This post is for the lost,frustrated,oft angry,baffled person who desperately wants to be proficient in the use of their computer. I must explain that what you read here is my opinion and mine alone.Feel free to nod your head,stand up and cheer wildly,dance naked around the room in a show of agreement for the opinion I express.
I have a love/ hate relationship with my lovely,expensive, blue, Dell laptop.It is capable of doing all sorts of wonderful things.The problem is I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO GET IT TO DO THE MAJORITY OF THEM!
Frequently I accidentally accomplish a task and have no idea how I did it and have no way to repeat said task.I have a stack of index cards telling me what I need to do to complete tasks I want to do.
Files? What are files and what do you do with them.I download stuff and can't find where it went.I open a file only to discover that it has pictures of stuff I didn't put there.The stuff I'm looking far is nowhere I know how to access. I am certain my laptop is possessed by a gremlin who laughs his ass off every time I log on.
I am an intelligent woman with a fairly good IQ but apparently I did not inherit the technology gene from any of my ancesters.I DO NOT UNDERSTAND COMPUTERESE! Yes that is my word for the foriegn language computer geeks speak.I am awed by computer geeks.I wish I belonged to their realm and understood their language. They are earth bound Gods.
Computer manuals might as well be written in Russian(Another language I do not speak).I do not understand what they are saying,the terms they use or anything else they are telling me to do.Someone needs to write an illustrated computer manual.Yes I watched the tutorial and it was like watching a foreign film without subtitles.
I am a writer and I depend on my laptop as I cannot read my own handwriting because my ideas spew from my brain in a torrent of pictures,words,and emotions. So for now I plod along sticking to the things I do know how to do and call on my friend, Mark the computer God ,when I have done something really strange,screwed up a document or I am just lost and have no idea how to fix what I just did by accident.
YES Mark,I do know that I know just enough to screw things up and not enough to know how to fix it and that I should have bought a Mac.But for now, hopefully you will be there to get me out of the mess I just made or patiently explain how to do something new.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
So You want To Be A Writer!
I love to write.Love the creative process of words and ideas swirling around in my head and seeing them begin to tell a story in black in white on my laptop. I thrill to see the characters in my head come to life and show me who they are and begin to reveal their stories. The satisfaction of writing that final page is indescribable to anyone but another writer.Euphoria is as close as I can get to a one word description.
Sounds great doesn't it?Thousands of potential writers seem to think writing a book is easy. Hundreds decide they can write a book,how hard can it be? Their choice of tools are chosen, laptop,desk top,word processors,special pencils,reams of paper,recorders,whatever tools they want to use to write the next bestseller.
Then it is on to choosing that special area in their home to write the epic book. Hundreds,maybe thousands, of dollars are spent by aspiring authors in order to have just the right setting and tools in which to write that breakout novel that will make them the next Stephen King,Nora Roberts,Poe,Hemingway or Rowling.
How hard can it be to write a book? They have an idea that will have agents and publishers breaking down the doors to represent them and publish their amazing book.Dream on my naive friend.Reality will hit when you face the hours of research and the bleary eyed wee hours of the morning sitting facing a blank page when the right words are trembling in your head just beyond your reach.
Writing is a misunderstood occupation. IT IS NOT A NICE LITTLE HOBBY!Writing is damn hard,often frustrating work.It is a very solitary,often isolating, job.No one can do it for you unless you take the route so many do and hire a ghostwriter. Cheating is what I call it.One is not an author if someone else writes the words and sweats over grammar,sentence structure,etc!
Dues must be paid to reach that pinnacle of achievement,a published novel that John Q Public buys,likes and then wants to buy more of your work.
Then the last words are written and the manuscript if finished. It takes a while for the mind to catch up and grasp the reality. Then euphoria sets in and respiration increases,the heart races and tired cramped hands move away from the keyboard or the drop the pencil.
Perhaps helpless giggles overtake the body or tears begin to flow.The need to shout from the rooftops,celebrate with actual people or dance naked in the moonlight might overtake the exhausted author at this time or it may come later when the shock has worn off.
All too soon reality sets in and wipes away all thoughts of accomplishment.The dreaded specter intrudes and stares menacingly at the writer.But, it is too soon to face that task.Maybe the next day,the next week, next month or even the next year the brave writer will face it.
