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 |  Daily Doings |
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This begins on April 11, 2005. I have no idea what is going to happen. Today is June 28, and I still don't know what is happening here. It's a combination of personal and not-so-personal. Some say I just put it all out there. Others comment that it is LOL. Read and hopefully enjoy! Thanks to Writerchic for the Awardicon on WDC's 5th Birthday. |
| This has been a very unpleasant month for me. I know that those WDC members who went to the convention had a wonderful month, and were really glad they went/ I'll know better next year. I don't know why I didn't go. Oh I've excuses (reasons), but none of them really hold up. Of course, I could have gotten there, without too much expense. I'm not THAT shy, am I, really? No more than some others anyway. Next year, next year. Am redoing these stories for Unni, and it's fun. He has such a discinct way of writing. I'm just checking for the glaring mistakes due to English being his second language (one of the Indian dialects the first). The stories are so sweet, most of them. I think he wants to publish them through Lulu.com. Isn't that a Vanity Press, and somehow part of Amazon? Slept again all afternoon. Nobody on line to chat with this morning. I'm starting to think it's me. I should initiate something and get it going. Something like a birthday bash auction.Marz an do it, but she's taking some time off. Kristy. too, but she is sooo busy I don't want to ask her. Who did that great birthday bash last year? Anyone remember? The news seems quiet. They've been rehashing the same stuff all week. My budget is all out of whack so I'm going to take the big step Monday and cancel DSL. It's my one luxury, but I really thought I'd be making money by this time, and that other things outside of WDC would have worked out a little differently. Time to make a change. I's going to read for the rest of the weekend (tonight and tomorrow). Such luxury. I have to plan out the rest of "Secrets", the novel (working title -- it just occured to me it sounds like a Danielle Steele novel) and I have to send some work out for possible publication. My first round of rejection slips are all in. Next batch will go out soon. I am determined! Hope everyone's okay. The grass sure is green and you can tell it's the height of summer here. Birds everywhere, the wild parrots will come through soon, and as long as the hurricanes don't come, we should do well. Just a month or two to until the cooler weather. There's nothing like the balmy breeze at evening. But, now we have honeysuckle and jasmine, those sweet sensual scents on a balmy night. We have the sky and sea at it's clearest, bluest blue. The heat's going to calm down a bit,and I hope to be going for walks soon. The college kids will start to come back and they fill the poetry slams. My daughter's busy organizing an arts festival in Norway, Maine. She lives in Harrison, just a few miles away. So all's okay here. Hope you are too. Ciao. |
| Not much going on. One of our members who I believe was raised in India, has asked me to look at some of his stories with an "editor's eye", and I have been doing that. I have 5 finished out of 13 and it is a lot of fun doing this. The stories are delightful. I am partial to Indian writers. I slept all afternoon, after not really doing much this morning. I was up early and saw the sun rise over the horizon on the Atlantic Coast. Not a particularly spectacular sunrise as we have a lot of humidity and "dust" in the air. I find it very nice to be out so early. Everything seems to fresh then, as it is just waking up. Is it me or have things slowed down around here? There was such a flurry of activity before the convention, and now it seems everyone is recovering. I promise myself I am going next year, God willin' and the creek don't rise, as we said in Ohio. Nothing new in the news either. Scotland Yard seems to think it's got a grip on the suicide bombers from 7/7. The US has another space ship up, finally; I just hope they'll be able to get back. What have you been reading? Anything interesting? See ya' tomorrow, if all goes well. |
| Today I just wasted the day. I have no idea what I did...I answered my email, I did a couple of phone errands -- one having a charge removed from my phone bill and another to find my friend a Pet Nanny (!). Then I walked around the house. Next I decided to go out and walk even though it was 104 with the heat index. I didn't think it was all that hot. Probably because I haven't been outside for days. I'm reading this called Snowby a Turkish author, and i love it. I looked up this village in NE Turkey and it looks wonderful. I spent half an hour calling the Turkish Consulate in New York becuase I want them to send me information and stuff about TUrkey, but this phone kept rining busy. So I called the Turkish Embassy (both of these in NYC -- I don't like to call Washington, DC) and they told me to call the