MoreyPee:The Time of My Life

Every since I was a little girl I wanted to be a writer. I was always making up stories, and writing things down.  I was born with an overactive imagination and as a kid I was constantly making up my own adventures and living in a somewhat fantasy world. I was always coming up with ideas for what my friends and I would “play”. We would write plays together and act out other story ideas I had.

As I grew older, my childhood memories never faded away. I still remember many of those stories I made up as a kid; stories I now hope to turn into bestselling novels. Of course, the books I end up with now will be more grown-up then when I was a child. Currently, I am working on a mystery/suspense novel. It is a little graphic at times and I was not a violent child.

I found over the years my writing maturing. When I was younger, my chapters were short with little dialogue and even fewer descriptions.  I took a few writing classes over the years, and in each class I pick up at least one or two good points. The best piece of advice I ever received was, “To be a great writer, you must read.” You have to appeal to your readers and the best way to do that is to see what they are reading. Being an avid reader, this was an easy task for me. Over the years, I have expanded my horizons, explored new authors, and filled my bookshelf with mystery/suspense/romance novels, the genre I hope to publish in. Nora Roberts, Lisa Jackson, Iris Johanssen, Mary Higgins Clark, Wendy Corsi Staub, and Beverly Barton are just a few of my favorite authors.

Over the years, I have adapted a new writing style; one that is constantly improving. I have read and absorbed the works of others and now I am creating works of my own. Currently, I am writing my first novel. It is coming along great. I have noticed with each chapter I write, my style and writing improves. I can’t wait to finish the rough draft and go back and improve on it even more. Like I said, I have written many stories over the years; most are unfinished products of a teenage girl. I hope to someday go back and take my old writings and ideas and turn them into great novels.

This time in my life is exciting. I am doing the one thing I have always wanted to do, but have never had the extra time or money to do it. I am grateful for all the people who have helped me get to this place in my life. It is a wonderful, exciting journey and I can’t wait for the next step, which is becoming a published author. I hope I can influence and inspire people the way my favorite authors have done for me.

I do more than just write, I also take care of a house full of boys. Not just boys, mind you, bachelors, late twenty, early something single men who need a little extra TLC. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my roommates, but boys will boys and boys are messy. I take care of Kevin because he takes care of me and it’s in the dating contract.  I take care of the roommates because they pay to live here and I don’t. I kind of like them too but don’t tell them, it will go to their heads.

Anyway, I live with Kevin, two roommates, and every other weekend a teenage boy. Mr. Mapi Deuce, the cat is also male. Living with all boys is a whole new world, one that doesn’t always mix well with my neat-freakish ways.

The Roommates:

Phil and Martin 

Kevin and Trenton

Mapi

My office has moved from upstairs to downstairs. While I was upstairs, I simply used my bathroom in my bedroom which is always pretty clean. Now, that I am downstairs the bathroom directly across from me is most convienient. This bathroom is mostly used by the boy when he comes and both roommates. As it is downstairs and away from the living area, this bathroom is also used for “extra reading time”, wink, wink.

After setting up my office, I used the bathroom and literally almost puked. Sorry, guys, but disgusting is too nice of a word. I made a mental note that this week I would have to clean that if I wered going to continue to use it. The bathtub alone was just unexceptable.

Today was my lucky day. I tackled the bathroom and struggled through the cleaning process, which I only did  a semi-pro job. I first noticed that the tub was not draining properly, so I looked in the drain and gagged.

After struggling with the cleaning out process, I actually puked a little right in the tub. Cleaning hair out of drains is my downfall, one of the few things that makes me gag and, after today, puke. The other is cleaning mold…everything else I seem to be fine with. Anyway, I cleaned out the drained and cleaned the tub up. I even scrubbed some of the tile to get rid of pink mold and soap scum. I find that Scrubbing Bubbles works really great. You just spray it on, leave it for a few minutes to really penetrate, and then it wipes right off.

I also cleaned the toilet and sink out, wiped down the counters, and Windexed the mirror. Now the bathroom is pretty shiny. I didn’t do the floors, but they weren’t that bad. I did vaccum all the cobwebs and spider webs and sucked up at least 8 spiders.  I noticed the sink was draining slowly, so after putting Liquid Plumber in both the tub and sink drains, I had to investigate further. I pulled the plug out of the drain and again gagged. I do draw the line at cleaning out the plug, I can’t do it. I cleaned out two from upstairs once and threw up a few times…I’m not willing to do it again. I think the boys will forgive me and I hope I can talk one of the four boys into doing it.

