In Which the Writer Gets a Job!

You see this counter?
Next Friday, I'll be working behind it.

I got a job at the coffee shop down town!! I'm so excited! I'll only be working Fridays, but HEY - that's fine with me!

I guess I'm so excited because one thing I've always wanted to do for a loooong time is to work at a cafe, and it's finally happening! This is really exciting for me. And, along with this job, I'm also cracking down on my school and writing. NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) starts November 1st, and the goal is 50,000 words in 1 month. I've been working on Cafe for a pitiful two years, so my goal for this NaNo is to FINISH IT. Then edit. Then publish. That's the goal. (I'm also almost convinced that I should stop writing it... all of my characters are coming to life. o_o) To finish school by July 28, 2014 is another. So I'm gonna be busy. Very, very busy. Prayers would be greatly appreciated. I've got a lot ahead of me, and to keep my wits about me and not drive my friends and family too crazy would be great, too.
Life is about to get even more interesting. WHEW.
I'll see if I can get some pictures of me working over the next couple of weeks and post them. Hopefully this'll all work out!

And, in the meantime, here's some pictures I took of a beautiful Autumn day spent with my ever faithful cat Westley. (He follows me everywhere and won't go outside of the 10 foot radius he keeps for me.)

Love you all!
- Hannah Leigh

Autumn!

Autumn is upon us!
To quote Winnie the Pooh: "The time of hot choclatey mornings and toasty marshmallow evenings!"
(I'll forever love Pooh Bear... sorry... :D)
Happy Fall, everyone! Tis my favorite time of year!

October

   Happy first of October, everyone! 
   I hope all of you have the best month ahead of you - I'm excited about it!     
   October is one of my absolute favorite months.

   I've recently been talking to a friend about managing our time, and I'm hoping to use this month to its fullest in every way.
   My life is slipping past, and I need to get a hold on it.
   I'd appreciate your prayers on that subject, and I'll be praying for all of you, even though I don't know you by name.
   I'm 18. It's going to be time for me to step up and grow up soon. And like my friend pointed out, we can't just wait for a 'magic time' to happen and suddenly we're there. We have to work for it. And work hard.
  Things don't just happen. We have to make them happen.
  And we can do none of it without Christ's strength.

  Let's work hard this month, okay?
  And a big thanks to my friend for conversing with me about it. :)

  Love you guys!

 - hannah

When Leaves Start to Fall

      When leaves start to fall, I find myself in a very thoughtful state of mind; curled up in my chair with a blanket and a steaming mug of coffee, journal open in front of me.
      I woke up this morning to the sound of rain, the draft of cold Autumn air seeping in through my window.
      The are the kind of days I love.
      The days where I stop to think about people that are special to me, where I smile as I go through the memories I have of them and flip through the well-worn pages of my journal to read about them.
      The days where I stop to do a lot of praying about anything that comes to mind. Where I go outside onto the porch as it rains and just talk to God about everything.
      Everything seems to slow down and breathe a little, and when it does, I have to as well.
      I have to take a small step back and look everything over and try to piece things together, wondering what happens next in this crazy, wild plot of a story.
     This kind of weather makes me want to write. To weave some fantastic scene and bring characters to life.
     I'm a writer at heart, even when I feel like I'm doing a terrible job and no inspiration comes.
     But, I'm a writer nonetheless. Of all things I thought I'd be, it was never that.
     Not long ago, someone said five simple words to me that inspired me to keep writing. Just those five words made a difference.
     "I think Cafe will publish."
     That was it. It made me so happy to hear that. Five words that pushed me to keep going.
     Kind words from a friend are the most beautiful things to hear. Even small words. Even just a smile.
     It uplifts like nothing else.
     God commands us to speak kindly to one another; to uplift and encourage.
     One small word can completely change a person's day, so find something kind to say to a family member or friend today - it'll make a big difference.

    
    Autumn is my favorite time of year - it gives me this feeling inside of being alive and knowing that exciting things are going to happen. I just have to wait for them to start unfolding.
   Pour your favorite cup of coffee today (after all, it IS National Coffee Day,) and open a book or your journal - dive in write, your thoughts down.
   Enjoy every moment of it, because every moment, you're still alive.


