metempirical ~ beyond the scope of knowledge
Is anyone else out there messed up because of the holidays? What's up with this "work a day, have a couple of days off, work a couple of days, have another couple of days off"? It's very confusing!
In any case, my days are totally messed up. My weekend definitely did not go as planned. Saturday felt like Sunday because my family and I drove up to Hamilton, in a snowstorm, to visit my sister and her family. We spent more time travelling that we did visiting. The driving was pretty hairy. Thankfully, I didn't have to do any of it. :-)
I don't know what yesterday felt like, but for some unknown reason I got the urge to organize my craft closet so I spent the afternoon and part of the evening plugging away at that. Hopefully I'll get it finished today. This is a huge storage closet and it's jam-packed with craft supplies - mostly wool and fabric. I will be posting pictures on Facebook when it's finished.
I had actually planned to have my list of goals for 2013 done for today, but as I said I got my days messed up and then I got distracted by the closet. (Did I mention it's a big closet?) So I'll be doing the New Year's goals post tomorrow. You know, on New Year's.
Something else I'd planned for today . . . I'm planning to rename and revamp Random Writings and use it as my main blog. Probably for this week I will post duplicate posts on Random Thoughts, but after this week the only new posts on Random Thoughts will be the installments of Water for those of you who've subscribed to the posts. Don't worry, I'll make sure I leave a message pinned to the top of Random Thoughts explaining what's going on, and I'll include a link to Random Writings in case you need one.
Oh! And just because it's been a long time since I've had a good, old fashioned rant, I have one for this holiday season. Why do all these TV channels have marathons of shows no one wants to watch? Two weeks of marathons and the only ones worth watching were Doctor Who, the Big Bang Theory, and Star Trek: TNG. Even the movies on TV are the same ones over and over again. A little variety, if you please! /end rant. :-)
What I'll Be Up to This Week:
Tuesday: Goals for 2013
Wednesday: Hump Day Hunk
Thursday: Chapter 47 of Water
Friday: I have no clue. What can I say? It's 3 a.m. as I'm writing this (I remembered I need a post for Monday just as I was turning in).
Maybe I'll do a post about my craft closet on Friday. I'm documenting it on film, just as a reminder to never let the closet get that messy again. And to impress everyone with my organizational skills. LOL
Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!
Dec 31, 2012
Dec 28, 2012
2012 Wrap-up
As we come to the close of another year it's time for my annual wrap-up post. I don't believe in resolutions, I believe in goals. Resolutions are too easy to break. But a goal is something to strive for and as long as you move towards it you have a win.
In 2011 I had a list of 7 goals and managed to meet 5 out of 7 of those goals. Last year I had 10 goals and if you count part marks, I made . . . um . . . 2 1/4 of my goals. Pretty poor performance overall. So where did I go wrong?
Let's have a recap of last year's goals and then we'll take them one by one.
1. Organize my days
2. Publish three books
3. Get more involved with the business of publishing
4. Do more self-promotion
5. Find a writing schedule I can live with and stick to it
6. Websites
7. Eat healthier
8. Exercise more
9. Crafts
10. Read a better variety of books
1. Organize my days
With the help of Organizational Queen Jamie DeBree I did make a start on this in the fall. She worked out a starting point for me and I started to refine it, but before I could really get in the scheduled groove I fell off the wagon when NaNo time arrived. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I give myself a quarter mark here because at best I was organized for all of three months.
2. Publish three books
The books I listed in last year's list were: An Elemental Fire; the Faery Heart; and Shades of Errol Flynn. I got An Elemental Fire published, forgot all about the Faery Heart, and although Shades of Errol Flynn (which has been renamed) is finished, it still needs to be edited so it'll be another couple of months yet. It ran much longer than I thought it would - at times I thought it would be the story that never ends! I give myself a half mark for this goal. :-)
3. Get more involved with the business of publishing
Yeah, this was pretty much a failed goal. I dabbled a bit, bookmarked some sites . . . I can't in good consciousness give myself any kind of a mark here.
4. Do more self-promotion
This one didn't happen either. I suck at self-promotion.
