Still Alive for the Friday Five...

I've never done a Friday Five post, but I was in the mood today (ie. feeling very random). So, here we go...

1. Storm. I don't know if anyone caught my tweet yesterday, but I had a harrowing drive back from town yesterday. For serious. It was epic. I actually wasn't sure if I would make it.
   
   The storm came up fast. When I entered the grocery store, it was sixty degrees and sunny. It started to snow just as I stepped back outside. As soon as I turned the ignition, the wind gusts were so strong that they shook the car. By the time I got on the highway, it snowed and blew so hard that you could see only 200 meters or less.
   
   Basically, a white-knuckled drive.
   
   Luckily, though, I outran/drove the storm. It was warmer and only sprinkling in the mountains. I thought I was safe.
   
   Unfortunately, the storm caught back up with me when I turned up the mountain I live on. It actually got a little scarier, because for one thing, there's the drop on the side of the highway...which I actually couldn't see since it was so high up that I was driving IN the clouds. Visibility was down to 50 meters, and the traffic crawled at thirty mph. The snow melted on the windshield and froze again, which didn't help me see any better. Once the car started to skid, but I corrected it.
   
   
   Actual visibility through windshield right before I turned into my neighborhood.
   Q: Can you find the oncoming traffic?
   (And why don't they have their lights on??)
   
   
   So, I totally made it back alive. Then I sat down (shaking a little, actually) and freewrote all my feelings/sensations so that I could use it in my manuscript. I even had a scene in mind, where my main character fights off seven dragons and then gets chased by a Giant. :-P
   
   
2. How to Train Your Dragon. I loved this movie! LOVED it! It totally got me in the mood for a pet dragon of my own. (Sadly, that won't work for obvious reasons.) Then it got me in the mood to make sure my main character got to ride dragons. (Unfortunately, that won't work either - my main character has a pretty intense fear of heights, and she also engages in that aforementioned dragon-slaying.) Hmm. Will just have to settle for loving the movie, and possibly, purchasing it when it comes out.
   
   
3. Shopping. I actually went to town for supplies, ie. groceries and one book. I came back with seven books (gasp! I know, but the used bookstore I visited actually had a bunch of books I wanted.). And also, gigantic binder clips.
   
   
   I've been pining after them for a long, long time. When I was an editorial assistant, we literally had hundreds of them floating around the office. They're the only clip big enough to hold a whole manuscript together. I didn't think I would miss them, but recently, I've been swimming in so many loose papers (ie. manuscripts and drafts of said manuscripts) that I went and bought some of my very own. It is indicative of my nerdiness how happy they make me. Yay!
   
   
4. The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, ie. one of the seven books I bought yesterday. I found it in the bargain section of B&N, and while flipping through, I found this entry:
   

   DOBIE/DOBBY
   
   A British house fairy, known mostly in the north of England, and as others of its kind, it likes to help human beings. They particularly like to join in with the kind of tasks undertaken by labourers, and are sometimes given the job of guarding treasure. However, the Dobie is not known for its wisdom, and often makes ridiculous mistakes or is easily confused. In parts of West Yorkshire, the name Dobby is applied to an evil fairy who leaps on the backs of unsuspecting travelers on horseback and garrottes them. Today, the Dobie is best known for its appearance in the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, where it generally assumes the role of a helpful but not very bright companion to the young wizard. (136)

   I had no idea Dobby (the house-elf who first appeared in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) was based on legend. Obviously, I had to buy the book - to find out more awesome tidbits that prove how amazing J.K. Rowling is. And also, possibly, to expand my own knowledge of magical creatures. (I knew soooo many when I was in elementary school - from reading similar encyclopedias. I'm not sure what happened.)
   
   
5. Merlin (BBC). How have I not heard about this show until now? (Possibly, because I've been on a mountain cabin without cable for months now.) I just randomly discovered the whole first season on Hulu earlier this week.
   
   It's a BBC series where Merlin, Arthur, Morgana, Guinevere, and Lancelot are all about seventeen or so, and Arthur's dad, King Uther, has outlawed magic. So, while working as Arthur's servant, Merlin has to hide his magic, get Arthur out of scrapes, and basically save Arthur's life all the time while other people get the credit.
   
   And yes, it totally throws me off that the actor that plays Rupert Giles (ie. Buffy's Watcher) also plays King Uther.
   
   The banter (and friendship) between Merlin and Arthur is one of my favorite parts, but better than that, the show delves into destiny a lot, ie. knowing that you might be destined to be great someday - but meanwhile, you're still making a lot of mistakes right now. (Actually, it has a lot of similarities to my main character's dilemma.)

Hmmm. I wonder if Friday Fives are usually so long.... Oh, well.

Happy weekend!!