Bikini, New Project, Earphones…Oh My!

Confidence is the weirdest thing ever. When I was in my early twenties, I was a size 4 but could never wear a bikini because I was too embarrassed at how “huge” I looked. (Because I was not a size 2…I know, I know…misguided youth!) I'm bigger now, but got myself a bikini anyway in a color I like. Figured life is too short to worry about a little bulge here and there so long as my bloodwork looks good (and it does; the doc joked that maybe I should eat more junk food or something). Besides, if anyone mocks the way I look in my new bikini, I can always feature him/her as a villain and/or a weasel in one of my stories.

Interestingly, not giving a damn about what other people think gives me more confidence and a sense of liberation. I'm not sure why I wasted so much of my youth worrying about fitting in. Guess it was just part of the growing up process.

On the writing front, I started the first draft of my new WIP. Much to May's surprise, I'm pantsing this draft. I've never really pantsed. Everything I've written had a clear outline, but I figured why not? Maybe I'll do better this way. I'll never know unless I try.

Oh BTW — Amazon is selling Altec Lansing UHP336 earphones for less than $40 which I think is a great price. I love the clarity and the beautiful sound. I can hear everything, every little base note, the cellos, etc. (I'm a very aural person, and I love listening to music when I write, etc.) The only bad thing is that it highlighted how inadequate iPods are for playing music. The earphone is very sensitive so it picks up every hiss, etc. from your audio unit (should you have a crappy one), and iPods produce the worst static and hiss. (Naturally, you won't notice anything if you use the meh “earbuds” that come with your iPods.) What a disappointment. iPod Touch was the worst even if the wifi off. So if I want to listen to music on it, I'm stuck with earbuds.

P.S. I googled the problem, thinking that maybe it was just my earphones, but actually a lot of audiophiles have noticed the same issue. *sigh*