Category Archives: Wuss Out Wednesday

At Least the Presents are Wrapped

Posted on December 25, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is almost 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve and I have not written my blog post yet. I can hear church bells ringing outside, and the vague headache that has been plaguing me most of the week has returned. On the brighter side, I have done everything I had to get done before picking up my hubby at work at 6:30. Except load the car. And gas up. And make my blog post.

The devil on my shoulder (you know, how in the cartoons the character has a devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other, each trying to convince her of a certain course of action?) is saying, “It’s Wuss-out Wednesday! Why not go all the way and not post ANYTHING?” She knows there is no chance of convincing me of the extreme option, but she tries. The angel (and you thought I didn’t have one) (you know who you are) is saying, “It is Christmas Eve, one of the holiest nights of the year. Is it respectful to wuss out on such a night?”

As they continue to argue, I will just share a little half-baked philosophy that I perhaps ought to hold for Lame Post Friday, but what the heck, it’s a holiday. Does anybody else feel as if Jesus was really born on Christmas Eve? After all, according to the story it was night time when the shepherds watched their flocks and the angel came and told them to follow the star. Then again, according to the song “The First Noel” the star gave such great light that it continued both day and night. Oh, but in the Rankin/Bass Christmas special about “The Little Drummer Boy,” the Three Kings traveled at night so they could follow the star.

Now I’m getting bogged down in argument, mixed up in my sources and, I confess, a little silly. Or a lot. And why not? In another couple of hours I will be with family to celebrate a holiday of joy, peace and goodwill. Have I first wussed out on my blog post? Perhaps so. But Merry Christmas Eve anyways. If you’re celebrating, I hope your celebration is grand.

One last note: I finally came up with that title. Does it seem to you as if Non-Sequitur Thursday came a day early? Discuss amongst yourselves.

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Props or Post?

Posted on December 18, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s going to be post. A real Wuss-out Wednesday post, in fact. For one reason, I’m too flustered to do anything but sit here and type a few words. Sorry, kids, but you know this usually happens on Wednesday (and other days, you don’t have to point that out) (you know who you are).

I have mentioned I am in a play at Ilion Little Theatre. It’s called Busybody, and I have a sizable role. We have rehearsal tonight. At our last rehearsal, two nights ago, I made a big deal about needing rehearsal props and said I was going to bring in a bunch of stuff for my character. I wasn’t trying to be more actressy than thou. It’s just really hard for me to pantomime and not have magically disappearing whatever.

Last night was the only night I didn’t have any place to go in the evening. I had a list of things to get done, one of which was to gather props. Long story short, I did one thing on the list and that wasn’t it. In my defense, what I did was pretty important. I made White Trash to contribute to my workplace Christmas feast on Thursday. It is important to me to participate in these things. And many people like to eat White Trash.

Full disclosure: when I got home from work today I had enough time to look for props. And I had time while on breaks at work to write a better blog post than the one you’re now reading (oh, I hope somebody is reading it).

Unfortunately, I had a bad headache most of the day. It had dissipated by the end of the day, but I still felt all vague-headed and stupid when I got home. And I still had things I had to do. I had to take my dog for a walk and figure out what to wear to rehearsal. The latter was not as easy as one would think. For one reason, there is a part in the play where I have to shove a piece of paper down my front. This is not so easy to do in a turtleneck, as I discovered at the last rehearsal.

Wait a minute, I just realized something: the piece of paper I have to hide in my shirt is one of the props I had meant to gather. So by taking the time to go through my closet and find a shirt I could hide a piece of paper down, I lacked time to find the paper to hide. It was a lose/lose situation! Had I just worn the damn turtleneck, I would have had time to find the paper to hide but been unable to practice hiding it.

I know, some of you are snorting that a piece of paper is hardly a difficult prop to find. You’re right. I can probably manage that one. Anyways, while I was writing this nonsense, time has passed and I really have to finish getting ready to head out for my rehearsal. On the brighter side (for me, anyways), now this is done. I can hit Publish and not have to worry about this after rehearsal.

One final note: My Freudian slip was showing just now: I accidentally typed a space between Pub and lish. That’s right, folks, all things considered, I would rather just hit the pub.

