The TMI 'Fest — and an Anniversary!

The blog is turning 5! 

Back on June 1st, 2011, when the first post went up on Quiet Laughter, I had no clue what blogging was, or how the blogging world would shape my life. And me. It's been a magical discovery... And to celebrate I'm joining Debbie D. Doglady's bloghop, The TMI 'Fest. Originally started on Facebook (yep, I answered there, too), the TMI—Too Much Information—Questionnaire has now been brought over into the blogosphere. Join the fun—if you dare! Sign up, before July 13th, in the linky at Debbie's blog (or at the end of this post).

Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition (a blog hop)

Love... Even the word sounds like a sigh. But is it a sigh of contentment—or of regret? If you've found it, the world shines in colors vivid. If you've lost it, life fades into grays and shadows. There's nothing quite as intense as falling in love. Or as the feeling of loss when it ends.

This is a blog hop to celebrate love: lost, or found, or—both? Whether in short fiction, or a brief essay, or poetry, or even (especially for us Battle of the Bands participants) via a song, tell us a love story. Whether it's of loss or a happily-ever-after is up to you—as is the genre. Sci-fi, thriller, comedy, memoir—it's all good. "Love" is, after all, so much more than just "romance". On Monday February 1st, it's all about love, in all its forms. The only limit is your creativity.

The Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition blog hop was born as a collaboration with Arlee Bird, and we're thrilled to have enlisted fabulous help from co-hosts Denise Covey, Yolanda Renee, Elizabeth Seckman, and the Ninja Captain himself, Alex Cavanaugh.

Sign up to the Love Lost & Found extravaganza at the linky below. See you on Monday February 1st!

#MyWritingProcess -- You've Been Tagged!

The wonderful Shane Simmons has tagged me in the #MyWritingProcess hop... Which involves, as you might have so perceptively guessed, talking about this thing I do: write.

What am I working on?

The 2014: A Year In Stories project, of course. And I'm behind. I delivered the August installment a couple of weeks ago--the same installment that was due at the end of January. I'm still working on the September story, which was due at the end of February. October will be due exactly a week from today, and I haven't even started (obviously, since I haven't finished September--you see how this becomes a domino thing?).

I love this project. More on that during April, but for now let me just say it's an honor to be included.

I also have a novel in its thirty-something-th draft that needs--well, complete rewriting, I think. Should've done that last year, the rewriting, but instead--because I'm lazy--I thought I could just add and tweak and take out. I did; I cut it from 110K+ to 55K, then added another 50K (a different 50K).

Yeah. It's a mess. Which is why it needs complete rewriting. I mean from scratch. The weird thing is I'm kind of looking forward to that.

Writers. Strange, strange people.

#AZchat -- the First-Ever #atozchallenge Twitter Chat!

Exciting times, people. History is being made. The First-Ever #atozchallenge Twitter Chat goes live on Friday Feb. 28!

Tune in with hashtag #AZchat at 6 pm EST (issues with timezones? this tool will help) and join the A-to-Z fun. Ask questions, connect with other A-to-Z-ers, share tips & tricks (or your latest blog post), spread the love--and have a blast.

Record-breaking sign-ups are expected for the A-to-Z Challenge this year. Get in on the fun early, build your network, get help and help others. The A-to-Z isn't about April. It's about this: a sense of community that spans the blogosphere--and, as of this Friday, Twitter too.

This is an informal event, A-to-Z-ers getting together to talk shop--which we all love to do and are, in fact, already doing at the slightest chance. But, time permitting, some of the A-to-Z co-hosts will be joining, including Damyanti (@damyantig).

The chat will be hosted by the awesome ladies of #TeamDamyanti (which you should totally follow because they're not just wonderful co-minions, but outstanding people in their own right):

Anna Tan (@natzers), 

Csenge Zalka (@TarkabarkaHolgy)

Jemima Pett (@jemima_pett)

Viola Fury (@ViolaFury)

Samantha Redstreake Geary (@WriterlySamIAm), 

Vidya Sury (@vidyasury)

& myself (@Guilie73) 

Come make history with us. See you at the #AZchat!

P.S. -- never taken part in a Twitter chat? Here's everything you need to know.

A Hop Within A Hop: The A-Z Theme Reveal!

It's ongoing, and it's endless: the debate over whether To Theme or Not To Theme.

Every year, as soon as the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge linky list goes live--sometimes even before--the debate picks up where it left off. Should I, shouldn't I. Pros & cons. So-and-so did (or didn't) last year, and look how that turned out. I don't want to feel hedged in. I don't want to ramble all over the place.

To Theme or Not To Theme. But this year that's not the question, is it? No! Because you--lucky you, insanely genius you--came up with the perfect theme. Beyond awesome. Not just original but unique. Jaw-dropping in its wondrousness.

And you cannot wait to shout it out from the rooftops, can you?

It's that time of the year again...

Can you feel it? Excitement is making the blogosphere crackle. The A-to-Z April Blogging Challenge list opened last week. Are you in? Oh, I hope so. Because this year I'm a

minion!

with #TeamDamyanti!

Yes. I'm excited. I'm also very, very tired (not A2Z-related). But please come back in a few hours: a Great & Powerful secret will be revealed. No, seriously.

Top 20 Photos of 2013 -- #14

#14: At the West Friesland parade in Schagen (Holland), tradition is kept alive. I love this one because the little girl's excitement is so evident. (July 2013)

The search (words) for Quiet Laughter

Top 20 Photos of 2013 (late as usual)

Hey, I'm Latin. Sorry--that was racist and discriminatory, and pejorative, too, for good measure. You're absolutely right, not all Latins have the elastic sense of time I do. Sorry. I accept full and personal responsibility for my tardiness.

