Category: Tv

Spring Cleaning

4/13/2014

As it turns out , spring cleaning was the next thing on the schedule. So much for my own little world. Oh well! It's not exactly how we wanted to spend the weekend, but it's been worth it. The inside of the house is clean, and the yard is coming along. The yard is a bit more of a challenge because of pollen, but by the grace of God, we're getting it done.

So see, I'm not completely out of it! I'm getting practical things done. Which is good, because our social schedule is going to get pretty busy here soon, so we better take advantage of time to get things like cleaning and organizing done now.

We also got rid of another distraction - satellite TV. We cancelled our service Friday. That great price they gave us when we went to cancel last year was apparently a promotion, and it's been in the process of going away since January. The bill this month was actually more than it had been before, so we said heck with it. When we considered what we watch, the truth is that most of it is on local channels, which we get fine through a digital antenna. Plus, we have Apple TV, so we can get whole seasons of the shows cheaper than a monthly bill. And Netflix serves Rick's movie fix just fine. It's ridiculous how much they charge for TV. I think this is going to be similar to when we cancelled the landline phone - you're nervous at first until you figure out that you're better off without it.

When we clean out, we really go through everything, eh? Well, it's good to take stock every now and then to make sure that things are still working out for you the way you intended. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. If it's not working out like it used to, adjust. We'll see how this goes. So far, so good. We aren't having withdrawl symptoms yet, so that's a good sign.

That's all today. I hope you're all doing well. Have a great week.

Bye!

Breaking Down Breaking Bad - Finale Roundup

9/30/2013

SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen the finale of Breaking Bad, please note that this entry contains spoilers.

So it’s all over. Walter White is dead, taken out in a blaze of glory as he took down the operation that he started. The empire is fallen. Heisenberg is no more, and his work is gone forever.

I think Breaking Bad answered the age old question of whether the ends justify the means, and it seems that the answer is no, they don’t. The ends weren’t even what Walt planned or expected. That he would eventually die – of the cancer or from being killed in this whole operation – was never a question. I think we all knew that in the end, he would die. The question was, who else would go down with him? Plenty of people, it turned out, but it’s when it hit home with Hank that things really started to unravel in ways that couldn’t be rectified.

There was no humor in this season. No funny moments of strange situations with drug dealers, incidents with Saul, Mike or Huell, running from police that aren’t even interested in them, Jesse digging holes in a meth head's back yard, awkward family conversations, or even the “scabby lasagna” dinner conversation that cracked me up so much with Walt, Skyler, and Jesse. It was nothing but painful consequences as this train ran away to its inevitable conclusion. Well, except for Badger and Skinny Pete with the lasar pointers on the Schwartz’s. I did find that clever and funny, albeit in a strange way.

And yet, though the conclusion was expected, there was still disappointment. Yes, I had hope that things would work out. That the bad guy’s good intentions would lead to something worth redeeming. Unfortunately, human nature followed its natural course. At least Walt was willing to admit to Skyler that he did it for himself and his own glory. I hand him huge points for finally making that admission. We heard him tell Jesse he was in the empire business. We saw his pride in killing Gus and taking the operation international with Lydia. It ceased being about securing the family’s financial situation long ago – perhaps even with the first batch. But at least he realized it. He said it made him feel alive even as death was eating away at him through the lung cancer. And so, he never apologized for it. He stood by it, until the police came charging into that lab to find him dead on the floor of what he started and finished, in a blaze of glory. Or more accurately, a blaze of bullets rigged to a garage door opener in the trunk of his car. That was a new thing, at least for me. And I have to admit that it was an amazing scene.

So who paid for this? Everybody. Walt’s dead. He might not answer for it in a court of law, but he answered for it with his life. The family looks to be living in borderline poverty, perhaps worse off than they were before. Maybe Flinn/Walt Jr. will get that money from the Schwartz’s on his 18th birthday. Maybe he’ll believe it’s a generous donation and they’ll be alright. Or maybe he’ll see through this one last lie and reject it, just as Walt rejected the Schwartz’s offer to pay for his cancer treatment – to take the right road out of his situation instead to cooking meth – and in similar pride, the ball will continue to roll for them. The family Walt wanted to help is worse off than ever; and really they are the only ones left, besides Saul, who’s in Nebraska, and Jesse going who knows where. So many people died to protect this and for what – nothing. Most of the money is going to be confiscated by the police. Walt decided in the end to not take the money that Todd’s uncle took from him, but instead to end it for once and for all. That was perhaps the best choice he made. He was never sorry for what he did, but at least he cleaned up the mess the best way he knew how.

