Packrat

Soooo...I'm moving to Austin, Texas.
I've always hated moving, because growing up, my sisters and I lived with my dad and we moved a lot. My dad and I would always move the big stuff and I would always end up sweaty, stinky and sporting about a dozen bruises by the end of the whole ordeal. This time, half of my stuff has been packed for about a year and a half, just because I knew I'd be moving again.

There are eleven boxes (that have been packed away forever) filled with just books. Eleven! I then had to pack two more with the books I've bought since moving in. I haven't been in those eleven boxes in a long time and I think that I'll have to go through them and give some away.

This always makes me emotional and I'm never ever able to get rid of more than a dozen or so. But this time...thirteen boxes of books is just too many. Especially since I know I won't read a lot of them again. Does anyone else have a problem giving away their books, even if they don't read them anymore? Do you donate them to a library or sell them to a used bookstore?

A Long Overdue Realization

I read a lot of author's blogs. A lot of them are a great mix of both humor, info, and just insight into their lives. And I think that it's important to read other author's words, not just their fiction, but their lives as well. How else will you know what another writer does when she is stuck and who knows exactly what you're going through, right?

Now.

My problem is, I get envious. Why isn't my life full of stories to share? Why am I so isolated and stuck in a room with nothing but a laptop and a cold cup of coffee? Why don't I have writerly friends to hang out with and shoot the breeze with? Huh?? HUH?? Why is life is so UNFAIR?!

*ahem*

Oh, yeah...it's because I don't do anything about it. I realized that today, as I'm reading about authors' get-togethers, book deal announcements, and general life. It sounds so obvious right? So right now, I'm going to make myself a goal. I will find a writing group, once I'm officially in Austin, and make those friends and create those experiences. Not just so I have more fodder for the blog, but so I can have that richer, more fulfilled life I'm so envious of.