Writing Well

Looking back on what I've posted makes me cringe sometimes. No, it is not the content or subject matter. It is all the grammatical errors peppering the entries (IE subject-verb agreement, syntax errors, etc.). Just that last sentence is enough to send me into punctuation tailspin!

Well, my lovelies today I feel vindicated. Another blog I subscribe to published a "made-Sprinkles-feel-better" article regarding her blog writing: Ira Glass on Improving Your Craft. Please watch the short video on the page.

What I am trying to say is I hope that my messages are more important than the minor errors. I've read perfectly written stories that were still drivel that made me wonder how I was ever going to recover precious time lost or find the author to slap for offending me with their words. I try to focus more on imagery and conveying the message with more clarity. With enough practice I should be darn near more perfect than I am now. Ha!

Laughter IS the Best Medicine,
Sprinkles xo

PS That is why God created editors for us dangling participle loving gals. Wink.
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Writing Well

Repeating Myself

During my mental break this afternoon, I reread an e-mail I sent to my division and realized my proofreading had not been perfect. I had written "moral" not "morale". Darn that missing "e".

Following that I reread my blog...Yikes! I've been repeating myself. Jeezus. I've been repeating myself. Jeezus.

HA!

Okay, it wasn't the repeating of stories just certain phrases. Once again proofreading was not my strongest point. I've been mentally exhausted from my day job. While demanding, it does make the day go by quickly. Then again, the stress from the aggressive demands have taken its toll on your AGOL.

The quirkiest part about the whole thing is that I have been cheerier than usual. I said as much to Bridget who characterizes me as a happy person. Little does she know the mental acrobatics I go through in more darker emotions. It does please me to have her see me as happy. I try very hard to make things light and fun at work since the others seem to get bogged down in minutiae and forget to laugh. This is difficult to write, but I save my worrying and less than pleasant emotions away from work. Some might call it a touch of depression.

I waited for the elevator doors to open when it suddenly hit me how tomorrow was going to suck already. My self-appraisal is due to tomorrow as well my day cut short thanks to a vendor web training in the afternoon. The boss is still stinging from a remark made by a high level exec which has galvanized him into a mission to contradict and gather evidence against her hasty allegation on how he conducts a portion of his job. The rest of us get to listen as he progresses with his mission. Sigh.

Kathy called me back this evening. I was able to share with her some things that had bothered me during the day relating to my career and going back to school. Without a second income in my household, it is difficult to figure out how I would do it. My company offers tuition reimbursement which is great, but coming up with cash upfront for a more private school providing expensive and convenient online classes can be hard to swallow. The next thing might be a certification. That is less time and costs thousands of dollars less...She had other news -- her boyfriend found a job in Northern Florida where the IT jobs are plentiful (compared to Tampa). Kathy would quit her job here and find one there, too. Their timeline to be moved in and both gainfully employed is January. I am very happy for her; they both get what they want.

Speaking of getting what they want...My doggie wants to go outside. We will continue our moon bath from this morning. I haven't seen the moon this bright in months. I think I'll go tell the Man on the Moon what I want...without repeating myself.


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Repeating Myself

And Then...

Granted this week so far is an improvement over last week, but the pressure is still there. The energy was skewed further by other people's drama. Here's how it went...

Bridget had taken her son to the allergist first thing this morning and came to work finding out that one of her tires had a chunk missing out of it. It had to be replaced before her trip home over the long bridge to St. Petersburg. She ended up spending a couple hundred dollars on two tires and that is without the extra alignment work. The rest of her afternoon went downhill from there thanks to bickering with her boyfriend about her refusal to go see midget wrestling with him. I beg you not to have me elaborate. It just gets ugly.

And then...Tawny told me we could go out anywhere for lunch since her husband Jeff was going home to retrieve his wallet. We sat and enjoyed a tasty lunch albeit being served our meal 20 minutes after our initial order and in a warm temperature, not warm hot or piping hot. Grrr. Our waitress was not having a good day. Even worse was Jeff having a blowout in one of the tires as he was leaving the house. He ended up replacing all four tires at a tire shop. Had to call around for this special size tire on their compact vehicle which took the rest of the afternoon.

And then...My friend Lisa said that her shoe had a blowout meaning that she had to go to the mall and replace the pair she had on during lunch which did not end up an easy task.

And then...My boss was still hyper (sadly no tranquilizing device readily available). He was bouncing around like Tigger trying to put out fires and giving us frequent updates.

And then...Well, this part was better. Met some of my motley crew after work for some steam letting. Gave Tawny a ride and Jeff met us along with Ant and DJ. DJ had asked me late yesterday afternoon if we could meet. I forgot to invite Kathy and Jamie! Had a great time anyway; there was plenty of humor to go around. Ant had a delicious spunkin muffin from the coffeeshop after. It had a lot of spice and a creamy center. Whhhattt?

