--IT GETS REALLY LONELY, YOU KNOW?

…In a few minutes, I’m jumping in my car, heading to Sea-Tac, and then to Minneapolis for a rowdy writer’s conference.

I think I’m nervous, but I’m not sure.  I know I’ll be more anxious once I arrive.

10,000 writers is a lot of writers.  I always wonder why there aren’t more readers in the world if there is such a plethora of MFA programs.

I’m going to take good notes and make better use of my time this go round.  It’s easy to miss a lot and waste hours.

Wish me luck…

…I hope the rest of your week is filled with wonderful happenings.  In the meantime, here are some things to ponder:

“Different is good.  So don’t fit in.  Don’t sit still.  Don’t every try to be less than what you are.” Angelina Jolie

“No matter what we do, no matter how hard we work to raise our children, we mess them up.  The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Sissy Spacek

“We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind with a tender heart.”  Martin Luther King, Jr.

“A lot of girls growing up in India do not realize the beauty of their beautiful tan skin tone. Skin lightening products are a big seller in the Indian cosmetics industry. On one of my trips to Los Angeles someone walked up to me and said "You have the most beautiful caramel-chocolate skin." In LA, everyone is sunbathing or going to tanning shops; I wish the 1.2 billion people in India could have a little peek onto this culture and appreciate what they have. “

-Freida Pinto, Indian star of Slumdog Millionaire

“It takes a lot of bravery to look around you and see the world not as it is but as it should be.  A world where the quarterback becomes best friends with the gay kid and the girl with the big nose ends up on Broadway.” Sue Sylvester, “Glee”

“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” Pablo Picasso

“Your children are your immortality.” John Walsh

“Your naked body should only belong to the one who falls in love with your naked soul.” Charlie Chaplin

“Wealth still failed to impress him; the purpose of money was to purchase one's freedom to pursue that which was useful and interesting.”  H. W. Brands, in his biography of Benjamin Franklin

“A woman is like a tea bag.  You can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real, too.  They live inside us, and sometimes they win.” Stephen King

“Real heroes are men who fall and fail and are flawed, but win out in the end because they've stayed true to their ideals and beliefs and commitments.”  Kevin Costner