Esprit de l'escalier

It’s been a very interesting month. I went to the NWCA (Northwest Christian Writers Association) meeting and that was fun. It’s nice being around others that like to write and it’s inspiring to talk to those who have been published. The lecture this month was about blogging and it rekindled my desire to maintain a blog. Unfortunately, according to all blogging standards, I probably shouldn’t have one.
First of all, to develop a readership I have to keep a theme. Preferably something that I’m passionate about and have a lot of knowledge on. My problem comes with the fact that I tend to be a part-time expert, or maybe seasonal professional. I learn about something and am into it for a period and then move on. For example, when I got my betta fish Jimmy. I learned everything there was to know about betta fish. I even branched out when I got the dwarf frogs, Spiderman and Scuba Steve. But when Jimmy and his last successors passed on, I also moved on.

When I was a manager for an apartment complex, I knew all about the property market and when to rent, what the rates were for different areas and the competition, etc. But since I’ve changed jobs, I haven’t kept up with it.

So Kyle and I sat and thought about my blog topic for a long time. He suggested I write about being a new wife. I didn’t want to be that transparent online. What about being a writer? I didn’t feel ready for that. So what are you really passionate about? He asks. Speaking truth, I said without thinking.
Since I said it without thinking, I stopped and thought about it.
I like seeing truth and learning from everyday happenings. From a movie, a run-in with an old friend, finding a cherished “scruncci” that I thought I’d lost forever. I know all of those scenarios are just brimming with intrigue *sarcasm*.

The conclusion I’ve come to is that I find everything interesting, because I look at things according to what I can draw from them. But reason and marketing tells us that you can’t just blog about everything and expect a hardy readership. Not many people type “everything” into Google when looking for something in particular. It just doesn’t work that way.
And Lord knows my life isn’t something people Google for either.

Perhaps I should blog about driving. If there’s one thing that I have an unceasing passion about it’s stupid drivers. I could write about them forever and never run out of material. In the same way, I could maybe mix it up and blog about my other pet peeve, stupid walkers. Those are the people who are completely oblivious to those around them. I was at Michael’s the other day, getting some thank you notes (because I’m just a good person like that) and this woman walked up with her Mary Poppins bag and shoved her way in front of me. By all appearances, this woman and myself were the only people in the store besides the employees. There were several other routes she could have taken to reach her destination, but she decided that it was more exciting to shove her over-sized daisy purse in my gut and squeeze in front of me like we were in a movie theater without so much as a ‘pardon me’. Apparently the world revolves around her and I just hadn’t been informed yet.

Kyle took me to dinner and a movie Sat. It’s so sweet how he still brings me a rose every now and then and he still takes me out on dates.

So we both really wanted to see Zodiac when it opened on Friday, but we settled for Saturday because we went to look at a house Fri night. (BTW the house wasn’t that impressive, but it was still fun to look.)
The movie was awesome! Good story (true story), suspense, action, and my favorite part, puzzling! It was definitely a phsycological thriller. Kyle and I were still talking about it hours after we left the theater.
For those who can’t handle gore, I would suggest one of the following:
1. Skip it
2. Go with a friend who has seen it so they can tell you when to close your eyes and cover your ears.
3. Wait until it is available to rent and watch it at home with pillows and blankets to hide behind.

My mind is still spinning and processing it. I mean, this actually happened where I grew up! It’s really scary to think about and it provides a powerful reality check. There were parts during the film where I just kept thinking to myself, “Oh my gosh, I’ve been there.” Or, “Did my parents drive me to school that day instead of letting me take a bus?”
What’s even scarier to think about is what this film might stir up. I can’t imagine how many letters the SF papers have been receiving since Friday or how many copies of the book have sold. And you know the crazies are going to be calling that poor guy (I won’t go into details so as not to give any spoilers).

In short, great film, mind blowing, two thumbs up. 🙂

Have you ever had a time in your life where you had to make super super big decisions? Or wait, let me take that back, I should probably say, a time where you were confronted with a situation that was really tough. I know this is beginning to sound like a rhetorical question. I suppose the easiest way to convey what I’m talking about is to give an example from my own life.

