Tuesday Thoughts--At the Lowest Point

I was a voice in the dark, a life line. Well aware of my responsibility, I tried to slow my speech, get the customer to relax or laugh. I succeeded with both--a small victory.

"Don't 'Sir' me, call me Mike."
I almost said, "Yes, sir," out of habit. I told him so and got his first rusty laugh.

I work tech support for a call center and his replacement phone was acting up. He couldn't use the phone to access the internet on his computer or even as a phone to call out, it would only allow him to call the service provider. I was the operator he got this round. It was taking incoming calls to voice mail, which he couldn't access and he'd spent three hours in the store that afternoon without success.

He had driven from Alaska to Arizona, sleeping under the stars in his small camper. Mike was staying at a campground on a reservation, hoping to reconnect with a cousin who may or may not have time for an old man.

He mentioned his campground neighbors with their million dollar RVs, half joking that he probably scared them. I asked if they hid their valuables when he walked by and claimed another victory when he chuckled. Mike went briefly into his troubles, not complaining, just explaining. As a Vietnam vet, he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He used phrases like, "totaled out by the military" and "my head ran away," gold to this writer whose hero is a medically retired Marine who had served in Afghanistan. I scribbled them down on the notepad as we talked and have the paper folded in one of my notebooks.

I shared that my much older brother graduated from The Naval Academy in the late 1960s and was probably a contemporary. He had been killed in service, was buried in Arlington and his daughter was born exactly nine months to the day of his death. For my brother, I thanked Mike for his service to his country and I think he may have shed a tear or two. I know I did.

But, I had to get him to the proper department to fix his issue. I had served my purpose, as a little comic relief in the dark night. I made sure the associate I transferred Mike to was aware of how special this call was and thanked Mike for the pleasure of speaking with him, wishing him well.

One of the absolute hardest things about my life and my job is that I can't "fix" everything. I make mistakes, some things need replacing, some people are flawed and sh@t happens. All you can do some days is try to learn the lesson that is presented, try to help make the situation as painless as possible.

One of my lowest points gave me the lesson that Fate and Faith puts us where we need to be, when we need to be there. I was horribly sick, but had to travel for work. In a hotel in Indianapolis, I was able to have my doctor call some prescriptions in to a pharmacy. I'd wasted quite a bit of time and sanity at the wrong store and when I figured out my error, I drug myself back into the car to finally pick up the badly needed meds. I got stopped by a train. After a few minutes of grumbling, I tried to think of all the things I was grateful for, trying for a few could be worse moments to give myself strength to survive the next few days, hours, minutes.

I thought of my dad, who worked as a conductor for the New York Central Railroad freight line. He was always on the road, staying in crappy hotels, sleeping in dirty cabooses (when there was such a thing) and being away from family and friends no matter how horrible he felt. It was March 28th, the day before his birthday. He passed in November a few years before and I felt ashamed that I was feeling so sorry for myself when I had it so much better than he had. Just then, I looked up. The next to last and third from the last train cars were from his old line and looked like this:

As I have my hero say in the book I finished Sunday morning (why we didn't have Sunday Sundries this week, sorry), you feel the lows, but that allows you to feel the highs.

So, with the Universal Truth that life is not perfect ringing in my ear, I take those lows and put them into my fiction. Like a cruel, evil master, I put my characters into difficult situations, then throw a boxcar-load of monkey wrenches their way and see if and how they dodge. If you truly know them and have built them well, they will come out the other side stronger, with a sense of humor and purpose intact. Your reader will thank you for it.

Sunday Sundries--Slam Book Edition 1

A long, long time ago, back before the Interwebs, I spent a lot of time writing letters. I had dozens of pen pals all over the world. It was a thrill, every time I opened the clear glass mailbox at my mom and dad's to find notes from my friends.

Like this but without the slot at the top. The top is a little rusty, but I have it in my bookcase. I'm trying to figure out where I should hang it on my wall. The house it was attached to was torn down almost ten years ago.

Anyway, we all would get some cute paper, stationery with an "e."

There was an interview a few years back with Taylor Swift. She said an interviewer kind of made fun of her because she kept a bin on her tour bus with stationery and sealing wax and stamps. I perfectly understood. I'd glued my favorite artwork from letters all over a box. I sent my sealing wax and stamps to my niece who is proof that nature is stronger than nurture.

Anyway, we'd cut some paper up and make slam books. It was folded and stapled paper with silly questions that could be answered in a few words or a sentence. The sixth person was supposed to send it back to the person who originated it. I only got a few back, but they were little insights into a time and the minds of the mostly preteen girls who participated.

So, now we use Facebook and other social media to ask our questions. Electrons replaced postage stamps and mailboxes. That's cool. If I really want to save something, I can take a screen shot and put it on a flash drive.

But, with those changes, I'm going to make it a little more adult.

