Category Archives: Non Sequitur Thursday

Never Give Up! Never Surrender!

Earlier this evening, I wrote the following two paragraphs:

Is this Writer’s Block or a panic attack?

OK, I just wrote that, so it isn’t Writer’s Block, although maybe you could call it Write Anything Good Block.  I have to leave soon for rehearsal for He Laughed Himself to Death, the murder mystery to be presented at Morning Star Methodist Church April 1, and I’m afraid I am letting myself become overwhelmed with what-all I have to do.   How self-dramatizing of me.  Then again, with all the theatre I’m involved in, how can you blame me for being dramatic?  I know, I know, a time and a place.

Then I went to rehearsal, after deciding to get a grip on myself.  In my defense, it has been rather a dreadful week, and it seems to be taking forever.  However, I have plenty of blessing to count, and I must not discount them.  I have a daunting amount of things to get done, but I feel certain that if I can make the right plan, I can get most or all of them done.

As you see, I am in a better mood now.

Rehearsal went very well.  I think He Laughed Himself to Death is going to be a great success.  As we left rehearsal, Charity, the actress playing my daughter, called her father, Jerry, for a ride.  Jerry has agreed to be in Who Shot JS?, the murder mystery benefit for Herkimer County Historical Society April 22. Charity asked me to wait till her father got there, because he had to ask me something.  I thought it must be about rehearsals or rides or something.  When Jerry arrived, he got out of the car carrying a beautiful bouquet.  He thought I could use a little pick me up.

Do I have the sweetest friends or what?

So here is my reminder to myself to not surrender to these little panic attacks.  Just take a deep breath and go to rehearsal.  You just never know when a wonderful friend is going to give you a lovely surprise.  Thank you, Jerry.  And happy Thursday, readers.

I put them in water right away.

Nosferatu on Non-Sequitur Thursday

“I’m kind of in the middle of something here.”

I am sitting here at my laptop, trying to come up with something suitable for a Non-Sequitur Thursday post, and I thought I would look through our downloaded pictures, to see if anything sparked a thought.  Nothing did, but I do like this picture of Max Schreck as Count Orlok in Nosferatu, arguably the scariest movie every made (not that I want to argue about it; I always lose arguments).  I added the caption, or could you tell?

When I went to the Facebook page for Nosferatu, I immediately found another photo I liked:

Scary!

I find the shadows eerie.  I feel there is a profound point to be made here about no shadows without light.  I think it is something I ought to keep in mind when I write fiction.  I’m afraid I’m not up to profundity this evening.  Let’s bear that thought in mind though, light and shadow.  If anybody else would like to write a blog post about it, please comment with a link to it.  I would be happy to read such a post.

I’m thinking he did not bring her coffee.

This was my Facebook cover photo for a while.  I include it, because I like to have three pictures.  Three is a good number, and not just because of three wishes and third time’s the charm.  It has other connotations, like Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau.  That, too, is a good subject for a future blog post.  Happy Thursday, everyone.

 

Not the Same as Be-Bop

I think I am suffering from some form of anxiety.  Or do you suppose that’s just hypochondria or self-dramatizing?  Well, why wouldn’t I self-dramatize; I’m all into theatre, you know.

This is going to be a Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  I am going to just let my thoughts jump all around everywhere, type up what I can, think of a silly headline, and hit Publish.  I feel this is better than than taking a Blogger’s Sick Day, which was my first impulse (I think stress is as legitimate an excuse as a diagnosable physical ailment) (and isn’t “diagnosable” a word?  My computer seems to think it is not) (I can’t go get my dictionary now, that will only add to the stress).

Where was I?  Nowhere in particular, I suppose.  I spent most of the day at work pondering various plans for getting done all that I wanted to do before tonight’s pick-up rehearsal for Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre.  I formulated and discarded numerous scenarios, then came home and sat down going, “Heh-bee-be-buh-buh.”  You know, that sound you make when you just kind of fiddle your lower lip in wordless distress.

Me without words?  SAY IT AIN’T SO!!!

And, obviously, it is not so.  I am just over 200 words.  Score!  I call that a blog post!  Maybe I can come up with something better tomorrow, on Lame Post Friday.  After all, stranger things have happened.

 

Me, Me, Me, It’s All About ME!

I KNEW this was going to happen!  I did not make my blog post earlier and I don’t damn well feel like doing it now.  I just got home from final dress for Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre.  Fun times!  It looks like we got us a show!

I’m thinking today is Non-Sequitur Thursday.  Or maybe it could be Lame Post Friday, because it is my Friday.  I am taking a four day weekend to celebrate my delightful husband Steven’s birthday, which is tomorrow.  I have not gotten him enough presents, but perhaps he will not mind.  Maybe I could make him potato soup tomorrow.  Steven loves my potato soup, and I hardly ever make it.

I just paused in my writing to discuss with Steven our plans for tomorrow. He likes the potato soup idea.  Additionally, I got him one of those sampler cheese cakes, the mini kind.  I like cheese cake too.

