Category Archives: Tired Tuesday

Remember Those Donuts?

So Tired Tuesday follows Mental Muck Monday, everybody must have seen that coming.  For anyone that was worried (although I don’t imagine anybody was),  my writing abilities seem to have returned.  Um, not that I expect this post will reflect my best efforts, but I did work on my articles for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.   The deadline is looming; I must make haste.  In the meantime, I need a blog post.

I had thought I would be posting in haste (posthaste, there’s a word you don’t see much anymore) before getting to rehearsal.  First, of course, I had those articles to work on.  As I worked, I could hear the sleet striking my window panes.  Oh dear.  Luckily my rehearsal is not far.  Still, it was not going to be a fun drive.  This is why I don’t like being involved in the March production, but it is useless to repine about that now.  Then the phone rang.  It was the director, cancelling rehearsal.  Cast members who live farther away than I do had phoned him, saying they did not want to drive in this weather.  I didn’t blame them.

I’m sure some readers are thinking, “Well NOW you can write a decent blog post, can’t you?  Can’t you?”  And I’m thinking,”Apparently not.”  However, I do have a few pictures to share.  Not very good pictures.  Perhaps not worth a thousand words.  Then again, my posts don’t usually run to a thousand words.  Who has time to read thousand word blog posts anyways?  Not me!  Let’s look at the pictures.

These were taken Saturday, at the set-building session to which I brought the donuts (perhaps you read my blog post about it).

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Two walls were already up when I arrived. And you see how fast our set-builders were working: this fellow is a blur!

 

 

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There was much discussion about where the window would be.

 

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They are discussing more walls to raise. The walls are there now, but I did not have my tablet with me at rehearsal last night.

Perhaps I can remember to bring my tablet to the next rehearsal and take more pictures of the set in progress.  At least I can hope to post pictures of the completed project.  And I will write many more word about the play itself, especially when the blog becomes All Steel Magnolias All The Time.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Merry Post-Christmas Letdown

So last week my excuse for foolish blog posts was that I was on vacation.  This week my excuse is I’m back at work and trying to get into the swing of things.  Does anybody have a problem with that?  You there, in the back?  You do?  Or were you just shooing a fly?  I thought so.

That by way of a silly introduction to a Post-Christmas Tired Tuesday post.  I returned to work today, still grateful for having had yesterday off.  Now I only had a four day week to get through!  It was not until I sat down here and started typing just now that I remembered:  in school on the first day back after Christmas vacation, everybody had on their new clothes they had just gotten for Christmas.  How fun was that?  Until I would realize I still wasn’t beautiful and popular, which I spent most of my childhood and adolescence hoping I would one day wake up to find myself.

Of course with school as well as with work, it did not take long to feel as if I had never left.  Vacation?  What vacation?  When is the next one?  I looked at the calendar and counted the full weeks till a three day weekend.  Far too many.  However, I do have a few discretionary days to take.  I may treat myself to a Monday off in February or March.  I will probably write a blog post about it.

All things considered, it was not a heinous first day back at work.  Some of the usual annoyances annoyed, but some of the usual amusements amused, and it was nice to see my work friends again.  I do like having friends.  I’m still not beautiful, but now enough people talk to me that I can at least pretend I’m popular.  Happy Tuesday everyone, and I hope you are all recovering from any post-holiday blahs you may have.

 

Murder Most Different

OK, so I did not write a blog post while at work today, because I spent every break working on a murder mystery.  I LOVE writing murder mysteries!  I feel so clever when I am inventing characters, deciding on their relationships and problems.  When I realize this one wants to do dirt to that one, or the other one loves this one but yet another character knows the dirty little secret of…  you get the picture.

I actually have three mysteries to write with varying requirements for each.  Today I was working on one that is particularly intriguing, because the format is different from what I am used to.  What I usually write is dinner theatre:  the actors mingle with the audience during cocktails then have an actual, rehearsed performance in which all the clues are presented.  The murder I worked on today will be almost completely interactive, with the audience seeking clues throughout several rooms.

I will have to figure out how the murder was committed and, more importantly, how somebody might figure out who did it, how and why.  What clues will be found?  Where will they be?  How did they get there?  Where do they lead?  Can they possibly MISlead?  How about a nice, juicy red herring or two?

