Sunday, September 22, 2013

Short Story Excerpt

I have had this story in my head for months after every single detail of what's below came to me in a dream. It was an extremely vivid dream, with such great detail, that I can no longer ignore it and let it go pinging around in my head. I MUST get these images down and out of my mind. THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS AND JUST MY FIRST ATTEMPT IN GETTING WHAT IS IN MY HEAD.....OUT.

 I had Michael Fassbender in my head as Mr. Skylar all along. So he's definitely my inspiration.



The Birthday Party at the Skylar Mansion
I wore the sexiest dress I could find.

It was black, short and skin tight.

When I drove up to the massive wrought iron gate, that seemed to stretch sky high, the usually desolate mansion was crowded with cars and the cacophony of jovial partygoers. Laughter, glasses clinging, banter.
As the valet took my car, a convertible Beetle I just purchased and felt ‘high on the hog’ with my purchase until I saw the rows upon rows of BMW, Mercedes Benz, Ferraris that abounded the parking lot where the friendly valet was driving my 2008 Volkswagen.

After I had a mild moment of self-pity, I snapped myself out of it, thought to myself I worked hard for that damn beetle-bug and noticed how the estate had been transformed from gray, dreary and drab to bright and full of fire and life.

I also saw, as I went through those massive oak double doors, that every single human being around me was of such exceptional beauty I felt like a muted weed in a sea of color.  Every woman oozed sex and every man was ogled at the curves and found clever ways to touch them during conversations that warranted to physical contact. The long and short of it…the women were dripping with sexuality.

As hard as I tried to make myself into a sexual beauty, I felt overshadowed by those creatures of passion. I definitely considered myself to be an attractive girl for just turning thirty. My recent life milestones had made me thrive with a recent spike of confidence, which gave me a sudden spike of confidence in my life, but seeing this flock of delicate seductresses, made me second guess what I was bringing to the table…and this party.

A servant wearing all black offered me a tray of champagne. Cristal, of course. I sipped and felt the bubbles tickle my nose. I guess if I got drunk enough, I wouldn’t feel so inadequate.

I thought as I chugged the tiny flute like a glass and placed it back on the tray while grabbing another. The music playing was classical jazz from the 30’s, which fit the theme of debauchery and glamour.
The inside of Skylar Manor had been transformed into a decedent, almost Gatsby-like affair. The swarms of people around me conversing with each other made me feel even more isolated.

So…I people-watched.

I walked slowly from room to room, observing the guests who were lucky enough to have been invited to such a soirée.

I wasn’t sure if an impeccable body was a pre-requisite to be here, but walking around I definitely got my eye-full.

As I did my rounds, walking into the next room, remarkably designed with lush, expensive furnishings, I noticed the women were starting to get more drunk and flirtatious with both their dates and other women party-guests.

Men whispered closely to women while the women caressed the men’s shirts and twisted their ties in their diamond soaked fingers.

For two hours, I continued to drink and to get more depressed at how this had panned out compared to my expectations. I expected Mr. Skylar to walk me around and show me off to his guests and business associates. From the recent events that had unfolded and the sexual tension I had been battling when in the same room as him, I had seen this night turning out differently in my head. Fucking expectations. They get you every time. It’s amazing how what we see in our heads in regards to upcoming events, so very seldom end up being close in comparison.

Where was the man of the night? The birthday boy. Where was Mr. Skylar?
I seemed to be the only one noticing that the host and guest of honor was M.I.A. The party-goers seemed oblivious to his absence as they danced and flirted.

I stopped into a hallway and checked myself in a mirror and re-applied my lip gloss in a huge mirror. I took about 5 seconds to notice the design of this mirror as it was framed with a large iron frame that made a very mosaic structure that puzzled me.
My hair and makeup had help up beautifully through the events of the evening. Thank God. I noticed commotion as people were moving outside toward the lake. The terrace outside was twinkling with lights and candles which made the lake mimic a Christmas tree the way it was lit up.

