Jeremy had to walk me through an actual, teary-eyed breakdown in the driver’s seat of my car the morning he told me she was broken. Once I finally backed out of the driveway, I called him twice during my 7 and ½ minute commute to work so he could reassure me, for the umpteenth time, that he would get it handled as fast as he possibly could and get her back home where she belonged.
I missed her. Quite a lot, actually, and I spent the first few days she was gone in mourning. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Me, rolled up in a ball on the couch, under the blankets, violently weeping while crying out, “I miss you, Jessica!”
Alright, so maybe it wasn’t that bad, but I was pretty shaken up about the whole thing. I like my computer. I like writing at my computer. I bought a new notebook and some new pens, tried downloading a writing app to my Nook, installed a mobile blog app. None of those were working for me.
I like writing at my computer. And my computer was in Texas.
Short of going over to Best Buy and getting a new one, which, after only three days of deliberation I decided was a bad idea, there was really nothing I could do but wait for her to come home. It seemed like a pretty sucky place to be. (Yes, Sucky is a word. Trust me, I’m a writer) It might seem a little dramatic but, as a friend of mine empathetically pointed out, “The difference between having and not having one’s laptop is far greater than most people that have never had to bridge it would imagine.” I was totally bummed. But, as bummed as I was, waiting got boring. So, I did the next best thing I could think to do. I read a book.
Okay, fine, three books. In a row. A trilogy, if you will.
The Hunger Games
That’s right, Ladies and Gentlemen, I hopped on the train, landed in The Capitol, and, along with the rest of Panem, fell head over hills in love with The Girl on Fire. She had me at, “I Volunteer”, and I was hooked. I’ve been eating, sleeping and dreaming Katniss Everdeen ever since. I read the books, saw the movie, wore the T-shirt (No, really. Megan ordered us Hunger Games T-shirts to wear opening day) and have since read parts of the books again, as well as started a new book called, The girl who was on fire. It’s a collection of essays from other Young Adult authors about the trilogy. Have I mentioned I get a little crazy about these things? Have I mentioned that after my sister’s wedding in June, I plan on getting Mischief Managed tattooed on the back of my neck? Have I mentioned that Megan and I left our two and three month old babies at home in Fresno with family so we could drive to Salinas for the midnight premier of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse? No? Well, it’s true. And I’m not so much trying to decide whether or not to add a bow & arrow and a Mockingjay to my summer ink plans as I am trying to decide exactly where to put them.
I needed The Games. They came at the perfect time. I needed to go to District 12, into The Arena and come out at the end of Mockingjay. The Games not only filled in the empty void left by losing my keyboard for a few weeks, they reminded me why I love stories so much. They reminded me why I love characters so much. They gave me Katniss Everdeen. If you buy into the whole, everything happens for a reason idea, then know this: The lap top had to die, so Katniss and I could live.
Thanks to those of you who said you were anxiously awaiting a new post. I’m back, I promise, and you’ll probably find Katniss around here, too. We’re kind of a package deal now. Probably not so much Gale or Peeta, though. As Jennifer Lynn Barnes writes in The Girl Who Was on Fire:
“I’m not Team Gale or Team Peeta. I’m Team Katniss…the core story in the Hunger Games trilogy has less to do with who Katniss ends up with and more to do with who she is-because sometimes, in books and in life, it’s not about the romance. Sometimes, it’s about the girl.”
Happy Wednesday and May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor.
Great post, friend. I am glad you are writing. You have a way with words. I, too, have been to the capital and back, surviving waves of black gue and skin melting lights. Looking forward to what comes out of the crazy mind of yours.
ReplyDelete