- hannah

P.S. This is a mini-video I put together yesterday on a whim. Nothing fancy; just trying to capture the feeling I have when writing. :) Enjoy!

20 Things to do with that Special Someone (Fall Edition)

   
 Hello, world!
    It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long - too many things to do, too little time!
    Time has kept ticking while I've been away, and so has my brain, thankfully. I've come up with more things to do with that poor person that'll spend the rest of his life with such an emotional odd-ball as myself. ^_^ (I hope he's patient and not easily fazed by a girl's breakdown teary reaction to dropping a glass in the kitchen floor, crying like a soul had just been lost... >.<) Yes... I have those days.

   ANYWAY - I've done two other posts regarding "20 Things", so this shouldn't be much of a surprise to you. I established my thoughts in the first one, so I won't repeat them here again.
   Autumn is quickly approaching. In fact, there's already leaves beginning to turn - it's really beautiful. You probably already know that Fall is my favorite time of year - absolute FAVORITE! I adore it... therefore, I want to be able to share that favorite time with my Special Someone in all sorts of ways.

1. Make homemade hot chocolate and put lots of whipped cream on top
2. Go for evening walks in the cold and wrap my arms around him
3. Listen to music together
4. Pull an all-nighter... ON THE WEEKEND. ^_^
5. Steal his hoodie and be wearing it when he comes back from work >.<
6. Dance to One Direction's Forever Young... this is my newest favorite song right now; it's SO PRETTY. T_T (I also don't know a *whole* lot about this group, so don't think I completely support them or anything;)

7. Go to the mall one day and just goof off and do silly things
8. Spend a late afternoon in a coffee shop, asking questions, getting to know each other even better. I want to marry my best friend (NOT the female best friend, haha:P), and it's hard to know someone truly unless you aren't.
9. Watch a looong movie and fall asleep on the couch
10. Take pictures of him - lots of pictures. >:)
11. Take him clothes shopping and be his stylist for the day! *grin*
12. Throw an armful of leaves at him and then run away giggling >.<
13. Take turns on a "boss" date-night - one night he gets to decide what I wear, everything from shoes to jewelry; another night I get to do the same. Either can pick themes, and the other has to stick exactly to what he or she has said. I know what theme I'M picking. >:)
14. Buy him an expensive cologne
15. Buy a box of assorted chocolates and take turns trying different ones to figure out what we like and what we don't
16. Go outside one night and talk about anything and everything and have a prayer time for each other
17. Play a furious game of hide-and-seek in the dark
18. I hope he keeps a journal, because one afternoon I want to break out the journals and go through them just for fun. It'd be nothing but hilarious embarrassment. ^_^
19. Go through old memories or funny stories, remembering the silly things we used to do
20. Make a list of each other's quirks and habits that we find endearing.

  

One Year Anniversary of Cafe

      Hi everyone! I'm proud to announce that the 29th of July was exactly one year since the first chapter of Cafe was penned!
      My word count is currently at 97,722, chapter 17, page 173.
      And I know that's kinda sad to only have THAT LITTLE in a year's time, but that's just the pace I'm going at... I'm hoping to pick it up this year and get it going.
     My characters are steadily growing on me more and more, and I get a heart-sick feeling at the thought of having to wrap Cafe up one day; that moment where I write the last paragraph and say a final farewell to everyone... AUGH. It hurts to think about it. :S
    That's the way it is with nearly any book I've attempted thus far... the thought of saying goodbye really hurts...
    BUT, for now, I still have a long time left with them - the story is just getting good. >:) Thanks to the people who have been reading as I write and helping me with ideas, twists, details, and pointing me to a thesaurus - you guys are amazing!
    And the biggest thanks goes to Christ for giving me the idea and inspiration for a small little cafe, tucked away among the soaring sky scrapers and busy streets of a big, packed city...

Excerpt from Cafe, chapter 16...

       A scream suddenly rent the air as Justin started to say something, Jungsu taking off towards the back with Daehyun and the teenager close behind. He tore around the corner and into the alley, finding Erica standing near the entrance, hands clapsed over her mouth.

