Writing Inspirations: Adele

I don't want get too Henrietta Hipster on you, but I loved Adele before she was cool.

When I first heard her incredible voice, it was shortly after her debut album 19 released, and I heard Chasing Pavements. I fell in love instantly and wanted to know everything about her.

Then I heard her live cover of the Bob Dylan song, Make You Feel My Love. And I did feel it. Totally and completely. My love was further extended after I found out she was British. (Anglophilia ftw)

When I found out she was a member of the Curvy Girls Club AND a ginger with perfectly applied eyeliner and glam lashes...I was in full on girl crush status.

Now without question her low toned gorgeous voice is amazing, but I think I am mostly impressed by her incredible writing skills. Especially in someone so young. In her Grammy award winning album, 21, Adele was able to tap into her heartbreak and turn it into the soundtrack for love survivors everywhere.

Currently, I'm writing about a woman who is struggling to get through a past of betrayal and heartbreak while raising a young daughter. This is a subject I know just a little bit about. [insert self-deprecating chuckle here] My main character is strong, incredibly witty, and fierce in her determination to make it on her own. Despite the fabulousness she exudes, there is a part of her (that she is able to hide quite well) that is so vulnerable and insecure and afraid of making mistakes. It's often a struggle for me to write about her story, given that she's very similar to someone I know really well. ;-)

I've waffled back and forth between writing her truthfully or trying to make her seem less like me this person that I know. I came to the realization after watching Adele sweep every bleeping category at the Grammys on Sunday that there is obviously no shame in the truth. There is no shame in sharing your pain. There is no shame in allowing other people to the benefit from your experience, especially if they are able to feel an emotional connection to it.

Thanks to Adele, I've been inspired to always write my truth and not be afraid to share the whole of myself in  whatever I write. Whether or not I can pull off a "Someone Like You" kind of miracle is inconsequential...it's really all about me and the process of finding my own voice, harnessing its power and creating something unbelievable.

Valentine, Schmalentine

First, Happy Valentine's Day friends! 

For most of my life, I have LOVED Valentine's Day. I am all for a holiday that celebrates pink, hearts, chocolate, and telling people that you love them. It doesn't have to be romantic love either, sharing your heart with people you love is absolutely a valid reason for a holiday. In fact I always send V-Day cards out to my friends and family just to let them know I love them and am thinking of them on this most special of days. 

Or at least I used to. 

Here lately I've been feeling rather blah in anticipation of today. I don't know if it's because I'm still single or because I'm stressed out and overworked or because I'm still recovering from the epic flu of January 2012 or  because I officially cut out sugar this week or some combination thereof, I just know, I am not all a twitter with happy pink hearted feelings like I normally would be. 

Sadly instead of my normal Valentine's outlook...

I'm clocking in at something closer to this...

And I don't like it. 

In order to break out of my less than festive mood, I am taking the princess out for dinner tonight. Nowhere fancy, probably to her favorite restaurant, Inside Out Burger (Or In-N-Out Burger as it is commonly known) Then we'll make beaded necklaces and read a bit of Ramona Quimby before bedtime.

After she's all tucked in bed I plan on putting on a face mask, drinking a glass of wine, goofing around on Twitter until I get depressed by everyone else's fabulous plans for tonight, then reading, and finally going to bed with the hope that I'll feel more like myself in the morning. 

Bah humbug.

Just for Today...

Because I really still can't believe it.

Because when I was little, I used to sing along to this song and pretend I sounded just like her. (Sadly, I did not)

Because she is probably the only person who can turn a song about infidelity into one of the most requested wedding songs ever without one stitch of irony.

Because no one has since (in my humble opinion) sang our National Anthem quite like this.

Because when someone dies and especially when they die young, whether or not they're famous, it is still incredibly sad. 

Currently...

Reading...

Shine by Lauren Myracle. I've been putting off reading this book for months because of the subject matter. I figured it was about time I remembered I was a grownup and finally read it. So far...it's amazing.

Eating...

So freaking good. Proceed with caution.

Hearing...

Damn These Vampires by The Mountain Goats. I originally started listening to this band after both my friend Jessica and New York Times bestselling author John Green sang their praises. Now I can't go a day without listening to this song. 

Watching...

Downton Abbey. I am OBSESSED with this show. It's about life in English countryside at the turn of the 20th century. Nothing about that screams "get obsessed"..yet I completely 100% am. 

Dreaming...

I really want a Kindle Fire. Actually, I really want an iPad but shelling out  $800 for something goes against everything my single mother's budget stands for so I've been thinking of splurging on the Kindle because I am not a fan of Barnes and Noble so the Nook is definitely out.

What are your current obsessions?

