Howdy! I've never done a 30 Day Blogging Challenge but with Camp Nano going on, I turned to other bloggers for topic inspiration. Lacking the patience, though probably not the time, to knock out a blog a day for a month, I'm gonna answer what appears to be a questionnaire today (which for me, is 03/31/22, though this will be posted in April).
Without further ado:
Blog Name: I went with JessLynnBabblin' because Google said JessLynnSays was taken.
5 Facts About Me:
Never have I ever eaten a salad.
At 8 years old, I was informed my last name had secretly always been Nacovsky, and I had to start going by that. I misheard the pronunciation and guessed the spelling. Most of my homework for 4th grade was signed "Nacopsky," until I realized the mistake.
When I lived in Maine, I caught snakes for fun.
To prove I wasn't drunk in college, I'd recite the alphabet backwards, which I'd memorized, having worked at a library and sorted books by last name for a few years, prior.
As of 03/31/22, I don't know how to drive.
Favorite Quote: “The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise." —Alden Nowlan
Dream Job: I'm a painter and a writer. Those are my dream jobs. While I went to school for graphic design, I'd tell folks I was there to design book covers one day. But that was merely a merging of my core interests, and the closest I saw to pursuing my passions while bringing in a livable income. Really, while I'd love to design book covers, that was me compromising away from the seeming impossibilities of living off my painting and writing. And to be fair, do painting or writing pay the bills? No. Not yet. Luckily my husband's income gives provides me with the freedom to follow my dreams.
Proudest Moment: I'm a lot like Dexter from Dexter's Lab, not the serial killer. Every time I finish a new painting, it is my greatest creation ever, unless I hate it. So yes, I could put something obvious here like, "I was the first person to graduate from college of my immediate blood relatives. Yay me!" but in truth, accepting my degree was the last step in a staircase of abiding by society's standards of good behavior, wherein I expected to be rewarded with a high paying job in my field, the eventuality of owning a home, etc. Instead, I'm happier owning less, creating, so I'm proudest after each new painting. I don't have the confidence in my novels that I do in my paintings. My newest work isn't necessarily my best, though I hope that will change with time and practice.
Fears: I'm afraid of spiders and driving. I don't like how spiders look or move, nor how often they have the high ground. I don't like the big orb weavers spinning webs at face height. As for driving, I'm afraid that an instant of being distracted, or of not reacting quickly, could result in loss of life. It's insane that we have based our society around multi-ton killing machines. Yeah, they're handy, but too many abuse what should be a privilege, and has become a necessity.
Favorite Songs:
Kin — Radical Face
The Gambler — Fun.
Little Round Mirrors — Harvey Danger
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. — Noah and The Whale
One Headlight — The Wallflowers
Bucket List:
Get at least one of my novels traditionally published
Have a solo gallery show
Visit Japan
Become fluent in a second language. I learned French for 7 years, got a 100% on the French Regents exam, and got an A in college French. Doesn't matter. After how every many goddamned lessons of Duolingo (all of them, at the time, but that was 2016ish) and all that, I'm still not there. I can read French alright, but I can't hear or speak it.
Learn to drive. This is less a want than a necessity.
Favorite Love Quote: “I loved you like a man loves a woman he never touches, only writes to, keeps little photographs of.”― Charles Bukowski
Trip of My Life: I backpacked through Europe in the summer of 2018. Barcelona and Budapest were my home bases, but I was able to tour some of Berlin, Andorra, Vienna, and Southern France. I love traveling. I try to make every new hometown fun, pretend I'm a tourist on the weekends, and hit the museums, festivals, shows, etc. My husband does not. I have to force him to experience life beyond our home and his desk at least one day a week, but he's adventurous when we're traveling. He saves his whole year, money and energy, to thrive while we're away. That vacation was two months of him being willing to go out and live so, even had it been in the states, it was gonna be great.
5 Favorite Foods:
Chicken parmesan
Cheeseburger with an egg. Hold the ketchup, mustard, veggies. Bonus points for McDonald's chicken nuggets to pop in there. Ideal sandwich. 10/10
Blood sausage, leaning more towards morcilla than black pudding.