I hung back as I watched a drunken woman wearing a nude dress with a plunging neckline slur to her companion, “He’s supposed to be here any minute. Why the fuck does he always show up at the end of these things, I mean, it’s his fucking party, you’d think you’d want to enjoy it.”
My friends and I, had I any at this event, would deem this woman a “hot mess”.
I knew that all the beautiful and interesting people around, my presence was neither required nor desired by Mr. Skylar or anyone else.

I backed away and put my head down to sulk back to my car and sleep off this buzz.
Just then a hand grabbed mine from behind me, almost from the darkness, and there in front of me was Mr. Skylar in all his glory.

Sleek, elegant, handsome, and sexy. No surprise there. I’d been admiring and obsessing about him for the 6 weeks since I began working as his household coordinator. The surprise at this moment was that he had taken my hand and was holding it with both of his hands near his chest, looking square into my eyes. “I’m so glad you could make it tonight. I usually never even show up to these things, but I did a quick scan and saw you walking around, not mingling, and thought I’d made my presence known to my guests. Care to escort me around for a bit?”

“Sh..sure.” I sloshed out, half stunned. half buzzed.

I was so stunned; I let him walk me into the sea of people who were all chomping at the bit for a moment with Mr. Skylar, the man of the hour. I could hear the volume of the crowd amplify and get more excitable as Mr. Skylar made his presence known.

He walked around shaking hands, doing the regular meet and greet chit-chat. People’s eyes lit up when he was conversing with them. Not once did he let go of my hand and not once did he NOT introduce me. “This is Tristan, the newest addition to my team.” That introduction was a tad vague and made my head spin with the inner workings of that title. But the fact that he was holding my hand, occasionally squeezing or patting it against his thigh, made me squeal like a teenager on the inside.

After around thirty minutes, he led me back to the mansion, where we weaved through the crowd who were all attempting to stop him to wish him Happy Birthday. We made it through the myriad of now drunk party-goers, sweaty and sloppy from over indulgence, and he then led me through a small door to a set of stairs. ‘Do you want to get away from these people with me for a bit?”

I nodded and with my hand still held tight, he let me up a flight of marble steps into a grey hallway. I hadn’t been in the part of the mansion before as my duties had been mostly kept in the ‘mirror room’ as I call it as it’s completely draped with mirrors. Once we got to a set of double doors, he led me through. I couldn’t have been more exhilarated. This was Mr. Skylar’s bedroom.

There was a flat screen TV hung up on the wall. Probably the biggest I’d ever seen. His bed had the look of a wooden sleigh, mahogany wood. It was epic. Looked like something literally ‘fit for a king’.

“I have these parties but at the same time, I usually instantly regret having them because I just want everyone to leave. It’s all about networking so I go with it.”

“I enjoyed myself. I got a nice little buzz going.” I giggled. Trying to make light of the situation. Again that sexual tension, mixed with the tingly buzz I had, was making me wet and kind of embarrassed.
Mr. Skylar approached me, intense and passionate, and put one hand up to my ear and tugged my hair behind it. He stared into my eyes and then I saw him looking at my lips. My stomach dropped with the nerves that occur the few moments before that first kiss with someone you’ve been lusting for. It reminds me of the feeling of a weightless stomach during a roller-coaster ride. A helpless ping in your stomach that is exciting and adrenaline-raising.

His lips came to mine and at first I gave a sweet soft kiss, but my damn jittery stomach along with the feeling that this could be my one and only first impression of my kissing abilities, I grabbed Mr. Skylar’s hair in my hands, stood on my tip-toes and gave it all I had…in a kissing sense. I opened my mouth, touched my tongue with his, felt his wet lips sucking at mine. I always loved the sound of the breath of the person you’re kissing. It’s such an intimate sound. Then I found my hands moving up his chest, to his arms to his back, his hair. I don’t know what came over me. I think I couldn’t control what my hands were doing because they were acting on the signal of my brain, which was on passion-overload. I wanted this kiss to continue until it ended  in a post-fuck snuggle in his huge sleigh bed. I wanted this kiss to seamlessly transition into him being on top of me and me taking all of him in.  

