Tag Archives: blogging

Some Kind of Halt

I gradually realized what my problem is.  I started to put “suddenly realized” but the fact is I do not do anything quickly these days.  Yes, it is the heat.  If you are one of those people who worship summer weather and feel chilled when the mercury drops below 75,… I don’t know where I was going with that sentence.  After all, people have the right to like whatever kind of weather suits their fancy.  To each his own, as the old lady said when she kissed the cow (I stole that expression from  friend).

I have mentioned in this space that I melt in the heat (alas, not literally; my weight-loss goals continue to elude me).  My body slows down and my brain comes to a grinding halt. Is that a cliche, “grinding halt”?  Perhaps I could come up with a more imaginative term.  Let’s see, what kind of halt has my brain ground to?  Did it, in fact, grind?  Or was it something… gooshier?  It did not slosh, because that implies more movement than I have recently experienced.  More of a drag.  My brain dragged along in a discouraged fashion and at last reached an ominous stillness.

Ominous?  Perhaps so, because it may never start again.  Still, “ominous” implies that my brain is actually doing something, namely threatening unspecified consequences.  Only it is not.  It is lying there, thinking nothing, offering nothing, doing nothing.

I wrote the preceding during my nine o’clock break at work.  When I read it over at lunch time, my brain thought, “complete halt.”  Of course, “complete halt,” I realized.  That is what I meant.  Perhaps not evocative, but more accurately and less cliche-edly what happened (yes, I know, “cliche-edly” is not a work, but it is exactly what I mean).  It was some few minutes later that I realized for my brain to think “complete halt” it clearly was not at one (yes, it took some minutes, moving slow in the heat, remember?).

If only I could think of an unrelated yet clever-sounding title, this could be a Non-Sequitur Thursday post.  However, I have no time nor, as observed ad nauseum, brain for such a thing.  I must get ready for a performance of Much Ado About Nothing at Benton Landing in Little Falls at 6.  I am quite nervous but of course looking forward to it.  Happy Thursday, everyone.

 

Mental Meanderings before Much Ado

That served me right.  I started to work on a cryptogram puzzle instead of writing my blog post, and I could not get it.  It is a similar phenomenon when I play one more game of solitaire (do I need to specify with an actual deck of cards, not on the computer or other device?) (oh, who am I kidding? Nobody plays solitaire on computers any more!), even though I do not have time enough to do so, it is almost always a lousy game.  Well, we cannot always do the right thing and very often we cannot even agree on what the right thing is.

And there goes that theory anyways.  I couldn’t think of anything else to write.  I looked at the puzzle and got it.  Bam.

The preceding is what I wrote while on break at work.  I was going for a Monday Mental Meanderings, I suppose.  The only other thing I got is this:  Under the heading It Take So Little To Please Some People: today is 8/8/16.  Get it?  8 + 8 = 16.  Teehee.  Yes, I am easily amused.  I was going to post that as my Facebook status but I forgot.

I’m afraid this post is not very amusing. In my defense, I have to get to the Utica Zoo by 5 p.m.  We are presenting Much Ado About Nothing at six.  I am suddenly feeling quite nervous about it.  Making sure I remember all my costumes and props, driving to the zoo, finding a place to park… oh yes, and remembering my lines.  I’m going to stop blogging now and look at them.

 

 

 

Once Again, I’ve Said Too Much

This is not exactly a blogger’s sick day, but I don’t know what else to call it.  The stupidest thing happened.  Oh well, maybe not the STUPIDEST, but stupid enough to call it so, and already I am typing too much.  This morning I got a mysterious pain in my forearm, just a little above my wrist.  I didn’t worry about it, because it didn’t hurt that bad.  I just went to work and went about my business, because, you know, I work for a living.

And it kept hurting.  Off and on, with gusts of real pain followed by lengths of irritation, interspersed with increasingly shorter periods of not feeling bad at all.  I don’t think it was work related, because, well, I wasn’t working all that hard (don’t judge me), and I figured it would go away eventually.  However, I thought it would be a good idea to just mention it to my boss.  You see, if it was work-related, and it turned into something serious, and I hadn’t told anybody, I could get in big trouble.  So I always err on the side of saying something, even at the expense of feeling stupid. I know, it is not an unusual feeling for me.

My boss sent me down to the nurse.  She emphasized that she could not diagnose nor even force me to do anything, but she gave me an ice pack and some ibuprofen and suggested the following:  I should continue to ice and take ibuprofen as needed and wear a wrist brace, which she also gave me, when working.  And I should rest it.  I mentioned that I type a blog every night, and she told me I shouldn’t do that.  She said I could type a very short one, while wearing the wrist brace, and explain that I had an arm problem and would not be blogging for the rest of the week.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Not blog every day?  Say it ain’t so!  Still, one does not want to aggravate an injury, or whatever it is.  And I don’t want anyone at work reading my blog and getting mad at me if my arm still hurts (oh yeah, like any of them reads my blog! I have such an ego).