That was another moment that got me. Walt saved Jesse, then asked Jesse to kill him. I really didn’t know what he would do, but I saw in that moment, when Jesse dropped the gun and said “do it yourself,” that he grew up. In the worst way possible, he grew up, and that perhaps is the only good that came out of this whole fiasco. He’s the one with a chance at a life. The question is, will the scars of this 2 year journey (for them on the show) hold him back, or propel him forward? I certainly hope it’s the latter. He’s the only one with hope for a better life ahead. I’d like to think that all of this, all the deaths, all the pain, all the hurt, led to this one good thing – of saving him, even as it ruined so many others. It would make this journey of destruction worth it on a small level. Because there’s no big picture where this leads to any good.

So take a lesson from this series. The ends don’t justify the means. Doing wrong never leads to right. It may seem to work out for a while, but it’s a lie. The deception will run out and all that’s left are consequences, and they usually you the worst, but others as well. We might not be comfortable with the ugly in life, but it’s there and facing it is better than turning a blind eye. We see now what it means to make right choices, and the devastating consequences the wrong ones can have on so many people. That web kept growing. It was unbelievable in the end.

Thank you, Vince Gilligan, for taking us on this amazing journey. You are brilliant and there’s no doubt that this show was groundbreaking in so many ways. We witnessed television history last night, and I’m proud to have been a part of it. Even as a viewer munching on Jiffy Pop and sitting in my recliner saying “Oh my God! Did you see that?” and tweeting my amazement at the journey that was Walter White. And thanks to AMC for bringing this marvelous creation to viewers. It was a great, edge of your seat ride, from start to finish. You never let us down. Yes, it was rough around the edges, but so is real life. I loved this show and, like so many others, will surly miss it. I hear there’s a new spinoff series in the works titled “Better Call Saul.” So who knows? Saul might reappear from Nebraska to bring us more adventures. We shall see.

That’s all today. Take care and have a great week.

Bye!

Sick Days

10/23/2012

I can't believe it. I recover from a sinus infection to get a virus. It hit Rick too. We went to Doctor's Care over the weekend and the doctor said that's been happening a lot lately. Apparantly, this cooler weather that people wished for during our long, hot summer is a breeding ground for infections, viruses, and all sorts of nasty things that take you down. Not pleasant.

On the one hand, it's good to have some time at home. It's a rare privledge to have time in the mornings and afternoons when you aren't chained to a desk, so to speak. But on the other hand, I feel miserable, so I really can't do much with this time. I've worked on my writing some when my head wasn't hurting. But otherwise, it's been sleeping and watching TV. And by the way, there is nothing decent on. I'm not sure whether mornings or afternoons are worse. Mornings you have a choice of bouncy, too-perky chat shows or "paternity tests gone wild!" trash TV. And the afternoons are soaps and judge shows. Who's guilty. Who's innocent. Who really cares?

In a way, it makes me gain an appreciation for having a day job. Unless I'm working on a writing project or the house needs care/cleaning, there's really not much to do. Hmm. And if I'm in pain then cleaning/house care is out, so there you have it.

The one good thing that's come out of this is I had a chance to go through Move again. Sick or not, you know I'm going to take advantage of extra time to work on writing projects! It turns out that my publishers want a minimum of 60K words now, and this novel is around 54K - so I need to add a few chapters. And so, the work shall continue on this project. I'll get there.

Another good thing is extra time with the birds. I feel a bit bad about disrupting their schedule, but they're taking it well. They've been wanting to come out a lot, and I've been letting them. Ollie's been singing up a storm this morning too. It's always good to have extra time with them.

As for the rest of today, I guess I need to make lunch and see if there are any little things I can get done around here, like lanudry or something. I might as well knock something off my "to do" list while I'm here. Days off are rare and if there's any way to take advantage of it despite my ill health, I better do it.

That's all today. Take care.

Bye!

Season Finale Roundup

5/20/2012

Hi everybody, sorry to be away for a while. I spent a lot of last week catching up from being sick week before last - and before I knew it, it had been over a week since I blogged. Oops! I certainly didn't mean for that to happen.

Today, I'd like to carry on a tradition that I started with my last blog at Writing.com. In late May of every year, I'd do a "season finale roundup" of the television shows I had watched that season. My purpose was to give my overall impressions of how the season as a whole struck me as a fan. Not that I think the TV executives are ACTUALLY reading my humble blog, but it's a nice way to connect with other fans of the shows. Don't worry - this won't be excessively long. As a general rule, I can only keep up with 2 shows at a time. My 2 shows this season were Supernatural, which I've watched since it started in 2005, and The Secret Circle, which ran it's first and sadly only season on CW.