However, for me, everything starts with the characters.  I know who will be the victim of the first murder (I think we’ll have more than one corpse during the evening, just to keep things lively).  I started thinking of who the other characters will be.  Soon I had several people identified by roles:  the guy that runs the speakeasy (did I mention that it is a 1920s theme?), the madame of the brothel, the proprietor of a rival speakeasy…   Once I had given everybody a name, things got really fun.

Soon I will have figured out what everybody thinks of everybody else, who hates or loves whom, who did dirt to whom (I do mean “whom” don’t I?  How embarrassing that I am not sure).  I write a lot of random notes then try to organize everything.

Hmmm…  I seem to be babbling on without a whole lot of specifics.  Well, I will give more specifics on these mysteries when I know more about the where, when and how you can get tickets.  In the meantime, I hope I have intrigued my local readers and entertained those farther afield.  If so, I say good work for a Tired Tuesday.

 

At Least I Voted

I thought I would make my blog post now, before the movie-watching portion of the day but after the sweats on, bra off portion of the day.   Yes, there was a sweats off, bra on portion of my day, because I went to vote.  Regular readers may recall that I am still at home, trying to recover from what I thought was an extremely minor medical procedure.  I guess it was minor, and I am not nearly as tough as I thought I was.   Today, however, I knew I must be tough enough to make it to the polls.

In my favor is that Herkimer, where I live, is a small village.  My polling place is a mere two blocks from my house.  I have never encountered a line, whatever time of day I have gone to vote. I contrasted this, as I do every year, to a story I heard back when Iraq held its first elections after the fall of Saddam Hussein.  A grandmother was pushed in a wheelbarrow some large number of miles (I wish I could remember the number), so she could vote.  Pushed in a wheelbarrow! And you know they do not have good roads over there, if they had roads at all.

So there should be no problem for me, I knew.  I thought I also had to go to a doctor appointment, but they called and re-scheduled that this morning.  Something about emergency surgery.  You know how it is with doctors.

I originally had some wild thoughts of walking to vote.  I really, truly must begin getting exercise again.  I was advised not to directly after my procedure, and I certainly did not feel like moving at first.  But one can only spend so much time lying around, taking naps and wishing the pain medication worked better.  Oh dear, now it sounds like I’m whining again.  I suppose I am.

Anyways, Steven drove us the short distance, although we did not get the closest parking space possible, so I got a little more of a walk at least.  We greeted the poll workers we usually see there, including one nice man who always Steven “Doc,” because he remembers Steven playing Dr. Chumley in Ilion Little Theatre’s production of Harvey some years ago.  As usual there was no line.  We completed our civic duty and received our stickers.

Then I came home and wrote a blog post about it.  Not a brilliant blog post, I’m afraid, but I’m going to call it OK for a Tired Tuesday.

 

Waiting for What?

I was at the doctor’s office this afternoon.  I won’t get into why because, you know, HIPPA and all.  Nothing serious or even particularly interesting. But I need a blog post and it is Tired Tuesday, so here we go.

They decided to do an EKG (is that how you spell it?  I mean, are all three letters capitalized?  I don’t know from medical terms).  The machine decided to give the nurse a little trouble (yes, I think of machines as sentient beings who delight in tormenting hapless humans).  It would not give a good reading.  I just lay there on the table with all those little wires taped to my body, trying to catch a nap.

The nurse said the machine kept saying, “Waiting for good data.”  I flashed on Waiting for Godot but did not know if she would get the theatrical reference so did not say anything.  I repeated “Waiting for good data” in my head several times, so I could use it in a Facebook post.  I decided to use it here instead.  I hope somebody was amused.

The last thing I had to do was let them draw blood.  I remarked to the phlebotomist that the blood was very seasonal, but she was not amused.  Come to think of it, she was a little cadaverous-looking herself, very thin with large eyes and a dead serious expression.  I’m sure she was not a vampire, because sunlight was coming through the window.  It wouldn’t matter that it was a cloudy day, would it?  I’m not up on all the vampire rules.

Oh dear, do you suppose I could get in trouble for making vampire jokes about a local phlebotomist?  She was a very good phlebotomist; I barely felt the needle go in.   And she wasn’t really cadaverous-looking.  I just threw that in for effect.

This is what happens on Tired Tuesday.  I get a little punchy.  But I see I have managed over 300 words, so let’s call it a post and move on.  I hope to go running tomorrow, so maybe I can write a post about that.

