Writers Lair

Writer & Blogger 2008 Quick Tips Important To Your Taxes

By Lucky BizKit

Are You dabbling at your hobby or making a profit with your text skills?

The IRS wants to know.

A scholar of “H & R Block Tax Preparation School” and a long time “Writer” I learned the difference, which if shared with others might save costly mistakes made by the innocent.

That small enterprise you have going in your guest bedroom could save you from paying quite a few dollars. That’s a happy thought by most of us this time of year.

Before you lower your pay table next Tuesday, April 15, beware taking a batch of deductions without knowing you have legitimate business deductions you are legally entitled to.

The key to claiming ‘small business deductions’ is to be assured your venture is an actual business.

Emailing “Send this to 18 friends before the moon rises to guarantee good fortune coming your way,” chain letters are not a business.

No pyramid scheme qualifies as a business anybody should be involved in.

That “Fruit of The Month” from the back yard that your family terms a “gifting club” isn’t a business.

Those quilts, no matter how beautiful, that don’t begin to measure up to some offered atFarmers Markets, the two you sold to your mother-in-law, a business? No. Sorry.

You are getting the idea now, right?

IRS rules are clear, they go like this:

* Was time and effort you put into the activity indicate that it was intended to make a profit?
* Did you the taxpayer in some way depend on income from the effort?
* Do you have knowledge and/or advisory skills to have a shot at making it a financially successful venture?
* Have you profited by similar ventures in the past?
* Will your activity make a profit during some years?
* Do you realistically anticipate a profit in the future from the use of assets acquired to perform this activity?

Across the board, in plain talk, the IRS expects you to make some profit during at least three of the past five tax years in order for them to consider your activity a “business” venture.
What does the IRS not like about iffy ventures?
Well, business loss write-offs, related to a taxpayer’s participation in multi-level marketing companies.
Research shows that more than 90% of people who participate in these ventures, lose.
If not today, you can bet future IRS deduction allowances of such ventures are seriously in question.

To stay on the safe side, be cautious you aren’t solicited by people who tell you wealth is almost at hand and trying to maintain it will be a “tax advantage”. These schemes turn up on the net every day.

More on the basics of “Is it a hobby or a business” can be found on the IRS website.

For you who get too busy to file by Tuesday, automatic extension forms can also be acquired there.

Good Luck.
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Lindsay Behaving Badly?

Pop Tarts: Lohan may have romped in and out of rehab (twice), but it seems like the party princess may still be having ’problems’

The Difference between A Word and the Right Word equals Difference between a Lightning Bug and Lightning Bolt! ! ! –Claudia Strasbaugh bestseller@writersetc.com

THE RIGHT WORD

The English language offers _____ word choices.

Choose one:
abundant, ample, bounteous, copious, countless, divers, gobs of, oodles of, heaps of, immeasurable, infinite, innumerable, lots of, manifold, many, multitudinous, myriad, numberless, numerous, plentiful, plenteous, (a) plethora of, profuse, scads of, (a) slew of, (a) surfeit of, umpteen

Made your choice?

How do we chose the right word? How can we best convey the meaning of what we write to our audience? Unless we intentionally wish to confuse people, we must be careful the message we wish send is the same message the reader receives. Writers do more than send messages, however, they also manipulate and influence the reader. Word choice is one of our primary writing tools.

Context is our first determinative when choosing the best word. Vivid, exciting language may be great for a novel, but a report to a Board of Directors is usually intentionally staid. There are instances when we wish to be precise and other times when we’d prefer to convey a general idea or be intentionally vague. We may want high-flown and flowery phrasing for a poetic paean.

Although entries in thesauri may include synonyms, the words are provided as guides. Use them to help select which word works best. When you look up a word in a thesaurus, it does not give you the meanings of words. To make further distinctions and compare representational meanings, check dictionaries. "The American Heritage Dictionary," for example, considers the adjectives _plentiful, abundant, ample, copious,_ and _plenteous_ (all from our list above) to mean "being fully as much as one needs or desires." That’s certainly a different meaning than _countless, immeasurable, infinite_, and innumerable_ more or less share: "being greater than can be calculated or reckoned." _Numerous_ means "consisting of a great number," while _multitudinous_ means "very numerous; existing in great number," and _manifold_ means "numerous and varied." A _surfeit_ is "an excessive amount."