Supernatural - Another gut punching ending for the Winchester Brothers! I felt that this season was better than last season. It seemed Sam and Dean has more purpose in hunting the levithan, and they were certainly not a cliched foe. It was nice to get a break from angels, demons, monsters, and things that go bump in the night. I felt, at least, that the show returned somewhat to it's original purpose this season. I did, naturally, have a couple of gripes. First and foremost - you killed Bobby! You bastards! Bobby was one of my favorite characters and I hated to see him die, twice actually since they purged his spirit in the finale. Now who's going to call them igits, help them pose as Feds, and drag them out of messes? I don't know because Frank had a very short run (I didn't like him at first, but saw that his character had potential. A shame it wasn't developed). My other gripe was that Castielle was largely absent this season, except for the very beginning, where he was screwed up, and the very end, where he was nuttier than Chinese Chicken Salad. I want out old Cass back and frankly, I think the Winchesters need him back because, as Elrond put it so eleoquently in "The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring," "our list of allies grows thin." They've killed off so many characters that it's going to be necessary for them to completely reconstruct the case to keep going. But then again, alive and dead are relative states on this show. This is, after all, urban fiction.

Personally, I'd like to see a return of angels and demons. They're our old standbys and frankly, they're more interesting. The levithan's, while a nice change, were largely predictable and just out to "help American's live longer and taste better" (I got a kick out of that line in the "There Will Be Blood" episode). Angels and demons are definitely NOT predictable and you never know what they'll pull - Crowly in the finale being an excellent example. They have their own agenda, you're never exactly sure of what it is, and THAT'S what keeps you comign back week after week. I'm hoping Season 8 will bring back some old favorites, with the old Cass being #1 on that list.

The Secret Circle - This show had potential but sadly, isn't being given a chance to work it out. I came into this one about mid season, so I had some catching up to do, and I'm still not sure if I'm 100% "caught up." It seemed to have a solid plot and a good bit of the complexities in relationships that kept you wondering who had what motives and will they stick with the plan - whatever that might be - or blow it to smithereens. It also had an interesting premise and I think, as I said, that this was a show that could have really fleshed out and become solid given one more season. The one major problem I had with this show, though, was flat characterization. I felt like the characters weren't real. They went on and on about their powers and binding the circle, but who were they besides being witches? Did they have an identity outside of that? It was like watching a puppet show, or winding up a music box with moving parts and watching the pieces move around one another without understanding how or why they're moving like that. Perhaps the show writers didn't realize that viewers really need to be able to connect with the characters to become hooked on the show. Take Supernatural, for example. We know that Dean likes pie, that Sam hates clowns, and that Bobby thought everybody was an igit. The little things do matter, and in fact it's those little things that connect viewers to the show. They need to feel like they're part of this world, but The Secret Circle offered no such invitation to it's viewers. Remember that the point of television, books, movies, video games, and other forms of media is to take the person out of their own life and reality and offer them an escape by bringing them into the world you created. The Secret Circle didn't do that. They opened the curtain and let you take a peek, but didn't really invite you in. You dove right into the plot and didn't really learn about the characters - nothing of their history or of where they came from to become who they are. Sure, there was a lot of talk about their parents and how they came to be born, but nothing of who the characters themselves were. And I think that two dimensional approach to characterization is what drove this series to extinction in it's first season.

As we go into the 2012 - 2013 season this fall, I can assure you that I will continue to watch Supernatural. I've been with them since the beginning and will stick through to the end. I just love this show. As for a second show, I saw a preview for a series called Arrow while watching the finale of Supernatural that caught my interest. It's about Oliver Queen, aka The Green Arrow. Not my favorite superhero but a superhero nonetheless, and it did get my attention. I'll definitely give it a try on Wednesdays this fall. Plus, we named our budgie, Ollie, after Oliver Queen on Smallville. So a show about his namesake is interesting. He's expecting great things from it I'm certainly willing to give it a chance. In fact, I was their 28th "like" on Facebook today.

So that's my season finale roundup for the 2011 - 2012 season. Fans of the shows, let me know what you think. I'd be interested to hear your take on Supernatural and The Secret Circle, and to know what you plan to check out this fall.

Take care all, and I hope you have a great week.

Bye!

