It has taken me quite a few months, but I have finally finished re-outlining my NaNoWriMo 2010 novel to see what I actually wrote. Overall, I have to say, I'm pretty pleased. It is amazing to me, first of all, that I even wrote an entire novel in a month. Even more amazing is that fact that it's actually pretty darn coherent.
Now, that's not to say that I don't have lots of editing ahead of me...but it is a pleasant feeling to know that I actually have a decent story with which to work. :)
Friday, June 17, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
What will you do with your one wild and precious life?
During college, we had this question posed to us: "What will you do with your one wild and precious life?" It must have been the theme or something because it popped up everywhere. I didn't think much of it until recently, several years after graduation. But now, I find myself asking that question (guess I got something out of that private school tuition after all). What will I do with my one wild and precious life?
The answer? For me, at the moment, it is to live life to the fullest. So, for now, that means spending quality time with people that I love, whether that means learning to SCUBA dive with my husband, driving down to see my brother for his surprise 30th birthday party, flying out to see my grandparents in the midwest. Life is precious, not just yours, but those surrounding you.
What will I do with my wild side? Well, I've heard Africa is pretty wild and fantastic. I think dear husband and I will go on an African safari sometime in the next two years.
For now, that's how I'm interpreting that saying. In another year, it might change again. But for now, we are doing things to help live our life more fully. For us, we cut back on the electronics for a while. Remember how, when we were younger, our parents limited our TV time? (At least mine did...) My husband and I did that for ourselves a month or so ago. An hour a day of a show OR a game, and that was it. Suddenly, movie nights were a treat again, not an everyday occurrence. Don't get me wrong, I think Netflix and Hulu are great, but there comes a point where On Demand is a little too on demand. Where is the line between reality and fantasy?
It's okay to take a break from the electronics. It's okay to step out of your comfort zone. After all, there's always something more interesting to do. In ten years, what will you say when you look back at yourself now? How you sat in front of the TV or computer or spent hours texting and playing games on your phone? Or will you recall instead the time you went out and built a tree fort (by yourself, with your siblings, with your kids) or drove to Wendy's and rolled a die to see what meal you'd end up with or decided to buy a trip to Africa at an auction?
Sometimes sitting at home watching a movie is exactly what is needed. Sometimes catching a one-way flight to a random city is what needed. Laughing until you can't breathe or rescuing an animal or making peace within a troubled relationship or learning a new skill...either way you go, all ways, any way...what way(s) will you choose? What will you do with your one wild and precious life?
The answer? For me, at the moment, it is to live life to the fullest. So, for now, that means spending quality time with people that I love, whether that means learning to SCUBA dive with my husband, driving down to see my brother for his surprise 30th birthday party, flying out to see my grandparents in the midwest. Life is precious, not just yours, but those surrounding you.
What will I do with my wild side? Well, I've heard Africa is pretty wild and fantastic. I think dear husband and I will go on an African safari sometime in the next two years.
For now, that's how I'm interpreting that saying. In another year, it might change again. But for now, we are doing things to help live our life more fully. For us, we cut back on the electronics for a while. Remember how, when we were younger, our parents limited our TV time? (At least mine did...) My husband and I did that for ourselves a month or so ago. An hour a day of a show OR a game, and that was it. Suddenly, movie nights were a treat again, not an everyday occurrence. Don't get me wrong, I think Netflix and Hulu are great, but there comes a point where On Demand is a little too on demand. Where is the line between reality and fantasy?
It's okay to take a break from the electronics. It's okay to step out of your comfort zone. After all, there's always something more interesting to do. In ten years, what will you say when you look back at yourself now? How you sat in front of the TV or computer or spent hours texting and playing games on your phone? Or will you recall instead the time you went out and built a tree fort (by yourself, with your siblings, with your kids) or drove to Wendy's and rolled a die to see what meal you'd end up with or decided to buy a trip to Africa at an auction?
Sometimes sitting at home watching a movie is exactly what is needed. Sometimes catching a one-way flight to a random city is what needed. Laughing until you can't breathe or rescuing an animal or making peace within a troubled relationship or learning a new skill...either way you go, all ways, any way...what way(s) will you choose? What will you do with your one wild and precious life?
Time Management. Now that's a boring title.
Let's face it, we all have time management issues. And if you don't, you're in denial. So what are we to do about this? Let's break it down:
A completely non-exhaustive list of excuses, in no particular order:
1. "I have this really important thing to finish _______ (for work, for school, because the world is about to end next year and I must stock my cupboards with canned food in case I am the only one left in the entire world and am unable to break into the supermarkets...)."