But face it they will.Squaring their shoulders, they will sit down and begin one of the most dreaded tasks of all.Rewrites,revisions and editing! It's a dirty job ,but somebody has to do it!
After many and often frustrating days, it is all done and ready for the next phase. Sending queries to agents and publishers, waiting for the rejections and praying someone will like your baby enough to ask for a full submission.(No guarantee they will like it enough to take you on as a client or find a publisher to want to print and market it.
While all this is going on,the author has semi recovered and is hard at work on a new idea that won't leave them alone until they start bringing it to life.Why? Because it is what we do and to paraphrase a quote.
Because a writer can't not write!
Now think long and hard about all of this and I admit this is just my opinion.if you still want to write you will.Nothing, and I mean nothing short of death will keep you from writing.If you still want to be a writer,then welcome to the world down the rabbit hole.We are all mad down here!
Sounds great doesn't it?Thousands of potential writers seem to think writing a book is easy. Hundreds decide they can write a book,how hard can it be? Their choice of tools are chosen, laptop,desk top,word processors,special pencils,reams of paper,recorders,whatever tools they want to use to write the next bestseller.
Then it is on to choosing that special area in their home to write the epic book. Hundreds,maybe thousands, of dollars are spent by aspiring authors in order to have just the right setting and tools in which to write that breakout novel that will make them the next Stephen King,Nora Roberts,Poe,Hemingway or Rowling.
How hard can it be to write a book? They have an idea that will have agents and publishers breaking down the doors to represent them and publish their amazing book.Dream on my naive friend.Reality will hit when you face the hours of research and the bleary eyed wee hours of the morning sitting facing a blank page when the right words are trembling in your head just beyond your reach.
Writing is a misunderstood occupation. IT IS NOT A NICE LITTLE HOBBY!Writing is damn hard,often frustrating work.It is a very solitary,often isolating, job.No one can do it for you unless you take the route so many do and hire a ghostwriter. Cheating is what I call it.One is not an author if someone else writes the words and sweats over grammar,sentence structure,etc!
Dues must be paid to reach that pinnacle of achievement,a published novel that John Q Public buys,likes and then wants to buy more of your work.
Then the last words are written and the manuscript if finished. It takes a while for the mind to catch up and grasp the reality. Then euphoria sets in and respiration increases,the heart races and tired cramped hands move away from the keyboard or the drop the pencil.
Perhaps helpless giggles overtake the body or tears begin to flow.The need to shout from the rooftops,celebrate with actual people or dance naked in the moonlight might overtake the exhausted author at this time or it may come later when the shock has worn off.
All too soon reality sets in and wipes away all thoughts of accomplishment.The dreaded specter intrudes and stares menacingly at the writer.But, it is too soon to face that task.Maybe the next day,the next week, next month or even the next year the brave writer will face it.
But face it they will.Squaring their shoulders, they will sit down and begin one of the most dreaded tasks of all.Rewrites,revisions and editing! It's a dirty job ,but somebody has to do it!
After many and often frustrating days, it is all done and ready for the next phase. Sending queries to agents and publishers, waiting for the rejections and praying someone will like your baby enough to ask for a full submission.(No guarantee they will like it enough to take you on as a client or find a publisher to want to print and market it.
While all this is going on,the author has semi recovered and is hard at work on a new idea that won't leave them alone until they start bringing it to life.Why? Because it is what we do and to paraphrase a quote.
Because a writer can't not write!
Now think long and hard about all of this and I admit this is just my opinion.if you still want to write you will.Nothing, and I mean nothing short of death will keep you from writing.If you still want to be a writer,then welcome to the world down the rabbit hole.We are all mad down here!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Weather and Moods
Everyone knows the weather can affect a persons mood. Sunshine can lift spirits and calm agitation.Fall weather affect many with wanderlust and some with feelings of hearth and home,cozy fires burning brightly in fireplaces,the scent of burning leaves and fragrant hearty soups and stews elicit memories of home for many people.
The farmers have their crops harvested and fields plowed and waiting for spring. Ranchers are ready for winter.Last minute checks on hay bales in pastures,cattle in the correct pastures,stalls for the horses clean and spread with clean bedding. Blankets for the prize stock waiting in the tack rooms
This is a time of relaxing before the long cold days of winter, bone chilling winds and sleet and snow begin. The trek to the barn,stables or pastures become a decidedly harsher task.But,there is also a sense of accomplishment in their ongoing battle and partnership with Mother Nature that rural folks have that city dwellers and those who don't live off the land don't feel and may not understand.
