LittleBuddhaTW

I'm kind of having trouble getting my mind around the fact that you don't know what is best to play for your amp's first trial run ... HELLO?!?!?! BOB DYLAN!!! THE MESSIAH OF ROCK!!!

It still doesn't really address the difference between regular hosted author and shared member hosting, nor does it address exactly "how" to become a hosted author/shared member hosting author, such as whether you need to be invited, apply, etc., etc.

3) How does an author go about becoming hosted (either full hosting or shared member hosting)? I know the answer to this one from experience, but it's not really explained very clearly anywhere on the site (that I can think of, and I think some people get confused as to whether they have to be "invited" or can apply on their own. 4) How do we recommend stories to be listed in the Story Archive? (there are quite a few excellent stories that I've read, and was surprised to see that they weren't listed) 5) Is Myr really a wizard? Buddha

It's Sunday night here as I write this, and I got absolutely nothing done this weekend, either packing or writing ... I just slept ... a lot. Very unproductive. I'm going to try to convince myself to go to Sogo (an upscale Japanese department store) on Monday afternoon to buy some new summer clothes, and also get something nice to wear for my exam on Friday. Maybe I should be nervous about my exam ... I tend to worry excessively about things like that ... but it's been the furthest thing from my mind. I'm wondering if that's a good or bad thing ... :wacko: I've been kind of moody, too, with the pressure of getting a job as quickly as possible when I get back to the States starting to mount. Finding a job in and of itself shouldn't be a problem, since I have a skill that is highly in-demand, but finding one that I can tolerate will not be easy. I don't really want to be a translator/interpreter. It's extremely boring and tedious work, and I don't have the patience for it. But if that's what it takes to get me out of my parents' house more quickly, I may have to do it. Chapter 15 was posted yesterday. It's basically the beginning of the second half of the story. Kitty's working on Chapter 16 now, but I can foresee that one needing some re-working. I've barely gotten started on Chapter 18, and some ideas have come to me that may extend the story as a whole by another chapter or so, although I haven't decided for sure yet. It would just be expanding on one minor plot line, though, not changing the direction or outcome of the story. I'll have to see if I get any inspiration over the next couple of days. I'd like to have it finished by the end of the week, though. I haven't done much reading lately. I'm still anxiously awaiting the next chapter of "With Trust," and of course the next chapters of "Service" and "Cameron," which also reminds me that I need to send a big cyber-hug and VLista, who's one of the people I'm very thankful for having met through GA. He's such a sweetheart, even when I have little temper tantrums, like I did this morning.

The planet is already over-populated, and I think it can be assumed that the majority of gay people aren't adding to the population (except for the minority who have children through surrogate mothers or who have had kids with women either because they're bisexual or deeply closeted and ended up getting married), that if we take Kinsey's 10% theory, and suddenly that previously (generally) non-reproductive 10% are gone and replaced with more reproducing people, then the over-population problem is only going to get worse. And that's not even taking into account the ethical side of the issue (and I think it's unethical to fiddle around with Mother Nature in that way). *sigh*

This has been an interesting few days. I've been procrastinating about shipping the next box of stuff ... I should probably get it packed up tonight and shipped tomorrow, but I've been procrastinating about that. Instead, I've been doing some cleaning, pitched an old bookcase, took Simba for his booster shot yesterday, and am gonna pitch another bag of stuff later on today. I really am a pack rat ... I shouldn't have this much crap that I need to get rid of ... *sigh* Oh, and I get to take Simba to get neutered on Thursday (which would be tomorrow, I think) ... it was actually kinda funny when Shadow got neutered, because he was still under the effects of the anesthesia when I got him home, and he was all dazed and confused and stumbling around. Maybe it sounds cruel, but I preferred it when he was like that, cause he stayed out of trouble ... it's hard for an anesthisized cat to jump up on things and wreak havoc, which he has a tendency to do. Oh, and Kitty (my eldest cat, not my editor! lol) got a bath last night. She was NOT happy about that, but her coat wasn't looking too pretty, and since she's a princess, I like her to have a nice, shiny (and clean) coat. She's been meowing more than usual ever since, so I think she's still pissed at me. Shadow needs a bath as well, but it takes forever to bathe him because he always puts up a huge fuss, even moreso than Kitty or Simba. I had a very troubling conversation tonight with someone who I care very much about. He said some very scary things, and it got me very worried and upset. Knowing someone online and not being able to be there physically for them, or to be able to go over to their house and intervene if necessary, is a hard thing. I was really at a loss as to what to do, and the things that were said were so troubling that they required real-life intervention. Needless to say, I really didn't know what to do except listen and urge them not to do anything stupid. But under the circumstances, that wasn't enough, so I turned to the only person I could think of who might be able to help and, bless her heart, she got right on it, as well as calming me down in the process (I was crying, which I don't do very often). So, thank you to my online guardian angel. As for the writing stuff, Chapter 15 has already been through the first edit, and should be posted on time this weekend, and I'm almost finished writing Chapter 17 (hopefully by tonight, unless I get distracted, which I tend to do). I also wrote a couple more paragraphs for my Summer Anthology entry. I know how I want it to end, and how the story is going to go in general ... it's just *how* to get there that's always the problem. But I'm sure that whatever mess of a story I come up with, Kitty will rescue it as usual. Anywho, it's about time to feed the little devils, then take a nap, and then decide what I need to get done tonight and tomorrow. So much to do still, and less than two months now to get it done ...

