

yesterday, for the first time in too long, i travelled outside the city to someplace that wasn't Buffalo. where to?

fabulous, faraway... Hoboken, New Jersey.

wha-waah.

no seriously, though? Hoboken might be the cutestest place around (here). it's quaint, cobbled, and it sits right on the water with lots of adorable parks, bike paths, and greenery. i fell a little in love the second i stepped off the train and realized i'd just emerged from here:

immediately the ipod came out and i went into tourist mode. everyone now...

oooohhhhh!

aaaahhhhhh!

for the record, i didn't just wake up and decide i needed to be in Jersey. i visited my fabulous, often hyper-linked crit partner who'd told me in advance that on Thursdays everything in Hoboken is HALF OFF.

see these drinks? one of which is equal parts sugar and alcohol in a fancy glass?

half off.

and see this appetizer? from a mediterranean/asian fusion restaurant? (yes, that means sushi and hummus on the same menu. please try to suppress your gag reflex.)

half off.

see this hummus, which somehow landed on the floor on its way to my mouth?

oops, nevermind.



considering the whole half-off-ness thing, thursdays are an extremely popular night for Hobokens to go out. now blah blah blah insert your jersey shore/bridge and tunnel comments. i'm telling you that for 80% of the people i saw the stereotypes TOTALLY FIT! sorry, but talk about feeling like a tourist in a foreign land. 

shush. i shall say no more on that fake-boobied, too made-up ladies, obscenely loud males subject because all told, Hoboken is a terrific place to visit. for only a $2 train ride i took lots of deep breaths and realized i gotta do this whole get-out-of-the-city thing more often.

because see this travel-induced smiling?

it ain't half-off folks, it's free.

* i'd have included crit partner's smiling face, too. but we both agreed it might be the worst picture of her ever taken. so here's a better one. and yes, that is another very inexpensive (usually-expensive) glass of sugared alcohol she is sipping. what can i say? the sweety's got herself a sweet-tooth.

abreast of my week in review

why does everything happens all at once? then when you'd like something to happen, nothing does?

i am coming down off the enormous high of being thoroughly over-booked these past two weeks. my dad and his (lovely) girlfriend visited, i had dinners with friends, crit group, extra work shifts, weird dance events, library read-ins and very little sleep in between. it was marvelous and exhausting.

now it's over. here i am. corrie in her apartment. writing. as a dear friend constantly reminds me, it's okay to have down time. you're allowed to be in your apartment some nights doing nothing.

right. but that doesn't make for very interesting blogging. so since i missed monday's post (hair appointment) i'll jog back in time to something that makes for very interesting blogging -- the mermaid parade.

what is the mermaid parade? imagine if the tackiest, strangest, creepiest, fairly awesomest place on earth (hint hint: coney island) threw a party. the mermaid parade is what gets spewed out.

example? this guy:

he wasn't even the half of it. just the most confusing. since this post is four days after the event, chances are you've already seen pictures of the mermaid parade. especially since there were equal parts photographers and participants.

i was there as part of my hip hop teacher's dance troop. i wanted to be the free-spirited kind of person who loved the whole crazy thing. i really really did. but on only a few hours of sleep, with no coffee, waiting around in the hot sun in the early morning, with lets face it, some flat out creepy people milling about, i kind of really really hated it instead. you'll notice all my pictures are taken from a sitting down angle. i found some shade and stayed there.

still, it makes you marvel at people's creativity. anyone can march in the mermaid parade and witnessing it makes you proud that you're part of a culture that lets it's wacky out with such abandon (even if you're the wilting, pouting girl on the curb).

some participants have already started their costumes for next years parade.

but all of this is a huge preamble to what the mermaid parade is really about.

boobies.
at the mermaid parade they're everywhere! i mean, i guess they're everywhere all the time, but at the mermaid parade they're exposed! now, i'm no prude. okay, maybe i'm a little prudey, but where exactly do you cast your eyes when everyone's boobies are hanging out?

maybe if we were in france, you could wear an insane getup and go topless and people wouldn't only be looking at your chest. but here? no matter what else you put on there's only one reason the photographs want pictures of you. only one reason the men are whooping at you from balconies. probably only one reason half the people go to the mermaid parade to begin with -- participants and spectators -- boobies.

there's no getting away from them. por exemplo. see the above shark picture? i have about five on my ipod because every time i tried to shoot it, this happened:

whoops. boobies. let's try another shot:

gar! more boobies.