Things Gone By

4/27/2012

I’ve had 2 people ask me if I miss working at my old department this week. I could understand if one person asked, but to have 2 people ask from completely different places does make it seem a bit odd. Another thing that makes it odd is that I was transferred almost 2 years ago. It seems to me that I wouldn’t be psychologically stable if I hadn’t adjusted to my current department in such a long period of time. But one of them pressed on and asked if I missed anything about the former place.

At that point, I naturally wondered if I was being baited for some reason. I honestly told them that I did have a couple of friends that I missed from time to time when I saw or heard things that reminded me of them, but the overall answer to the question is that I’m happy where I’m at and I wouldn’t go back even if I could. This is where I am, this is where I belong, and I’m 100% ok and happy with it.

It was a curious question, but I think I made a good admission. Things are always passing in and out of our lives, and it’s natural that we will miss some things. We miss people that have passed away or whose paths have diverged from our own. It’s natural to be nostalgic for what was from time to time and to miss things that have passed us by. And, of course, there are those “little blessings” along the way that we miss – things so little that sometimes we don’t realize it until they’re gone. For example, I miss:

1. My parakeets. Zack, Chloe and Ollie aren’t the first birds I’ve had. When I was in my teens, I had 3 budgies named Petsy, Samson, and Delilah. Funny thing is, I came upon them much the same as I came upon my current 3: We bought Samson, decided he was lonely so we got Delilah, and then adopted Petsy from my great-aunt when she had to go in a nursing home with Alzheimers. (Remember we got Zack, he got lonely so we got Chloe, then they found Ollie at Rick’s work and we wound out keeping him too.) Like our current 3, they each had a unique personality and were full of personality and spunk. They died in 1996 rather close together – Delilah of an infection in August, Petsy of pneumonia in October, and Samson probably died of heart failure (he was 13) two weeks after Petsy. I was so hurt when they died that I said “never again” to pets. Yea, right. We got Zack in 2000, and after we got Chloe and Ollie in 2010 I finally admitted that I’ll always have birds and will clean cages for the rest of my life. See http://conurecorner.weebly.com for more on my current flock. They even have a blog!

2. My 1993 Dodge Daytona. We all have that one car that’s just perfect, and this was mine: a metallic blue sports car I got just before high school graduation. I got it brand new and absolutely loved it. I drove it until late 2006 when someone hit me in the parking garage at work. Although it wasn’t a bad accident, the damage was bad enough that they couldn’t 100% fix it, especially since the last Daytona’s were made in 1994 and replacement parts were becoming scarce. I now drive a 2006 Grand Prix. I like it and am very satisfied with it, but it just doesn’t have that same “zing” that the Daytona had. And ironically, Pontiac died a few years after I got the Grand Prix – so it seems that whatever car I buy is doomed to be discontinued or the dealer will shut down altogether. Looks like the chances of me being a repeat customer are slim with this track record.

3. Cross stitching. A friend at my former workplace taught me how to cross stitch in 2004 and I absolutely loved it. I even got adventurous and did a large pattern of a dragon and wizard, which I entered in the 2009 State Fair. I didn’t win anything, but it’s still hanging over my mantle and I get a lot of compliments on it. I did a few projects after the dragon, including one of Jesus that graces our entry way, but getting published required more of my time because I had to add doing publicity to my already full schedule with a full time job, home, family, work, writing, and church activities. I had to cut several hobbies and I finally had to make the painful decision that this one had to go on an indefinite hiatus while I build up my writing. I fully intend to take it up again someday when my life is less busy but for now, I’m focused on building my lifelong dream of being a good, well-respected novelist.

4. Smallville and Supernatural on Thursday nights. Ok, it’s not so much the shows themselves as it is that we
designated Thursday night as our “TV Night” every week. It was very nice to have both shows that we watch come on back to back on the same night. Smallville wrapped up after 10 years last season, Supernatural comes on Fridays now, and the new show that we watch, “The Secret Circle” comes on Thursday nights. At any rate, I discovered that I’m usually done with household stuff and writing by 9PM, so having the shows on separate nights doesn’t crimp my style at all. And, as I said, we can always make Friday our TV night with the advantage of DVR, although it’s not completely the same.

5. Free time in the afternoon on weekdays. Wow, I didn’t appreciate what a precious gift that was until I graduated from college and was in a full time job. It’s rare too, only enjoyed by those in school and retirees. That was truly a “don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone”situation for me. I fully appreciate it on days off, vacations and even sick days now.