Welcome back, Slaveboy (even though we've never met lol) You can always read my story {shameless self-plug}, "Someday Out Of the Blue" ... a few people kinda like it, I guess ... http://members.gayauthors.org/littlebuddhatw/index.html And you definitely need to catch up on Dom's stories ... his new one, "With Trust," is very good.

P-CAKES, WISHING YOU A VERY "CHARMED" 17TH BIRTHDAY!!! And only one more year until the big 18! *Hugz* Buddha-bear

It is hot in Taiwan right now ... although that is what you come to expect from a subtropical island. But I still don't have to like it, and I don't. And the humidity is so high that you feel like you're practically drowning if you go outside. I could handle it when I lived in Florida, because they have this wonderful thing called "central air-conditioning" in the United States. They have it here, but only in the nice, new office buildings. Most apartments only have the window unit kind, and they're expensive to use. I have one in the living room and one in my bedroom. Because my living room is so big, it doesn't get very cool, so I just tend to hide out in my bedroom with the air-conditioning turned on high during the summer months. And the start of summer also means that I'll be taking 2-3 showers per day now. And speaking of showers, the showerhead in my bathroom broke (yes, "Made in Taiwan" still means crappy), so I had to brave that devil's den of a supermarket again to buy a new one, and managed to install it. Yes, this particular gay boy can do simple household maintenance ... and I even have my own tool box! *gasp* In story news, I finally finished writing Chapter 16. It took me forever, but now it's out of my hands and into the much more capable hands of Kitty who will undoubtedly do her magic again and make it actually readable. I just sent Chapter 14 to Myr, so it will probably be up by Saturday morning or so. I've also started working on Chapter 17, and hopefully it won't take me as long to finish as Chapter 16. And amidst all of this, I'm still progressing with the move. The deadline for registering for the Ph.D. entrance exam has passed, and since I didn't sign up, that means there's absolutely no turning back now. I sent two more boxes of books home last week, and pitched some more stuff. The next box will be mostly clothes and knick-knacks, so it should be a lot cheaper to send. On Monday, I need to take Simba back to the vet to get his vaccinnation booster shot, and then later on this month I'll take all three of them to get their official check-up, rabies shots, and microchips. That should be fun ... or not.

Tell him how you feel ... you may never get another chance, and you would probably end up regretting it for the rest of your life ... Buddha

This is another one of those important times in your life, kinda like when you started college, and now you're beginning a new phase in life. It's easy to get stressed out about all the stuff that you've gotta get done (I'm going through the same thing now -- packing, organizing, preparing for the oral defense of my thesis, etc.), but you'll make it, and I'm sure you'll do it with a smile on your face and do an AWESOME job! Anyway, I'll miss your excellent analysis of SOOTB while you're gone, but look forward to lots of posts from you when you get back, and there should be a few more chapters for you to read. Take care and go get 'em, tiger! hehe (I've always wanted to say that!) :2hands: *Hugz* Buddha

I think everone here feels the same way about you too, Vance. You're not only a really great author (you're listed as one of my favorites in my profile!), but you're also a really nice, sweet (and HOT!) guy. I think GA is very lucky to have you here, and it's always a lot of fun to talk to you in the chat. I'm really enjoying reading "Cameron," and every Saturday morning (Friday night your time), I'm always eagerly awaiting the latest chapter. *Hugz* Buddha