Consulate. By that time it was 5:00 and everybody was going home. This book is really affecting me. It's effecting me also. Reminds me of a poem by James Whight, who was also from Ohio, Martin's Ferry or someplace like that down along the Ohio River. Here's the poem: Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly, Asleep on the black trunk, Blowing like a leaf in a green shadow, Down the ravine behind the empty house. The cowbells follow one another Into the distances of the aftenoon. To my right, In a field of sunlight between two pines, The droppings of last year's horses Blaze up into golden stones. I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on. A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home. I have wasted my life. (From The Branch Will Not Break,l963) I've long loved that poem, and so do a lot of other poets I know, yet Wright wasn't really a poet's poet, like Mark Strand is or maybe even Wallace Stevens. He was and still is just a damned good poet. Then I made dinner for myself and a friend, then watched the news without getting upset, and now I'm doing this while keeping an eye on my e-mail. I think back on the day, and probably the best thing I did was post James Wright's poem in my blog. |
| It seems there is a questionnaire going around among the bloggers on this site, so I decided to participate. Don't ask my why because I have no idea. I think I'm becoming sociable. 1. Three names you go by: VerySara, Sara Sanspeur, Pamela 2. Three Screen Names you have had: VerySara, VerySara22, PGM465 3. Three physical things you like about yourself: Hair, Height, Hands 4. Three physical things you don't like about yourelf: Chin, Hips, Feet 5. Three Parts of Your Heritage: English, German, French 6. Three Things That Scare You: Rats, Electricity; I can't think of a third. 7. Three of Your Everyday Essentials: Coffee, Internet, Quiet 8. Three Things you are Wearing: Sundress, slippers, panties 9. Three of your favorite bands/singers: Velvet Revolver Bob Dylan Queen 10. Three of your Favorite Songs: I Shot the Sheriff Blowin' in the Wind Wish you Were Here (Pink Floyd) 11. Three Things You Want in a Relationship: Trust Communication Respect 12. Two truths and a lie (in no particular order) I enjoy parties. I have gone swimming with dolphins. I love Africa. 13. Three Physical Things About the Opposite (or same) Sex That Appeal to You: Eyes build voice 14. Three of your favorite hobbies: Reading Painting Traveling 15. Three Things You Want to do Right Now: Finish this questionnaire Wave a Magic Wand and Stop the Bombings Do the Dishes from last night 16. Three careers your's considering/you've considered Journalist Painter Writer 17. Three places you want to go on vacation: Alaska Iceland Argentina 18. Three kids' names you like: Mikey Caleb Grayson 19. Three things you want to do before you die: Move back to New York City See Alaska Grow Orchids 20. Three ways you are stereotypically a boy: I'm not a neatnick I like baggy clothes I admire female beauty 21. Three ways that you are stereotypically a girl: I like men better than women I don't know anything about cars I don't like sports 22. Three celebrity crushes: Brad Pitt Johnny Depp Kurt Cobain NOTE: There are many links to this but I don't remember where I got this one; it was very early in the morning (like 2 a.m.) when I found it. You're welcome to copy from this one, or I think Kaxxu has one. I don't have her link. Sorry. |
I'm still getting my head straight -- well, as straight as it gets --  from all the convention reviews. So, I'm going through my papers, and I have many many pieces of paper with numberson them -- sometimes a phone number, sometimes an item number, and many I have no idea what is going on. I hate to throw anything away in case something important is in there, but I can't keep all these papers around. Dilemmas. I need four desks. One for the computer, one for WDC stuff; one for other Net doings; and another for a regular desk, like normal people have that has pens and pencils and is clean and you can write letters, etc. And then I need a corner for my easel and paints and canvas and Arches watercolor paper. I told myself from the day I moved in here I was not going to stay, and that was 5 years ago, after I came to Florida from a particularly snowy winter in New York and Connecticut. (Those two states are one in my mind because I used to take the train to New Haven from Manhattan often -- Yale's got a great drama department). Anyway here I am. Me and my computer. Trying to get my poems published and have my stories published where they will bring in a few dollars. I think I'm dreaming dreams that won't come true. All the articles I read say poems don't pay, and short stories are very hard to get published, and most publishers are looking for novels, or non-fiction. It's such a hassle. I got an email from JavaJackie and she's got her first book coming out and she said that what she's been going through with the publisher is harder than writing the book