Real Life

November 14, 2013 0 comments

I have no idea what I’m willing to do for $5

Fiverr gig pic If you follow me on Twitter, I mentioned before that I tried Elance. I will be writing an article about my experience, listing the pros and cons and what have yous. Though I thought it was a good idea to let you all know that any job that requires a status report gives the client your full name and address.

That’s right. Some stranger receives your full name and address. And if you click the wrong box, they get your social security number too (I used an EIN, which is free to get from irs.gov) if that’s what you’re using for tax purposes on the site. You have to agree to have it added to the invoice, but you’re basically one-click away from giving someone your whole life.

I don’t know why Elance gives out that information and is so reluctant to admit it, but there you are. So if you want to use Elance — which is a great tool for some freelancers and a horror story and a half for others — you might want to get a PO box and an EIN.

Anyways, from there I followed the advice of one of my pro-blog link guys (I’ll include his link in my article, but I’m too lazy to look it up right now) and joined Fiverr. He said it was a good way to test the waters and get some experience, and honestly it looks like a lot of fun. Plus, my Peerblock doesn’t go crazy with the site like it used to do, so I take that as a good sign.

I haven’t gotten any gigs yet, but I’ve only got two posted. I have a 0 rating, which means my account is basic. Once I attain a level, I’ll be able to add gig extras, which some people have used to turn out some good money. Basically, for $5 you get whatever base gig they’re offering, but if you choose an extra it’s the $5 plus however much the extra is, which can add up to a nice chunk of change.

I’ve been having fun looking around at all the things people are willing to do for $5 (or rather, $4 after Fiverr takes their cut) and I have to wonder What am I willing to do for $5? Anyone got any suggestions?

November 4, 2013 0 comments

Genetically engineered food: What’s the big f’ing deal? (General election Nov 5th)

There’s a lot of talk about genetically modified food in Washington right now, mostly due to I-522, which will require that food sold in the grocery store be labeled if it contains genetically modified (GMO) ingredients. Farmers markets and you-pick-’ems don’t have to tell you what you’re getting, though don’t get too paranoid. Just bear in mind that a fruit or vegetable labeled as “Organic” might be an organically grown genetically modified fruit or vegetable, the lack of pesticides due to the hardiness of the plant.

Alcohol and cheese are in some way exempt from labeling. In up to 70 percent of cheeses, bioengineered chymosin, known as rennin, is used to make the cheese, though they are only required to include the word “enzyme” in the list of ingredients versus actually naming what enzyme was used. However, an enzyme simply helps curd the milk into cheese; it doesn’t appear in the end product. (Like using lemon juice to make tofu … You don’t end up with lemony tofu. You just have tofu.) Alcohol would not need to be labeled as having been made from genetically engineered grain because alcohol is not considered a food under federal guidelines. If you’re scared of enzymes in your cheese and alcohol made from GMO corn, you might look at micro-brews, check out product websites, or make your own. From my understanding, home brewing and cheesemaking is a growing trend.

The people screaming that meat won’t have to be labeled are confused. There is currently no meat on the US market that has come from genetically modified animals. If such meat was being sold, under I-522 it would be labeled as GMO. So that super crazy salmon they’ve been talking about–the so-called Frankenfish–would carry a GMO label under I-522. Just because genetically modified corn and soy are used as animal feed does not mean that the animals themselves are genetically modified. I am more concerned about the animals being fed growth hormones to produce more meat and milk than I am about them eating some lab produced corn.

The anti-labeling people make me nervous. Anyone that is so paranoid about letting me know what I’m eating probably has something to hide. The idea that it will cost billions of dollars to add a little extra ink to a label makes me a little leery of trusting that they care about my well-being. How hard is it to slap some stickers to the side of a box? What are they hiding? Big companies going out of their way to hide what they’re doing make me uncomfortable.

I’m not scared of eating genetically modified food. I just want to know that it’s genetically modified before I eat it. I like having the option to choose.

June 21, 2013 0 comments

The N-word

So I got into a bit of an argument with this guy about the N-word. He kept insisting that because black people use it, it’s okay for him to use it.

I was like, “No. It’s not a good idea to use that word, not just because you’re white and it makes you sound racist, but because someone is going to punch you in the face.”

So he went on about how when he went back to Kansas for his dad’s funeral, everyone used the word. It was synonymous with “black guy,” and even if people weren’t advertising it on the news or whatever, everyone used it.

Then when I asked him how long it’s been since he went to Kansas, he was like “Five years ago for the funeral,” and I was like, “More like ten or fifteen since he died. Times have changed. It’s not all right to use that word. It doesn’t matter if other people use it; that’s their risk. The word is not acceptable to use, even more so since you’re white and older and you have all these views about Chinese people taking over the world, and Koreans eating dogs. Besides, you don’t live in Kansas, you live in the Pacific Northwest. Just, no.”

He was upset and defensive, and I felt bad because I have this thing about not wanting people mad at me, but I get offended hearing him use the word. I’m not black, I’m half-Asian, and it’s weird, but when I went down south, there’s this thing where a lot of people love Asian women. I can’t explain it, but it’s like reverse racism, and yet it still felt uncomfortable to me.

Anyways, he tried to defend his use of the N-word, even going so far as to say that he had a black friend.

Dude, if you have to use the “I have a black friend” excuse to justify something that you’re doing … It’s wrong.

The N-word is not a good word and it’s not okay to use it, ESPECIALLY toward a person or a group of people. It’s offensive to nearly everyone, even if they’re not a person of color.

Just because you’re older and you grew up saying something or hearing something, times have changed. The N-word is wrong, gay people have rights, and if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Defending your right to use the N-word = You’re wrong. Just stop.

April 27, 2013 0 comments

Forgot a basic truth until I remembered

So while I was quietly freaking out, it took me until last night to remember these are self-imposed deadlines with only one of the three really, no contest having to happen.

That’s part of my problem. I put too much stress on myself instead of holding to the old adage of “Slow and steady wins the race.”

I’ve never liked the idea of being slow, but steady is the perfect pace. As long as something is happening each day, a story will build itself up, the words will add up, and suddenly a novel will appear.

It’s like magic beans. Something worthless becomes something invaluable. It just needs a chance to grow.

500 words a day x 5 days = 2500 words a week.
2500 words x 4 weeks = 10,000 words a month.
10,000 words x 12 months = 120,000 words.

Sometimes there’s this urge to do everything at once and force a story to submit, but that just doesn’t work. The words come at a slow trickle and refuse to be rushed. Work with that. Gather up what’s willing to be said and build up what you can. Don’t waste the productivity just because a story hasn’t possessed your fingers like Stephen King and decided to be written all in a day.

Seriously, I’ve had that happen before. A story took over and seemed to write itself, 20,000 words in less than five hours. It was like flying. But that kind of thing is rare.

Writing is work. Fun work a lot of the time, but still work.

It’s like building a house. You assemble the pieces, follow a plan, then get down to putting it all together. It’s just that with writing, you have to make the bricks first.

And I’ve been pressuring myself so much to have a finished product that I haven’t been able to focus on putting it together. So what does that mean?

I’m going back to basics. I’m working on this story until it’s done, not until a specified date. I’m finishing up my proofing. I’m editing my story. I’m letting my creativity have some freedom instead of stifling it.

And from the look of things, there should be three written novels in the next month, two edited novels, and that fanfic thing we don’t talk about (even though I’m quietly squeeing at the awesome.)

Stop stressing about writing as much or more than anyone else. Write like yourself at your own pace. All the agonizing is supposed to happen with the editing, not with your first draft.

The first draft is supposed to be fun times with characters you love, or love to hate.

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