2."I made a New Year's resolution to ______ (diet, exercise, spend more time with people who matter, clean the fish bowl more often, walk the dog, buy a fishing license so that I can fish when the world ends and there's no food in the supermarket because I ate it all...so much for that diet) so I'm avoiding working on that New Year's resolution because it's really hard and I figure I'll just start in two days when it's a new month...again."
3. "But my show is getting really good and there are only 300 more episodes left and I have to finish or I won't know what happened with John's baby and Pamela's mother's son's daughter's first cousin." (Don't you know that it won't matter next year because the world is ending on that one day in December or something? Shouldn't you be getting to the supermarket to buy canned food and batteries?)
4. "I'm waiting ______ (for the mail, my life to be less busy with other stuff that may or may not matter, for the world to end next year)."
5. "Somebody just posted something on ______ (Facebook, Twitter, my forehead), and it's like really super important and pertinent to my life! No, really! Seriously! Didn't you know the end of the world is coming and I have to stock up on all the knowledge about other people's lives and not actually live my own?"
Okay, I'm getting a little cynical. Better stop. All cynicism aside, how many of these resonate with you? *Counts all five fingers on the right hand.* And those are only five off the top of my head. *Sigh*
What are we going to do about this?
How to fix our time management issues, in no particular order:
1. Make a list. Check it twice. Then do stuff on your list and cross things off. Sometimes it's a lot harder than it sounds. Post it notes are also useful. Then you can crumple them up into a little balls and bounce them off people's foreheads into the trash. Or your own forehead.
2. Realize that you need to have priorities in your life, and you need to be one of those priorities. Make time for yourself, but don't get sucked up into four hours of TV watching somebody else's life.
3. Stop procrastinating. Seriously. Just stop. Go to that list you wrote and pick something off of it and do it! Sheesh. We are so terrible at procrastinating, aren't we? Terribly good, that is.
4. Ask yourself this, "Why am I ______ (on Facebook, watching TV, waiting for the mail to arrive)?"
5. Prioritize. Think about things. Do what allows you to have a fulfilling life and enjoy it with those important people who surround you.
A completely non-exhaustive list of excuses, in no particular order:
1. "I have this really important thing to finish _______ (for work, for school, because the world is about to end next year and I must stock my cupboards with canned food in case I am the only one left in the entire world and am unable to break into the supermarkets...)."
2."I made a New Year's resolution to ______ (diet, exercise, spend more time with people who matter, clean the fish bowl more often, walk the dog, buy a fishing license so that I can fish when the world ends and there's no food in the supermarket because I ate it all...so much for that diet) so I'm avoiding working on that New Year's resolution because it's really hard and I figure I'll just start in two days when it's a new month...again."
3. "But my show is getting really good and there are only 300 more episodes left and I have to finish or I won't know what happened with John's baby and Pamela's mother's son's daughter's first cousin." (Don't you know that it won't matter next year because the world is ending on that one day in December or something? Shouldn't you be getting to the supermarket to buy canned food and batteries?)
4. "I'm waiting ______ (for the mail, my life to be less busy with other stuff that may or may not matter, for the world to end next year)."
5. "Somebody just posted something on ______ (Facebook, Twitter, my forehead), and it's like really super important and pertinent to my life! No, really! Seriously! Didn't you know the end of the world is coming and I have to stock up on all the knowledge about other people's lives and not actually live my own?"
Okay, I'm getting a little cynical. Better stop. All cynicism aside, how many of these resonate with you? *Counts all five fingers on the right hand.* And those are only five off the top of my head. *Sigh*
What are we going to do about this?
How to fix our time management issues, in no particular order:
1. Make a list. Check it twice. Then do stuff on your list and cross things off. Sometimes it's a lot harder than it sounds. Post it notes are also useful. Then you can crumple them up into a little balls and bounce them off people's foreheads into the trash. Or your own forehead.
2. Realize that you need to have priorities in your life, and you need to be one of those priorities. Make time for yourself, but don't get sucked up into four hours of TV watching somebody else's life.
3. Stop procrastinating. Seriously. Just stop. Go to that list you wrote and pick something off of it and do it! Sheesh. We are so terrible at procrastinating, aren't we? Terribly good, that is.
4. Ask yourself this, "Why am I ______ (on Facebook, watching TV, waiting for the mail to arrive)?"
5. Prioritize. Think about things. Do what allows you to have a fulfilling life and enjoy it with those important people who surround you.
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