Life in progress

Category Archives: Opinion


by 15 Comments

Paris – #JusJoJan Jot #15

My trip to Paris was, for the most part, a waste.

I was fourteen years old and bored with everything, not least of all, traveling with my mother. I do have pictures somewhere … I don’t think I’m in any of them because what bored teeny-bopper wants to have their picture taken with their mom? What I do remember about the trip:

My very first croissant. And boy, was I in love.

My first bidet. No, I didn’t try it, because ewww!! (I was fourteen.)

Stairs.

Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower through the window of a tour bus.

Dog poop.

Sacré-Cœur.

Stairs.

Crazy drivers.

Being driven to our hotel with a woman cab driver who had her German Shepard in the front seat with her.

Being the only one who knew how to speak French out of myself, my mom, and her friend who we were traveling with.

Did I mention stairs?

Were I to go now, as an adult, I’m positive I’d colossally appreciate it.

As for the stairs? I’ve been to Japan. It can’t be worse for stairs than that. Can it?

The prompt word, “Paris,” for today’s post is brought to you by Kelli! Thanks, Kelli! To find her “Paris” post, click here. And say hi while you’re there!

It’s never too late to participate in Just Jot it January! Click the following link to find out how, and see all the other participants’ links in the comment section. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/15/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-15th/


by 20 Comments

Flu – #JusJoJan Jot #11

At the risk of sounding like I’m moaning–I never do that, do it?–Alex was home for the day again, still coughing even though it’s been almost two weeks since he came out of hospital with pneumonia.

I assumed they were going to give him his flu shot at school, like they always have, but they’ve stopped doing it. Now I have no idea whether he should get it or if we should wait until he’s completely better.

In all, it was one of those days where you wish you had a parenting owner’s manual. You know those days, right?

Should I send him to school or shouldn’t I? Should I cut him some slack because he might be misbehaving because he’s sick? Or is he pushing my buttons because he got out of going to school and now he’s seeing how much further he can go?

Ugh. Yeah, it was one of those days.

But now he’s at his dad’s, finally. First time since the first week of November. I’m feeling the exhaustion–it’s hitting me like a tonne of bricks. I think I might go to bed. And stay there until Sunday.

Have a good one, my friends.

The prompt “flew/flu/flue,” for today’s post is brought to you by M. Oniker! Thanks, M! To find her latest post, click here.

It’s never too late to participate in Just Jot it January! Click the following link to find out how, and see all the other participants’ links in the comment section. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/11/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-11th/


by 25 Comments

Self – #JusJoJan Jot #8

Gah! I hate trying to write about myself. Which is strange, considering that’s basically what this blog is about.

But that’s not entirely true. The bulk of what makes up this blog is how I react to things that happen around me. How I feel about things doesn’t necessarily state directly who I am, though it gives insight into who I am. It would be so much easier to write a bio if all I had to do was write about how I dealt with someone who was rude to me. Or how I managed to get through a day with my kids.

The question “who are you?” is difficult to answer because none of us are just one thing. “Self” is a complex entity, always changing, always growing. Who we are depends on what we experience and how we age. What we do with our “self” depends on circumstances both of our own choosing and of completely random situations and also, where we come from.

Putting all that in a single biography, on a blog or on the cover of a book, isn’t easy.

That took a bit of a philosophical turn, didn’t it?

The prompt word, “self,” for today’s post is brought to you by the fabulous Ritu! Thanks, Ritu! To find her bio, click here. It’s a good one!

It’s never too late to participate in Just Jot it January! Click the following link to find out how, and see all the other participants’ links in the comment section. It’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/08/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-8th/


by 29 Comments

Master – #JusJoJan Jot #6

I am not master of my domain.

No, I’m not talking about in the Seinfeld sense, so you can please just wipe that idea from your brain right away. I’m talking about my house. My home. The place that rather than hang my hat, I usually toss it on a piece of furniture because there’s some crisis or another taking shape the second I walk in the door.

Someone once said to me that a perfect house in which children live is a house with miserable children. I’m not sure that’s true–maybe there are parents who are just that organized. If so, and if you’re out there, tips are welcome.

Or maybe I just really need a hat rack.

This very short, very late post was brought to you by the prompt word “master,” given us today by Sadje! Click here to find her Just Jot it January post and say hi!

