Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Ambrose Bierce quote

I heard this quote recently in a movie, the name of which I can't remember for the life of me, but I wrote it down and then wanted to look for the author. I googled the quote and found that Ambrose Bierce, a journalist in the 1800s said it, "In each human heart are a tiger, a pig, an ass, and a nightingale. Diversity of character is due to their unequal activity."
-Ambrose Bierce

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

More on the Blog-writers Group...

My fantasy is that this Blog-writers group would be like a Writing Practice Group. Only we would be practicing writing in our blogs. I love writing in the blog, but don't think it's easy. It isn't. But then, any writer will tell you that the practice of writing is difficult. Facing that blank page and then taking action, putting words down on that page or computer screen. Bloody!

I usually reread my previous several posts to get inspired. I look at the dates of the previous posts. I try to post every day, but since I have two blogs, my other one being http://cosmeticsurgerysupport.blogspot.com/, I usually end up writing one post for one blog on one day, and then on the next day, I write a post for the other blog.

Unless something outstanding happens and I am inspired to write on both.

Did I tell you I am reading Judy Reeves' book, Writing Alone, Writing Together? She is the Program Director of the San Diego Writers, Ink and my inspirational teacher for writing. I took some classes from her years ago at The Writing Center and discovered how much I enjoyed writing. Now Judy is teaching writing at The San Diego Writers, Ink and at UCSD Extension University. Her book, Writing Alone, Writing Together is the inspiration for the Blog-Writers Group.

Would you like to start a blog but are afraid you don't have time, don't have anything to say, can't write? We all feel that way at first. Most of the help out there is around making money from your blog, not on better writing for your blog, or actual help in technical issues of blogging. Let's get together online, unless you are in San Diego, and let's create a more interesting, literary experience for our readers and a more writerly experience for us writers!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

I want to start a blog-writer's group online...like a writer's group

I want to start a blog-writers group online. Why? I think blog-writers would benefit from contact with other blog-writers. I would. We can get nifty ideas from each other. We can improve the quality of the writing on blogs. We can support each other, give feedback to each other.

If you know of someone who is interested in participating in an online blog-writers group, have them email me or leave me a 'comment' here on this blog.

I am not trying to make money--this is a free group, only serious bloggers need apply. Even if you don't know if you are serious yet, write me and we can talk about our vision of what we want in the blog-group. A Gloup? Hmmm. I like that.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Connecting With Others: My Other Life Purpose

One of my favorite things to do in the world, some kind of unconscious Purpose in life is finding and sharing resources with other people. When I find something I'm interested in, I like to share it with others.


I do that in my job on the San Diego Crisis Hotline by building a resource list that other clinicians on the line can access through our shared drive and it can be updated instantly, not like a piece of paper. I have been working on it for 8.9 years and it is over 267 pages long in a Word.doc. That makes it easy to search.


But here, today, I want to recommend a new blog,
Crosses to Bear a delightful new blog by the mother of a blog-buddy of mine, Melissa who writes Domestic Irritation. Both of them are very excellent writers! Crosses to Bear is written by a mature, Southern Woman, spelled with a capital S and W! Check her blog out!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Adventures in Delicious Dating After 40

Adventures in Delicious Dating After 40

Excellent blog written by a woman who is a professional and is actually dating over the Internet and talking about her experiences, both good and not so good. I am impressed with her insight, her subject choices and her honesty.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Ubud News: Do you like Martinis?

Ubud News: Do you like Martinis?

It's not really the Martinis I am admiring, it's the glasses they are in. I love that kind of art glass, or maybe it is the way they are photographed. The site is about an artist that is quite good.

Oh, it's sooo hard to write when no one reads this...

Oh, woe is me...It's 7:30 AM on Tuesday morning. I have been working on the San Diego Crisis Hot Line since midnight. Life is always darker in the mornings after working overnights. I thought I'd indulge myself, anyway, and moan about how difficult it is to write this blog when no one writes comments.

Is there some reason, like maybe, you don't see the 'comments' link after each blog? Or you just have no response to what was written? Or you just think what you have to say to me doesn't matter? Or you just aren't interested in what you just read?

A total stranger wrote a comment the other day to my blog about Transactional Analysis. It was delightful to hear from someone I didn't know. Unfortunately, she didn't write much in English. She sent me an email, but I couldn't respond back to her.

