I'm a reader, I love to read my books because I can go at my own pace and I can read out loud and play with different inflections. I don't care for audiobooks, at least the (very) few that I've heard. They sound too robotic for my taste. But I hear audiobooks are quite popular, and not all books are narrated in the same robotic tone.
Last year I stumbled across a website, ACX, and it's for authors looking to turn their books into audiobooks and for narrators to audition for these books. It really intrigued me because I've always wanted to do voice-over work - how cool would it be if I were the voice of a cartoon!? - I thought that I could bring a more lively narration to audiobooks, if that's something an author was looking for, I would love to try to give it to them. I auditioned for a few books but never got a response. I wasn't surprised, I have no experience and my feeling weren't hurt or anything - that's part of the audition process. Well there was 1 audition that had been pending this whole time and the author emailed me yesterday and asked if I was still interested in working on her book. Um, heck yeah! So I said yes, lol. And hopefully we'll get all the details ironed out as far as what she's looking for in terms of narration and what the time frame is. And soon, I may have an audiobook narrated by yours truly. :-D
This, That, and Whatever.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
Dreams of Friendship?
I've been having bizarre dreams these last two days. They're making me think about certain people.
The first one was with Alyssa. She was mostly Alyssa, but part of her was also my cousin. Her and my aunt go into some argument and Alyssa decided she didn't want to associate herself with my aunt anymore. We ended up in her bedroom and her walls were covered with pictures. Alyssa started to take down all of the pictures she had of my aunt and handed them over to me saying that I should give them to my aunt because she wanted nothing to do with her. Then she pulled out the only 3 pictures she had of me because my aunt was in them as well. I told her that those were the only pics she had of me and she said she didn't care.
It really hurt my feelings. I wanted to cry. I think I might have.
Obviously this was a dream, because in real life I wouldn't really be upset about it, I would have just commented that I would give her new pics of me.
This isn't the first time I've had dreams of Aly where she hurts my feelings...I guess it's leftover pain from everything that went down between us. We are in a much better place today, but it seems like a part of my heart still hurts. I hope it isn't something that lasts forever.
Anyway, the dream I had today affected me much more than the Aly dream. It was actually a two parter, sort of. The first "part" was about my childhood best friend, Stephanie. I don't remember much of the details, except that I was seeing her for the first time in years, and we were catching up and everything was great. It was as if no time had passed, and actually in my dream I felt we were even closer than ever. Her mom showed up (though in my dream it didn't physically look like her mom) and we were all talking. I woke up then probably because my room was hot and I had to use the bathroom. HAHA. But when I fell asleep again, I went into part two. I don't know what happened, exactly, it wasn't mentioned, but Stephanie was dead. I remember feeling so devastated. Lost. And I went back to her childhood home where her mom still lived (only the dream. In RL they no longer live there), and of course the house didn't look like anything it does in real life...but I went there and went to the back yard and underneath some leaves and an old rug I found some old middle school IDs for both me and Stephanie. Finding those IDs somehow broke my heart even more than before.
There was a bit more to the dream before I woke up, but that feeling I felt of losing Stephanie was what I took with me when I woke up, and I didn't like at all. This is also not the first dream I've had with Steph, although this is the first one where she has died. I didn't like it. At all.
I don't know what's going on in my subconscious, but there's something going on with really close friendships...Stephanie was my childhood best friend, Alyssa was my high school best friend. Maybe I'm just missing them individually? Maybe I'm missing my current best friends since we're in different states...I dunno.
The first one was with Alyssa. She was mostly Alyssa, but part of her was also my cousin. Her and my aunt go into some argument and Alyssa decided she didn't want to associate herself with my aunt anymore. We ended up in her bedroom and her walls were covered with pictures. Alyssa started to take down all of the pictures she had of my aunt and handed them over to me saying that I should give them to my aunt because she wanted nothing to do with her. Then she pulled out the only 3 pictures she had of me because my aunt was in them as well. I told her that those were the only pics she had of me and she said she didn't care.
It really hurt my feelings. I wanted to cry. I think I might have.
Obviously this was a dream, because in real life I wouldn't really be upset about it, I would have just commented that I would give her new pics of me.
This isn't the first time I've had dreams of Aly where she hurts my feelings...I guess it's leftover pain from everything that went down between us. We are in a much better place today, but it seems like a part of my heart still hurts. I hope it isn't something that lasts forever.