My first e-Slam book  question would be, "What is your most embarrassing moment?

Of course, the majority of my embarrassing moments involved alcohol. Number one would probably be my freshman year in college, when I went with my boyfriend to visit his sister. It involved drinking too much:

And chili and bodily functions. Yeah, that's right. Most certainly not my finest hour. But it was the last time I drank that particular beverage. Funny, I am watching Anthony Bourdain on The Travel Chanel and he just talked about Cuban rum.

I put the experience or rather the fear of repeating the experience into my fiction. Two of my heroes' parents were killed by a drunk driver. The brothers don't drink at the bachelor party at a strip club and only have two drinks when back at the hotel. Rob had a DUI when he was performing with a boy band. While the sisters take shots the night before the wedding, Mary Margaret is freaking out that she might overindulge at the open bar the next day. She does not want to embarrass herself in front of the family and the man who might be her family someday.

I do not drink very much anymore. I'm a lot different from the girl drinking with her boyfriend in her early 20s. But I remember her and will put those feelings in my fiction. So, what is your most embarrasing moment?

Sunday Sundries--St. Patrick's Day Edition

Don't know why, but I found out pretty early on that my characters had been brought up Catholic. I was not--born and raised Methodist. I did, however, marry a man from a Catholic family and it seems most of my local friends are Catholic.

But, on St. Patrick's Day, not everyone is Catholic, though everyone IS Irish.

Found a picture the other day of the Indianapolis Canal downtown. A lot of it runs between to Marriott hotels I spent a lot of time in when I was traveling for work:

It really is that green, dyed for St. Pat's. It goes away fairly quickly, but it's fun to drink beer out on the patio and watch it on a nice day. The other thing that's green year round is the duck poop, though. Part of my first and second sets of novels take place in that area, but in April and November.

 I've been playing on Pinterest again and created an Easter/St. Pat's/Spring board. I love these vintage cards:

Back when we used to send cards, right?
Have to have the obligatory silly cats:

Had to take the twins to the vet yesterday for their yearly checkups and shots. They were their usual cranky selves, like this pair.

Then, there's this guy:

Ooops. Here's one from a Black Cat Appreciation Page on Facebook:

Went through a bunch of counted cross-stitch patterns on-line and found this one. I would love to do it someday, because I love a lot of things Celtic:

Hey, another big Catholic thing happened this week, didn't it?

We stayed home for a few extra minutes to see the announcement. It's a part of history and an fascinating ritual, isn't it?

 So, it's been an interesting week. I've done a little writing and editing, but not enough. Hope you've had a productive one.

Here's my wishes to you:

Have a great week!
 

Sunday Sundries--What Would You Do with 3 Hours?

God willing and if the creek don't rise, my husband will be off his medically-imposed, three month driving restriction on March 21st. There will be much rejoicing.

While he's gotten a ride home with a couple of co-workers at night (a blessing), I have had to do all the driving for us. That included driving to and from Virginia for a visit to my brother and a trip to and from Bowling Green, KY, last month. While I've done long hauls before and drove quite a bit for a previous job, it's been a trial. And for every day he's worked, I had to drive him in, then drive back home. Takes about twenty minutes to a half hour for the round trip, but some days there were accidents or other issues making it much longer.

So, hopefully, I'll be able to gain about three hours of my life back every week. I started thinking about it, especially "losing" the hour with Daylight Savings Time and the whole "spring forward" thing.

Three hours or so is a chunk of time. It's a gift. While usually I've enjoyed the time talking with my honey and I truly do try to live to serve, if he could drive himself to and from work and run errands on his own, I'm thinking it might really help. After all:

Let me explain--usually when I get home from taking Chris to work at 2:15pm, I have around forty-five minutes before I have to leave for work. I can't get started on a new project and often don't have time to get back into what I was doing before we left if it involves any concentration at all. I usually take the time to brush my teeth, fix my lunch and piddle around. If I didn't have the interruption, I could continue editing, finish writing that scene I'd started or get another ten pages of notes into order.

On the other hand:

There have been many times when social media has taken control of my life. I have:
Facebook accounts: 2 ("real" name and author name, not counting the "author page")

Pinterest accounts: 2 ("real" name and author name)

email accounts: 3 I check regularly (2 "real" name and 1 author name)

AND I was stupid and installed Jewel Quest III on my laptop. Duh.

When I was doing a lot of counted cross-stitch, I found some friends on the AOL XS board that did something called "the rotation system." It was where you work on each UFO (UnFinished Object) for a limited period of time. It might be you have a project for every day of the week or work on each pattern for one week at a time or a certain number of hours. This helps finish items that you're sick of, that's a gift or that you're in the middle of a boring section, because when you finish something, you get the option of starting that new project that is exciting. I did a massive amount of cross-stitch in the early 2000s with this method. I have about twenty projects yet unfinished, though. Here are just two:

This is called Skyler Wayne--the designer named her patterns after her grandsons--and it's exactly half finished. I haven't touched it in years. Here's another one that hasn't seen the light of day in way too long:

This is titled Harmony. There is part of another leaf I am half-way through in the bottom middle that's been added since this picture was taken. It was going to be a gift for my mother for surviving breast cancer in the late 1990s. She died in 2004.

