Life in progress

Category Archives: Random


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Pain is a Great Motivator

I’m truly amazed at what I’ve learned as a response to the pain in my right shoulder. What I’ve accomplished leads me to believe that perhaps pain is responsible for the entire evolution of man.

Okay, maybe not… but just maybe.

For all of the fifty-one years I’ve been on this earth I’ve been right-handed. Apart from holding a fork, and even then only when I have a knife in my right, I’ve never done much with it. Oh, and touch-typing of course. But even then, I can’t manage to hit the space bar with my left thumb without seriously thinking about it. Doing so slows me down considerably, so I’ll stop trying.

But now! now I’m able to do almost everything except write with it. And why? Why do I use my left hand now without even thinking about it? Because for most things, using my right is excruciating. Eating, drinking from a cup, brushing my hair, reaching for things, even wiping my butt; I’ve suddenly become ambidextrous. Pain has taught me how to do all these things at more than half a century old!

So I got to thinking about the evolution of man and how pain might have helped us get to where we are. Think about technology for instance. Imagine how many blisters we’d have and how wrinkled our skin would be if we actually had to walk and then swim to another continent! Not to mention being eaten by fish with numerous rows of teeth! And what about grocery stores. How much hunger would we have to endure if we had to wait for, say, a potato to grow. Or a cow. With the invention of aisles upon aisles of ready-grown food we don’t have to worry about that!

So I conclude that pain must be the greatest motivator in the world. Can you think of one better? I think not!


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Oiling the Creative Machine

I’m looking for input on an idea. It all started like this…

I decided to play with a pseudonym, but I didn’t want to have to keep signing in and out of this WordPress account to keep my name a secret, so I went to … hold on to your seats … Blogger. Don’t everyone gasp at once. I’ve been there for a whole four days and not a single peep out of any one of the maybe three people who have looked at my blog. Needless to say, it’s frustrating. SO much harder to follow people over there – I swear I can hear crickets. You may be wondering just why I would want a pseudonym. Easy. Yes, that’s right, I want something easy to write – short, sweet, random, funny snippets that don’t take away from the theme and goal of this blog, which is to talk about my life in a reasonable manner and to further my career as a novelist. I can’t see shooting out the occasional random crap as a stop to reaching that goal. The other, more important reason for my Blogger blog came up in relation to my shoulder. I’ve been told to bend over and let my arm hang, swinging every once in a while to keep the joint lubricated. Just like I need to lubricate my creative joint by writing… But writing things like decent fiction and grammatically correct articles takes up so much time!! So here’s my crazy little idea.

What if I created another WordPress blog, just for this purpose. I could keep the pseudonym, only everyone will know it’s me, because when I write and comment my gravatar will be there. Would you follow me? Some of it will be semi-fictional, some will be more like a tweet only longer… all of it will be just random amusing crap that may well culminate in huge discussions. Most of all, it will be for me.

So, input? Have you ever considered doing something like this? Your opinions will likely have a lot to do with whether or not I go through with it, so please be honest.  Here, I’ll make it easy for you.

The poll is no longer active. Thanks for voting!

 

 


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A Single Gal’s Guide for this Valentine’s Weekend

Image courtesy of [farconville] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of [farconville] at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

(For ladies only. Men; don’t read.) This Saturday is Valentine’s Day – a perfect opportunity for a date with that great guy. But what if, like me, you’re single and dateless? Here’s what you can do instead:

7. Take yourself out for a nice dinner!
Spend Sunday reconciling how you managed to spend less on a filet mignon, a lobster tail and a bottle of fine wine than you spent at Desserts R’ Us.

6. Stay home with an expensive bottle of wine and your favourite flavour of Haagen Dazs!
Spend Sunday figuring out which one you regret the most. (Hint: it’s the combination of the two.)

5. Knit a sweater!
Realize Sunday morning that it’s never going to fit you – it’s for that fabulous guy you don’t have. Spend the rest of the day undoing it and knitting yourself a blankie to cry into.

4. Watch The Notebook!
Spend Sunday convincing yourself that it’s better not to have a romantic partner – you won’t have to worry about remembering who he is in 50 years.

