I'm not avoiding you, really

I know, I know. I used to blog so much more! I've been so busy on Writing.Com, though.... not a good excuse, is it?

The 31-Day Journal Writing Challenge has been very good for me, though. It's got me writing to random prompts again, and that will definitely mean more to blog about. I must say that, as it is with any community, it was an interesting mix of personalities for the month. You have the overbearing chick who tries to take over each and every time a person is not "Johnny on the Spot", but who also tells the entire community that she is a "good writer - very good, and I don't care what anyone thinks, because I know I'm that good!" Wow. Okay. Good for you, then! LOL. What do you say to that? She may be incredibly evil and have absolutely no social skills.... but, DANG! She knows she's a good writer, so that's all that matters to her. Go, Fight, Win!, lady. That's about all I can say to that.

Wow! This is refreshing! I can say what I want. If anyone happens to "click on me" that doesn't know me, they can just click away if they don't like what they see. :-) On the site I am talking about, I am a member of the "Simply Positive Review" group... and don't get me wrong, I think that is awesome. To me, there is something good in every piece of writing, and it keeps my temper in check when people are just... well, dumb. The point is, that I feel that I have a standing in that community that does not truly let my personality shine as it should....LOL. I keep things positive and, if I have nothing nice to say, I say nothing at all. To say the least... her and I don't talk much! In fact, about halfway into this challenge, she had made it (day after day after day) apparent that she wished to disclose nothing at all... nothing, did I say that?.... about her personal life or thoughts (and yet it was a Journal Writer's Challenge....hmmmm) to anyone.

Well, it was almost Christmas time and also her turn to provide a prompt for the group. Her words were, "Well, it's time to get serious", as she told us all, in no uncertain terms, that our prompt was to write a piece about global warming, cite two sources, and that the word "I" or any plural of that word would not be allowed for that day (like... umm... who is SHE?).. anywway, the prompt was to have to do with the North Pole and the effect of Global Warming on said place. After writing my piece, from the perspective of Santa Claus, and citing the North Star Journal and the Reindeer Review, I was pleased to see that so many others had taken the same train as I. There is too much doom and gloom and, while we may have to deal with that on a regular basis, to her, all I could say was, "Cite THIS!"

Ummm... that's mean. hehehehe. My thought about why we should stop global warming, at least for that prompt, was... No one wants to see Santa in a Speedo!

To me, Christmas is not a time that lends itself to the doom and gloom of the world. Let us have our magical moments. What's more, let us see the magical moments in every day. The rest of the world will always be there to "tell us" how bad off we are. Take the magic while we can and live it to its fullest!

That is my diatribe for the evening. Thanks for tuning in!
Laterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, Taterzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Writing

I know. I've been gone for a minute or two. I have been writing, though... just not here. I got involved in a writing community at writing.com, and I've been having such a great time there. I've been entering contests, "meeting" other writers, and getting involved all over the site. I've been able to review a lot of other writers' works, and now I even have the pleasure of mentoring a "newbie" (our name for someone who is new to the site and looking for direction or help with their writing or just getting around the site).

I am involved, right now, in the 31-Day Journal Writing Challenge, and that has been great, too. We get a prompt every day and each competitor writes about that prompt in their blog on the site. It's been so interesting to me to see the different takes on all of the prompts. It really helps to expand the possibilities on anything!

I would recommend Writing.com to anyone who is a writer and may be looking for a little feedback, a little inspiration, a place to call home, a place where people understand... whatever it is that a writer is looking for, I think Writing.com has it! The site is huge and there is so much to do and see there. To me, it just makes me feel good to know that others are reading what I am writing and offering feedback. It helps me out a great deal. I know I can count on my family and friends to do the same... but then I may think: do they have the time for this? Are they being honest or just stroking my ego?... things like that. I love them all dearly, but I think they are somewhat prejudiced. :-)

At any rate, if anyone would like to check out my portfolio on writing.com, here's the link:
http://Writing.Com/authors/write2b

Next month is pretty busy, too. I am into the rewriting of my NaNo novel in hopes to get it into a contest on Amazon.com in February. I also am taking part in a couple of classes on Writing.Com... one is a story telling class (myths and whatnot) and the other is the Writer's Workshop, to which I was invited by the instructor. It made me feel so good to have someone invite me into this workshop... it's not open to anyone who wants to take it, I guess. It's a "by invitation only" sort of affair, which I think is pretty cool. Hopefully I don't disappoint her!