Now I see that I have started every paragraph with “I” and was about to start this one the same way.  Yes, this is a personal blog, but still.  It seems a bit… excessive, although it does give me an idea for a silly headline.  And as regular readers know, Non-Sequitur Thursday is all about the headline.  Additionally, I see that I am over 200 words, which regular readers may recall is all I require of myself for a post.  I hope to see all you lovely people on Lame Post Friday.

 

A Slice of My Life

Sometimes I am too ill to write a blog post. Does it count if I am too depressed? I feel so self-indulgent even considering such a thing. Ooh, maybe this is a good lead.

That is what I just now posted on Facebook.  Almost before I had copied and pasted it here, a friend had commented that depression IS an illness.  I suppose I feel it counts for everybody but me.  You know, that thing many of us do that we treat our loved ones way better than we treat ourselves.  I know, a lot of people do the opposite, especially with physical indulgences.  However, I know a great many people who will put themselves down using terms they would NEVER employ when talking to a friend.  Just saying.

Where was I?  Ah yes, trying to make a Non-Sequitur Thursday post before I hurriedly get ready for rehearsal for Steel Magnolias at Ilion Little Theatre.  This is what I posted on Facebook earlier:

Here’s the problem: I have so much to do, I not only keep thinking I’m forgetting something, I keep forgetting what it was I was just about to do. Making a list does not help. I not only forget to put stuff on the list, I forget where I put the list!

To make this a true Non-Sequitur Thursday post, I should make a catchy headline that has little or nothing to do with the post.  What is this post about, anyways?  Not much, as is par for the course when I am involved in a show.  Right now I am involved in two shows and need to finish writing two more to begin working on them within the next two weeks.  Yikes!  Why do I do these things to myself?  Ah yes, refer to an earlier paragraph about treating others better than I treat myself.  And I’m not all that freaking nice to others, either!  Happy Thursday, everyone.

 

The Vagaries of Non-Sequitur Thursday

Well, now I’ve done it.  I sat here stressing over the fact that I CAN’T WRITE A POST TODAY (said in a dramatic voice, with a wrist to my forehead), and my sweet husband, Steven said that he wished I would not put myself through posting every day.  I said, “It’s just because I have rehearsal tonight.  I just have to stop doing PLAYS!”  Oh yeah, like that’s going to happen!

Thus adjured, I put my fingers on the keyboard and started typing.  I can’t stop posting every day, it’s what I do.  But I can’t let my husband feel upset because I am stressed.  So, as of right now, I am not stressed.  About the blog, at least.  I mean, let’s start small.

I just paused to eat a very delicious dinner that Steven fixed.  He really is a most satisfactory husband.

Earlier today I was pondering the vagaries of writing.  I have been having a difficult time lately, but earlier I sat down and wrote a page of dialog with very little problem.  It was part of Rubbed Out at Ruby’s, the interactive murder mystery LiFT Theatre Company is presenting at the Overlook Mansion in Little Falls in — yikes! –just a couple of weeks.  I thought to myself, “I can’t write, I can’t write, I can’t write, I sit down and write.”  For some reason I can’t just skip to the last step.

I just know that some of you are sitting there smirking, “Well, have you TRIED?”  Yes, I have.  In fact, most of the time I want to have at least a couple more rounds of “I can’t write, I can’t write” before “I sit down and write,” but I somehow manage to write.  Like right now.  Then again, perhaps that is not the best example, since this is just another of my foolish posts about I Can’t Write a Post Today.  Then again (I can have as many “again”s as I want; it’s not like “on the other hand,” where most of us only have two hands), today is Non-Sequitur Thursday.  If I can think of a punchy headline, I’m all set.

Hope to see you all on Lame Post Friday.

 

Steven and Me and Bobby McGee

I’ve been sitting here staring at the blank screen and half watching a re-run of Reba, and I feel completely unable to write a blog post.  Now Reba is over and Steven has found an episode of Snapped on Reelz.  I have to leave for rehearsal for Steel Magnolias (at Ilion Little Theatre, remember?)  in about an hour.  Oh, crap, and I have to curl my hair.  They’re taking head shots again.  I hate having my picture taken!

So I’m having a kind of a mental meltdown.  How embarrassing.  I am such a huge baby! In my defense… OK, I have no defense.  I had a migraine today, but it wasn’t all that bad of a migraine.  I made it through work.  It kind of went away when I drove to New Hartford for a doctor’s appointment.  Now it’s back.  So what?  Many people have headaches.  They take an aspirin and drive on.

Speaking of driving on, the Mohawk Valley weather has been living up to its “wait five minutes” reputation today.  When I drove to and from my appointment, the snow came down like it meant business.  The roads weren’t too bad, but they were wet and no doubt would get worse.  Yikes!  I got back to work and the sun came out.  A beautiful afternoon!  Swell!  The snow dumped down again as I drove home. OK, whatever.  The sun has come and gone twice since I’ve been home.  Go home, February, you’re drunk!

