Life in progress


47 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Dec. 5/15

Before I get to the Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Helen, the ever humble yet wonderful blogger, and Pav, purveyor of mayhem an humor, for their fantastic contributions to SoCS during the past couple of weeks while I was away. Can we have a round of applause? *starts standing ovation* 😀 Thank you so much!!

I’ve been incredibly busy these past few days, a condition that’s not showing any signs of stopping in the near future. I do promise to get caught up with the blogging end of things ASAP – don’t give up on me, please! So without further ado (because let’s face it, ado is time consuming), here’s this week’s prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “miss.”  Use it any way you’d like. 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!


112 Comments

Mr. Paul Curran has been found!

If you read Mr. Mark Bialczak’s post yesterday, or if you came across one of the numerous reblogs of that post, you’ll know we were missing our favourite guest poster and frequent commenter, Paul Curran. Well. I happened to be going to Ottawa today for an appointment and another blogger happened to have Paul’s address so I went and knocked on his front door. And guess what? He was there!

As it turns out he had an infection that caused complications and he was hospitalized for two weeks. Then he got home to find that his modem had blown up, so he’s been without the Internet. He seemed a little flabbergasted to find that all of WordPress was missing him and he asked me to extend his apologies for causing everyone to worry and to let you all know he appreciates that we were thinking of him. It must have been a bit of a shock to have one of us show up at his house!

If all this has shown me anything (and believe me, I’m not patting myself on the back for the little detour I made – it was really nothing) it’s that our “friends” on the Internet are every bit as real as the ones we see in person. The next time it crosses my mind that the people here in this community don’t really care, I’ll think again.

Paul is actually the sixth person I’ve met with face to face who I first encountered here at WordPress. It was a great pleasure to shake his hand. He’s every bit the gentleman we all know and love. Thankfully he’ll be back as soon as his Internet provider replaces his modem.


32 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – They Lied!

In downtown Shibuya, Tokyo, there are small transport trailers driving the streets with advertising for musical groups, plastered with pictures and songs blasting. I saw one such truck last week, promoting the band “One Direction.” When I saw it twice, the second time going the other way, I called bullshit.

____________________________________________________________________

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!


35 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 28/15

*Wakes up, knocks over a turkey carcass*

*Burps up a miasma of stuffing, gravy, and green-bean casserole*

*Stumbles to the bathroom to try to put last night’s orgy of gluttony behind him*

So, it’s Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. If you live in the States, like I do, I need say no more. If you don’t, for some reason we ‘Muricans pronounce the fourth Thursday in November a turkey Holocaust and gorge ourselves on everything in sight, presumably to fuel ourselves for the capitalist bacchanalia to come on Black Friday.

With that in mind, there’s only really one prompt that I’ve been able to think of for today, this Black Friday which will find me nestled cozily in bed. (Just kidding, I’ll be driving the 7 hours back to Atlanta, but a guy can dream.)

That prompt is “stuff.” Simple, right? Ehh, maybe, maybe not. You could go direct: literal, basic. Stuff as a thing is pretty ubiquitous. Or you could go all metaphorical, even symbolic. You might even, if you’re feeling saucy, use “stuff” as a root and wander into the wild realms of the participle (stuffed) or the progressive (stuffing) or even the gerund (also stuffing, sorry for the English Teacher wheelies). One request: whether you feel saucy or not, please don’t actually mention sauce. Or do, but be prepared that I might hork all over your blog if you do.

Point is: It’s #SoCS day. Go stuff yourselves.

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!


17 Comments

To Tokyo – #SoCS

If you look very closely, you can see Mount Fuji sticking up above the clouds.

Mt. Fuji, just below the engine.

Mt. Fuji, just below the engine.

I took another picture too – I took two – but this one turned out better.

Find Stream of Consciousness Saturday here and join in!

SoCS badge 2015


43 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 21/15

It’s Friday again and unfortunately, Linda isn’t here, so you’ll have to settle for me instead. I hope I can fill her very large shoes without falling on my face. (I guess I made it out alive last year, so I don’t know why this one is making me shake so much…)

Do you ever have something that gets stuck in your head and you think “that’s not very good so I’m going to think of something else;” only, you can’t come up with anything else because all you can think about is that very first thing? Yeah, that’s what happened when I was thinking about this week’s prompt. I finally decided to give in and post the original prompt because it obviously wants some air time.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “to/too/two.” Use one, use them all, but most of all, just 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!


17 Comments

One-Liner Wednesday – The Best Season

CAM01012

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life.

~ Wu-men ~
Found here: http://cookdingskitchen.blogspot.co.il/2015/08/internal-martial-arts-explained.html

____________________________________________________________________

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!


4 Comments

Tuesday Use It In A Sentence – Cabalistic

Her cabalistic habits sometimes got in the way of her household budget – she couldn’t go to the grocery store without buying half a dozen candles in different shapes and sizes.

 

Join us at Tuesday Use It In a Sentence! Visit A Word Adventure this week to find out how. 😀

 

 


45 Comments

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS Nov. 14/15

It’s Friday the thirteenth and it’s your lucky day. Why? Because I’m here with your prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday! This will be my last prompt for a few weeks since I’ll be in Japan, but don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. You’ll have two exciting guest posters to create your prompt for the next two weeks. They’ll be posting before Friday to say hi; make sure you give them a warm welcome! In the meantime, here’s this week’s prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “indescribable.”  Use the actual word in your post or just base your post on something that defies description. My suggestion on this one; think about something that you’re passionate about and just start writing. 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!


10 Comments

NanoPoblano Day 11 – A Bucket of Sludge

If exhaustion was a bucket, mine would be filled with the sludge from the bottom of Loch Ness, where the monster has been pooping for centuries.

If exhaustion was Lego, mine would be a minefield on the floor between me and the bed and not a shoe in sight.

If exhaustion was light, mine would have the intensity of the sun. The sun four feet away from my living room window and me without my sunglasses.

If exhaustion was a beverage, mine would be lemon juice. A pure, squeezed, warm bottomless cup.

If exhaustion was a calculator, mine would be the internet. Google, in particular.

If exhaustion was a blog post, maybe this would actually make sense.

Did I mention I’m tired? I’ll catch up on all the one-liners and comments tomorrow. G’night, WordPress friends. 🙂

nanopoblano2015dark

This less-than-energetic post is brought to you by the good folks at NanoPoblano. Click and enjoy!