Finally, A “Z” Post and What’s New May 19, 2014

Hello all.  I have to say I really hate that I bombed out on the A-Z challenge.  It was my first one to really attempt, and I kind of blew it.  But hey, life goes on.  I knew from the beginning that the Z post I wanted to do had to do with that handy little tool that used to be part of WordPress.  It was down at the bottom of the ‘new post’ screen:  Powered By…..Except I can’t remember the word, but I know it started with a Z.  (I want to say it was Zapata, but I’m not sure that’s right.)  A while back, when you went to work on a post, this handy little program would automatically link keywords for you, and give you suggested images and links to related material to choose from.   I always saved that for the end of the post.  It was so nifty and now it seems to be gone.

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So yeah.  That was what my final post was going to be about.  How I miss the program that did half the work for you when it came to links, images, and related materials.

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What’s new is that I am going to try, repeat: try, to work on submitting poetry to some competitions and anthologies.  I have just barely gotten started.  I submitted a few in February and a few last week. I know, that’s a pitiful consistency record.  The new goal is to perhaps make a chapbook and submit it to a few contests and if nothing happens with those, then just self-publish.  But my goodness, the instructions look… shall we say, daunting?  There are so many different ways to make them, and bind them, and I would really like mine to be nicer than just stapled down the middle, but I’m not sure I can figure out the instructions for making them fancy.  It would require purchasing an AWL, let’s just put it that way.  Oh, and the other big negative?  For some contests, anything I’ve posted here is ineligible for submission.  The contests are for previously unpublished material, and it’s considered published if it is posted online anywhere.  Which really bites because a couple of the pieces I have posted here, I did so because I considered them among my best.  Ah, well.  We roll on, and I will just have to create something new and even better.

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So, short post today, but it serves as my final entry in the A to Z Challenge and my transition into what’s coming up.  Also stay tuned for more news about what’s going on for me in the world of my beloved community theatre, ALT.

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Until next time,

D.

 

D Is For… Dark. REALLY Dark. April 4, 2014

Hello all.  I am really busy today.  My employer is packing up and moving offices.  We are getting a lot of the packing done today and plan to actually move on Monday.  I started to call this post ‘D is For Deconstruction’ and ramble on about the move and the transition and all, but in the end, that topic is really not all that entertaining.  On the other hand, currently it’s just a little bit crazy around here, which is why I bring you the following A t0 Z Challenge post for the letter D.  Short and sweet.

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But first some backstory.  I am a poet.  As you can see at the top of the screen, there is a tab that says My Poetry and Fiction.  Unfortunately I haven’t posted any fiction there, no short stories or anything like that, although my Cruise Report is a really entertaining read if I do say so myself.  But I digress.  I am a poet.  I have written poetry since about 8th or 9th grade.  Writing poetry, like most creative endeavors, is somewhat cathartic for me, healing, cleansing, purging, etc.  I have been through a few dark periods in my life, and my poetry usually reflects that.  Also, I have a tendency to have mood swings that would give a person whiplash.  I won’t go so far as to say I have Bipolar Disorder, but I have felt that way at times, and many people have suggested to me that possibility.  So here is a very brief verse I wrote years ago, sometime when I was really struggling with the moody.

 

—”Suicide Note”—

Deep in a Dank, Dark, Dreary, and Damnable mood,

Depression & Despair Dive Deftly to the Depths of the soul.

Daylight Dawns. Depression does not Dwindle.

Despair Deems Death the Decisive and Definitive cure.

7-4-96—— 7:00 pm

 

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Disclaimer:  Not all my poetry is dark and brooding.  Some of it is, but much of it is joyous and/or sensual.  If you go check out that tab, you may think it’s good, you may think it’s crap, you may or may not think it fits your definition of poetry, but it’s mine and I enjoy it.  And further disclaimer:  I am now eons away from whatever crappy day made me write the above poem, so don’t anybody go turning me in to the Suicide Hotline.  Thanks!

Until next time,

D.

A-Z Day 3- Community Theater, Cousins, and Cookies!

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Hello all! Just a quick word while I am waiting for rehearsal to start. I know I haven’t mentioned it, but I am helping backstage on our charity fundraising production of Smokey Joe’s Café with Ardmore Little Theater.  Due to an unexplainable series of events, I arrived at the theater much earlier than strictly necessary.  That being the case, I thought maybe I could take this opportunity to throw a post out there for the A to Z challenge, Day 3.

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And…I got nothin’.  I started to write about cookies, because I stopped in at Subway for supper, and I bought a lovely, healthy-ish sandwich, and made it a combo with apple slices, but boy! Those macadamia nut/white chocolate chip cookies were calling my name.  I resisted them like a boss, and I am quite proud. However, there is a distinct possibility I would sell my left arm for some sugar. Addiction sucks. Can I just say this?