tiny boobies. pregnant boobies. man boobies. blue boobies. i loved the confidence all these women exhibited. but there wasn't much socializing going on, partly because topless women were mobbed by photographers (creepy) and partly because no one wanted to say this: it's very nice to meet you and your boobies.

will i be back at the mermaid parade next year? probably not. was it an interesting experience? most definitely. if nothing else, the mermaid parade underscored what i like best about parades...

the marching bands.

rollin' with the bloggers

even though i normally post about anything but writing (though i'm getting better about that lately), i am a writer. and since i've moved to NYC i've been doing lots of things to emerge myself in the writing world. some of those things i like to do -- helloooo this blog. others i'm still getting the hang of -- helloooo absolute write forum!

but i have this amazing crit parner, who not only taught me how to make exciting hyperlinks but told me i really should be on the absolutewrite forums. i signed up the way i do anything new online -- hesitantly and suspicious that my identity will be stolen momentarily.

it's been a few weeks now. i sometimes forget to check back in when i post things, but all in all it's going along swimmingly. to the point that, i also signed up to be on a blog roll which is where everyone visits everyone else's blog.

number of blogs i've visited from it? erm, remember how i said i kinda forget to check back in on things i post? so none yet, but by monday i'll have viewed them all! (wait, did everyone new just stop ready? poop.)

anyhoo... today is my turn to post something for the blog roll! the theme is Setting the Scene.

so welcome anyone new. i've devised a game called here's my setting guess the scene.

setting: random decorative object in my house?

scene: ho ho no! i mean yes, but let's call the scene: Girl's Only Birthday Wish.

when asked what i'd like for my birthday this year, these lights were the only thing that came to mind because i like gifts that are both useful and easy to find a place for. who says i ain't got me some class?


                                                             setting: solitary confinement?

 

scene: yes! welcome to the view of my bathroom. (what? solitary confinement's not a dig. i live alone. it's a play on words).

why did i think new viewers to my blog would like to see what i see when i look out my bathroom window?well 'cause it's kinda funny but more because i'm still in pajamas, needed to shoot photos and this seemed the most interesting.

can you imagine the rest of my apartment? if my tiny bathroom window and silly lightup flower lights are the best things in it?

one more. this game is super fun, right?

                                                                  setting: bedside table?



scene: haha, no! this is a picture of how to spend a perfect morning. cup of coffee, kinda early so you don't feel guilty about still being in bed, and an AMAZING book. The Scorpio Races is one of the ARCs i had signed from BEA. it is PHENOMENAL. luckily when ms. stiefvater signed it for me i hadn't read it yet, otherwise i might have been fawny and overly gushy about how much i love this freakin' book.

i can't wait until you read it. if i didn't want to keep it, i'd send it around so you could all read it right after me. but i do want to keep it, so you'll have to wait for it to actually come out. sorry. but seriously. get this book

i hope you enjoyed this little game. i'm sure i've butchered both the meanings of setting and scene, bored you to tears, and offended you by saying that i haven't yet fully participated in the blogroll.

which means that you've had a true to form unfortunate behaviors blog experience. *pats self on back*

happy friday and see you all soon on yours!

orion_mk3
juniper
LadyMage
dolores haze
jkellerford
Ralph Pines
TheMindKiller
AuburnAssassin
pezie
WildScribe
Inkstrokes
Irissel
Guardian
Lyra Jean
egoodlett (phenom of a crit-partner!)
corrie wachob (t'is me!)
xcomplex
Della Odell
Aheïla

that's right. two butterflies. they were just, um, hanging out on the lamp post, but took to the sky as soon as i snapped a picture. i rather prefer them like this. perhaps because i feel a little out of focus myself.

my WIP, that i adore, is looking like a wet shirt that sat balled up in a corner for a month. i've been here before and i know it will iron itself out, but that doesn't mean it's much fun. or that my general mindset hasn't been: ARGH!

(you've been here before, corrie. it will be fine).

on a happy note: my pops is in town and the next few days will involve much visiting, train taking, sight seeing, eating, and fun.

but first i'm off to do a little more grunt (literally) work on this WIP. because just like those butterflies, as delicate as they look, they're not stopping until they get the job done. and yes, booyah, that is how you link a writing analogy to a picture of butterflies having sex.

happy wednesday, everyone!