Rural folks may curse Mother Nature but most wouldn't change what they do and where they live. Living off the land toughens a person,gives them untold rewards and numerous heartaches.City dwellers experience the same, just in a different way.
What does this have to do with moods? Think about it.How do you feel on a warm spring day?Or a dreary winter day vs a winters day with soft white snowflakes covering the bleak concrete or dry brown grass. On Spring days do you feel euphoric and full of energy and the need to play hooky from work and play in the sun? Or ready to plow the fields for new crops and delighting in the newest crop of babies? Even a spring rain awakens the childish thoughts of splashing in puddles and dancing in the warm rain. Weather affects our moods,sometimes in a positive way and unfortunately sometimes brings thoughts of loneliness and despair.
Either way,negatively or positively, our moods definitely change with the weather.
The farmers have their crops harvested and fields plowed and waiting for spring. Ranchers are ready for winter.Last minute checks on hay bales in pastures,cattle in the correct pastures,stalls for the horses clean and spread with clean bedding. Blankets for the prize stock waiting in the tack rooms
This is a time of relaxing before the long cold days of winter, bone chilling winds and sleet and snow begin. The trek to the barn,stables or pastures become a decidedly harsher task.But,there is also a sense of accomplishment in their ongoing battle and partnership with Mother Nature that rural folks have that city dwellers and those who don't live off the land don't feel and may not understand.
Rural folks may curse Mother Nature but most wouldn't change what they do and where they live. Living off the land toughens a person,gives them untold rewards and numerous heartaches.City dwellers experience the same, just in a different way.
What does this have to do with moods? Think about it.How do you feel on a warm spring day?Or a dreary winter day vs a winters day with soft white snowflakes covering the bleak concrete or dry brown grass. On Spring days do you feel euphoric and full of energy and the need to play hooky from work and play in the sun? Or ready to plow the fields for new crops and delighting in the newest crop of babies? Even a spring rain awakens the childish thoughts of splashing in puddles and dancing in the warm rain. Weather affects our moods,sometimes in a positive way and unfortunately sometimes brings thoughts of loneliness and despair.
Either way,negatively or positively, our moods definitely change with the weather.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thoughts on the New Year of 2011.
Twenty eleven is almost here. I expressed to my dear friend Mark,who is a computer genius or a computer wizard in my opinion,that I think I have been caught in a time warp or would that be a time warp continuum?I am not a Syfy buff,but I do watch Dr Who occasionally and never missed an episode of the original Star Trek.Yes Mark,the original is still the only Star Trek I recognize.Even with it's cheesy special effects and William Shatner's campy acting. Firefly was a great series too and ended much too soon.
However;I did love the Stark Trek movie with the younger versions of the crew and better special effects.But I digress.
I am caught in a 2010 Hell and hope that a worm hole will open soon and throw me into 2011. I can only hope it is a much better year. Maybe even a fantastic year.
Fortunately, I just turned another year older. Unfortunately,I did not become a minute wiser it seems.Actually, I suppose I am a bit wiser. I now recognize when I am caught in a loop of loss and no win situations without an acceptable way out.
This does not mean however; that I can always avoid them. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and jump into the fray,praying you come out the other side mostly intact.that unenviable position is precisely where I am at the moment.Feet first into a fray not of my making,well I suppose I did make the initial choices that led to where I am today.
Okay fine! I admit I did, all on my own, make the initial choices. Damn it, they seemed like the right choices at the time.Little did I know those decisions would come back like Ole Man Coyote( Native American fable about how coyote learns by making mistakes and the wrong decisions. Coyote always seems to show up when there is a major decision for me to make, then gleefully bites me in the butt.
You would think after all the years, I would have a much smaller butt. All I have is a lot of moves to new homes( None of them mine or permanent),money worries,mind numbing stress, and a very narrow range of choices that are even remotely what I thought I would have at this time in my life. Well as long as I am alive there is hope for better time. At least I have people I love and I have been love.
Truly all we are promise and can be certain of in this lifetime is the breath we are taking at this second.
However;I did love the Stark Trek movie with the younger versions of the crew and better special effects.But I digress.
I am caught in a 2010 Hell and hope that a worm hole will open soon and throw me into 2011. I can only hope it is a much better year. Maybe even a fantastic year.
