Life in progress

Monthly Archives: September 2015


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Sept 19/15

It’s Friday again! That means it’s time for your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt! I’ve been thinking a lot this past week about routines – we love ’em, we get stuck in ’em; it’s hard to decide whether they’re good or bad sometimes. Anyhow, here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “route/root.”  Use one, use both, use them as they are, or add something to them. Have fun!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

SoCS badge 2015

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


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9 Things I Learned From Not Blogging Every Day

As a blogger who has gone from posting occasionally, to every day and then back to once in a while, I’ve found there are both advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Some of the good points only apply to the blog itself, but some are important factors for general well-being. Here is my list:

For the Blog

  1. Posting every day creates a momentum. I often got almost as many views from the post of the day before as I did the current one, thus doubling the number of views. When posting only occasionally, views plummet on days I don’t post.
  2. Time of day is important! Even though I posted every day for a year on my fiction blog, the number of views went down if I published after eight at night. It was the same deal if I posted too early. Followers get used to seeing you at the same time every day.
  3. It doesn’t matter how frequent posts are on a fiction blog – fiction gets fewer views. Period. My theory is that if people want to read fiction, they’ll usually pick up a book.
  4. Even if you take a break, people will come back. Especially people who really like what you write.

 

For Life in General

  1. Not posting every day means more exercise – just as well, my butt was getting square.
  2. Not blogging means more time for other projects, including ones that come with getting a square butt. Still a plus.
  3. Posting every day provides a constant means of interaction with other humans. I have to say, I don’t laugh nearly as much when I’m away from WordPress.
  4. Going back and forth from daily blogging to not gives a perspective of what’s important in life. Yes, obviously family is the most important thing, but for me as a writer, so is being able to write. Without a steady outlet of my thoughts onto the screen, I become more irritable – which is not necessarily a good thing for my family either. Therefore, my final point is,
  5. Balance is essential! I’m still working on finding mine.

 

My conclusion, as I’ve come to realize it, is that as much as I hear everyone say “real life” is more important than being online, it depends what I do with my online life, and equally what I do with my life offline. I think it’s okay to spend a healthy amount of time sitting at a keyboard if that time is productive and provides an outlet rather than an escape (though escape is important too). I’d like to start posting every day again: mostly what I’ve learned by not doing so, is that it’s okay to walk away. I guess that’s actually ten things, isn’t it. 😛

What do you think? Can you add to the list?

 


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One-Liner Wednesday – Because seriously, no one wants to be around me

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You know you’ve finally made it to the party of life when you get insulted by a fortune cookie. Thanks, Confucius.

 

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Anyone who would like to try it out, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds!

4. Have fun!


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SoCS – Distemper

Distemper, datemper… which temper do you want? You know, sometimes you just want to edit. But you can’t. So here we go.

I’ve been sitting here for the past fifteen minutes trying to come up with a word with “temp” in it that doesn’t mean it will soon go away: temporary, CONtemporary (new now, old tomorrow), tempus fugit (time flies), temperature (when does that ever stay consistent?) (okay, if you live in the desert maybe it pretty much does), template. Template! It’s something you use so that you can recreate the same thing over and over – without changing it!

Now what?

I suppose I can still talk about how things change, but that’s so depressing, isn’t it? Unless I’m sad, then I want things to change for the better. Contentment is so rare though, isn’t it? When I am content I try my best to stay in the moment, to remember details, and to enjoy it to the fullest. Contentment scares me though. I have to say I’m pretty happy with the way my life is at the moment. All three of my kids live at home, and they’re all relatively healthy (Alex has a lingering cough, but it’s nothing life-threatening) and they’re all relatively happy as well, and busy with their lives. It all makes me wonder what’s going to happen next. I try not to speculate. Again, stay in the moment. Just stay in the moment, Linda. Enjoy it. Even when I’m being kept awake at 2 am by a coughing kid… Yeah.

Sometimes enjoying my contentment is more of a challenge than others.

I have a hard time staying seated. When I’m writing or editing I have to get up at least every half an hour or so. I sometimes walk into the kitchen, see that there’s really nothing to munch on (because I’ve been smart enough not to buy anything to munch on) and go back to the computer empty-handed. That’s a good thing. I could so easily gain a hundred pounds without even trying if I gave in to all the temptations. Hey, there’s another word that’s not temporary… or is it? I suppose if temptations were constant they’d grind us down so much that they would no longer be temptations but reality instead. So yeah, temporary.

I’m going to temporarily leave reality now… (which means temporary unconsciousness… stream of unconsciousness Saturday… SoUS… French for suck… this really sucks, doesn’t it? Hahahahahahahaha!)

This ramble has been brought to you by SoCS: https://lindaghill.com/2015/09/11/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-1215/ Join in earlier than I do next week and have some fun!

SoCS badge 2015


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The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Sept 12/15

Happy Friday everyone, and welcome once again to the Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday! School’s back in full force finally, but it seems no one has told the weather man – it still feels like summer, here anyway. With that in mind, here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “temp.”  Use a word with “temp” anywhere in it – beginning, middle or end – or use it as a word all on its own. Enjoy!

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at this week’s prompt page and check to make sure it’s here in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Anyone can join in!