...to be continued






Saturday, September 7, 2013

Get to Know Aisha

If you could have anyone's house from TV, whose house would it be?
-American Horror Story Season 1
-Hemlock Grove 
.
All time favorite book? 
-Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 

Last person/band you saw in concert?
Trailer Park Boys at Chicago Theatre

Celebrity you wished you looked like? 
Scarlett Johannson 

Celebrity you're most attracted to at the moment?
TOM HARDY, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Michael Fassbender, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

What is something people might be surprised to know about you?
I scare incredibly easy 

What is your biggest weakness?
Being criticized 

Biggest strength?
Humor

Weirdest thing you ever did at work?
-Wore a head scarf for a week and burned it in a trash can on the last day

Least favorite house hold task?
dishes 

First real life crush?
Boy from YMCA named Ian

First non real life crush?
Chris O'Donnell 

Were you named after anyone?
Steely Dan song, 'Aja' 

Favorite smell?
The smell of a man 

Favorite fragrance/spray/cologne?
Dolce & Gabbana Desire 

What book are you currently reading or what was the last one you read?
Reading 'Dark Places' by Gillian Flynn 
Last read 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn 

What would you do with a billion dollars?
Buy a gorgeous condo in Malibu and open a used book store near the beach 

Favorite actor?
Sean Penn, Robert Deniro, Gary Oldman, Daniel Day Lewis 

Actress?
Kiera Knightly, Juliette Lewis 

Top three favorite tv shows of all time?
Roseanne, 
Trailer Park Boys
True Blood

Favorite store?
Barnes & Noble

Someone gives you a 100 dollar Target gift card, what do you spend it on?
Books, iPhone accessories 

Worst injury?
Throat surgery from childhood 

Favorite writer?
Thomas Hardy, Bronte Sisters

If you could keep any animal as a pet, what would it be?
Lemur

Least favorite holiday?
I hate Christmas

You can be any Disney princess/prince/hero.
Princess: Aurora from Sleeping Beauty 
Prince: Arthur from Sword in the Stone 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Twin Peaks Obsession

I've seen the Twin Peaks series and the prequel film 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me' many times but I'm getting into it again.


In case you haven't heard of the series, it's a television murder mystery drama with a supernatural angle created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The Pilot aired on April 8, 1990 and it follows the time after the murder of the town's most popular girl, the Homecoming Queen, Laura Palmer. She was a tudor, volunteer, and one of the most 'seemingly' happy and together girls in Twin Peaks. It turns out Laura had a pretty messed up life with drugs, s&m, pornography, prostitution, incest and murder. The Twin Peaks TV series follows FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper as he tries to piece together Laura's murder. It's super twisted and the prequel film, 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me' (TPFFWM) follows the days leading UP to Laura's murder, from Laura's perpesctive. THAT is where the real gem is I think of the whole Twin Peaks phenom..is watching TPFWWM and understanding what the hell is happening. 

The TV series is on Netflix Watch Instantly. Both seasons. Right there at your disposal. This series DEFINITELY has tons of slow parts that almost make it hard to get through....BUT give at least the Pilot episode a chance.

The pilot episode was ranked #25 on TV Guide's 1997 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. TV Guide ranked the series at #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002. and, in 2007, it was listed as one of Time's "Best TV Shows of All-TIME". Twin Peaks placed #49 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list and #12 in their list of the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years"

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Literary Lunacy

In 2012 alone I have read:

Villette: Charlotte Bronte
Far from the Madding Crowd: Thomas Hardy
The Return of the Native: Thomas Hardy
Tess of the D'Urdervilles: Thomas Hardy
Desperate Remedies: Thomas Hardy
Jude the Obscure: Thomas Hardy
Anne of Green Gables: L.M. Montgomery
The Thirteenth Tale: Diane Setterfield
Fifity Shades Series: E.L. James
The Wind Through the Kehole: Stephen King
House of Leaves: Mark Z. Danielewski

and my latest literary endeavour...