Fortunately, I just turned another year older. Unfortunately,I did not become a minute wiser it seems.Actually, I suppose I am a bit wiser. I now recognize when I am caught in a loop of loss and no win situations without an acceptable way out.
This does not mean however; that I can always avoid them. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and jump into the fray,praying you come out the other side mostly intact.that unenviable position is precisely where I am at the moment.Feet first into a fray not of my making,well I suppose I did make the initial choices that led to where I am today.
Okay fine! I admit I did, all on my own, make the initial choices. Damn it, they seemed like the right choices at the time.Little did I know those decisions would come back like Ole Man Coyote( Native American fable about how coyote learns by making mistakes and the wrong decisions. Coyote always seems to show up when there is a major decision for me to make, then gleefully bites me in the butt.
You would think after all the years, I would have a much smaller butt. All I have is a lot of moves to new homes( None of them mine or permanent),money worries,mind numbing stress, and a very narrow range of choices that are even remotely what I thought I would have at this time in my life. Well as long as I am alive there is hope for better time. At least I have people I love and I have been love.
Truly all we are promise and can be certain of in this lifetime is the breath we are taking at this second.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Yard Sale and Second Hand Gifts
Well it wasn't a complete waste of time.We made sixty dollars to split three ways.Operative word being COMPLETE. Day continued cool and cloudy.People came and looked, some friendly,some surly. No big ticket items sold,but we didn't have as much as we thought we would have to sell. Maybe our heart just wasn't into having a really profitable garage sale or maybe most people were at the mall,Target,Wal-Mart,etc, frantically buying last minute gifts. No desire to drive around to see what else be out there and take a chance on losing out on a new and shiny item. I guess second hand stuff as a gift sounds a bit tacky now that I think about it.
I remember the year my husband and I were really tight on cash and bought gifts from resale shops and pawn shops for our kids. Some only worked briefly,some were scratched and some had no instructions on how to operate. DISASTER and the worst Christmas ever,before or since.
I have bought gifts from resale shops,pawn shops,etc since that Christmas but Never,Ever,the main gifts.Lesson learned. We had good intentions,but I will never forget the disappointed faces of our children.
I remember the year my husband and I were really tight on cash and bought gifts from resale shops and pawn shops for our kids. Some only worked briefly,some were scratched and some had no instructions on how to operate. DISASTER and the worst Christmas ever,before or since.
I have bought gifts from resale shops,pawn shops,etc since that Christmas but Never,Ever,the main gifts.Lesson learned. We had good intentions,but I will never forget the disappointed faces of our children.
Pre- Christmas yard sale.
Ahhh the excitement and sadness of a moving yard sale.Couple that with a family breaking up,two days before Christmas with limited funds for presents, stir in the elements of the fifth move in three year and having to find a temporary home for a beloved dog and the confusion and excitement of a four year old who has no idea of all the dynamics and you have the set up for a very strained Christmas.
Forced smiles,frayed tempers and frustration flavor the atmosphere with a heavy pre-storm electricity.
Garage sales are not easy to withstand with good humor in the best of times. The circumstances surrounding our garage sale were decidedly gloomy.
We got a really late start,all of us were tired and putting on the best faces we could.Our first customer was friendly,bought a few items and stayed to visit.By eleven am we had sold a few items and eyeing the gloomy, very chilly, weather. Will post more on our epic garage sale at the end of the day.
Forced smiles,frayed tempers and frustration flavor the atmosphere with a heavy pre-storm electricity.
Garage sales are not easy to withstand with good humor in the best of times. The circumstances surrounding our garage sale were decidedly gloomy.
We got a really late start,all of us were tired and putting on the best faces we could.Our first customer was friendly,bought a few items and stayed to visit.By eleven am we had sold a few items and eyeing the gloomy, very chilly, weather. Will post more on our epic garage sale at the end of the day.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Lifes Roller Coaster Rides and Carnivals.
Well here I am, back where I started, Louisiana. Well, not exactly where I originally started. I started out this life in northeast Louisiana,in the small town of West Monroe. Moved to across the river to Monroe then on to Rayville,Louisiana. Rayville is where I spent the happiest days of my life. Maybe if I had known those would be the happiest,I would have stayed there and refused to budge,no matter who or what came along to turn my head.