Some of choices the thesaurus offered did not make our example list. Words like _crowded, legion, populous_, and _prevalent_ just did not "fit" with any meaning we wanted to convey. Others — like _teeming_ — might have worked if we had altered the sentence to accommodate them.

Depending on the context, we might want to avoid the less formal terms on our list: _gobs of, oodles of, heaps of, umpteen, scads of, (a) slew of_. (Other slang terms like _lousy with_, _beaucoup_, and _mega_ didn’t make the list to start with.) The everyday term "lots of" is commonly used in speech and informal writing, but are frowned upon as colloquial, "inexact" or "too vague" for formal writing.

Words make impressions in other ways, too. A word’s specific "dictionary" definition is referred to as *denotation*. Beyond that literal meaning, a word has further implications or *connotations*. These emotional, psychological, or social overtones are often what distinguish the meanings of similar words. A good dictionary helps, but seldom does a complete job. Would you describe a savvy purchase as cheap, a bargain car, inexpensive? *You* may feel these words have different connotations, but your dictionary may not. Consider these two sentences:

* Behind the ancient manse its terrace abounded with lush vegetation.

* The old house’s backyard was overgrown with thick weeds.

The denotative meanings are very similar, but there their effect on the reader is not.

The way we "hear" a word in our "mind’s ear" also influences meaning. Sometimes we choose worlds for the rhythm they help provide in a word or phrase. Sometimes we just want to avoid using the same word again and provide variety. We usually associate devices such as alliteration (repetition of initial consonant sounds), consonance (repetition of internal consonant sounds), assonance (repetition of vowel sounds), and onomatopoeia (use of words which imitate sound) with poetry, we employ them — or try to avoid them — in prose and this also affects word choice.

Words that come from Old English (before 1066) tend to be Germanic in origin. _Hot_ and _cold_ come from Old English words. They are short, simple, and definite. Words that English acquired later on from the Latin-based Romance languages may mean about the same thing, but they "sound" different to us: _torrid_ and _frigid_, for example, are synonymous with _hot_ and _cold_, but they "sound" different when we read them.

Some connotations, like sexual ones, are obviously to be avoided unless we intend to make the connection. "Winifred is frigid" and "Winifred is physically uncomfortable due to low temperature" are not synonymous when we consider the sexual meaning.

Cultural connotations may not be as obvious. Depending on the context we might avoid using the adjective _manifold_ (from our example list), even though its dictionary definitions are appropriate. To many readers, (1) its noun form means a certain sort of pipe fitting or a fitting on an internal combustion engine; (2) it is also a "preacher" word (used in the King James version of the Bible), and turns up in phrases such as "manifold blessings" and "manifold grace of God"; (3) it is a mathematical term; (4) in an earlier era, it was most commonly used to mean "written copies," "to make copies," or "the type of paper on which the copies were made."

Learning to identify these nuances is not always easy. We can’t be expected to check every single word in several different ways — we’d never get anything written. We can, though, put ourselves in the reader’s place and read what we’ve written, identifying what might be unfamiliar, awkward, misunderstood, or ambiguous. We can make sure that when we are using words in an unusual manner we, somehow, explain ourselves. In situations where our only aim is to be clear, we can make sure we are simple and concise.

But beyond clarity, how do we discover the secrets of well-chosen words? Some folks seem to have an innate talent, even a genius for language, but we can all gain from experience; reading widely, broadly, and constantly; learning more about language; practice; and by being aware that every word can tell a different story.