3. Watch Magic Mike!
Spend Sunday shopping for replacement batteries. (You know what I’m talking about, ladies.)

2. Get yourself dolled up and go to the theatre to watch 50 Shades of Grey!
Spend Sunday inventing excuses for your family to explain why the fire department showed up at your house at midnight. Anything but the truth – that you somehow managed to handcuff yourself to the bed posts in your sexiest lingerie and then dropped the key but managed to hang on to the phone. Oh myyy!!

1. Spend Saturday night curled up with a nice glass of your favourite beverage and a great book!
Sunday, repeat.

I don’t know about you gals, but I think I might stick with #1. 😉


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Insane or just a vivid imagination?

Okay, bear with me for it seems that perhaps no one saw my angry rose quite the way I did.

I drew you a diagram.

Here’s the original:

dead roseangry

 

and here it is again with my mad paint skillz added:

click to have a closer look... if you dare

click to have a closer look… if you dare

Now look at the original and tell me you can’t see the crazy-assed disembodied-headed dead rose that’s still sitting on my kitchen counter waiting to eat me for dinner.

Seriously, you can’t expect me to deal with this insanity alone…


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JusJoJan 18 – What’s Your Useless Talent?

It seems, to me anyway, that the last few days have been wrought with uncertainty and a balance in which negativity outweighed the positive. Time to lighten things up – who’s with me?

Almost everyone has a completely useless talent. It’s not easy to find an appropriate reason to show them off, is it? So here’s your chance.

My useless talent is the ability to recite the ingredients of a Big Mac – backwards. A girl who sat in front of me in the fifth grade had them written on the back of a t-shirt and, as boring as geography was, I memorized them.

What’s your useless talent? Show ’em off in the comments!

This post is part of Just Jot It January. Click on the link and join in: it’s never too late! https://lindaghill.com/2015/01/01/just-jot-it-january-pingback-post-and-rules/

JJJ 2015


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Nano Poblano – Day 26: ADD Strikes!

Not to diminish the severity of the impact ADD has on the lives of people who truly suffer with it, but is it possible to “catch” it in times of stress? Why do I ask? Let me tell you.

In the amount of time it took me to decide what I was going to write about today, click on my dashboard and get into “Add New Post,” I came up with six more things I want to write about – the last of which is the fact that spellcheck (I guess Firefox’s version) has finally chosen to insert its ass in my subject line. Apparently “Poblano” isn’t a word. Who knew?

So yeah, the other stuff in backwards order of the idea light bulb coming on over my head are:

1. I realized I haven’t answered any of my comments today, so I wanted to apologize for that in advance of my upcoming eye drops. I’ll try to get to some before I leave for the appointment however.

2. My battery works!! It’s ALIVE!!!! And yes, it was free. 😀

3. My occupational therapist appointment went well. I’ve got to do a few exercises, mildly limit my movement for a couple of weeks, and get my laptop into a better position. Oh, and move around once in a while. OH, and check out an aqua fitness program. OH! And get a body pillow. Good call to all of those who came up with the idea when I was considering a sleeping companion.

4. I’m working on writing enough “Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right” so they’ll keep publishing while I’m gone.

5. Beta readers!! I need a few people who are serious about wanting to beta my novel. I’ll be looking to find out if it’s interesting enough to captivate my audience, notes on any inconsistencies, and I’m planning to put a note in it of my own to ask about thoughts on splitting it into two or three books. I’d like to have it read while I’m away, if I can get it ready by the time I leave. Let me know if you want a copy! I’ll take three readers for now. Please email me at bacamjoly at gmail dot com if you’re interested.

6. … And now that I’m finally at my original idea for posting today, I’ve forgotten what it is.

What do you think? Am I ready for an ADD diagnosis yet?

This insanely random post has been brought to you in conjunction with Mr. Fabulous Himself, Mark Bialczak

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and NaBloMoMoPowhatever

NaBloPoMo_1114_465x287_blogroll


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Nano Poblano – Day 16: 10 Random Whiches

1. Which witch is which?

2. Which is better: slapstick or dry?

3. Which beverage makes the most sense?

4. Which one?

5. Which would you rather be: a sandwich or a set of false teeth?

6. Which Disney character are you most like?

7. Which colour is the best colour in the world to paint a kitchen?

8. Which sound is the most annoying ever?

9. Which is better: digital or analogue?

10. Which musician would you bring back from the dead, if you could?

As always, a point for every good answer, and a bonus point for your “which” question to me. Funniest answer (decided by me) may be posted as my One-Liner Wednesday. Go!