I haven't been able to get any writing done over the past few days, because I've been working on a rush translation job for a company. It only pays US$130, but that'll at least pay for about two boxes to be shipped back home. I'm almost finished, and once I'm done, I need to try to get a little further ahead in the chapters for SOOTB. Chapter 16 is taking forever to finish, and I don't know why, because I know exactly how I want it to go, but I can't seem to sit at the computer and type more than a few lines here and a few lines there. It's quite annoying, actually. I was really moved by the comments left by Luc and Kitty in the thread on Connor's rape experience on the discussion forum. When I started out writing, I just wanted to write an interesting, entertaining story. I never realized that it would end up being something that would actually move people emotionally and cause such a reaction, nor did I really expect it to be such a "dark" story ... but I'm pleased with the result so far, and I would rather write stories that have a message, and not just the typical online gay fiction. I hope the second half of the story will garner as much interest as the first half. I was notified yesterday that my oral exam for my M.A. will be on Friday afternoon, May 19th. So, in less than three weeks, I'll finally be finished! WOO-HOO! The exam itself shouldn't be too difficult, although I wouldn't mind having a bit of interesting debate with the exam committee. My own graduate advisor will probably give me the most trouble because she likes to argue. One of the other professors got her B.A. through Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley. She's a really brilliant scholar, and one of the leaders of the gay rights movement in Taiwan (and the only one of the three committee members who speaks English). As for moving stuff, I shipped off one more box yesterday, making a total of seven shipped so far. Hopefully I'll only have a few more boxes worth of stuff to send. Once that's done, I need to see how much of my furniture I can sell and then see about what to do with the rest of it ... and, of course, get as much writing done as possible. I always do my best writing in the morning when I wake up, but lately I've been spending that time in the live chat ... so I think I'm gonna stay away from the chatroom for a while until I've gotten caught up on my writing. I don't know how busy I'll be once I get back to the States, so I want to finish up SOOTB before I go back, and hopefully have the first few chapters of my next serial, tentatively titled "My Elusive Drug," before then as well. I also need to get some more work done on my Summer Anthology entry. Anyone who wants to chat with me can add my AIM: LittleBuddhaTW (how original, huh? hehe) Anyway, I guess that's it for today ... about two more paragraphs left to translate on this stupid project and then I'll be done ...

I think everyone knows my favorite is Elton John ... As for a favorite song of his, I don't know ... there's so many good ones ... "Burning Buildings" from the "Breaking Hearts" album (1984) immediately comes to mind, though.

My current laptop was bought in Taiwan ... and has the Chinese version of Windows installed. So at the very least, it'll give me a nice reminder of Taiwan when I'm back home (even though Windows pisses me off). I'll probably pick up an iPod, too, since they're cheaper here than in the States. I'll have to check into cell phones and find one that'll work in the States. The cell phones here are great, and they're a generation ahead of the ones you can find in the West. As for you hunting me down and making me suffer ... you can do that to me anytime you want! lol

Thanks for the suggestions! Although the above suggestion is plausible, I've always been one to insist on playing by the rules, even if it means I'd end up losing the money in the end. She hasn't been mean or dishonest to me yet, and I've been a good tenant, so there really isn't a reason for me to just skip out and unilaterally take the security deposit out of the last month's rent (the security deposit is two months' rent anyway, so doing that, I wouldn't even get the whole amount). Also, foreigners have a bad enough reputation in Taiwan as it is, and I don't want to add to that. So, I want to give her plenty of notice, and as a "carrot," I will tell her that I plan on giving her the new air-conditioner that I bought when I first moved in (only the living room had one, so I bought another one for my room). I can't take it with me anyway, and if I make it sound like a gift or gesture of goodwill, that might make her more reluctant to stiff me on the deposit if she'd planned on doing that. I will also definitely set up a clear time for inspection and return of the deposit, but not so soon, since it's still two months away, but I might bring it up by saying we can discuss details of the inspection and deposit later, like maybe in June. My last landlady (who was literally a crazy woman) gave me back my deposit with no problem, so I'm hoping this one will do it as well.