But a marvelously exciting carnival hit town with multicolored lights, brightly painted rides and barkers telling of all the wonders to behold inside the gates. All to be had for the small price of a ticket. I remember my excitement as I paid the price and entered the gates,bright eyed and full of wonder. I almost turned back but the dazzled expressions of the people pulled me forward.Still I hesitated.
Then the rumble of a giant roller coaster rolled up and lurched to a stop. I took one look at the handsome,dazzling expressions on the people already on the ride and I jumped in. I found myself caught up in the excitement as it began to move forward and climb above all the bright lights of the carnival.Everything about the carnival was bright,colorful and exciting.
All too soon, I saw the burned out bulbs,peeling paint and fake,forced smiles on the carnies faces and I realized my error.All the excitement,side shows,games and smiling people were merely a facade.
Underneath it all, was jealousy,poverty,longing,sadness,desertion, and unrealized dreams. By this time, it was too late and I closed the door on my dreams and former life.
The life I lived wasn't a bad life. The days of hard work in school were rewarded in the end.I had a good paying, stable profession,a husband who loved me dearly, and children who were healthy and intelligent.
Eventually we had a small farm,plans to build a house, and I had new dreams. However; I knew I could never recreate the my old life or realize the dreams I had. I desperately tried to,and lost sight of the life I did have.That desperate attempt cost me the love of my husband and the life I could have had with him.
So here I am back in Louisiana,but my circumstances are far different. I'm lucky to have the love and support of my children and friends,but realize that what I lost, I can never regain. I can revisit in my memories,smile with pleasure and cry with longing but I can't recreate the past by jumping on that damn roller coaster again. This time,I can see the peeling pain and I can smell the sourness of the filthy sawdust under my feet. The colorful bright lights, the false smiles and too desperate laughter of the carnival aren't so deceivingly pretty now.
I look at things with older and hopefully,wiser eye now.I still have time to make a new life for myself and enjoy it and all I have been blessed with.I just have to remember the lessons I've learned and embrace all I have now.Enjoy all my memories,good,sad or bad and remember the important lessons I've learned. The grass is rarely greener on the other side of the fence.
Oh and the most important lesson of all. To turn my back on that damn carnival ride!
But a marvelously exciting carnival hit town with multicolored lights, brightly painted rides and barkers telling of all the wonders to behold inside the gates. All to be had for the small price of a ticket. I remember my excitement as I paid the price and entered the gates,bright eyed and full of wonder. I almost turned back but the dazzled expressions of the people pulled me forward.Still I hesitated.
Then the rumble of a giant roller coaster rolled up and lurched to a stop. I took one look at the handsome,dazzling expressions on the people already on the ride and I jumped in. I found myself caught up in the excitement as it began to move forward and climb above all the bright lights of the carnival.Everything about the carnival was bright,colorful and exciting.
All too soon, I saw the burned out bulbs,peeling paint and fake,forced smiles on the carnies faces and I realized my error.All the excitement,side shows,games and smiling people were merely a facade.
Underneath it all, was jealousy,poverty,longing,sadness,desertion, and unrealized dreams. By this time, it was too late and I closed the door on my dreams and former life.
The life I lived wasn't a bad life. The days of hard work in school were rewarded in the end.I had a good paying, stable profession,a husband who loved me dearly, and children who were healthy and intelligent.
Eventually we had a small farm,plans to build a house, and I had new dreams. However; I knew I could never recreate the my old life or realize the dreams I had. I desperately tried to,and lost sight of the life I did have.That desperate attempt cost me the love of my husband and the life I could have had with him.
So here I am back in Louisiana,but my circumstances are far different. I'm lucky to have the love and support of my children and friends,but realize that what I lost, I can never regain. I can revisit in my memories,smile with pleasure and cry with longing but I can't recreate the past by jumping on that damn roller coaster again. This time,I can see the peeling pain and I can smell the sourness of the filthy sawdust under my feet. The colorful bright lights, the false smiles and too desperate laughter of the carnival aren't so deceivingly pretty now.
I look at things with older and hopefully,wiser eye now.I still have time to make a new life for myself and enjoy it and all I have been blessed with.I just have to remember the lessons I've learned and embrace all I have now.Enjoy all my memories,good,sad or bad and remember the important lessons I've learned. The grass is rarely greener on the other side of the fence.
Oh and the most important lesson of all. To turn my back on that damn carnival ride!
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