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Sunday, May. 5, 2024

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Are You Listening???

by Charlie ~

Rated: GC · Book · Emotional · #2181458

A journey of self-improvement - or not.

Sup? I'm Char.
You may know me from timeless classics such as

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#2030442 by Not Available.

and

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I blog for things like

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FORUM

30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS

(13+)
WDC's Longest Running Blog Competition - Hiatus
#1786069 by Fivesixer

FORUM

JAFBG

(XGC)
Because real life isn't always roses and sunshine...
#2094931 by Elisa the Bunny Stik

[Embed For Use By Upgraded+]
Believin' all the lies that they're tellin' ya
Buyin' all the products that they're sellin' ya
They say jump and ya say "how high?"
Ya braindead, ya got a fuckin' bullet in ya head

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

intuey GoT Survivor!

Jul 22, 2023 at 8:05am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Hey Char, It's been a while since I've touched base with you. I'm so sorry for your loss. The last thing people should say is everyone loses their grandparents eventually, or it will get better with time. It's the last thing you want to hear when you're hurting. Death sucks, long-lasting illness sucks! Having to decide to let the person go to keep them from suffering REALLY SUCKS! I think the only ones who can understand truly just how much are those who have had to make that decision. My heart breaks for you.

I'm not religious, but I do have a strong faith in God. I call myself spiritual because I don't agree with all the rules and regulations of religion. I do know I will see my family and friends again, and this is a great comfort. I can only imagine how much more painful the death of loved ones is without this belief. But you're right, it can't be faked. But it is a beautiful thing.

Having mental health issues during times like this makes it even harder to go through. I know what you mean about seeing things that aren't there. I'd walk into a room, and say, "Where's Star?" and she would be sitting right in front of me. When I looked, I swear I saw an empty chair. The mind is crazy. It gives new meaning to a mind of its own

Some time has passed since you wrote this. I don't know when you'll see this but know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and I'm sending good energy your way. I hope you're doing better. I look forward to hearing from you.

Aiva Raine

Mar 28, 2023 at 9:40pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I'm sorry for your loss. I know they are shitty sounding words that don't even attempt to fill or fix, but they're meant in sincerity.

Having lost several people the best advice I was ever given was when life gets too hard- take it at your own pace. If a day is too much- cope with an hour at a time. If that's too much, take it ten minutes at a time. If that's too much- then you deal with one minute at a time. Work through life and grief at your pace. And don't ever feel guilty because you feel sad. And if you can- find one positive in each chunk of time- even if it's something as little as the beauty of sunlight on a leaf or the softness of your shirt. And ask for help if you need it.

Elle - on hiatus

Mar 7, 2023 at 3:29pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Aw, Charlie, I'm so sorry. It's a shit thing to go through whether it's sudden or not. And just because everyone goes through it, doesn't make it easier. It also doesn't take into account that you were closer to them than your parents. Nobody says 'Oh, everyone loses their parents eventually' do they? Surely not. And that's what's happened here really. I'm actually glad you've got an appointment with a professional tomorrow, because they might be able to help you with getting through that initial devastation.

When my dad lost his mother, he really struggled with his own lack of religion. As you say, there is some comfort in believing they've gone to a better place, been reunited with loved ones, that you'll see them again, and so on. For most of my life, Dad would say 'Religion is a crutch for the weak', but I definitely saw him struggle with the finality of it when he lost his mother, the person he was probably closest to.

My thoughts are with you.

1 Like

~Minja~

Mar 7, 2023 at 3:21pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Crazy stuff, grief. If you want to talk about it, message me always.

1 Like

QPdoll

Mar 7, 2023 at 6:21am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I understand what you mean about wanting to tell your grandmother something. I did the same thing after my grandmother passed. I was at home and the first thing I thought was to call grandma. I picked up the phone and realized that she wouldn't answer. It's so tough losing your grandparents, especially as close as you were. I don't have any magic words, but take care of yourself. It's what they would want.

1 Like

Robert Waltz

Mar 6, 2023 at 10:31pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

Take care of yourself during this difficult time.

1 Like

Anni Pon

Mar 6, 2023 at 9:06pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I know it doesn't help any, but I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine much worse than losing a parent or parental figure. They represent stability and safety, you grew up with them, and you've relied on them for most, if not all, of your life. You're right, the initial devastation will fade and things won't feel so fresh. But, as you know, grief never really goes away. It just becomes a permanent part of you.