So this is all of today’s post.  It is longer than I had intended, and perhaps longer than recommended, but I’m even leaving some stuff out.  What can I do?  I know, sign off before I up my word count even more.  Don’t tell the nurse, but I intend to post again tomorrow.  Perhaps I will attempt to type one handed.  Then there could be no possible objection.

 

Pre-Rehearsal Wuss

Oh crap, look at the time!  My ride is picking me up for rehearsal in about 25 minutes.  I can’t get my blog post done plus find the props I still need, brush my teeth, put my shoes on, look over my lines again, eat a pickle, finish my iced coffee, look at Facebook again… and remember all the other stuff I thought I could do.  Oh, and pet my dog. He just walked over from his end of the couch, and I think that is what he wants.  One must pet one’s dog, after all.

Luckily, this is Wuss-out Wednesday.

The thing is, I wrote a blog post today.  I had written most of it yesterday with the thought that I would also type it in when I typed in yesterday’s post.  Then today I would only have to hit “Publish,”  so I would have time to run.  However, yesterday I also did a load of laundry and made a salad.  Was that not ambitious of me?  I finished the post while at work today.  Then I amused myself by writing a brief synopsis of a possible sequel to Much Ado About Nothing (you know, the play I’m in).

When I got home today, after I took the dog for a business meeting (it was too short to call it a walk), I went running.  I wanted to write a Running Commentary post, but that is just not going to happen.  Anyways, first I had to eat, drink an iced coffee, and check my email.  Then answer my email, which I had to do twice, because I didn’t do it right the first time, and I still haven’t answered all the emails I am supposed to.

Good grief!  The only good thing is, I now have over 250 words of this nonsense and I  am going to hit Publish.  Maybe I can write another blog post about what else I accomplished from my list in the first paragraph.  Happy Wednesday, everybody.

 

Lames Away!

I did say it was going to be Lame Post Friday, didn’t I?  And here I am, ready to lame away!  Not really.  I’m sitting at work, which is not air conditioned by the way, writing in my beat-up spiral notebook and wishing I had a cryptogram puzzle to solve instead.  Well, maybe not instead.  Maybe as a warm-up.  When I was much younger and had to tear myself away from whatever book I was reading to work on whatever novel I was writing, I used to do a puzzle to clear my mind between the two fictions (oh, I like that phrase, “between the two fictions”).

My mind could use some clearing.  I have had quite the bear of a week and it is not over yet.  The fact that most of my chores have been fun things that I chose to do does not take away from the inherent stress of having too much stuff to do.  The reflection that other people have to do way more stuff than me adds guilt and self-loathing to my troubles, as I add “Beat self up for complaining so much” to my to-do list.

Last night members of LiFT Theatre Company had a great deal of fun presenting a few scenes from Much Ado About Nothing to attendees of Little Falls’ Third Thursday.  We got some good laughs, especially when we forgot lines.

Tonight I plan to march in Ilion’s Doodah Parade with other members of Ilion Little Theatre.  That means I have to hurry home, walk my dog, take my shower, make my blog post, eat something, get into my costume and be ready by 5:15.  I’m not just planning how to get all this done, I’m scheming how to get it done early so my friend and I can sneak in a quick wine tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor before the parade.  Ah, add another thing to my list:  Check Facebook to see if Valley is having a tasting (although they almost always do on Fridays) and contact Kim to see if she’s into it.

What a long list I’m getting.  Perhaps I should not add “Beat myself up for complaining.”  Hey, I bet I’d save even more time if I actually STOPPED complaining.  As the Gene Wilder character said in Young Frankenstein: “IT!  COULD!  WORK!”

 

Zen and the Art of Lame Post Friday

Friday just is.

And explanation of that first sentence.   I was about to write a complete sentence then thought, “Oh hell, I’ll just make my blog post later.”  I didn’t realize WordPress had saved it till I logged back in and saw I had an untitled draft.  Naturally I clicked Edit.  At first it looked as if WordPress had saved a blank screen, and I said, “How appropriate.”   Then the above sentence fragment appeared, and I kind of liked it.

The second paragraph was composed on our tablet, you know, one letter at a time with the stylus, till the word I want appears above the keyboard.