To make your post more visible, use the SoCS badge! Just paste it in your Saturday post so people browsing the reader will immediately know your post is stream of consciousness and/or pin it as a widget to your site to show you’re a participant. Wear it with pride!!

SoCS badge 2015

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours.  Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!


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Cities In Dust

When The Mortal, the solo project of my favourite singer Sakurai Atsushi, released a sample of their new song on Youtube today I spent some time deciding whether or not to share it on Facebook. The song is a cover of “Cities In Dust,” by Siouxsie and the Banshees. This being the 11th of September, the very title of the tune stirs feelings of unease. I don’t know if the band released it today on purpose, or if they’ll realize belatedly the significance of the date and apologize for it. After much careful consideration, I think it’s a good idea to share it.

The lyrics of “Cities In Dust” you see, read to me more like a celebration of destruction than a lament over it. And while it might seem insensitive, in a way I find it helps. The images that were burned into my mind on that fateful day are all over social media, and with those images are messages that we should never forget, lest we somehow cause the tragedy to be repeated. That all wars should end is a vision many of us share. And yet how do we as individuals stop a war from happening? I return to the song.

In the lyrics I find a lesson; that no matter how much hate and ill-will we have for our enemies, none of us should ever wish for destruction. Understanding of opposing views by both parties, cooperation and learning to live together is the only way we will ever find peace. As I always say, we have to start small. With our own communities and most of all, in our own hearts.


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Asking for Help – Please Share and Help Me Find My Sister

A heartfelt plea – help Jason find his sister. It’s a big world out there, hopefully we can make it smaller.


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One-Liner Wednesday – The First Lesson in Relationships

Realizing you’re taking your grumpiness out undeservedly on your loved ones is the hard part. Apologizing is easy.

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Anyone who would like to try it out, feel free to use the “One-Liner Wednesday” title in your post, and if you do, you can ping back here to help your blog get more exposure. To execute a ping back, just copy the URL in the address bar on this post and paste it somewhere in the body of your post. Your link will show up in the comments below. Please ensure that the One-Liner Wednesday you’re pinging back to is this week’s! Otherwise, no one will likely see it but me.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a ping back from someone else in my comment section, click and have a read. It’s bound to be short and sweet.

Unlike SoCS, this is not a prompt so there’s no need to stick to the same “theme.”

The rules that I’ve made for myself (but don’t always follow) for “One-Liner Wednesday” are:

1. Make it one sentence.

2. Make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds!

4. Have fun!


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The Young and the Rested

I was inspired by the Daily Prompt here: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/the-young-and-the-rested/ not as much by the actual prompt —

“When was the last time you felt truly rejuvenated and energized? What made you feel that way?”

–but by the title of it. The Young and the Rested.

The fact is, I’ve been at home with the young’uns for the last two weeks of the summer without much of a break. Consider my challenges: Sunday dawned bright and early and Alex, my youngest, wanted to go on a bus ride with his brother. First he had to feed, a process which takes about two hours via feeding pump. So we were sitting around the table, Alex and I and my BFF John, playing a rousing game of Life (the board game) while he fed, when Alex decided it was time for his brother to wake up. I said no, they couldn’t leave for another hour, let him sleep a bit more. Unplug me from my pump, Alex demanded. I don’t want to eat anymore, I want to go now. This was not an option; he turned the pump off anyway. I told him that if he wanted to continue to play his game he had to feed. No way, he said. So I walked away.

He proceeded to follow me around the house, digging his fingers into me to get my attention whilst screaming. Fine, I said, stop screaming and poking me or go to your room.

Okay, I’ll go to my room, he said. With the pump off (still) he went to his room. After a while I told him he could come out if he would turn on his pump. No way, he said. I want to go on the bus, to which I replied, You’re not going on the bus until your feed is finished.

The argument began at 9:30 am. It finished when I finally force-fed him by syringe at 1pm. The consequence, no bus.

This is a typical day for me at home with Alex. He gets something into his head that he wants to do and he will absolutely not consider the consequences of his actions. He’s an adolescent still going through his terrible twos. It takes him hours to give in – and I’m consistent! And as patient as anyone I have ever met. Of course there is the language barrier – he is Deaf and I am hearing. Although my sign language is limited, I still have to believe that after almost 15 years of living together I can at least get my point across on the most basic level.

He’s also sick with that awful summer cold that’s going around, which is really where all this ties in with the prompt. Last night he woke up coughing at 1:40 am. I gave him something that I thought might help (doctor prescribed codeine) but it didn’t. At 4 am I finally gave in and let him watch a movie in bed. So neither of us are rested… and I’m old.

When was the last time I felt truly rejuvenated and energized? The early nineties. Before I started having kids. Parenting is such fun, isn’t it?


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Time for a WordPress Rant

Okay WordPress, what’s up with the missing “Reblog” and “Follow” buttons at the top of my screen when I’m viewing someone else’s blog? There have been a few instances in which I’ve wanted to re-blog something but I can’t. Am I the only one who’s still seeing (or actually, not seeing) this?

I have looked on the forums and apparently you’re “working on it.” Please “work on it” faster. Thank you.

On a lighter note, I’ve had one visitor so far today. It seems they were careful not to peek though. 😛

the visitor