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WRITING TIP:
*Some Usually Useless Words and Phrases to Weed Out of Your Writing*

actually
all of (replace with "all")
along the lines of (replace with "like")
apparently
as it were
as to whether (replace with "whether")
as you know
at an early date (replace with "soon")
at the present time or this time or this point in time (replace with "now")
at the same time as (replace with "while")
basically
be in a position to (replace with "can")
being as or being that (replace with "since" or "because")
completely
despite the fact that (replace with "despite")
due to the fact that (replace with "because")
during such time that (replace with "while")
during the time that
essentially
extremely
first of all (replace with "first")
for all intents and purposes
for the purpose of (replace with "for")
generally
had an effect upon (replace with "influenced")
in all cases or in this case
in or with respect to (replace with "regarding" or "about")
in order to (replace with "to")
in point of fact
in relation to (replace with "about" or "for" or "with")
in some ways
in spite of the fact that (replace with "despite)"
in terms of
in the neighborhood of
in the amount of (replace with "for")
in the event of/that
in view of
it can be seen that
it has been indicated that
it is important that (replace with "must")
it is anticipated that
it is imperative that
it is interesting that
it is significant that
it should be noted that
it should be remembered that
make contact with (replace with "contact")
moreover
necessitate (replace with "require")
quite
really
totally
until such time as (replace with "until")
various
very
virtually
with reference to
with the possible exception of (replace with "except")

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ROOTS
*The Ides of March**The Ides of March*

Caesar: The Ides of March are come.
Soothsayer: Ay, Caesar; but not gone.
– Julius Caesar. Act 2. Sc. 1 (William Shakespeare)

If you know your history, or your drama, you know Julie the C was offed on the Ides of March, 44 BCE (that was 710 ab urbe condita to the Romans.) It may have been a bad day for Julius Caesar, but for everyone else in the Roman world, the Ides was the day — good or bad — that came every month of the year. The word "Ides" comes from the Latin word _idus_, probably from an earlier Etruscan word meaning "division" of a month.

Both the first Roman calendar and the Julian calendar (established by J.C. in 45 BCE 709 ab urbe condita) organized its months around three named days that served as reference points from which to count the other days. The first day of the month was Kalends. Nones was the 7th day of March, May, July, and October and the 5th day of other months). Ides was the 15th day in March, May, July, and October; and the 13th in the other months. The rest of the days of the month did not have individual names, but were identified by counting backwards from the three named days. March 3 would be V Nones-five days before the Nones (the Roman method of counting days was inclusive; the Nones would be counted as one of the five days). March 13 would be III Ides.

WHY WRITE?

George Orwell considered the question in an essay, "Why Do I Write?" (first published in "Gangrel, No. 4" in the summer of 1946.) He came up with one of the most thoughtful responses you are likely to find. It reads, in part:

"…Putting aside the need to earn a living, I think there are four great motives for writing, at any rate for writing prose. They exist in different degrees in every writer, and in any one writer the proportions will vary from time to time, according to the atmosphere in which he is living. They are:

"1) Sheer egoism.
Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, to get your own back on the grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood, etc., etc. It is humbug to pretend this is not a motive, and a strong one. Writers share this characteristic with scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers, soldiers, successful businessmen — in short, with the whole top crust of humanity. The great mass of human beings are not acutely selfish. After the age of about thirty they almost abandon the sense of being individuals at all — and live chiefly for others, or are simply smothered under drudgery. But there is also the minority of gifted, willful people who are determined to live their own lives to the end, and writers belong in this class. Serious writers, I should say, are on the whole more vain and self-centered than journalists, though less interested in money.

"2) Aesthetic enthusiasm.
Perception of beauty in the external world, or, on the other hand, in words and their right arrangement. Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story. Desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed. The aesthetic motive is very feeble in a lot of writers, but even a pamphleteer or writer of textbooks will have pet words and phrases which appeal to him for non-utilitarian reasons; or he may feel strongly about typography, width of margins, etc. Above the level of a railway guide, no book is quite free from aesthetic considerations.

"3) Historical impulse.
Desire to see things as they are, to find out true facts and store them up for the use of posterity.

"4) Political purpose — using the word "political" in the widest possible sense.
Desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other peoples’ idea of the kind of society that they should strive after. Once again, no book is genuinely free from political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.

"It can be seen how these various impulses must war against one another, and how they must fluctuate from person to person and from time to time…

"…All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery. Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. For all one knows that demon is simply the same instinct that makes a baby squall for attention. And yet it is also true that one can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one’s own personality."