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It Snowed On My Excuse

Posted on December 11, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I knew this was going to be a Wuss-out Wednesday. I even had a title picked out: “In My Defense, I Have Rehearsal.” Well, we all know: things don’t always work out for Mohawk Valley Girl.

I wrote a little bit while at work today (yes, boss, before my shift started), but not a blog post. I worked on an article I wanted to submit to Mohawk Valley Living. Then I studied my lines for the play I’m in with Ilion Little Theatre. I’ve mentioned that play before. I’ll mention it again no doubt. I thought I would hurry home, type my article into the computer and email it off the magazine, then barely have time to type in a quick blog post before getting to rehearsal. I thought perhaps I would make my blog post after rehearsal. I would have more time but would also be more tired. Either way, wussing out was on the agenda and rehearsal was to blame.

As I drove home, I wondered about my evening. You see, after the weather not doing much all day, winter started to huff and puff just in time for me to drive through it. Snow fell, wind blew, 4-wheel drive was appropriate. Would I have rehearsal? Would the snow stop as abruptly as it seemed to have started? I had no time for these questions, because my desk-top computer is slow to get started and slow to continue. My brain isn’t so fast either. But one must work with what one has.

I got the article written to my satisfaction, or at least as well as I felt I could get it, and was waiting for the little circle to stop swirling on my email when the phone rang. Rehearsal was cancelled. I thought that was a good call. After all, an actor can break more than a leg spinning out on an icy road.

Now that I didn’t have to worry about rehearsal, I didn’t have to wuss out, did I? Well that would be nice, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, I used up what little brains I had writing that article. The best I can do is try again tomorrow. Goodness, is it going to be Non-Sequitur Thursday already? How the time flies.

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Vegetables or Blog?

Posted on December 4, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

To chop vegetables or make my blog post, that is the question. Perhaps a little less profound than “to be or not to be,” but I find it entirely appropriate for Wuss-out Wednesday.

It would really be a good idea if I chopped vegetables for my lunch tomorrow. I have some celery, which does not last as long as one would like. I have carrots and radishes, which last longer but are not nonperishable. More to the point, I am NOT meeting my weight-loss goals and including raw vegetables in my lunch will help. If I needed another reason, there is the therapeutic benefit of chopping up vegetables.

Of course, one reaches the full benefit by also sipping a glass of wine (only one since there is a knife involved; safety first). I mean, it’s still a soothing thing to do even without the wine. But I say give yourself every advantage. Unfortunately I cannot benefit from wine till later. I have rehearsal in about an hour.

For those of you just tuning in, rehearsal is for the play Busybody at Ilion Little Theatre. It will be presented at the last weekend of January and first weekend of February. I have rather a large part. In fact, rehearsal is less than an hour away. Less than an hour? Yikes! No wonder I’m so flustered. I don’t think chopping vegetables would calm me down at this point with or without wine. Is typing in my blog post having a similar therapeutic effect? Not noticeably.

So I have determined that neither chopping vegetables nor posting my blog is going to make me feel any better right now. However, consider this: I can eat a lunch without vegetables. I have done it before. But in three years I have not gone a day without making a blog post. I am not going to start today!

Therefore I make bold to hit Publish for this collection of nonsense and continue getting ready for rehearsal. Will the vegetables ever get chopped? I don’t know, so I must leave you in suspense. See you on Non-Sequitur Thursday.

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Writing, Winter and Wuss-out Wednesday

Posted on November 27, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here’s a way to make yourself write: have something else you really, really ought to be doing instead. Don’t let yourself write while you do this other thing. Then put the other thing aside when you really ought to still be working on it, and write.

It’s fun.

OK, this is going to be a foolish blog post, but it is about writing, and some people like to read about writing. I know I do.

I mentioned yesterday that I had not written a blog post, because I was working on learning my lines for a play I am in. Of course I have not learned my lines yet (give me a break; it’s only been a couple of days). I brought my script with me to work, so I could work on them before shift and on breaks.

But I also wanted to write a blog post so as not to be composing at the keyboard after I got home from work (as, astute readers will have noticed, I am in fact doing). I had an idea to write about an old movie I watched over the weekend. I had composed a few sentences in my head while I worked (between dithering about other things, see yesterday’s post). I started to write.

