Success Saturday: I Survived the Last Week of February 2015

I successfully survived the last week of February 2015. I felt that this was a hectic week because I seemed to feel rushed all week. I felt rushed when I wrote. I felt rushed when I did housework. I felt rushed when I went to the store or someplace else. This morning I do not feel rushed. I think it is because I got up at 5:00 am instead of 6:00, so I was able to get a little more accomplished. I also ate breakfast earlier today.

Another reason the week felt hectic is that I had difficulty completing all my daily goals. I have to change the way I approach accomplishing those goals. I believe one way to do that is to place a time limit on each task and when the time has expired go on to something else. I know my mother did that when she did housework. Mom also focused on one room at a time. Since I live in a studio apartment I have to divide it up in sections and focus on one section at a time. Putting a time limit on the writing task will be a little easier then on the housekeeping tasks.

Once I post this entry then I will have finished all the writing I planned to do this morning. If I have time after I take a bath I will review or write another item, but I am not going to worry about completing those things until I get back home this afternoon. I am going to a baby shower at 1:00 pm in Henderson, so I have to stop somewhere before I go and purchase something for the pot luck to accompany the shower. I think I will purchase a fruit or vegetable tray because those always go over good.

Thursday Thoughts: A Nice Las Vegas Afternoon

The temperature at 12:56 pm Pacific Standard Time was 67 degrees with scattered clouds. It is a nice day in Las Vegas with the sun casting dark shadows across Sunrise Avenue and the neighbor's music echoing through the neighborhood. This morning I heard birds singing in the pine tree across the street, but the laud offensive music has caused them to stop. I don't mind the music this afternoon in fact I normally don't mind the music because I have other things to think about and do. Getting upset at a neighbor's music is not worth the stress it would cause so I just let the music flow in one ear and out the other (sorry about the cliché).

He turned his music off to talk on the phone so now the birds are singing again or maybe the music just drowns them out when it is playing. The birds sound so sweet, so pleasant. When the birds are singing it sounds like they are giving thanks for the beautiful springlike weather. When I walked through the courtyard yesterday I noticed that the oak tree had buds on its limbs and birds singing in its topmost branches. The way the birds are acting they will soon have clutches of eggs waiting to hatch. It is almost spring in Las Vegas.

I have not turned the cool air on all week. It is so nice today that I may switch from the hot air to the cold air in preparation for late spring and summer. I expect the temperatures to get into the high seventies or low eighties sometime in late March or early April. I should say I am praying for the temperatures to remain in the high sixties and mid seventies until the end of March or the beginning of April. I can have the door open when the temperatures range from the mid sixties to the mid seventies. I enjoy having the door open so I can see what is going on and hear the birds singing.

Song birds are singing
while pigeons are cooing all
praising the weather.

Data for the Future Vatican Library Digitization Project (Short)

NTT Data is contributing to the digitization of the Vatican Apostolic Library. The Vatican Library contains 2,500 years of human knowledge in the treasures it contains. Check out the video below to learn more about this project.

Monday Motivation: A Positive Attitude

A positive attitude is motivating! I smile as I write that because my attitude is much more positive today then in the past few week. I can think of several things that may contribute to the way I feel. Prayer and meditation encourage a positive attitude. I am also taking one vitamin D tablet everyday. Is there anything else? Yes, writing is a big help. I am worrying less.

Does living alone improve my attitude? I do not know. Living alone could because I do not have anyone to argue with. Living alone could also increase my depression. I will have to explore this issue in my pen and paper journal. I could also explore it in a short story, which would give me a chance to research the subject.

A positive attitude
helps on a rainy day
to dispel the blues.

It is a rainy Monday here in Las Vegas. Dreary weather usually makes my depression worse because I cannot go out and take a walk in the sun. My walks usually consist of taking the trash to the alley. Today I may just take a walk to the mail box because I do not want to get wet. If it looks like it has stopped raining when I am ready to go outside then I will lug a bag of trash to the alley.

Data for the future Vatican Library Digitization Project (Long)

The Vatican Apostolic Library contains over 2,500 years of history. This history in in the treasury of human knowledge that is contained in the items that are part of this library. NTT DATA is helping to make this treasury of knowledge available to humanity by assisting in the digitization of these treasures. Click on the video below.