Orwell latter explained in a letter that " — a sense of political purpose was at first the least motivation in me. But living in the age I did, my political orientation gradually became focussed and I realised I most wanted to make political writing into an art — combining the aesthetic impulse with the need to expose the injustices I saw around me."

(You can read the entire essay at: http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/whywrite.html.)

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WRITING TIP: Strunk on "Conciseness"

One of the most often-quoted rules of William Strunk’s "The Elements of Style" is number 13:

Omit needless words.

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

* Many expressions in common use violate this principle:

– the question as to whether = whether (the question whether)
– there is no doubt but that = no doubt (doubtless)
– used for fuel purposes = used for fuel
– he is a man who = he
– in a hasty manner = hastily
– this is a subject which = this subject
– His story is a strange one. = His story is strange.

* In especial the expression the fact that should be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs.

– owing to the fact that = since (because)
– in spite of the fact that = though (although)
– call your attention to the fact that = remind you (notify you)
– I was unaware of the fact that = I was unaware that (did not know)
– the fact that he had not succeeded = his failure
– the fact that I had arrived = my arrival

* "Who is," "which was," and the like are often superfluous.

– His brother, who is a member of the same firm = His brother, a member of the same firm
– Trafalgar, which was Nelson’s last battle = Trafalgar, Nelson’s last battle
* As positive statement is more concise than negative, and the active voice more concise than the passive…

* A common violation of conciseness is the presentation of a single complex idea, step by step, in a series of sentences which might to advantage be combined into one.

(Example:)
Macbeth was very ambitious. This led him to wish to become king of Scotland. The witches told him that this wish of his would come true. The king of Scotland at this time was Duncan. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth murdered Duncan. He was thus enabled to succeed Duncan as king. (55 words.)

(Corrected:)
Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth achieved his ambition and realized the prediction of the witches by murdering Duncan and becoming king of Scotland in his place. (26 words.)

(The 1918 edition of "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk, Jr. can be found at: http://www.bartleby.com/141/.)

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ROOTS
"travel, travail, tour"

Those on academic schedules take a break in early spring and often travel to escape the travails of daily life.

The Old French word "traveillier" or "travaillier" became "travail," meaning "to toil," "to work hard," with the underlying meaning of laboring so intensely that you suffer physical pain. "Travail" still means "strenuous labor" as wells as "tribulation or agony; anguish; torment" and "parturition," the concluding state of pregnancy from the onset of labor to the birth of a child. Although it is not used as often these days, in older writings you will come across references to a woman’s "severe travail" or her "easy travail."

"Travaillier" came from a Latin word, "tripalium," for a three-staked instrument of torture (tripalis = tri, "three" + palus , "a stake"). We’ve not yet found an exact description of this device, but it involved three wooden poles and a great deal of pain.

In English, the first recorded use of "travel" ("travelen") was in the 14th century and travel during the 1300s was a difficult, even torturous, undertaking.

The late Daniel J. Boorstin wrote in "The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events" in America (Harper & Row 1964):
"There is a wonderful, but neglected precision in these words. The old English noun ’travel’ (in the sense of a journey) was originally the same word as ’travail’ (meaning ’trouble,’ ’work,’ or ’torment’)…. Significantly, too, the word ’tour’ in ’tourist’ was derived by back-formation from the Latin ’tornus,’ which in turn came from the Greek word for a tool describing a circle. The traveler, then was working at something; the tourist was a pleasure-seeker. The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him."

A tour is literally "a going round; a journey in a circuit; as in a tour of Europe." Middle English, from Middle French, from Old French tourn, tour "lathe, circuit, turn" from tornare, Latin, "to turn on a lathe," from tornus lathe, from Greek tornos. The fundamental sense is "circular movement."

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QUOTATION:"Writing is more than anything a compulsion, like some people wash their hands thirty times a day for fear of awful consequences if they do not. It pays a whole lot better than this type of compulsion, but it is no more heroic." — Julie Burchill, British journalist, author. "Sex and Sensibility," introduction (1992).

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Copyright (c) 2004 Writers on the Net. This publication may not be reproduced in print or posted on the Web or used in any other fashion, in whole or in part, without written permission from Writers on the Net.

