Welcome March 2016

Welcome March 2016
a month of celebration
and writing.

Because of my stay in the hospital, I still have a couple of stories to finish. I'm not sure what else I need to catch up, but whatever it is I'll do it by the end of March. One of my goals for March is to write a poem each day between March 2 and March 20. Those are the day of Fast; however, due to medication and recovering from my hospital stay I can't Fast. Instead of Fasting I'm going to write a poem each day plus give up something that I like to eat or drink.

Vernal equinox
begins another New Year:
What are my writing goals?

I'll have to think about that question. Every year I make a goal of writing 2,000 words a day. Sometimes I accomplish this goal and sometimes I fall short. I have about nineteen days to consider the writing goals I want to make for Naw Ruz.

Twenty Day and Counting

Twenty days remain in 2014,
only twenty days to achieve the goals
I set on January 1, 2014.

Twenty days to review
my writing successes and failures;
to set new goals for 2015.

Twenty days to decide
new goals for a New Year
or keep the goals
that I did not achieve
in 2014.

Twenty days and counting
down to a New Year,
a new normal,
or a new me.

Twenty long days,
twenty short days,
to decide
where I go from here.

Thanksgiving Week Begins

Thanksgiving week begins
a time for family,
a time for counting my blessings,
a time for remembering,
a time for crying,
a time for laughing,
and the time to set 2015 goals.

There are 38 day left in 2014. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating a New Year and a new beginning. On New Year's Day we set goals that we want to accomplish during the coming year. How many of those goals do we accomplish?

Thirty-eight days to review the past year and establish new goals for the New Year. Do we really want to establish new goals if we have not accomplished all of our 2014 goals? Why did some of our 2014 goals remain unaccomplished? These are questions that need to be ask before we set new goals or reset the unaccomplished goals.


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A Bright and Beautiful Saturday in Las Vegas

The sun is shining
on the naked limbs
of the neighbors’ oak trees
and on the dying pine
in my front yard.

It’s a bright
and beautiful Saturday afternoon
in Las Vegas;
a good time to walk
in the late winter sunshine.

It’s a good time
to be happy and celebrate
the optional
of a fresh New Year.

It’s a good time to laugh,
a good time to sing,
a good time to do anything
except sit in the house
and cry.

This afternoon I want to cry and I know why I want to cry. I’m tired of wanting and waiting, but I’m not sure what to do other then wait for the call. I’m waiting for news that my name is at the top of a waiting list and an apartment is ready for me to move in.

Perhaps I’m being too impatient, but I think I’ve been patient long enough. It’s a New Year. I want a new place to live. I want to feel (even if it isn’t true) that I have a little control over my life. I don’t know what to do except write, throw or give stuff away.

It’s a beautiful Saturday in Las Vegas
and I feel
as if I’m floating
in limbo.

Midweek Reflections on Writing in the New Year

It's January 1 and the beginning of a new writing year. Last year, in 2013, I had difficulty accomplishing my word count consistently. Therefore, I kept the daily word count goal at 2,000 words per day for the first quarter of 2014.  If I am consistent in accomplishing that goal, I will raise it to 2,500 word per day on or around March 21.

So far this week, I have accomplished that goal for the previous three day. It's still a little early in the day to say whether or not I've accomplished the goal. It was not easy accomplishing it for the past three day, so I may not have an easy time of it today. However, I'm determined to do it.

Lately, I seem to have difficulty finding subjects to write about, but it's too early in the year to say if this is a chronic problem or just a passing hiccup. I should know that by the end of January or the middle of February. If I do have problems finding themes or subjects then I have to websites that I can check for subjects.

The first is writing.com where my portfolio is stored. The second is Soulpancake where I can find numerous ideas for essays, poems, or even short stories. I'm looking forward to looking at both those website more this year then every before. Please check those website and join or subscribe.

Thoughts on a Dying Year

It's Winter Solstice and there are ten more days in 2013. The year is passing swiftly, soon the New Year of 2014 will make its appearance. Most people will be celebrating and making resolutions. I won't be celebrating because I don't celebrate a New Year until March 21, which is Naw-Ruz.

What I will be doing in January, February, and most of March is deciding on the goals I want to make on March 21. It's been a tough year and I need to focus on spiritual and financial matters. This means I have to get all my debts together, figure out a way to pay them off, and find a part time job to increase my income. I have to set a fixed amount for contributions, I have to decide on the scripture book or rather books I want to read, and I have to come to a firm decision on my daily word count goal.

This is a lot to do in only 2 1/2 months, but I have to do it because I have to stop drifting. Drifting maybe an overstatement, but I feel that for the last several months I've been float in an ocean, pushed by the currents or the winds. I'm  tired of the feeling and I need to focus on what I want to do with the rest of my life, which is an odd thing to write at 66 almost 67.

Right now, the only thing I really want to do is write, but that could change over the next few weeks. I expect to move into a new place soon. A place that  is smaller, easier to take care of, and cheaper to live in. This will give me more money to work with during the coming months.