Funnel cake / rosette cookies
Shepherd's pie
5 Countries I Want to Visit:
Japan
Morocco
Mexico (for Día De La Muertos)
The Netherlands
Nepal
Favorite Animals: Whale sharks, manatees, and pink fairy armadillos. Damn you leprosy!
3 Healthy Habits:
Daily Zumba (something new I'm doing, with the Switch game)
I take a daily Multivitamin, and work fiber powder, and collagen powder into my diet.
I seek reasons to take long walks. Rather than driving from site to site in a walkable city, I prefer ditching the car somewhere with free parking, and walking the town.
Where I'll be in 5 years: Hopefully Las Vegas. I love cities with things to do, preferably the unsleeping kind. We visited Vegas this year (2022) and there is so much more than just casinos there, which is good, because I'm not a gambler. Husband has crime and gambling addiction concerns (the locals were vocal about common issues and why folks should stop moving there, much like Austinites), but he made the mistake of saying I wanted to live there. To. Every. Single. Uber. Driver. Like he was being subtle in trying to convince me away. I called him on the attempt when we got back to Texas, and he was more frank about why he was opposed. So for now, no Vegas. That's marriage. In the meantime, I think our next move is to New Jersey for the proximity to NYC, a city way out of our budget to live, but would be close enough to visit. I'm sick of packing every 2 years so I'm ready to consider a permanent home base, a city worth buying in. There are many places we could hope to afford to purchase in right now, but if the housing market crashes, maybe we'll reach stability sooner. My plan, not necessarily his, is to live somewhere and confirm we like it for 2 years before we begging the buying process. Yu know. Assuming we find a city that's both fun and affordable. Tat answers the physical question. Career wise, where do I see myself in 5 years? I hope to be a published other, preferably traditionally, and I hope I'll be showing my art in multiple galleries, rather than a ingle regular site.
Education Thoughts: The government should exist to protect the people, both from invading forces, and from ourselves. Inalienable rights should include not just "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," but the rights to a basic living standard. At a minimum, all US Americas, and ideally all people, should be provided with a baseline clean drinkable water, food, shelter, health care (including vision, dental, dermatological, and mental) and an education. When Anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked what she signs she looks for when determining if she was studying a civilization, she answered with a healed femur. A person would struggle to survive with a broken femur. The more rudimentary their tools, their healthcare, the more they'd be forced to rely on their peers to provide them with the essentials to survive while mostly immobile. Our nation only qualifies as such when we cooperate, when we take care of each other. The better educated our youths, our future, and even we, ourselves are, not just the better for us, but for our entire community. With education comes progress, in terms of technology, including that of medicine, but also economically. A good education can provide the tools for upward mobility, socially, because it's human nature not to want to live at the baseline.
Favorite Blogs:
Writing About Writing, by Chris Brecheen : Chris writes about writing, and the blog has existed for so long, he's touched on everything from the practical, from terminology, to grammar, to publishing etc, to the fun, and only tertiarily related to the blog topic.
Writers Beware, by Victoria Strauss :Victoria receieves regular emails from writing professionals who've been scammed by schmagents, mismanaged small presses, etc. She shares the most common or worst offenders, as well as current phishing trends, etc.
Photo of Me: This will be at the end. Posting it here restarts the numbered list. Butts.
Favorite Movie: Cloud Atlas
What Makes Me Happy: I like creating, finishing and sharing what I've made. I like traveling to new places, experiencing new things that don't drag me too far from my comfort zone. I like having craft dates, or any dates, with my husband, making my dogs happy, and long talks with good friends. I miss all my friends.
What Makes Me Sad: When I graduated from college, I didn't realize that without conscious effort, I'd lose the majority of my friends. I didn't know how important proximity was to our connection, still, even after four years of shared experiences, and pouring our hearts out to each other. While I still talk to some of my dear friends, with every passing year, the conversations become less frequent, and more superficial. I'm lonely and don't know how to make friends. In college, my first time really having a friend group, an extrovert adopted me and her friends got used to having me around. Now I'm in my 30s with no real plans to go back to school ad I work from home. I made a couple of good friends in Austin but there goes that proximity again. I just wish anyone had warned me that if I didn't hold on, everyone would go.