 

Just a Few Shout-Outs

So yesterday I thought I was coming down with something and today I am pretty sure I am.  It would not be such a big deal if I could keep from being such a colossal baby about these things.  Or if I could just quietly take a day off from posting.  But, as they say, I gotta be me.  However, instead of whining for 200 or so words about how crappy I feel, how about I give a brief overview of Steven’s and my Monday morning adventures.

We began by fueling up at Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner in Herkimer, NY.  Then we headed for the big city of Utica.  I drove, as I had slightly more of an idea where we were headed.  That is, I had been there.  I had not driven there.  However, after a wrong direction and only one turn around, we got to the So Sweet Candy Cafe on the corner of Columbia and Varick streets. Yay!

After that we had wanted to check out Adirondack Distillery, which is handily located right across the street.  The message on their answering machine said they were open Monday through Friday.  This Monday, they were not.  Rats!  We walked down Varick Street, just because we were there, then back to the car and headed on.  The Other Side Gallery was also closed.  I had not even checked their Facebook page, so I suppose that served me right.

We found Off-Center Records & Collectibles with very little problem.  A parking spot presented a little more problem, but we got one not too far away.  After a fun interlude there, we checked out New York Connection, which I had never heard of but noticed a couple of doors down.  Those are both stores I mean to write more about.

On our way home, we stopped at Juliani’s Produce and Greenhouse in Schuyler.  I got and immediately ate a chocolate half-moon cookie.  We also got fixings for a salad, which I later made (I believe I mentioned it in yesterday’s post).

We enjoyed our little jaunt very much, although I was ready to get home and relax.  I am ready to relax now.  I guess it is Tired Tuesday after all.

 

Was I Ready to Run?

At work this afternoon, I remarked to a friend that I had a choice of what to do.  I had to pick up a prescription at The Medicine Shoppe, which is handily located just outside the rather large parking lot in front of my place of employment.  Unfortunately, I like to park at the opposite end of the parking lot.

“I can walk to the Medicine Shoppe, then back to my car, drive home and say, ‘Now I don’t have to run!’  I can drive to the Medicine Shoppe, drive home and go running.  I can walk to the Medicine Shoppe, back to my car, go home AND run.  Or I can drive to the Medicine Shoppe, drive home and not run anyways.  And after I stop at the Medicine Shoppe, I can go into Ilion Wine and Spirits and get a bottle of wine.”

“You’ll have a headache tomorrow,” she warned.

“Not if I don’t drink the whole bottle,” I argued.

“You’ll drive to the Medicine Shoppe,” she predicted, also pointing out that it was a lovely afternoon for a run.

I did drive to the Medicine Shoppe, parking near Ilion Wine and Spirits.  I do like to support the latter, because they are supporters of Ilion Little Theatre, in addition to being very nice people and carrying an excellent selection of wine.  I chose a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

It was a lovely afternoon, bright and sunny.  It was actually a little warmer than I like for running, although I realized that inside a vehicle is not the best place for gauging temperature.  Spunky was ready for a walk as soon as I got home.  I was happy to oblige.  I figured walking around the block would help me decide whether or not to go running.

As we started out, we were in the shade and a breeze blew.  That boded well.  However, I felt very tired.  Maybe a walk around the block would be enough exercise after a ten hour work day spent mostly on my feet. It was warmer in the direct sunlight.  I pictured myself thunking along (thunking is my new favorite word to describe my runs) and pondered how long even a 15-minute run would feel.  I could happily run Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.  By the time I got back home, I thought I would let myself off the hook today.

Only I didn’t.  I needed to do some laundry for our upcoming weekend away (have I mentioned that?  Well, Steven, Spunky and I are going away for the weekend), so I thought it would be perfect to put the laundry in the washer, do a 20-minute run with a 10-minute cool-down walk, then put the laundry in the drier before taking my shower.  Or maybe a 15-minute run and I could stretch for an extra long time if I had to wait for the washer to finish.

And look at me, closing in on 500 words and I haven’t even started to talk about the run yet.  Did I mention I was tired?  Well I am, and one reason is that I went for a 23-minute run plus 10-minute cool-down walk, AND I did TWO loads of laundry, one of which is in the drier as I type.  I am rewarding myself with a small glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  And I just remembered something else: today is Tired Tuesday.  You see how well things work out sometimes.

