Helene Kwong

I’m currently taking a break from all my reading for my classes.

A few days before 2012 came to be, I constructed a list of things I want to focus my time on. And already, with school back in-session (full force!), I find myself neglecting my business plan, my writing, and my freelance work.

I’m working on a statistical analysis for ELI ; now, to find the time to get all the numbers crunched. Am so glad I have my stats professor guiding me along on this.

the3six5denver is going well so far, but I feel like I am pulling teeth to get more writers out of the woodwork. This week has been slow for the project…need more writers, need another editor.

I met with a NaNoWrimo friend last night for a quick dinner before my classes 6-10pm. I continue to tell myself, every year since NaNoWriMo 2007, that I will “revise that novel and get it ready to send out.” Sadly, out of all of my WIP (novels especially), that first novel has the most potential. The rest is just drivel for now.

My network in Denver is expanding; so glad for this. I need to make a point to blog a little more frequently than once each month. A lot happens, but not enough time is set aside for writing. Sigh.

Back to homework now…

I’ve come to the realization that I am terrible at keeping a regular blogging schedule. But, I know I also cannot beat myself up for that: the last half of this year changed my life a lot, and, well, other priorities have taken precedence over blogging.

I figure now, on this New Year’s Eve, that I should review my year in passing and welcome in this next year.

This year turned out a lot differently than I had anticipated from last Jan. 1. I found myself moving around the country to stay with family; I re-kindled old friendships in my hometown and discovered more hobbies to be passionate about.

I was expecting change when my first quarter came around. But I wasn’t expecting so much change before then.

Living in Denver the past 4-5 months, I feel I am definitely in MY environment: I’m more sociable and open; I feel energized being around others who have similar career goals to me; I feel I can connect so much better with people here than anywhere else.

I’ve met so many wonderful people in Denver already, and I’ve only skimmed the service.

I know I say this every time, but 2012 is going to be another life-changing year. I already have many plans queued up for the year: for instance, I’ve taken the reigns to launch another the3six5 local edition: Denver ! Check out the blog, and spread the word if you know of people living/working in Denver.

Here’s to the end of 2011 and hello to 2012.

Yes, I’m dipping my feet into NaNoWriMo this year. I know I am crazy for doing this, especially since I am swamped with grad work.

But, well, I feel like it’s a yearly fever for me: I never found momentum when starting on novels in other parts of the year, or even in participating in sister programs, Script Frenzy and Camp NaNoWriMo. That motivation, that camaraderie just wasn’t there.

And then October and November roll around and the online world goes frantic for NaNoWriMo. I feel the energy and I want to be part of it! I feel if I don’t participate, catch the fever, and revel in the insanity, I will be left out.

So I join in. Again and again.

I went to the Denver Kick-Off Party last night. The wireless network was not working too well for me, so I left early. Still managed to reach my Day One quota shortly after midnight. And, this year I actually did more preparation than in past years. I’m a half-planner, half-pantser now. Not bad: progress is progress.

I’m relieved to find a few other graduate students here who are participating in NaNo. Good to know I’m not the only one! We’re planning on having a write-in this weekend. Sure hope it works out.

Freshly made pancakes. No relation to this post at all. Just a picture for fun.

Nobody ever said graduate school was going to be a breeze. And I never doubted that either. But wow, I have neglected this blog for the past month. Luckily, I have kept a semi-regular schedule for My International MBA podcast episodes at least. Saturdays seem to be the best day to get material out.

I’m well settled into my apartment. Feng shui help from Catherine Grison is in the final stages, so soon I’ll take pictures. It takes awhile, mainly because I need to rearrange my priorities a lot.

I thought Camp NaNoWriMo would be all the “NaNo-ing” I’d do this year, but I’m going to go ahead and do NaNoWriMo next month after all. I can’t help but get sucked in every year. I have more prep material for my novel, but alas, it all sits and gathers dust as the month of October whizzes by…

One Word, One Picture (OWOP) did pretty well for three-fourths of the year. I decided that I would end my OWOP adventure at the start of September because my picture-taking had dwindled…and then came school. This month I’ve started back with near-daily picture-taking again, but I’d rather re-start OWOP in 2012 than pick up where I left off.

Speaking of 2012: anyone want to join in with OWOP next year? Let me know: helene at helenekwong dot com

What a pleasure to share this news with you all:

My good friend Craig Lancaster is releasing a new book in December. This book, Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure, is a collection of short stories all centered around the theme of separation, all under the Montana sky.

Due to so much schoolwork for grad school so far, I have yet to finish the book, but I do highly recommend you checking out Lancaster’s work. He never disappoints me with his beautiful storytelling (I wrote glowing reviews for his two novels, The Summer Son and 600 Hours of Edward). I’m sure his short stories will also be delights to read.

Ok! So, if you like reading e-books, definitely check out Quantum Physics between now and September 30. You can get the book for FREE on Smashwords, where you can choose from different e-book formats to your liking. Here are the instructions:

Life has been quite a rollercoaster. How many times per year can I say that, though? Something always happens along the way…

The month of August was, in one word, overwhelming. Moving, changes, etc. I’m on the cusp of the start of graduate school now. One more week until classes, but just a few days until Orientation.

I remember this time last year when I had felt dismal about my future. Then, last September 9, I received my acceptance into the University of Denver. And from that point forward….I felt like, wow, what a dream.

And now that dream is here. I’m anxious about how this will all pan out. Of course there are fears. Will this bridge take me over to where I want to be in the end?