But, this is what's going on with me right now. I think one of the reasons I was meant to come back home was so that I could focus more on my writing. It's the one thing I've always had through all of life's ups and downs, and it's something I know will always be with me.

I wish you all a safe, blessed and Merry Christmas!
Laterzzzzzzzzzz, Taterzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Here's what I was talking about...

I had a story I had to share with you tonight, because it speaks to my post from yesterday. There was a younger couple, early twenties, sitting and talking over coffee tonight in my restaurant. They come in quite often, and are very nice people.

An "older" couple comes in, probably in their fifties. They tell the waiter that there are just there for coffee. He says, "Go ahead and sit wherever you'd like, except there or there (pointing to two tables that were recently vacated and not yet cleaned)... or with those guys (he pointed to the young couple)." Of course, that part was meant to be a joke.

The older man kidded, "Too bad. We wanted to sit with them."

The younger couple instantly moved farther into the booth and invited them to sit down and talk. I watched as they all shook hands and introduced themselves to each other. The two couples sat down together and chatted for almost an hour. They were laughing and having a great time each time I happened to go into the dining room.

This is the kind of thing that I'm talking about in a small town. It just doesn't happen in bigger cities. It was a heart-warming interaction between two sets of people who may have had very little in common, but who were willing to sit with someone they did not know, and to share stories and a small piece of their lives. As a restaurant manager, that is part of what I do. I share the lives of my regular customers. But, to see customers welcome each other so readily and so unselfishly... it just makes me feel good. I don't know the names of the older couple, and I may never. I don't think I've seen them before, but those four people made my night. They gave a different meaning to Thanksgiving... even if a day late.

Hope in the Holiday Season!

I worked tonight... Thanksgiving night. At the restaurant where I work, we have a Thanksgiving buffet. We had barely anyone in the restaurant all night. Now, being a manager, I should say that I was unhappy about that. However, let me tell the story from the beginning...

A couple years ago, I was the GM at another location of this restaurant. Our corporation mandated, for the first time, that we be open on Christmas Day. I went with a very skeleton crew, thinking that Christmas was "family time" and it would be ridiculous to even be open. Honestly, we were busier on Christmas Day than we were in the midst of summer... and this restaurant is in a very high volume tourist town. To me, that was very sad. We actually had families (Mom and Dad would come in with the kids and meet Gran and Gramp) come to our restaurant to exchange gifts! They may have just as well told Gran and Gramp... you know, I want whatever you're going to buy me, but I just don't want the bother of having you at my house or cooking or cleaning up. To me, it was very sad. Fast forward to this year....

Times are tighter, of that there is no doubt. Within the last couple of weeks, gas prices have fallen to a somewhat acceptable level, but that doesn't ease the burden for a lot of people who are barely making it anyway. What I am most happy about is the fact that my restaurant was not busy tonight. People were spending quality time with their families at home once again! I'm very happy that we were open to welcome those who have no family or no one to spend the Holiday with... that is what hospitality is all about. What I don't like is commercializing holidays, which are meant to be time for family to be together (for better or worse), and are meant to be close to home, not in some restaurant somewhere. I think that when people are forced to tighten their belts and rein in their spending, they are forced to take a good look around and see what is really important! Suddenly, it is not all about "he who dies with the most toys," it's about being a person and about being with people who have always been there for you, and who you would help out in any difficult situation. I'm happy we were slow tonight! I'm happy people were home with their families, enjoying that time that they will never get back. Each minute that passes is one that you should spend the best way you can. I agree that it's nice to go out to eat. Someone else will wait on you and you won't even have to clean up the mess... but certain occasions are made for being home, for cleaning up the mess, and for being with people to whom you are closest.

I have to say I'm glad we moved back home for this very reason. I don't think I'd want to be in the city for the Holidays this year... It just means more being from a small town and being able to be in that same small town during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that "city people" are any less caring or any less feeling. I just feel it more here, and I see it more here. Here people don't make some random donation to a "good cause." Here, people go to a neighbor's house who they know has had a hard time of late, and bring a casserole and stay to chat away an hour or two on a cold winter night. That neighbor may not have anything but a hot pot of coffee to share in return, but that's just fine. It's about the time you spend, and the people you touch... not the money you spend or the things you buy. I've felt so stiffled in this town for so long... but now that I've been gone, I see all of the good points and the things I never want to live without again. I've got a lot to be thankful for.....and so do you!