Success Saturday: Successes for the Week of February 15 to February 21, 2015

I did a good job of accomplishing some of my goals for this week. I go t the floor mopped in front of the sink before the exterminator came to set the mousetraps. The mouse has not been seen in my apartment since the traps were set so I think they scared it away.

I successfully accomplished my word count goals three days out of seven. I did much better on the review goals I set because I accomplished or exceeded that goal every day and I read some very interesting stories and poems on writing.com.

All in all I did a good job of achieving my goals this week and I managed to get all my socks washed. This is good because when I did the laundry on February 7, I forgot to put the socks in the dirty cloths.

The weather is warming here in Las Vegas. Therefore this coming week, I will wash my hair. When I went to pick up some free bread on Friday I was given several small packets of shampoo. This will let me wash my hair either on Thursday or Friday. I will have to do it on a day I stay home because I got rid of my blow dryer. I never use it when I wash my hair so there is not use having it taking up space in my apartment.

The Call

Click on the video below to watch The Call.

Thursday Thoughts: In the mail today (February 19, 2015)

I received the February/March 2015 edition of The AARP Magazine today. I was relieved to find that I did not receive any past dew notices because I know that I have a couple of past dew bills I will have to deal with before February 28. I breathed a sigh of relief, removed my mail from the box, and went back into my apartment.

On the front of The Magazine is a picture of Bob Dylan, with several articles that I want to read. Those articles, in the order they appear on the front of the magazine, are (1) Jobs & Money, (2) Dylan Behind the Shades, (3) 8 Easy Ways to Live Longer, (4) The Power of Prayer, and (5) Heart Health Makeover. The Heart Health Makeover is of special interest to me since one of my sister-in-laws recently had a heart attack. The only thing I have to do now is schedule time to read the articles.

I think the best time for me to start reading is right before I go to sleep. I need to relax from housework (I started spring cleaning today) and my muse needs to relax from writing. I believe that reading these articles will help me relax so that I can sleep better. I also suspect that reading them before I go to sleep will help me remember what I read. When I was young and in school I seemed to deal better with the class information if I read the book before I went to sleep.

Tuesday's Tip: Accomplishing a Word Count goal and doing Housework

If you have a word count goal then begin writing early in the day. When you get up write a few lines or paragraphs before taking a bath or preparing breakfast. Save what you have written and get ready for the day. If you can't get on line then carry a pen and paper journal with you so that you can write in it between other projects.

If you have housework to do do not, I repeat do not, get so wrapped up in what you are writing that you burn the meatloaf or let the dishes go. I admit that I have not burned the meatloaf in years, but that is because I have not made that particular dish in ten or fifteen years.

If you have to set an oven timer or an egg timer to make yourself stop writing then purchase one that you can sit next to your computer. Give yourself a time limit to write before starting housework or going on to the next housekeeping task. When you do this do not worry about misspellings or grammar because that is why you edit a piece of writing.

Schedule your writing time even if you have to get up early before everyone else is awake. You can also schedule your writing after everyone else goes to bed. If you do this remember to keep a journal or a loose leaf note book with you to write down ideas. If you do not write down an idea you will forget it.

Monday Motivation: Depression Contributes to Writer's Block

I read somewhere that there is no such thing as writer's block. I agree because with me it is a matter of depression rather then writer's block. This morning is a good example because I woke up in a good mood. At least a better mood then I normally wake up in after a night of insomnia. Insomnia depresses me and probably everyone else, but this morning my mood was good.

I responded to some blog prompt on writing.com. After that my mood descended into darkness. I logged off of writing.com to say some prayer and do some online surveys. I am trying to earn some money to pay some bills, but surveys just are not doing it. I have decided not to give up on the surveys for a while because they do earn me a little money and sometime some needed household items. I did some survey. I said some prayers. I cleaned out the flatware drawer. I posted on Facebook. I continued to write. Eventually my mood changed.

I prayed, worked, and wrote through the writer's block. I found out long ago that if I just sit down and sink into the depression that I do not get back to writing for several hours or days. As long as I can keep working, writing, and praying I can overcome the depression. Once I overcome the depression then I overcome the writer's block because it is the depression that causes my writer's block.

