Are You Talking to Me?

I admit it. I like Facebook. In fact, I like it so much I’ve been accused of being on it “all the time.” However, I beg to disagree. While I may check it more frequently than others due to being on my home computer more this year than I have ever been in my life, that doesn’t mean I am “on it” every moment of the day. I like to spend time with friends, to take photographs or a walk in my neighborhood, to attend seminars and exchange ideas with others. I like to learn new skills and explore new places.

And then there’s my cell phone. It’s not fancy. It’s an old flip phone; one that I can use to call people with or send a text message to, or even send a photo from time to time. Other than that, it’s just a phone. However, I only got it a few years ago in case I was either a) stranded somewhere because my car broke down or b) got lost and needed to call someone to get redirected or c) in case I was going to be running late and wanted to call someone on my way to meet them. Otherwise, for 29 years of my life I existed, JUST FINE, without having a portable phone.

All this being said, I do not have a problem with all this connectivity, HOWEVER, I find that nowadays people are on their phones – calling, texting, twittering or updating their Facebook status - and not really always aware of their surroundings or the people around them. They do it when they are at the register of a store having a purchase rung up or ordering food, they do it when they are driving in the car or sitting in a restaurant with a friend, and they do it when they are walking down the street with another person. It seems to me that all of us are just so involved with our technology that perhaps we are losing sight of the fact that we have friends who are right there with us and sometimes it’s nice to talk to the person you are with and only answer the phone or make a call if it’s an emergency. Perhaps we can put away our phones or not be constantly preoccupied with who might be calling us or texting us or getting in touch with us and remember we’ve got people right in front of us who want to talk to us, hang out with us and just spend time with us.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this? I’m just curious…

No Stopping Me Now!

I'm in full writing mode now. The music's cranking, the fingers are moving fluidly along the keyboard and words are forming on the page. It's amazing. These folks at NanoWriMo say that you can have an outline for your novel, or you can just randomly type and see what happens. Well, I'm the latter. I tried to write an outline but I am not someone who can see the end. I can definitely see the beginning and I know some of the turns along the way, but the end, is well, daunting to me. I just don't know where my characters are going to end up.

Therefore let the adventure continue. I am just typing along and getting excited by the surprise of what starts to develop in front of me. I think this is going to be a good learning experience for me - the ultimate list maker and planner - in not only forcing myself to write every day (something, as a writer, I should just naturally do) but also to see what I can create on the fly and without so much pressure on myself to be perfect. To not have to map out, diagram and prepare for every situation, every event, every move I make, or even my protagonist makes, for that matter.

Maybe I will really amaze myself by the end of this month. Anyone else doing something in November that they are embarking upon for the first time? Want to share with me? I'd love to gain inspiration and hear those stories.

My Mission If I Choose to Accept It...

"Begin with the end in mind." Good advice from all my writing professors but somehow, when I sit here, at my computer and try to type a NOVEL, not a short story, not a poem, but a NOVEL, one that I have to write in 30 days (less, now that I started it 3 days into this adventure) is SO HARD.

When I saw the ad for Nanowrimo - National Novel Writing Month - on Mediabistro, I thought why the heck not? I have some time, I need to motivate myself to write more often, and I always say I'm working on my novel. Well, what better way to do this than to participate in a contest that entails you to write a novel in 30 days - 50,000 words long - and submit it to a panel who will not judge you for content but rather for quantity?

The next day, upon reflection of my hasty action, I'm thinking I may have had a nice plate of crazy yesterday. But, that being said, I am going forth with this task. I know I can do it - even if right now I feel like ripping my hair out of my head and screaming at the top of my lungs - because I'm a writer, I like to tell stories, and at least, at the end of the month, I can feel like I've accomplished something.

I'll leave the worrying about editing the mess I've created until December. And that's per the instruction I was given from the nice folks at Nanowrimo.

Now I'm going to go forth and write! Feel free to join me in this excursion...it's not too late! For more details on the insanity, visit National Novel Writing Month.

Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of…

Ever have those times when you recall a memory of a time or a place or an event, maybe it’s brought on by a song, or a line in a movie, or just by something you overhear in a diner, and that “trigger” leads to a “place” you haven’t visited in awhile. Sometimes it’s a place that you smile fondly at when you remember back to that time – whether it was having ice cream on a summer afternoon with friends, taking a hike up a hill with a pal, or even just having a long chat with a buddy you hadn’t seen in a long time – and in that flash of that particular moment, you feel happy. You let that scene play out in front of you, and are content.