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NaBloPoMo_1114_465x287_blogroll


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The Nano Poblano Oddly Specific Gratitude Blog Hop

Deborah, dear Deborah, at Notes Tied on the Sagebrush has passed forth the happy task of listing things for which I am grateful, for which I am grateful. Thank you, Deborah. Here you will find a list of gratefulness from other esteemed members of Team Pepper and my own at the bottom.

Here’s what to do:

  1. Add to the list with your own oddly specific bits of gratitude. Add as few or as many things as you’d like. Include a picture or two if you’d like… but you certainly don’t have to. Put your name at the top of the list to see where yours started and the next blogger’s begins.
  2. Tag the post with the usual pepper tags and oddly specific gratitude.
  3. Tag another pepper to add to the list by linking to their About page, but there’s a catch! When you tag the next blogger, be sure to include a bit about why you’re grateful to be in the same blogging world with them.:) (Try not to tag anyone who has already been tagged that way more people get to join in the fun.)

The List of Oddly Specific Gratitude

Nerd in the Brain:

  1. the smell of wild onions when I mow the lawn
  2. coffee makers (having the coffee already prepared in the mornings is magical)
  3. the way my crazy dog barks likes a vicious beast at the horses across the road, but then cowers behind me like a needy wimp whenever a horse actually comes close
  4. hearing my husband talk on the phone to the rest of his team at work… it reminds me that he’s not just my silly, sweet, awesome husband… he’s also my competent, responsible, highly skilled husband
  5. opening a blank lesson plan book and imagining the possibilities to come
  6. sausage balls
  7. watching Grace’s enthusiasm for all things musical
  8. the way I can hear a smile on Olivia’s face whenever we say hello or goodbye on the phone
  9. knitting with really soft, squishy yarn

Not a Punk Rocker

10. Getting a random text when Matthew is in cell-signal range. (“Hi”)

11. Awesome stuff in the mail, including Legos and letters from friends, making me smile when I need it the most at the end of a long day.

12. Cherry chapstick.

13. Somebody found my blog by searching for “deadpool talks about political social issues” yesterday.

14. Skype and chat for keeping me in touch with friends in “real-time” when one or the other of us needs it the most.

15. Finding new blogs to read and follow through this challenge!

Jackie P (tobreathistowrite)

16. Having friends like I do here in the blogging world. You all make my days brighter.

17. My dog Sam. He loves me unconditionally, wish more people could love like that. Plus, he makes me laugh daily.

18.Coffee. Without it the world would be a much sadder and thirsty place. And I would be a much harder person to deal with.

19. All the bright and cheerful colors around. Something about bright colors makes me happy. The gold of the sun, the cerulean blue of the sky, the wonder of a rainbow, they never cease to make me glad I’m alive.

20. Books…… you all know what I mean.

Fish of Gold

21. Spell check. Even though it did just strangely try to correct my horribly botched spelling of “another” to “Antoine.” I don’t even know anyone named Antoine, spell check.

22. I’m grateful to myself for being the sucker who couldn’t walk away from my dog’s cage at the animal rescue. My failure to do so has converted 70 dog pounds into a metric ton of joy and unconditional love.

23. Male’s hilariously failed attempts at sexting.

24. My sense of humor. I wouldn’t have survived this long without it.

25. To the Peppers for continuing my harebrained Nano Poblano Blog Hop Story idea and turning it into something unexpectedly awesome. Go Team Pepper

26.I also second #18.

Knocked Over by a Feather

27. My aunts Oreo truffles. They are addictive.

28. Finding my comfy spot in bed.

29. Receiving a spontaneous real hug from my daughter, which rarely happens.

30. Watching stupid TV with my husband.

31. Hearing my mom call me sweetie or something similarly saccharine sweet on the phone

Mental Mama ( Mental in the Midwest)

32. the world’s best tiny mommy

33. Evie and Sissy Cats

34. lithium, depakote, and gabapentin

35. the world’s most amazing support network

36. good dark chocolate, preferably with cherries

37. the jumbo margaritas at Romeo’s – lime, on the rocks, extra salt

Mark Bialczak

38. My dear wife Karen for buying me two season tickets for Syracuse University football six years ago, going to every game with me (but one when she went on a cruise) since and turning home game Saturdays into Happy Happy days win or lose.