To see how you, too, can join in, click the following link. You’ll find all the other participants’ links in the comment section. Try it–it’s fun! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/06/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-6th/


by 36 Comments

Blogging – #JusJoJan Jot #3

I started this blog in July of 2012 with one post and absolutely no idea what I was doing. That post has one view, which was me accidentally logging myself out and looking at it. It didn’t matter, really, what I wrote: no one was ever going to see it anyway. I was no one. I’d tried Googling my own name and found nothing.

Then, in January of 2013, I decided to try again. I looked around WordPress and followed a few people, some of whom followed me back. I commented on a couple of blogs but really got nothing in return until I found HarsH ReaLiTy, a blog hosted by Jason Cushman, AKA Opinionated Man. I followed his lead, had a post reblogged by him, and that was it. I’d arrived.

Since then, I’ve done everything I can to help out others with their quest to get their blogs noticed. I suppose in a way it helps me to fill the desire to be of assistance, but more than that, it allows me to share with other people the joy that the communities here can bring. Blogging is different from other social media in that we can connect on WordPress on a deeper level than with the sound byte that exists on Facebook, Twitter, and other such places where scrolling makes it far too easy to ignore lengthy text. Original text.

I’ve made real friends here. People I care about and who I know genuinely care about me. I feel more comfortable meeting bloggers in person than anyone I might encounter on other social media sites because I feel I can get to know bloggers better.

So yeah, blogging has changed my life. I feel connected to the world in a way I never would have.

And I can find myself on Google now, too.

This post is part of Just Jot it January! Click the following link to see how you, too, can join in and find an amazing community of bloggers! https://lindaghill.com/2019/01/02/jusjojan-2019-daily-prompt-jan-3rd/

 


by 21 Comments

#SoCS – It’s the Most Musical Time of the Year

Is there a more musical time of year than Christmas time? Whether you’re Christian or not, whether you celebrate the holiday or not, if you go shopping, you’re subject to the music of Christmas.

I worked in a department store one year–Eaton’s!–for the holiday season as a temp. Drove me around the bend. I loved working there, though. My helpful side is never brighter when I have someone to help and engage in small talk with in person.

There are always a few songs I hope to hear, but most of them are sooo overdone.

Did I talk about this last year? I think I did. My bad.

The only other time of year I think of as remotely musical is the summer. Certain songs, whether they’re actually about summer or not, remind me of summers past. I think it has to do with listening to the radio a lot more when I wasn’t in school, when I was a kid. I only listen to the radio in the car now. It’s funny that I often know the latest songs before my son does.  This is the last song I introduced him to.

Apparently I’m the cool mom.

At least I like to think so.

You try listening to “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas” after that one.

Heehee.

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This “about to get heavy” post is brought to you (early!) by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to find all the other posts in the comments and join in yourself. It’s fun!! https://lindaghill.com/2018/12/07/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-dec-8-18/


by 2 Comments

Kobo – A Better Way to Buy E-Books

At the risk of bringing the ire of ‘Zon upon myself, I’d like to enlighten you on how much better the Kobo experience is, no matter where you are in the world.

Yes, I might be a tad biased since Kobo is a Canadian company, but having dealt with them longer than I’ve been publishing books, I can honestly say I’ve always had a great relationship with them, any time I’ve needed to contact them.

They’re an organization of human beings who care about what they do. This is their mission statement, copied from their career page:

Our Mission

We are a company built by booklovers for booklovers. We believe people should be able to read anywhere in the world, on any device, and in any language.

With a growing catalogue of millions of titles in 97 languages, Kobo is a truly global eReading service for booklovers of all kinds, in every part of the world.

Things you might not know about Rakuten Kobo:

  • You can buy Kobo e-readers and e-books in Walmart
  • Their five million titles are available in 190 countries
  • They give points when you buy, which you can accumulate to get free books
  • Membership is free
  • Their reading app is free, so you can read on any device
  • Their interface is very simple, making it easy to get a book at the click of a button
  • Rakuten owns Overdrive, so most books that are available on Kobo can be requested from your local library
  • They’re good to their authors!!

I could go on and on about what’s wrong with Amazon right now, but I won’t. What I will tell you is that more and more I’m seeing authors go wide (removing their titles from KDP Select, which demands exclusivity to Amazon), and moving to Kobo, among other e-book retailers.

I’m not being paid to post this article–I’m writing it because I truly believe in Kobo and what they do.

If you love reading, and you enjoy being able to grab your favorite author’s novels at the click of a button, why not sign up with Kobo?