An old year is dying,
a New Year is being born,
it's time for a change
in attitude.

Midweek Reflections on my word count goal and the New Year

I think I'll have to change my word count goal in 2014. Right now, the goal is 2,000 words a day and I'm having a tough time making it. I'm not completely sure what is causing the problem, so I'll have to look at the way and times I'm writing over the next couple of week.

Since I don't want to scrap the 2,000 words completely, I think I'll change to goal to a range of word. I'm considering making the word count goal between 1,5000 and 2,000 words per day because I know I can make the 1,500 word goal. The 2,000 is a stretch, which is why I made it in the first place; however, I'm encountering stress when I don't make the goal.

Writing and stress don't work well together. A little bit of stress is alright, but I've felt a lot of stress over the past week or so. I think part of the stress is coming from not making the goal on a consistent basis. Of course, there are other things in my life that causes stress. I've been under a lot of stress for the past year and I'm tired of it.I'll try the range of goals when I reset the goal on Sunday. If I exceed or make the 2,000 words everyday until January 1, 2014 then I will continue the 2,000 word goal next year.

Welcome to 2013

Happy New Year 2013! The year that the world was supposed to end is past, we can all breath a sigh of relief or fall on the floor laughing because of all the hype about the end of the world. The planet Earth still turns on its axis and circle the sun, while the planet's inhabitants still make love and war. It is time to make New Year's Resolutions with concrete and measurable goal statements.

Two things are necessary for a person to achieve his or her New Year's Resolutions. First, the resolutions or goals must be written down in specific terms. Second, those goals must be measurable. If your New Year's Resolution is to lose weight, you cannot write "I want to lose weight in 2013." You have to be specific about the number of pounds you want to lose, so  that you can measure your progress though out the year. In order to lose weight a person has to set up a weight lose program, measure his or her progress, and give oneself a reward when the goal is accomplished.

Considering the end of 2012

There are two days left in the year, 2012 the year the world was supposed to end is ending. There are two days left to accomplish any unkept resolutions made on January 1, 2012. It is time to make new resolutions for 2013.

The old year is ending and a New Year is beginning. That is the way it is with years and life. When one phase of life ends, then another phase begins and life goes on. We human beings have a tendency to focus on endings and not beginnings. We seem to ignore the lesson of the egg and the omelet.

To make an omelet you have to break an egg. When the egg breaks, it is the end of the egg, but the beginning of the omelet. You pick up a whole egg and crack the shell. When you crack the shell, you put the yolk and white of the egg into a bowl. The next thing you do is take a fork and mix the egg and its yolk together, which is the beginning of an omelet. After that you put the scrambled egg into a skillet or an omelet pan with other good things. The next thing you know you have an omelet. After the omelet is cooked, you eat it. The egg is gone, but the omelet nourishes your body.

The old year is ending and a New Year beginning. What will 2013 hold for humanity? What will 2013 hold for each individual human being? It holds a new beginning; as 2012 ends, then 2013 begins.

Nine days left in 2012

There are nine days remaining before the New Year. Nine cold days left in 2012. As sit in front of the computer, I wonder what I can do in those nine days. Five or six of those days are weekends or holidays, so that leaves three or four days to accomplish any business. That does not leave much time to accomplish very much.

On December 24 and 31, businesses may be open half a day. About the only things I can do on those days is to go the bank or fax something. I may opt to go to the bank on the morning of December 24 and see if I can get something rolling there. However, the way I am feeling today, I am not looking forward to doing anything until after December 25.

Perhaps I will feel better on Monday morning December 24, after all that is my birthday. Lately the problem has been getting up and moving before noon. I am not sure whether it is the cold weather, the fact that I am turning 66 on December 24, or my mother’s death. Whatever it is, I just cannot seem to get moving before noon. I have to figure out what is causing the problem before Monday.

Sunday Comics: Happy New Year

Today I read all the Sunday Comics. Normally I read only the comics I like, but this is New Year’s Day and Sunday, so most of the comics have a New Year theme. The comic Cul de Sac brought up a superstition my Grandmother always followed on New Year’s Day. Grandma would never do laundry on January 1, because of that superstition.

In Garfield, the scales were lonely because no one wanted to know their weight after all the holiday food. The last time I used a scale the doctor weighed me and I noticed I had gained weight. I need to use my bathroom scales at home, then I would know if I gained or lost weight. That sounds like a good New Year’s resolution to me.

I enjoyed reading the Sunday Comics because most of them concerned New Year’s, New Year’s Day, or New Year’s resolutions. Over the Hedge covered the Mayan Calendar and the predicted end of the world. I find the discussion of the world ending on December 21, 2012 interesting and sometime amusing, but I do not think it will end. True, I do think some changes will occur this year, but the world will not end.