39. That Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle usually looks like this on the end of the living room couch and her specially covered ottoman daily come 10 p.m. after a day of enthusiastically ruling our Syracuse city home we call Little Bitty

Ellie B

40. That Karen talked me into going to the Paws for the Cause rescue dog event that March day four years ago when we saw Ellie marching around in her orange “Adopt Me” vest.

41.That my daughter Elisabeth was smart enough and confident enough and brave enough to go back to school this fall to get her associate’s degree and New York State certificate to become a physical therapist’s assistant, 2 1/2 years after getting her bachelor’s in biology.

42. That writing every day on markbialczak.com since Oct. 27, 2013 has turned out to be so much fun.

43.That Sheena Not a Punk Rocker talked me into hosting Nano Poblano this year, allowing me to meet so many interesting new bloggers! Wait. I want to add two more exclamation points to this one!!

Coulddoworse (Rachel or Lundygirl)

44. The park that I walk through four mornings a week

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45. Iced fingers

2014-11-01 10.11.55

46. Crochet and blogging; though never at the same time

SAM_1463

47. making something beautiful

SAM_1329

48. flowersSAM_1167

49. Hot toasted sandwiches with my family on a very rainy bank holiday.SAM_0946

50. beauty that you see in the detailSAM_0819

51. Great memories to mull over and enjoy.SAM_0116

 

Notes Tied On The Sagebrush

52. I am grateful that I was able to copy this whole list with pictures and get it pasted on to my post without messing it up at all, I hope.

53. I am grateful for my kids xoxo, and my husband xoxo

54. I am grateful to read good books, and watch good films

55. Good food, good wine and good friends

56. That I live in the state of California, USA

57. Discussions with my blogger friends and getting their support for my writing

Linda G. Hill – Life in Progress

58. That moment when I’m not aware that I’m falling asleep.

59. The one Smartie (candy-coated chocolate) that tastes slightly different than every other one in the box.

60. #18 – on this list, not the number eighteen.

61. That my children are alive.

62. Whatever it is that compels me to write; specifically to tell stories.

 

The List of Oddly Specific Bloggers

Nerd in the Brain

Not a Punk Rocker

To Breath is to Write

Fish of Gold

Knocked Over by a Feather

Mental in the Midwest

Markbialczak.com

Coulddoworse

Deborah at Notes Tied on the Sagebrush

And me, Linda

I’d like to pass this along to my darling friend Belinda at Idiot Writing. Never has there been a more humble lady of talent, from art, to writing, to give a smile, a word of wisdom and loads of support to those in need. My dear, you are one of a kind.

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Nano Poblano – Day 9: 10 Random Whos

1. Who let the dogs out?

2. Who puts the holes in donuts?

3. Who do they put all those warnings on labels for – you know, the ones that are just common sense?

4. Who was that masked man?

5. Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?

6. Who goes moo when they see a cow?

7. Who was the first person to ask which came first, the chicken or the egg?

8. Who likes lima beans? I mean, seriously…

9. Who makes my day brighter? You do! Who makes yours?

10. Who has woken you up more in your life than anyone else?

 

1 Point for every question you answer – 10 points for one “who” question back at me. The winner of the funniest answer (decided by me) gets their answer posted on One-Liner Wednesday. Go!

 

These whos are brought to you by the letter M (for Mr. Mark):

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and the number 9, as in the 9th day of:

NaBloPoMo_1114_465x287_blogroll


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Random-after-a-glass-of-wine-type-Team-Pepper-post

Well this should be interesting.

First off, what the hell is going on with WordPress today? I woke up and this blog’s “best ever” day has gone up by nine views, and my fiction blog’s has gone down by four. Has this happened to anyone else or are they just screwing with me?

Second, I really am going to finish replying to all my comments soon. Tomorrow, if all goes well. But when does it ever? Can anyone answer me this question?

Third, I need another glass of wine.

Fourth, … oh yeah! Another WTF WordPress. I scheduled my 63rd Scenes from the Second Seat on the Right post for 11am this morning but it went live at 10. Did WordPress not get the memo that the time changed last night? Was it only Canada that changed? I’m confuddled.

Fifth, what do I do with all these Hallowe’en candies?

Sixth, if anyone can answer the above questions to my satisfaction and (as always) with humour, you get a point. Extra points if you send me a bottle of wine.

Go!