Ike Turner died of cocaine overdose

A cocaine overdose killed legendary musician Ike Turner, the San Diego County medical examiner’s office said Wednesday morning

(via north country times - Google Search)

Satire By John W. Lillpop

The liberal brain does not collect and process information in a logical, reasonable, and objective manner. Rather, liberal thinking is dominated by an obsession with power, and use of that power to preserve elitist advantages.

This distorted perspective makes it very difficult to understand exactly how liberals think without advanced training in Abnormal Psychology.

Nonetheless, the following non-technical summary should be useful to lay people.

How liberals think on 10 major issues of the day:

1. The U.S. Constitution Is Unconstitutional

According to liberal dogma, the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights are unconstitutional because all were crafted by an exclusive conclave of white male Christians.

Women, Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, gays, lesbians, transsexuals, the handicapped, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and the blind were all under represented, if at all.

Because of this devastating lack of diversity, the Constitution must be regarded as a “living document,” subject to change in accordance with ever changing demographics and contemporary values.

2. Free Speech

Freedom of speech must never be quashed, except for criticism directed at minorities and sensitive constituencies of the Democrat party.

Burning Old Glory is protected free speech, whereas expressions of conservative values by people like Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage are unacceptable “hate speech,” which must be subjected to “fairness” censoring by the federal government.

3. Abortion, the Death Penalty and Assisted Suicide

On issues of life and death, liberals are especially vulnerable to tripping on their own hypocritical double talk.

Namely:

A woman’s right to abort the life of an innocent child is inalienable; whereas execution of a convicted killer is cruel, unusual & barbaric.

Starving a helpless victim like Terri Schaivo to death is acceptable; but using lethal injection to end the life of a brutal killer is not.

4. Religion

Religious faith and belief in God are outdated pagan concepts, which do more harm than good. Sophisticated citizens can rely on the Democrat party for support from cradle to grave, obviating the need to rely on beliefs and rituals long since debunked.

Symbols of Christianity such as the Ten Commandments, the Cross, Christmas trees, nativity scenes, and the like must be hidden from public view so as to offend no one.

Publicly wishing a friend or family member “Merry Christmas” is clearly an act of civil disobedience and unconstitutional.

While Christianity is to be suppressed at all costs, Islam must be openly promoted in the name of religious awareness, sensitivity and tolerance.

The separation of state and government applies fully when dealing with Christianity or Judaism, but is irrelevant with regard to Islam and all other religions.

Delivery of Christmas cards and gifts by the United States Postal Service is an unconstitutional violation of state-religion separation and must end immediately.

5. Taxes

Leveling the playing field between haves and have-nots is the most important function of government, even more critical than national security.

To support that objective, no government role is more essential than levying and collecting taxes, otherwise known as redistribution of wealth.

Tax cuts are wrong when returned to people who actually paid taxes, but are perfectly fine when sent to those who paid none.

Although most liberals deny that Jesus even lived, many use the quote in Matthew 22:21, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s…” to justify higher taxes.

Paying taxes is the “Christian Conservative” thing to do!

6. Marriage and Same-Sex Issues

The traditional American family consisting of one man and one woman is just one of several possible arrangements, all of which are equally moral and acceptable.

Marriage is no longer necessary to sanctify man-woman relationships.

Although the institution of marriage is no longer vital to heterosexual partners, it is absolutely essential that same-sex couples be allowed to marry. To deny them that basic right is discriminatory, immoral, unfair, and clearly unconstitutional.

7 Racism, Diversity and Affirmative Action

Liberals believe that discrimination based on race or gender is wrong. Except when waged against Caucasian men, in which case it is mandated by law and called Affirmative Action.

“Our Diversity Is our Greatest Strength” is the liberal pledge of allegiance to socialism.

Enforcing U.S. borders and immigration laws, including deportation of illegal aliens, is wrong because it targets Hispanics, obviously based on racial profiling.

Those who support English as the official language of America are racists. But those who prefer Spanish and other foreign languages over English are not because of the inherent value of diversity.

