Life in progress

Category Archives: Opinion


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#SoCS – Whoa!

Okay, bear with me. I’m going to tell you what I was thinking about the other day. It was one of those “whoa!!” moments you get, you know? Like when something comes into your head that’s so mind-blowing, you have to think back and try to remember if you’ve just smoked a joint? (For the record, I haven’t, in, like, many many years.) (Too many years to count.) (Like, really, a long time ago.) (I love stream of consciousness writing because it’s like you can’t take it back. It’s just … there.) (Like, whoa.) (Time to go back and see where I was heading with this. Just a sec.)

Oh yeah. The other day. So I was sitting in front of the computer, naturally, and I was reading, and it occurred to me that I was reading.

That’s it! That was my “whoa!!” moment. I was reading!! My eyes were deciphering these lines and squiggles on the screen and making sense of them instantaneously!! I was learning something at the rate it took my eyes to scan from one side of the page to the next. Isn’t that amazing!?!? How fast our brains are to not only recognize letters, but see them in an order that makes words make sense to us?!? It’s crazy, man!!

And now? What’s even better? My fingers are putting these letters on the screen as fast as I can think words (and spell them correctly) so that I can convey to you, (you readers!!) what I was thinking the other day.

It’s, like, WHOA!!

This totally, completely stream of consciousness post that I’m almost afraid to read before I publish because I’m not allowed to edit it (my rules) and I’ll probably delete if I do read it, is brought to you by Stream of Consciousness Saturday. Read (whoa) the rules at the following link and join in! https://lindaghill.com/2018/05/04/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-5-18/

P.S. This post was written under the influence of pasta. No drugs (except caffeine) were consumed prior to the typing (whoa) of the above words. But I may open a bottle of wine now …


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Zoned

I love being “in the zone.” Totally concentrated on what I’m doing. Especially when I’m writing. People talk to me and I know somewhere on the edge of consciousness they’re asking me a question. Once, twice, and then maybe the third time they ask, I’ll answer with a completely inappropriate word.

Son: Have you fed the dog?

Me: Cupboard.

Son: Mom?

Me: Uh … the food’s in the cupboard.

Son: I know where it is. Has he eaten yet?

Me: Okay, thanks.

That sort of thing. And they think I’m zoned out, but I’m zoned in, man. Like, totally zoned IN. (Sorry, Cheech and Chong were on Stephen Colbert last week and I seem to be channeling Tommy Chong.) It’s all a matter of perspective. I’m guessing nobody would want to be in my zone with me anyhow. At least not farther into my zone than the filtered version that my writing offers. This zone’s deep and scary, man. Deep and scary.


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#SoCS – Yes

Why do so many of us find it hard to say no? Saying yes seems to be what overextends me. Sure, I can do that. Let me help you. Gah! I never get my own stuff done.

And I have stuff. I have loads of stuff. Tons of it. And all of it needs to be done. I am getting little bits of stuff done here and there. I managed to get some rewriting done on the beginning of my upcoming book. Looks now like it’ll be published in June. I’ll try for the 27th – one year from the date the last one came out. So much for six months between releases.

Hey, a heads-up. I have a book blog tour for The Magician’s Curse running for ten days starting April 30th, so you’ll probably be sick of hearing about it by the 9th of May. But I do plan to put it on sale, so there’s that.

OH, one thing I did manage to get done was I phoned the company who manufactured my smoke alarms. They’re going to replace them for free. Now I just have to not start a fire in my house between now and the time they show up in the mail. I can do that, right? I can say no to fire.

Well, it’s officially Sunday here now, so I suppose I should stop writing my Stream of Consciousness Saturday post. If you’d like to join in (late, like me) or just read all the other entries, click the following link: https://lindaghill.com/2018/04/27/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-28-18/ It’s fun!


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Xylophone

I have nothing to say about xylophones except that I remember wanting one as a child. To me, they were like pianos you could bash with a hammer. Which was probably why when I got one, it broke. It had keys (do you call them keys? let me look it up … oooh, I learned something new) bars made of rainbow-coloured pieces of metal that eventually sounded less melodic than if I’d had a series of tin cans lined up.

What did I learn? I learned a xylophone has wooden keys and the ones with metal keys are glockenspiels. So there you go: I’ve never owned a xylophone.

I feel like my whole childhood was a lie now. Thanks Wikipedia.


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Well, I Never!

Has the cashier in a grocery store ever commented on your purchases? It happens to me once in a while. It happened today, in fact. I had two loaves of bread and a can of salmon on the conveyor. As the cashier scanned them, she said, “Salmon sandwiches.”

“Yeah,” I replied. But then I got to thinking.

What if I’d been buying, say, mouthwash: might she have asked, “Did you forget the garlic bread”?

What about beans: “Better be sleeping alone tonight!”

Toilet paper? “I love this one! So soft.”

Condoms? “Someone’s getting lucky!”

A cucumber? …okay, never mind. You get the picture. Whether you want it or not.

So yeah, it’s probably just my imagination running away with me as usual, but having the cashier comment on my food kinda weirds me out.


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Twenty to Twelve

It’s twenty to twelve on “T” day (not that I’m keeping track or anything), and I’m tired. Been looking at the screen most of the day, trying to get my book edited.

But now all I can think about is Toronto. The city where I was born. The city where ten people died today after getting run over by a truck on the sidewalk. Those poor innocent people.

It’s horrifying to know it can happen anywhere, at any time. It’s horrifying that so many of us are become desensitized to it. It’s horrifying that it’s not as horrifying as it used to be, even a couple of years ago, when multiple people died by a senseless, violent act.

Is this what we’re coming to? Or is it what we, as a species, always were?

So many questions for such a late hour. I’m at a loss.


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One-Liner Wednesday – Thought of the Day

Thought of the day:

One doesn’t appreciate the ability to breathe through one’s nostrils, until one has a rotten cold. Or allergies.

Linda G. Hill

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 very cool badge to your post for extra exposure!

5. Have fun!

#1linerWeds badge by Dan Antion

 

 


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Killing Time

Do we kill time? Or does time kill itself?

Think about it. A moment only goes by because another moment has taken its place.

Like time is stomping on itself

stomping itself out

to get to the next and the next.

“Ticking” is just a less scary way of perceiving it.

 

Sweet dreams.  🙂


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Holy Shamoly, It’s About Time!

Finally! Green tea KitKat has made it to Canada!

I had to buy two one just to give it a try. You know, to make sure they taste the same as the heavenly ones I bought in Japan.

Aaaand, they’re different. Not as sweet, and heavier on the green tea flavour. At least I think they are.

Of course, the only way to be sure is to go back to Japan …


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Good Riddance

Yes, I’m posting my illegal A to Z Challenge “G” post a day late, and on Sunday, which is supposed to be a day off. If this were baseball, it would either be a triple play or a strike out. Since it’s all contraband posting, my guess is a strike out. But I’m doing it anyway, so that’s four strikes. I’m definitely going to blogger hell.

Anyway, I’d better make this good.

My first online deed this morning was to post something like this on Facebook (“something” meaning I wish I’d made it pretty):

Text reads: Fun game: 1. Make a list of all the things you don’t have time to do in a day. 2. Open the stopwatch on your phone and start it every time you go on Facebook. START NOW

My following Facebook post was something to the effect of “I’m leaving Facebook for a week. Just so you know I’m not ignoring you. Cheers!”

In other words, I’m skipping the “Fun game” and going straight for the stuff I don’t have time for. Feel free to share.

And good riddance, Facebook!