I feel bad that I haven't posted here in a while. Even though there were various times this past week when I saw or thought of something I could've put here, my attention has been elsewhere.
Lately, I've been trying to edit a novel that I did for Nano Wrimo (National Novel Writing Month) back in November. Because I met the 50,000 word goal for that, I was one of the participants who was offered a chance to get a free manuscript copy of the novel via Createscript. Some of the people elected not to bother with editing before getting the copy. I had tried to make mine ready for formal publication. However, between various distractions and the slew of ideas in connection to the novel that came to me at close to the last minute, while I still plan to take advantage of the Createscript offer, I'm ready to show my work to anyone yet.
As it stands right now, my dad expects me to account to him for the progress made on any writing projects that I do. He'll probably be disappointed that my novel has yet to be edited enough for me to show him or anyone else. I'm hoping there won't be a lot of questions and/or lecturing involved on his end after I've explained the situation. However, my new goal is to make it presentable in time for his birthday, which is in October. The particular version will be an "uncensored" version, which will likely involve some swearing, alcohol use, etc.
However, I think after that, I will do another version of it, a "clean" one if you will, editing out swearing or anything else that would likely offend relatives and/or people I know from church. I'm hoping to have that version ready in time for Christmas.
I apologize for any disappointment I may have caused anybody who has dropped by at any time by not keeping up with the posting as much. I will try to get more in soon.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Plenty Of Things To Do Unto Others While My Sister's Away Both House-related And Otherwise
As of tomorrow, my sister and her household will be out of town for a week. During that time, I will be looking after the pets and the house (something I wouldn't be able to do if I had a job keeping me in my hometown and/or if I was still in St. Louis with my dad). I'll be doing things like vacuuming the floors, watering the plants, feeding the animals, and walking the dogs.
Then there are non-household things I need to do. One is write to Dad and/or find a Father's Day card for him tomorrow. On Sunday, I'll need to at least attempt to call him. I will also need to work on rewrites for a novel I did a draft of in November so that I can truthfully give him positive answers regarding how I'm doing on that should it come up. The last thing I need on Father's Day is to warrant any lecturing and/or questions like "Why haven't you done xyz?" (I just hope he doesn't ask about whether or not I've been doing "backups" on my work.) I also can't help but wonder if I need to be extra-sensitive about what he expects out of me since he took a severe beating from his diabetes in October. I'd rather not stress him out with let downs of any kind if I can help it.
I would like to tell you that I was a total angel who never did anything to upset or disappoint him during the nine-and-a-half months I lived with him, but sadly, I did mess up at times. I don't know for sure if I will return to him when/if he's able to find something that'll accommodate both of us, but if I do, let's just say I will have to make even more of in effort not to say or do anything that will warrant any tension between us. (I have a feeling that I will end up turning down the offer to return when/if it comes up unless there's some pressing reason to return and/or my mom and stepdad are especially anxious to get rid of me for good before I'm ready to live on my own.)
Yep, a lot to do unto others in the next week. Maybe having this all in mind will help me make more of an effort not to sleep in.
Then there are non-household things I need to do. One is write to Dad and/or find a Father's Day card for him tomorrow. On Sunday, I'll need to at least attempt to call him. I will also need to work on rewrites for a novel I did a draft of in November so that I can truthfully give him positive answers regarding how I'm doing on that should it come up. The last thing I need on Father's Day is to warrant any lecturing and/or questions like "Why haven't you done xyz?" (I just hope he doesn't ask about whether or not I've been doing "backups" on my work.) I also can't help but wonder if I need to be extra-sensitive about what he expects out of me since he took a severe beating from his diabetes in October. I'd rather not stress him out with let downs of any kind if I can help it.
I would like to tell you that I was a total angel who never did anything to upset or disappoint him during the nine-and-a-half months I lived with him, but sadly, I did mess up at times. I don't know for sure if I will return to him when/if he's able to find something that'll accommodate both of us, but if I do, let's just say I will have to make even more of in effort not to say or do anything that will warrant any tension between us. (I have a feeling that I will end up turning down the offer to return when/if it comes up unless there's some pressing reason to return and/or my mom and stepdad are especially anxious to get rid of me for good before I'm ready to live on my own.)
Yep, a lot to do unto others in the next week. Maybe having this all in mind will help me make more of an effort not to sleep in.