My Worst Habits:
I mostly live off junk food without my husband's active intervention.
I sing loudly and annoyingly when I paint.
I chew my nails. Have since before I can remember.
If there is no due date, I am the queen of procrastination.
If I Won The Lottery: I'm a millennial. I'd pay my student loans. Duh! More seriously, I'd find a means to pay off the debts of my relatives without their knowing I'd come into wealth. Nothing personal, just it would alter the power dynamic. My husband and I would more seriously research where we want to live next, and assuming we liked it, we'd buy a house there. I'd open a small gallery to showcase and sell my art. I'd have my writing professionally developmentally edited, then line edited, and formatted. I'd probably self publish. My husband would be able to roast coffee again. We would travel more.
What Attracts Me, Romantically: What drew me to my husband was that he always had a book in his back pocket. I like smart, funny, men and women. I am attracted to people who know more than me and are passionate about their interests. I like confidence and kindness, a willingness to consider that the person being an asshole is just having a shitty day. Most issues don't break down into black and white, right and wrong views, and people who over simplify, vilifying those not of like mind, aren't for me.
Biggest Regret: I wish I'd told my legal guardians I wanted to learn to drive in high school, that I'd checked the mail for those driver's ed fliers. I wish I'd offered to pay to learn then, so I wouldn't be stuck learning now, in my 30s. There are jobs I didn't apply for, places I wouldn't consider living, galleries I didn't submit to, outings I couldn't make, because I don't know how to drive. Opportunities lost, all on me.
My Hidden Talent: If I rub my teeth with the flat front of my fingers they squeak pretty loudly.
What's In My Closet: A lot of novelty purses, parts of Halloween costumes, my jewelry mini-closet, a stack of blank canvases, my college portfolio & oversized sketchbooks, and my casual wardrobe, which is equal parts bo-ho, modern, and pop-culture-y. The other closet has my dresses which trend more modern than boho, my husband's work shirts, a box of Christmas supplies, a broken mug he won't let me replace, and some of his Warhammer tins. My clothes are hung in rainbow order, going by color.
Most Embarrassing Moment: The person who made this list probably doesn't have social anxiety. I could fill an entire books with past cringe. Let's see though, one specific memory that keeps me awake at night? Fine. My high school art teacher complimented a younger student to me, a senor. He said she reminded him of me, and that her art was exceptional,. Rather than being pleased having a younger artist compared to me as a compliment, I was irritated that I had been categorized, that she and I were not separate individual who simply were good at art. I didn't lie that me and some stranger were boxed together as similar and worded my thoughts poorly. My irritation wasn't subtle. Afterwards, my table was quiet and not the good kind. Finally my friend told me I'd been out of line. She whispered that, which I hadn't, when chatting with our teacher. Louder than her, so he'd hear, I said I'm sure he understood what I meant, that I wasn't someone to be compared to, and left it at that. I was awkward and a little mean when my teacher was being nice to me. In that moment I was more unlikeable than my baseline.
A Confession: The more negative entries here are confessions, but sure. I'll bite. When I was 8 years old, my stepmom had cancer. A local temple received word that my family was in need and began sending sitters our way. One such babysitter was Pat. She was nice. A middle aged woman with short hair, I think. She volunteered at a soup kitchen, so, we rode the bus, and volunteered right alongside her. When cleaning the tables, I swiped the water from the table onto the floor. Rather than cleaning, perhaps drying the floor, I moved onto the next table. Pat was walking by and slipped in the puddle I left. She really hurt her knee and needed surgeries. I don't think she watched us much after that. I didn't tell her what I'd done, and didn't tell my folks either. I've commented this on reddit, and my husband knows. I hope Pat's alive and doing well.
My Hopes for My Blog: I just hope I don't run out of topics to blog about. Originally, I figured I'd write about writing and painting, but found I didn't have a ton to say about either. Then I wrote about traveling, but we only go abroad maybe once a year. I touched on crime and while I could feasibly focus on that every week, and I'd be raising awareness of mysteries that need solving, those posts took forever to research and write. Maybe I'll pick one subject and run with it, but probably not.
I hope you found any of that interesting! Thanks for stopping by! I put out a new blog post every Monday. Toodles!