For the most part, the bathroom is now shiny and clean and I can live here for another month. I can also easily use the bathroom downstairs, without it distracting me from my work.

These are the sort of things I do to pay my way around here.

Currently I work from home on various writing projects and some of my own stuff as well. I usually do a great job staying on task and sticking to deadlines when I’m working on other people’s projects; however, when it comes to my own stuff I lack motivation and am easily distracted. Currently, my office is in the dining room. We have a huge table in there and, while it is slightly cut off from the rest of the house, I can still pay attention to what is going on in the living room. At times it is nice to be able to get some work done, while still being involved in the goings on of the roommates. I am in my own little corner so I’m not distracted by the television and I can easily tune out with earphones and music. This all works well when working on projects for other people, but it only allows for distractions when I try working on my own stuff.

I guess without deadlines and timetables and money on the line, it is easy to let the clutter and chaos get to you. I sit in my “office” ready to write, but then get distracted by the clutter in the living room…must clean, or the dishes stacked in the sink…must clean, or the millions of other little things around the house that are calling out my name. I like to make many “to do” lists, and those can be distracting as well. I think to myself, “well, I finished all my work, I guess I should tackle my ‘to do’ list.” When in reality, I have finished working for other people and not done any writing for myself.

I talked to Kevin about my frustrations with my “office” situation. I told him I was frustrated with myself for lacking motivation and not being able to get work done on my book. I told him about how my current office is too distracting for me and I get caught up on all the household things that need to be done because I can see the mess and clutter. We were sitting in the sauna sweating away and we came up with a brilliant plan. Kevin had ordered some furniture from a sale at Office Depot or Max, anyone one of the pieces was a nice desk and he was struggling with where to put it. The sauna happens to be in one of the extra bedrooms downstairs. It’s a medium sized room and it’s quiet, away from the kitchen and living room and distractions from upstairs. It is also a room I rarely visit.

We decided to create a small office space downstairs. There is plenty of room for a desk in the corner and I can move my computer things down there. If I can have a quiet space, free from distractions, I may have a good chance of getting some of my own work done. We talked about getting some good speakers from my laptop so I can listen to music; I like to do that while I work. Kevin also came up with the brilliant idea of getting a large White Board for jotting down ideas and plot lines and timelines for myself. We are going to hang that on the wall.

If I can devote four or five hours a day to holing up in my downstairs office while no one is home, I think I can seriously get some work done. Sometimes, it takes trying different things to figure out what works best for you. I hope this change of scenery will help me be more disciplined and more motivated to get some work done. If not, we will take a different approach and keep trying new things until something works.

Here are some before and after pictures:

My current Office, cleaned up, usually much more chaotic!

Most of my office supplies are in this corner.

Spare Bedroom with Sauna

This is where the desk will go

This is where we will hang the White board.

So, after a few hours of constructing a desk, hanging a white board, and bringing down all my office supplies; the office is finally finished. I’m not sure how well I like it yet, but it will get the job done and I can have some peace and quiet away from all the clutter. Here are the after pictures:

Here I am putting my desk together, Kevin came down and helped tighten all the screws and jimmy-rigged a corner piece to make it more sturdy.

Here is the new desk, all decked out with supplies, my plant, a candle, and my big screen. I need two screens.

Here is the whiteboard, with no ideas today. Also, my supply stand where all my extra office supplies are and other things I rarely use.

Well it happened; sometime when I wasn’t looking I turned 32 years old; on Sept. 1 to be exact. Time seems to fly when you get older and now another birthday has come and gone. I celebrated this year in San Francisco with Kevin. Kevin is in the city doing a tradeshow for work and it just happened to fall on my birthday.

Kevin wanted me to have a good birthday, even though he had to work most of the day. He gave me some cash money and told me to go on my own personal shopping spree. Since there is so many great stores around here, I was all for it. I’m not a big shopper and I’m a huge bargain hunter, thanks mom. I had a limit and I knew I wouldn’t even reach it if I tried. The first place I went, the Sketchers Store baby. I love Sketchers and almost all my 6 pairs of shoes are Sketchers. I’m not a normal girl if you haven’t figured that much out quite yet. Anyhow, I checked out all the shoes in the store and even looked at those new shape-ups. I didn’t find anything that I couldn’t live without, so I left.