I’m at a point in my life where I can literally do anything. I can pursue any career or job I want and do it well and with joy. I have education, integrity, experience, connections and determination to do well in whatever field I go into. I feel like I’m a kid again and my teachers, parents and authority figures are crouching down in front of me, looking me in the eye and saying with a sparkle, “You can do anything! The sky is the limit! You can do anything you put your mind to. Astronaut, ballerina, fireman, grocery store bagger person, a fish thrower at Pike Place Market, CEO of Whatever.”

[…]

I went to that M&M site today and made my own M&M characters. It was so much fun! I made a character for me and a character for Kyle and then I had so many choices of what I got to do with them. I could make a screen saver, a gallery of photos, even a movie!
They provided a bundle of ways to help me create my M&M identity and make my M&M dreams palatable.

It’s amazing how many companies are ready to ‘help’ you establish your identity with them. I could rattle on and on about where we should establish our identity, how you can identify yourself, how the media and culture try to over-simplify the public, place them into demographics that they target with sometimes unnecessary products. But then I would be just like them, except, I’m not a multi-million dollar company. And I don’t have candy. I wish I did though, have some candy. Maybe just some chocolate. A little chocolate.

There are so many things I love about my kitties, Izabelle and Ricochet. Here are a few of them:

1. Ricochet is mesmorized by the floating cherries in the Singulair (allergy medicine)commercials.
2. His favorite movie is Finding Nemo
3. He loves heads. By that I mean, people’s heads. My head, Kyle’s head, my mom’s head, Izabelle’s head, a head of lettuce…
4. He loves people and therefore despises closed doors (unfortunately this includes bathroom doors)
5. He enjoys cleaning, particularly, the feather duster.
6. He’s far more entertaining to watch than TV, unless of course, he’s watching you. Then it gets a bit boring.
7. Until he pounces your head or sneak-attacks your slippers, while they’re on your feet.

1. Izabelle is thoroughly engaged in whatever you’re doing, but only if it doesn’t involve her.
2. She loves cuddling, but only if it was her idea.
3. Other times she prefers to sit and watch you. Just watch.
4. She makes funny noises when she sleeps.
5. She likes to sleep on your head, or on your feet. Whatever is most inconvenient.
6. She loves belly rubs and basketball and she’s a daddy’s girl, but would never admit it.
7. She is the same color as the hard wood floor in the kitchen and her stripes don’t help with visibility either. She’s very stealth.

Yesterday was Kyle and my four month anniversary. Four wonderful months! My best friends Loreanne and Sarah are so right, being married is the best. Initially I really missed living with my roommate and having that girl time and parties in our apartment. But now I have a husband, a cute house, an amazing relationship and did I mention, an awesome husband!

There is so much that the magazines, books, TV shows, counselors, etc. don’t tell you. I suppose it’s different for everyone, but for me in particular, the love, encouragement, support, passion, fun, thoughtfulness, patience… it’s more than I can put into words.

Happy 4 months Kyle! I love you!

As most of you know, I’ve been looking for a job that gets me out of the house. Something that pays well and gives me that wonderful, accomplished feeling at the end of the day, while at the same time providing fodder for my everyday writing.
I haven’t found that perfect job yet, but in the meantime we need some extra cash to pay for the overpriced, but extremely necessary special cat food (for cats with food allergies). So Kyle came up with the idea of getting me a blog. The idea is that I’m supposed to be funny so that people would read my blog all the time, so much so that I could make money from posting ads that my readers would ignore while indulging in my deliciously witty remarks on the meaning of life.

I thought this was a brilliant plan and set out to execute it straight away. First step, develop a readership. My thought is that people like to read about themselves. In particular, about what others supposedly ‘secretly’ think about them. So I figure I can create the illusion of talking about people if I post what I call, “Interaction Scenarios”. Things like when I run into someone at the store and have some sort of oddly vague interaction with them, for example:
“I was at my neighborhood QFC today and I ran into this dashing young man who, when juggling an equally cute puppy and a frozen boneless, skinless half chicken breast, spilled his Starbucks on my favorite blouse given to me by my favorite person in the whole world and I was so upset that I started to call the store manager but then a woman in the next isle fell out of her wheel chair when reaching for a bottle of Hogue on the almost-but-not-quite top shelf…”

So in that little excerpt several arch-types were covered and allowed for enough vague descriptions that many people could fit the profile and think I might have been talking about them. It’s so simple! I mean, someone might think, “Hey! I was that dashing young man!” or “Wow, I’m really her favorite person in the world!” or “That Hogue was not worth taking that spill. But at least I got a free bottle of wine to enjoy during American Idol.”

