Tom Cruise and Oblivion...

I saw the new Tom Cruise movie Oblivion this week. Let me just say first that I’m not a big science fiction girl. Never have been but it doesn’t mean that I don’t like science fiction. That being stated though I liked this movie. I’ll try to speak in generalities but understand that it I might leak a few spoilers. If you want to see this movie, continue reading at your own risk. J

To anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock since the 1980s Tom Cruise is a movie star. There is no doubt about it. He skyrocketed to fame with the film like Risky Business and has never seemed to look back. He’s done the big budget action films like Mission Impossible and Top Gun. I’ve never been into that Tom Cruise. I like the Tom who did Rain Man and Jerry Maguire.

Watching Oblivion though realized why I liked those other two movies. Tom Cruise is never better than when he plays a character that it a little too sure of himself. You know that guy who knows his role in life. The man who not only lives on the edge but flourishes on it right until the moment he falls over.

Then viewers get to see what Tom does best. He takes this character that you think that you know, the one you have already invested thirty to forty minutes and spins him around. He makes choices as an actor that allows the viewer to feel as if they are a part of  the journey to self discovery.

In Oblivion, we meet Jack Harper, a futuristic electronic repairman who is two weeks away from completing his mission. Jack is another one of these characters who seemingly has life by the tail. It’s not until he begins questioning this that he realized that his “rebuilt” life isn’t what it seems.

The movie is not without its flaws. The pacing is a bit off and there is not nearly enough screen time for Morgan Freeman (but really I always think that.) The plot weakened as it needed more humans and less drones. But if you want to see Cruise at his best I highly recommend seeing it.

"Overnight" Success: Writer vs. Author

When I tell people that I’m a published author most are impressed. The next thing out of their mouth is “What have you written?” I then watch as the excitement drains from their face when they realize that I’m not E.L James (thank goodness!). We often hear about the “overnight” successes. People that sell a million plus copies of the first book they ever write. What we forget is there are more authors like me out there than E.L. James.

            I use the word author instead of writer because anyone can be a writer. Being a writer is easy. Being an author is hard. A writer doesn’t have deadlines to meet and can write whenever the "Muse" hits them. An author forces said Muse, at times at imaginary gunpoint, to meet the daily word count because the manuscript is due by the end of the month. A writer can doesn’t have to explain to his/her family why spending days at a writing convention is not only fun but more important than sitting on the beach with a margarita in hand.

            Writing is a hobby. Being an author is a career. Most of the authors I know balance full time day jobs with full time writing careers. Authors must able to multitask. There are deadlines to meet, edits to do, conventions to visit, publishing houses to research, swag to order, blogs to write…not to mention the BEAST that is SOCIAL MEDIA. If you want to sell your books you have to sell yourself.The actual writing is usually done in chunks (i.e. lunch breaks, car pool lanes, sleepless nights and predawn sessions).  

            Why do it? I can’t answer for anyone but myself. I am an author because it’s my dream. I’m a writer because it’s who I am. For a while I get to be anyone I want, go places that I dream and live in a fantasy world that is often better than reality.

Panic and the Attacks it Brings

Anxiety and panic attacks are words that often get thrown around in society these days. Anxiety is defined in the Webster Dictionary as: painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill.

Panic attacks are defined as: an episode of intense fear or apprehension that is of sudden onset and may occur for no apparent reason or as a reaction to an identifiable triggering stimulus (as a stressful event); specifically : one that is accompanied by usually four or more bodily or cognitive symptoms (as heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, or feelings of unreality) and that typically peaks within 10 minutes of onset

You can have anxiety without the panic attacks but I doubt vice versa. I suffer from both. There is not a time in my life that I can honestly say that anxiety hasn’t been a part of. I must say though that anxiety didn’t rule or ruin my childhood. I am a worrier. I think that it’s in my DNA. My mother is a worrier, my dad, sisters…I guess it’s just what we do.

Panic attacks are a different beast entirely. My first attack happened when I was about twenty. I worked the night shift at a big time shipping company (those who live in and around Louisville know who I’m talking about). A friend introduced me to a guy who I was interested in and one night I arrived early to work in hopes of getting to talk to him. I sat in my car running the script over and over in my head. You know the script where I came off as this amazing, funny, flirty, smart, so beautiful he will never be able to live without me type of conversation.

The longer I sat there the more nervous I became. I couldn’t catch my breath. My heart felt as if it was going to beat right out of my chest and I felt lightheaded. I didn’t know what was wrong. Was I sick? Having a heart attack? Whatever it was I just closed my eyes and prayed that it went away. It lasted about ten minutes and then I was fine. Twenty year old me chalked it up to nerves and went inside. BTW I did see the guy that night and was a big hit. Did work out you ask? That is another post. J

Over the years there were other “spells” and I admit they reached an all time high after the death of my father in 2010. Thankfully I’ve met others who suffer from anxiety and/or panic attacks. Through their advice and guidance I’ve been able to educate myself. I’m not on any medication but neither would I be ashamed/resistant if my doctor felt those meds necessary. My words to others dealing with this are you are not weak, weird or any other derogatory name small minded people come up with. You are normal…whatever that means….