On The Last Day of September 2014

On the last day of September,
I contemplate the swift passage of the year.

I ask myself
what have I accomplished in the nine months
since New Year's Day 2014.

In nine months
a woman gives birth to a child
and I have given birth
to many poetic children
in the last nine months.

On the last day of September,
I ask myself:
Did I let go of the past?

Yes and no;
today I gave away a blouse
that I could not wear,
but had kept because
my mother made it.

I gave it away
when I realized that
Mom made the blouse
for someone to wear...
now someone will wear the blouse.

The Karate Challenge: Be. Okinawa

In this episode Felix, the German crossfit athlete is challenged to learn Karate. After he learns then he is challenged to teach it to the other cast members. Click on the video below to see what happens when Felix learns Karate.

Autumn in Las Vegas

It is autumn in Las Vegas which mean day number three without turning on the cool air. I even took the trash out later then normal. In summer I take the trash to the alley early in the morning before it gets too hot, but in autumn and winter I can take it out about the time I pick up the mail.

Autumn in Las Vegas,
a wonderful time to write
about the beautiful cool weather.

Autumn in Las Vegas
leave the front door open
and listen to the joyful
singing of birds.

The Amazing Okinawa Photo Race: Be. Okinawa

In this episode Seattle, the Canadian instagrammer, takes us on a photographic treasure hunt of Okinawa. Click on the video to see what Seattle discovers about the treasures of Okinawa. Also watch the other six experts as they attempt to find the treasures that Seattle discovered.

My 95-Day Gratitude Challenge

After doing some research on the different Gratitude Challenges on the Internet and Facebook, I have decided to do a 95-day Gratitude Challenge. I chose 95 days because the number has special meaning to me, so I figured I would have a better chance of completing the challenge if I picked a number that had special meaning.

Today is the first day of this challenge, which means I have to establish my gratitude journal entries. I chose to use one of my writing.com journals to contain the entries for this challenge because it was easier to use a book I already worked with rather then set up a new book to hold the entries. I intend to make at least one entry a week in this blog about my progress in this Journey of Gratitude.

Meet the Cast: Be. Okinawa

In this episode meet seven different experts, each from a different country, who were hand-picked to visit the Islands of Okinawa. These experts will share the secrets of Okinawa with the world. Click on the video below to see who visited Okinawa the most southern of the tropical islands in Japan. Watch these experts on their journey of discovery to Okinawa.

Three Days and Counting

In three days, on October 1, the NaNoWriMo Preparation Challenge begins on writing.com. Those who participate in this challenge are expected to spend at least 15 minutes a day working on the required assignments. Once the required assignment for any given day is completed, and the information on its completion submitted, then the participant can either move on to the next required assignment or work on the bonus assignment for that day.

There are required and bonus assignments for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Saturday, the only required assignment is the contest round assignment. A participant is not required to enter the contest, but the assignment must be completed even if it is not entered in the contests. Sunday is a free day, which means you can catch up on anything you have not completed, work on an upcoming assignment or bonus, or focus your writing efforts on something else.

I have a book ready for the assignments and bonuses in my port: Visit My Portfolio @ Writing.Com. I have made the first enter a calendar-check list that contains all the assignments. I am as ready as I will ever be for the NaNoWriMo Prep Challenge. I plan on scheduling my Prep Challenge writing time of a morning, but that schedule is not sit in stone because on some days I will have to wait until afternoon or evening to work on the assignments.

I have two possible working titles for my National Novel Writing Month novel. The first is The Empire of the Blue Wolf and the second is Valley of the Crested Towers, but I may change the working title before November 1 when NaNoWriMo begins. Since I like both titles, and cannot think of anything better, I will use one of those. If I come up with a better title before November then I will make a blog entry about it.

Unfocused Friday

It is Autumn. It is Friday. It is the first Friday of Autumn. It is the last Friday of September. I have drink my coffee. I have eat my cereal. I have managed to sporadically focus on writing between unfocused moments of mind wandering. I accomplished approximately 1/2 of my word count goal this morning, which is good since I have been battling depression and unfocused thought.

I do not think my responses I made to the blog prompts on writing.com rambled excessively. I will know when I reread them on Saturday or Sunday. I do not know how long I can focus on this entry. I do not know if anything I am writing makes sense or sounds logical. Neither my mind nor my muse wants to cooperate with me because when I have to get out of my chair in the middle of writing they wander off into parts unknown.

Normally, I have no problem focusing on what I am writing because my mind continues thinking about the subject  while I am doing something else for a short time.... I also seem to have problems remembering the next sentence. I do not know what is causing the problem today. An unfocused mind is no excuse not to write something. Since I cannot remember what else I intended to write I am going to post this entry.

Working for Shell?