** when i meant, get to work, i really meant: check my twitter and facebook for a while. which is where i found this terrific video that PAPER LANTERN LIT posted on their blog. i can't help it. i need to post it as well. thanks guys, for the inspiration!

the best thing to do EVER!

i did all my summer shopping in one fell swoop yesterday and i didn't spend a penny. i attended my darling friend's semi-annual clothing swap.

have you ever been to a clothes swap before? yes? good. go you. no? please immediately plan one with all of your girlfriends. no seriously, get it going tomorrow. it really is the. best. thing. ever. here are the rules:

pull out all your clothes/shoes/accessories that are taking up space/you know you'll never wear again/were a bad impulse/are too small/too big/ or it's been over a year since you've warn. now, don't just pull out the bad ones. sweat stained t-shirts need not apply. be honest and generous with your selections. ask a bunch of your girlfriends to do the same. have them invite anyone they think would be interested. hold a two hour event on a sunday afternoon and... BAM. whole new wardrobe for you.

you think i jest? look at my haul:

note the stylin' leather jacket in the upper left and the hot mama pants in the lower right.

my favorite part of the clothing swap -- alright, second favorite part after the whole new wardrobe thing -- is the sisterhood of it.

all around you are ladies in bra and undies, being like, "oh my god that looks fabulous on you!" or, saying, "here try this." or "this one's not so me, but it would probably look terrific on you." there's no guilt allowed, so you're allowed to be all "i would love to have that" and you can go home with as much as you want.

there's something equally amazing about watching someone freshly adore something that had become old to you. so thank you my dear friend, Karen. i was on a clothing swap high all day long yesterday. and i still can not believe i scored this dress: 

seriously, ladies, swap it up and feel the love.

ooh. and other other best part? anything that doesn't get taken home, gets donated to a women's shelter.

summer sounds

summer is unofficially here! 

it's been in the 90's the past few days in NYC, which actually isn't as terrible as it sounds (sez me the garden apartment dweller). but an even bigger summer signifier is that the Prospect Park concert series is starting tonight. who's playing? one of my favorites...

ANDREW BIRD!

let me preface this by saying, i used to listen to cool music. i grew up on hardcore and emo, then switched to at the drive-in for a few years straight (when you listen to ATDI you don't need other music*).

*though ATDI is not for everyone, there's two reasons to watch this video. first, the little butt shake thing he does right around the 50 sec mark. it puts my butt shake move to shame. also, the chorus around the 1:45 minute mark = most energizing chorus ever. it's a freight train! and it's coming!

then i moved to NYC. i've been a little obsessed with Bachatta ever since:

and reaggaton:

and whatever song my hip hop teacher has chosen that week:

so it's the start of summer tonight, but it's also a flashback to my cool listening roots. (tho, damn, mos def is awesome.) but just for one night. because tomorrow it's going to be back to music that sounds more like this**:

** if you want to become latin music obsessed with me, check out NYC's radio station 96.3. they have amazing music that's basically on repeat. it's totally fun and very fresh for summer. or create a Prince Royce Pandora station. i promise you won't regret it.

my support on loan

currently on loan.

remember the karaoke dred of 2010? or the cringe-inducing subway dance? well... i did it again.

welcome to the We Will Not Be Shushed Dred-a-thon, i mean, Read-a-thon of 2011.

why am i doing this? NY State is cutting massive funding from Public Libraries. how do i feel about this? i think it sucks. do i understand that in hard times everyone needs to take a hit? yes. and when the State is also cutting public schools and other cultural institutions, i feel like there isn't that much room to be crying about it.

but i can't imagine my life without libraries or even less well stocked libraries. i visit mine about twice a week. 94% of the books i've read my whole life have been library books. that's a true gestimation. so when libraries are in trouble, i'd be a turncoat to not support them. groan. grumble. sign me up.

which leads me to the 24 hour read-a-thon.

the rules? over the course of an entire day, someone will be standing on the steps of the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library reading for 15 minute increments. starting at 2:30 a.m. this coming sunday morning, that person will be me.




how'ya like them apples, i mean, steps?


did i mention you have to read for 15 MINUTES?! i could ride to Coney Island on my bike in that amount of time (no i couldn't). i could run a couple of miles in 15 minutes (but seriously no more than two). i could make a sandwich, eat it, and take a nap (if all those things were done super quickly).

anyway, i happily and inadvertenly signed up for a Children's Literature time slot. what child isn't awake at 2:30 in the morning? i'm going to try and read from Fat Kid Rules the World, by KL Going. and i'm telling myself it will be great practice for when i'll be reading my own work in front of hordes (or a few stragglers) of people.

the grand lesson in all of this?

sometimes you have to do things you really really don't want to for the ones you love.

we're all winners

the YA world's panties are all in a bunch right now because the stodgy Wall Street Journal wrote a stodgy article about YA fiction ruining the minds of our youth. read it here .