Surprisingly, I ended up spending the most money at Old Navy. The Old Navy store in San Fran is 3 stories and the entire first floor is dedicated to the ladies. I shopped until I dropped, which for me is like 45 minutes tops. I ended up buying a cute jeans skirt that was a size smaller than I normally wear yahoo. I also bought some shirts and a fuzzy hoodie for winter. I’m a simple girl really.

Kevin got off work at 6pm and I made reservations at The Stinking Rose for 7pm. I got ready put on a cute outfit, jeans and t-shirt, and we walked towards the restaurant. Once again, we made a bad judgment and walked up a very stinky, smelly street. This one smelt like garbage, urine, and fish guts, yummy. Eventually though, we made it to our destination.

The Stinking Restaurant is famous for its garlic added, almost in excess, to all the menu items.

I had the clams in buttered garlic sauce and a side of steamed vegetables in garlic butter. Kevin ordered the gnocchi and asparagus in gorgonzola, garlic sauce. Both were very delicious and tasted like garlic goodness.

After dinner, we walked around the city a little bit more to work off our dinner. We found another statue for me to kiss.

We stopped for ice cream at cold stone creamery and I pretended the spoons were my candles to blow out.

Our last stop of the night was a small jewelry place in China Town. I wanted to look at the Sapphire rings, my birthstone. I’m really picky about size and shape of the gems, but just wanted to try one on. I found a shiny one that I really liked. Kevin was going to buy it for me for my birthday, but it was just too much for me to allow him to do that and I wasn’t sure if I really liked it are not. Either way, it was pretty and now he knows what kind of rings I like…

Kevin and I like to take walks, especially walks that allow us to explore new places. Since we are in San Fran for the week and we have no car, we have plenty of opportunity to walk and explore. Monday, Kevin had to work for an hour in the morning to set-up and register and didn’t have to be back at work until 5 pm. That gave us the whole afternoon to explore the city.

We decided we wanted some In-N-Out Burger since they don’t have it in our land. I googled it and found it was over by the Pier and Fisherman’s Wharf. We looked at the maps and found it to be a good 2 miles walk each way. Being the adventurers that we are, we decided to go for it. We mapped out a route that would take us through China Town so we could explore that on the way.

The streets were pretty crowded and it was hot outside, but we safely made it to Pier 39 unharmed, just sweaty and tired. Kevin decided to check and see if there were tickets for Alcatraz available anytime this week. They were sold out for Monday, but he knew he was getting off early on Thursday so we made plans to go then. Kevin knew it was one thing I really wanted to do, tour the rock, so he bought tickets as part of my b-day gift. I really look forward to doing that on Thursday.

After we bought the tickets, we took a break on a bench that overlooked the bay. It was nice to sit and relax and watch the boats and ferries in the water. Then, we headed out to find the In-N-Out Burger.

We both ordered cheese burgers and then shared fries and a shake. It was better than I expected it to be and all as wonderful as I had imagined. We didn’t even feel that guilty because we walked about 5 miles that day.

After In-N-Out, we were going to walk up to the Ghirardelli area, but got sidetracked by Hyde Pier. There were about 5 or 6 different old ships on display. One of which Kevin really wanted to explore.

We went to the ticket counter and found out you could board and explore all the boats for only $5. Since San Fran is a pretty pricy town, we felt we hit the jackpot on this one and didn’t waste a minute buying the tickets. We got to board and explore several different ships. Most were in the process of being restored so some areas were off limits. The ship in the picture above was a huge cargo ship with three separate levels. We had a good time playing captain and snapping photos here and there.

After the ships, we headed back into the city so Kevin could go to work. On the way back, we walked up the biggest hill I have ever walked up. I didn’t think I would make it, but only had to stop once to catch my breath. It is the hill you often see the trolley going up and if you have seen it you know it is steep.

We were almost home and one more street to go down before reaching our apartment. We had a few options on how to cross over and choose to go with Ellis St., bad idea. The street wasn’t too bad at first, but then it quickly became the scariest street I had ever been down. There were homeless people everywhere begging for money, more than anything that was sad the extreme amount of homeless people in this city. Anyway, things got worse when we started walking past open drug deals on the street. People counting large amounts of cash and waiting in line to “see the man”, are pretty good signs of drug dealings. I held Kevin’s hand a little tighter and we walked a little faster to a more public street. When we got back to the hotel, we both made a solemn vow never to go down that street again.