I posted Chapter 13 of SOOTB on Saturday morning. I'm still working (slowly) on Chapter 16, but I at least have the whole thing mapped out, as well as most of the rest of the chapters, unless something comes to me in the middle of the night and I decide to make some kind of major change. I'm estimating that it will end up being about 23-24 chapters, plus an epilogue. I've also started working on a new short story that I will probably submit for the Summer Anthology. I've only written the first page so far, but that always seems to be the hardest. After that, I'm not sure what I'll do ... I'm still thinking about it. Writing has been very rewarding so far, and I really enjoy the interaction with the readers, but I'm very nervous that I won't be able to top SOOTB. The whole story just sort of popped into my head very naturally, and I don't want my next story to seem forced. So we'll have to wait and see, I suppose. I've already gotten quite a bit accomplished this weekend. I sorted through most of my clothes and did a huge load of laundry, have two bags full of junk to pitch, and another box ready to ship home on Monday. I also managed to drag myself to the supermarket today, which is always a dreaded chore, since Taiwanese supermarkets are a nightmare, especially on Sundays. For some reason, Taiwanese think that going to the supermarket is a family "event," so it's the husband, wife, and darling children (note sarcasm at the use of "darling"), and the parents let their kids run around the store like it's a playground, running into people, screaming, and generally causing mayhem. And, of course, being the most crowded day of the week, the store clerks choose that time to re-stock the shelves, so the aisles are always full of boxes, crates, etc. Haven't they ever heard of doing re-stocking before/after opening hours? But it's like that every friggin' time I go there. It's a zoo. Tonight when I go to give next month's rent to my landlady, I'm going to tell her that I'm planning on moving, so just a tad bit over two months' notice. I'll be paying extra close attention to her reaction to see if I can tell whether or not she'll give me back my security deposit. I'm quite good at reading people if I can see their eyes and facial expressions, but she's a tough nut to crack. She puts on a very cheery and friendly facade, but like so many other people I've met here, it just seems fake. I really need that money back, though (nearly US$1,000), so if she decided to be a b**** and not return it (and there's nothing I can really do about it -- foreigners have almost no legal rights, protection, or means of legal recourse in Taiwan) then I'm screwed. *sigh* UDDATE: I just told my landlady that I would be moving at the beginning of July, and she seemed to take it fine (although a bit surprised). She asked what part of the US I'd be moving to, what kind of job I was planning on, etc., etc. I also told her that I would give her the second air-conditioner I bought after I moved in, and she seemed very pleased with that (although she of course did the obligatory "three time refusal" before accepting). I also told her that we would discuss "details such as the deposit" sometime in June so she at least has that in her mind and knows that I expect that deposit back. So now I just have to wait and see ... doesn't seem like there will be a problem so far.

Hmmm ... "karma" is a very UN-Christian concept ... isn't that sacrilege to be talking about believing in that, Nicko? And besides ... I LOVE the idea of karma, because it always tends to play hardball ... and since I love it, you might want to scratch that one from your vocab, lest you end up being like me, God forbid ...

I so did not feel like coming to work this morning. I haven't been sleeping well lately ... lots of weird dreams and stuff. Anyway, I've pretty much accomplished everything I set out to do this week. There's still one more box to ship, and I'll do that this afternoon when I get off work. I also got a haircut yesterday which was long overdue. My trip to the post office yesterday was painless, fortunately. The printer also did a good job with my thesis, and it ended up being a lot cheaper than I had expected. I also got a quote on the hardback binding, which will also cost me a lot less than I had imagined. But ... ::drum roll:: ... when I went to turn my thesis in at the Chinese department office, they told me I needed five copies ... even though they told me three copies two weeks ago. Needless to say, I was not pleased. Normally, my reaction probably would have been to threaten to drop kick the office girl and then screw her boyfriend, but she's always been nice to me, so I was nice and gave her the three copies I had, and now will have to go back again on Monday with the two additional copies. The test could come at any time after that. I took Shadow back to the vet and the doc said that his skin infection is healing very nicely. He gave him another shot and some more ointment, and that should do it. He also told me that I can skip one of those horrid, pointless steps for getting the cats out of the country (or so he says ... we'll have to wait and see). So, apparently, they now only need two check-ups instead of three. Anyway, they all get their immunization boosters, rabies shots, and microchips implanted next month. I'll also need to get Simba neutered before I leave. The plan for this weekend is to get one more box of stuff packed up and ready to ship on Monday, and then do some clothes sorting and washing. I'm gonna need to go clothes shopping as soon as I get back to the States, cause a lot of my clothes are too small or too old, so I will probably end up donating a lot of stuff to charity here. But I have lots to go through, and I want to wash all of my winter clothes before I ship them back. Sounds fun, eh? As for writing, I've been really slow lately. It's not exactly writer's block, because I know what I want to write, but I'm just feeling lazy. Kitty is now going through the second edit of Ch. 13 of SOOTB, and I'm working (slowly) on Ch. 16. One thing I'd like to point out is Connor's reaction to the rape. One person pointed out that he didn't like the fact that Connor seemed "fine" with everything too quickly. I think it's important to remember that everyone's reaction to that kind of experience is different, and those things tend to fester for a while and then suddenly, when least expected, the victim will often have a reaction. Also, remember that Connor is heavily sedated while he is at the hospital. Were his reactions to his sponge bath and the twins "appropriate" or "realistic"? For him, they were. Obviously, his experience in Ch. 11 has changed his life in many ways, and there will be much more on how he deals with it, over a period of time, sometimes in small ways, and sometimes in more dramatic ways. Just keep that in mind as you're reading. I've also discussed ideas for future stories with Kitty, and may start outlining something at some point. I've also got a story planned for the Summer Anthology that would fit with either the "vacation" or "summer fling" themes, which seem to be the two leaders in the poll. And if the theme turns out to be something different, then I'll still post it anyway as a short story ... probably!

