Life in progress


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#SoCS – Multitasking

I make a lot of difficult decisions in the course of a workday. It’s a hazard of the job of an editor. (Please don’t look at the word choices in this post and judge me for them. This exercise doesn’t allow me to edit!) Commas used to give me a hard time, once upon a time. Now I can look at a sentence and say, usually, in a split second whether or not it needs one and where. Still, it’s a critical decision.

But then there are the days in which I have no choices more pressing upon my brain than how many things I can carry from the fridge to the counter in one trip. I have it down to a science on the way to breakfast.

  1. Grab the margarine and the milk.
  2. Put the margarine on the counter beside my coffee cup, pour the coffee, and put in the milk.
  3. Carry the milk back to the fridge, put it in and take out the marmalade.

Simple. I have three things and only two trips.

BUT …

(There has to be a “but.”)

On the way from breakfast, I have a conundrum.

Here, let me draw you a diagram of my kitchen, so you’ve got a visual.

Okay, there we go. There are maybe (a big maybe) two steps from the fridge to the coffeemaker, and if you’re standing between the counter (yes, it is that colour green EXACTLY) and the table, there’s no step. It’s just basically a swivel and you’re there.

Okay, where was I?

Okay. So. I’ve got my coffee (I just have to walk around the island and grab everything I’ve taken out of the fridge from the other side and put it on the table) and I sit at the table and drink my coffee and eat my breakfast. I have three things on the table–my mug, the margarine, and the marmalade.

When I’ve finished my breakfast, I have to do two things: put the margarine and the marmalade back in the fridge, put the mug on the counter close to the coffeemaker, and get my last cup of coffee for the morning.

But I have 3 (count ’em–THREE) things to carry from the table to the counter (or the fridge), and only two hands!!!!

It’s a conundrum … a multitasking conundrum!!!!!

Do I do the opposite of what I did before breakfast: put everything on the counter and then go around, get the milk out of the fridge and pour my coffee, then put everything back? NO! That means two trips to the fridge!

Or, do I put just the coffee on the counter, go back to the table, carry the margarine and the marmalade directly to the fridge, grab the milk, go back to the counter, pour the coffee, then go back to the fridge to put the milk away? I’m still taking two trips to the fridge!!!

I go through this scenario EVERY SINGLE DAY and it DRIVES ME MAD!!

There’s only one obvious solution.

I need to grow another hand.

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

This ranty (how did that happen? SHARE MY PAIN!!!) post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday! Click the following link to find all the other entries in the comment section and join in. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/31/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-1-2020/

 


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#JusJoJan 31/20 – Chaos

Parenting. Yep, I’m back to talking about that. Alex had a day off school today, and he was all set to go out with his respite worker for a fun day of bowling and the library. He’d been looking forward to it all week.

So what happened when it was time to get dressed to go?

The same thing that happens every time.

He didn’t want to go. I asked Alex a dozen times, and no. He wanted to stay home.

I knew it was a temporary decision. I knew he really wanted to go. But I’ve had enough of fighting to get him out the door every time he actually wants to go.

So I texted the respite worker and told her not to come.

And what happened as soon as I texted the respite worker?

He wanted to go.

So I put my foot down and said no. He’d made his decision. He no longer had a choice.

I’ve done this before, but I’ve let it slide since. It’s time to put an end to it.

The chaos of Alex’s decision making is driving me nuts. It prevents me from being able to work when he’s home, and if I need to go anywhere–really need to go, like I had to today to get groceries–I can’t go. I’m stuck at home with a 19-year-old who’s acting like a baby for no reason except that he enjoys pushing my buttons.

My buttons will no longer be pushed.

Because if I don’t do anything about this now, then when he finishes school for good in a year and a half, I’m going to end up being nothing but a babysitter for my adult son for the rest of my life. And the fact is, I need to work. I can’t keep us in the manner to which we’ve grown accustomed without it.

So this is less a matter of whining and more a public statement that I’ll change my ways. And Alex’s.

Wish us luck.

 

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Love quickens beneath the moonlight …

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#JusJoJan 28/20 – Never Finished

I’ll start one more time with a warm thank you to our guest prompter. Lauren provided us with our prompt word of the day, “finished.” Thank you, Lauren! You can find Lauren’s Just Jot it January post here.  Go visit her and say hi, and give her a follow, if you’re not already!

It seems there are more things in my life that will never be finished than there are that I’ll be able to finish.

Dishes? There will always be more.

Same with laundry, sweeping up dog hair, shoveling snow …

Okay, the snow will melt. But will it be back in December?

Yes. It probably will.

But it’s those things we never finish that keep us going.

Where would we be without dishes?

Hungry.

Or cleaning up a really messy kitchen table.

Without laundry?

Naked.

Or smelly.

Without dog hair?

Dogless, of course.