And come to think of it, I missed one with that person I talked to about my former job. It’s not just the friends I miss. I also miss those outstanding ham subs they made in the canteen on Tuesdays and Fridays. I’ve checked everywhere and I’ve found close, but not as good as that!

The point is that I believe it’s natural to miss things with the changing nature of life, and that’s ok. Life takes us through many paths and seasons and it adds to the richness of our experiences. But we also need to be mindful of where we are and enjoy the blessings that we have, because you never know when things will change – and sometimes, things change quickly and with little warning. So be grateful for those things that have blessed you, but don’t live in the past. They added to who you are so you can appreciate the present.

That’s all for today. Happy Friday to you, and I hope you have a great weekend.

Bye!

Winter Pains, Winter Blessings

1/3/2012

Ok folks, the holidays are over and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks pulled off an outstanding win over Nebraska yesterday. Today was back to reality. Hmm. Can we skip the rest of winter now and go straight to spring?

Didn't think so. Crap.

This is when winter starts to hurt. The excitement of the holidays are over and it's time to get back in our routine that has us out at sunrise and coming back at sunset as we muddle through the cold days of winter. Everything seems bare, dead, and cold. Yes, it's depressing. The trees and decorations are down. No goodies lie around the office to munch on anymore. No more presents will be given or received. And there were no Christmas lights to welcome me home.

Well, blah!

Truth is, though, it's not all dead - it's merely resting to put forth that burst of energy that brings vibrancy and life during the other three seasons of the year. The trees and grass are dormant, not dead. Just as I needed the past 11 days off work to keep from getting burned out, so too does nature need to rest in order to bring us life and bounty through the rest of the year.

Truth be told, the season isn't without merit. I usually do my most (and best) writing in the winter. In fact, I wrote the rough drafts of Blurry and Anywhere But Here in January and February, and did major work on Splinter during that same time frame last year. My productivity with my writing seems to be at it's highest during the winter. I guess that makes sense. If everything is dull routine, then that means fewer distractions to pull me away from my computer. A resting world gives my muse time and energy to come alive. And I hope that pattern resumes this winter - considering that I haven't written anything new since November and am itching to create more new work in the new year! (All of the work on my writing has been in the area of publicity and promotion - good, but I miss creating new work too!)

Winter is a good time to catch up on indoor activities that seem to move to the back burner during the busy summer and holiday seasons. It's a great time to read, for example, or take up an art or craft. I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and I used to stitch a good bit in the winter when I wasn't working on novels. Cold days are also good fo DVD marathons of your favorite movie series or TV shows or playing games. I noticed yesterday when I went out that most stores are having some of their best sales of the season, so there are deals to be had on winter clothes. Treadmills and gyms make it possible to exercise indoors to keep you active. And, of course, the Internet is an endless source of information and entertainment to keep you occupied, from joining online groups that focus on an interest or hobby, finding new recipes to try cooking this weekend, or looking up entertainment in books, music, etc from independent artists.

Hmm. Suddenly winter doesn't seem so glum. In fact, it sounds like I could find plenty to do that will make the next two months pass painlessly.

Here's hoping your new year is off to a great start. Take care and I'll see you next time.

Bye!

More About Me

8/10/2011

Howdy ho, folks, and I hope this entry finds you in the middle of a good and productive week. I’d like to open by welcoming many new people that I’ve connected with in recent days: Friends on Facebook, followers on Twitter, and anybody that graces my Author Page on Amazon.com, where this blog has a feed. Some are old friends from days gone by and some are fellow writers or connections with writers. I welcome and thank each and every one of you. Thanks to all of you for the connection, friendship and support!

In honor of my recent book release and new connections, I’d like to dedicate this blog post by sharing a bit more about myself with you. Here we go!

Want to know what inspired Blurry? Nightmares. That’s right, the novel came about based on dreams I had about being in high school in college while Rick (my husband) and I built our house in 2007. Some say that dreams of school days represents a subconscious desire to return to a simpler time in life. Maybe, but I weaved a heck of a tale from those
dreams!

I’ve actually been writing for over 10 years. I started out as an inspirational writer and published a Christian book titled Battleground Earth – Living by Faith in a Pagan World in 2004. It’s still for sale on www.publishamerica.com and on Amazon.com . Unfortunately, my muse for the inspirational work went dry so I switched to fiction. I read an article on CNN about the rise of E-publishing last summer and decided that perhaps that would be more appropriate for my fiction work, so I dusted off a few manuscripts and now, here we are.