Sunday Speculations: This Week's Assignment is to Write an Epitaph

This week I have to write an epitaph. An epitaph is a short rhyming poem that appears on a tombstone. I do not think the poem should be more then six lines long or less then two. Right now, I am planning to make it either four or five lines in length, but I could change my mind by the time I write it. The problem I am having is with the subject. Should I write the poem to a family member or friend who has passed on? Should I dedicate it to an historical figure? Should I write it about one of the my pets that has passed?

You would think that writing an epitaph would me easy, but it is not. It is not easy to write any poem and the form does not matter. Once the poem is written then you have to read it over to determine if you have chosen the right words. Finding the right words for a poem is difficult; however, it is worth the difficulty when the poem is finished.I think this is the first time I have written an epitaph; at least I do not remember writing another one.

I could write it to Mittens, the first cat I ever had.

Mittens was a good tom cat,

He could always catch a rat.

At least, I have started to think about the poem. It needs to be longer then two lines and I cannot seem to come up with a good rhyme for either of the following line.

He now waits at the rainbow bridge.

He liked to roam the neighborhood.

Both of those lines are good, but I cannot think of a rhyme for either line.

Success Saturday: Valentine's Day and Leftover Christmas Candy

I'm alone on Valentine's Day. I have no one to share the day dedicated to lovers. No one sent me roses. No one sent me a heart shaped box of chocolates. I made breakfast for myself this morning just as I do every morning of the year. I do have candy in the house. I have leftover Christmas candy to celebrate the day of love.

I have gourmet candy corn that taste like peppermint to eat with my coffee. I like the candy corn. I like the coffee. Once in a while I would like to be able to share the candy corn and the coffee with someone. I don't want to share my apartment with someone, I just want to share a carafe of coffee and some candy. I would like to be able to cook for someone else beside myself once in a while. I would like to have someone take me out to eat on Valentine's Day or to a movie. I would like someone to send me a heart shaped box of chocolates (never mind that chocolate isn't on the diet the doctor gave me) and a dozen red roses.

Thanks to the peppermint candy corn and strong coffee, I will be over this mood shortly. Once the mood has passed I will be able to get back to writing and doing housework. This morning, I got on a step stool and put the clean bath towels in the cabinet in the bathroom. I also put the clean sheets and pillow cases in that cabinet. This week I wrote two short stories and a poem, so I have had some small successes this week. I'm looking forward to getting back to my normal routine after Valentine's Day is past.

Huawei Surprises

Pedestrians were surprised when a pop-up phone charging appeared on a street. Click on the video below to see how they reacted.

Thursday Thoughts: Another Beautiful Late Winter Day - A Poem

Another beautiful late winter day,
with a few scattered clouds
on a sunny afternoon.

I open my door
let the fresh air in
while I fix
chicken and apple soup.

It is an odd combination,
an adventurous combination,
a creative combination
that warms me up
and fills me up.

A beautiful late winter day
is not a day to worry
about bills,
about whether I will have electricity
or an internet connection next week.

It is a day
to eat soup,
listen to the birds sing,
heat water for tea,
and was my socks.

I look out my door
and see the shadow lengthen
toward evening,
so I will get out of my chair,
say my obligatory pray,
and get me another cup of soup.

Tuesday's Tip: Take a Meditation Break

After about writing between 1,000 to 2,000 words I want to stare at the screen without writing anything. When this happens my fingers type sentences that don't make any sense or I begin to misspell easy words. When this happens I know it is time to take a break. I turn off the computer, sit down on the love seat, cover my head up with a multicolored crochet throw, and meditate. When I meditate I either chant or repeat short prayers that I know by heart. If I am tired then sometimes I will doze off sitting on the love seat. Normally I just sit there for about five minutes before I get up to go back to the computer or do some housework.

Housework, especially washing dishes, is a good way to meditate because as I the dishes my mind tends to wander. If I have a chant or prayer to recite then my mind has something to focus on besides the dishes. Washing dishes by hand is one of the most boring task a person can perform. Despite the boredom I have gotten some good ideas for poems or stories while doing dishes or immediately following. I know this is probably not the prescribed method for meditation, but it works for me.

