Tag Archives: writing

May I Remind You: It Is Non-Sequitur Thursday

So I am staring at the clock deciding what time I must leave to go to final dress rehearsal for the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre.

And I have the dreaded Type A Sentence Then Backspace Over It disease. What’s a blogger to do? What I usually do, I suppose. Grit my teeth, type and leave it there! When one is determined to post every day, any words are better than no words at all.

The critics in my head are poised to argue this, of course, but they do not have a leg to stand on, metaphorical or otherwise. Critics, please note the subordinate clause that precedes the contention praising “any words.” Now they will go on to suggest that I become determined to post something good every day, but I shall not listen. I must hit publish and run.

I have been having a devilish time of it for the past day or so. When I went to put in my contact lenses last night, one ripped. This has never happened to me before. I was not aware until this morning that half of that contact remained in my eye. As an explanation, I can only offer that bit of philosophy that has helped me through many a tribulation: shit happens.

Do you know how hard it is to get a partial contact lens out of an eye? Well, I finally managed it. I will just add: I do not usually wear contact lenses. For my purposes, glasses suit me better. But I keep some one-day disposables around for specific purposes, such as being in a play.

What a dull post. I should have gone into details of my horrific eye-poking experience. Too late. I have some tea to make (for a prop) and other dramatic concerns to deal with. Tomorrow is opening night. Perhaps I will write my post late and tell you how it goes.

Brevity is the Soul of Lame

The Law of Inertia applies to writing. To those who do not remember 8th grade Physics (I think my school just called it “Science”) (and I’m pretty sure 8th grade is when I learned this, although I could be wrong), the Law of Inertia states that an object at rest tends to remain at rest while an object in motion tends to remain in motion until worked on by an outside force.

A writer not writing tends to continue not writing. Or in my case, a blogger who spends several days composing last minute foolishness at the keyboard tends not to handwrite in her notebook during breaks at work.

That is what I handwrote in my notebook earlier today during a break at work (my computer is underlining “handwrite” and “handwrote” but I am going to pretend that they are words). You see, I knew it was Lame Post Friday, when it will not matter (per my own self-imposed rules) (which you may have noticed are subject to change) if I go the Foolishness at the Keyboard route. But yet, I wanted something more. After all, in the past I have written my lame post prior to typing it in. Now I anm trying to remember one so I can one make one of those pingback thing. Hmmm, nothing is coming. Well, you know what I mean.

What happened was, I wrote those two paragraphs then felt guilty for not studying my lines. You know, for that play I’m in. Also, it cannot be denied, looking at words somebody else wrote is much easier than coming up with words of my own. However, difficult though it sometimes is, I LIKE coming up with words of my own. This post is now over 250 of them.

250 words is not a long post. I’ve been reading other blogs and I know many run longer. However, they say brevity is the soul of wit. And it you can’t be witty, it is best to be brief. There, that covers me either way. Happy Friday, everyone.

Oh Crap, I Gotta Write a Blog Post!

It is Non-Sequitur Thursday. I usually like to skip that if I’ve just had a Wuss-out Wednesday, which of course I had this week. However comma, sometimes these things happen (“however comma” is an expression I got from a sergeant in the army. I like it better than “but, however”) (I think “but, however” sounds like a redundancy and thus improper English, although a mean English teacher taught it as correct).

I am completely ready for my rehearsal tonight. OK, not completely ready, but I’m dressed. I have on all three skirts. My director wanted my character to be layered (let’s see what the real drama-ramas amongst my readers make of that elliptical remark).

Just as an aside, I am back on overtime at work. For my checkbook’s sake I say, “Woohoo!” Regarding the matter of sufficient sleep I say, “Oh, crap!” But one does what one must with as good a grace as one can muster. Actually, I do very little in my life with actual gracefulness, which is one reason this is not a video blog.

Today’s title is something I actually said just before I decided to use it as a title. My husband laughed at me. It is true that I often say that I cannot write a post, then I go right ahead and do. Like, um, you know, I just did.

It’s Friday

I know I have been having a lot of lame posts lately. However, I think we all know how much I treasure my Lame Post Friday. It’s Friday. Let’s be lame.

I actually had a few ideas during the day about what I could write about for my blog post. I thought I might actually write something earlier than when I sat down at the computer to start typing. I studied my lines for the play instead. Oh, and worked on a letter to my sister. OK, I also worked on a cryptogram puzzle and a crossword. Maybe if I had more breaks on my job…

The break from frigid cold temperatures in the Mohawk Valley did not last very long. This morning when we woke up it was actually pleasant, relatively speaking that is. I put on short sleeves. For a while at work, short sleeves were OK. When I left work the wind chill was back. It was… let’s just say not pleasant.

