Finding peace in upheaval

I wouldn't even know where to begin in discussing the insanity of the past couple weeks. We had a roommate, but now we don't. We were going to move, but now we aren't. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose! We're back to the three of us living in the house and still planning on moving. The commune idea is, unfortunately, dormant for now. I'm still trying to figure out what happened and why and kind of relieved I don't have to deal with anyone else's flakiness any more.  Flakiness is good in biscuits, not friendships!

I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about the situation, but that's mostly due to things happening so fast that I'm still not sure what happened. As far as I know, it wasn't a big blow-out, which is good. There are things that concern me, but, as Big Guy told me when this happened, there's nothing I can do and it's not really my place to say anything.

We had also found a perfect place that would have worked wonderfully, but then things shifted right in the middle of trying to get it which led to lots of acrobatics on Big Guy's and my parts trying to get things all sorted out. In the middle of doing that, the place got rented out from under us. I'm irked about the acrobatics it required (which should have been completely unnecessary) but not horribly upset. It's back to the drawing board in terms of houses but we know what we want and we know what we can do. We've also decided that if we do try the commune idea again, we're going to start it on our own and let other people join. That way it doesn't matter if it takes off or not, we're still settled.

So, I've been practicing centering myself and finding silver linings along with looking for a new place to live. And I'll add to that, trying not to be concerned for our former roommate. Big Guy and I have already discussed how to handle this and we're in complete agreement. I just hope that our plans for the worst case scenario don't come to fruition. Someday, I may be able to talk to him about all of this, but I don't think that day has arrived and, hopefully, it will be a long way in the future. I'd rather be wrong in this case than right.

I finished the Song of Ice and Fire books and loved them... Right up to the end of A Feast For Crows. A Dance With Dragons has been in the works for 5+ years and GRRM shows no signs of finishing it. Little Guy has been reading up a storm and making up stories about everything. His latest stories have involved people and things from a couple animes we watched, The Last Exile and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Combined with Fat Princess, his stories involve swordfighting, flying and firebending. Between that and begging me to watch Monty Python, I love this kid.

Characters of life

As a writing instructor, I have to guide my students to write properly in many areas.  This month, in the fundamentals class, I teach them how to construct proper sentences and paragraphs.  In Composition I and II we cover six other types, from a process analysis paper all the way to persuasive essays.  In there, as well, we teach them what makes up a good story and the basic elements of plot.  In my Comp II classes, I finish the month with a movie and a brief overview of interpretive analysis papers and how to identify whether or not characters are rounded or flat.

As humans, our lives tend to be filled with many rounded characters; they have their light sides and their dark sides.  Life falls into many grey areas and we are left to decide what is acceptable.  As a writer, I try to plan out all my characters.  I know their background and history, I know their likes and dislikes.  I know what makes them tick.  And, with all my characters, I always include a "fatal flaw".  And like most writers, my characters' fatal flaws are based on my own experience with such flaws. 

I recognize my weaknesses, whether or not I want to.  I recognize I suffer from a certain amount of hubris.  I don't think it's a large amount, but I can also recognize times where my pride can get in the way.  I can also recognize the good that pride can achieve.  It's that pride that allows me the confidence to stand in front of a classroom night after night and teach. 

I also recognize that, at times, I may be a little stubborn and headstrong.  I will throw myself eagerly into the fray if I feel that it is the right thing to do.  This can be bad since, in my headlong rush to join in, I don't take stock of the situation and will, quite often, find myself pitted against stronger foes than me.  Big Guy has been known to yank me out of situations he has decided were too dangerous, either for me or overall.  He's described watching me handle these situations as akin to watching a small kitten face off against a large dog where the kitten thinks it's bigger than it is and the dog doesn't know what to do with the little thing hissing and spitting at it. 

Really, our quirks make us who we are,  I am always looking out for those interesting quirks in people because they are fascinating and wonderful.  Big Guy, the love of my life, has his own share of quirks.  He has a "white knight complex" which has led to his share of hard times.   However, it also led to our getting together when he helped me move in a pinch.  People are such interesting things. 

What are your flaws?  What flaws, if you write, are always there in your characters?