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The theater’s next production after Smokey Joe’s is The 39 Steps. Crazy comedy at its finest. I will not be helping backstage on that one. I will probably help with building just a few set pieces, but that will be it. After that, a brief respite and then the big summer musical.  We did Les Mis last year, which I was in, and of course we will never top it. But next summer is Grease.  I might audition, even though there are very few roles for adults in that show. Mostly teenagers. We’ll see.

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Oh, perhaps you are wondering about that picture at the top.  I posted that on my Facebook timeline for “Throwback Thursday,” as the young’uns say.  It is me and all my siblings and cousins up to that point.  It was taken in about 1982 and I think we got a few more cousins after that.  Were we rockin’ the style or what? 🙂

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Until next time,

D.

Birthdays and Barbecue! (Family Traditions Series- March) April 2, 2014

Lovin’ the parents today!

Hello all!  This post is a twofer:  It will serve as my B post for the A-Z Challenge and will be the continuation of my monthly Family Traditions series.  March is already over and technically I missed it, but I can still talk about the one big family tradition that falls in that month:  my father’s birthday.

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Dads and their birthdays.  How many fathers dread their birthdays because it means another ugly tie, another useless coffee mug, another bucket of car washing goodies?  My dad’s birthday rolls around in late March, and our family always gets together and has dinner on these occasions.  Sometimes Dad gets to choose the menu, and in the past he has wanted super-healthy (NOT!) country favorites like goulash with fried potatoes and corn bread, or chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes.  But sometimes the birthday boy gets elected to actually do the cooking! See, Dad is quite the accomplished Barbecue Grill Chef.  He doesn’t actually barbecue, as such.  What I mean by that is that he doesn’t use sauce on his grilled foods.  He uses things like Liquid Smoke and lemon-pepper seasoning.

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Anyway.  Dad’s grilled burgers have been known to inspire all kinds of promises.  My children will promise anything when they’re craving G-pa’s burgers.  (Ah, the intoxicating power! Mwahahahaha!)  So we call him and ask if he has enough propane to grill some grub, and he’ll say yes, but we have to bring all the goodies, so we go to the store and buy ALL the buns, lettuce, tomatoes, chips, etc.  By the time we get out to their house, he’s already got the grill fired up and running, and the rather torturous waiting begins.  The Boy and his uncles sit outside and watch the grill with Dad; G-ma and us girls are in the kitchen, slicing tomatoes and onions, tearing up lettuce, getting out the Miracle Whip (yuck!) and the mayo (much better), pickles, cheese, etc., catching up, singing, laughing, and yelling for dogs to get out from under foot and Amazon parrots to stop shrieking.

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After what seems like an eternity, he finally brings in the food and we all sit down to eat.  We hold hands around the table and Dad says a prayer, and then the gobbling and snarfing begin.  Not even kidding here- my kids can put away three burgers each.  But it is always enjoyable, and invariably there are one or two burger patties that have to be popped in the microwave for a few seconds, and poor Dad is always greatly chagrined at his inconsistency.  He always wants to know how the burgers are, and we always tell him they’re awesome, because they always are.  After the burgers are obliterated, we finish off the meal with Dad’s favorite birthday dessert.  He’s not much for cake, but he does love a good Jell-0 Instant Cherry Cheesecake.  Some of us don’t care for the cherries, so my dear sainted mother usually makes two boxes of cheesecake, served in a long cake pan, half with cherries and half without.  She’s just accommodating like that.

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Dad has gotten some goofy gifts over the years, but he never complains.  This year his gift was that the family came over and helped do some outdoor yard work and deck construction.  We spent time together in the sun and air, and helped accomplish some things that he’s just not quite up to doing by himself anymore.  It was a really good day.  A belated Happy Birthday to my Dad! Thanks for everything.  ❤

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Until next time,

D.

A-Z Day 1: Air and Aggravation April 1, 2014

Hello all!  Thank you for stopping by.  Today is the first day of the A-Z Challenge, and I will open with this:  Air.  As in breathing.  As in what I have to do when I am as Aggravated as I have been today.  Between craziness at work, financial stuff, cranky kids, weight loss failures, and the fact that my bedroom suddenly smells like cat pee tonight, I am getting pretty stressed out.  And also, I am late getting started with the challenge, since it is nearly 11pm on the first day and I am just now posting.  That aggravates me as well.

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I am hoping I will have improved at this by the end of the month.  My usual writing/blogging style is such that I don’t usually post unless I have something specific and important on my mind.  This is, of course, why I have had several months where I only had one or two entries.  Anyway.  It is definitely a challenge for me to come up with something to say and not struggle with the feeling that whatever I have written is somehow not good enough to post.  I will be working on that this month.  I’m looking forward to growing and improving over the course of this challenge and having something worth looking back on when May 1 rolls around.  In the meantime, I guess I’ll just keep breathing.  In…out…in…out.  I can do this.

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Until next time,

D.