CLICK HERE to check it out!


by 44 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – Share The Road!

These signs that say “Share the Road (with bicycles)” recently went up in the middle of some of the streets in my neighbourhood.

What they should say is “Share the Road with Bicycles except where these stupid signs are because there’s no way you’ll both fit on the road unless you’re willing to drive your car on the wrong side of the street, which isn’t a good idea at all, so go ahead and run the cyclist over.”

 

If you would like to participate in this prompt, 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 pingback, 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.

NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, like Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

As with Stream of Consciousness Saturday (SoCS), if you see a pingback 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. Try to make it either funny or inspirational.

3. Use our unique tag #1linerWeds.

4. Add our lovely badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by Cheryl, at https://dreamingreality646941880.wordpress.com/


by 19 Comments

#SoCS – Can Can-Can

Can I catch a break? Seems not today. Dealt with a cold and bad behaviour from my kiddie who’s about to become an adult-ie. He was supposed to have his eighteenth birthday party dinner with the family tonight but instead he ended up going to his room for hitting me. He’s still only about 5 feet tall and not muscular at all (I can still pick him up), so he didn’t do any damage, but that’s not the point. He’s still at the terrible-twos-going-on-adolescent stage of his life.

But I did kind of catch a break. When you think of the brighter side, at least I didn’t have to get out of my pj’s today to go to the store and get a cake. And I’m feeling a bit better, so that’s something.

I suppose all in all I don’t have it that bad. I have a roof over my head and a way to communicate to the world. I have a little bit of an income, though that will have to change, again, since Alex is turning eighteen. I stand to lose a huge chunk of my income starting Tuesday. Like, about half of it. Wanna buy a book?

In all honesty, I’ve been working quite hard at marketing these last few weeks. It hasn’t got me very far, but I’m hoping it’s just a learning curve. I’ve been playing around with Canva–a free online graphics-making site. I made this tonight:

It’s fun to play with.

Can I get better at it? Sure I can. And I will.

I can also finish the third book in my series and maybe even write another book before the year is out. I’m incredibly motivated right now, and I’m itching to act like an author again. I feel like I can do this.

Which isn’t a good attitude to go to bed with, because I’m probably going to stay awake plotting a new book, or my life or something.

Where was I going with the title of this post? Oh yeah.

Can I admit something?

I always wondered if Cannes was where the can-can originated.

I can look it up.

But it’s late.

I used to be able to do the can-can. Now I can only do it with my fingers.

Still, I’m glad I can.

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the following link to see all the other posts and join in! https://lindaghill.com/2018/10/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-20-18/ It’s fun!


by 14 Comments

#SoCS – Precious Words

One for the record books–the day I was a full hour and fifteen minutes late starting on my own prompt.

A few times today (yesterday) I actually sat down to write this, but I got distracted. Pulled away, or at the very least had the feeling that if I started, I wouldn’t be able to finish.

Which is my most-used excuse for not writing fiction.

So I’m sitting here now, in the wee hours of Sunday morning with my cup of peppermint tea, waiting for the Tylenol to kick in. And now, I will close my eyes and type.

How are our words precious?

They have such power. Our voices–the way we communicate, whether by voice itself or by written word–have the power to affect so much. So many others. It’s not the words themselves, but the way we choose to use them. Our expressions, our tone, our gestures … our voice.

Writers starting out are often confused over what we refer to as authorial voice. As an editor, I can see a writer’s voice as plain as day. It’s much like we speak. Because our thoughts drive both our speech and the way we write, they come out very similar in structure.

And those inner voices … Those, if we really pay attention to them, show the real us, if only to ourselves. Can you imagine if we said everything we thought? Ha! My stream of consciousness just went haywire. If only I could type as fast as I think.

But maybe I overthink things like this because I have such a passion for words. They have the potential for such beauty and such ugliness, all of which drive the human spirit–create our experiences of others and even ourselves. They can inspire us and they can scar us. Lift us up or drive us into the pit of despair.

Words are precious.

If we could all use them both wisely and with kindness and empathy, the world could be without conflict.

And I’d be out of a job.

(Because without conflict, a story is boring. 😛 )

SoCS badge by Pamela, at https://achronicalofhope.com/

This extremely late and utterly rambling post is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Click the link to find all the entries in the comments. And join in! https://lindaghill.com/2018/10/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-13-18/