My Roomies

I've been asked by at least 50 different people if I liked my roommates. The answer to that is yes.

But I've also been asked what they're like and the answer to that is a little less clear. Because imagine, if you will, eight very different people. Now put them in an apartment and see how they mesh. For us, it's working out pretty well... for others, not so much.

So I'm going to try to give you my best representation of them through imitation versions of them via pictures of popular characters and/or celebrities. Does that make sense? Well I'm doing it anyway. So without further ado, I give you my roomies. And without further, further ado, here we go.

Emily



I chose blonde Katy Perry to represent Emily because of three things: the spunk, the smile, and the style. Emily's got a very California Girl fashion sense. I love that she rocks dresses and multi-colored shorts. Emily's a cutie--- the pink typeface definitely fits her. Unfortunately, Emily moved out today, but she's always going to be an honorary member of our apartment's family. She's the always smiling, want to party?, let's have fun girl of our suite and she's sweet on top of all of that.

Gabe

Gabe is so much like Julian Smith, it's kind of surreal to me. I've loved Julian Smith for the longest, but now I get to live with his doppleganger. So I'm like, "Yay me!" Gabe is SUCH a character. First of all, he is the only guy I know who can sing every Disney song ever made (no joke. Every one. Ever.) and songs from musicals I can't even name. He's also an artist (although he refuses to admit it) and he's extremely friendly and social. Like Julian, he has a bit of a perfectionist's mentality (if he's going to do something, he's going to do it right), and like my brother in law, he's always trying to figure out the most efficient and/ or cost effective ways to do and get things. In short, Gabe is awesome. And he loves his blue hoodie, too.

Kaitlin

 

 Kaitlin is my roommie. She is Bridget Mendler adorable. I was going to say she was Taylor Swift adorable, but Kaitlin, like Bridget, has a very girl-next-door thing about her which made Bridget win out in the end. Kaitlin is tall and thin and played volleyball and can SING... And she's SUPER smart. And we love the same music (cough, cough, Backstreet Boys, cough). And she loves her friends back home. And she is just amazing. So because she's the blonde of the house (now that Emily is no longer with us), she gets gold as her color of recognition. She's golden, ya'll! GOL-DEN!

Gurshawn

 

 Gurshawn is a real wildcard. When I first met him, I thought he was going to be the most shy, quiet person in the whole entire world. No. And heck no. This guy can dance. This guy can talk. This guy is super sweet and knowledgable. He's travelled. He's from Canada. And when I first saw him, Dev was the first face that came to mind. I know Dev and Shawn are different ethnicities (and Shawn doesn't really LOOK like Dev in a total "oh they could be twins!" way), but there are similarities in the personalities and the way they carry themselves. I admit, Shawn's a little more shy in the way he stands and sits (like he's more reserved, you know?) but do you see that girl on Dev's arm? Yeah. I'm betting anything Gurshawn's going to have a girl like that one day. He's a mack-daddy, yo! (I'm sure I spelled that wrong. A good sign it's time to move on.)

Due

 

Due is the shortest one of the bunch. She's small, Asian, and thin, and I didn't really know any characters that actually fit her personality. But then I thought of Barbara from Suite Life of Zach and Cody (Sophie Oda. Woot!) and Barbara is kind of like Due. Kind of. Due is quiet until you get to know her. And then she's really fun and funny. She's got a great sense of humor, she can cook (from what I know), and she likes to be active in the sense that she'd rather be outside than sitting around the apartment doing nothing. I don't know too much about her, but she's really cool. And her boyfriend brought me Oreos when I was having an extreme cookie craving. So she's the coolest as far as I'm concerned. The. Coolest.

Robbie

 

Robbie (short for Robert) reminds me of Cho from the Mentalist. Not only does he have Tim Kang's serious face down pact, but he also has the arm cross down, too! Robbie looks serious sometimes, but he loves to smile and laugh--- he just needs an excuse to do it. He's always around the apartment (kind of like me). And he's our go-to guy if anything breaks, doesn't work, or if we need things to be done.

Carlos

 

Okay so Adria Grenier isn't my first choice for a Carlos look-alike, but do you see the hair? Now imagine it a little past shoulder-length and a whole lot curlier. THAT is what Carlos (a.k.a. Shaggy) looks like hair-wise. Carlos is the one who comes to get us girls from our late classes. Carlos is the one who takes out the trash. Carlos is the one who is going downtown with me tomorrow to get provisions for our apartment. So basically, Carlos is the man.

Vanessa

 

Again, this wasn't my first choice. But I ended up picking V Hudgens to represent V because she has presence, power, and a certain thing that makes her unique and kind of uncomparable. My Vanessa is strong, she's funny, she loves to laugh, she can cook, and she's very independent. I don't think anyone could be her, and I really love that about her character.

