A Necklace Made Out of Yarn and Ponybeads

Mother and I spent several hours at my apartment packing boxes to take to my storage unit. Yep, it looks like I’m going to be moving back home until I get married next December. That is unless I find a job and apartment closer to my boyfriend. Still, I’m not too concerned about living at home. It will give me a chance to save up some money for the wedding.

Anyway, that’s actually not what the post is about. The post is about something I thought of on my way home from my apartment. I was driving and while I cruised along I-35, I glanced at my rearview mirror. I decided that I wanted to make something to put on my rearview mirror after my campus parking permit expired. I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to make (and am still at a loss for what to make).

Thinking of making a rearview mirror ornament reminded me of my favorite aunt’s ornaments that dangled from the rearview mirror. One of those ornaments was a necklace. It wasn’t a fancy necklace either. In fact, looking back now it was very tacky. Put together by a seven or eight year old me, it was my first endeavour at making jewelry. It consisted of seven or eight pony beads (most white, but a couple brown) haphazardly put on a gold pice of yarn. I remember making two of them and running downstairs to present my aunt with one of them. Oh was I so proud of myself!

The next time I got in her car, I saw it hanging on her rearview mirror. At such a young age I didn’t appreciate the prestige of rearview mirror ornaments, but after seeing it there several times I got used to seeing it on her rearview mirror and as time wore on I smiled every single time I saw it. Even when my aunt got a new car, all of the ornaments–including the necklace–were moved to the rearview mirror.

Almost two decades later, I reflect on that necklace. I’m sure that she simply put it on the rearview mirror for lack of something better to do with it, but for some odd reason I still smile when I think of that necklace. To me–and I could be wrong–hanging something on the rearview mirror (like baby shoes, etc) had almost as much prestige as a mother putting a child’s drawing of a “dog” on the refrigerator. It’s means a whole lot to a child.

By now my aunt has probably long since trashed that necklace or at least replaced it with a necklace–or something else–that her own daughter has made. Still, I’ll always treasure the memory that my necklace–though simple and childish–was hung on a rearview mirror for many years and anyone who rode in her car saw that necklace.

Trying Something New, or Trying to Committ Suicide, Not Really Sure Which

Yesterday, I became interested in doing the 30 Day Writing Challenge. I even found nine different challenges I can choose from. I think it will be a fun way to focus my writing and to get me to write every day, especially right now since I have way too much free time on my hands. However, I’m still unsure if I’m going to post my writings here or not. First, I’ve had this strangest fear that someone will swipe my writings. I’ve had this fear since I had a dream where a friend of mine, a person who isn’t a writer, tried to pass off my work as her own. I don’t feel that it’s a justified fear, but still. Second, I have no clue if my writings are worth reading, but I keep hearing the words from the Field of Dreams “if you build it, they will come.” “If you write it, they will read.”

Also, yesterday while looking for more 30 day writing challenges, I stumbled across a 100 Day writing challenge (http://www.writingspirit.com/public/153.cfm?sd=2). Unlike the 30 DWC, the 100 DWC doesn’t have prompts to go with it. It’s just simply a committment to write for 100 days straight for X-amount of time or X-amount of words or pages. If the write doesn’t write for a day, he/she has to start all over again no matter how far along he/she is. I don’t necessarily know if I’m going to make the rules so rigid. I think I may give myself so many “off days” just in case I have a job interview, get sick, or otherwise busy. Now, if I use up those “off days” then I’ll have to start all over again. Hmmm…

The idea isn’t as hard as the decision to make about whether or not I’m going to do the 100 DWC. I have countless novel ideas that I can work with, but I’ve settled on a “fictionalized” version of the past 3 years of my life during which I went through a dark time. Part of me says that this is a stupid, narcissistic project that I want to take on and that I should work on my actual fictional novels. Another part of me says that I may never be at peace with my past until I write it down and confront it. I think both parts are right, but it is something that I’ve wanted to do for quite sometime, but I never had a chance to because I was busy with grad school.

Here’s the suicide part: I’ve been debating on whether I want to just do a 30 DWC, just do the 100 DWC, or actully committ suicide and do both of them.

I think I have one or two readers out there, if you guys and gals would be so kind as to give me your opinion on anything you read here, I’d be greatly appreciative. Whatever project I undertake, I’m going to start on August 1, my b-day so I’m not in too much of a rush.

Siege

P.S. Also let me know if this entry makes any sense at all. I’ve been sick all day and I’m a bit out of it because of the antihistamine I took. The entry makes sense to me, but I’m not entirely sure if it is just men. Thanks.