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13. What’s your favorite culture to write, fictional or not?
Non-fictional culture would probably be modern-day United States, namely northeastern United States, with the sub-culture being Mary-Sue-like teens/young adults (if that counts). Yeah, not too exciting… I usually rely on my knowledge of that sort of culture to help get me through NaNoWriMo as quickly as possible!

Fictional culture would either be the Pairutians, the supposed antagonistic culture in my trilogy, or the Orkith, another rejected culture. Pairutia has a pretty dysfunctional culture: lots of violence, crime, rape and subordination of women, oppressive religious system… quite a bit like much of the world is today. But I also try to make readers feel bad for the Pairutians. They are the way they are for a reason, not because they’re all a bunch of evil people.

The Orkith is a culture I’m really only starting to develop. They are rejected by Manithona, much like Pairutia, but they are also a vital part of Manithonan culture. I’m trying to incorporate them more into the trilogy in order to add to the richness of the history of their world.

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I think my motivation changes with the seasons. In the summer I really do tend to be pretty lazy. But in the fall I get hyped up–because school kicks back in, the weather changes and energizes me, and NaNoWriMo is right around the corner. So maybe once fall hits I’ll start feeling a little more energetic. I do get pretty excited as November comes around. I usually say that May is my favorite month, but I think November is starting to kick it out of the top spot. Who can beat the occasional snow flurry, Thanksgiving (best. holiday. EVER!), and a whole month dedicated to writing your ass off?! Not May, that’s for sure.

So anyway, maybe I’ll get on some of the blogging topics I’ve been meaning to rant/rave/write about. There’s definitely a few… I’ve just been a damn lazy bum.

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In other news, it is a beautiful day, nice and relaxing–I feel like I should sit outside and do some writing, or take some more random pictures of cats and butterflies :P Right now, though, to be totally honest, I really feel like taking a nap haha. This weekend will be pretty quiet for me: Andrew is camping with a friend, and not much else is going on. Next weekend, my family, my dad’s girlfriend and her kids, and our neighbors the Browns are all going camping. It’s going to be pretty great.

I love working full-time, and I’m really enjoying my job so far. But I also wish I were going to school. There’s so many things I want to do with my life, I feel like I have to jump in and get my education as soon as possible. If I could (and I guess I could, if I had the money) I would get several graduate degrees. I definitely want a Master’s in Social Work and in Public Health–and a lot of schools give you the option to do them both at the same time, which is great. But I also still kind of want a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Sometimes I even think about nursing. There are times when I think about going and getting another bachelor’s, but this time in biology, to give me a really solid science background to pursue different health fields. I’ve been thinking about Human Services and Allied Health. I also think about taking more Spanish language classes. I would love to be fluent in Spanish.

I know I have plenty of time to pursue more years of education, but I definitely wish it were a little easier to go to school and work full-time. I was looking at UConn’s social work program and starting to consider beginning the application process in the fall… but then I took a look at their course schedules, and the courses are pretty much all the morning, right when I go to work, so that doesn’t exactly match up.

So I’ll just have to be patient. I really do want to be working right now. It’s great to be earning money, keeping busy. I haven’t had a full-time job since the summer before I went to Amherst. So I’m really enjoying what I’m doing right now. But I’m definitely keeping my eyes open for some flexible graduate programs or part-time coursework.

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This is a big deal because I always thought that I really disliked babies and children. There was (and still is, to some extent) no real appeal in interacting with these tiny humans. Babies drool and smell, young children are bratty and loud, and their constant dependence on adult support would be a source of immense annoyance for me.

But Braidan has turned my perspective around a little. He’s pretty cool. Yeah, he drools and smells (and I admit, if he’s a bit “sloppy,” I’ll pass him back over to his mom or dad), but he’s also a fun little guy. He laughs and screams–I think I helped encourage the screaming habit in him–he is curious about everything, he makes totally nonsense sounds while he tries to communicate with us. It’s actually kinda cute.

I still don’t know how I feel about having my own babies someday, but I think having a baby in our house has been a good thing for everyone. Braidan is fun and cute and amusing, and he’s his own little person who we get to watch grow and learn. I think that’s the best part. I just hope that I, as one of his aunties, gets to help teach him a thing or two about the world too.