You can never have too many LJ friends in your life, especially when it’s someone like Sharon Maas. Look at that smile…doesn’t she look lovely? After talking with her, you’ll know her beauty’s not just skin-deep.

A very brief bio: Sharon was born in Guyana, lived in India and England, and now lives in Germany. She’s the author of three novels published by HarperCollins and has another one in the works. AND, she’s my new agency mate! (We’re both represented by Emily Saladino of Writers House.)

Please stop by and say hello to her and welcome her to our LJ community. Add her to your friends list while you’re at it; I’m sure she’ll happily add you back! Her user name is kibileri

I spent a lot of time in the South as a little girl. Even now, I find myself reverting to the Steel Magnolia sensibilities I learned on the front porch while shucking corn, snapping beans, and singing hymns. But what I didn’t know until this very day is that Southerners have their own astrological signs! Or so I’ve been told by the friend in Alabama who sent me these Southern Signs. 

I’m a Butter Bean, all y’all! How about you, your mama ‘n’ ’em?

OKRA (Dec 22 – Jan 20) Are tough on the outside but tender on the inside. Okras have tremendous influence. An older Okra canlook back over his life and see the seeds of his influence everywhere. You can do something good each day if you try.

CHITLIN (Jan 21 – Feb 19) Chitlins come from humble backgrounds. A Chitlin, however, will make something of himself if he ismotivated and has lots of seasoning. In dealing with Chitlins, be careful they may surprise you. They  can erupt like Vesuvius. Chitlins are best with Catfish and Okra.

BOLL WEEVIL (Feb 20 – March 20) You have an overwhelming curiosity. You’re unsatisfied with the surface of things, and you feel the need to bore deep into the interior of everything. Needless to say, you are very intense and driven as if you had some inner hunger. You love to stay busy and tend to work too much. Nobody in their right mind is going to marry you, so don’t worry about it.

MOON PIE (March 21 – April 20) You’re the type that spends a lot of time on the front porch. A cinch to recognize the physical appearance of Moon Pies.  Big and round are the key words here. You should marry anybody who you can get remotely interested in the idea. It’s not going tobe easy. You always have  a big smile and are happy. This might be the year to think about aerobics.  Maybe not: you think you know it all.

POSSUM (April 21 – May 21) When confronted with life’s difficulties, possums have a marked tendency to withdraw and develop a don’t-bother- me-about- it  attitude. Sometimes you become so withdrawn, people actually think you’re dead. This strategy is probably not psychologically healthy but seems to work for you. You are a rare breed. Most folks love to watch you work and play. You  are a night person and mind your own business.

CRAWFISH (May 22 – June 21) Crawfish is a water sign. If you work in an office, you’re hanging around the water cooler. Crawfish prefer the beach to the  mountains, the pool to the golf course, and the bathtub to the living room. You tend not to be particularly attractive physically, but you have very,  very good heads.

COLLARDS (June 22 – July 23) Collards have a genius for communication. They love to get in the melting pot of life and share their essence with the essence of those around them. Collards make good social workers, psychologists, and baseball managers. As far as your personal lifegoes, if you are Collards,  stay away from Crawfish. It just won’t work. Save yourself a lot of heartache.

CATFISH (July 24 – Aug. 23) Catfish are traditionalists in matters of the  heart, although one’s whiskers may cause problems for loved ones. You Catfish are never easy people to understand. You run fast. You work and play hard.  Even though you prefer the muddy bottoms to the clear surface of life, you are liked by most. Above all else, Catfish should stay away from Moon Pies.

GRITS (Aug 24 – Sept 23) Your highest aim is to be with others like yourself. You like to huddle together with a big crowd of other Grits. You love to travel though, so maybe you should think about joining a club. Where do you  like to go? Anywhere they have cheese, gravy, bacon, butter, or eggs and a good time. If you can go somewhere where they have all these things, that serves  you well. You are pure in heart.

BOILED PEANUTS (Sept 24 – Oct 23) You have a passionate desire to help your fellow man. Unfortunately, those who know you best, your friends and loved ones, may find that your personality is much too salty, and their criticism will affect you deeply because you are really much softer than you appear. You should go right ahead and marry anybody you want to because in a certain way, yours is a charmed life. On the road of life, you can be sure that people will always pull over and stop for you.

BUTTER BEAN (Oct 24 – Nov 22) Always invite a Butter Bean to a party because Butter Beans get along well with everybody. You, as a Butter Bean, should be proud. You’ve grown on the vine of life, and you feel at home no matter what the setting. You can sit next to anybody.However, you, too, shouldn’t have anything to do with Moon Pies.