Monday Motivation: Monday Story Ideas

Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.

Orson Scott Card

This morning began really slow, but I did find some story ideas in my slow beginning and the slow pace of the web this morning. I don't know why my browser was so slow. It could have been the weather or it could have been the creatures in cyberspace. I like the creature in cyberspace idea because it leaves a lot of room for any genre of story. A story about the weather effecting the speed of the internet works as well, but that suggest a science fiction story while the creatures in cyberspace suggest a horror story.

This afternoon my browser is running at its normal speed. The wind has also picked up here in Las Vegas. No, I don't think one has to do with the other. That is a good story idea though. I'm sitting at my desk looking out my front door (my studio apartment has only one door leading to the outside) at the pine tree across the street. The variable wind is blowing through the branches and sounds like the waves washing onto a beach. The birds are singing while litter and leaves are blowing down or up the street depending on the direction of the wind.

My neighbors are home, but then my neighbors are at home most of the time. Right now they are talking and playing music both, of which, I can hear through the walls of my apartment. I have to say that apartment living encourages understanding and forgiveness. I think I could write a story about those two attributes as well. I could also write about the people walking by my apartment who stop in front of my door and talk to each other. I love apartment living because it encourages my muse to come up with story ideas.

Sunday Speculations: My To Do List for 2015

I finished my To Do List for 2015 sometime in January. Since then I have gone back to it and procrastinated posting part of it. I have started working on some of the things, but not all of them. I know that I may not be able to complete everything on the list, but I can complete some of it. I want to complete Flashes of Lightning, a collection of my flash fiction stories, and History of the Divine Feminine, a collection of spiritual poem written from the female point of view.

I also want to clean out my writing.com and cox.net inboxes. I am working on the writing.com inbox, but I have not did much with the cox.net box. I do not like to clean house much less clean out inboxes, but that is a personal issue. Maybe I will write a story about a character with the same problem.

The only reason I am posting these goals here is that I need to hold myself accountable. If I blog about them then I have to work on them. I know that sounds weird, but that is the way I am. I am attempting to over come some of my self-imposed limitations. In order to do that I have to hold myself accountable and since I live alone the only way to do that is to blog about them. This reason my not make any sense to anyone else, but it sounds logical to me.

Here are my goals for the next few weeks, when I finish one or more them then I will add something else.

Finish Flashes of Lighting
Finish History of the Divine Feminine
Finish Mark of the Blue Wolf
Edit Scavengers
Clean out writing.com inbox
Clean out cox.net inbox

Success Saturday: At the end of an interesting week.

It is the end of an interesting and successful week. On Wednesday, I went grocery shopping. I managed to get two blog entries out of that excursion. One was a normal blog entry about what happened, but the second was a flash fiction entry using the excursion as a basis for the response to a prompt. On Friday, I successfully did two months worth of laundry. I did not do laundry in January because I had to get the tag for my car.

The laundromat I went to is new. The washers and dryers are new. They do not use quarters, but instead you put bills or a credit card in a machine which gives you a debit cart to operate the washer and the dryers. I will go back to this laundromat again because I do not have to lug rolls of quarters in my purse. It is difficult enough for me to do laundry without having to lug two or three rolls of quarters around. I have not used my experience at the new laundromat in a story or poem. I will in the near future.

Thursday Thoughts: Sunset Thoughts

I look out my front door and watch the sky slowly fade from deep blue to dark black. As night approaches, I pause to whisper a prayer and then continue writing. I have not yet turned on any lights. My apartment slowly grows darker, so I will have to turn on the kitchen light in a few minutes. I will also have to do the supper dishes, but I do not want to do either of those right now.

I listen to the neighborhood children laughing and playing. As the days grow longer they are able to remain outside later. I smile remembering my childhood in Oklahoma. I remember my grandparents let us stay outside and play until the sun set below the western horizon. Unlike Las Vegas, Nevada, the town I grew up in had no mountains so sunset seemed to last longer. At least I remember it lasting longer, but that was a long time ago and memory seems to enhance and lengthen the joys of childhood.