I drive a car.. and own a business

This is one that I've agonized over for quite some time, but I finally decided that I have to say it. I have to get it off my chest. Being a new small business owner, I am incredibly... well, ticked off.. that my tax payer dollars are now going to go to bail out the major car manufacturers.. or at least that is what the government wants, if they can ever get on the same page.

Here's the deal. We're starting out own business right now. If we fail because we fail to keep pace with the industry, who will bail us out? I don't think we'll be getting any money from the government. Although, I guess the government would understand the clunky bureaucracy that is the American auto maker better than anyone else. I also understand that the industry does employ millions of people. I get that. Don't think I don't. My problem is that, why are we bailing out people who have simply made bad business decisions, not once, but repeatedly, and for years and years? Why are we doing it? Who is going to bail us out?

Okay, I realize that there are people out there now making $30,000 a year who bought $700,000 homes who are happy they are getting bailed out of a "bad mortgage", or that there is hope for that in their future. To those people, I say the same thing... "What were you THINKING?!?!!??!?!"

Our society took a terrible turn when adults became no longer responsible for their own decisions. If I put a hot cup of coffee in my lap, I take that assumption of risk that I may get burned. But no, it's McDonald's fault for selling me hot coffee. Of course, if it wasn't hot, I would drive back through the drive thru and tell them I would not pay for it.... you get my idea.

So, Big Auto has decided to still make cars that are not as efficient as they should be, and keep unproductive overhead, and... I could go on and on, but it makes me sick. They saw this coming! They were not blind-sided by the fact that an economic downturn of any size could render them bankrupt. Have we not been through this before? I think we've been close.

All I'm saying is that we are bailing out the wrong people. We truly are. Those of us who are paying our bills and barely scraping by are the people who are bailing out the wrong people, by the way. I just thought I'd mention that, so maybe some other people will get as ticked off about it as I am. I won't get political here, because that only serves to heat a discussion along party lines, and that is not the purpose of this rant. The purpose is... no one guaranteed me that my business would succeed. No one said that if it didn't, they'd give me money until it did. At no time did anyone say, "You know what, you've made a butt pile of money in the past, but you didn't change with the times while others did, so, guess what? You get a Mulligan! Conrgatulations for being an ineffective, bureaucratic piece of crap with more middle management than the population of some small countries! Way to streamline, Folks!"

I thought I had calmed down enough about this to write about it, but now, thinking about it brings it all back up and I think I should quit for now. :-) Just some food for thought. Crap.. I can't end this without saying... now that the Dems have run both houses for the last two years... and now that we have a Dem President... well, that should all change, right? Ah well. What do I know? I'm just some dumb kid from nowhere who likes to sit around and be cynical about the world. Gravity affects me, Economics does not... I'm still broke, so no big deal!

So, I have no setting

I've been writing away, as you know, on my novel for NaNo. But, when I'm looking back on some of what I have written, I'm not sure I have enough setting. Of course, I see it all in my head, but I don't think I really talk about it enough. I think I've been too focused on the dialogue and the characters. I understand that I am not looking to have a finished work, by any stretch of the imagination, by the end of the month, but I'm not sure if I'm saying enough about the setting. I've printed off what I have so far to give to a friend at work. Once she reads it, I guess then I'll know if I am explaining the wheres and whats well enough. She's an avid reader, but has offered her services as a critic as well, so that may prove to be very helpful for me. I think I will ask, after she reads it, what she "sees" as the scene in certain parts. Maybe that will help me. Of course, when I'm reading a book, I may "see" things differently than other people, and that is the part about books that always makes them "better than the movie," but I want to make sure, at the same time, that I am conveying my thoughts properly.