I wrote two pages. My shift started. I thought of more things to write. During the first break I wrote them down. I finished a third page in triumph. I LOVE to write! Then I went back to work. I worked on my lines during lunch and the afternoon break. I still haven’t learned them all. These things take time, you know.

While I was working, writing and working, winter returned to the Mohawk Valley in the form of a LOT of snow. I had to brush off my SUV. Why oh why did I not buy a short, small car that is easier to brush off? I went to my husband’s place of employment, because I thought it would be a good idea if we switched cars so the SUV would be last in the driveway tomorrow.

Before going to his car and going home, I shopped. As usual this involved a lot of walking around and dithering (I don’t know why dithering doesn’t burn more calories; it certainly tires me out). I had to brush off Steven’s car, a little Dodge Stratus. I discovered that although it is easier to brush off a car that is not as tall as I am, it is still a pain in my butt.

Oh dear, those last two paragraphs were not about writing, were they? Well, they are to indicate to you why I feel too tired to type in the lovely pages I wrote while at work today. For another reason, they need editing.

All this by way of telling you, I am taking a Wuss-out Wednesday right after yesterday’s Tired Tuesday. More cynical readers are not surprised. Optimistic readers are disappointed. Kind readers will hope I get a good night’s sleep. I hope everyone will tune in again tomorrow, when it will be Thanksgiving, and we will all give thanks if I can write a decent post. As always, thank you for playing.

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A Wednesday Kvetch

Posted on November 20, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

It never fails: I avoid a Tired Tuesday only to run smack dab into a Wuss-out Wednesday. What, oh what is my problem?

Did anybody answer that or did everybody accept it as a rhetorical question or perhaps an unanswerable lament. Or perhaps you took it as more kvetching, perhaps with my wrist on my forehead (I can be very self-dramatizing). Whatever, it is clear that I have a problem. I have fatigue, aches, pains, blues, etc. Could this be middle age? Say it ain’t so!

I went running yesterday. In addition to wanting to build up my run time and progress toward my weight-loss goals, I thought it would make a good blog post. And it may have, if only I would have written it. I took my dog Tabby for a walk today, another potential blog topic. One reason I mention these things is to show you that I am so active. So if anybody was gearing up to say, “Well if you got more EXERCISE, you’d have more ENERGY,” they don’t have to bother. There’s always someone.

And speaking of middle age, can I just ask, where’s menopause when you need it? It’s getting cold in the Mohawk Valley these days. I could use one of them there hot flashes.

I guess there is no point to this post, although I am glad I got to sneak in my hot flash line.

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Another Fine Blog Post

Posted on November 13, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, I’m a bad blogger. I say it in a Lou Costello voice. At least, I don’t recall Costello ever saying that in any of the movies, but cartoon versions of him always found an opportunity to say, “Oh, I’m a bad boy.” I was never a huge Abbot and Costello fan to begin with. I prefer Laurel and Hardy (This is another fine mess you’ve gotten me into!).

As you may have guessed, this is another Wuss-out Wednesday. I had thought to have a Mid-Week Middle-aged Musing, but it got no further than the first two sentences: Discombobulate is a good word. I declare discombobulate to be the word of the day.

I wrote those two sentences while at work today, thinking I should not wuss out for at least one Wednesday. But I could not think of anything to add. I thought, “That’s OK. Steven and I are doing laundry tonight. I’ll write at the laundromat.” That did not work out as well as I had hoped. I had a dreadful sinus headache. I could not write a blog post. I could not work on my novel. I did manage to finish a poem I had started, about a couple of co-workers. I can’t share that here, though, because it names names.

I’m afraid today is veering beyond Wuss-out Wednesday and into Blogger’s Sick Day. The thing I feel bad about now is the title. I thought of it when I made the parenthetical comment referencing Laurel and Hardy. I thought better words would surely be forthcoming after that. It turns out not so much. I guess that’s what I get for composing at the keyboard.

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A Word to the Wuss

Posted on November 6, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I should have seen it coming that if I had a Tired Tuesday, I would only be up to a Wuss-out Wednesday the next day. Well, sorry folks. I’m down. Down, down, down in the dumps.

I spent most of the day down in the dumps. I don’t mean to be tiresome, but I just can’t always be the cheerful Mohawk Valley Girl. Some people can write when they are down. I say power to them. All I could do on breaks at work was to work on puzzles in a puzzle book. That did not improve my mood to any marked degree, because I’ve done all the puzzles I like. All that is left is puzzles that I don’t like or are too hard for me or both.