      "There's someone by the dumpster!" she gasped, voice high pitched as he grabbed her arm and pushed her behind him protectively, squinting into the darkness.                 

      Daehyun produced a gun from the back of his belt, the flickering, single alley light above them catching on the handle as he held it at arms length, moving towards the dumpster.

     "I think he's hurt," Erica said, voice hoarse with fright, a hand still drawn over her mouth. "I saw blood."

     Daehyun cautiously approached the still form; only his legs were visible from behind the huge bin, mud smeared over his soaked jeans. The Korean's eyes drifted from the limp body towards the wall, throat tightening at the blood spattered across it.

    They heard the gun cock, saw him sidestep slowly, carefully, towards the bend in the alley. Jungsu was still gripping Erica's wrist, and began to step backwards, moving her towards the door, bleached hair now damp and in his face from the freezing rain. 

    Justin swallowed, breath fogging as he exhaled silently, stepping back into the doorway, hand gripping the frame.

    Water droplets slipped from Daehyun's auburn hair, running down his face as his searching eyes scanned the ajoining alley. He let out the breath he had been holding, jaw clenching as he lowered the gun.

    "Someone get over here and help me with this guy," he finally called, voice echoing as he turned, jogging back towards the dumpster. "He's hurt pretty bad."

    Jungsu was first to get there, standing over Daehyun, who had knelt down to inspect him more closely.

    "He's practically frozen," the Korean breathed, feeling for a pulse. "Justin! Grab blankets, coats – anything you can get your hands on!"

    "There's some in the storage room," Erica whispered to the teenager. Justin nodded, stepping into the café. She looked back towards Daehyun, blinking back rain water.

    "How bad is it?" she asked quietly, stepping closer, peering at the man's shaded face. 

    Daehyun stuffed the gun into the back of his belt, reaching forward to gently turn the form over.

     "I don't know; there's plenty of blood, though."

     "Can we move him?" Jungsu asked. 

     Erica took in a breath when the stranger's head rolled towards the light, the shortage in the bulb flickering shadows across his features; blood streaked down his face from the side of his temple, black hair plastered to his forehead and covered most of one eye, making him look even more pale than he was. She reached forward, pushing the wet layers away, breath fogging as she brought her hand back, fingers red.

18th Birthday, 2012 (and FANTASTIC)!

      Hi everyone! WOW... what a weekend.
      As I'm sure I spazzed to you about in anticipation a few weeks ago, my absolute Best Friend, Mirriam, came up on Thursday.
      All that morning, I cleaned, sang, cleaned some more, and made sure everything was *perfect* (honestly, it was ridiculous - you should have seen me. I would eye the piece in in the middle of the table, step back, reach forward and move it over just a hair, step back again, and then nod satisfactorily, walking away...)
     I waited and waited for the call, and when they finally did, they were giving us a 30 minute notice. I waited 20 minutes, running around like a mad-man to make sure everything was in place, grabbed my camera, and went down to the little white house for rent where they stayed last time.
    Mom and Nathan also came down, and I've even got a video from when they first showed up. I was so THRILLED when I saw their green van approaching; it had been exactly three years since I last did this!
    Mirriam and I always find this rather amusing; the first time we see each other, we spaz, squeal, jump up and down, and five minutes later, we're acting like we do this all the time and it's a completely normal routine. It never fails to happen, and that's exactly how it went as we walked down the road to my house five minutes later.

      We got down to my house, relaxed, and started chatting and catching up... though there wasn't much to catch up on, 'cause we talk on the phone. The catching up went a little more like this:
     "Oh, you moved things around since last time!"
     "Yep. I think I'm comfortable with this set-up; it's been like this for the past couple of years, actually."
     "Ooooh lookit that!"
     ... stuff like that. ^_^ We had such a good time!
   