AAAAAAaaaand I just remembered: it is Non-Sequitur Thursday.  All I have to do is think of a catchy headline that doesn’t have anything to do with this foolish post and I’m done.  And, yes, I did feel I needed all those a’s in the first word of this paragraph.

 

Non-Sequitur Spunky

For this week’s Non-Sequitur Thursday post, I am going to talk about Spunky, our little dog.   Here is a picture of him:

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Isn’t he cute?

I think that one was taken at The Velvet Dog Grooming Salon, where he gets groomed regularly.  Regular readers may remember that the Velvet Dog was fostering Spunky after his owner died. We saw adopted him after they posted his picture on Facebook.   I wrote a blog post about it last June.  Spunky is an old guy.  He mostly likes to lay around and sleep.

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It is a pretty comfy chair.

Right now he is curled up right next to me on the couch.  He doesn’t always do that.  He has his own end, with an afghan that he sometimes burrow under.  Spunky is fond of my yarn.  I had a basket which my sister Cheryl had given me specifically for me to put yarn in, while I was working on my projects.  Spunky spotted it and climbed right in:

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I like a dog to make himself at home.

I have since taken out the unfinished projects and put in an afghan made specifically for Spunky.  After all, I can find another place to put my yarn.

I sometimes wonder about Spunky.  He was ten years old when we got him and had only had one owner.  I hope he is settling in with us.  I worry that he might not love us.  It’s not that I mind having a dog that’s not crazy about me, my low self-esteem notwithstanding.  I just want him to be happy.  How happy can you be living with people you don’t love?  So I like it when he snuggles up next to me on the couch.  And I like it when he wags his tail when he sees me.

Well, this has not been a particularly inspired blog post.  Still, with pictures of a cute little dog, what’s not to like?  If only I can think of an unrelated but catchy headline, so this is a true Non-Sequitur Thursday, I can hit Publish with a clear conscience.  Hope to see you again on Lame Post Friday.

 

And Don’t Call Me Buttercup!

I’m taking a Blogger’s Sick Day.  Anybody who doesn’t care to here anybody else complain, STOP READING NOW!!!  Don’t tell me to suck it up, buttercup.  I sucked it up all day at work.  I am THROUGH sucking it up and I am going to whine if I feel like it!

Well, that made me feel a little better.  Now I’ll try to write some semblance of a blog post.

I have had a migraine for two days now.  It was worse today, especially the nausea.  But I tried to keep working. I succeeded somewhat.  I was kind of hoping it would magically vanish when my workday was done.  Sometimes headaches do. That is a phenomenon many people have noticed.  This one did not.  However, I managed to drive home without mishap, and now I am writing a boring blog post before taking a very hot shower and lying down.

One thing I am happy about is that I do not have  rehearsal tonight for Steel Magnolias (remember? the play I’m in at Ilion Little Theatre).  It is instead the night for the theatre group’s monthly dinner meeting.  I am sorry to miss the meeting, but I must confess, not too sorry. For one reason, everybody brings really good food and I always eat too much.  That is not good for my weight loss goals.

Oh dear, I feel I should make a concluding paragraph and I am quite blank.  And I really want to get to that hot shower.  Damn!  But anybody who wants to whine about it, please feel free.  I won’t tell you to suck it up.

 

Is It Worth 3,000 Words?

I think I may have run out of things to say about not having anything to say.

I am forcing myself not to backspace and erase that, as I did to at least three other possible leads.  I’m thinking at least one of those leads was better than what I went with, but of course now I can’t remember any of them.

Using a few random pictures seemed to work yesterday.  I wonder if I could get away with it two days in a row.

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He’s telling me what to say, and I’m thinking he’s full of beans.

 

This picture is from the Ilion Little Theatre production of Harvey in 2012.  Steven played Dr. Chumley.  I was Veda.  Perhaps longtime readers remember when this blog was All Harvey All The Time.

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My character is drinking wine, but it is not real wine in the glass, a source of much disappointment to me.

This is a more recent stage appearance: Splitting Issues last October.  I believe I also wrote a couple of blog posts about that.

 

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In jail, where some believe we belong (you know who you are).

 

I don’t have another theatre picture of Steven and me together, so I will show a picture of me in costume with Steven.  This was a Haunted Tour of Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners.  I reprised my role (wait a minute; my computer thinks “reprised” is not a word, but apparently “reprise” is. Oh, I can’t worry about that now) of Roxalana Druse, who was hanged behind the 1834 Jail.  I don’t think I did a blog post about that event (the haunted tour, not the hanging, although I never wrote about the hanging either).  How remiss of me.

So this is my Non-Sequitur Thursday post for the week.  I think I’ve jumped around enough to qualify.  If only I could think of a catchy headline, I could head to my Steel Magnolias rehearsal content.