Now I’m back on the laptop.  Aaahhhh…  I still don’t have anything to say, but it sure is a lot quicker to ramble on. The first sentence was going to be a reflection that Friday is different when it is the end of a vacation week.  Then I thought, well, duh. I have spent most of today reminding myself that this is still a three day weekend for me.  If I had worked all week and was at the beginning of a three day weekend, I’d be pretty damn happy, wouldn’t I?  Well, then.

So  I am reasonably content with my lot in life tonight.  Three more days till I return to the beastly grind, which, as I may have said, is not particularly beastly nor even grind-like.  I am actually feeling kind of zen about it.  I guess somebody who knows a lot about zen would tell me I am misusing the expression quite disgracefully. I did read a book about zen once:  Zen and the Art of Archery, I think it was, no idea who wrote it.  My cello teacher recommended it to me. She was kind of a weirdo, although I remember being quite impressed with her when I was a high school student.

What I mean by “feeling kind of zen” is, the first sentence sounds oddly appropriate to me.  Then again, perhaps the blank screen would have been better.  Discuss amongst yourselves.  I must get back to enjoying my three day weekend.

 

Waitin’ on a Friend

That is a really good song by the Rolling Stones, and I have been thinking about it since I got home from work because, well, we are.  Waiting on a friend, that is.  Our friend Tracy is coming to spend the night before going on to further adventures that do not include us (said with just a little bit of miff).  We hope she gets here soon.

So right off the bat I have blown Non-Sequitur Thursday, because my headline and lead paragraph totally agree.  Also, the rest of the post will probably be about waiting for Tracy, because, quite frankly, I got nuthin’ else.  If I was the intellectual powerhouse I like to imagine myself, I could write a real literary masterpiece invoking Waiting for Godot.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I don’t even imagine myself an intellectual powerhouse.  Most of the time.

We were hoping Tracy would make it here a little earlier, so we could go out for dinner.  We had several choices in mind.  In Herkimer we could have gone to PK’s Pub, which Tracy has enjoyed with us before.  She has never been to Jamo’s, another favorite destination of ours.  She went to Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner when it was just the Empire Diner, under different management.  If she felt like taking a ride to Little Falls, we could have gone to the Copper Moose Ale House or the Happen Inn Sports Bar.  If she had been here earlier yet, we could have stopped at Fall Hill Bead and Gems, which I am sure Tracy would love.

Now I see I am over 250 words.  A reference to a Stones song, brief update on me (one of my favorite things to write about),  and a shout-out to a few local businesses.  If Tracy gets here soon and we do something fun, perhaps I can write about it for tomorrow’s post.  If not, I’ll have to have Lame Post Friday.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

Who, Me, Multi-Task?

It is a well-known fact that I do not have my act together.  I don’t even pretend to have my act together.  Anybody who thinks I have now or have ever at any point in my life had my act together is deluded.  Anybody with half a brain who is paying the slightest bit of attention knows: I’m a mess.

This is not to say I have no hopes of ever getting my act together.  On the contrary, I keep thinking I might.  Some days I would settle for having the various parts of my act on the same continent — oh, hell, the same planet!  Where was I going with this?

I suppose it is an introduction to another Wuss-out Wednesday post.

I did some writing earlier today, while on breaks at work.  It was on the banana play.  I got a marvelous inspiration for the plot, but I dare not say a word about it.  If you talk too much about these things you lose all impetus to write them, although sometimes the urge to talk about them is overwhelming.  For one reason, I feel so clever and pleased with myself, I almost admire my ideas as a thing entirely separate from myself and my not inconsiderable ego (when it comes to writing anyways).  I generously desire to give others the opportunity to admire (yes, quite a large ego when it comes to writing).

OK, I’ll admit it, the other reason to refrain from telling people my brilliant ideas is the quite reasonable fear that other people will not find them, or by extension me, as brilliant.

Getting back to my day, I made not one, not two but THREE stops on my way home from work.  I picked up two pairs of shoes that had been repaired at Melfe’s in Ilion, also dropping off another pair for the same repair.  I had waited far too long since Melfe’s called to tell me the repairs were done, but the people at Melfe’s were very nice about it.  I also stopped at a big-box store to purchase some yarn and a couple of other items.  My third stop was by Curves, not to exercise but to drop off an afghan I am donating to a friend who has a team walking in the Sitrin’s Stars and Strips Run/Walk.  She intends to raffle it for fundraising purposes.

As I reached home I felt I did not want to — was not capable of — accomplishing all that I had wanted to.  I was impressed enough with myself that I had made my stops. Surely I could sit down for a while.  Long story short (I know, too late), I didn’t.  I walked our dog, Spunky (I was always going to do THAT, however tired and stupid I felt).  Then I changed into workout clothes and put a load of laundry into the washer.  While the washer ran, I ran in place on the mini-tramp.  Spunky stared at me for a while, apparently waiting to see if there was any point in my gyrations.  When he couldn’t figure it out, he went and laid down on the couch.