Now I am being exceptionally tiresome. What a kvetch.

In my defense, after work I did come home and do a few useful things. I worked on dismantling my container garden. Astute readers (do I have any other kind?) may remember that on Monday I felt guilty for running and not working on that or on raking the lawn. My delightful husband Steven raked the lawn on Tuesday. I wanted to contribute.

After a short Facebook break, I typed into the upstairs computer what I have written so far on my articles to submit to Mohawk Valley Living magazine. Um, I did not write them today. I did not add to them either. After exhausting myself literarily (my computer is underlining that word, but my dictionary says it is correct) if not literally, I chopped vegetables and began making a salad for my lunch tomorrow. When it was almost time for Steven to be home, I put Tabby on the leash and walked out to meet him. I could probably have written my blog post on that walk. Oh well, missed a bet.

I perceive that I am over 300 words. Perhaps they are not good words, but they are words nonetheless. Ooh, that raises a question suitable for some half-baked philosophy on Lame Post Friday: Isn’t it the ARRANGEMENT of the words that is not good and the words themselves neutral? Followed by a listing of words that I say are good words. I’ll let the reader fill in the bad words for him or herself. I bet some of you already are.

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I’ll Tell You Witch Scene

Posted on October 16, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday I talked about how I will appear in a Shakespeare scene Oct. 16 as part of Third Thursday in Little Falls, NY. I haven’t really talked much about the scene itself (but I just realized that yesterday’s title, “Witch Scene?” would have been perfect for today; missed a bet). I thought I would use Wuss-out Wednesday to give a brief overview.

The scene is from the first Act I of Macbeth. I am the third witch.

The witches enter first and say, “Yeah, we’re bad-ass.” Macbeth and Banquo come in and say, “Whoa.” We tell Macbeth he’s going to be king and Banquo that his kids will be kings. Macbeth says, “Tell me more,” but we vanish (alas, no special effects; we just do a kind of a cape flourish). Then two rank and file soldiers show up and tell Macbeth that the king just gave him a promotion. Macbeth says to Banquo, “We’ll talk more later,” and it’s the end of the scene.

Only, you know, in Shakespearean language. We witches spend all our time onstage capering around and cackling, which is a lot of fun. I don’t have any big speeches, which is a little disappointing for me, being as I am a colossal ham, but I like the lines I have.

I am quite looking forward to our little performance. I’ll probably write a blog post about it.

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Not Blankety-Blank Much

Posted on October 9, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Some bloggers only post weekly or three times a week or whenever the spirit hits them. Sometimes I wish I was some bloggers. Other times I feel kind of proud of myself for posting something every day (except for the day the big tree got hit by lightning and the electricity went out till morning; then I was late). I must confess: today is one of the former kind of days.

At least it started that way. I must further confess: as soon as my fingers started typing, the fascination with the blog kicked in again and now I’m thinking, “What can I come up with today?” I’m a little afraid the answer will be, “Not blankety-blank much.” But one must carry on.

In my defense, it is Wuss-out Wednesday (ooh, here’s a Freudian typo: Wuss-pout. I fixed it, though). I know I do a lot of blog posts about not writing a better blog post. I feel guilty about it, but, you know, not guilty enough to stop.

The funny thing is, I worked hard on my blog post yesterday. I tried to write it at work but did not succeed. I typed in the paragraph I had written, then tried to compose a little more, got bogged down, persevered. Several times I thought, “Oh, I can’t do this properly today. I’ll save the draft and write a foolish post for today, then fix it tomorrow.” But I had a rehearsal to get to and not much confidence in my ability to be amusing in a foolish post.

I can hear the nay-sayers now, saying (in addition to “nay”), “About that… you’re not being particularly amusing today, now, are you?”

I reply that I do not think that is a very nice thing to say. Stick to a simple “Nay” if you must. Or practice the art of silence.

The nay-sayer pounces on this: “That’s it! The Art of Silence! That is what you should do! Get on that now!”

I think we all know that is not going to happen. However, in the interests of readers who prefer a more substantive blog post, I will endeavor NOT to have Non-Sequitur Thursday this week.

About Lame Post Friday, I make no promises.

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