Heart Shaped Box

Q&A with Amanda

That's right, it's time for another Q & A Session with me :D Thank you to everyone who has been sending in questions. And please keep doing so! Direct Message me on twitter, text my cell, email, leave comments, what have you.

1. PC or Mac?
I am a Mac fan all the way, which makes this a kinda easy question. My Mac has done more, faster, in a more efficient manner than ANY PC i've ever used, hands down. But here's the thing that most people do. . . they want to buy a Mac, so they do, but they go BIG and get the biggest machine all tricked out. . . and it's an awesome machine, but it's way excessive for what they actually NEED it for. For Graphic Designers and Videographers and other Graphics/Media Techies, I do recommend the bigger tricked out machine. But if you're using it for college to write papers and do like regular 9 to 5 jobbish stuff, there's no need for you to go all crazy with all the bells and whistles. Think about what you NEED and customize it to be the most beneficial for THOSE things. Also, if you've never spent more than 5 minutes on a Mac, but want to get one. . . go to the Apple store a few times before you actually purchase the thing, and see how well you do with the new interface. Don't let the machine defeat you. It's a beautiful thing and can work wonders and be your best friend, if you're willing to LEARN how to adjust to the different technology. But overall, GO MAC or go home ;)


2. What are your screenplays about?
So many things. Though I've learned that the majority of what I write is TRAGEDY. Dramatic Tragedy. I won't tell you what all of the screenplays are about. Some are in beginning stages and some are further along, but I'll give you 3 examples so you can see what I mean.

- LANE AND ALLEY : Lane (guy) and Alley (girl) have been best friends since they were kids. Now as adults, they keep in touch through letters they write to one another. However, what they write about themselves is far from reality and weaves a very tangled web. When Alley is attacked at her workplace, she takes a turn for the worse and finds herself in a VERY dark place and commits suicide. Through this tragedy, Lane discovers the truth about Alley and it challenges him to rethink his life and where it is headed. Alley's death gives him a new perspective on how to live his life to the fullest.

- THE SHADOWS OF CHERNOBYL : Lara, A young woman discovers that the family she's grown to know is full of secrets. She uncovers a family secret about a brother she never knew she had who was affected heavily by radiation poisoning and is being taken care of by an orphanage that manages children with birth defects from the fallout of Chernobyl. Along with confronting the family that lied to her for so many years, she and her husband must decide whether to remove him from the orphanage and care for him themselves or to let him stay there as they raise their own family from a distance.

- BRAVERY : Evie Glassman has spent the past 6 years of her life in a New England boarding school thanks to the expendable income of her widowed, multi-millionaiire business tycoon of a father. Before she leaves for college, her father asks that she spend one summer with him at the company mansion in Cambodia where their international headquarters is set up. When she arrives, she is reunited with an old friend, Spencer Fairbanks who is interning with her father before heading off to college himself. As their summer romance begins to grow, Evie discovers that her father, the one person she trusts, very well may be her worst enemy. Hidden beneath the marble floors of the mansion lies an underground child slave labor operation. It is up to Evie and Spencer to muster every ounce of bravery they have to come up against Evie's father and set the children free once and for all.

See what I mean, dramatic tragedy. I really WANT to write a fantasy-like fairy tale and also a comedy. . . but everytime I try, I just "don't got it." Amazing how you can be funny in real life and not on paper. . . or computer. ;)

3. What do you think about the whole Seattle/Depression theory? False?
It's so hard to say, being a transplant to the city. Most of the Seattelite's I've talked to about it don't think it's that bad. I mean, it's true. It happens. People get the Winter Blues here. And understandably so. But I think that over the years, the city overall has gotten better at providing resources for people dealing with depression. One thing that IS true about living in Seattle, and which may actually be a big factor in depression is the theory of "THE SEATTLE FREEZE"
for more on that, check out these sites:

Seattle PI Article
Youtube Video about Seattle Freeze


4. If a person was raped, would you still be against abortion?
I think it would be up to the person. I know that personally, if it were me, I wouldn't have an abortion. I've seriously thought about this one for a while. I don't have it in me, in my heart, in my mind or anything else to get rid of a life like that. But every person is different. If someone had been raped and came to me about it, I would ask the following questions and just let them decide:

1. If you keep the baby, will you be able to live with the possiblity of seeing your attacker's face everyday? And if so, would you love that baby any less? Would you love yourself any less?

2. What are ALL your options and what is the wisest choice for you and for what you believe in?

3. If you do decide to have an abortion, will you seek counseling to help you deal with the strong emotions attached to 1. the rape and 2. the guilt you may encounter from time to time

4. Regardless of your choice, do you promise not to lose sight of how valuable YOU are through all the good and bad days?

I think that when a woman is raped, she already has so much to think about and making the decision to keep the child is a big one, but I would also always suggest having the child and putting it up for adoption.

5. I like your funny stories. Share another one!
Ha! okay, okay. Hmm. Okay so this one I was actually reminded of today. So one time I was helping to plan this girls retreat thing for Master's Commission and when we got out to the place, I realized we needed to get some groceries. So me and my friend Kelley went to the nearest grocery store (HEB) and got supplies. Turns out we couldn't use the company card for some reason so we had to call another staff member to come rescue us. While we were waiting, this big awkward creepy guy walks up to the teenage bagging lady who was helping us and gets all up in her space, rubs her elbow and says, "I uh... heard you played a little game last night. . ." Me and Kelley were SO creeped out, and I didn't know whether to just bust out laughing or like smack the guy for being a creep. It was funny though.