I do love all my adventures with Kevin and can’t wait to see what else lies in store for us for the remainder of our time here. On a side note, I like to make-out with various statues I see along the way, like this poor, unsuspecting pirate. Good times!

Sunday night we were finally introduced to our hotel, the Powell Hotel. This place scares me a bit, but over the past few days I have gotten used to it. I give the hotel one thumb down and one thumb wavering in the middle. Here is my review:

The Powell hotel is an older hotel located in the heart of downtown San Fransico. It is close to major shopping, like Old Navy, Macy’s, Juicy Couture, and the Westfield shopping center. The Bart and Muni or just steps away from the hotel’s front door; both can take you anywhere in a matter of minutes.

The hotel is older and offers no real amenities including the lack of air conditioning. The hallways are narrow and the rooms are small. Don’t be confused by the pictures on the website, they can be deceiving.  We got a room with two double beds, two very small double beds at that. The bathroom is also small and there is barely enough room to turn around in it. The bathroom does have three mirrors, including a full length mirror mounted on the door. 

The television offers basic cable and two channels of Encore; most channels come in fuzzy and it’s pretty annoying.  The hotel also has a rather large walk-in closet; however, there are no lights in the closet so when it is dark it is pretty much useless.

As far as safety features go, there are two windows in the room that open all the way. There are no bars or anything on the windows, so if you have small children beware it’s a long way down. There is also a fire escape stairwell right next to our room and those windows stay open most of the night; anyone can go up and down the outside stairs.  There is also a small radiator in each room that is next to one of the beds and not protected by anything. Those things get pretty hot; pretty fast so don’t burn yourself.

I convinced myself our room was haunted the other night. Kevin and I were on one bed watching tv when we heard a noise that sounded like rain. I got up and looked out the window, it wasn’t raining, but I heard a sound resembling trickling water. It was coming from the radiator which was turned on for some reason. I placed my hand over the top and could feel heat coming from it. There was water dripping from one of the valves. I have no idea how the radiator got turned on in the first place, but I turned it off. A few hours later, I heard the trickling water again. I walked over to the radiator and it was back on…dun-dun-dun. I turned it off once again and convinced myself there was a ghost trying to mess with me.

Back to my review, now for the positive.  The hotel is located right in the middle of the city so getting anywhere by foot is a breeze. Kevin and I have probably walked 2-3 miles each day just exploring. We like to walk places and to explore and everywhere we need to be is within walking distance. Pier 39 is across town, but still only 2 miles each way. There are tons of shopping all around the hotel and plenty of places to eat. The Moscone Center, where Kevin’s tradeshow is located, is only three to four blocks away. The trolley turn around is right outside the hotel and transportation is nearby as well.

There is also a small little café downstairs where you can get pastries for breakfast, soup or sandwiches for lunch, coffee, and ice cream. It is pretty convenient for quick snacks or lunch.  

If you want a decently priced hotel in the middle of the city, then the Powell Hotel will probably do. However, if you are looking for a quiet, low-key location, keep looking. I did fail to mention that since there is no A/C, you might want to keep your windows open all night. At night, the city is almost as loud as during the day. There are cars, buses, and trucks driving up and down the street at all hours. Garbage and recycling seems to be collected at wee hours of the morning and there is just a lot of street noise.

I personally, would never stay in this hotel again, but that’s just me.

Saturday night, we continued our adventures in San Francisco. Kevin’s friends from his email group Brian and Michele took us in for the night. Michele was having a birthday party for her 40^th, so we joined the fun. It was fun to sit by the pool, relax, and meet some new people. Everyone was super nice and Brian and Michele are great people. Sunday morning they took us to one of their favorite breakfast spots, Hobee’s. I enjoyed a great breakfast of the cheesy scramble and it was cheesy indeed.

Michele had a great epiphany Sunday morning that we should go check out the Winchester Mystery Mansion in San Jose. She had gone on the tour one time and enjoyed it, the three of us had never been and it sounded like fun. I had heard of the mystery mansion on television and on Ghost Hunters as well. Sarah Winchester was heir to the Winchester gun fortune after her husband died. They also had one child, who died as an infant of an illness. Sarah was alone for most of her adult life. Many people thought she was crazy and the proof lies within her strange mansion. She may have been a little nutty, but I think she was also ingenious with some pretty modern technology for her time.