Anna, Revisited

A lot of times, I take myself for granted. I forget that I need to exercise to stay fit, eat to stay well, sleep to stay awake the next morning, and enjoy life to keep my perspective whole. But I mean, sometimes I really take my mind for granted. I get so bogged down by what I "can't" do, I forget there's a lot of stuff I can do while I'm learning and growing and developing mentally. 

For example, I can write a darn good summary of events, but I often tell myself I "can't" come up with good dynamic plots. Today, though, I had to look at something I hadn't looked at in a while, and figure out how to make the plot more dynamic. So what did I do? I wrote a (fictional, but darn good) summary. And now I know where I'm going with this new version of this manuscript.

I've often told myself I'm not good at starting over. That I'm not good at editing for diddles or for squat. But I know that I can finish a project. I know that I can get from point A to inciting incident B to plot twist C to climax D to resolution E no problem. So although this manuscript needs to be done from scratch, it's building off of its predecessor, because no duh, Sherlock! If we finished it once, we can finish it again!

So dear project that's currently untitled but has to do with Anna, I'm not going to take myself for granted. I know that I can finish you, make you better, make you presentable. I've had faith in you since grade four when we first met, and I have faith in you, now, two weeks before I leave for college to start my so-called life. I love you, Annabee... And I'm not taking myself for granted this time, because we need to get 'er done.

And for those of you who want to get to know my MC, stop back by on Saturday where I'll be taking a pic of my screen for you. It's a first person narrative so I'm sure you'll get a sense of her no matter where I snap the pic. BUT! If you just can't wait 'til then, here's a lyrics video of the song "My Mirror Speaks" by Death Cab for Cutie. I think Anna feels like this about herself a lot through the story, so if you can relate to the song, you've already got something in common with the girl I'm about to spend the next two weeks of my life with uncensored.

Until we meet again!

<3
Deserae

You Never Forget your First...

Because yesterday was the first of the month, I wanted to share some of my own firsts with you. The list is short, but I feel that our firsts are more monumental than we make them out to be. Yes, I'm saying this is one of the VERY few things the human race takes way too lightly; the way we handle things, approach situations, make impressions, blah blah blah for the first time, is essentially pretty tell-tale about our character. And this, of course, got me thinking about my characters and my approach to writing and why I inadvertently have weaved in something that someone's never done into a major plot-point... it's because knowing that a character has never done something and/or seeing them do (that) something for the first time SHOWS us who that person is without telling us who they are. It's a cool thing, so I'm going to share a little with you today.

My First...
...kiss has never happened.
...blog follower is Elena Solodow who is also on Twitter and who I've come to find is a really cool person. I am very glad the blogosphere has people who are very into writing just as I am.
...story was about a girl who's cool best friend stole her crush.
...dance was the last dance I've been to. That was during the beginning of my sophomore year; I am now a senior.
...day of freshman year in high school was intimidating until I walked into my first class and saw this boy I vaguely knew from middle school. He and I became the best of friends and were inseperable until just recently. That first day was also a little uncomfortable because I was wearing a skirt and knee high socks (something I do VERY rarely) and a teacher called me out for the length of my skirt in front of everyone in the 300 Building. The worse part was I didn't even know him, but he must have known I was already self-conscious about that particular thing. Bleh.
...SAT Test went rather well, actually. I scored an 1800 the first go.
...serious crush was a boy in my fourth grade class who I knew liked me. I liked him back for three whole years, until he met Porche and I met Raven (who was a lot less cool than I thought he was).
...party (like party-party, not birthday party) was hosted by one of my younger sister's friends. The photo of me in the left side bar was taken there. She had a runway--- a runway!--- and I was invited to model. Very cool, very fun, and very unforgettable. There wasn't any alcohol or dirty dancing (you young kids... not all parties are about getting down with your bad self!)... it was just fun. I love having (controlled, adult-supervised, mature, G-rated) fun. Lol!
...memory may not really be mine (because my parents have burned this into my brain), but it's of my second birthday and Barney (yes THE Barney; purple dinosaurs do exist in nature if you know exactly where to find them and how much to pay them) was a guest. He was marching around our pool and all of us young ones were following him, but he lost balance and fell into the pool. I tried to fish him out and asked, "Barney! Are you alright?" From there, my memories begin.

Yes, Loves, our firsts are important. I bet, with all of this information, you can form a pretty interesting opinion of me. You're supposed to, though; you're supposed to see something about me in all of these instances. If you want to let me know who you think I am from this, or if you'd like to respond with some of your own firsts, drop them in the comments! I'd love to hear from you all. Anywho, I hope this got you thinking about who you are and who you'd like your characters to be. Thinking is always a good note to end on.

'Til later,
Deserae McG

P.S. Thanks to Elena, I am no longer talking to invisible persons. If you like what I have to say, I know you'll love her blog. The links are above; clickity click. And a special thanks goes out to her for thinking my ramblings were worth the follow. Smiles and love are virtually raining down on you; thanks for your support.