After a short run (so boring, even with the television on!), I put the laundry into the dryer, bringing the non-drierables upstairs to hang on the bars.  Then I took my shower, put on comfy clothes and went down to the kitchen to fix dinner.  It took a while to get stuff chopped and into the pot, but soon it was simmering and I could get on the computer to check my email and Facebook notifications.

The point of this long, dull post (I hope not too dull) is, I guess, that even though I did not write a good blog post during the course of the day, I got a few things done.  I thought of that headline earlier, before I got around to composing this post.  I’m not sure it really fits, but it will have to do.  We’ll consider it a little Non-Sequitur Thursday creeping in early.  I’m sure ready to move on to the end of the week.

 

When in Doubt, Eat Ice Cream

Once again I did not write a blog post while on breaks at work.  I spent my working hours thinking about my banana play and coming up with no ideas.  If I had picked up a pen to write, I’m sure all that would have come out was what a writing crisis I was having.  I worked on cryptogram puzzles instead.  On the brighter side, I solved one that had mystified me on several previous attempts.

I made a stop on the way home, but it was at a chain drugstore.  There is nothing wrong with picking up needed items at such a store, I suppose, but it hardly offers the Mohawk Valley cachet I seek for a blog post.  It has been a dreadfully hot day (I recently read somewhere that you should say “sweltering” instead of “very hot,” but I can’t say the day felt sweltering. At least I did not use “very” for once) and I was coated with sweat by the time I got home.  Still, I got right outside with my little dog, Spunky.  We did not take a walk, though.  It was more of a brief business meeting.  There was not a chance I was going for a run.  So a Pedestrian Post or a Running Commentary was not going to happen.

Getting on the computer, I stared at a blank screen for a while.  Nothing happened.  I went into Drafts and looked at a couple I never finished but thought I might some day.  Today is not the day.  I added a couple of sentences to one.  I am not displeased with either, but, well, they need work.  I pondered my future as a blogger.

Then my husband Steven said that after the show we were watching was over (a re-run of Snapped, incidentally), he was getting a bowl of ice cream, would I like one?  It is not a good way to meet my weight-loss goals, but as a boost to my spirits, it seemed the way to go.  I said yes.  That at least gave me a title.  While I waited for the episode of Snapped to end and Steven to get our ice cream, I typed in the first paragraph and a half of this post.  After savoring the Death By Chocolate (if they meant it literally, I would have died happy), I  wrote the rest.

We’ll call this a Monday Mental Meanderings, and perhaps tomorrow I will explain exactly how I think I am ever going to meet those weight-loss goals.

 

Slacker to Shout-Out

After a rather horrible blogging week (culminating in a Lame Friday Post that got zero Likes!), I find I must have a Slacker Saturday.  Or maybe it’s a blogger’s sick day.  At any rate, I intend to just type in some nonsense, hit Publish and get on with my evening.

First some complaining:  my head is spinning.  I had a headache every day this week.  When I woke up with the beginning of one this morning, I foolishly took some migraine medication.  Oh well, sometimes dizziness is better than pain.  It hasn’t been totally bad all day.  I got a few chores done: three loads of laundry, a (very) little cleaning and a trip to the store.  Oh, shout-out to a local business!  The post won’t be a total loss.

I went to T & J’s Fruits and Vegetables in Herkimer, NY (where I live).  I had taken some sausage out of the freezer for dinner and wanted a green pepper to go with it.  There were red peppers there too, but I decided on one green one for tonight.  I picked the one I liked best.  Then I saw some eggplants that looked nice.  Eggplant, pepper and sausage.  What could be better?

When I put them on the counter I saw some homegrown strawberries.  Yum!  The lady at the register recommended some cherries that were there as well.  I put my stuff down and said I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t something else there I’d like.  I was glad I did, because I had almost forgotten we’re out of yellow onions.  Sausage and pepper without onion?  Say it ain’t so!  I got some of the strawberries but declined the cherries.

Driving home I remembered garlic. Damn!  I had pulled the last bulb off the braid I had gotten at the Mohawk Valley Garden and Herb Festival in Little Falls last September (come to think of it, that braid lasted a LONG time.  I must not be cooking enough).  When I got home I checked and there are still a few cloves left.  Phew!

I feel certain my dizzy head will allow me to cook dinner without major mishap.  Perhaps I could write a post about it tomorrow on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.