This is a Gingerbread Model of the House

Legend has it that Mrs. Winchester feared being haunted by the ghosts of those killed with the Winchester rifles. She thought the spirits told her they would stay away as long as she never stopped construction on her home. So, for the next 38 years, Sarah would start many renovating projects and build some pretty strange oddities in her home. The mansion is huge and has over 160 different rooms. Some of the oddities are the Door that Leads to Nowhere, it’s actually called that, some doors that open to walls and a staircase that leads to the ceiling. Sarah’s fortune was so large it is said she made about $1000 a day, which back in the day was a lot of money. She had the kind of money where she could do anything to her home, and she did.

 She had a lot of stained glassed windows throughout the home and they were gorgeously preserved.

We all enjoyed an hour tour around the inside of the house. We also bought the “behind the scenes” tour, which was a tour around the outside, basement, and other areas not accessible to the average visitor.  For more on the mansion, view this website: http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/

After the mansion, Kevin wanted me to see the coast line and put my feet in the water. He knows I love the ocean and it is something I love to do whenever possible. Brian and Michele were more than happy to take us on a driving tour. They drove us down to Santa Cruz and along the coast on Highway 1. We stopped at one point, got out, and put our feet in the water. It was very windy and very cold.

From there we went to The Distillery bar and grill which is in Moss Beach, CA, right near Half Moon Bay. The Distillery was a nice place to eat with a great view of the ocean; unfortunately, it was foggy over the water so the view was a bit lacking. The Distillery is home of the famous legend of the Blue Lady, a ghost that is said to haunt the restaurant. Sorry to report, we saw no such ghost.

Meeting Brian and Michele was a treat and I hope to visit them again if we are ever in the city in the future. I can’t wait to see what other adventures await us in the little town.

Friday night Kevin and I packed our bags and headed down to San Francisco for a week. Kevin is manning a booth at the VMWorld trade show at the Moscone Center. His company pays for him to fly down, pays for the hotel, and covers all food expenses for the trip. Kevin knows how much I love adventures and exploring new areas, so he likes to bring me along. We only have to pay for a plane ticket for me and then I’m included in the hotel expense and most of the food expenses; works out great for both of us. During the day while Kevin is working, I try to do freelance writing, blog posts, or work on my book. In the evenings, we enjoy exploring the city.

For this trip, we decided to come down a few days before the tradeshow and spend some time playing with friends in the area. Friday night we were picked up from the airport by Clint. Clint is Kevin’s friend and old roommate of at least 7 years. Clint moved down to San Fran about 18 months ago with his job and had fun playing tour guide with us. We got lost at the airport and thought we were waiting outside at arrivals, but really we were outside of the International Departures. Apparently, the airport has three levels and after Clint drove around in circles for about ten minutes, we finally found each other.  After that, it was smooth sailing to Clint’s home.

Saturday morning, Clint woke us up to the wonderful smells of homemade Biscuits and Gravy and scrambled eggs. Very good stuff. Then, Clint, his girlfriend Angela, and Angela’s daughter Stevie took us on a tour of the city. We left the house with one goal in mind, Pier 39.  I wanted to check out the Pier, see the bay, and sneak a look at the Rock (Alcatrez). We wanted to take a tour of Alcatrez, but didn’t buy our tickets in time; however, Kevin and I have tickets for Thursday evening to go and do the tour.

The view from the pier was spectacular as it was a hot, sunny, clear day. Clint showed us the largest candy store with rows and rows of salt-water taffy.

 We enjoyed walking around the waterfront for a little bit. As we were looking in the water, I caught a few glimpses of sea lions and finally snapped a good picture of one. Of course, as we continued to walk we found an area where all the sea lions were hanging out and basking in the sun. It was actually more funny than anything; the fact that we were trying so hard to get a picture of one quick moving sea lion and we go around a corner to find a whole herd.

After our time on the Pier, Kevin saw a cool building on the side of a bus and wanted to go see it. It turned out to be the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. The building was pretty cool and is over 100 years old. There is a pretty pond that circles in front of it, so we spend some time walking around that area.

After the Fine Arts Theatre, we all went out to Roundtable pizza for dinner. From there, Clint took us to Brian and Michele’s house where we would spend Saturday night. We had a great time with Clint, Angela, and Stevie and look forward to seeing them again over Labor Day weekend.