Found out ghoulish plans are being made for a Halloween party at Kathy and Jamie's house. Tawny and Jeff are involved in the planning. Jeff used to build sets for television and with all the creativity and geekiness going on with the rest of the group, it will be spooktacular!

Speaking of Halloween, Cabal is lucky I don't make him look like these. (Click link to see wrong doing by other pet owners.) Besides, Cabal would be dressed like a king or was that a pimp?

Side note...Tawny was happy that I am writing again for me as in the recent entries instead of encouraging and helping others to write. She believes I've neglected myself in the last year. I've explained to her that the ideas are always there and I use some of those ideas to help others. Generating ideas has always come easily for me. Writing, if I allow myself, is like breathing. I am not an expert by any means, but I give it a shot. It is the execution of some of the other ideas for myself that is the challenge.

I've probably told you before that I grew up without television a portion of my childhood. My mother refused to buy another TV after our house got broken into for the second time in the Philippines. I was forced to use my imagination and creativity for amusement. Those habits have kept my mind alive like an active volcano. Run out of ideas? Are you serious? Girl, pull up a steno pad and take notes. Hope you know shorthand.

And Then...

Soothing Sunday

Woke up feeling much more rested than in recent memory. The morning passed with ease and no haste at all. Rather odd. Didn't speak (voicewise) with a single soul save my Pretty Boy Dog who was loving having his mistress to himself. Spoiled thing.

Finally watched Down with Love with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. It was cute and fun, shades reminiscent of Doris Day and Rock Hudson films. I followed it with an old classic with a very beautiful James Spader and always good Susan Sarandon in White Palace. It is great to see a film you enjoyed the first time be enjoyable over 17 years later. It is no Oscar contender and must be taken in the context of the era.

Spent a portion of the late afternoon and early evening collaborating with some creative writing. Other people can give you an interesting perspective, but I guess our experiences in life is what makes what we bring to the creative table unique. My mind has been a bit stale lately. A few of my recent posts have been fledgling efforts in starting my creative mojo flowing again. As I've recently learned, The beginning can be found at any point! Not sweating it out too much right now, but will keep trying.

Had delicious Chinese food leftovers and still have some for lunch tomorrow. Made some more jasmine rice to go with it. The aroma just sends me into a headspace where I feel deeply comforted. The comfort was distorted later by watching the animated episodes of The Family Guy and American Dad. Demented humor. It will get me ready for the demented humor at work tomorrow. Come to think of it...maybe it is just demented at work.

Soothing Sunday

Tuesday is Really Monday

I knew there would be hell to pay when I got back to work after deciding to take the day off at 6am yesterday. Even though I sent my boss a note of being sick (which was true) , I still worked via a few e-mails and answered a phone call from him. That bit wasn't enough to dent what greeted me this morning when I docked and fired up my laptop. Ugh.

It is end of month and end of our fiscal year so things are hopping like a mutha right now. Bridget was busy losing her mind with antics from her boyfriend and mother, the Accounts Payable group and our temp when she was not teasing me with having her boobs wink at me. It sounds more obscene than it is; think flexing chest muscle. She has a very large set of you know whats on her petite body. She does it to jam me up when we are in the middle of stressful moments. She goes for the shock factor which works into sending us into gales of laughter. I think she's getting me back for my own boob shot on Sunday's entry which she thought was hot. Brought her a chicken mixture-filled steamed bun for breakfast as a reward for good behavior yesterday on dealing with others while I was gone.

Tawny was at home sick again for the second day in a row, but this time her husband joined her. Didn't get to IM with her as much as yesterday. Hope she's feeling better soon.

Lunch was mercifully quiet and a small conversation with a good man named John who shared his weekend events with wife and kiddies. I brought a Filipino lunch but I wished for a part of the lunch that Myrna brought me yesterday from one of my favorite restaurants. Am I spoiled or what? Her housewife days are numbered because her new job starts next week. Grateful to have spent a couple of hours with her when I wasn't feeling well. My demented sense of humor comes out when she's around. Laughter is the best medicine they say.

The afternoon was a busy blur. I did get to enjoy rereading a fellow blogger's addition to my poem(?) yesterday in the comment. It was interesting surprise. Writing for me has always been a way to decompress as I am doing now. When I write with purposeful thought as in a poem or short story, it is a time for me to really let my imagination loose and not be so bogged down with factual information. I let it flow and see where it leads. It usually starts with an image in my mind's eye or with a feeling. I do not profess to be a Maya Angelou or Jane Austen, but I feel my role is to express it as vividly as I can so my audience feels or sees exactly what I do. It needn't be a whole story, it can be a brief moment in time.

The best part of the process is getting so lost in the writing that when I reread it later whether it is days, months or years, it is as if it was written by someone other than me. It makes me smile every time. Maybe one day I will write that book my high school creative writing teacher, Mr. Anderson, asked me to send him a copy of when it was published. May I find the words to do so and not let the music die that I know is within me. Staccato, mezzo forte, crescendo, legato, and pianissimo...Can you feel it already?

Tuesday is Really Monday