I recognize you are doing me a favor when you write a comment and I appreciate it very much. The favor you are doing is that you are acknowledging you read what I wrote and had enough interest to comment. Thank you for any comments you might write! You make a difference! Thank you for reading my BMW page--"Bitch, Moan, & Whine". You have my permission to BMW right back!

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Birthday flowers & Christmas photo from Natasha


This is a test--for me to see how to upload pics to my blog.




My youngest daughter, Natasha, 34, sent me these flowers on my birthday; she took the photograph and gave it to me last Christmas. I hope she sees it on my blog. Her husband, Charles, was at work yesterday and he and his co-workers were talking about it being D-Day. Charles remembered that I was born on D-Day and called Natasha. Whew! Just in the nick of time, she said!


Oh, I received a terrific Birthday card from my almost 16 year old step-son! He lives with his father and me and has for the past 2.5 years. He came to us depressed, miserable, and unhappy with himself and his life. He has a "social" learning disability, Asberger's Syndrome, which makes it difficult for him to read social cues from people's faces. He had great difficulty making friends, was overly sensitive to bullying and teasing. He was small for his age and immature by about 2 years. He had been premature at birth, weighing only 1.5 lbs.



The card he gave me, all on his own, his father said, was signed, "Love: your step-son." That touched me because he had never acknowledged our relationship and certainly never said anything like "love".



I am proud to say that he now has a sense of humor, can laugh at himself and at us, he is on the Honor Roll in 9th grade at Patrick Henry High, is considering going to college, and is a delightful person to have around, willing to help others, was given the Snake Award for Highest Internal Strength of Character in Karate.











Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Happy Mirthday to me!

Today is my Birthday! I am 63!! How did that happen? That is amazing! It's not really so bad, but time is going by fast. I remember when my mother was about 41. I don't remember when she was 63. I think I thought she was old. I know that's not nice of me to say, but...sometimes I'm just not nice. Really.

I am a pretty outspoken person, direct, I think they call it. Honest, some people think. I think. People usually know where they stand with me and I like that. People that like me like that about me, too. I don't believe in telling people things about them that aren't true, in my opinion. I hear some women telling other women something nice. Then, it turns out later, they didn't really mean that. I don't like that.

We, us women, need to tell each other the truth, I think. That's one of the benefits of getting older.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Woo-hoo!!

Gratitude is one of my favorite emotional states. I have learned, though, that I must put myself in there consciously--it's not an automatic place for me to go.

Okay, here's what I'm grateful for, not necessarily in this order, of course:

My terrific, funny, mature husband, Jack.
He is smart, lively, funny, sexy, charming, a facilitator, well-organized, thoughtful, a great listener (when he tunes himself in), a loving man. I say I was looking for him my whole life, but in fact I didn't really know that until I found him. We lived together for 5 years and then decided to really commit to each other in March, 2007. It was scary for both of us because we had both been married before and didn't want to ruin a good thing.

I could go on and on about the things I really love about him, but let me just say this--he washes and folds my clothes like they do in the army--which he was in, once upon a time. I don't think my mother even folded my clothes. The first time he did that, I was stunned! Folded my clothes!! Like T-shirts, nightgowns, undies, etc. I told him he didn't have to do that, he said he was just doing the laundry! Wow!

I told him he could have saved all that money taking me out to lovely, expensive restaurants and just washed and folded my clothes and it would have had the same impact on me--I was hooked!

That's not the only great thing about him, just more stories later...on to the other Woo-hoos:

I have two grown daughters! That is a true miracle!
My oldest daughter, Angela:
I was 18 when I had the first one and she even turned out just fine. In fact, pretty darn great, if I do say so myself. I say that we grew up together and she turned out to be a terrific mother, loving, devoted. She has two daughters of her own that are somethin' else!

My youngest daughter, Natasha:
She had a slightly better chance since I was 28 when I had her. She is a character and an artist. A photographer. I used to marvel at her because she seemed to have a strong sense of herself at a very young age. She is happily married, but no children, even after 11 or so years of marriage.

Woo-hoo!! for my blog-friend Melissa - http://www.domesticirritation.com/. Without her encouragement, this blog would have probably died. She is an excellent and funny writer!

Woo-hoo for my health, for having had DCIS breast cancer that does not spread, for having good medical insurance, and good medical care, although there were times when I needed to speak up--Woo-hoo for my ability to speak up.

Boy, once I get going on these blogs, I really get going. I guess I have a lot to say. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do! What are your delights? Your Woo-hoos?