Click on the video below and find out what shell graduates have to say about working for shell. These graduates will tell you what they value. They will give you the benefits of working for shell. They will talk about helping meet the energy challenge. Click on the video below to hear what these graduates have to say.

Thankful Thursday: A busy poetry week

It is thankful Thursday of a busy poetry week. I have written six or seven short poems this week with more in the planning stage. I cannot figure out why I am so inspired this close to the end of the month. Normally, my inspiration occurs at the beginning of the month instead of the end.

September
a good month to write
autumn poetry.

I could be warming up for October and the NaNoWriMo Prep challenge. I will spend the thirty-one days from October 1 to October 31 planning my 2014 NaNoWriMo novel. I already have a plot idea and a few characters in the planning stage. October should be another good month for writing.

Life at Shell: Working offshore

Watch the video below to learn how Facilities Engineer impacts today's society by gaining hands-on experience while she works on an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Click on the video below to find out how Michelle's work with a team of technical experts in finding innovative solutions. Watch how his global team works together.

Thursday Thoughts: A Gratitude Poem

Always
say Thank You to
those who give you help
and to those who make you smile
or laugh.
 

Volvo Trucks: The Casino

Click on the video below and watch a Volvo Truck drive up to a casino and the drive hand the parking attendant the keys.

The first day of Autumn 2014

On the first day of fall,
cool temperatures caress
my sleep weary limbs
as I listen to a rooster crowing.

Autumn memoriesof fall
in Oklahoma
and the scent of mothballs
in the morning.

Has it really been so long
since I last helped
Grandma can summer's abundance
and store the jars of winter.

Autumn in Las Vegas,
but the trees have not begun
to change
summer green for
autumn orange.

I miss fall in Oklahoma
and Grandma's canning parties.

Sunday Reflections: Thoughts on Sunday, September 21, 2014

At the beginning of a new week, I pause to reflect upon the clouds floating across the blue sky, One looks like a baby dragon's head whispering secrets to the winds of the upper atmospheres.

At the beginning of a new week, I pause to reflect upon the shadows cast by the morning sun. The deep dark shadows of building and palm trees periodically dim because a cloud floats across the face of the sun.

At the beginning of a new week, I pause to reflect upon the pine tree growing in the yard across the street. I remember the pine trees growing in my old neighborhood and I smile at these beautiful reminders of eternal life. Pine trees do not loose their leave or rather their needles in winter. Pine trees withstand the cold of winter in the high Rocky Mountains. Pine trees withstand the summer hear here in Las Vegas.

At the beginning of a new week, I pause to reflect on the singing of birds. They sound so joyful on this late summer morning. I smile because the season will soon change from summer to fall and eventually from fall to winter. Spring and summer will return next year with their joyful echoes of this year to celebrate life.

 At the beginning of a new week, I pause to reflect  on peace. Just as the winter will pass so will the wars and hatred separates humanity into armed camps. World peace will come because it is promised to us by the Creator, but that does not mean we can sit back and wait for it to appear. We have to work for peace, from the grassroots level, and we have to pray for peace. Both work and prayer are necessary for us to put an end to the suffering of millions and bring about the great peace promised in all the holy books.

Fiction Friday: Thinking about October and November

In thirteen days, on October 1, the NaNoWriMo Prep Challenge begins on writing.com. This is thirty-one days of planning for National Novel Writing Month in November. I have already begin brainstorming my novel and even have one character profile story written in my writing.com blog. I did not intend to write this story today, but when I went to respond to the blog prompt nothing else came to mine. Since I could not think of anything else I begin a character profile description which turn into a flash fiction story.

I have my book already have my NaNoWriMo 2014 Prep Challenge book established in my portfolio, but the only thing I have in it is the calendar-check sheet for October. I have been in a semi-positive mood for a a couple of weeks, which means I am attempting to overcome my depressive tendency to procrastinate and look on the dark side. This is not easy for someone who has dealt with depression most of her 67 years of life.

My main goal for October is to spend fifteen-minutes a day planning my NaNoWriMo novel for November. I know I will have to increase my writing time in November from fifteen minutes to thirty-five or forty minutes to meet the 1,667 words a day in November. I will know by the end of October how many words I can write in fifteen minutes, which will give me an idea of how long it will take me to write 1,667 a day in November.

Fine Art Protectors

The Fine Art Protectors warehouse is located at the highest maximum-security vault in Europe, the Luxembourg Freeport. This location insures the connectivity, cost, and speed  of the logistic process is optimized. Click on the video below to learn more.

Thursday Thoughts: What Happened to My Purple Pen?

In going through some notebooks and cleaning stuff out, I found the following lines to a poem I started back in 2010.

In September of Twenty-Ten,

I bought a brand new purple pen.