ARMADILLO (Nov. 23 – Dec. 21) You have a tendency to develop a tough exterior, but you are actually quite gentle and kind inside. A good evening for you? Old friends, a fire, some roots, fruit, worms, and insects. You are a throwback. You’re not concerned with today’s fashions and trends. You’re not concerned with anything about today. You’re almost prehistoric in your interests and behavior patterns. You probably want to marry another Armadillo, but a Possum is another somewhat kinky mating possibility.

I sent an email (okay, a diatribe) to a good friend yesterday — not directed at her but about something that matters a great deal to both of us. Initially, I wasn’t quite sure how to read this part of her response: “Wow – you have a lot of gingersnap in you!”  Should I take that as a compliment, I wondered? Short answer: yes! Everyone knows girls are made of sugar and spice — but not in equal measures, day to day. Sometimes life’s recipe calls for a pinch of sugar; sometimes it requires heaping handfuls. Same thing with spice. 

Tangentially related matter: Apparently, President Bush doesn’t do email.  
“I tend not to email or — not only tend not to email, I don’t email, because of the different record requests that can happen to a president. I don’t want to receive emails because, you know, there’s no telling what somebody’s email may — it would show up as, you know, a part of some kind of a story, and I wouldn’t be able to say, `Well, I didn’t read the email.’ `But I sent it to your address, how can you say you didn’t?’ So, in other words, I’m very cautious about emailing.”

However, it seems Bush is a tad more comfortable with Googling: 
“One of the things I’ve used on the Google is to pull up maps. It’s very interesting to see that. I forgot the name of the program, but you get the satellite and you can — like, I kind of like to look at the ranch on Google, reminds me of where I want to be sometimes. Yeah, I do it some.” 

Someone recently sent me an email, challenging me to Google the word ‘failure‘. Click on the link if you’re one who likes gingersnaps.

My view is much different from this mountain top. I’m seeing endless horizons and breathing clean air. Yes, I still have more revisions to write, but today, they seem far less daunting — especially now that I’ve dropped my heavy load of self-doubt. 

I’ve picked up a few sherpas along the way, who’ve helped lighten my load even further.

First, a fun diversion: my daily horoscope: “If you’re super-organized, you can pull off something exciting. You win because you show up on time with all the right tools.” I’m a skeptic about astrology, but even in a seemingly random universe, the message sometimes hits its mark. 

Also this morning, a note back from my agent about the revisions I sent Sunday. She told me she loves what I’ve done so far, that I’m on the right track. (That’s my left brain speaking; my right brain’s off dancing around the room.)

And last night, I got lots of great responses to my name-calling question. If you’d like to join that expedition, leave your ideas here.

My new goal is to complete my revisions so the proposal can go out on submission to editors by November 12, my birthday. If Emily agrees that’s do-able, I know what I’ll be wishing when I blow out the candles on my cake! So I guess it’s time for me to strap on my climbing boots and go out on another hike.

Today, I climbed Mount Everest and planted my flag at the peak.

No, I didn’t take an actual expedition to Tibet; instead, I conquered the fears that were holding me back with my writing. 

You might remember that Emily, my agent, offered me some wonderful suggestions for revision, for which I was (am!) very grateful. Nothing major, mind you, just a few tweaks and adjustments here and there, to make certain pieces pop and to help smooth over some rough edges. After they’re finished, she told me, we’ll be ready to submit my manuscript.

Maybe you’re one of those people who can easily find and fix mistakes, somebody who doesn’t struggle with revisions. Not this writer. I agonize over each addition or deletion. In short, time passes but I can’t seem to get to the finish line. So finally, I told Emily that I needed to break things down into smaller goals and deadlines, in order to be accountable to actually COMPLETING something. And tomorrow’s my first deadline. Only…I ran right past that finish line ribbon tonight! (Oops. New metaphor. Ah well, at least they’re both related to, um, exertion and accomplishment.)

Naturally, I got some help from my LJ friends. (Thank you, you know who you are.) But I also got (re)inspired by my favorite quotation by Goethe:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”

I’m looking forward to sending my revisions to Emily tomorrow morning. And for the first time in a while, I’m excited about continuing my writing expedition.

One of my sisters has multiple schlerosis and Michael J Fox has Parkinson’s Disease — two neurological diseases that could possibly be ameliorated or perhaps even eradicated by the results of stem cell research.

It’s impossible for me to watch this video without weeping.