Cloud Atlas: David Mitchell


This week I finished 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell. I can't say enough about this book. It consists of 6 stories that start in the 19th century Pacific Northwest seas and ends up in a post-apocalyptic Hawaiian tribal wasteland. The 6 stories have a 1-2-3-4-5 *6* 5-4-3-2-1 Sequence where the first 6 stories end mid-way through with the 6th story (Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After) becoming a full story median that locks the stories in place with correlations and deja vu similarities when they pick up the second time through.

The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing
Pacific Ocean, circa 1850. Adam Ewing

Letters from Zedelghem
Zedelgem, Belgium, 1931. Robert Frobisher

Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery
Buenas Yerbas, California, 1975. Luisa Rey

The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish
United Kingdom, early 21st century. Timothy Cavendish,

An Orison of Sonmi~451
Nea So Copros (Korea), dystopian near future. Sonmi~451

Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After
Hawaii, post-apocalyptic distant future. Zachry

This novel was definitely what I needed after a year long delve into 19th century british literature. David Mitchell's style is exacting and precise and every word kind of melts into your subconscious. The book as a whole has stayed with me this week.

The next David Mitchell book I plan to read is definitely Ghostwritten. But I currently have 'The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet' checked out from the library.


I got sidetracked with 'Shirley' by Charlotte Bronte, which I have become entranced with after 50 pages. I've missed Bronte's words and it's so refreshing to come back to her voice and familiar style.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

30 Things Every Woman Should Have And Should Know


By 30, you should have ...
1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come.
2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family.
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour.
4. A purse, a suitcase, and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying.
5. A youth you’re content to move beyond.
6. A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age.
7. The realization that you are actually going to have an old age -- and some money set aside to help fund it.
8. An email address, a voice mailbox, and a bank account -- all of which nobody has access to but you.
9. A résumé that is not even the slightest bit padded.
10. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry.
11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra.
12. Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it.
13. The belief that you deserve it.
14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine, and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship, and all those other facets of life that do get better.

By 30, you should know ...
1. How to fall in love without losing yourself.
2. How you feel about having kids.
3. How to quit a job, break up with a man, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.
4. When to try harder and when to walk away.
5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next.
6. The names of the secretary of state, your great-grandmothers, and the best tailor in town.
7. How to live alone, even if you don’t like to.
8. Where to go -- be it your best friend’s kitchen table or a yoga mat -- when your soul needs soothing.
9. That you can’t change the length of your legs, the width of your hips, or the nature of your parents.
10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over.
11. What you would and wouldn’t do for money or love.
12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs, or not flossing for very long.
13. Who you can trust, who you can’t, and why you shouldn’t take it personally.
14. Not to apologize for something that isn’t your fault.
15. Why they say life begins at 30

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Bella Jewelry

Today I received the Bella ring from Infinite Jewelry!


It's the ring Edward gives Bella when he proposes in 'Eclipse'.
Click here to watch Edward give Bella this ring in 'Eclipse"

"The face was long oval, set with slanting rows of glittering round stones. The band was gold- delicate and narrow. The gold made a fragile web around the diamonds."
p.458 ch. 20 Compromise. Eclipse.

If you are a Twilight series fan, and like Bella's jewelry, I would definitely go to http://www.infinitejewelryco.com/ or http://www.infinitejewelryco.com/product/bella-ring and check it out.


They also sell the bracelet that Jacob gives Bella. I'm Team Edward...sooo I'll pass on that.
Next on my list is Bella's Turquoise Bracelet.
My book buddy Crystal made me the Moonstone ring via Etsy and I LOVE it!