The only downfall I can see is that this friend also works in the restaurant industry... the main setting of the book. I just wonder how it will translate to someone who knows little about the industry and who knows little about me. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of NaNoers where I live, in this small, rural area, so it's not like I'll be attending a lot of write-ins or anything like I would when I was in the Rochester area. But, I'm sure I'll find ways to put more in about the setting. Once again, the internal editor was nagging me a bit, so I thought I would let her express her thoughts here and give her some sort of promise to revisit setting at a later time. Now then, I must get back to the task at hand.
Laterzzzz, taterzzzz

Day Two

Okay, technically, it's day 1 of NaNoWriMo, but it's day two for me. I got home from work after working second shift last night and started. Then I worked first shift today and worked on things again. I can already see my internal editor wanting to review, revise, etc. I know that will be my biggest challenge this month. I must silence that editor until my writing for the day is done, at least.

Marvin has advised me that I should have a goal of 2,000 words, so I make sure I write and write until I get to that "magic" goal. At that point, I re-read before I go to bed so that, if nothing else, my sub-conscious thinks about it and can decide on susinct revisions if need be. Let me also say, for those of you who don't know Marv, that is not an imaginary friend. He's real. I know he's real, so don't even go there. LOL. Well, I guess, actually, I don't know he's real. I've never actually met him. Hmmm. Well, I've read two of his books, Owen Fiddler and I Romanced the Stone. Hmmm. So, does that make him real? I guess, to me, it does. Someone wrote those books. Marvin told me about the books that he wrote. Then I read those books. Then I asked him about those books... and he answered. So, I am just guessing, but I think he's pretty real. Okay, I think that's a post for another day, is it not? That is a subject in and of itself.

At this point, I am sure that you think that my musings here are simply an attempt to get away from my novel and the responsibilities that I have to myself (and myself only) to complete those 50,000 words this month. To that, I simply say, "SO?" hehehehe.

Actually, I was having problems with the afore-mentioned editor, so I thought I would side track her and post to my blog. Actually, I'm doing very well tonight. I have over 1,700 words on the day, so that is a good thing. And, of course, we gain an hour tonight... which I plan to spend sleeping, truth be told. But I wanted to say thanks to Marv Wilson and my Mom (Billie Willams) who have given me inspirations and ideas and whatnot to help me to prepare for this challenge. I've been having fun with it, and have one other person at work whom I have talked into taking this challenge as well, so that will be a great time for us. We already have a bit of a competition going about how may words we need to prove to the other the next morning that we have written the previous night. I give her loads of credit. She has three kids and a job, and she is taking on this challenge with me. Of course, her motivation is that she can, in writing, exact all of the punishments on her soon-to-be ex-husband that he may (or may not, I don't know the guy, so who am I to say) deserve. In that way, writing is always theraputic.

The other day on writing.com I happened upon an author whose works I enjoyed and then stopped by his profile. Of course, being October, with Halloween and All Hallows Eve falling on its heels and all, (o, la dia de los muetros) I have been reading some scary stories. When I read this particular individual's profile (BobCat is his handle), it ended with... "Horror writers write so that they do not do." or something to that very effect. It may seem somewhat unnerving, but, at the same time, those who write, understand it to be fact. Writing, plain and simple, is very therapeutic. It's just something we do to translate the thoughts in our head to the words on our paper. Hopefully, the "bad," "rotten," "evil," thoughts... whatever term you prefer, are allowed the light they need to heal, and those thoughts that are positive, but that we are afraid to express in a seemingly negative world, will take root and bear fruit in our souls and lives.

I guess that's my post for tonight. It came out somewhat different than I thought it would but, then again, that is the beauty of writing. Sometimes you learn interesting things... even if they were things you didn't know you knew or were thinking about. Thanks for reading, as always.

I don't want you to think that there are always things like this here.. usually I just laugh at things that have happened in the world, so be prepared for that, too. It just so happened that, today, I thought about something. :-) At any rate, now that I remember that I have that extra hour, I may just use it to write and then watch some NASCAR or Packers football tomorrow for an extra time. OH wait! I think there's NHRA drag racing on, too! That pretty much takes precidence over everything else. I'll just DVR the rest, so nobody email or text me and tell me what happens elsewhere in the universe. I'll catch up with it all soon enough!

Laterzzzzzzz, Taterzzzzzzz!