it's a little weird sending people the way of things i don't agree on. like when my friend told me i had to see that Rebecca Black Friday song. "it's just so terrible," he said. i stopped watching it ten seconds in. i didn't want to add to the view count.

why don't good things take off, too?

well...they do. sometimes we hear about them and sometimes we don't. just like, sometimes we hear about the excellent YA books and other times someone writes an article about the more -- okay, quite honestly --icky sounding ones.

it was never an issue of what i was allowed to read growing up. my mom is awesome and she trusted my integrity. if i didn't like something or didn't connect with it, i put the book down. or i never made it past the blurb on the back to begin with. did that mean i stumbled across inappropriate topics for my age group? (hello the sex scenes in Pillars of the Earth) i was reading Stephen King when i was in middle school, of course it did.

does this even need to be re-stated? there's all kinds of writers out there. there's all kinds of readers. thus there's all kinds of books. and luckily, as long as the human race is a varied, complex, and free mass of people, there always will be.

to make waves sometimes some people go to extremes. like some YA authors. like some writers of over-simplified Wall Street Journal articles. like some truly terrible youtube sensations.

at least we're talking books and debating reading.

on sunnier lots-of-other-people-haven't-already-said-it-better-than-me-news, this is my last week's recap:

corrie holds her first ever book giveaway contest. corrie has lots of new people look at her blog and goes a little attention crazy and extends the contest's deadline. corrie gets tired of promoting contest and goes for many bikerides instead. no new people look at corrie's blog.

learn and live.

so the winner today is the same winner as last week when i selected a name just to see had i ended the competition as planned who'd take home the prize and that winner is....

LAUREN ELIZABETH MORRILL!

(have you noticed yet that this hyperlinks thing is new and exciting for me?).

Lauren is a YA writer and reader. she's also the first ever person other than family or friends or friends of friends to comment on my blog. which means, i'm a little starry eyed right now and couldn't be happier to be sending her The Future of US.

which is a decidely un-depraved YA book.

a friday extension

my first ever giveaway for this book:

is supposed to be over...NOW!

but mwah to the ha ha, i just can't bring myself to let it end.

people are looking at my blog! YA Highway posted a link to the contest! i feel like wearing sunglasses inside and drinking my coffee in a fancy martini glass. you know, stuff that famous people do.

so i am extending the contest until monday morning, and then, truly, that's it. if you've already entered, i'm throwing another slip of paper into the hat with your name on it because you played by the rules and i didn't. if you haven't entered, see the rules from Wednesday's post.

good luck everyone! and again, thanks for coming by.

now i must return to basking in the glow of wider recognition, er, i mean writing. back to writing.

knowing when to let go

after much back and forth, i've finally done it. i've dropped a shift at work. what am i doing instead?

nothing.

fine. not true. i'll write more. the WIP will get attention during the day and i'll start my new novel at night. more important is what i won't be doing.

i won't be having that heavy, i-am-stagnating-hate-my-life feeling four times a week when i start work. (only 3 times a week now haHA). i won't be heaping tons of pressure on my writing career because i'm not happy at my job. oh, and i won't be having any spending money, but i've been poor before, so this is nothin'.

i've wanted to do this for months, but i've been afraid to. that's kind of my thing. my gut tells me one thing, but my head another, and since the head is always more logical it wins. did you ever notice it's hard to allow yourself to be happy? especially when it means following -- even less -- the normal patterns of society. i'm supposed to be making moves to earn more money, not less, right?

well, no. not at the moment. now it's time to go with the gut. what am i giving up, really? one shift? a little extra money in the savings account? meh. the gains are overwhelming worth it. happiness. focus. advancement. i didn't come here to wait tables. i came to freakin' write!

so while i continue to convince myself this is a good decision, in the spirit of letting things go, today i'm doing my first EVER book giveaway.

the book? THE FUTURE OF US by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

how do you win? get to know me a little. i've been blogging for awhile, but i haven't been very social about it. so check out an old post or two. watch one of my should's videos off to the right of the screen. for every comment you leave, i'll throw a slip of paper with your name on it into this hat (which looks less giant in real life):

cute, right? start following the blog or me on twitter (@corriewachob)? i'll throw two slips of paper into the hat. so leave your email addy with any comments.

the contest will run until my next blog post on friday.

how fun! i've never done this before. it feels so illegal. but see? already i feel lighter and happier, just by letting something go.

now tell me. if you could go with your gut and let something in your life go, what would it be? and why aren't you?