5. Find a writing schedule I can live with and stick to it
This one kind of goes hand in hand with number one, but I also intended on setting a daily word goal for myself and to pick a non-serialized project and work on it until it was finished. Another utter failure. My writing is sporadic at best and the only things I've finished are really short stories. Think flash or less.
6. Websites
It may surprise you to learn I have a business website. Well, I had a business website. I really dragged my heels on this 'cause I kept changing my mind on what I wanted on it. So another fail here.
7. Eat healthier
I was diagnosed with diabetes more than a year ago, and I'll be the first to admit I'm a bad diabetic. I try to eat properly, but food that's bad for me tastes so much better! And then over the holidays I started staying up later, which meant I was sleeping in, so I was skipping breakfast. I'm giving myself a half point here 'cause I did try.
8. Exercise more
Last winter was mild enough that I was able to walk most days, but the summer was so hot that I kind of fell off the walking wagon. In the fall I lost my walking buddy and then due to other health reasons outdoor walking was no longer the best option for me so I switched to the stationary bike for a while, but even that petered out. So I get a half mark for my half-hearted attempt here.
9. Crafts
As I pointed out on last year's list, I have a crap load of craft supplies and the goal was to start using them. *sigh* Other than Christmas crafts, this was pretty much a fail too. No points here 'cause I only worked on them for a couple of weeks.
10. Read a better variety of books
Darn! I thought I did better here, but I specified I had to read at least one classic book a month and one non-fiction book every two months. I read maybe two classics and one non-fiction book. Two if you count a book of poetry I read. So no points here either.
And there you have it. Add them up and I have a grand total of 2 1/4 marks. Looking back at my lack of success I only have myself to blame really. If I had worked a little harder on the organizational thing, it would have helped all but the eating healthier. And even then, part of eating healthy is to eat on a regular basis.
So while last year was disappointing in many ways, I'm not discouraged. There's always next year. And next year just happens to be only a few days away. Monday I'll be posting my goals for the New Year - check back to see if they've changed. ;-)
Dec 26, 2012
Dec 25, 2012
Merry Christmas
Hope everyone is having a happy and safe holiday. Just to share the love, here's a trio of my favourite Christmas songs by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Christmas Canon
Wizards In Winter
Dec 24, 2012
Merry Monday
merry ~ full of high spirited gaiety, jolly
Well, we didn't meet a fiery end on Friday, so it looks like once again Christmas is saved. :-)
My winter solstice end of the world cookie exchange went well on Friday. I had just a few of my writing friends over but there were many, many cookies. Yum! And for a change my cookie press decided to co-operate so I made an enormous batch of spritz cookies.
We finished up the Christmas shopping on Saturday, and in the morning/early afternoon my daughter and I did our traditional Christmas crafts. Ever since she was little we've taken a day to do a new Christmas ornament for our tree. Now that she has her own tree we have to do twice as many. :-)
I thought about taking the whole week off of blogging, but I have a couple of more things I want to post this week. But for sure it'll be a shortened up week.
What’s Up This Week on both blogs:
Tuesday I will be posting the last of my Christmas videos - my absolute favourites from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Wednesday I will be posting an extra Christmasy hunk. ;-)
Thursday I will be taking a rest, which I'm sure I'll need by then.
Friday I will be posting my yearly wrap-up.
And now, because it's Christmas Eve, I give you my own version of T'was the Night Before Christmas (aka, A Visit From St. Nicholas):
A Visit From the Computer Tech
’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, just the optical mouse;
The cords were all strung to the PC with care
In hopes the technician soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of interwebs danced in their heads;
The wife couldn’t take any more of this crap
So she went to bed while I took a nap.
When there on the screen there arose such a clatter
I sprang from the chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the keyboard I flew like a flash,
Grabbed up the mouse and gave it a bash.
The monitor gleamed with a brilliant blue glow
Seeming to mock me as I lowly moaned, “No!”
And what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a security warning that made my eyes tear.
With an attack on my drivers, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment my computer was sick.
More rapid than eagles the popups they came,
And I whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now Trojan, now Wormy, now BankerFox vixen!
A technician’s coming, my computer he’s fixin’.
By installing protection ,a blocker, a wall!
And then he’ll delete you, delete one and all!”
And then, in a twinkling, I heard it once more,
A van pulling up, then a knock on the door.