Without snow?

Enjoying going outside.

I have no idea where I was going with this post.

 

 

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“…so engrossed in reading it almost missed getting off at my station on journey to work…” ~ Angela, Amazon reviewer

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#JusJoJan 28/20 – TV Time

Thanks very much to Barbara! She provided us with our prompt word of the day, “television.” You can find Barbara’s Just Jot it January post here.  Go visit her and say hi, and give her a follow, if you’re not already!

Okay, you’re going to think this is weird.

You might even laugh.

But get this …

You ready?

No, I’m not going to say I don’t have a TV–I do. And it’s on during Alex’s every waking moment.

The strange thing?

You sure you’re ready?

Are you sitting down?

Because you should be sitting down.

Okay. Here we go.

You know, after all this build up it’s probably going to be a big let down.

But in for a penny

in for a pound.

Right?

Okay. Here it is.

My big confession.

Watching TV is …

on my to-do list.

That’s it.

Because I really want to do it, and there are so many things I want to watch, but I just don’t have time.

And NOT watching TV, I think, is detrimental.

To my creativity.

I spend so much time on the Internet, or alone, or in my head …

And the only face-to-face human contact I have, sometimes for weeks on end …

is with my kids.

I forget, sometimes, how regular people–adult people, who aren’t family and aren’t disembodied voices that I read on my screen–interact with each other.

I’m forgetting how to relationship.

(Yeah, I just turned relationship into a verb.

Sue me.)

And that sucks, because I write relationship books.

Which is what romance novels are, after all.

So, yeah. I need to get around to watching TV.

Just one of the thousand things on my to-do list.

 

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“…so engrossed in reading it almost missed getting off at my station on journey to work…” ~ Angela, Amazon reviewer

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#JusJoJan 27/20 – Razzle Dazzle

To start, I’d like to say thank you very much to Debbie for our dazzling prompt word today! You can find Debbie’s Just Jot it January post here.  Go visit her and say hi, and give her a follow!

Is it just me? Or is it a fact that the older you get, the harder it is to get dazzled by anything? I wonder if it’s cynicism–the belief that whatever dazzles now can’t last.

It’s experience, right?

If we can get old, anything can.

Still, if you know me, then you’ll know there’s at least one thing that doesn’t stop dazzling me, no matter how old it gets. A band that’s been together for 33 years. A band I’ve traveled half-way around the world to see. Japanese rock group, Buck-Tick.

And guess what?

They recorded a whole concert on their “Go on the Razzle Dazzle” tour.

Here’s one of my favorite songs from that tour, with English subtitles, no less.

Tell me you’re not dazzled by this! I dare you!

 

This totally dazzling post is brought to you by Just Jot it January! Click the following link and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/27/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-27th-2020/


“…so engrossed in reading it almost missed getting off at my station on journey to work…” ~ Angela, Amazon reviewer

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#JusJoJan 26/20 – Being Busy

Thanks very much to Saumya for our prompt word of the day, “busy.” You can find Saumya’s blog here. I didn’t find a Just Jot it January post there–maybe she’s busy! 😀 Go visit her and say hi, and give her a follow!

You know, I say I’m busy all the time, but it’s not necessarily the case. Kind of.

I mean, I always do have something to do.

But some of those things I have to do take a certain amount of creativity.

And so, I’ll sit down to get “busy” on them, and I just … can’t. So I run off and make myself a cup of tea, or play a mindless game, or learn something from a podcast … You get the picture.

And then sometimes I come back to whatever it is I need to do, and I can actually do it.

But other times, I come back and immediately run away again. Because I’m not ready. Not creative enough. Or just afraid that whatever I do with whatever it is I need to create will come out as crap.

It’s procrastination, is what it is.

But it’s not just that.

The fear is real.

The problem is, when I do reach the deadline (which is usually bed time) that I absolutely have to sit down and do it, I get stressed.

Because if I just hadn’t procrastinated all day, I’d have it done and I’d be able to get to bed before 2am.

I need a way to get over it.

The solution is probably exercise.

Yeah. I’ll do that instead of what I’m supposed to be busy doing.

*rolls eyes*

 

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#SoCS & #JusJoJan 25/20 – Annoying Calls

I think the last phone call I got from someone who wasn’t my mother needing cigarettes–she’s the only person I know who calls me–was about plumbing protection. For my house. It’s the same company who I pay a monthly protection fee for my boiler. (Wow, that sounds like they’re going to come over and break it if I don’t pay them, doesn’t it?) They’re trying to convince me that I might need a plumber one day and if I do, I’ll have to pay them. (The plumber, that is.)

I keep telling them no, I don’t want plumbing protection, but I swear they’ve called to ask about fifteen times. Don’t they have memos? Get the frickin’ memo, already!