Anyway, the dream I had today affected me much more than the Aly dream. It was actually a two parter, sort of. The first "part" was about my childhood best friend, Stephanie. I don't remember much of the details, except that I was seeing her for the first time in years, and we were catching up and everything was great. It was as if no time had passed, and actually in my dream I felt we were even closer than ever. Her mom showed up (though in my dream it didn't physically look like her mom) and we were all talking. I woke up then probably because my room was hot and I had to use the bathroom. HAHA. But when I fell asleep again, I went into part two. I don't know what happened, exactly, it wasn't mentioned, but Stephanie was dead. I remember feeling so devastated. Lost. And I went back to her childhood home where her mom still lived (only the dream. In RL they no longer live there), and of course the house didn't look like anything it does in real life...but I went there and went to the back yard and underneath some leaves and an old rug I found some old middle school IDs for both me and Stephanie. Finding those IDs somehow broke my heart even more than before.
There was a bit more to the dream before I woke up, but that feeling I felt of losing Stephanie was what I took with me when I woke up, and I didn't like at all. This is also not the first dream I've had with Steph, although this is the first one where she has died. I didn't like it. At all.
I don't know what's going on in my subconscious, but there's something going on with really close friendships...Stephanie was my childhood best friend, Alyssa was my high school best friend. Maybe I'm just missing them individually? Maybe I'm missing my current best friends since we're in different states...I dunno.
Monday, April 15, 2013
I'm Awake!!!
I just had a frightening experience! I couldn't wake up from my dream!!! Actually, I couldn't wake up from my dreamssss. Multiple. I was dreaming that I was dreaming that I was in a dream within a dream and so on and so forth. I knew it was a dream because I wasn't wearing my glasses so I couldn't really see, and it was night time and dark, and I couldn't move very well - I was trapped in my comforter. But I was in an apartment and I was trying to figure out a way to wake up. And every time I woke up - or thought I woke up - I ended up back in the beginning of the dream. So I had to try a different approach to wake up. Eventually I guess I "passed" that particular dream, because then I was in a different dream. I was in some sort of castle, this time I had my glasses, but it was still dark and I kept waking up but still stuck dreaming. When I was there, I realized that not only was I dreaming, but that I was dreaming in a dream. And even if I managed to wake up, I would still be dreaming.
My mom in real life was getting ready for work, and I could hear the noises she was making in my dreams, so I started yelling at the top of my lungs, "Help! Please, wake me up. Wake me up!!!" Hoping that if I screamed it hard enough that the real life version of me would start to scream it too and maybe my mom would come and wake me up. But it didn't work, all it did was agitate me more because I felt like I'd been trapped in this dream realm for days. And so now I'm running around yelling, and crying, and I just want to wake up. And finally I do...but it's not real! How did I know? Because I was in some sort of Nikita dream, with bad guys and guns and all sorts of things. I just wanted to wake up! Finally, it was time for my mom to go to work so she came into my room to say goodnight and pulled me out of all of these dreams. I was truly awake this time! I felt so super relieved, and so super exhausted!!!
This is probably confusing to follow, but let me tell you...it was scary. I really thought I was stuck in dreamland forever, and they weren't the usual cool dreams/nightmares that I have, where I wouldn't mind. These were just odd (for me) and I didn't like them much. So the idea of being stuck there was really upsetting. *sighs* Hope this doesn't happen again any time soon.
My mom in real life was getting ready for work, and I could hear the noises she was making in my dreams, so I started yelling at the top of my lungs, "Help! Please, wake me up. Wake me up!!!" Hoping that if I screamed it hard enough that the real life version of me would start to scream it too and maybe my mom would come and wake me up. But it didn't work, all it did was agitate me more because I felt like I'd been trapped in this dream realm for days. And so now I'm running around yelling, and crying, and I just want to wake up. And finally I do...but it's not real! How did I know? Because I was in some sort of Nikita dream, with bad guys and guns and all sorts of things. I just wanted to wake up! Finally, it was time for my mom to go to work so she came into my room to say goodnight and pulled me out of all of these dreams. I was truly awake this time! I felt so super relieved, and so super exhausted!!!
