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!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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 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!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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!
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!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
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!
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!
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