It's horrible that you only got a couple days worth of bereavement! That's not even long enough for the shock to wear off enough to START grieving. I hope you have the support of someone else in your life to help you through this dark time. Take it easy on yourself in the mean time, that's all you really can do. Taking care of your physical self, eating and sleeping, is critical. Sleep deprivation and hunger will make things feel a million times worse than they actually are (which, for the record, is already pretty bad).

1 Like

Harlow Flick, Right Fielder

Mar 6, 2023 at 8:56pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

This is such a very human thing, isn't it.

“I think there is nearly an overwhelming sadness to the human predicament.” - Skinny Boy Hill

BOOM! This ain’t no whipped cream pie I’m tossing.

1 Like

Cinn

Feb 20, 2023 at 9:34pm
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I actually pretty much love this one. Nice, man...

Cinn

Feb 19, 2023 at 11:07am
In response to "Invalid Entry"

I'd say that more freedom for participants would attract more people. One obvious example that I've never understood is fiction vs poetry. If it's an activity, not a contest, why not allow people to explore whatever the theme of your activity is with whatever type of writing that want to do?

I've actually written for countless contests/activities over the years but never entered... because they inspired me, but I don't fit within the guidelines. Max rating too low, items required (book entries only over here), no poetry accepted, etc.

I know well why people restrict writers' freedom, but they're also restricting the number of participants they'll get. I still just take the inspiration where I can get it.

July 19, 2020 at 10:55am

#988582

Dabbling in everything

Artist: Hozier
Song: Shrike
[Embed For Use By Upgraded+]

"30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt: Besides writing, tell us about a hobby you have. How did you discover it? How long have you been doing it?

Did we have a prompt about hobbies or am I losing it? I could've sworn I wrote about my hobbies this month.

Hang on... Ohh, I see. I wrote about my hobbies during the prompt about inspiration: "Invalid Entry"

.

I have a lot of hobbies that I kind of cycle through. I don't ever become amazing at any of them because I have so many.

I don't put enough time into any one thing to become super skilled at it.

I have a few different categories of hobbies.

Creative Hobbies
Writing, obviously. But also drawing, digital painting, music (before I started selling my instruments off for textbooks), puzzles, journaling. All of my hobbies come from the same place. "Oh, hey, that would be cool if I could play that/draw that/write like that." I also need a lot of different things going on at once to get the creative release that I want. I like doing puzzles because I like recreating an image. I like journaling because I like having a record of what was going on with me at any given moment. Like SB Musing

has mentioned, it's like your own personal proof of what happened and that's really important for people who have a history of trauma or have been gaslit.

Distraction Hobbies
Movies, reading, listening to music, video games, podcasts. All the things that I can escape into for a while and forget whatever's going on in the real world. In 2020, the news is very difficult to escape. I always have someone saying, "Did you see this?" Or just texting me a news article. My mother texts me every day with the new virus numbers for her state and mine.

But if I can just put some music on, get away from the internet, and read a book... that's nice. Or just put a movie on and get rid of all the electronics so that no one can report anything new, it's the only way to relax this year.

Educational Hobbies
Learning foreign languages, history, mathematics, accounting, science, programming, spreadsheets. I absolutely love learning. During my summer breaks in university, I'd always be doing some online coding program or learning about data analysis. If you can have hobbies that are educational, you can use them in other areas of your life. I used Excel during school to do things more quickly and now I'm a step ahead at work. People think I'm some kind of spreadsheet guru even though I'm totally not.

Educational hobbies make me feel more accomplished than other hobbies a lot of the time because what you learn is transferrable.

Outside Hobbies
Going for walks, traveling/road trips, going to museums/bookstores/aquariums/concerts/parks, shopping, going out on the lake. You know, all the things we did in the Before Times. There are so many art museums, science museums, history museums in the city. We used to park downtown and just walk around finding different things to do... hole in the wall restaurants, little niche local shops and all that. That's not really something we've been doing this year because a lot of places are closed, no concerts to go to, etc. Also, we're trying our best to avoid other people. Maybe next year though!

Remember me, love, when I'm reborn
As the shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn

7 Like • Comment • View 7 comments

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