Conservatives who seek to preserve American language and culture are bigoted hate mongers, whereas new immigrants, including illegal aliens, must be allowed to maintain and celebrate their cultural heritage at all costs, even if it interferes with assimilation into mainstream America.

8. Preserving the American Dream for Working Class Americans

According to liberal propaganda, they are the only hope for American families, notwithstanding the fact that Democrats support the influx of millions of illegal aliens who work for lower wages and without benefits, and drive down the standard of living for working families.

Skyrocketing gasoline prices devastate working American families, but protecting Alaskan wild life is a greater priority.

Businesses are oppressive institutions that must not be allowed to become too large and powerful. By contrast, government creates wealth & happiness and should be expanded whenever possible.

Outsourcing of American jobs to foreign nations is driven by immoral corporate greed.

By contrast, open borders and amnesty are acceptable because most illegal aliens are future Democrats.

Huge profits are obscene and un-American, except when enjoyed by Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, George Soros, Oprah Winfrey, Ted Turner, Teddy Kennedy, and other liberals.

9. Global Warming, the Environment, and Energy Independence

According to liberal technocrats like Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, and Dennis Kucinich, global warming is a greater threat to the health and well being of humanity than the war on terror.

Some liberal extremists even think that the colors of the American flag should be changed to green, white, and blue so as to reflect the importance of the environment to our nation, while simultaneously deleting the color red, which symbolizes blood shed in illegal wars waged by Bushes 41 and 43.

10. Use of Military Force, Invading Foreign Nations

Military force must never be used, except when needed to advance interests not vital to the United States, or to obscure a Democrat president’s sexual misconduct in the Oval Office.

Invading a foreign nation is wrong, except when aliens from Mexico invade America.

Understanding liberal thinking is probably more trouble than it is worth. The more prudent action would be to take all necessary steps to assure that liberals are not elected or reelected to political office.

jjjjj

Moderate Anonymous
TEN STEP PROGRAM

Surviving Neo-con Nazi holidays requires a slug of mind altering substance right out of the industrial strength Napalm-Eggnog booze bottle. It is at best a daunting task.
Possible, of course, provided one has the resolve to admit you are a recovering righto who has lost your way, now willing to turn you life over to Gawd. Only then can your recovery program begin. Only when you have found a moderate-thinking moral supportive Sponsor, and have attended dozens of MA (Moderate Anonymous) thinking moral support meetings with others also facing the same Right&Left Wing, wacko demons.

Your 10-Step Program of Moderate Anonymous (MA) Read the rest of this entry »

Democratic presidential ‘08 candidates takes center political stage again this week in effort to convince American voters each is the best choice for leader of America– the (no-longer) “Free world”.

Not since George Bush stole the last presidential election with fewer then 500,000 votes have American citizens moved about daily life devoid of sinister government snooping into every element of our once private world including what we read or chosen brand of toothpaste. Ah… and so it goes, another day of tax dollars abuse, but back to the debate. If spontaneous reaction by viewers is any indication this next election could deliver for the first time, real change, a Dennis Kucinich – Ron Paul whitehouse. Who goes first and who becomes second banana is of little matter, with both we thrive. In eight years they can switch provided they remain true to, “We the people.”

And why not a split-party ticket? Read the rest of this entry »

Difference Between—

A Hair Cut and a Car Wash

During snack shop conversation among members of our adult rollerskating club one of the guys when relating an incident said, “It’s like… a pretty girl, with short hair.”

At that point I silently vowed to never have short hair.

After nearly four years hair that reached the back of my waist line got to be a bit much.

Then I saw her. The woman I wanted to become. While sitting at Starbucks outside café waiting to do a interview for News Blaze.com she casually emerged from a upscale Dry Cleaners.

Everything about her was upscale.

Moderate length hair style, glistening image on her sweater lit up the entire area, jeans applique chicly flowed down just one leg, eighty-bucks worth of “I never do my own laundry” slung over one shoulder.

Yep. She was the new me.

Regular me has long hair, dressed comfortably to fit the day, fit in with my moderate society, Miss Nice. See somebody without a smile, give them one. Changes were always high of getting one back. After all, I was quiet, background noise. A writer whose job it is to make you look good without getting in the way of that myself. Read the rest of this entry »