Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Accomplishments, Christmas, First Jobs and World Peace

My latest blogs....

Welcome To My Reality - December Prompts

2. What's your opinion on the concept of 'paying it forward' rather than paying back the person who did the original kindness? Have you experienced this as either the payer or recipient? Tell us about it.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2012/12/31/tim_hortons_customers_pay_it_forwa...
I was not part of this... but I think it amazing.

I also like this idea...
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3042562/change-generation/this-pizza-place-lets-its-c...

I like this idea of paying for someone who may not be able to pay.... but someday, they may be able to pay it forward in their own way.... in their own time.

Helping out someone brings a smile to my heart.

3. If you had a choice between only celebrating one holiday a year (your choice) or birthdays, which would you choose?

I would choose Christmas because people are a little kinder and the songs are lovely. Celebrating the birth of our saviour... without Him we have nothing else.

We could do with a little less commercialism and excess. Less presents and more presence. Spending time together with family and friends. Playing games, tackling those winter hills and trails... just doing things together and having fun. Reconnecting with each other and appreciating what we have.

4. Do you believe in karma? Have you ever thought that someone got what they deserved, either good or bad?

I do believe in Karma.

When I was in high school there was a boy I had a crush on. He did not like me. One day when my friend and I were heading for the cafeteria with him ahead of us he turned around and told me to stop following him.... I believe the f-bomb was also used. I was stunned. I had been following him around on occasion... him and his group of friends - as my girlfriends also liked a couple of his friends. But the day he told me off we hadn't been. My friend wanted to kill him she was so angry that he had been so mean about it. I let it go. I figured if he was going to be that much of an ass, some other girl would crush his heart one day in return.

I also knew a guy who had touched me inappropriately when I was a child of seven. Nothing came of those couple of incidents as nobody talked about it. My mother simply stopping calling him to babysit and I stopped going to his family's home - his mother was my usual babysitter. He now has Parkinson's Disease.

I am sure there are plenty of wonderful, positive things as well... but for me. Karma kept me calm in knowing that they would get their payback.

5. What is one thing you would suggest to others to help bring peace to our world.

Be open and loving to others. Differences are not wrong, they are just differences. We are are all part of the human race and our humanity is what makes us more similar than different. Differences add spice to our lives.

Hate and fear drives wedges between us. Let that go. Open up your heart and listen to what others have to say... listen for their truth... and you will probably hear love and acceptance within them. Embrace that.

This whole thing with Donald Trump is very unsettling. It is reminiscent of the encampments of the Japanese during WWII. His prejudice is also reminiscent of Hitler and the annihilation of the Jews and anyone else that was not 'perfect'. Fear breeds fear. We can't let a few radicals ruin it all for everyone.

8. Tell us about your first job.

My first paid job, outside of babysitting, was at Tim Horton Donuts. I was in grade 12, living in Kitchener after my mother moved in with her future husband. I only worked on the weekends because during the week I commuted to high school in Guelph with my mother - she worked at the University of Guelph, I was allowed to do this because my mother still owned her house in Guelph. All my friends were in Guelph and I had no way of getting to them on the weekends - I did not get my license until December of that year. Working gave me a chance to be around kids my own age since I did not go to school in the area.

It was at this job that I met a girl who called my Carly instead of Carolyn... she decided it suited me better. I thought she was great and although I did not like my name changed when people would shorten it to Carol, I liked this change... hence I tend to use the name when I see the more creative side of myself.... like here at Writing.com.

My second weekend of work was the Saturday of the Oktoberfest / Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was crazy. The line ran the length of the store and all the way to the street where the parade was going to be. Both our managers were working. They were rather large women... making it a challenge to get by them when the till drawer on the cash register was open. We had to be fast and not spill coffee. I loved it. A busy work shift goes by so quickly.

I continued to work there until my mother and I moved back to Guelph at the end of the school year. A part of me wishes I had gotten another job at a Tim Hortons when I returned to Guelph, but I had my friends back and I was no longer so alone.

9. When many people are celebrating Christmas this year, what will you be doing?

This year will be a little different.
Christmas Eve will be spent with my Mother and her boyfriend. I am hoping to go to church with my mother... we may go to my church or maybe change it up and go to hers. Afterward we go back to her place for snacks, drinks and gift exchange... update....because her boyfriend has to get back to his place for his nightly dialysis treatment I have decided to forgo church this year... so we can have more time visiting before he has t go home. I may also go over for dinner... she is making Chilli!

Christmas morning is spent going over to my aunt and uncle's place. It has changed a bit over the years. With my cousins getting older and our family expanding, we are exchanging names now. It makes Christmas less expensive and less stressful. It was starting to get out of hand.
We will start by reading the Christmas story from the Bible. Gifts and brunch will ensue.

There are even a few games and gift stealing activities planned. This year we will have my cousin's new twins, Perrin and Stella that were born in June. That will be exciting; it has been a long time since we have had little ones around the tree. I am looking forward to that.

Last year my cousin's wife was almost 10 weeks and they announced the pregnancy as a gift to my aunt and uncle - two baby sleepers with their company names on them. Our whole family whooped it up... we can be such a rowdy bunch when excited!

This year I may stay for Christmas dinner at my aunt and uncles.

11. List all the things you would love to get for Christmas (or birthday or other special occasion). Whether the list is realistic or a wish list, that's up to you.

This list is bit of a wish list with a realistic bent:
A new pair of figure skates
Scrivener for Dummies by Gwen Hernandez
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Rising Strong by Brene Brown
Secret Garden calendar – colouring calendar
Peace and Plenty: Finding Your Path to Financial Serenity by Sarah Ban Breathnach
Gift cards for bookstores

A full time contract teaching position
My novel finished and published


13. Make a list of things you have accomplished this year. Feel good about what you have done.

I have completed several sessions of I Write - doing a contest a week for much of the year... it is on hiatus for the month of December, but I did the other 3 sessions. I like this contest because it gets me writing, entering contests and review other people's work. A trifecta of wonderfulness.
I completed October Nano Prep here on Writing.com
I was on team Purple for the Nano Write-a-thon and we came in fourth place.
I am not feeling very accomplished this year... but if I try to see the good that the year has brought....
I had another successful Nanowrimo novel with over 105,000 words... not completed yet, but it is still a work in progress. This is an all time accomplishment for me in terms of word count.
I also enjoyed hanging out and writing with my Nano friends from this area. It really is a great little community of writers.... if only I could see more of them over the whole year... I will work on that.
I also did Camp Nanowrimo in April and July and won both times then as well... that was for a different story - that I still need to finish.
I completed a month long challenge of writing poems for The Construct Cup during the month of September - I hope to do this again in January next year.
I completed my Romantica workshop.

Beyond my writing.... things are pretty much the same.