What I’ve learned in only the past week: life isn’t always as it seems. There are always gray spaces waiting to be discovered, if they are ever discovered. No one person can be defined by simple terms: everyone has their secrets. And what can we do? Love and accept them for who they are, because in the end, we are ALL imperfect. That is just how we are.

My parents & I (and our shadows)

Man oh man.

If you had a chance to tune into my podcast from this past Wednesday, you’ll already get a hint of what all I’ve been through in the past two weeks or so.

Mainly, this past week has been all unpacking/cleaning/organizing/etc. My parents and sister left Denver on Tuesday and….I’ve basically been doing the same thing since (cleaning & organizing), with the occasional walk around the vicinity to check out shops/run errands.

Around two weeks ago, when I arrived in Montana, I received two review offers from Twitter friends: one to review a new book and the other, to review a new album.

I do truly appreciate offers like these, because I do enjoy giving my honest (yet kind) opinion about music, books, etc. (Hint hint: if you want me to review something you’ve made/written/etc., let me know!)

So far, am enjoying the tranquility of having the apartment to myself. I enjoy the plentiful sunshine, the clean air, and lots of trees! Not just trees that are artificially put in or plants that are stranded in a concrete island (like in some other cities I’ve been to). Granted, where I’m residing in Denver, it is more suburban than the downtown area. So I can’t say too much about the more hustle-bustle parts of the city yet!

Will try to stay on top of updates throughout this first quarter; see how the pace of all the schoolwork works with me!

Obviously, this week has been a strange one. I didn’t get a chance to post any updates because of all that’s going on: the final stages of cleaning, packing, and saying good-byes.

Naturally, this leaves me in a strange space in time. Where I’m just ready to move on but I want to also appreciate the normalcy of the time being. It becomes quite frustrating.

But I do have to say, my time back in Virginia has been very life-changing for me. To see my hometown, my little-girl world, from a grown-up POV.

Instead of sitting around & feeling annoyed about being back home, I took control of what I’d do with my time. Over the past four months I have learned a lot of new skills:

1. tai chi – I completed one style of tai chi with my father. Learning tai chi with my dad has allowed for us to bond and realize our similar character traits. Also, it’s just good for my dad to know that at least one of his children has learned martial arts from him.
2. pottery – Who knew it would become one of my passions? I signed up for the class thinking “Oh, just something to keep me busy.” But, it really helped me take control of my focus. And, it taught me to love imperfections…because nobody/nothing is perfect.
3. first aid – Took a one-day certification class; learned a lot in that short period of time. Good skills to have since now I am more prepared in emergencies.
4. sewing – I just learned this two weeks ago. Worked on a blanket project for my mom and learned how to work different types of sewing machines. Hope to further my knowledge in sewing when I get to Denver!
5. belly dancing – I took a class in NYC for belly dancing. Of course I felt self-conscious staring at my reflection in the mirror, but then I realized that it was ok to fall or lose my balance during the moves. We all were students so we all were learning!

In addition to the above, I also got myself going with two 5K races in the area. Granted, I wish I could have run both races a lot better, but just finishing the races gave me great sense of accomplishment. I will improve my racing form with my next two 5K races.

So, without being too dramatic: it is time to close this space between chapters and start a new chapter. This was a good respite between life in San Francisco and life in Denver. I am definitely grateful for all that has happened so far this year.

Now, I will be blogging from Denver starting August 9. That means: no blog posts until then. But I’m sure you all will be okay with an update.

I’ll be tweeting some oldies but goodies in the meantime (old, fun blog posts).

A Wintry Tokyo Road, 2004.

It’s already mid-July. Why does time seem to fly by so quickly? So, just to update you all on my progress I mentioned two weeks ago:

• My International MBA has been pretty smooth sailing for the time being. Episode 5 today! Also, definitely helps that I’ve received more material from DU since the beginning of the month, so there’s much more to report on. Please visit & tune in when you can
• Camp NaNoWriMo novel is…going slowly. But surely. The past two weeks have been a little dramatic in the real world, and just so much info coming my way for school. Well, I’m still interested in my novel. Just gotta pound out the words. Aiming for 70k words this time. According to Rachelle Gardner (literary agent), fiction word counts average 80K – 100K.
• This coming Tuesday, will begin featuring my short stories in audio form. I tried to read my first story, “Tight Jeans“, as a test run but it sounds too awkward to be read out loud (well, at least by me). That may be a sign for me to go back and revise this story, which was written three years ago (my, I was so young back then, ha).

Hoping there will be more progress revealed by the beginning of August. Hope all has been well in your world, everyone!

In the past few months since being back on the East Coast, I have had the chance to help out my friend, Lolia S. aka Fro-Yo Girl with guest blogging from across the country.

I have to tell you, I really got into frozen yogurt back in San Francisco in 2008, when the Fro-Yo boom was happening. I hadn’t met Fro-Yo Girl yet, but I admired her blog a lot and aspired to be “Fro-Yo Girl Jr.”

Alas, I fell off the wagon a few times with fro-yo shop visits. Only in the past year as I got to know Lolia more (and met up with her frequently) did I find the joy of fro-yo again. Well, it also didn’t hurt that my brother and I lived near the original Tuttimelon location on Irving Street!

So now, here are the fro-yo reports I have written for Lolia so far; shall be writing a few more once I can nab some time away from pre-Fall Quarter coursework!

Fro-yo in Southwest Virginia by Guest Blogger Helene K.

Live from NYC: Fro-yo Trucks!

If you love frozen yogurt just as much as we do, please be sure to check out Fro-Yo Girl Speaks!