I sure thought the pen was special when I purchased it, but I do not remember the pen or what happened to it. I also do not remember if I intended to use those lines in a sonnet or some other form poem. I found verses in the notebook which I finished or rewrote. I cannot remember why I wrote the lines about the pen or what type of poem I intended to write.

What I do remember about 2010 is the chaos and the worry that surrounded me. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in November or December 2009 and I spent the rest of the year trying to get out of the chaos that accompanied the diagnosis. I am sure that Mom was suffering fro Alzheimer's disease before that, but the it was not diagnosed until 2009.

Mom got  worse in late 2010 or early 2011, I am not sure which because my life seemed to fall apart after the diagnosis and I am just getting it back together. Mom died on November 29, 2012.

IKEA: Time Travel Experiment #2

In this experiment, hypnotist Justin Tranz  hypnotizes a couple into believing they are living in the future. This experiment takes place in IKEA bedrooms and bathrooms. Click on the video below and watch the fun. Then check out the IKEA catalog.

One Word Wednesday: Pens

Pens are important to a writer!  A pen helps you keep notes, make lists, lets you sign your name, and gives you something to chew on when you are nervous. In order to be useful to an author or anyone else, a pen has to have ink and a ball point that does not skip. Pens are wonderful and helpful tools when they are filled with ink and write without skipping. When they run out of ink or skip then the only thing they are good for is chewing on when you are nervous.

I just threw away two pens because one was completely out of ink and the other skipped when I attempted to write down an important phone number. I have two less pens in my house and in my purse, but t he pens I do have work properly. At least as far as I know  they work properly. If they do not work then I have to find a business that gives away free pens or I have to go to the store to purchase a package of pens.

I prefer the free pens for two reasons. First, I do not have to spend money on them. Second, the usually work just as good or better then the pens I purchase. There is a place next to the laundromat I go to and it has pens on the counter for people to take with them. I have to go in there anyway in a couple of days so while I am there I will get a pen with the businesses name on it.

Volvo Trucks: New Film Teaser

Have you been wondering what Volvo Trucks are up to? Subscribe so that you don't miss the premier on YouTube or at the IAA Truck show. Watch the premier on September 24, 2014, at 10:30 am GMT, to find out what Volvo Trucks are up to this time. Check  out the video below and then subscribe to find out what is going on.

Monday Matters: Half Past September

It is half past September,
the month is flying fast
there are something I want remember
before this month is past.

In the first fifteen days of September, I wrote thirteen poems. Of those ten were form poems and three were free verse. In addition, I wrote my first steampunk poem, which was an effort because I had to use a specific form. I wrote the poem as part of a challenge and it had to be a form poem. I used decuain form for Lord Claymore's Contraption.

It is half past September
a month to remember,
a month to celebrate
and to commemorate
because I stepped
outside the walls of my box.

I like writing form poem because I can focus on the form and the subject without worrying about anything else. Writing form poetry takes my mind off my troubles and helps me worship God through the use of stanza and line.  I believe that work performed with the proper attitude is worship of God and writing form poems helps because the form has to be perfect when it is complete.

Success Saturday: At the end of a busy week

At the end of a busy week,
I look back over my accomplishments
and find moments of success.

Poems
scripture inspired
written in my journal
waiting for me to post online
to share.

At the end of a busy week,
I look back over the prayers I said,
the stories I read,
the poems I wrote,
the places I went,
etc.
 

The 10th Dimension Boys Episode Video

The video below is an animation of The 10th Dimension Boys. This video contains a series of absurd events that defy predictions or expectations. For more episodes check on LINE Webtoon it's free. Click on the amusing video below to smile and laugh.

Thursday Thoughts: Remembering September 11, 2001

Has it been only 13 years since the Towers fell into dust? I think back to the moment I heard the news and the shock wave that struck my soul. I remember oversleeping so I had to make a choice between watching the morning news and getting to work on time. I chose to get to work on time.

I remember taking a bath. I remember eating a breakfast of jellied and buttered toast with my coffee because I did not have time to boil or fry an egg with hashbrowns. I remember getting in my car, driving to work, and wondering why the traffic on I95 was so slow that early in the morning.

I remember getting to work. I remember hearing the news. I remember watching the news coverage online because we did not have television sits in the computer lab of the Community College of Southern Nevada. I remember calling my mother and telling her to turn on the television to watch the news.

 I remember writing poems about the Twin Towers falling. I wrote poem in commemoration of the event for two or three years afterwards on September 11. As I remember back 13 years, I wonder why I stopped writing poems commemorating the event. I did not forget that day because I said prayers for the departed souls of the first responders and the victims, but I did not write any more poems. This year I will write a poem remember September 11, 2001.