 

A New Start on Tired Tuesday

Here I sit, on Tired Tuesday, feeling, you know.  Additionally, I fear I am coming down with the same bug which has ailed my husband for two days.  Or my allergies are acting up again.  Or I am just a common or garden dizzy broad (I KNOW which one you think it is) (you know who you are).  Nevertheless, a blog post must be made.  Because I say it does, dammit!

One of my favorite things to do to procrastinate writing my blog post is to read other blogs, many of which handily pop up as soon as I log in to WordPress.  Today I read “Return of the Modern Philosopher” and was encouraged.  This fellow is doing a lot and still progressing on a screenplay!  Additionally, two of the things he does are write a blog and write for a TV show.  Two WRITING things.

What this means for me is, I have to stop coasting.  I can’t just say, “Well, at least I am making my blog post.  That’s writing”  or  “I worked on a letter to a friend”  or  “wrote in the TV Journal.”  I stand by my rule that All Writing Counts.  However, it is clear that no matter what, I can do MORE writing.

In fact, I did try to start a new novel yesterday.  I wrote a few more notes on it today, before my dizziness drove me away from the notebook.  Well, I won’t do that again.  I will just learn how to write when I don’t feel well.  I suppose a few of you are thinking that it is too bad I did not start by making this a better blog post.  Or is that just my inner critic?  No matter.  This is what I typed, this is what I’m posting.

But after I post this,  I shall seek out a pen and paper (my favored medium of composition) and see what I can do.

 

Bad AttiTiredTuesday?

It was partway through the afternoon when I realized it was Bad Attituesday.  What else could it be?  Oh, well, I suppose it could be a lot of things.  I was going to write a short essay on some ponderings I’ve had lately about bad moods (what, computer?  Isn’t “ponderings” a word?  I’ll be damned).  Now I feel too tired.  Oh, so I guess it’s Tired Tuesday.

I just ate part of a yummy sub Steven ordered from Carney’s Corners.  There is nothing like good food to take the edge off a bad mood.  And there is nothing like the realization that I have to keep my bra on and go someplace later to put the edge right back on. But there is no point in bitching about it; I said I would be in the play, and I will graciously accept any applause that comes my way.

Oh dear, this post is kind of going in all directions, isn’t it?  I did do some real writing earlier today.  I MIGHT have a murder mystery to write soon, so I started writing one.  I got almost two pages of notes written.  I think I have some pretty good ideas.  Writing these murder mysteries really plays to my strengths as a writer.  Or my weaknesses, depending on how you look at it.  I would go on about my strengths, but this isn’t Toot My Horn Tuesday, now, is it?

 

Typing on Tired Tuesday

I felt so tired yesterday, I was sure I would be less tired today, obviating the need for a Tired Tuesday post today.  I did write today.  I spent my breaks at work and some time after work composing my article for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  It will be a good article.  I hope.  I’m letting it cool off before I re-read it.  At least, I guess it’s my brain that needs to cool off.  The actual article won’t change as it sits.

It is so interesting to me about my articles.  First I have to sit there thinking, “I can’t write this.  I am not able to write this.  Maybe I can write this later.  I can’t write this now.  Whatever will I do if I can’t write this?”  Then I put pen to paper and write it.  Sometimes I get to the second part fairly quickly.  This time I didn’t do too badly.

What I need to do now is apply the “put pen to paper and write” step to my other writing projects:  the banana play, my novel (which novel?  ANY novel!  Pick one I’ve started any time these last forty-odd years!) (um, yes, very odd years).  I keep thinking I am about to do just that, and something seems to stop me.  I’m afraid it is me.  That is rather an embarrassing admission, but it is empowering as well.  The problem is me?  Well, who controls me but ME?  Who can change me?  ME!

Only right now I’m too tired.

Ah, there is something to work on.  I feel sure I am able to write when I am tired.  It is just a matter of doing it.  Like, for example, right now. I am WRITING (actually typing) a foolish blog post (yes, as Truman Capote said, “that’s not writing, that’s typing;” insult me if you like, but acknowledge where you got the quote).  If I can write a foolish blog post when I am tired, no doubt I can write something else.  Maybe a non-foolish blog post?  Let’s not ask for miracles.  Especially on Tired Tuesday.