This is probably confusing to follow, but let me tell you...it was scary. I really thought I was stuck in dreamland forever, and they weren't the usual cool dreams/nightmares that I have, where I wouldn't mind. These were just odd (for me) and I didn't like them much. So the idea of being stuck there was really upsetting. *sighs* Hope this doesn't happen again any time soon.
Look at that...2 days in a row!
Don't mind my random jumps in topics, I'm a little all over the place today.
I opened up a savings account today. It was super duper easy! I already have a checking account, so I just went to my bank's website and clicked here and there and TADA - savings account! Now that our bills are up to date, I can finally start saving up for a car. (YAY). I want it quick, and I want it cheap. Don't want to make outrageous car payments for like 2 years (*ahem* mother), and I also want a small compact cart. I'm going for a Beetle. Let the money saving begin!
I'm trying to get back to my roots (never thought I'd say something like that). I'll be honest, I have spent a lot of time distancing myself from my culture. Some things haven't been on purpose, but other things have. There are certain aspects that embarrassed me and I didn't want to be associated with where I came from. I lived in the US and I thought that if I acted like every one else, people wouldn't see me as Puerto Rican...in a way...It's a little hard to explain. I've never denied that I was Puerto Rican, and I love being able to speak Spanish, but aside from that, I didn't really want to be associated with anything else. I only listened to Spanish music at home, and I don't have much of an accent - even though when I learned to speak English I hadn't intentionally try to lose it, it just happened. I don't know why I thought we were below others, but that's what I thought; add that to the fact that I grew up in Connecticut and you've got one pretty Americanized Puerto Rican. But recently, I've been missing it. I miss the music, and the expressions, and the atmosphere of a Hispanic home. The funny thing is, I realized this probably because of my fascination with Japanese culture. Learning about their culture made me realize that I've neglected my own.
So I've been trying to speak Spanish more often, and I'm listening to a lot more Spanish music - because over the years the amount I listened to has dwindled, maybe I'll get back to watching Telenovelas. ;) I've also been thinking a lot about Hispanic cuisine - which I love. I'm tired of going to a store to get an alcapurria and not have it taste good. Or trying to find someone who knows someone who knows an old lady that makes pasteles only to buy some and not be crazy about them. I've decided that I need to learn how to make them. If I can learn how to make desserts and how to decorate a cake, I'm pretty sure I can learn how to make the Hispanic foods that I like. So I've got a (mental) list of the things I want to learn to make. First on the list, alcapurrias. It's getting warm out and I'm starting to crave those little suckers. I will be attempting to make them sometime in the next 2 weeks. I'm leaning more towards next week because I have book club this week and have to get ready for that, plus I'm trying to spend some time with aunt which I haven't done in months. I'll try to remember to post pics of my creation and tell you all how it went down.
A co-worker of mine got a tattoo this week and it's freaking gorgeous! It's a pile of books and the artist did just a beautiful job, the colors are phenomenal!!! It couldn't have come at a better time, because I've been looking at tattoo parlors to get my moon tattoo (finally) and I hadn't found a place or person that made me want to schedule and consultation with. But after seeing her tat, I got the name of the place and person who did hers and I'm most definitely going to check it out. She also told me he does a lot of custom tattoos which is even more perfect because maybe I can finally get that Sailor Moon tattoo I've wanted since I was 12 years old but doesn't really exist. Heh. So I could be getting some new ink real soon!
I opened up a savings account today. It was super duper easy! I already have a checking account, so I just went to my bank's website and clicked here and there and TADA - savings account! Now that our bills are up to date, I can finally start saving up for a car. (YAY). I want it quick, and I want it cheap. Don't want to make outrageous car payments for like 2 years (*ahem* mother), and I also want a small compact cart. I'm going for a Beetle. Let the money saving begin!
***
I'm trying to get back to my roots (never thought I'd say something like that). I'll be honest, I have spent a lot of time distancing myself from my culture. Some things haven't been on purpose, but other things have. There are certain aspects that embarrassed me and I didn't want to be associated with where I came from. I lived in the US and I thought that if I acted like every one else, people wouldn't see me as Puerto Rican...in a way...It's a little hard to explain. I've never denied that I was Puerto Rican, and I love being able to speak Spanish, but aside from that, I didn't really want to be associated with anything else. I only listened to Spanish music at home, and I don't have much of an accent - even though when I learned to speak English I hadn't intentionally try to lose it, it just happened. I don't know why I thought we were below others, but that's what I thought; add that to the fact that I grew up in Connecticut and you've got one pretty Americanized Puerto Rican. But recently, I've been missing it. I miss the music, and the expressions, and the atmosphere of a Hispanic home. The funny thing is, I realized this probably because of my fascination with Japanese culture. Learning about their culture made me realize that I've neglected my own.
