Do you talk to yourself?

Posted on May 27, 2012July 16, 2012 by Jennifer Heller

Will and I are up late talking about talking to ourselves. He was talking to the record collection, you see…asking what should be played. The Stranglers song Tank won, btw.

He reflects that he always felt ashamed of how much he talked to himself as a child. He was ashamed up until he read that Alexander Hamilton shared the same habit. With Alexander Hamilton, he talked to himself so much that people actively complained about it. But he was a genius, so what were they going to do?

I remember a late night talking to a treasured photo of an ex-boyfriend. It was that talk that got me out of loving him…and into moving on. I think of what fun I’ve had over the years talking to myself…as if I were a character in Days of Our Lives and what I was heard would motivate the next murder plot…and as if I were another person, keeping myself company.

But I’m a people person.

Do you like talking to yourself? Are you ashamed?

poll by twiigs.com

A Valentine’s Day Tale from Days of Our Lives

Posted on February 14, 2012July 16, 2012 by Jennifer Heller

On this day of celebrating things we love, I’d like to take a moment and celebrate one of the best moments in Days of Our Lives history (in my opinion).

Back in 2003 (I think), Salem was stalked by, well, the Salem Stalker. Gotta love that alliteration.

Anyway, many main characters were killed, and here’s a video of the first of the seven murders. I love youtube.

On New Years Eve, Roman was killed at his and Kate’s wedding*. What followed was a very, very long day filled with police investigations and a lot of talking. Hey, there was a murderer in their midst. Everyone was a suspect and no one was safe.

This day lasted straight through the February 13th episode, in which Brady walked into mansion and said to Nicole, “Is it just me or has this day felt like weeks?!”

It was a rare moment where Days of Our Lives made fun of its very soap opera-esque nature. I loved it, and I love it to this day.

The next day was the Valentine’s Day episode (that probably itself lasted a week) in which all the Salemites were busily expressing their undying love and devotion to their partners. AND, it must be noted, every Valentine’s Day on Days of Our Lives, the men perform dizzying feats of romance — rooftop candlelit dinners, engagement rings in champagne glasses, miraculous returns from being held hostage.

On this day of recognizing love, let’s recognize the idiosyncrasies that make the things we love (like Days of Our Lives) what they are. And let’s be reasonable. A rooftop candlelit dinner is probably not in the cards, but a tender embrace and a pastry probably are. Life is perfect if you love it as it is.

*I know! Roman and Kate!! CRAZY.

NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Last Call!

Posted on August 30, 2011July 16, 2012 by Jennifer Heller

One of my stories made it into yet another round of the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Contest!

A laser that turns oxygen into diamonds?! It sounds impossible, but it was the end of everything.

Vote for me please! Today is the last day for voting.

Winning this is the first phase in my plan of TOTAL INTERNET DOMINATION. Which, you know, means more fun for everyone.

They don't look like aliens.

This story was once again inspired by Days of Our Lives. Once on Days of Our Lives there was an extremely (EXTREMELY) hot character named Rex who came down to Earth on a space ship with his also extremely hot sister Cassie. Rex and Cassie it turned out were Kate’s kids (the details are getting murky here) but before that came out there was this almost-incest moment between Cassie and Lucas. Good times.

Rex was not only extremely hot but also extremely smart. He built a laser that could turn coal into diamonds. This was going to mean total world domination for the DiMeras (who already pretty much dominate). Or at least it would have, if the ship carrying the laser hadn’t gotten blown up. That was a good day for Days fans; we love it when stuff blows up.

Despite all the power that Stefano DiMera has, it didn’t occur to him to just produce another laser that turns coal into diamonds. Oh well. Easy come, easy go

NYC Midnight, Sami and Rafe

Posted on August 16, 2011July 16, 2012 by Jennifer Heller

In an exhilarating turn of events, one of my New York City Midnight Flash Fiction Micro Challenge stories made it to the next round!!

