Because ‘having everything’ is playing life like Pac Man instead of chess.
In Pac Man you never win. It just gets faster and faster and harder and harder UNTIL YOU DIE. Chess? There is strategy, patience, willingness to ‘let go’ of even ‘important’ pieces to protect the most crucial one. In chess, you CAN actually win!
The Priority Parallax: Everything is Not as Important as It Appears
Kristen Lamb always gets me thinking.
NO SPOILERS!
Awesome. Good story line. Good juggling of all those characters without becoming overwhelming or confusing. Kept those bright pops of humor, which I needed. And, OMG, did they really do that!!!!????
Black Panther is still my favorite Marvel movie to date, however.
I always have a story going on in my head. The last few months it’s been a fan-fiction crossover of Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica. Part of me wants to write it. Magic vs tech. Very cool. And I’d get to kill the whole Cylons-get-religion plotline that my atheist heart despised.
I may write that someday, for fun and to stop it nagging at me, but for now my desire is to write an original novel. (I don’t know if that’s my greatest desire. I keep telling myself that. It is on my mind daily.)
I’m at a point in my life where I have unencumbered time to write. The kids are in college and it isn’t necessary for me to work outside the home. Last week I was completely alone while my husband traveled for business.
And I wrote NOTHING.
I binged watched Grey’s Anatomy. (I didn’t even watch BSG or HP with the excuse of research.) I felt guilty and gave myself many depressive mental tongue-lashings. But I still didn’t write.
I did work on my novel for an hour today. Because I can muster up will-power on occasion. But first I did laundry, sorted out some clothes I no longer wanted, made a lovely breakfast, re-did my wreath for Spring, ordered some photo prints, photographed the cat…
Resistance 1, Me 0. (The War of Art, Steven Pressfield)
I’m currently reading The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop : A Guide to the Craft of Fiction by Stephen Koch and two things have stuck with me so far:
What does this all mean to me? I need to write. Daily. And without interruption.
Make a choice. Every day.
Meh. Too big a life to pack into a movie, so it lacked depth, even with the parallel romance story line. And all the other points it tried to touch on. No depth, no tension. Awesome soundtrack. Save your money and buy the soundtrack and wait for it to hit Netflix if you really want to view it.
After two hectic weeks, I had a chance to chill on Sunday afternoon. Since I’m not allowed to watch the Pats play—as that might jinx them somehow—I cuddled up with my laptop to watch a free movie through Amazon Prime. (Just kidding about jinxing the Pats. I’m not a sports person and the husband yells at the TV sometimes and that ain’t fun.)
First movie choice: Holiday Engagement. The premise wasn’t very original but I thought a light, romantic comedy could be fun for my tired body and fried brain. Ugh. I didn’t last 20 minutes before I killed it. Story lines are used over and over again in fiction. Look at how many times Cinderella has been done, and people still enjoy the story. This was just horrible. Uninspired. Boring. Predictable. Flat, stereotypical characters. No chemistry between the romantic leads. And completely offensive to me as a woman. I paused the movie at one point to check when it had been made. 2011? Really? More like 1950’s attitudes. Oh, darling, you don’t need a job. Once we’re married, you can run charity events and save the puppies of the world. 0 out of 5 stars.
Second movie: The Big Sick. I watch most movies with the husband and that means thrillers, action-adventure, sci-fi or anything that loud and moves fast. So when I watch a movie alone, I usually choose a romance, something thoughtful, a light comedy or something offbeat. Something he wouldn’t normally watch. The Big Sick had all of these elements. A little offbeat, some comedy, some romance and it made me think. I like how grounded in everyday life it was and still managed to have emotional weight. And I appreciated the glimpse into another culture and the adaptation to American life. 4 out of 5 stars.
An expert on the psychology of evil, Professor Roy Baumeister, has written that ‘dangerous people, from playground bullies to warmongering dictators, consist mainly of those who have highly favourable views about themselves. They strike out at others who question or dispute those favourable views.’
~ “The Unpersuadables: Adventures with the Enemies of Science” by Will Storr
Something to remember as a writer when creating characters.