So, not only should I use my "found" time for something creative and productive (like stitching, beading or trying out the knitting looms and yarn I bought), but I should apply the rotation principle to my writing too. Little snippets of time--an hour here and a half hour there--would help me finish that scene, organize that folder of notes, transcribe that notebook.

What would you do with an extra three hours in your week?

Sunday Sundries--Scruffy Eye Candy Edition

That got your attention, didn't it?

We watched "Argo" last night and since it was set in 1981, I was waxing nostalgic about hair over the collar and porn 'staches. Here's a picture of Ben Afflick from the movie:

Mighty tasty, huh? I also watched "Fashion Police--Oscar Edition" and Joan Rivers berating Afflick and George Clooney for not being clean-shaven made me laugh. Here's George and he's still a beautiful man:

I have to admit, I'm kind of fond of facial hair. My husband was clean-shaven for only a couple of months in the early 1990s and he quickly grew it back. He complained of being too baby-faced. I've put that in my characters too. My hero William gets some cheap reading glasses at the drugstore, because he wants to look a little older to be taken seriously once he shaves. Here are a couple of inspirations for him:

Yes, that's Gregory Peck with a beard and mustache. Here's a favorite of mine of Hugh Jackman:

*sigh* Dear Will is a medically retired Marine. If you'd like some scruff and some meaty eye candy, this is Joe Mangienello from the TV show "True Blood."

Here's one last one, this one of Billy Cruddup:

Will teases his younger brother Rob about looking like "Uncle Jerry. A very pretty Uncle Jerry." Rob has his own issues--he used to be in a boy band. In a world where second and third string wanna be celebrities find boosts to their careers in reality TV, he walked away and has been living almost as a recluse. His growing a beard and mustache is definitely part of his disguise. At Will's suggestion he wears a pair of his father's glasses to distract. So, here are a few inspirations for Rob, the first being a rare picture of Matt Bomer with facial hair:

Here's one of my favorite pieces of eye candy, Ian Somerhalder:

Oh, what the hell, here's another one of him:

Here's another almost pretty man that looks great with a little scruff, Adam Levine:

Like it a lot. Here's another rocker that looks nice with a little scruff, Jared Leto:

Yeah, that's a twofer. Another rocker that reminds me of one of my characters (Carter falls in love with Rob's daughter) is Chris Cornell of Soundgarden:

Here's another one of a model named Fabian Schweiser that reminds me of Carter:

And finally, the ever charming Kris Holden-Reid:

So, I hope you've enjoyed my salute to the joys of men with facial hair. I certainly liked going through my character files and sharing with you. Have a great week and see you next time!

Sunday Sundries--Busy Week Edition

What a great week! I took some time off, I had a birthday and we got to go out of town for a few days to visit some friends. Thanks to all for the birthday wishes!

By the way, I didn't give anything up for Lent. It's the minor fact that I'm not Catholic.

Not really. In fact, I did some good writing late at night. I cleaned up a couple of scenes I needed to and was a little more disciplined in getting done the editing that was necessary. Have you noticed:

By breaking the cycle, I was able to get inspired to get stuff done. There were a half dozen times the whole long weekend when I felt like:

So, instead of being discouraged that I wasn't out being crazy with my friends, I was excited because I was getting some writing done, handling scenes I wanted to get down and edit.

I also had a friend that brought a bunch of cross-stitch magazines she wanted to get rid of for me to look through. In the second one, I found the cutest pattern for a "family" of robots that I would love to do. It may get me cross-stitching again. I do want to do a little work on my Hawaiian quilt sampler:

I really consider my "year" from birthday to birthday, so I'm going to try to get back to stitching.

Part of my work over the weekend was to order framing for a piece of needlework I have. Several (more than five) years ago, for the Christmas gift exchange, the person who had my name had their significant other crochet out our (yes, my "real") name. I was thrilled--it was something I couldn't do.

 That's another goal, to get another piece framed later in the year and get a couple of others displayed. Yes, while keeping up with beading projects too. It will have to cut into my Jewel Quest III time.

I did some virtual organizing too. I helped a friend back up the stuff he had on his micro SD card in his phone, so he could delete it. He watches our cats when we're gone and has taken some great pictures. This is one of Boris:

Love his tabby face. I also sorted through a bunch more stuff that I'd saved off Pinterest and Facebook. Here are a couple of my "finds":

 And:

So, may this continued round of productivity last, with my plans to get and keep organized in multiple aspects of my life. Join me next week to see if we can keep this streak going!