was. She's not been on line for a month or more. It's still better than being a painter. They have to carry their paintings around to set up shows, and then take them down. They have to prepare slide presentations. A tube of oil paint is expensive. Watercolor, depending on the color, is anywhere from $3.25 to $5.00 for a small tube. Photography is also expensive, and film. What isn'? Even a decent loaf of bread costs almost $3.00. Amd it's going to get worse, I predict. And I now live the frugal life; I used to live the expensive one, but it cost too much and wore me out -- all those restaurants and plays and ballets. Fresh flowers everywhere. A view of the Empire State Building out my window. So I came to St. Augustine. As soon as I got here I swear, the price of property started going up out of sight. I did buy a house and sold it right away because I couldn't stand having to call a plumber to fix this, and an electritian to fix that; I was used to putting in request to maintenance. So I sold the house. If I'd kept it it would be work about 3 times as much as what I paid for it. I never did have a head for business. The Discovery went up today. Often I can see it from here, from the beach, but today was too cloudy. How much did that cost? At a sidewalk cafe with earlier today, there were some students next to us and they were talking about the Greek classicists, and I thought to myself how long it had been since I've read them, gone to productions of the plays, etc. Now I barely remember the entire group of them; I know the names but can't match their names with what they wrote, except by chance. I think these student were getting ready for a production of Aristophenes' The Frogs and I remembrered that I loved it long ago but I have no idea what it is about. I also remember a joke from long ago about Euripides. We'd say "You rip-a deese, and I'll rip-a those." Maybe I'll go to the play and see if it brings back any other hilarious college memories. And I went to NYU. What if I'd gone to Florida State. I wonder if they even have a ClassicsDepartment. It's just that this college here in St. Augustine does not have the greatest drama department. Florida's a little weak in the field of education. Why Johnny can't read indeed. Here in NE Florida, a lot of people don't make it to the 10th grade. I suppose that's true everywhere except the "Northeast Corridor". Like AL, I want the Mothership to come get me. I'm ready to go now. I have heard about a new theory that the physicists have come up with, newer than string theory; it's called M Theory, and the M stands for membrane. If, and this is a big IF, I understand it correctly we need to think of time as a substance and not a concept. Then past-present (now)-and future are each entities and the world is made up of many very thin membranes of the now. This is a bit difficult, and I'm not sure I have it quite right -- in fact I'm almost sure I don't -- but there is some kind of anti-gravity suit that if and when you wear it you can pop in and out of the now membrane that surrounds this galaxy. I've been turning this over in my mind, and I bet you Sci-Fiers out there know about it already. Just think, instead of saying, "I think I'll go for a walk around the block" you'd say, "I think I'll pop out of the universe for a while and see what's up in space. I'll be back before the kids get home." How cool is that? Way cool, I think. To cool to be true. Does anyone know what I am talking about? There are some really good blogs on here. A Blog Ring is going to start; I'm not sure how it is going to work but I know I signed up for it. It's fascinating to me how different each blog is. I find that true in non-WDC blogs too. Yeah, I read the blogs; and watch CNN less and less. I know more and more people that are removing TV sets from their lives. It's definitely a trend. I gotta go catch the 6:00 news. |
| Spent the weekend "Pirating Ports." I think I did over a hundred reviews, and probably won't review any more for a while. It was hard work, but also fun. I liked seeing the difference in the way members have their ports set up. Some had almost no static items to reviewl they were all interactives, polls, contests, etc. Others had all static items, neatly divided into folders and categories. Others had a little bit of everything, and the items were just there in the order in which they were written, and ready to be reviewed. I have almost all static items, and when I do polls, I delete them. Also, I don't keep a folder for my awards, merit badgers, etc. Some do, some don't. Just differences within a group. I really had planned on having today to review though. There were some ports I didn't get to. I'll know better next year, except next year I really hope to attend. So now things are back to "normal" whatever that means. I think I'm in a couple of contests which should be decided soon, and I have at least three or four stories and poems started which I should finish. It's too hot outside to go out seeking inspiration. It