The Duck, Sturbridge, MA
4 out of 5 stars
The Duck’s online description had me wary: “…steaks, enjoy a fantastic seafood special, bite into a mouth-watering cheeseburger.” Oh no, not more pub food. But they are part of the group that owns Cedar Street Grille, one of my all-time favorite restaurants. Thankfully, the Duck is upscale pub food, with a twist.
The appetizer menu looked interesting but we were too afraid to fill up before the entrée to order any. Duck Confit Poutine, Candied Bacon Skewer, Basil Gorgonzola Bread… all looked scrumptious. I saw the House Mac & Cheese appetizer and it was huge!
They have a wide selection of craft brew beers available, which my hubby loves, although we chose to drink wine with our meals.
The hubby had the braise short ribs special, which was amazing. He could’ve eaten with a spoon it was so tender. He didn’t care for the cheese on top because he’s not a blue cheese person, otherwise it was a thumbs up.
I had the Grilled Veal Rib Chop off the standard menu. I hadn’t had veal in a long time and had never had this cut. The port wine mission fig demi gave a nice char to the chop with enough sauce leftover to swirl my bites in. The rib chop was a bit tougher than expected but still very tasty.
We will definitely get back to The Duck but I’m looking forward to Avellino, the Italian restaurant downstairs from The Duck for my next foray.
Big snow today. Really late in the season for a blizzard.
Failed on the no TV yesterday. 3 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. 😦 It was either that or eat.
Also, gave in on the diet. Pizza and a PBJ for dinner.
Maybe I shouldn’t call these fails. Maybe I need a change of mindset. Yesterday, by 3 pm, I was exhausted. What I should’ve done is take a 30 minute nap and re-evaluate. Instead I chose to veg out watching Grey’s Anatomy (I love the first few seasons, then not so much.) I was even more tired after this and vetoed prepping any food for dinner. Scrounge nights are fine for clearing out the frig but I scrounged up my daughter’s rather gross leftover pizza augmented by a PBJ.
So what have I learned? Sometimes you eat crap and watch crap. Sometimes that’s okay. It’s when it’s not sometimes but everyday that’s giving me issues.
Next, meal prep is my friend. Or ingredient prep at least. Prepping when I’m not exhausted and having things ready to go will be a blessing later in the day when I don’t want to move, let alone cook. (I don’t really like to cook, but I do it because I’m the one who’s home and has the time. My husband likes to cook and it shows in the deliciousness of his meals. But with him working the long hours that he does, I don’t expect him to come home and cook as well.)
TV is no substitute for sleep. I have nothing against TV. In small doses, it’s great entertainment. In large doses, it’s procrastination.
Again, what have I learned? 1. Set aside some prime morning time to prep some meals/ingredients. 2. Take a nap in the afternoon if I’m dropping from exhaustion.
I’d like to be friends with sleep again but whatever life changes I’m going through now are throwing a spanner into that relationship. Even when I sleep the night, I don’t sleep deeply and wake up still tired. Someday, we will be friends again.
I’m supposed to be writing about what things I want to make priorities in my life but fuck that. It’s a snow day. Tomorrow I will have the house to myself and I can do uninterrupted navel gazing.
Starting a push today to do the things I meant to be doing all along this year, before I turn 50, but I haven’t. I turn 50 in August—that’s only 5 1/2 months away! I keep thinking about getting fit, losing weight, writing a book or a dozen, purging all the extraneous crap from my house, simplifying… and so much more. But I haven’t done any of it!
So, to start with and to start small, today I’m doing a brain dump, to get everything out of my head that I keep repeating to myself so I can make a plan-of-action to accomplish it or cross it off the list and stop expending energy on it.
Goals today:
1. write my list. carry that notebook around with me because I don’t remember things otherwise.
2. no daytime tv! Like I have time for TV if I’m working on this.
3. eat healthy. (Lunch is my downfall but I have yummy leftovers so I won’t do drive-thru!)
4. walk 10,000 steps. (As of 2:30 pm, I’m at over 7000 steps so this is attainable!)
“They found the following fruits and vegetables may help prevent heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and early death: apples and pears, citrus fruits, salads and green leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce and chicory, and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. They also found the following may reduce cancer risk: green vegetables, such as spinach or green beans, yellow vegetables, such as peppers and carrots, and cruciferous vegetables.”
Rose Sparrowking 