One Word Wednesday: Weary

Worn out
Each movement an effort
A good nights sleep is all I need
Rest is the only thing I require
Yet I cannot seem to sleep

I went to a refresher course this morning from 8:30 until 10:30 am. The I drove across town to pick up my senior commodity allotment for September. When I came home my legs were tired and I had to sit down for a while until that feeling went away. Now my upper arms are tired.

Worn out
Too tired to move
I want to take a nap
When I lay down I cannot sleep
Weary

Now that I have written an acrostic and a cinquain I feel better. I do not feel as tired as I did, but I do not know if I will go to the grocery store on Thursday or Friday. I am out of peanut butter and almost out of coffee, so I will have to go the Smith's Food & Drug store no later then Friday. I have enough coffee to last until Friday.

Monday Motivation: Rain

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

John Ruskin 

It is raining in Las Vegas, but we are not having bad weather. The rain is refreshing, it falls gently onto cement sidewalks, asphalt streets, rock covered yards, and dry desert. The rain is beautiful. The temperature is a refreshing 76 degrees, so I opened my front door to watch the raindrops strike the ground on Sunrise Avenue.

The cloud covered sky is a patchwork of charcoal gray and gray white. It reminds me of a cotton quilt my grandmother made. I don't know what happened to the quilt because it got lost in the various moves from city to city, from state to state, from apartment to house and back to an apartment. It doesn't matter what happened to the  quilt because I remember it. I remember it and I smile.

Success Saturday: I Wrote my First Double (Mirror) Acrostic

This week I succeeded in writing my first double (mirror) acrostic. I also succeed in writing several other form poems. In addition, I attended my grief counseling meeting on Wednesday, which helped alleviate the stress, worry, and depression I have confronted for the last few weeks. I have several things to do next week, but I am going to put off worrying about those until after Sunday.

This week I succeeded in writing a ballad, a rondeau, a saraband, a decuain, a free verse, a kyrielle, and a Shakespearean sonnet. I still have one more challenge poem to write before September 7 at 11:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time. I need to work on that today  because I only have one line; I have been working on it all week, but I keep changing the first line. Once I change the line I have to start all over again because the rest of the first stanza does not make sense when I change the first line.

A Week of Writing Poetry

I began my poetry writing week on Monday, September 1, and I officially end it on Sunday, September 7. I have written six form poems and I have three more to write. So far this week I have written a ballad, roundeau, saraband, decuain, free verse (yes it is a poetry form), and kyrielle. I still have to write a double (mirror) acrostic, sestina, and shakesperian sonnet. This is why I decided not to leave my apartment until Saturday or Sunday and only then if circumstances require me to go to the store.

poetry writing
seven days of blissful joy
with form poetry

I have enough food, coffee, toilet paper, and paper towels to last me this weekend. If I decide to increase my coffee intake then I may have to go to the grocery store for coffee. I don't think I need anything else and if I do I will wait until Monday when I go after my senior commodities and stop at the grocery store before I get the commodities. I cannot go after I get the commodities because the moved the place I go to, which means if I need coffee or anything like that I have to stop before I pick up the rest of the food.

Thursday Thoughts: Wandering Thoughts

This morning
my thought are wandering across the universe,
unfocused and distracted.

I am not sure what is going on this morning. I woke up and finally managed to roll out of bed; fortunately, I did not roll onto the floor because, with my osteoarthritis, I find it difficult to get off the floor once I get down there. All right that is enough of my weird humor  this morning I have to attempt to finish this entry this morning. A difficult job since my thoughts are unfocused and my mind wants to wander.

Sometimes writing helps
pull my wandering thoughts back
to today's activities.

What helps retrieve my wandering thoughts? Four things bring my thoughts back in focus. First, prayer because my mind focuses on the words I am saying. Second, chanting God's Most Great Name because I have to chant and while my finders are moving prayer beads along the string. Three, coffee because I can sit back and sip the coffee while my mind focuses on the exquisite and delicious aroma or taste. Fourth, writing because I have to focus on the words.

Waiting for coffee to brew
my eyes wander to the computer's clock:
Has it been an hour since I took my thyroid medication?

I have said my morning prayers. I have brewed a fresh carafe of coffee. I have composed this entry. I am ready to get my day going. When I take my next meditation or prayer break, I will intone God's Most Great Name. If I do not take several spiritual breaks through they day then my mind starts wandering again and I lose my focus of concentration.

Happy Birthday Writing.com

Writing.com is fourteen years old this month.
Fourteen years of writing fun,
reading,
and reviewing.

Fourteen years encouraging
writers to follow their dreams
to improve their craft.

Fourteen years of welcoming
readers,
writers,
poets,
anyone who wants to share
or get feedback on their work.