But what about those other times, those few seconds that seem to last an eternity, when you start to think back to an evening or perhaps an encounter where in a mere moment, you said something or did something that changed the course of your future in a most unpleasant way. And, when you are brought back to that spot, to that situation, you replay it over and over again, not because you want to, but because you can’t seem to get it out of your head. Because in that instant you just wish you could go back, and do or say something different, something that will inexplicably “fix” whatever error you made, signal you sent forward, message you conveyed, that messed up the course of that friendship, that relationship, forever.

Anyone else know what I’m talking about?

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

We all do it, at one time or another – we worry. This worry can be over something real or imagined; in front of us or something we create in our minds.

Worry means, according to Webster’s New World Dictionary, to harass or treat roughly with or as with continual biting or tearing with the teeth; to pluck at, push on, touch, etc. repeatedly in a nervous or determined way; to annoy, bother, harass, vex, etc.; to cause to feel troubled or uneasy; make anxious; distress.

I think that last definition: to cause to feel troubled or uneasy; make anxious; distress, really describes my feelings, as of late. I seem to be unable to calm my mind – I am constantly on edge. I know it’s a plethora of troubles – personal and professional – and I know the best thing to do is not worry, but I can’t help it, it’s part of my nature.

I know that worrying doesn’t help anything. Often times it leads us to believe things that aren’t true. For me, my mind is good at coming up with all sorts of false scenarios that I believe must be true. I work myself up into a frenzy and convince myself that this idea, this concept I have created, is real. Then I focus all my energy onto it and hold on tight. It looms over me, lurks around every corner, every crevice of my mind. I get myself all tense and it’s awful. I just can’t relax or “get a grip.” I tend to pace the floor and often times I cry. What’s worse is I tend to talk my friends ears off over and over about the problems I am worrying about and then worry about that as well – that I will alienate them.

But, I am trying to think of ways to ease my stress. I am learning that exercising, being around people who make me smile and laugh, and trying to control the parts of my world, my life, my thinking that I can, I will. And remember, that this too, shall pass.

Anyone else out there worrying about anything? If so, I’d love to hear your remedies for easing that burden.

What Do You Value?

In these tough economical times, with so many people unemployed and those that are employed constantly doing everything they can to keep in that way, everyone seems to be cutting back. People are living with less, or trying to save more and figure out what they can live without.

Restaurants are offering all sorts of deals, at least in my area, to encourage people to eat out. They have "Restaurant Week" where various establishments are offering a choice of an appetizer, a meal and a dessert for $20.09. And there aren't many places where you can go these days and get a three-course meal for that price. So, it's appealing for friends and couples to go out and "splurge."

I know many of my friends and I are looking for ways to be more thrify by engaging in activities such as walking, having a glass of wine at each other's places, or meeting to discuss a book. We are learning that it is not always about going out or spending tons of money in order to have fun. And, truthfully, I think many of us have always felt that way.

When times are tough I think while we feel strain on our purse strings, we look towards what we have control over - growing the bonds of friendship, spending time with our loved ones, taking better care of ourselves. It helps us feel more positive by surrounding ourselves with those who matter most to us.

At least that's the one of the lessons I've taken away during this past year.

Therefore, I pose these thoughts to all of you: What do you value? What can you live without? How are you handling the current recession? Any advice or insights to share?

Try New Things...

Hello and welcome to October! Here in New England the leaves are changing from green to red to yellow and orange. Such beautiful colors and a refreshing new look to the landscape.

As the season changes, as the scenery morphs into something "new" it reminds me that I, too, can mold myself. I'm an everchanging being. We all are.

There's an expression, "Live today like it's your last day." Maybe that's a hard concept to follow all the time, but it's something to think about.Whether it's trying a new drink or teaching a class, don't hesitate to say yes, even if you are uncertain of the results. I didn't know if I would like my pumpkin spice latte but it was delightful. And I haven't taught my class yet, but since a voice that sounded just like myself answered a resounding "YES!" when asked if I would be interested in developing and teaching a class, I realized that I can surprise myself all the time. And while the idea of speaking in front of others makes my palms sweat and my heart beat really fast, I believe that I can do it.

So, here's where I extend my thoughts forward to all of you - what are you going to say yes to this week? Or this month? You might just be excited by the outcome.