But, uh, better late than never. Right?

I joined The Kuantan Blog's Top 20 Photos bloghop, which means I'll be sharing the best 20 photos I took in 2013 over the first twenty days of January. The idea is to work up to the best photo for 2013 on January 20th, but I'm not sure how good I'll be about keeping the quality increments the other days--it's hard! And, of course, it's totally subjective.

Still, I hope you'll bear with me, and that you'll enjoy the show. Some of the photos are good (for me) in terms of composition or light or general photographical achievement; others because of what they represent, the moment they captured. I look forward to sharing these snippets of my year, and even more to your thoughts.

Without further ado, the first six of the Best Of 2013 Collection. Yes, six, because, like I said, I'm late.

#20: A globe at Amsterdam's Scheepvaartmuseum
(the National Maritime museum). I love how the back edges of
the glass case made a sort of frame for the globe, and how the
reflections (it was glass, not mirrors) play up.
(July 2013, Amsterdam)

Friendship in Curaçao: The Sad (Part IV)

This is the end of the series Friendship in Curaçao: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Sad.

If you've been following this Friendship Series, The Sad won't come as a surprise. The red line throughout these musings has been, after all, the temporary nature of an ex-pat's stint in Curaçao. Sooner for some, later for others, but inevitable for most: relocation.

Friendship in Curaçao: The Ugly (Part III)

This is Part III of the series Friendship in Curaçao: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Sad.

If ex-pat socialization is so damn limited, why not get some non-ex-pat friends? Join the local communities?

Ah, dushi grasshopper. Befriending Antilleans is easier said than done.

Friendship in Curaçao: The Bad (Part II)

This is Part II of the series Friendship in Curaçao: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Sad.

If you read The Good post, you might be thinking Curaçao is da place, at least for friendship (and if you happen to dislike 90-degree weather year-round).

But there's a flip side one doesn't discover until it's, well, too late.

Friendship in Curaçao: The Good (Part I)

This is the beginning of the series Friendship in Curaçao: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and The Sad.

Why would friendship be different in Curaçao? Friendship is friendship anywhere: trust, good times, a ready shoulder, a twisted mind to plot with, a silly sense of humor to render you helpless on a couch laughing like a five-year-old. No?

You're right. But the mechanics are a bit different here.

The Joys of Procrastination

We're leaving tomorrow for a visit to Holland. Have I packed? Have I even done laundry--or cleaned out the refrigerator, or checked I have enough deodorant / shampoo / face cleanser, or gotten a haircut, or any of the other gazillion things one's invariably swamped with before traveling?

No.

Instead, I'm writing this post. And sorting photos (don't you just looooove finding old pics?). I just came back from the beach with the six-pack.

The six-pack. Minus one.

The joys of procrastination.

Have you been Liebstering?

Cheryl Rennels at We Bless Your Heart nominated me for the Liebster Award at the beginning of April--thanks, Cheryl!--and I'm so sorry I couldn't get around to it until now. 

For the award, Cheryl has asked me to answer a few questions:

1.  Who or what is Liebster?

No clue where the name comes from. Sorta-educated guess? Liebchen in German is "sweetie" or "dear", so maybe the Lieb- in Liebster comes from that same root? The Sweet Person Award?

2.  How long have you been blogging?

Since June of 2011. Happy anniversary to meeeee... 

3.  Do you have animals?

That's kind of like asking the Smithsonian if they happen to have a book lying around.

I've been reblogged!

(Image taken from this website)

In June 2011, when I began my blogger equivalent of an eight-month baby attempting to spoon beet purée into its mouth--unsupervised--I had no clue what I was in for. Two years later I can say, mouth overflowing sincerity, that my expectations about blogging were waaaaaay off.
I never imagined I'd have followers--let alone 200! Yep, we broke the bicentenary barrier this month. You guys--yeah, all of you--you rock.

A big HURRAH for you!

A to Z: F is For Fun

So what does one do for fun in Curaçao?

Happy Hours!

I should probably clarify. You know how your neighborhood bar has "happy hour," with drinks two-for-one or something? And it usually happens like in the middle of the afternoon, or an otherwise slow time of the day? You walk in (by mistake, usually) and it's still pretty slow?

Happy hours in Curaçao are not like that.

Wet n' Wild. No, really. That's the name of the bar.

A to Z: E is for Ee-eh!

Two things will set you apart from regular (i.e. ignorant) foreigners in Curaçao: using Dushi,  which you learned about yesterday, and Ee-eh!

It sounds like this:

Ee-eh! That's a big-ass ship.

A to Z: D is for Dushi!

One of Curaçao's remarkable qualities is its inhabitants' flair for languages. Everyone speaks four--yes, four: Dutch, the official language; Papiamentu, the local language; Spanish, because of Venezuelan TV; and English, to communicate with the world. Some schools have the gall to teach German or French. Sometimes German and French.

It's almost too easy to integrate here.

But them locals do love their language, and the smile that lights up their faces when you, a foreigner, speaks even a mispronounced word in Papiamentu is well worth the effort.

That's why today Quiet Laughter offers you a Crash Course in Papiamentu!

A to Z: C is for Curaçao

Ah, finally: dushi Kòrsou. (More tomorrow on Dushi, for D day.)

The most popular question about Curaçao (besides where is it, which, if you read the A post, you're already among the elite 3%* of the world's population who can answer that) is about its name.