I’m publishing another novel titled Anywhere But Here in April 2012 and I have another novel in progress. It’s a sci-fi apocalyptic thriller titled Splinter and I do hope to publish it.

The birds outnumber the people in my house. To you new folks, Rick and I have three birds: Two sun conures named Zack and Chloe and a budgie named Oliver. We lovingly adopted Zack and Chloe and rescued Ollie – the principal at one of the schools Rick works at found him in the school yard. And of course, being bird people, well, we wound out with Bird #3. Hmm. Do you think Ollie was really a rescue, or part of Zack and Chloe’s clever plan to shift the balance of power in our home from human to avian?

By the way, the birds have their own website. Rick started a test site when he was designing the church website. When he was done with it, he told me to do what I wished with it. So many people ask me about the birds that I decided to redo the website as theirs. You can check it out at http://conurecorner.weebly.com . It also includes some silly stories I wrote inspired by each bird.

I don’t have one kind of music I listen to, as it depends on my mood. But you absolutely cannot borrow one CD. It’s Cold’s “13 Ways to Bleed On Stage” from 2000. I know, that dark stuff isn’t like me at all, but it’s catchy and I love it! My favorite songs:“Just Got Wicked,” “End of the World,” and “Bleed” (truly a ballad appreciated by all bleeding artists).

Movie that came out of left field and smacked me thissummer: Thor. That movie was awesome.

Movie that was better than I expected: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Folks, it was a bloodbath! And about time that people started whopping up on one another! That was too long in coming.

Movie that wasn’t what I hoped: The Green Lantern. I hoped for less personal angst and more intergalactic warfare from my favorite childhood superhero.

What was as good as I expected: The series finale of Smallville.

In case you didn’t notice, I really like science fiction and fantasy. Suspense is also high on my list. Romance is near the bottom. I’ve given it a chance and frankly, it’s unrealistic. I’ve been married for 13 years, folks, and I know the reality of romantic relationships.

I don’t watch much TV, but I will make time to watch one TV show, and that’s Supernatural. I sure hope Bobby, Sam and Dean find a way to reign Castielle in, or at least beat the crap out of him in Season 7. After that finale, Cas could use a good whopping.

I don’t like having my picture taken. That’s why I don’t have many pictures posted. I don’t think they look like me. And I don’t own a video camera either.

Pink is my favorite color. My laptop, my iPod Touch cover, several of my purses, and most of my clothes are pink. Yellow is my second favorite color, with purple as close third. I don’t care for brown or orange.

I like purple nail polish, strappy sandals in the summer, and hiking boots in the winter.

I think Walmart is the fifth level of Dante’s Inferno and that everybody needs to get off the cell phone while they’re in there. It doesn’t help and that line to the outside world is a false sense of security. If you’re in Walmart, you’re still in Hell. I feel like I pay for those low prices with a piece of my soul every time I go there.

I don’t have kids, but my first job was working in a 2 year old room for a daycare. So whine at your own risk because I know how to deal with tantrums “professionally.”

I don’t lead or follow. I just go along my own way. And that drives some people absolutely batty!

We built in the woods and truthfully, I feel safer there than I did in a neighborhood. If I hear a noise outside at night, it’s likely wildlife doing what wildlife does and that’s normal. If I heard a noise outside at night in a neighborhood, that was nothing but people creeping around – and why were they creeping around at a late hour when they thought nobody was aware of it?

Speaking of living in the woods, we’ve disproved a few old wives tales in the nearly 4 years since we moved out there. Snakes don’t writhe until sundown if you kill them, especially if they’re hacked into 4 pieces. An owl hooting doesn’t always mean death is coming, and they won’t stop hooting if you turn your pillow over (they don’t know or care that you did it). You can’t overwater anything in sandy soil. And a yard light out doesn’t scare much of anything.

Well, I think that’s enough for this time. I hope you’ve enjoyed this silly list of trivia and that you’ll visit this site often to keep up with my continuing adventures in publishing and in life. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Bye!

The Gift of Solitude

6/29/2011

I've noticed that time alone is something that seems to be disappearing in life. Not just my life, either, but most peoples' lives. I think this is a shame, because we all really need time and space to ourselves.

Apparantly I'm one of a very small group of people that hold this belief. You wouldn't believe how much ridicule and criticism I get for wanting some time to myself every now and then. It seems that a lot of people just don't understand how I can be content alone, even for a minute. "How can you stand it?" they ask, "to just be by yourself and not have someone around? Aren't you scared? Aren't you lonely?"