Preparing for NaNo

Well, there's only one day left (not counting today, of course) until NaNo, the novel writing challenge. I think I am prepared. I've set up my plot - my story board is full of different colored sticky notes to tell me where the story is going next; my character sketches are almost done: I'm finishing those up today. I have a schedule set up to write and write and write... hopefully that holds together. I have a case of Diet Pepsi and plenty of coffee and cappuccino, not to mention snacks and other goodies to keep me going. This is my first attempt at writing something of this size - 50,000 words, and I am truly excited about it. I think I've planned everything I can plan, or very close to it. Then again, I'm sure something will come up by the middle of the month that will make the challenge, well, a little more challenging. Being a restaurant manager for so long really helps, though. It is impossible to plan an entire day is this industry. Something unexpected always comes up; there is no "typical" day. One learns to expect the unexpected and to still accomplish all of one's original goals anyway. Hopefully that will prove to be the case with this endeavor as well.

And so away I go - off into the world of noveling. Hopefully I will come out on the other side, at the end of November, with my first-ever attempt at a novel. I don't expect perfection in a month's time, but at least I will have a completed draft that I can work on over the winter months. Good luck to everyone who is participating!
Laterzzzzzzzz Taterzzzzzzzzzz1

Moving Rules

Okay, I've moved enough times to know the rules: label every box. Use certain kinds of boxes for each room so you can easily identify them. Keep one small box for the "last things" that you have laying around the house that you need until the minute you leave, etc., etc. Okay, okay. I know all of that. This move? Well, the rules pretty much went out the window. I'm only going to sya this once: do not attempt! LOL. Truth be told, I know that I have everything we own, as our place was completely empty when we left. However, I have absolutely no clue where anything is. Panic didn't really set in until I realized I could not find my phone charger!! I can't live without my cell phone - also known as the "electronic leash." As luck would have it, though, my other "must have," my MP3 player uses the same connection to my laptop (OMG - that's another "can't live without!) as my Blackberry - so I was at least able to stay connected :-) Clean socks? Sure, we've got 'em....ummmm... in a box somewhere. Then it hits me that I did do one last load of laundry before we left the old place. So, if I can locate the laundry basket, I can supply at least clean socks and underwear. Of course, the laundry basket is in the front of the U-Haul, which then necessitates that I crawl over most of our belongings, balance carefully on the back of the couch - balance-beam across it to the front of the truck and retrieve said laundry basket, saying, "If I don't make it out alive, just put in my headstone that I gave my life for some clean socks... people will understand." So, with utter disregard for my own safety, at least my feet are happy now.

The computers are set up and we had coffee for this morning so, really, we're ahead of the game. The next 10-12 hours promises to be interesting as we unload the U-Haul and I start unpacking boxes... it's like Christmas, only with all of your own stuff. I will then spend the next two days trying to regain some semblance of order in the house. Moving is never a lot of fun, but this time I think I've made it probably more difficult on myself than any other time that I have moved. Ah well. I don't plan to move again soon -- like EVER, so there should be plenty of time to make this place look like people live here again. At least we don't have to make that four hour (plus) drive again. We're in Wisconsin to stay. Shweew!
Laterzzzzzz, Taterzzzzzzzz!

Settling In

Well, we're back at the ol' homestead. We're only here for the weekend, but we'll be back for good next weekend. I'm really excited about it, actually. Never thought I'd see the day when I was happy to move back up here, but I guess a different perspective was all I needed. I'm not saying, in any way, that I never saw any good to this place. It's beautiful, really. The fishing is great. The people here are pretty down to Earth, too, which is good. I always thought this was a good place to grow up - and maybe to be old. But I never really saw much else in it. But I'm comfortable here. I just hope I can make a living here. I don't mean just getting by. I've done that here for many years. I am looking to make a real living this time. I don't know how or where, but that is my goal. I'm sure there are opportunites out there for me. At least I hope there are. lol. I guess that remains to be seen, doesn't it?

I'm pretty excited to have my gas stove back. That I can tell you for sure. I've never liked electric stoves but, when you are renting, that is pretty much what everything comes with. UGH!! I want heat when I turn it on, and none when I shut it off. I don't think that's too tough to ask. I want a visual clue that tells me that I am now ready to seer a steak and still have it come out medium rare. That's all I ask for.

Another thing I took for granted until the last year and a half... well water. Water that does not taste like you are drinking out of someone's swimming pool. Water that *gasp* actually gets cold!! Before we left from down south we were doing a lot of cleaning of rooms that we had vacated, doing dishes... my shower was last. Well, I discovered the capacity of our hot water heater about halfway through my shower. Luckily, city water never really gets cold. It gets cool... but never cold. There's nothing like a cold, cold, cold, crisp glass of water that comes straight out of the ground, I tell you! Nothing compares.