Listening to children play makes me nostalgic for that carefree time. As a child, I did not have to worry about the rent payment, the power bill, or gas for the car. As a child, I could run and play in the sunset knowing that when I went into the house the lights would turn on because Grandpa had the money to pay the power bill. I did not think about the power bill or any other bill because they were all taken care of by either my mother or my grandfather. I miss those carefree times. I miss playing outside without worrying about anything.

Wednesday Word: Night

Tonight I write about night. I write about the darkness as it spreads across the city and the streetlight come on one by one. I look out my open front door and see the darkness. I look out my window and see the apartment building across the street lit up. The lights only illuminate the front of the building or the upper floors. I cannot see any more then that because it is night.



I hear sirens. I cannot tell if they are police, fire department, or ambulance sirens. All sirens sound alike so if one does not see the vehicle with the sirens one cannot tell which emergency vehicle is speeding down the street. I reread that sentence. I know there must be a grammar error in it, but I am too tired to figure out what it is. I should not type when I cannot think straight, but I am composing this post anyway. My mind is tired while my body is not. Since I will not be able to sleep until later tonight, I type about night.



Night in the city is interesting. The noises arouse my curiosity, but it would be foolish to investigate because it is dangerous out there. Since I cannot identify some of the noises my imagination works overtime, which is good for a writer. I do not have to leave the house to find something to write about because my imagination can find plenty of stuff by just listening to the noises.



Maybe that is why I like the city at night. There are so many weird and unusual noises I would not hear in the country. Night in the country generates different noises then night in the city. I will post this and then I will close my door because it is night outside and it is time to close the door.

Tuesday's Tip: Free Write When You Cannot Think of a Subject

Question: What do you do when you cannot think of a subject?

Answer: Free write.

Step 1: Sit down at the computer.
Step 2: Open a document.
Step 3: Begin to write.

Example

I am sitting here at the computer screen wondering what to write. My muse seems to have take a short vacation. I do not know why my muse has left me. I do not know where my muse went. I have a word count goal to achieve therefore I have to write something. Maybe if I free write for a few minutes I can think of a topic.

I started to clean out the cabinets today. I have to rearrange them again. I have lived in this studio apartment for one year. This is the second time I have rearranged the cabinets. I hope this time I do it in such a way that I do not have to rearrange them again. I am going to move all the paper goods to the cabinets below the sink so that I can get to them without standing on a stool.

That is a short example of a free write. This time I did not sit a timer, but usually I use an oven timer. I do not know where my oven timer is. I know it is not in the kitchen because I avoid baking anything in the oven. Therefore, the timer must be on my desk somewhere. I need to clean off my desk so that I can find the timer.

Monday Motivation: Valentine's Day

Valentine's day is twelve days away, but it is already motivating me to write bitter love poems. The poem I wrote today is called "Valentine's Day Lament" and it is about lost love. I am alone on Valentine's Day. I have no love interest. I am not interested in finding a love interest (pun intended). I like being alone most of the time. I enjoy writing bitter love poems, which are based on past experiences.

If I was to find a love interest then he would have to have... I am not sure what I am looking for in a man. I know I would want one who is creative and spiritual. I want a man who believes in the equality of men and women. I want one who is willing to look at my religion with an open mind. I guess I do know what I want in a man after all. Sometimes I have to write my thoughts down in order to figure out what I want.

On Valentine's Day
I want someone to send me
a single red rose.

Sunday Speculations: Plans for the coming week

This week I will celebrate one year in my studio apartment. I plan to go to the bank on February 3 to pay the rent. In addition I will pick up my senior commodities after paying the rent. Between now and then I have to figure out where I am going to get the money to purchase some necessities and do laundry. I have to do laundry sometime this month. I would like to do it on either February 5 or 6, but if necessary I can put if off a week. On Wednesday February 4 I plan to go to my grief counseling meeting.

My writing goals are a little less concrete. I have to enter at least once contest on writing.com this week, but I am not sure which one at this time. The story has to be E rated and I am having trouble thinking of a plot. I also have a free verse poem to write for a poetry challenge I am in. Normally, I have can think of a theme, but for some reason that eludes me today. The poem is not due until February 8; however, I would like to get it finished and submitted before that. I am attempting to overcome procrastination in 2015. This means I have to finish and submit any items before the deadline.