Of course there’s a lot more to developing a readership than making people think they’ve met you when they haven’t. But this could be a fun process to work on while trudging through the lulls of temp work.

I just watched a funny clip of a cat that was fascinated with flushing the toilet. A couple from ‘somewhere’ was frustrated and confused with the hike in their water bill. One day the husband was stuck at home with the flu and noticed the sound of running water coming from downstairs. His curiosity overcame the aches and pains of the flu and he went to investigate and found the kitten repeatedly flushing the toilet and then watching the water swirl in the bowl.
This cat flushed the toilet like fifty times! And the camera kept rolling. The world was captivated by the aquatic fantasies of a flush happy kitten. If this were ‘back in the day’, before TV and all those high tech gadgets, you could make a living with this cat. You could pack up your cat and your toilet, load them into the wagon and take your show on the road. People would pay anything to watch such an amazing sight.
But now, thanks to uTube, we get to see all kinds of things, at our whim for free! No one will take money from my pocket while I indulge my curiosity. No, I’d rather hand my money over to Comcast.

Kyle took me to the Seattle Asian Art Museum and it was really neat! I love museums. I love the atmosphere, the culture and the art work. Perhaps someday I can get a job that encompasses all those things.
Speaking of jobs, I’ve been applying for some jobs online, but I think ultimately I’ll end up doing work for the temp agency again. I don’t mind keeping busy, it gives me more fodder for writing.
I’m going to miss being at home and taking care of our house and our kitties.

Anyways, back to V-day. After the museum, we went home to watch the rest of 24, season 5 and started this season. Then I watched Lost. We’re totally hooked on these shows!

We started watching 24 in January, beginning with season 1. It’s Feb. and we’ve already caught up on 5 seasons and are watching the current one. Some people think that this kind of behavior is unhealthy, but I think sharing quality programing together brings us closer. 🙂

I was working on a puzzle just a moment ago (while waiting for my husband to run to the store because we both had an odd craving for mac n’ cheese) when I had an interesting progression of thought.
I’m not sure how I got to thinking about this, but I was thinking about embarrassing moments and an instance came to mind of a mission trip to Mexico when I was talking with one of the kids in Spanish and I remember saying something like “Yo estoy embarrasada” or something. Which, suddenly had everyone in earshot laughing or looking at me with grave concern. Apparently, ’embarrasada’ translated means pregnant. Naturally that’s not what I mean to say.
Regardless, it was a funny moment. The problem is, as I reflected on that memory, I wondered for a second if it happened to me or if it happened to someone else and I empathized so much that I actually, through osmosis, took on that experience for them. I seriously stopped and thought hard about it because for some reason, there are times when I recall something thinking I was there when I really wasn’t. For the record, in the Mexico case, it did happen to me.
I didn’t really realize that I did this until my best friend pointed it out to me once. I remember one time laughing about something and then saying to her, “Remember that time when…blah blah blah?” And she said, “Yea, that blah blah blah was really funny, hilarious. But you weren’t there.” I pause and look on with a blank, ashamed stare. She continues, “I told you about that story. You weren’t there.”
Perhaps it was a deep longing within me to be with my best friend through all those memorable, look-back-with-fondness-moments, that makes me believe that I was ‘always’ there. I dunno. Does that happen to anyone else? I mean, not with my best friend, but with yours.

What’s worse is when I start confusing TV with real life. By this, I’m referring to the impulse to volunteer prayer requests for my favorite CSI character at Bible Study. Could it be that my days are filled with so much work, like breathing and brushing my teeth, that I haven’t taken the time to distinguish between fiction and reality? So now the two worlds have collided and I make myself feel like I’m part of this intensely, unrealistically exciting world of puzzles, crime and intrigue. That couldn’t be it. Because that would mean I’m insane and there’s no way a crazy person could outwit a serial killer/dirty cop and put him behind bars for molesting his teenage daughter, killing her and covering it up by processing the scene himself, making it look like a suicide and getting his partner to take the fall when the heat pours on. No, Gil Grissom and I pulled that one off together (with the help of Catherin) and obviously, neither of us are crazy.