It's literally doing nothing ... just sitting there staring at the computer screen. But even that gets boring after a while, especially when there's no new stories to read. *sigh* And I don't think for a moment that I could ever steal Dom's "thunder" ... just look at how many views WT 11 got within the first 24 hours or so of being posted in the Story Announcements section. I'm just happy to have the few readers that I do who enjoy the story.

If you're bipolar, you should be receiving treatment (and an official diagnosis) ... it's very serious and not something to be taken lightly.

Happy 20th birthday, Dio! You can no longer call yourself a 'teen' ... hehe *Hugz & Kisses* Buddha

Chapter 13 is in the very capable hands of Kitty. It's a pretty long one, too. You'd have to ask her when it'll be ready! hehe I've also got an idea for a new serial tossing around in my head ... it'll probably be kinda dark, but I think it might work. I've also got an idea for a little "fantasy/sci-fi" novella, which probably wouldn't run more than five chapters. I've never really thought of doing anything in that genre before, but I've got an interesting idea ... actually, a new take on a very old story. I'll have to see what people (i.e. Kitty) thinks about it, though. Ever since reading "Vampire Jarred" and contributing a chapter to "Service: VJ2," I've been thinking of trying out a vampire story as well, although I don't want to rehash already used-up ideas. I want to do something where the line between what we think of as "good" and "bad" isn't drawn so clearly. So, I've got lots of ideas, but still need to actually force myself to sit down and write, and I also want to finish up SOOTB, too. Otherwise, Connor won't let me get any rest ... he's constantly buzzing around in my head with things he needs to get off his chest ... **sigh**

The past few days have been really blah, so I don't really have anything to report, since I didn't do anything other than manage to finish up Ch. 15 of SOOTB and get started on Ch. 16. Right now, I'm sitting at work, bored out of my mind. For those of you that don't know, I work part-time for a research group here in Taiwan. The government is on this little "internationalization" kick, so I'm the "token foreigner" in the office. My main job responsibility is to sit here and "look white" ... occasionally I'll have to write an e-mail to someone overseas, but that doesn't happen very often. It's nice getting paid for doing nothing, but it's also boring. I used up forty minutes reading the latest chapter of "With Trust" (which I really liked by the way), and now I'm trying to waste some more time by blogging. I feel crappy that I didn't really accomplish much over the weekend or on Monday, so this week I'm going to set goals for myself, and I'll post back on Friday or so whether or not I accomplished them. I want to send at least two more boxes back home (even though I really don't want to deal with the imbeciles at the post office again). I also want to pitch some more junk, maybe a bag-full of stuff, and get rid of an old book shelf I don't need anymore and probably won't be able to sell. I also need to take Shadow back to the vet on Wednesday to get another shot for his skin thing and a refill on his ointment. At least he doesn't fidget now when I put the ointment on him. I also need to take my thesis to the printer and get it copied and bound. If I can get all of those things done this week, and manage to get some writing in as well, I'll feel better. I work better under pressure, though, and since I still have plenty of time to get my stuff together for moving, I don't really have the impetus to do it, so instead, I just sleep, stare at the computer screen, sleep some more, and maybe watch a little CNN. Exciting life, huh? ::sigh:: I've also been spending too much money lately ... money that I'd rather be using as the down payment on my new car when I get back. I'll still have plenty, but I'd like to have more, just in case my parents drive me nuts before I manage to get a job and I have to get out of there and get my own place. And I've had all kinds of expenses and stuff the past couple weeks ... like shipping those damn boxes which turned out to be much more expensive than I thought, plus rent, maintenance fee that we have to pay every month, electricity bill, vet costs, etc. Oh well ... can't be avoided. At least I can pick up the next installment of my scholarship on the 5th of next month, and I'll get paid from my job then, too. Anywho, I think I'll go beat my head against a wall now for lack of anything better to do for the next hour and forty-five minutes or so ... :wacko:

I really don't know what to say ... and I'm sure no words could possibly assuage the grief that Chaz and Green's family are feeling right now. All I know how to say is that my thoughts and prayers continue to be with all of you, and hope that whatever kind of after-life Green believed in, he is there right now and happy.