Anniversary times. Luis and I had a great “staycation” trip for our 14th anniversary last weekend. We stayed in a lovely suite near the Metro station where we first met all those years ago. We explored the area and had a lot of nice food. We went to a romance bookstore called Friends to Lovers and he bought me a book. Our hotel also had a hot tub and a pool, so we spent some time there, which was a good way to get out of the cold and rain.
The places we went when we first met have changed, but we’ve also changed. It’s nice to go back and reminisce and also be reminded of how long we’ve been together.
Project For Awesome. I was fortunate enough to be able to watch the first hour of the livestream during my lunch break last Friday. I watched the first charity video (about APOPO, the bomb-sniffing rats who also help detect tuberculosis, which is a non-profit organization my company works with) and I got misty-eyed because I love rats. That was only the beginning.
During our nice anniversary weekend, Luis and I also spent some time in the livestream (mostly watching John and/or Hank, because we’re biased.) During the P4A, we all came together and raised over 4 million dollars for charities! ✨ I love Nerdfighteria and I love getting to still be a part of it. It is, after all, how Luis and I met, so it was a pretty perfect thing for us to do during our mini trip.
Wuthering Heights and longer travel times. The Metro getting work done and forcing us to use shuttle buses for two stops to and from our anniversary destination wasn’t that big of a deal. It just added to the adventure. I told Luis, and it’s true, that I wouldn’t have done it by myself, but with him it was kind of fun. It helps that the stop over to get a bus was at a mall, so we could go in and use the bathroom and have a snack. We’re pros at the whole travel thing at this point.
When we came back toward home on Monday, we got Indian food and saw Wuthering Heights. I have to make a confession here: although I was an English major and I greatly respect the Brontë sisters, I really do not like the novel of Wuthering Heights. I went into the movie with low expectations, kind of expecting not to like it, and I ended up enjoying it a lot. It’s an artistic interpretation based on how it made the director feel when she read it, which makes sense. I remembered the moments and I appreciated seeing them in the movie. I feel like it’s the story for people who don’t want to read it. Because all the stuff that matters in the story is there. The part later with the kids (not spoiling…) you don’t need it. It’s superfluous.
I made versions of the characters in The Sims 4 after watching the BBC version from the 60s that inspired Kate Bush to write her song. It’s not as if I hate the story. I just prefer it being told well in a movie or miniseries. Not all books are good as books. It’s surprising when it happens, but it does happen. We don’t know why Emily Brontë chose to have the narrator be some guy who heard the story from a lady who was there, but that was her choice as an author.
Writing update. Speaking of authors and their choices, I’ve started rewriting my Nerdfighters-inspired novel after taking time last week to read and edit the first two chapters from an earlier draft. The first two chapters work for me, it’s the rest I want to make better. I’m working on shaping it into more of a romance arc with foreshadowing and side characters that add to the plot instead of being scene dressing. So far, it’s going well. I’ve gotten better at getting to the point, which means there’s less time wasted on little scenes that don’t matter.
When Luis took me to Friends to Lovers last weekend, I felt at home because all of the books were romance. And I found a book to read soon that would be a good comp for mine. My story definitely has a place there on the romance shelves, I just need to tell it correctly.
Sara Mazariegos 