There’s another place that kept calling me that I finally had to block. As someone who runs a newsletter, I’ve learned that it’s important to make sure there’s a way to opt out of marketing. To unsubscribe.

I gave my phone number to a shop–Northern Reflections, a clothing store in the local mall–when I bought a pair of pants for my mother for Christmas a couple of years ago. Since then and up until last week when I finally blocked their asses, I’ve received a recorded message from them at least once a week and as many times as once a day. There is NO WAY TO STOP THEM! I’ve listened to their whole message, I’ve tried to contact the company, no luck. So finally I yelled at their recording: SHUT UP, TAMMY! and stopped them from calling once and for all.

Ugh.

How did this turn into a rant?

Anyway, the store has nice old-lady clothes (and probably young-lady clothes too, but I’ve never gone in there for those), so I’ll probably shop there again. But if they ask me for my phone number again, maybe I’ll lie.

Sorry, person whose number I make up.

Yeah, I probably won’t. I wouldn’t want to subject anyone else to the machinations of Tammy from Northern Reflections.

This is why GDPR was invented.

 

2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley! https://www.quaintrevival.com/

This ranty post (SHUT UP, TAMMY!) is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday, and

 

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#JusJoJan 24/20 – Change

I’ll start by saying thank you to Wendy for our prompt word of the day, “change.” Thanks, Wendy! You can find Wendy’s Just Jot it January post here. Go visit her and say hi, and give her a follow!

They say the only thing in the world we can be certain of is change.

And yet I never seem to have any in my wallet anymore.

What’s up with that?

It sucks, actually, when you want change for something–to get on a bus, to throw into a tip jar, or worst of all, when you need a quarter to get a shopping cart.

Do you get those where you live? Shopping carts that are chained together and the only way you can get just one is to put a quarter in a slot to release the chain?

They suck.

Seriously, I’m not going to steal your cart, nor am I going to fail to put it away.

A few times I’ve been so completely out of cash that I’ve had to use one of those hand-held baskets for way too much food. If I’m really desperate and I really need a lot of groceries, I’ll put the food into my reusable bags. But then I walk around the store feeling guilty, like everyone must think I’m trying to steal food.

Which I’m not, of course. I just don’t have a quarter to put into your damned cart, Mr. Grocery Man!

Still, I always make a big show of turning my bag upside down at the checkout and shaking it to prove there’s nothing in it.

Ah, the joys of the convenience of debit and credit cards.

P.S. I have heat! Still waiting for a part to come in, but we’re good for now.  And I only got one repair man this time!

 

This NOT GUILTY post is brought to you by Just Jot it January! Click the following link and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/24/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-24th-2020/


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#JusJoJan 23/20 – Driven

First off, I’d like to say thank you to Janet for our prompt word of the day, “drive.” Thanks, Janet! You can find Janet’s Just Jot it January post here. Go visit her and say hi, and give her a follow!

Since I’m the only driver in the house, you might say I’m the least driven in my family.

But that’s not true.

Because I am driven in the other sense of the word.

Driven to succeed in both of my careers, driven to learn, driven to do lots of things.

I’m in the driver’s seat of my own life, and yet I’m driven …

How does that make sense?

One thing I am driven to do, to save my own sanity, is put Alex on a school bus in the morning and send him to school. I’m pretty sure he’s ready.

In other news, my boiler conked out again, so we have no heat. Which really sucks. But I borrowed some electric space heaters from my best friend, John (happy birthday, John!), so we’re not freezing to death tonight.

The guy’s supposed to come in the morning to fix it. I wonder how many guys we’ll end up with tomorrow. I’ll report back.

Ah, it’s all enough to drive me to drink sometimes.

 

This confusing post is brought to you by Just Jot it January! Click the following link and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/23/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-23rd-2020/


“…so engrossed in reading it almost missed getting off at my station on journey to work…” ~ Angela, Amazon reviewer

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#JusJoJan 21/20 – The Scraggle

I’ll begin my post as always by saying thank you to our guest prompter for the day. Thank you Cheryl, for the word, “scraggly”! You can find Cheryl’s Just Jot it January post here. Go visit her and say hi, and give her a follow!

I spend most of my days a scraggly mess.

I remember going out to work,

Back when I didn’t have kids, but I did have shoes.

Back when I fit into clothes that looked like I hadn’t slept in them

… even when I had

because I could do that–I didn’t have kids.

But I did have a life.

Stockings. Remember stockings?

I do, barely. I remember I hated putting them on, and I hated the ones that always seemed to ride low in the crotch,

like you could never pull them up far enough

because if you did

you’d have to wear them over your bra.

*sigh*

The good old days.

Never scraggly,

no one to worry about but myself.

 

This reminiscent post is brought to you by Just Jot it January! Click the following link and join in! It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2020/01/21/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-21st-2020/


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