%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 A terminal for all blogs coming in or going out. A view into my life. |
Started July 1st 2019 for contests, etc. as other blogs are filling up and have other purposes.  My new new new blog is
I'm starting a new blog because
I'll be linking to
I've started an appendix (I no longer have one personally) to keep track of my Space Cadet journals for Space Blog. It's a work constantly under construction. Mind the mess.
I needed to start a folder for contests as there are so many deadlines and details to remember.
  |
| I'm not part of the Challenge but this was the last prompt: "Congratulations on making it to the last day of the competition! What was your favorite prompt from the last month? Did you learn anything new about your fellow competitors? What was the most rewarding aspect of participating in the competition?" 1. I thought the prompts were very good this month. 2. Always learn something new about bloggers. Some folks really put themselves out there. Others are more restrained. 3. It was nice to see some interaction between the bloggers. For me? It's been a rough month of not being in the mood to blog. The oldtime bloggers are no longer here. The newer bloggers do not interact with me much even when I comment on their blogs. Very disheartening. I'll try to blog more and better in December. That's quite doable unless I travel. This month was 24/30 plus a couple entries in my other blogs. But if no one reads what I write? Better to put more effort elsewhere. 666 |
| 30 DBC: "Write about gifting! What’s on your list? What do you have your eye on for yourself and what do you want to gift to your family and friends? Homemade or store bought? What was the best gift you ever received?" On Black Friday this prompt may assume that I celebrate Christmas and that I'm into the Christmas giving frenzy. I'm not. However, as a child I was so upset about not getting simple gifts I wanted that I tuned out. By age 13 I refused to tell my family anything. I didn't mind giving... although I doubt I was totally in tune with what anyone else wanted either. I just wanted nothing from my family. I still don't. I have no list for others to give me unless... 1. you want to gift me $50,000 for an around the world cruise with Road Scholar. That I would accept. Or in lieu of that, $50k slush fund so I can fly "comfort" instead of "economy" and have more flexibility over transportation and places to stay, et cetera. 2. you can help me get published... easier said than done. I need an agent not ideas. So... a simple gift from friends... like a postcard or hug is sufficient. Like the postcard I received from Petra (WDC). I used to give gifts. People actually thought I was generous. I no longer am. Too wounded. But I have given gifts when traveling. Two years ago I gave people small gifts (fragrant soap, Evening in Missoula tea) to various people on my travels in hand-painted paper bags I bought in Costa Rica. When I went back to Belgrade Serbia the owner of the hostel "Home Sweet Home', Damir, told me sweetly: "I think of you every morning when I put on my underwear." Needless to say... he must have put my gift in his underwear drawer. The tea has lavender in it and maybe the soap did too! This trip I didn't travel with gifts. My bad. Token gifts really do matter when they brighten up someone's day. I don't know that homemade or store bought matter as much as the intent. I bought owl socks for my friend Bryan. Cost me 25 cents at the secondhand store. He was ecstatic. As for gifts I've received. Being taken in by Donna in Oklahoma when I had no place to stay is probably one of the kindest gifts I have ever received. Not all gifts come in a box gift-wrapped. |
| Yesterday went well. Money was sent without much ado. Travis properly cooked my goose. The 5 of us gathered. A nice friendly dinner. 4 of us live in this old train hotel from 1908. The 5th used to. Van has been here over 30 years. Scott just moved in from Wyoming. It's amazing how much we had in common. And how interesting folks are once one asks. I didn't know, or had forgot, that Van was a teacher. Scott was an actor. Both Scott and Travis hail from Pennsylvania. The goose was tasty. Now I'll spend a quiet day. There's nowhere to go, nothing for me to do out there and most every place is closed. It's cold. White. Winter. I waxed poetic this morning: "We who are still here..."  , posted it in my first blog that has over 103 thousand views; this one has 651. It feels lonely in here. 651 |
| Write about a time when you surprised yourself with your abilities. Is there a specific time you can remember when you were convinced that you could not do something, and then you did it? Tell us! When I'm convinced I can't do something I just don't do it. Physically: get up in the morning. And yet I do. Mentally: learn another language. Very hard for me at some times and yet now I think in Spanish. Emotionally: return to Costa Rica. I waited too long... 35 years, but I did. The last couple days have been brutal as my nerves were shot. But today I sent money; and, it has been received. But I was exhausted. I bought a goose a couple day ago and today Travis cooked my goose. Plus potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, onions... We invited Zach, Van and Scott. The 5 of us had a nice Thanksgiving meal. I survived. Now I'm just plain tired. There is nothing to do tomorrow except sleep. 639 |
| Let me see... my nerves are jangly and I had a bit of diarrhea this morning and I don't feel 100%. So you want me to be thankful? In a list of 5? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. That's about how I feel at the moment. I'm sure I have plenty to be thankful for. But it's more what isn't happening than what is. I may be sick but not terribly. My nerves are shot but I'm functioning. I didn't sleep much but I'm not overly tired. I still need to lose weight but I have food in the house for this long cold lonely week. I hate large holiday dinners when there's 200 guests but I hope to see some friends. When I'm in a better mood... I might actually write a decent blog. The prompts this month have been fine. I just haven't been up to doing much deep thinking. I made a mistake of venting on facebook and ended up blocking 3 friends from certain posts. My old WDC blogger-friends are FB friends but few bloggers interact these days. I'm not sure why... And I'm having problems making new friends. That's important because my elderly friends are dying off and my younger friends move away. Although I travel and meet many new people, I lose contact with those at home. And I miss people from my earlier life. One can't bring back a past that is long gone. 637 |