We got our phone and Internet hooked up today (if you didn't guess that from the fact that I am blogging today). The whole thing kind of puzzled me, though. My "appointment" was "somewhere between 8 am and 5 pm." Oh, okay. You can't give me an exact time so that I don't have to waste my entire day waiting around for your tech? No? Lemme see.... well, since there are NO other providers in the area, I guess that vague approximation of an appointment time will be fine. When the lady on the other end of the phone asked for a phone number where she could confirm the appointment the day before, it didn't really hit me. When my cell phone rang last night and an automated voice told me it would like to confirm my appointment for tomorrow and if I'd like to keep the appointment, please press one... then it dawned on me. If a person had a phone...why would they be calling the phone company to have a phone hooked up in their house? Now, I have a cell phone, and have forever and ever. But...what about the people who don't have cell phones? What do they do? Hmmm... I guess you have to have a phone to call and set up an appointment, but it still didn't make a lot of sense when I got off the phone. Oh well. Such is life. I have a home phone again and Internet access back home, so it's all good. Even if it doesn't make much sense.

The leaves are turning and falling everywhere, which is very pretty. I've always liked fall the best of all of the seasons. Of course, I know that fall brings winter, but I would just like to bask in the colors of fall before I think about the "other season" fast approaching. I do like a white Christmas. I just don't like the six months between January and March where winter's icy grip will not let up and it's dark out 83 hours per day. I guess I can just be glad I'm not an Eskimo! I don't think I could deal with that. I guess that's about all the babbling I have for today. I could rant about phone companies and such for a page or better... but I'll save that for another day.
Laterzzzzzzzz, Taterzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Starting the Move!

Well, this weekend we are starting our move back home. In a way, I am happy to be leaving. Going home is always going home, and that is cool. In another way, there are a lot of things here I'm going to miss. Of course, I'm going to miss everyone I work with. I've had a lot of fun with these people in the last few months. I think we've really livened the place up and made it a much more enjoyable place to be. I will also miss the dining options in this larger town. There's not really many chain-type restaurants up north. I'll miss Famous Dave's, Olive Garden, Applebee's TGI Fridays, Noodles & Co., Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee, Zorba's Greek Restaurant, Outback Steakhouse...things like that. I'll miss Gander Mountain and Barnes and Noble, too. It was awesome having a "real" bookstore in town. I'll also miss Cabela's only being an hour away! That was the bomb when we were getting ready for fishing season this spring. Yes, yes, we can always shop online. I understand that. But sometimes it's just not the same.

I guess there are some things I won't miss, though: I won't miss seeing 15-20 cars in the ditch in the first five miles I have to travel on the freeway every single time it snows. Seriously, these people just do not slow down, no matter what the weather. I won't miss random violence... a person getting mugged in our parking lot, some other people being held up at gunpoint in a parking lot a block away, businesses getting broken into - things like that I definitely won't miss. I won't miss walking through Wal-Mart and realizing that there are very few people there who speak the same language as I do and who look at me as though I'm a foreigner. I still believe that, if you are going to live here, you should at least make the effort to speak English. Sorry. I'm old-fashioned that way. And I won't miss people who are so wrapped up in their own lives that they believe they are the only ones who exist on the planet. I don't mean to say that everyone down here is like that... just that I see it SO much more than I did up north. It's strange to me. Oh well. Everyone lives in their own way, I guess.

So, now that I have a huge cold and feel like doing nothing but sleeping, I have to pack the rest of my house and be ready to move in the next week. UG! It always seems to happen that way. I very rarely get sick, but when I do it's always at the most inopportune times. Such is life. The good news is that I only have to make that long drive round trip one more time! The next time I go it will be just one way. It will be good to be home before the Holidays.
That's all of today!
Laterzzzzzzzzz, Taterzzzzzzzzzzzz!

I've been remiss

Okay, I will be the first to admit that I have been slacking on my writing lately. Because I'll be moving in the beginning of October, I really started looking at the calendar, planning what I have coming up, etc.

It was only then that I realized that my plan was to have my story formatted for NaNoWriMo before we started clacking away at the keys in November. I decided to undertake a challenge this year where I am to write a 50,000 word novel in a month's time. Well, the idea has been sitting in my head for the last few months, and I have a good idea about how I am going to proceed, but I haven't given it the attention that I had planned to give it and, as happens more often than not in life, time got away from me.

