Seeing Nicholas Sparks

I took a chance and saw an Author Talk at 6th & I with the the incredibly humble and charming, Nicholas Sparks.  And i even got a signed copy of his new book with my ticket purchase!

I enjoyed the talk so much more than I had expected. I thought Mr. Sparks was going to be somewhat of a "Godlike" character - very elevated, knowing his talent and being arrogant.  My first assumption is that people that are THAT successful must be like this, even if they try to not show it - to me, Oprah and Tom Cruise act like this. Very smug it seems.

So - to my absolute surprise, Sparks has none of the arrogance and all of the talent.  He was so enjoyable to listen to.  He spoke on his new book, "The Longest Ride", his writing process, what it's like to have a good majority of your 18 novels adapted into movies, and life in general.

Some moments i loved, as a writer:

• He said he gets a "seed" of an idea and this grows into a novel. He said he doesn't know where that seed comes from, but when he gets one that sticks with him he writes about it and sees where it leads him.
• He writes for 5 hours a day, averaging a novel in a 5 month period.
• A lot of his characters are based on his experiences, specifically the people he has known and loved in his life, ie: he spoke about his wife, grandparents-in-law, brother, sisters and children. 
• "Writing is hard" - He wanted to emphasize that he just doesn't sit down and have things effortlessly flow from his fingertips
• "I'm a writer not a typist" - It's easy to type out a bunch of words onto paper, but not to write a bunch of words on paper.
• Although all of his stories take place in the South, he tries to challenge himself by writings characters he is not - ie: he is a white, male - he writes characters from different gender, races and religious backgrounds.
• He does not classify himself as a romance novelist, ie: anything with Fabio on the book cover.  He says his work are novels about life and life has great romance and love stories in it, but they should not be classified strictly as "romance novels"

Some moments i loved as an audience member:

• One question asked was, "what was the hardest character to stop writing about, or walk away from when you were done writing about them?" He answered it was Jamie from "A Walk to Remember" because that character was based on his sister who died of cancer at a young age. I got misty eyed when he told that story and talked about his sister and her life and how that was shown in the book.
• He personally believes that every person will do the right thing most of the time. and most of the time we all have the best intentions.  But sometimes we screw up or are flawed. And that is how he writes his characters. 
• He was really funny!!! You'd think he'd be serious, but he was so light hearted and happy.  Not a moody, serious writer.
• He lives in a small town in North Carolina, which i love
• He based "The Notebook" on his wife's grandparents love story. 

Sparks definitely seems like a person who enjoys life, works hard for his success and tries to take in all the good and bad and enjoy every moment. I love people like that!  I wish i could be more like that.

Friday night, the 27th

Friday night i went out with the HCMW (hawt canadian man whore) lawyer.  We went to Union Market for some tasty sea morsels of raw oysters. I ordered the Cava, he got a beer i forget the name of now. Oh and we also hacked away at a glorious crabcake, crispy on all sides, laying on a beg of pretentious (in the best sense) slaw.

The HCMW went to Berlin last week and told me of his travels. He spoke of beer and beer and sausages and bread. and lots of art. and people with crazy hair styles who will be cooler than you no matter how hard you try. He also said the bars were all hole in the wall, divey places with dark dark lights and a band that would consist of violinist and bass - or pick any two other instruments.

After that we then went to a bunch of other fine H Street establishments. They have great bars on that street. They are the kind that you can hide away in and will not see anyone you know. They are a bit smoky, loud and secret.

At the Old Queen Vic we had the most beers. Mostly of the Scottish fare. Then the HCMW continued to romance me and i was done for. We've been dating since August, so the jig is up.

After our fun night we went to the Crafty Bastards Craft fair.  I bought a beautiful print from an Asheville, NC's Marisol Spoon, http://marisolspoon.com/category.php?category_id=2 I got the "Librarian" one. So fitting. She is so cute. I can't wait to stick her in a frame.