Friday, June 11, 2010
My Style Right Now Is What Those Who Contribute To My Wardrobe Want It To Be
Ever since I was a teenager I have become more and more reluctant to wear shorts and opting instead for jeans or capris whenever I could get away with it. Reasons for not wanting to wear shorts had included not liking to show my thighs (though I'll put up with it when swimming), not having a recent enough chance to shave my legs (which I normally do in the shower if I have time and am not too lazy to take one; however, if I'm baring my legs on short notice and they're not shaved, I'll do an emergency shave) Reactions from family on my non participation in the practice of baring one's legs via shorts have ranged from saying nothing at all to expressing concern to suggestion, if not downright insistance that I wear shorts.
I've worn shorts once or twice this summer. However, I own four pairs of shorts (at least three of which I brought with me): a second hand khaki pair from my sister, a black cutoff pair that were originally long stretchy pants that my mom had gotten me but that I eventually wore a hole through one of the knees, and two pairs that my dad had taken upon himself to get for me. So I can't help feeling that I should be wearing shorts on a daily or at least near-daily basis to justify owning as many as I do, especially if other people have gone out of their way to contribute them to my wardrobe.
Or maybe I should be more diligent about incorporating them into my weekly ensembles. After all, I also have two pairs of capris that I don't want to neglect either. (I think those are secondhand too.) I also have tons of t-shirts to wear this summer as well, especially ones with very short sleeves, which someone else has contributed to my wardrobe. I'm not much into cap sleeves either, but if someone (usually my mom) goes out of their way to get it for me, I always accept in order to avoid hurt feelings and then try to find time to wear it until holes or other signs of time to be disposed of appear.
I've worn shorts once or twice this summer. However, I own four pairs of shorts (at least three of which I brought with me): a second hand khaki pair from my sister, a black cutoff pair that were originally long stretchy pants that my mom had gotten me but that I eventually wore a hole through one of the knees, and two pairs that my dad had taken upon himself to get for me. So I can't help feeling that I should be wearing shorts on a daily or at least near-daily basis to justify owning as many as I do, especially if other people have gone out of their way to contribute them to my wardrobe.
Or maybe I should be more diligent about incorporating them into my weekly ensembles. After all, I also have two pairs of capris that I don't want to neglect either. (I think those are secondhand too.) I also have tons of t-shirts to wear this summer as well, especially ones with very short sleeves, which someone else has contributed to my wardrobe. I'm not much into cap sleeves either, but if someone (usually my mom) goes out of their way to get it for me, I always accept in order to avoid hurt feelings and then try to find time to wear it until holes or other signs of time to be disposed of appear.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Be Early To Rise Every Day, Even On The Weekends And/Or Stay-At-Home Days
When I was younger, I was happy to sleep in on the weekends and in the summer, especially if, as far as I knew, I was going to be home all day. Lately, though, I've been questioning whether or not I have any business doing so, especially if I'm going to make it a priority in my life to accommodite the needs of others.
Take for instance when I lived with my mom first time around. One Sunday morning (at a time when I wasn't going to church very often if at all), my mom was out doing yard work. At one point she had cut her finger. I had to get out of bed to help her wrap a tourniquet around her finger. I was trying to get dressed (since I'm reluctant to perform tasks in my pajamas; don't ask me why), but she made it sound like it was a huge emergency and my help was needed NOW. I had to settle for helping in khakis and sandals combined with my pajama top. We got done what needed done right then and there, but yeah, I was not prepared for that. I could go into more examples, but you'd be looking at a novel.
Currently, I'm at my sister's house where I will likely spend most of my time. Monday through Thursday, my nephew's involved in a day camp, and it's my responsiblility to take him to catch the bus for it and pick him up in the afternoon. However, he's home all day on Friday. Even on Friday, I definitely need to be up by the time he's up. The same holds true for weekends. After all, here's no telling what my nephew may need when he's awake and my sister and her boyfriend are either still asleep or not home. Besides, somebody needs to let the dogs outside to use the yard (especially the younger one of the two). If I'm up and dressed fairly early in the morning (six Monday through Friday; seven on the weekends), I'll be ready for anything, literally.
Besides, even if I'm not needed for anything within my immediate surroundings, there are other things I could be doing in the morning. For instance, I have been making a point of writing to my dad every Saturday. After all, if I'm not willing to take time out of my schedule to keep him up to date on what's going on with me, where's my loyalty to him? The sooner I do that, the sooner it'll be out of the way, and it'll be one less thing to think about. And surely there are household tasks that can be performed that, if I'm careful enough, won't make too much noise such as loading/unloading the dishwasher as needed. But something like vaccuuming is best left alone until everyone is up.