The answer to both of these questions is no, I'm not. I think that fear and lonliness are issues that have deeper roots in personality and temperament, frankly, and I've never been prone to either. But I think there's something else to blame for this loss of appreciation for alone time. It's called reality TV.

Somewhere in the past decade, people have become fascinated with watching other peoples' lives. This has never been unusual with celebrities, but now we want to know every detail of everybodys' life from the biggest mega-superstar to the cleaning woman. People willing to sacrifice their own privacy for a shot at fame have erased the boundaries of individualism.

The fact that we live in a society obsessed with maximum use of space feeds this fire. How are people supposed to understand boundaries when they work in a cubical where they overhear personal conversations all day, go home to a neighborhood where houses are literally spitting distance apart, and log on the Internet to see what their "friends" are eating for supper and watching on TV? Between the media, technology, and life itself, society is trying to pound it in our heads that it's not appropriate to put up a wall every now and then and say "Stop! No admittance! I need a time out!"

And in the end, this is feeding insecurity. Because in reality, we all need time to ourselves. Time to think, to ponder what's important to us and to take care of ourselves. Time to be our authentic selves without having a spotlight or webcam on you. We don't have to tweet every thought that runs through our head. We don't have to post a status update every time we move. And despite what the world tells you, it's really not right or appropriate to do that anyway. It leads to a habit of dysfunction, because we can't move until we know what everybody else is doing. It turns real life into a game of chess. You can't move until the other person moves first - thereby sacrificing your right to be who you are.

The world has always pressured people to conform, and there will always be voices screaming at you to be what they want you to be. The problem is that they aren't interested in what you want. They're interested in you being what serves their interest the best. That's why it's so important to pull away from the voices every now and then to consider the direction of your own life, and to make sure the sails are set in the direction you want to go. When we let noise fill our lives, we may find our ship sailing to a shore we never meant to even visit - much less live at.

I say to heck with the world. My life isn't reality TV, an evening drama, or a movie. It's real and I will share what I please, when I please. I do enjoy social media and blogging and love that it connects me with people around the world, and that it opens up more things in terms of interest and entertainment than have ever been available before. Heck, E-publishing is making me a writer, and I think the Internet is giving people a great opportunity to share things of interest (like books, news, etc) that would otherwise be drowned out by mainstream media. But I also consider everything I blog, post, or Tweet very carefully before I hit the "submit" button because I know that everything in my life isn't interesting to all people or, in some cases, business that doesn't need to leave the confines of my personal life.

I'm a responsible adult and am under no obligation to anybody to ask permission or to advertise everything I do. And I won't. That being said, I'll end this entry and leave you to ponder what I will do with the rest of my evening. I know, but (*sigh*) I just don't feel like Tweeting that right now.

Bye!

Treadmill Injuries, Season Finales, and Summer Plans

5/23/2011

I can't believe it: I twisted my ankle on the treadmill again. The last time I did this was almost 2 years ago, and I wound out with a sprain. Darn if it isn't the same ankle, in the same place, again.

I must either be clumsy, a special kind of idiot, or a little bit of both!But on the bright side, at least it's not the wrist. I got tendinitis in my right wrist a year ago. The sprained ankle hurt more, but the tendinitis in the arm was a lot more inconveient. Between my day job in professional licensing and my writing, I type a lot. That arm injury put me to a lot more trouble than dragging around a bum ankle did.

Ok, truth is that any injury is inconvenient. I guess the wrist injury just threatened me more psychologically because so much of my life depends on typing. Anyway, I'll pray it's not sprained and will heal quickly and make do until it quits pinching/aching.

In other news, I typically do my big, super duper season finale round up in my blog this time each year, but this year it won't be so big because, well, I didn't watch much TV. I guess between the mind-blowing changes of a new jobs and the in-laws moving, writing a novel, researching publishing and then promotion once I got the contract for Anywhere But Here, and Rick working on the church website, we just didn't tune it to much this season. In fact, all we really watched were our normal shows: Smallville and Supernatural. So here goes with my take on those shows:

Smallville - the final season was a good one, although I feel they really should have played up the Justice Society a lot more than they did. Still, they squeezed a lot in, and there's no denying that the finale was epic. I'd go so far to say that's the best finale I've ever seen - so well done. This show had it's ups and downs over it's 10 year run, but overall I say well done. I'm going to miss it.