The HCMW wears a St. Christopher necklace under his clothes, over his collarbone. He brought me back 3 huge bars of dark chocolate (70%+). He told me he wants to fatten me up so he won't have other men competing for my affections and he can have me all to himself. Ha! I thought that was very saucy to say.

fling.

http://dcist.com/2013/09/the_best_hotel_bars_in_dc.php

 

some man take me to these fancy hotel bars. i will wear a black dress and heels. we can pretend we don't know each other and then go have a fling upstairs.

i hope my married friends are seeing this post.

ZOMG. fassy fix for the day.

http://teolar.tumblr.com/post/60953010384

XVIII

XVIII

I thought about what I used to like to do

When I hadn’t met you yet.

I loved lilacs

And never walked by them without a sniff and a sigh.

I like daisies now.

He loves me

He loves me not.

He love me not.

He loves me not?

He loves me.

He loves me!

He loves me?

Not.

Stuck in a poppy seed field.

Explosives all around.

Don’t stop you might never wake up.

Don’t rest, you’ll never get want you want or to

where you’re going.

She had her work cut out for her –

Dragging three men around who can barely protect her from a lion a tiger or a bear?

O my.

And typical –

How typical it was that none of them possessed a

A Heart, a brain, or the nerve simultaneously.

Typical.

The only one she could really rely on was the dog.

You never heard a complaint out of him.

And after all this nonsense she still has a bitch on her tail,

green with envy.

Typical, typical is all there needs to be said.

All I want is a basket. And a dog.

Maybe, on a good day the checkered dress.

I can do without the three doofuses and who said I needed a wizard?

I am my own wizard.

read more here please: http://therovingcorker.wordpress.com/
http://therovingcorker.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/the-sophomore/

The Cultural Queen About Town....i suppose.

i am going to a Physicist lecture,

A Curator of the National Gallery private tour.

Andrea Bruce talk @ Corcoran.

Nicholas Sparks talk on Friday.


I'm a Renaissance woman, I am!

The Forever Empty.

"Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness mark the in-between state. It's the kind of place we usually want to avoid. The challenge is to stay in the middle rather than buy into struggle and complaint. The challenge is to let it soften us rather than make us more rigid and afraid."

~ Pema Chödrön




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HbYScltf1c

Why Louis CK is a genius and the amazing points he makes: 

1. Why should your kid "get" something because everyone else has it, yet the thing that everyone else has isn't necessarily good for them to have. Why blindly follow every societal rule? Don't we have too many really STUPID ones to follow? ie: doing things society tells us, because that's normal, ie: 9-5 jobs, marriage, house, kids when you don't want those things (different story when you truly want them). By giving your child the idea they should FOLLOW every stupid trend you're already setting them up to be sheep. 
2. Cell phones take away your ability for empathy. Especially if you are a kid, learning what empathy feels like.
3. Cell phones numb you from your reality.
4. Knowing how to "just be" is an amazing life skill. Sometimes - believe it or not - you will not have any technology around you. You will be alone or in nature (if you're lucky and/or so inclined). You will have no one to talk to and just the quiet of your mind to be with. As Louis says, "that is what being a human being is."
5. Goes back to #3 but, i TRULY believe people have become less comfortable w/ their emotions, thus wanting to dull those emotions with other drugs/technology/sex/medications and instead of feeling feelings, just take away any feeling. I feel like Americans in particular have this absurd idea that you are meant to have a default emotion of HAPPY at all times. Which is insane. Again, i think this is a COMPLETELY different story if you know you need medication for your well being.  Our bodies' chemistry are not all made the same and i realize medication is a needed component for helping people in order to live a full, healthy, happy life  who may otherwise not be able to w/out those meds. 
6. THE FOREVER EMPTY. This is something that no one talks about enough! It's like we are supposed to numb this feeling and not acknowledge having it- when really emotions like this - happy, sad, confused, angry make us all equal and make us able to relate to and respect each other better. 
7. Crying feels really really good. 
8. i love Louis CK. He says stuff that no one else is saying. And he makes me feel like America isn't THAT stupid/too far gone into complete cerebral decline. 
9. Also - did anyone else notice how nervous the audience sounds? Fascinating how his points are so true. People are uncomfortable with this subject matter. And i don't know if that's a good thing.