I cooked something not too bad for supper. I cooked some rice in the rice cooker which was my favorite Christmas present. While it cooked, I chopped up a pork chop (we only had one because the package had an odd number). When it was almost done I added broccoli from the freezer and mushrooms from a can. When the rice was done, I put that in along with some spices.

Anyone who has been reading this blog will know that I have had… what kind of week? Stressful, busy, not a bad week, but not a good writing week. I think this Friday post has been no better. But it’s Friday. Let’s get on with the weekend.

Still Blaming the Play?

I just glanced back at the last week or so of posts and I see that I have been wimping out since last Monday. Oh dear. Not a Mohawk Valley adventure in a week? Say it ain’t so! However, the reason I have been so remiss is that I have been preoccupied with the play I am in (which I believe I have mentioned at least once). Ilion Little Theatre is a major Mohawk Valley asset. I think I have also mentioned the Mohawk Valley weather. So I have not completely lost my local focus.

Just to give an update on my writing: I seem to be over my Writer’s Block and am in the middle of huge case of Writer’s Blank. Seriously, I can’t think of a damn thing to say.

That is what I wrote before rehearsal. For once when I had nothing to say, I actually, truly — dare I say literally? — had nothing to say. I don’t have a great deal more to say now, but apparently I am capable of typing out more words. Maybe not good words, but as I often say, one can’t have everything.

The weather continues icily cold in the Mohawk Valley. Bill Kardas said it was going to get up into the 20s today (that’s the weather guy on WKTV. I don’t really know him; I just wanted to sound like a name-dropper). It did not feel like 20s to me. In fact, the cold this morning gave me a migraine. I took a couple of pills for it. They were over the counter, but they still doped me up somewhat. I believe that was the cause of my earlier Writer’s Blank.

So I guess I can only offer apologies for Wuss-out Wednesday (that sounds more planned than Blogger’s Sick Day, doesn’t it?) and, as always, try again tomorrow. Thank you for playing.

I Did Mention The Play, Right?

I think I may have mentioned this blog might become All Busybody All The Time. Astute readers will recall that Busybody is the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre. I’m the busybody who discovers the busy body. Opening night is Jan. 30, which is kind of bearing down on us in an ominous fashion.

Did anybody read yesterday’s post when I was having that dreadful bout of Writer’s Block? I had rehearsal. I had to make that blog post then get myself ready to ACT. I had to change into clothes for rehearsal, I had to make sure I had my rehearsal props, I had to look over my lines again, I had to think about my character. I can’t write and act at the same time!

Actually, I kind of can. I realized a long time ago, I act like I write. I know all kinds of stuff about my character that never shows up on stage. Today while I was at work, I started thinking about my relationship with this other character in the play. In the play, we are old friends who actually went out on a date once. I started thinking about what my character used to be like, and what the other character used to be like, and why I married the guy I married (uh, in the play). I had worked out a huge backstory involving characters who never even appear onstage.

This is what I do. When I was in Harvey, I didn’t stop with backstory. I started writing a sequel in my head. In the dressing room before one performance I started to recount it to other cast members. I ran out of stuff I had thought up while at work and started vamping. The other cast members were rapt, or perhaps I flatter myself.

I had rehearsal tonight. I did not write my blog post before rehearsal. For some reason I trusted I would be able to come up with something after rehearsal. How silly of me. On the other hand, this is Tired Tuesday. Perhaps this will be all right. See you on Wuss-out Wednesday.

At Last! Writer’s Block!

I think I am finally experiencing Writer’s Block. I know, I know, many people believe it does not exist. Some people don’t believe in Santa Claus either; I refuse to debate some things. Normally I suffer from Writer’s Blank. I look at the page and it remains blank because that is my state of mind. Sometimes I suffer from Write It Down And Cross It Out (or Type It In And Backspace Over It, as the case may be). This, however, I can only describe as Writer’s Block.

I have a post that I wrote last week but did not finish. I thought I would type in what I had and finish it for today’s post. Then I looked at the lead and saw that it mentioned my Christmas vacation. Did that make it dated? Should I change the lead? Go with something entirely different or just change the wording a little to indicate that the post is about an adventure I had last month?

These are not difficult questions. All I had to do was pick an option and start typing. I could even put off the decision, type in what I had, and change it later. But somewhere in the back of my mind there lurked another lead. A good lead, one that made the post… different. Better. But the words would not come forward.

Well why does that matter? I argued with myself. Just type in anything, I said. You’ll find the words you want. If not right away, you can save the draft and finish it later or tomorrow. Just BEGIN!