I opened the door with a feeling profound,
And into the house came the tech with a bound.
He was dressed all in blue from his head to his toe
And his jacket was covered with a sprinkling of snow.
A box full of tools was grasped in his hand
And he looked like an angel, come down to land.
His eyes, they were bloodshot, his face was unshaven
From his pocket he pulled a business card graven.
He was balding and old, and I was put right at ease,
And I said to him, “Sir, this way, if you please.”
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And in a few moments pulled the plug with a jerk.
“The mother board’s fried,” he said, shaking his head.
“And the rest of your hard drive looks like it’s dead.”
Then he packed up the tower and picked up his tools
“Gotta watch these old ‘puters, they’re stubborn as mules.”
He walked to his van, my computer in hand
And I had to admit, this did not go as planned.
And I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, no more surfing to-night.”
Well, we didn't meet a fiery end on Friday, so it looks like once again Christmas is saved. :-)
My winter solstice end of the world cookie exchange went well on Friday. I had just a few of my writing friends over but there were many, many cookies. Yum! And for a change my cookie press decided to co-operate so I made an enormous batch of spritz cookies.
We finished up the Christmas shopping on Saturday, and in the morning/early afternoon my daughter and I did our traditional Christmas crafts. Ever since she was little we've taken a day to do a new Christmas ornament for our tree. Now that she has her own tree we have to do twice as many. :-)
I thought about taking the whole week off of blogging, but I have a couple of more things I want to post this week. But for sure it'll be a shortened up week.
What’s Up This Week on both blogs:
Tuesday I will be posting the last of my Christmas videos - my absolute favourites from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Wednesday I will be posting an extra Christmasy hunk. ;-)
Thursday I will be taking a rest, which I'm sure I'll need by then.
Friday I will be posting my yearly wrap-up.
And now, because it's Christmas Eve, I give you my own version of T'was the Night Before Christmas (aka, A Visit From St. Nicholas):
A Visit From the Computer Tech
’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, just the optical mouse;
The cords were all strung to the PC with care
In hopes the technician soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of interwebs danced in their heads;
The wife couldn’t take any more of this crap
So she went to bed while I took a nap.
When there on the screen there arose such a clatter
I sprang from the chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the keyboard I flew like a flash,
Grabbed up the mouse and gave it a bash.
The monitor gleamed with a brilliant blue glow
Seeming to mock me as I lowly moaned, “No!”
And what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a security warning that made my eyes tear.
With an attack on my drivers, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment my computer was sick.
More rapid than eagles the popups they came,
And I whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now Trojan, now Wormy, now BankerFox vixen!
A technician’s coming, my computer he’s fixin’.
By installing protection ,a blocker, a wall!
And then he’ll delete you, delete one and all!”
And then, in a twinkling, I heard it once more,
A van pulling up, then a knock on the door.
I opened the door with a feeling profound,
And into the house came the tech with a bound.
He was dressed all in blue from his head to his toe
And his jacket was covered with a sprinkling of snow.
A box full of tools was grasped in his hand
And he looked like an angel, come down to land.
His eyes, they were bloodshot, his face was unshaven
From his pocket he pulled a business card graven.
He was balding and old, and I was put right at ease,
And I said to him, “Sir, this way, if you please.”
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And in a few moments pulled the plug with a jerk.
“The mother board’s fried,” he said, shaking his head.
“And the rest of your hard drive looks like it’s dead.”
Then he packed up the tower and picked up his tools
“Gotta watch these old ‘puters, they’re stubborn as mules.”
He walked to his van, my computer in hand
And I had to admit, this did not go as planned.
And I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, no more surfing to-night.”
Dec 21, 2012
5 Days to Christmas!
It's getting down to crunch time - are you ready for Christmas? Here's a few of my favourite Christmas songs to get you in the mood.
The Little Drummer Boy – Bowie and Crosby (one of my all time favourite Christmas videos)
Mistletoe and Holly – Frank Sinatra
The First Noel - Celtic Woman
O Holy Night – Nat King Cole
I was disappointed I couldn't find a video of Nat King Cole singing this, but at least you get to hear his angelic voice.
Dec 19, 2012
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