| If you could be a fly on the wall of any living person’s life for one day, whose life would you want to observe? Trump? Nah... I couldn't take the pompous lies. I have enough nightmares. The Pope? I do know Spanish... but not Latin. Probably more nightmares though. Tough job. Some Hollywood star? Boring... I'd just choose a friend of mine I haven't seen in 16 years. I'd love to see the world though his eyes. Get to know his family. On his day off... I don't want to visit his workplace. I don't need that toxicity. But... everything else. Just to see him glide over the ice again would be nice. 631 |
| What numbers hold special meaning for you? Consider dates, times, ages, years, or anything else you can count. 2. as in the number 2. I counted 1, 2, 4 as a child. Never did like 3. 911 ... not the date ... rather 5 miserable years of working the emergency lines. 1972. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. My first trip and first semester in Kansas was charmed. 1964, 1974, 1986, 2003, 2004, 2005... I may be overdue for another bad year. May be why I'm so defensive about some things, especially since 2003 was an echo of 1986. Age 22. My second birthday party went okay... Age 3. My first birthday party did not. My high school friend's birth date. I don't share it because I use it elsewhere. 42. The number of stairs I have to climb. I am fortunate to be able to climb them. December 1st. A former close friend's birthday. Tends to make me a bit sad now. 100º ... for me a bad fever as my temp runs low. Also, far too hot for me. I grew up where it never got that hot. The number of places I have visited. Since this changes... that number changes. 28". If that's all the leg room I get on a flight then I'm in trouble. 94. My address as a child. That should be enough. The first two are relevant. The rest more or less amusing... most days. I only took the stairs twice today. |
| 30-Day Blogging Challenge: "Write about writing. What makes you feel inspired to write? What steps do you take to get your words from your head onto the page? What does your editing and rewriting process look like? What have you learned from fellow writers?" Inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere: a stray conversation, a line in a book, an odd word or grouping of words. When I'm around writers I write. I use a notepad and pen. As a child I used pencil, but seldom anymore. The flash fiction I usually do directly on-line. I've been known to use regular notebooks for novellas and longer stories. My journal is now 63 notebooks. I prefer editing on-line as I can't always read my edits on my original notes. Or... I print something out and edit on that. I've been known to store original writings and early edits. I'm not fond of editing, even though I know it's necessary. Reading out-loud helps with poetry, although I hear what I read. Learned from fellow writers? Of course, but I don't make notes on that that I later remember. I learn a lot from just every day folks as well. I'm not literary nor do I choose to be. |
| Write about a missed connection? I immediately thought of missing the bus in Sarajevo by 5 minutes this past September or missing my flight back from Costa Rica 40 years ago. You'd think that I would've learned. If we were talking about missed opportunities it would be more interesting. I was frantic, but in both situations nothing happened. I got back to Kansas a day late from Costa Rica. In Sarajevo I got to Beograd about 3 hours late. Now waiting for a ride to a small rural town in Kansas years ago took 7 hours... but I got there and being stranded in Chicago once (my mother sent money). And missing the bus in Trá Lí to Listowel meant I stuck out my thumb (like the purple haired maiden suggested) and got a ride there and back.  Not all missed connections are disastrous. Slowly... memories are surfacing. May be why I'm so anal about not missing plane/train/bus connections to this day. That said, I'm reading a good book, Don't Cry, Tai Lake and want to get back to it. Until I reconnect... 617 |
| Jobs... where to begin. I wasn't meant for the jobs I somehow muddled through. My gifts lay elsewhere. A lot of regrets to tell you the truth. But I didn't want to continue with college at a time I had no money and working seemed like a good idea but it wasn't. I wasn't prepared to "live". I had no idea what it was to work, study or anything that took focus. I'm a bit better now. So why? I needed to eat. For me the ideal career would've been: 1. Further education in fields I was good at: geology, linguistics, anthropology. Leading to... 2. Teaching at the junior college or college level. People assume that I was a professor. Makes me sad. 3. Time to explore my other side: gardening, travel, photography. Even when I was young there were signs of this. I first gardened at age 9, was interested in travel and far away places by age 11, in university took some awesome photographs. 4. I work best as an individual member of a team that has some goals and structure. 5. No drama. I have never done well with drama and I can point to episodes that still sting. I don't do "mean" well. Now I'm retired. I read, write, travel, point my camera and shoot. I thrive on connection with diverse people from around the world. I live in silence at home. Outside of my confines, I can't shut up. I would like to have more income to make travel less stressful and more interesting. I would love a garden, a balcony, a cat on my lap and someone to bring me breakfast in bed. None of that is likely to happen. I live off scraps. I've always survived with less. Excess tends to cause me trouble. At this point I'd like "to be heard", perhaps "to be of some use". |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
. That's good, right? Or did you just list those checked? 