was 83 when I got up at 7. Been this way for weeks. I know most everyone is going through this, and not only is it a bummer to go out, but it's hell on the A/C bill. All I can see are dollar bills flying to FLorida Power and Light. What did people do before A/C? It's a pretty recent "invention" isn't it? Somebody gave me Print Shot Pro, so I've a lot of learning to do. Now to find somebody who knows what they're doing to help. I'm too unsure of myself to be self-taught. I do know that I want to be able to make sigs and other items to sell; I hope to have a Birthday Bash ending August 26th, which is my 1-year anniversary on WDC, but since it's almost the end of July now, I guess I'll have to start it on August 26th, and start gathering donations now. This seems to me to be an enormous undertaking. I'll have to check with some of you who have had really successful contests. Let's all pray that people stop with the random bombs, as in London and in Egypt. It's really getting dangerous. Then the police shot an innocent man, but why did he run? I'm glad my life is so that I can stay in my air-conditioned room, waiting for the hurricanes to hit. I used to love big cities, and still do, but somehow I doubt if they'll blow up the Council on Aging bus in St. Augustine, which is the only form of public transportation we have, and you have to be 62 to use it. I've a ways to go. I can't wait to hear convention stories. There are a couple of contests, so those entries sould be fun to read. Well, got to run a couple errands before the temperature gets to a hundred. It's 96 right now. If I don't get to the store I'll be eating crackers most of the day. I put this chore off as long as possible. Now it's getting so we have to shop before the hurricanes decide to hit. Stay safe, everyone! |
| It's been 4 days since I've said hello. Gee, where does time go? We all know the real question is "Where does time come from?" I'm doing the Convention Pirates review thing, and did so many this morning, I got to the place where I started thinking who in the world am I to judge somebody else's work? Then I answered myself and the dialogue went on for a while until I took some Ibuprofen, and it stopped. I'll be better later on. Meanwhile, London was hit by bombs again today, only not much damage was done, but it was still very frightening. We have several members of Writing.com in the UK and in London in particular, and I worry for them. I really wish people would stop blowing up other people. It's not right. Got really down Tuesday evening for no special reason. Wasn't writing, and was engrossed in a book by a Turkish author who in the book is a journalist from Istambul, and goes to Kars, a small town on the outskirts of the country, to investigate why 16 teenaged girls had committed suicide in two weeks, and also political graft. The name of the book is Snow and I love it. Anyway it put me in a different frame of mind, but Wednesday morning I woke up to two contest wins (2!) and that made me feel a lot better. I don't understand why a 40 year old woman still needs the reinforcement and encouragement of her peers. Apparently there was an article in the Manchester (England) Guardian about how no agent will accept a book manuscript of short stories. They want novels. I wrote about this before. I have, within the last six weeks, bought at least three collections of short stories by relatively unknown writers. I don't know who or what to believe. It's like listening to Washington DC politics. Only this pertains directly to my little life. I'm not exactly inside the Beltway, but I am trying to get my foot in the door of a publisher. This is a very big site, as I'm sure you know. And it is getting bigger every day. I'd like to be a hummingbird whirring about the Convention. Wonder what they're all doing up there in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania. I'll go next year, I tell myself. I'm into gratitude these days. When I hear of and read the problems of others, I thank goodness I am me. I have good health and I'm not in debt, and for those two things I am truly grateful. I am one of those people who was affected terribly by 9/11, and now the Madrid and London bombings, and so I have really learned to live in the moment, and take things as they come. It really does make a big difference, and besides, we don't have much choice in the matter. We just think we do sometimes. I'm looking for part-time paying work, preferably on the net. Anybody know of anything? skyisfalling02 won Best of Blogs this week! She deserves it. I wish my brain worked in the curious ways that hers does. Check out her blog if you haven't already. That's about it. I'm waiting for my second breath so that I can do more pirate raiding. After about ten reviews my eyes start to cross, I swear. See ya' soon! |