They picked my favorite of my submissions (and possibly the only good one). Inspired by the Sami-Rafe-Fake Rafe story line on Days of Our Lives, and lacking a closing period to fit into 100 characters:

“I’ll stand guard.” She knew he would, that she could count on him. It was the impostor she detested

Pretty good, right? Who could blame them for choosing me?

Now it’s up to my good friends on the Internet to catapult me to the next level!

Vote for me! (it’s over now…)

And now some ridiculously gratuitous Sami and Rafe photos and trivia:

Sometimes they just can't keep their hands off of each other. The first time Sami slept with Fake Rafe (the imposter), she felt like it was "the first time."

This scene included product placement for Chex Mix. Mmmm.

The portmaneau for Sami and Rafe is "Safe". Ridiculous eh?

New York Midnight’s Flash Fiction Micro Contest

Posted on August 11, 2011July 16, 2012 by Jennifer Heller

Once in a while I daydream of a life where I’m a full-time writer. It’s when I’m not daydreaming of being a sculptor or a talk show host.

New York Midnight’s Flash Fiction Micro Contest found me in one of those moments, and without blinking an eyelash signed right up.

Contestants were asked to submit three 100 character stories today. Each entry had to feature a particular word, and we received that word at roughly 9am (my time) this morning. Entries were due at twelve hours later at 11:59 EST.

After I signed up I started thinking about it…100 characters. That’s less than a tweet! By 40 characters!! They obviously picked the length so that people could tweet their stories…smart.

Today faced with my word (“stand”) and a jam-packed day I got to thinking about the task at hand. What is a story? How can you fit a story in 100 characters?

Luckily I’d already discussed it with my best friend G. who’s an editor by trade and a voracious reader. She assured me that it was possible to write a story in a sentence, and that the best ones she had read were less-action packed and insinuated a larger and often obscure background story. I got that last tip too late to really incorporate it into my stories.

I didn’t have much time, but got to work. Continue Reading

Philip Kiriakis' Face Transplant

Posted on April 14, 2011July 16, 2012 by Jennifer Heller

My Internet is abuzz today with the news of ABC canceling both All My Children and One Life to Live to make room for some health & food shows staring B celebrities from reality shows*.

I used to watch One Life to Live with my middle school best friend Becky, but it was never dear to me. Though I am saddened by the shrinking of our daytime soap opera family, I am ultimately just glad it wasn’t Days Of Our Lives that was canceled. Days, recently renewed by NBC for another two years, has narrowly escaped the guillotine of our media revolution. Woot woot!

Where would we, as a society, be without the convoluted and often hilarious storylines soap operas bring to our lives? Take, for instance, Philip Kiariakis’ face transpant. Continue Reading

Alice Horton's Famous Donuts

Posted on February 2, 2011July 16, 2012 by Jennifer Heller

On Saturday evening, my great friends Nick, Kat, Zach and I tried our hand at making Alice Horton’s Famous Donuts. Will was there too.

The batter whipped together in no time, and I was super careful to follow the instructions to a t. Not privy to the secrets of donut-making, I was careful to avoid any obvious mistakes (such as not sifting the flour).

My best friend g. bakes by throwing all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing well. I was glad she wasn’t there to watch as I obsessively measured and sifted and remeasured and, well, I didn’t sift again. Continue Reading

The Days of Our Lives Drinking Game

Posted on January 28, 2011July 16, 2012 by Jennifer Heller

I’ve had Days of Our Lives on the brain all morning, partly because I posted Alice Horton’s Famous Donut recipe yesterday, and partly because I couldn’t sleep last night and finally resorted to letting the Days storyline do the trick.

That’s one of the nice things about soap operas; you don’t worry about missing an episode, or falling asleep in the middle. And it moves slowly enough that it will actually put you to sleep.

I’m having some of my fellow die-hard Days of Our Lives fans over tomorrow night, and we are going to try our hand at making Alice’s famous donuts. Continue Reading

days of our lives