Snippets

I'm going to a SuperBowl party today. Not because I love football or even know who's playing, but because I love my friends and relish any chance I get to spend with them. Oh and I also love guacamole and I volunteered to bring it to guarantee that I would definitely be eating some today. The only thing I know about today's game other than Madonna performing in the halftime show is that Gisele Bundchen's husband is playing and that he is also the chick who played Natasha on Sex and the City's baby daddy. See..I know things.

I think I'm officially over my high of seeing John Green for the 2nd time. Well truthfully...not really but I'm telling myself it's ok to let it go now. I commemorated this by buying yet another signed copy of The Fault in Our Stars that I saw on sale at Target. It was in purple...I had to! PS-Still #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List!

So apparently, former Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell loves sloths. I never really thought about them  outside of the Ice Age movies and you know...as one of the seven deadly sins, but her reaction is definitely worth taking a second look.

Can you feel the frenzy beginning? 

Source

Lenny has already won me over as Cinna based on this still shot! Plus he's wearing a vest!

I am so excited for this movie I can't even take it!

Oh and the newest trailer? Perfection.

Why isn't it March 23rd already??? Would anyone like to reread the series as the film gets closer and discuss? 

Friday Five (3)

So it's February already? How did that happen?!?

1. I'm not going to lie guys, this week has been a bear. I had a bit of emotional slap in the face and I'm still exhausted from the flu I had two weeks ago. Has anyone else noticed that as you get older you just stay freaking sick? I remember in my 20s going to work, school, and studying for a final all with 101 temperature. Now if I so much as get the sniffles I need to go to the hospital. This part of getting older sucks...though I do appreciate the lower car insurance.

2. This summer I've decided I want to take the princess on vacation, just her and I. I have no idea where we would should go though. I want somewhere relatively inexpensive that we can get to easily and where she'll have fun and maybe learn a few things too. I am debating on us either road tripping to Palm Springs or flying up to Seattle or to Texas since we have family there. It's a toss up and I'm making a Pro/Con list to decide. How Rory Gilmore am I?

3. Once a week is Movie Night in our house and the princess and I switch off picking a movie. I am not always thrilled by the princess' choice as there are only so many of those golden retriever puppies films one woman can watch before debating committing herself, but we stick to the rule and watch without complaining. I was excited when last night was my turn and we watched The Goonies which is probably one of my favorite films from childhood. Thankfully she loved it and had a great response to all of my favorite parts. I loved seeing it again too, only it sadly reminded me that I seriously need this shirt like yesterday.

 

4. February is the month I usually dread because it's the month where I decide to get back into shape. Have you ever heard the term January Joiner? Well when all those peeps who get so gung ho about the New Year start to answer the siren call of their remote by January 20th, I'm usually back on the health and fitness train picking up where they left. I'm doing it again this year and have been steadily working out at home for the past week. It hasn't been easy due to still being a bit sick but I want to get in a regular routine of working out and eating well so I can be a fabulous this summer. So begins the neverending Mission: DeHeiferization.

5. Since I mentioned the Urban Dictionary, on her blog a few weeks ago, my friend Jessica wrote a post for Road Trip Wednesday about pseudonyms, nom de plumes, and pen names writers may want to have or need to have and why. I grew up with a love/hate relationship with my name and have now as an adult come to love it and understand that it's the exact perfect name for me. As a writer, I struggle with whether or not I should use a pen name because given its extremely ethnic nature, it's inevitable that I be pigeon-holed into the "Books Black People Like" section of the book store. No major decisions yet, but I'd love to use my name and have it not matter.

As I was thinking about my name, I decided to look up it's meaning in the Urban Dictionary. Side note-I highly recommend doing this if you need an ego stroke as most name definitions tend to be positive. From a baby book I purchased while gestating the princess, I learned that my name in Aramaic means "Child of the People" and in Japanese means "Child of the Sun."  Here's how a little snippet of how the Urban Dictionary defines me:

Tameka: the tell-it-how-it-is type of girl. She'll always have your back, even when you aren't looking good. She will have you hooked and drooling over her with the flash of her smile. Beware of her honesty, it is blatant but once you get over that fact, she's a great friend to have on your side.


I think the Urban Dictionary has a crush on me! What's your Urban Dictionary definition?

Happy Weekend Everyone!

A Moment of Zen

Not because it's Black History Month, or because I'm an emo chick who likes poetry or for any other reason that today, these words are the balm for my wounded soul.

For the curious...when someone attempts to invalidate my awesome, these are the words running through the back of mind reminding to never be anything less than 100% myself, because I. am. amazing.

 Still I Rise

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise. 

 - Maya Angelou