     That night, after eating dinner, we set up the mattresses in my room, got changed, talked some more, traded pictures, laughs, stories and journal entries, and then played rock, paper, scissors to decide if we should role-play or attempt truth or dare. We decided on role playing.
    That. Was. EPIC.
    We both decided that the other was absolutely fantastic and there was little improving to do, as far as we could tell. We also decided that if we spent any great amount of time together, we'd have six-packs from laughing so hard... she's constantly making me laugh!
   God gave us such an amazing time together! We stayed up that night until 5:00 am, Friday night until 3:00, and Saturday night until 2:00. We wanted as much time together as we could possibly get.
   Friday was nice, because we had pretty much a whole day to chill and just do funny things. We went for a walk that morning, conversation drifting from one thing to another; the weather was *beautiful* - He answered my prayer for a wonderful day!

      That night, we role-played AGAIN, and were once again fascinated by our skills. We giggled, died of embarrassment, and eventually fell asleep on that little mattress, buried in pillows and comforters, sleeping it off for the next few hours.
      I had been hoping to wake up in time to watch the clock send me into 18, but I was way too tired, and slept right through, though I'm fine with that, because instead of Mirriam calling me at 6:00 to wish me a happy birthday like she did last year, she was sleeping soundly next to my desk; we weren't eight hours away.
     That morning, we got showered, got dressed, tried to keep ourselves awake on Pocky, and went about preparing for my party. THAT was fun... except I felt terrible that day. It was weird - I was fine the day before that, but then I had a pain in my stomach all day and felt light-headed and sick. I mean, it wasn't so bad that I didn't have a good time... I just wasn't my normal self.
   The rest of the gang arrived at 11:30; AH! I was so nervous and excited.
   Caroline and Megan helped us to cook the Korean food, and though a little stressful in my mind, I suppose, it turned out really well - here's the result and party pictures!

This is what we ate - bulgogi, japchae, fried rice and kimchee - it was SOOO good!

The "fire beef" (bulgogi) cooking.

 

Maknae (youngest) Caroline - she's so CUTE!

Japchae! DAEBAK!

 

Now, before the japchae looked that good... we were trying to figure out why it looked so strange... >.>

 

Japanese Sponge cake - it actually TURNED OUT! 

 

D'aaaww... love you, mom and dad!

 

The guys being their manly selves... Nathan looks like he's too good for this group. *sniffs*

 

This is the Ramune and Pocky that we got for everyone to have - excellent stuff!

We're not a codfish, Mirriam. Don't look so surprised at the book you got me...

 

D'aaaw! Thanks to Megan for taking this picture! I *love* this one; it's so sweeet!

Mirriam got me the Princess Bride! AAAH! I *love* that movie! ... obviously. ^_^

 

 

And Dad got me an ESPRESSO MAKER! EEK! 

See if you can spot something funny in this picture... look carefully. >.<

 

Watching the video that Elliot took...

      After the party and hanging out for a few minutes, myself, Caroline and Mirriam were going to do a medieval/fantasy photoshoot, so Mirriam did our make-up, and we went outside, taking the curtains in my room with us. They turned out pretty good! We were going to then do a more down-to-earth one by removing almost all the make-up and going simple, but we ran out of day light and time, sadly. Maybe next time! 

And yes... those are my eyes, and they aren't photo-shopped. I bought silver mirrored lenses for the occasion, and I LOVE 'EM. They made me look sooo weird and creepy. 

 The theme for me was that I was a "dead" or abandoned princess. We were going for a lonely, hurt look.

Mirriam's theme was that she was my guardian, and had "died" with me as a result of swearing her loyalty.

 

Caroline's theme was close to the same, though she was more of a fairy in search of... maybe the key to unlocking us from our ghostly prison. ^_^

But first she has to free herself - she's locked in a prison of twigs!

 

Too bad we didn't have time to finish the story. ^_^

 But this photo made it worth it. :)

       Sadly, it all passed by way too fast. Sunday morning came, and we had to part ways. We had such a wonderful time, and the Lord blessed what we had together. I'm always thankful to Him for His wonderful plans for us!

Mirriam, I love you, girl. You're FANTASTIC, dear. And to everyone else that came - THANK YOU SO MUCH! The time we spent was AWESOME! We named our time together "FANTASTIC", which INDEED... it was. >:)
Thanks to my family for loving me for 18 years, and making me laugh and cry all at the same time. ^_^ You guys are amazing.
I'm looking forward to this year with all of my heart!

Saranghae! FIGHTING!!!!!!!!!!
- hannah