Even if you have nowhere to go to the best of your knowledge, the sooner you are up and dressed, the sooner you can be of use of those who may need you. If you are able to, you may try setting your alarm to six on weekdays or seven on weekends. Once it goes off, turn off the alarm, get up, take your shower (if applicable; and remember, the shorter you can keep the shower, the better), get dressed, and start your day. If no one needs you at the moment, go ahead and take care of the things that pertain only to you but that you may not be able to do later (such as email) and/or any task that could be performed in the home with little or no noise (if it's one that you're authorized to do of course). If you are the first or at least not the last person to be up, go about your business as quietly as possible out of respect for anyone who might still be sleeping so that you don't get yelled at. If for some reason you are told in no uncertain terms not to set you alarm at all (like I have been in the past), or if you have no access to one whatsoever (not even one built into a phone), and you do end up sleeping late as a result, that's okay. Just make an effort to get up the minute you wake up (something I still struggle with), get a shower (if applicable), get dressed, and do what you need to do.
You may have heard the saying "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." I don't know if that's all true, but I do believe that, for the Accommodite, being early to rise every day possible is wiser than say, sleeping until noon (except under pressing circumstances, such as illness). After all, how will you be able to attend to the needs of others when you are asleep?
Take for instance when I lived with my mom first time around. One Sunday morning (at a time when I wasn't going to church very often if at all), my mom was out doing yard work. At one point she had cut her finger. I had to get out of bed to help her wrap a tourniquet around her finger. I was trying to get dressed (since I'm reluctant to perform tasks in my pajamas; don't ask me why), but she made it sound like it was a huge emergency and my help was needed NOW. I had to settle for helping in khakis and sandals combined with my pajama top. We got done what needed done right then and there, but yeah, I was not prepared for that. I could go into more examples, but you'd be looking at a novel.
Currently, I'm at my sister's house where I will likely spend most of my time. Monday through Thursday, my nephew's involved in a day camp, and it's my responsiblility to take him to catch the bus for it and pick him up in the afternoon. However, he's home all day on Friday. Even on Friday, I definitely need to be up by the time he's up. The same holds true for weekends. After all, here's no telling what my nephew may need when he's awake and my sister and her boyfriend are either still asleep or not home. Besides, somebody needs to let the dogs outside to use the yard (especially the younger one of the two). If I'm up and dressed fairly early in the morning (six Monday through Friday; seven on the weekends), I'll be ready for anything, literally.
Besides, even if I'm not needed for anything within my immediate surroundings, there are other things I could be doing in the morning. For instance, I have been making a point of writing to my dad every Saturday. After all, if I'm not willing to take time out of my schedule to keep him up to date on what's going on with me, where's my loyalty to him? The sooner I do that, the sooner it'll be out of the way, and it'll be one less thing to think about. And surely there are household tasks that can be performed that, if I'm careful enough, won't make too much noise such as loading/unloading the dishwasher as needed. But something like vaccuuming is best left alone until everyone is up.
Even if you have nowhere to go to the best of your knowledge, the sooner you are up and dressed, the sooner you can be of use of those who may need you. If you are able to, you may try setting your alarm to six on weekdays or seven on weekends. Once it goes off, turn off the alarm, get up, take your shower (if applicable; and remember, the shorter you can keep the shower, the better), get dressed, and start your day. If no one needs you at the moment, go ahead and take care of the things that pertain only to you but that you may not be able to do later (such as email) and/or any task that could be performed in the home with little or no noise (if it's one that you're authorized to do of course). If you are the first or at least not the last person to be up, go about your business as quietly as possible out of respect for anyone who might still be sleeping so that you don't get yelled at. If for some reason you are told in no uncertain terms not to set you alarm at all (like I have been in the past), or if you have no access to one whatsoever (not even one built into a phone), and you do end up sleeping late as a result, that's okay. Just make an effort to get up the minute you wake up (something I still struggle with), get a shower (if applicable), get dressed, and do what you need to do.
You may have heard the saying "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." I don't know if that's all true, but I do believe that, for the Accommodite, being early to rise every day possible is wiser than say, sleeping until noon (except under pressing circumstances, such as illness). After all, how will you be able to attend to the needs of others when you are asleep?
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