Monthly Archives: August 2011

Stop Making Sense

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Last week was my birthday. As a gift to myself, I’ve decided to stop making sense.

See, as a Virgo, making sense is comforting to me. I am organized. I scope out situations. I push myself, but they are calculated in that I know what I am getting myself into. I have taken the road less traveled (and it has, indeed, made all the difference), but I invest in a GPS and constantly fact check in order to make the road less traveled more secure.

But I want to find more joy in my life. So here are some of the senseless things I am doing.

I am writing a second book in a mystery series. The first manuscript isn’t sold. I could keep editing it. But instead, I am writing the second one. And loving it.

I am querying agents. I read the blogs, I know my chances. But I love my book. And more importantly, I loved writing it. So I am going to try and go the traditional route (though that may not make sense).

I want to go surfing next summer. This makes NO sense, since I have never been surfing and am not even close to agile enough to do it. But I want to go surfing. Or paraglide. Or both.

And the most senseless thing I’ve done of late? I adopted a cat. I had pets as a kid, and have had two cats as an adult. Having to put them to sleep killed me, and I have been gun shy about putting my heart at risk again. But I heard about a cat who needed a home, and I decided to go for it. She is 11, which could mean that our time together is limited. Or not. Who knows? She needed a home, and it turns out I needed her. It makes no sense, but has brought me joy.

And that makes sense.

Summer Lies

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One challenge of this blog is not to repeat my writing advice (doled out at NHWN blog). Nor is it to discuss theater (my day job), which I do occasionally on the StageSource blog and also on my class blog for Emerson.  Another challenge is to write with more frequency. Goal–Monday postings from now on.

Subject? Varies. This week is on the lies of summer.

Now don’t get me wrong. I adore summer. I love being warm (not hot, but warm). I LOVE baseball. I love going to the beach. I love grilled food (though I don’t love grilling). I love not having to layer my clothes.

But I’ve caught summer out on a couple of lies, especially of late. They include:

  • Exercise. That summer is a good time for it. Now as someone who trained for the past two summers, I can say there are positives to being able to go outside and do all sorts of sports. But not mentioned is the difficulty in actually doing this. Heat is tiring. Energy gets zapped. Sleeping is challenging at times, which doesn’t help.
  • Looking good. Since tanning is out, the sunkissed glow doesn’t happen automatically. That’s one challenge. The other challenge is that you look pressed and fresh for the five minutes before you leave your house, and then it all goes to hell. Sweating. Clothes sticking to you. Being surrounded by sweating people. Running makeup isn’t a good thing.
  • Feet. This may be me, but my dogs don’t like the heat. At all. They get swollen, and sore. I walk, a lot. (Boston is a walking city, I take public transportation most of the time and I do like to get the exercise). So even if I pull of good looking from the ankles up, my shoe choices are dictated by comfort, not style. Sneakers of late.
  • Weight. Magazines exclaim over the opportunities for fresh fruits and vegetables. True enough. But there are also side salads, lots more get togethers and vacations. Never mind s’mores. And the extra exercise makes you extra hungry.

I still love the season. Just saying the love isn’t without some challenges.