| I read all day, then slept, then ate, then read, then slept, then checked my email, then slept, then read, etc. Another day in Paradise, but the torn cartlidge or whatever it is is less painful. Lots of good contests around. I thought things would settle down to a slow crawl in the summer, but nope, everybody's right in there. And no, I didn't read the new Harry Potter book. I just feel as though I have. I hope everyone has a good night. I hope there will be no bombings tonight, that we will all be here tomorrow, and that the hurricane will not his Cancun too badly. I have to get back to my books now. Then it will be time for more sleep. There is a frog living on my screened in porch. I'm falling in love with him, and he with me, I can tell. He lets me pick him up. He eats fruit flys, and other insects that come by in the night. I wonder if he'll eat those small lizards? Nite-nite. |
| Consider yourselves emailed! 1. What is your full name? Pamela Moorhead aka VerySara 2. What color pants are you wearing? I'm still in my nightgown. 3. What are you listening to right now? Something about airline security. 4. What was the last thing you ate? Cold pizza. 5. Do you wish on stars? Yes, and sometimes when I gaze at them, I pray that the mothership will come and take me home. 6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Cerulean blue. 7. How is the weather right now? Hot and humid. 8. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? My son, in Texas. 9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I love her, but I wish she'd stop making me do things like this. She'll hit me if I don't. 10. How old are you today? 46, but don't tell anybody. 11. Favorite drink? Sweet iced tea. 12. Favorite sport? Scrabble. 13. Hair color? Auburn. 15. Favorite month? November. 16. Favorite food? Key lime pie, and lots of it. 17. What was the last movie you saw? On TV or at the theater? "Million Dollar Baby." 18. Favorite holiday of the year? Valentine's Day. 19. What do you do to vent anger? That depends. 20. Summer or winter? Spring. 21. Hugs or kisses? Hugs. 22. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla. 23. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? They can e-mail me if they want to, if they read this blog entry. 24. Who is most likely to respond? Probably Dreams. 25. Who is least likely to respond? I don´t know since I don´t know who will read it. 26. When was the last time you cried? When I saw "Million Dollar Baby." 27. What is under your bed? The floor. 28. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Karen Bell, in Columbus, Ohio, where I was born. 29. What did you do last night? Helped a friend do a paper on "Human Destiny." 30. What are you afraid of? Can't think of a thing. Bring it on! 31. Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? None. It hurts my tummy. 32. Favorite car? Mercedes coup. (coupe?) 33. Favorite flower? Freezia. 34.Number of keys on your key ring? I can't find them to count. 35. How many years at your current job? What job? `````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Now, the point of this is that you are supposed to copy and paste this questionnaire and pass it on. AL insisted that I do this, because it was part of the being mustarded craze that was sweeping through the site yesterday. Any questions? Any answers? |
| This is being a bummer of a summer insofar as weather goes for those of us who live in Florida. These are the earliest named storms since they've kept track of things. Tell me the weather patterns aren't changing. And there is nothing to keep one upset like PC problems. I'm too lazy to drag the whole thing to the repair shop,especially in one hundred degree heat, and I'm to cheap to pay them to come out here and fix it. I am also stubborn insofar as I think I can fix it myself. Somehow I have lost Microsoft Word, and Dell sent me Word Perfect insisting they are the same thing. So now I have to learn Word Perfect, when I really want to learn Print Shop 9. I do think there are people who have worse problems, however. Here come today's thunderstorms a little bit early. The lightening is not good for the PC either, although I do have a surge protector. It's not easy living down here. I have written two new Pantoums, however, and think I'm getting a handle on that form. Sonnets are more difficult. They are really hard work. It's good though to know how to write in different forms. All this is, of course, a way to put off starting Chapter 2 of my Novel. Thanks to all of you for your helpful comments on Chapter 1. Then there are the political problems, as always. London was not nice. Not a good thing, at all. I feel so badly for the Muslims who are so peaceful. They are so frightened, here and abroad. We all need more tolderance and education. Personally, I hope I never stop learning! I also hope suicide bombers stop blowing up innocent people. If they want to blow themselves up, that's another quetion of ethics and theology, but I don't think they should blow up innocent people. The United States does it every day in Iraq, as we all know. Here comes the soapbox! I'd better get going. Later. |
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--Elana