And I could not.

I felt literally paralyzed (this is not a misuse of the word “literally,” I really FELT AS IF I was literally paralyzed. I did not say I WAS literally paralyzed) (so don’t get didactic on me). I had a couple of other ideas for blog posts I could have gone with. I thought, just write one of those for now. I put my fingers on the keyboard. Nothing happened. I couldn’t write ANYTHING!

Except, it seems, this. We’ll call it a Middle-aged Musings Monday and hit publish. Hope to see you on Tuesday.

Yes, I Am a Silly Blogger

I had thought to have Sunday Running Commentary. However, since it was 19 degrees out, I opted to run in place on the mini-tramp. It was not a particularly blogworthy activity (yes, computer, I know “blogworthy” is not a word, but it ought to be). While I ran, I watched a Hammer horror movie I had DVR’d back in October. Naturally I did not watch the whole movie. Perhaps someday when I am training for a marathon I shall be able to do such a thing. Today was not that day.

I suppose I am gearing up to Yet Another Post About Why I Can’t Write a Post Today. Some readers may be calling foul over that. After all, I had a Wrist to Forehead day yesterday. I had a Lame Post Friday and a Non-Sequitur Thursday. Oh yeah, and a Wuss-out Wednesday. Did I also wuss out on Tuesday? I don’t remember, and I am far too lazy to go back and check now. So you see.

“Yes, I see,” my reader is saying (that imaginary reader in my head who always says such things). “I see that you are too lazy be a real blogger! You bum!”

Can you believe this: my computer considers “blogger” to be a real word! But “blogworthy is not! What’s that all about, computer? Obviously blogworthy is a far superior and useful word. Blogger just sounds silly. Is that what I want to be? I guess I am silly. And so is my blog. I hope I still have some readers on Monday.

Not Whine, WINE

Sorry, kids, it’s Wrist to Forehead Saturday. I know, it’s supposed to be Saturday Running Commentary and Wrist to Forehead Sunday, but I worked this morning instead of going running. Wait a minute, that means Friday was not Friday but yet Saturday becomes Sunday? I make no sense.

The fact is, I feel that I am too cold to write a proper blog post. I have to laugh at myself because of that. I say to myself, Really? with that raised eyebrow look that puts a wealth of skepticism into that one word. Truly, I am too cold? What, I ask myself, what about all those blog posts I wrote all summer when I was too damn hot to write a proper blog post? Should it not follow that I can write MYRIAD blog posts when the mercury drops?

It behooves me now to link back to one of those posts, for newcomers to the blog who do not know how much Mohawk Valley Girl wilts under hot temperatures. Unfortunately, all I can think of is one titled “I’m Me-elting.” It is unfortunate because after complaining about being too hot, I go on to write a kind of a cooking post (regular readers know I am incapable of writing a real cooking post).

So, can I write a kind of a cooking post to save this post? In fact, I have some chicken wings in the oven. I love to cook things in the oven when it is cold out. It warms the house quite nicely. I put butter, honey and Dijon mustard on the wings. We will cook tater tots to go with them. I like to eat my tater tots with cottage cheese. No vegetable is planned. You may shake your finger at me if you are so inclined (or your head or your booty) (I know the song says “Shake your booty,” but I have always thought it should say “Shake your groove thing”).

By the way, I am cooking with wine.

Come to think of it, I am inclined to stop whining about how cold it is. I shall now sit on the couch and crochet, thus covering my legs with an unfinished afghan. Life, as they say, is good.

Wine with Ray Romano

I’m at the bra off, sweatpants on, wine drinking, Facebook checking portion of the day. Unfortunately, I skipped the blog post writing portion of the day, so must deal with that. Hmmmmm… perhaps that line would be a good lead.

That is a comment I just made on Facebook, which I was checking before writing the blog post. Now that I look at it on the computer screen, I am not so sure. And, dammit, my husband is playing a DVR’d episode of Parenthood. What an addictive show! I’ve lost track of all these characters and I am still absorbed in the story. Why doesn’t this show get any Emmy love? And not for nothing, but who knew Ray Romano could act? He’s wonderful!

But I have not watched enough to make this a post about Parenthood. Luckily today is Non-Sequitur Thursday. I can write a paragraph about this, a paragraph about that, slap on a silly headline and I’m done. I apologize to any readers who were hoping for something a little more substantive, especially since I have already indulged in a Tired Tuesday and a Wuss-out Wednesday this week.

I mentioned that I am in a play. Longtime readers might be waiting for this blog to become All Busybody All The Time. It will, perhaps soon. In the meantime, I’ll probably have a few more ridiculous posts like this. I hope they are at least amusing.