Welcome to Twenty-Eleven

Happy New Year, it is 2011. It is January and time to reevaluate last year’s resolutions and set new goals. It is time to decide what to sweep out the backdoor and leave in 2010. It is time to open the front door and invite new opportunities into our lives and writing.

In a previous post, I stated that one of my goals for 2011 is to move 27 items in my home. One of the items I am moving is my dining room table; I am moving it from my living room back into my dining room. Once I move the table then I have to decide on the other 26 things to move.

Another item I want to move is the microwave. It does not work and I do not think there is a way to fixed it, so it has to go. Now I have to decide what to put on the kitchen counter where the microwave sits. I would like to get another one, but I would also like to have the oven and the stovetop fixed, so I planning to fix those items rather then get another microwave.

Happy New Year 2011

Four Days remaining in 2010

In four days another Gregorian year begins. Friday, December 31, is the last day of 2010. Saturday, January 1, is the first day of 2011. There are four days left to accomplish any 2010 resolutions that remain unaccomplished and to set new goals for a New Year.

I prefer to set goals rather then make resolutions. Resolutions seem to be things that people drop between January 1 and January 31, every year. Goals are a little more concrete and we can accomplish them in steps. Think of the year as a staircase with 12 landings and 365 steps divided into sections leading to each landing. Each stair step contains an action necessary to the accomplishment of the final goal.

I have my 2011 planning calendar set up with the important dates and writing deadlines, I know about inserted. The only I have to do now is decided on the daily steps to accomplish each writing project by the deadline. I know accomplishing my goals will not be easy, but I also know that if I “keep on keeping on” I can accomplish my goals.

Wednesday Poem

Half way through the week
the New Year passes quickly
time's laughter echoes

The first Wednesday in 2010, passes into memory. Time moves at the speed of light, so there is no time to waste in achieving resolutions.

A New Year is an Open Gate

A New Year is an open gate
inviting the weary into a garden
of potential joy.

Standing at the gate
watching unopened buds
the wanderer contemplates the beauty
waiting for discovery.

The path that enters the garden
splits into three ways,
which path will the seeker chose
on her journey into time.

There can be no turning back
only forward movement
or standing still waiting
for a sign.

Inhaling the new perfume
of a new unlived decade
the wanderer steps forward
and chooses the path
of her desire.

The Old Year is a Closed Gate

The garden blooms with flowers of different colors and scents. In some areas the sun beats down on dry packed soil while in others areas puddles or snow lays on the ground. The gate is closed and locked barring entrance back into the garden. The the stonewalls are high with spikes at the top.

There is no way back into the garden of last year. There are only multicolored memories of blooms and scents. There is no going back to take a path that seemed interesting or more beautiful then the one taken through the garden. The garden gate is shut and locked; the only things to do is stand and look into the garden or turn your back on the gate and continue down the path toward the next gate and the next garden.

So take a deep breath, make one more pleasant memory and turn your back on yesterday. The gate to the new garden lays just around the next corner or just over the next rise. The sun is setting and the new garden is waiting for exploration.

My New Year's Eve Plans

Mom and I are staying home New Year's Eve. We are going to watch the celebration on television. Then on New Year's Day, I will make black-eyed peas with ham. My grandmother made black-eyed peas every year on New Year's Day.

Black-eyed peas and ham
fixed with onions and honey
a Happy New Year.

A new writing year cometh

There are only a couple of days left in 2009 and then we begin a new year. I have my 2010 planning calendar set up with the important days and deadline indicated. I know other important days and deadlines will come up in 2010.

A New Year cometh
days and deadlines on the way
interesting life.

New Calendars for a New Year

We have five new calendars for 2010, so there won't be any excuse for not knowing what day it is. I hung the calendar with the large print in my mother's bedroom. The appointment calendar will go by the telephone. One calendar will hang above my desk, one by the entrance to the living room, but I'm not sure where to hang the last calendar, perhaps in the kitchen or the dining room.

I didn't buy any of the calendars because they were sent to us by business. All of them have beautiful pictures on them, it's almost a shame to throw them away at the end of the year. However, that's how it goes, unless one collects calendars and I don't collect calendars. I suppose a person could glue the pictures to a piece of card board and make a puzzle out of them.

At the end of the year, most people just throw away calendars with beautiful pictures and art work on them. I wonder if that says something about our civilization, about our society. That is an interesting thought, perhaps it could be incorporated in a story or poem.

Reevaluating my goals

Since I celebrate a March 21 New Year, I usually don't start this until January or February. However, the best thing I can say about November is difficult. I could use other words and I may use them in another post, but right now difficult s the best I can do without going into details.

I don't want to go into detail in an online journal entry right now. I'll probably go into details later, once I've did research and sorted everything out, but right now I'm just going to reevaluate all my goals.

I'm not going to start with my writing goals, because no matter what I'm not going to stop writing. I should have said, I don't think I'm starting with my writing goal. I think I'm going to start with my financial goal, but I'm not sure today. Today I am only focusing on catching up after spending Friday in doctors' offices.