Supernatural - not as good as the previous 5 years. I can't say I was overly enthusiastic about the turn they took towards creatures this season. It would seem to me that averting the Apocolypse would have bigger ramifications on the sides of angels and demons than we saw. Indeed, they built up to that late in the season, but I believe that's a story line they could have played all season, if they wanted. I also can't help but wonder if they couldn't have done more with the whole purgatory thing. I knew all along that the wall in Sam's head would come crashing down, but they did surprise me in how it happened, and that finale did not end the way I expected at all. So overall I was not as impressed with this season, but I do see potential for development next season. I would say to them to use it wisely.

Now I ask the question I ask every year this time: What am I going to do now that everything is in reruns for the summer? I should be hearing from my publisher on Anywhere But Here in the next month, so I expect that ball will be rolling this summer. More reading, of course, and more researching on improving my writing and promoting it. Hopefully this writer's block will life and I'll be able to get back to writing short stories like I planned this summer. And, of course, we have Netflix - so between that and a summer of super hero movies, I imagine I will be well entertained in the coming months (if Thor is any indication, amazing stories and special effects will rule this summer!). I don't believe there's any chance of me being bored during this long, hot summer - which, by the way, has already started. It was 97 degrees today. No joke! And forecast to be more of the same through mid week. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, summer has hit the Southeast U.S. whether we're ready or not!

That's all for this time. I hope you have a great week and will try to check in again soon. Take care and stay cool!

Bye!

It Matters to Me

5/14/2011

Last night was the big, huge, series finale of Smallville - one of my favorite TV shows. You notice I said series finale, as in this is the last episode of this show they will make forever and ever. I worked my butt off all week to make sure all the chores and errands would be done so I'd be free to watch it because, of course, I've looked forward to this epic episode ever since they announced the date and that Michael Rosenbaum would return to reprise his role as Lex Luthor. So last night, I made supper and went to special efforts to feed the birds, do the filing, and take my shower before the show came on at 8:00.

At 7:55, the power went out. Surprise! We had an unforecasted thunderstorm. The power was out for nearly an hour, meaning we missed half the show. Then the weather service kept breaking in during the remainder of the show with alerts of storm warnings as the storm moved to counties to our east. So not only did we not really know why things got where they were, but we missed a good portion of what we were able to watch. And no power means no DVR so - there. Gone. Just like that.

Now before you say "But Sherri, you can watch it online!" stop. I've heard that 4 times already, so just stop right there because it really pissed me off all 4 times. They missed the fundamental point. I know they will not only post it online, but that an encore presentation is scheduled to air next Thursday (and I may be able to buy it from iTunes too). Having to wait a bit longer is a minor frustration. I'm frustrated because I was looking forward to having the experience of watching a new episode of one of my favorite TV shows one last time, and it was taken away from me. It's not that I missed the show. It's that I missed the experience of seeing a new episode, as has been my habit for years, for the last time. I'll never get that back.

If this were just one thing passing out of my life, perhaps I wouldn't be so upset. But considering all of the major changes I've seen in the past year and all of the things that have passed out of my life already, it's a bitter pill to swallow. It's not just this. It's this on top of everything else that's passed out of my life over the past year, much of which I also did not get to bid a proper farewell to because they passed out suddenly, unexpectedly, or not as I planned. That seems to be a pattern in my life.

The point of this entry is not to gripe, but to tell you to please be sensitive to people. If they're sharing something with you that seems trivial, it's not that simple to them. It's something that's hurting them on a deeper level because, after all, if the simple solution worked then they probably wouldn't bother to share it at all. To throw out the first thing that flies through your brain, while seemingly helpful, can be slapping a dab of ointment and a Band-Aide on a wound that needs stitches. So please, don't be dismissive with a plithy reply. It may be that they aren't looking for answers. They're looking for somebody to understand and respect the fact that something small hurt them in a big way.

I'm not upset because I missed a TV show. I'm upset because I missed having an experience for the last time. I am consoled to know they will rerun it Thursday. I don't understand why they can't do it over this weekend, but considering that CW has been wanting this show to go away for at least 2 years, I guess we'd better be glad they're being gracious enough to show it a second time at all. And since they used to run new episodes of Smallville on Thursday, this may be a better experience for me. It won't be the same, but maybe it will be good. At any rate, nothing better get between me and the TV Thursday night. Or Friday either, for that matter, since the season finale of Supernatural comes on then. I already checked the weather and the weather is supposed to be clear. Then again, they didn't call for anything but the possibility of a stray shower last night and we had a wrathful storm that knocked out power out, so I don't trust the forecast too much!

That's it for this time. A deep entry, but we're done swimming for now. I pray for better luck for the rest of the weekend and that your weekend will be a good one.

Bye!

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