So I've been trying to speak Spanish more often, and I'm listening to a lot more Spanish music - because over the years the amount I listened to has dwindled, maybe I'll get back to watching Telenovelas. ;) I've also been thinking a lot about Hispanic cuisine - which I love. I'm tired of going to a store to get an alcapurria and not have it taste good. Or trying to find someone who knows someone who knows an old lady that makes pasteles only to buy some and not be crazy about them. I've decided that I need to learn how to make them. If I can learn how to make desserts and how to decorate a cake, I'm pretty sure I can learn how to make the Hispanic foods that I like. So I've got a (mental) list of the things I want to learn to make. First on the list, alcapurrias. It's getting warm out and I'm starting to crave those little suckers. I will be attempting to make them sometime in the next 2 weeks. I'm leaning more towards next week because I have book club this week and have to get ready for that, plus I'm trying to spend some time with aunt which I haven't done in months. I'll try to remember to post pics of my creation and tell you all how it went down.
***
A co-worker of mine got a tattoo this week and it's freaking gorgeous! It's a pile of books and the artist did just a beautiful job, the colors are phenomenal!!! It couldn't have come at a better time, because I've been looking at tattoo parlors to get my moon tattoo (finally) and I hadn't found a place or person that made me want to schedule and consultation with. But after seeing her tat, I got the name of the place and person who did hers and I'm most definitely going to check it out. She also told me he does a lot of custom tattoos which is even more perfect because maybe I can finally get that Sailor Moon tattoo I've wanted since I was 12 years old but doesn't really exist. Heh. So I could be getting some new ink real soon!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Look Who Popped up!
As we all know, I lack discipline. That's why it's been 3 months since I'm updated this blog, even though one of my New Years resolutions was to write MORE.
But I'm not a complete and total failure! I have been doing very well reading and reviewing books. Book Universe (whose name may be changing soon) has been updated frequently; so I have been writing more...just not as much as I had planned. Plus talking about books I've read wasn't really what I had in mind when I said I needed to write more. I'm still very out of practice in my writing and I really want to tackle a new story, and also revisit The Cotton Candy Girls: Emma and do another edit. I feel mentally I'm ready, and I understand what this story needs more of (and no, it isn't sex).
So I'm going to try this one more time - writing regularly. Truth be told, there are a few times a week where I think of something and say to myself, "I need to blog this!" But I don't. Why? Because I'm lazy. No other excuse, really. I wish I had a desk at home where I could sit with my laptop, I would get a lot more done. When I'm in bed, I end up playing Sims 3 or SimCity. When I sit in my "pimp" chair, I end up playing Sims 3 or SimCity even more hardcore. Hehe. And when I sit on the couch, I end up playing with my PS3 or watching something. I need a desk! Or a dining room table at least. Somewhere I can sit and type away - like I'm doing now at work.
But I'm not a complete and total failure! I have been doing very well reading and reviewing books. Book Universe (whose name may be changing soon) has been updated frequently; so I have been writing more...just not as much as I had planned. Plus talking about books I've read wasn't really what I had in mind when I said I needed to write more. I'm still very out of practice in my writing and I really want to tackle a new story, and also revisit The Cotton Candy Girls: Emma and do another edit. I feel mentally I'm ready, and I understand what this story needs more of (and no, it isn't sex).
So I'm going to try this one more time - writing regularly. Truth be told, there are a few times a week where I think of something and say to myself, "I need to blog this!" But I don't. Why? Because I'm lazy. No other excuse, really. I wish I had a desk at home where I could sit with my laptop, I would get a lot more done. When I'm in bed, I end up playing Sims 3 or SimCity. When I sit in my "pimp" chair, I end up playing Sims 3 or SimCity even more hardcore. Hehe. And when I sit on the couch, I end up playing with my PS3 or watching something. I need a desk! Or a dining room table at least. Somewhere I can sit and type away - like I'm doing now at work.
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