Now, really, it seems like November is a pretty long way off. However, just a few short months ago, as the snow was still melting in the warm, spring sun, that football season seemed a long way off. I am now sitting with a fantasy football team who will be lucky to make the top half of the league. LOL.

I could use the excuse of moving into a new restaurant as management and helping the management team already in place to change the things that they have allowed to fall by the wayside for the last few years. I could use the excuse that I am currently working on a buiness plan for a new business we plan to start within the next few months. I could use the excuse that someone broke my right index finger and I have just been unable to type.

Point is...the broken finger thing never happened, and the rest of it - well, that is all true, but it's certainly no excuse to stop writing. I've just been slacking, and that's truly all there is to it. So, through the move, through the business plan writing, through finding a new job again, and through everything else that life could possibly throw at a person, I am now re-commiting myself to write. I will write every day. I belong to a few groups that give me great writing prompts on a daily basis. When I find one that I really like, I will surely share it here.

About the only writing I've been keeping up on regularly is by idea to blog at least once a week. That was my New Year's Resolution, and I've kept that up. I used to blog at another site, and it was really fun and interactive. However, in the last few months, I've been really dissappointed with how their site is working and the "fun" stuff that never seems to be activated or to work on their site. So, I am now switching my blogging to Blogger. I hosted a blog here back in the day, but got away from it. Not for any real reason other than some of my friends and family were using the "other guy," and it was just more fun. Well, now they will just have to follow me here! :-)

I think it was about that time that I realized that I don't necessarily blog for anyone else. I don't necessarily write for anyone else. I do this simply for myself and for my own enjoyment. I think it is really liberating once you realize that. In the big scheme of things, does it matter if anyone else likes what you write? Not really, I don't think. Of course, there are plenty of resources out there to help with grammar, spelling, sentence structure, point of view, and all of those technical aspects. Other writers are great for that, and I've connected to several people through another writing site whose opinions I really value. But, as far as content, I don't think you can please everyone all the time. There will always be people, if your writing is true to life, who like your writing because it reflects something in their lives or something in their characters.

I think writing, and enjoying written words, is a choice that is about as personal as voting. I might vote for a guy you hate, but you and I am still be friends. You may feel more comfortable writing a lot of descriptions with little dialogue for a few pages at a time. I don't like to read that kind of thing, but it does not mean that you idea is not good or that you have presented it in a way that no one will like. Again, it doesn't mean we can't be friends.

Now, I'm not writing this as a writer who feels as though I will ever attain the "author" moniker any more than I play keyboard and guitar in hopes of becoming a Rock Star. I realize that certain things sell and certain things don't. But, really, it's more about what you enjoy, I think. If you are constantly learning, honing your craft (I don't think I'll ever sell an afghan, but I'm sure my niece's baby will really enjoy his/hers next spring when he/she is born), and reading other writers. I say the same thing about my writing as I do about my management style. (I believe it is an Einstein quote, so hopefully I am giving proper credit here.) I enjoy the journey but hate to arrive. I hate to think that I have ever "arrived" in any aspect of my life...as a writer, manager, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, or any other title that I carry. I hope that I am always learning and always on the journey.

It's been quite a journey so far, and I'm looking forward to relaying the rest of it here, for anyone who cares to read it!
Enjoy the Journey!

New Blog

Well, I think I have finally given up on my other "fun place" to blog. I won't include the name here, because that's really not the way I roll. :-) At any rate, I've always like Blogger, so I will come back here to do my blog. I've had blogs here before, but, for now, have them unpulished. I enjoy blogging, and have dedicated myself to blog at least once a week. My only issue with that may be next month when I move back home. I am moving back to the town where I grew up and, believe it or not, there's only one place in town that I know of that has wireless internet access! I know, I know. The HORROR!!! I understand. But, if I'm offline for while, it will only be a short while.

I have a lot to say about a lot of things, and that is mostly what I talk about. Some of it, I'm aware, does not make the most sense and other things are somewhat controversial. I'm completely okay with that. I hope my readers from my other blog follow me here and I can continue to amuse and create thoughts in my readers here.
Laterzzzzzzz, Taterzzzzzzzzzzz!