Running into a Story

image credit: thebrandweavers.blogspot.com

What I love the most about New York City is the fact that one doesn't have to travel the world if he or she is in New York: the world travels around him or her instead. Tonight Joyce Carol Oates, the distinguished, award-winning American writer and the guest speaker at Hunter College, appeared on my horizon as a solemn moon evoking the thoughts of creativity and inspiration. She spoke to the audience about literary inspiration, beginning with authors like Katherine Mansfield and Hermann Melville, and also sharing some of her own, for example, she admitted that looking at a picture of Marilyn Monroe in her teens moved her to do some research and resulted in her novel, Blonde. The author also mentioned that to some writers, inspiration comes in a dream (which as she confessed, has never happened to her), or through the first line that pops up out of nowhere and might make no sense at first. We all have our own ways of running into a story, or even sometimes let the story run into us, in the most unexpected ways.

There are stories that begin with a character: a real person that fascinates us, or an imaginary one, sort of a sweater to be knitted, with no hole to be left somewhere in the middle. There are also plot-driven stories where the action is more important than those who take part in it; these can be compared to a beautiful mansion we admire when passing by without having a clue to whom it belongs. And finally, some stories are erupted out of a single line, and idea that yearns for development, a sound rebellion against an empty page, and at the same time, a forest trail that might lead to a beautiful lake, or to a wolf hungry for some fresh meat. We will never know until we start running along the trail, hoping for a happy ending, hopefully a publication, or at least, some recognition of our creativity.

When I walk around New York, I seldom pay attention to faces around me. Paying attention to faces is often punished: people immediately start a conversation, or ask for some change. But at the same time, as a writer, I always try to catch a glimpse of life, of human happiness and misery, and to reflect what I saw on the pages of word documents spread around the screen of my laptop like stars on the midnight sky. Last week one of the tiny stars appeared on The Rusty Nail magazine's web page, which makes me proud and happy: at least, now there is something besides my passport that bears my name.

"Is it about you?" a few people asked me.

The thing is, sometimes we run into a story on a hideous street corner, and it bumps into us like a rude stranger strolling right through, and it is really up to us how much truth we let it keep, and how much input our imagination will provide. Let the readers create their own myths. Admit to it or deny it - all that matters is whether your story outlives you, or vanishes like a bird song into thin air before you do. 

Why Buying Insurance for Your Smartphone Is a Must

Image credit: pcmag.com

During the five years I have been living in New York, I dealt with all major phone service providers except for Verizon, and from my own experience, I know that you always need to examine your bill for charges that should not be there, or go to the T-mobile store rather than to an authorized dealer like Ameritel. But the most important thing is to get insurance for your smartphone. Here is a story I wish someone told me before I got myself into all this hassle.

I became a T-mobile customer for the first time in April 2010. My boyfriend and I got a family plan for two years and received two Blackberry Bolds (both of them worked well for almost two years). In September 2011 my boyfriend decided to get the new Bold, with keyboard and touch screen, and he bought it from an authorized T-Mobile store for full price. Three months later he decided to get an iPhone and gave me his new Bold. I canceled his line and registered the new phone with my line. Our contract was to expire in 6-7 months, and I only paid half of the cancelation fee; however, to keep my line running, they made me renew my contract for another two years. I didn't understand why I had to do that, but I just got a new phone, and I was happy to stay with the company for another term, since I liked the service and I had never had any problems with T-mobile.

In March 2012, my Blackberry Bold did not turn on. I did not drop or put water on it, and it looked brand new. For some unknown reason, the software stopped working without a warning. I went to the T-mobile store, and since I didn't have insurance, they gave me a cold shoulder. They said the phone had been purchased for another line (both lines were in MY name anyway, so what's the difference), so basically, according to them, I didn't have the right to claim warranty on it. To make matters worse, I couldn't find the receipt to prove the purchase, and neither could the store where the purchase was made in September. The best suggestion of the store's clerk was to take advantage of my upcoming upgrade (meaning to buy a new smartphone and forget about the old one, for which my boyfriend and I paid over $600).

I was outraged by the treatment and the refusal to honor my warranty. I even called RIM, and I told them that the phone came out 6 months ago, and that there has to be some kind of a warranty for up to a year. I was told that they agreed with service providers like T-Mobile that the providers would be responsible for the warranty. The bottom line was, no matter what I did and whom I called, my problem was not solved.

As a result, I went to AT&T store and purchased an iPhone 4S (which cost me $200, compared to $300 for a Samsung Galaxy T-Mobile offered me WITH UPGRADE). When I called customer service to cancel my contract, they miraculously "found" my Blackberry Bold purchase and were willing to work with me (when I called or inquired in different stores, they claimed they didn't see the purchase in their computers as though it had never happened). This was after three days of me having no phone, calling the Customer Care, and going back and forth to various T-Mobile stores.

It was tempting to agree to their conditions and get a new Blackberry Bold, but at the same time, I felt nauseous thinking that I would have to deal with T-Mobile customer service again if something happens. With a sigh of sadness (money lost on Blackberry) and relief (no more T-Mobile), I said, "No, thanks," and went on to exploring my new iPhone.

And by the way, because I canceled my T-Mobile contract, I was hit with a $200 cancelation fee, which would not apply to me had they not prolonged my contract for two years at the time I canceled my boyfriend's line for a known-only-to-them reason.

As of now, I have been an iPhone user and an AT&T customer for over 6 months. Four months after I got the phone, the speakers stopped working. I did have Apple Care, and I contacted the company. Polite and helpful representatives attempted to solve my problem over the phone on Sunday evening, and when it didn't help, they made an appointment for me to visit a store for a possibility of repair or even phone replacement. The following day I went to the SoHo Apple Store, and my speakers were replaced within an hour. "You don't have to pay anything; it is covered by the warranty," I was told. I didn't have to go around with a poorly functioning phone longer than 24 hours, as I had to with T-Mobile.

So it all comes to this: if you know you're dealing with T-Mobile (for example, if their prices are more appealing than AT&T's), you need to get insurance. Otherwise, if something happens to your smartphone, you're in a sinking boat in the middle of the Atlantic. 

When a Loop Does Not Close

Image credit: screeninvasion.com

An exciting time travel tale, "Looper," directed by Rian Johnson ("Brick," "The Brothers Bloom") is a movie that, given its plot split in the middle, still manages to hold the viewers' attention till the end. Its complicated subject might leave you perplexed at times, but never bored, and even if you feel lost or annoyed towards the end, the final scene will make it up to you, and you will leave the movie theater convinced that "Looper" was indeed a film worth watching.

One of the first things you appreciate about the movie is that the science fiction terms and concepts are clearly explained to you right off the bat. You immediately learn that a looper is a hit man, whose job is to assassinate people thrown into his time from the future. Time travel is kept in secret, and once a looper has done his job for a certain amount of time, and if he is still alive, the administration might decide to "close his loop," that is to send the looper an older version of himself, which the looper must kill. After that, the looper gets a large sum of money and is free to go wherever he pleases. He has, however, only 30 years to live till the secret service picks him up and delivers him to the younger version of himself who, in turn, must kill him.

Quite an odd circle, as you see.

But what happens when your "loop," the older version of yourself, refuses to be killed and fights back? This is what Joe (Joseph Gordon Lewitt, "The Dark Knight Rises,""(500) Days of Summer,"), the protagonist of "Looper," is dealing with throughout the film.

The main concept of the film - time travel  - which had appeared in such movies as for instance, "Back to the Future," and "Hot Tub Time Machine," is already a well-developed topic. As it often happens, by means of traveling in time, a character is able to change his or someone else's future, and this is exactly what Joe's loop (Bruce Willis) is trying to do. Imagine how uncomfortable it is when your future is your own antagonist, who shows up out of the blue and does everything possible to change your present, and how much fun it is to watch.

Speaking of concept, it must be said that despite its science fiction nature, the movie is still believable. For the most part, you have no doubts that all of this could happen some time in the future. The only exception is when "the loop" knocks Joe down with nothing but a golden plate (and that's after not dying from a wound caused by a weapon that looks a shorter and fatter version of bazooka).

In terms of composition, the story develops in circles. The characters keep coming back to the same places, for example, a diner, or Joe's apartment. This structure is the illustration of the idea that since the future of the main character is predetermined, it will always be the same thing all over again, and that a radical twist, not just a modification is needed to break the circle. By the end of the movie, we realize it together with Joe, and therefore, the ending for us is cathartic rather than sad.

With all its sophistication and tragedy, the movie is also somewhat humorous, which is achieved through Kid Blue (Noah Segan, "All About Evil," "Undocumented"), a character who tries to do his job well, but instead, since he is a bad shooter and often comes up with the worst ideas, he causes more trouble every time he attempts to correct his past mistakes. The character makes us laugh at him and sympathize with him at the same time, and he is truly the most colorful image in this tangled and sinister story.

And finally, even though the plot of the movie is built around hit men, this film is not overly bloody. Most of the atrocities we need to know of are hinted at, and quite tastefully, so that we understand what is there, but don't see anything specific. Thus, the viewers who are especially sensitive to bloody scenes, can relax and enjoy the show.

To sum it all up, if you're still thinking whether to watch "Looper" or not to watch it, don't wait any longer. It is a well-done film that will leave you with a lot to think of and nothing to regret about.

NaNoWriMo: The Magic Spell of a Deadline

Thanks to NaNoWriMo
for the widget and the opportunity

Struggling with my writer's block, for over a year, I have been longing for a way to overcome it. Therefore, when I learned about NaNoWriMo, a voice in my head whispered, "This is your chance. You must do it." And here I am, on the day 7, in just the beginning of my journey with almost 7900 words written so far and plenty of ideas about how my plot will develop.

Due to the fact that I had been looking forward to the challenge since the middle of October, I was anxious to begin, and during the first day alone I wrote over 2400 words, which is probably the most I've written so far of one novel in a day. It's amazing how magical a deadline is for me. For those who have no clue what NaNoWriMo is, I have to explain that it stands for National Novel Writing Month, and the point of the challenge is to write a complete novel of 50 000 words or more in the month of November. The ones who manage to do it in a month or less will receive a certificate confirming that they have done it. It is really not a big deal. There is no reward, but for those who, like I, are stuck on page 27 of a novel constantly editing the same page over and over, the challenge is liberating. Whenever I have time, I sit down and write everything that comes to mind, and as I'm done for the day, the voice in my head whispers, "What you wrote sucks. You have to go back and edit it." But because I have a deadline, I tell the voice to shut up; otherwise I would never finish on time.

Surprisingly, the voice listens, and next time I start where I finished off, not in the least worried about whether the scenes are well-developed or not.

The truth is, if nothing is written, there is nothing to edit. It is especially true for those who are, like I, don't outline. You can't edit an unfinished story; you will worry about that when you have a manuscript - a completed one - in front of you. For now, just write. And as far as I'm concerned, I find this insane flow of inspiration in "just writing," and I feel like I'm finally breathing in life to the full capacity of my lungs.