Things I Write About

Soooooo... in that whole vein of avoiding responsibility by taking on OTHER responsibilities, I've stepped up to lead my writing group for some unspecified period of time that will probably amount to as long as I am: a. willing to do it, b. doing it competently, and c. financially viable enough to pay the fees. (This mini list is a freebie!) I am a little frustrated that I can't get very much response from the 253 other members of the group. I guess to get a lively group of 20 or 30 regular participants, you actually need about 500 members. Crazy. Anyway, I will persevere. I am trying very hard not to hijack the group for my own purposes, but the temptation is veerryyy sttroonnnggg.

Anyway in honor of my new ascendancy, a list of the topics I am interested in:

1. Serial killers
   
2. Lesbians
   
3. Teddy Bears
   
4. Death
   
5. Chickens
   
6. Beads
   
7. Communities
   
8. International Jewel Thieves
   
9. Elves
   
10. Random Kindness
    
11. Geisha
    
12. Friendships
    
13. Aliens
    
14. Children
    
15. Quilting
    
16. Weight and Fitness
    
17. Goals
    
18. Vampires
    
19. Dysfunctional Families
    
20. Lovers
    
21. Cats
    
22. Gardening
    
23. Nocturnal Life
    
24. Food
    
25. Femme Fatales
    
26. Science
    
27. Unicorns
    
28. Writing (and do you know, I almost left this one out!)

If that's not enough to keep me writing for the rest of my life, well, I guess I'll just have to start being interested in something else.

What I ate today

Ok, so it's been a while, so I'll bore you a bit more:

1. Two bananas - I was feeling decadent
2. About two ounces of delicious trout
3. Some broccoli and carrots I sauteed in soy sauce and sesame oil
4. about 3/4 cup of rice
5. Nectarine
6. Handful of dried cherries
7. Sample of chicken breast - plain
8. 3/4 Cup of praline pecans - at least I hope that's all it was
9. Most of a Trader Joe's spa salad
10. Handful of dark chocolate covered blueberries
11. Two handfuls of dark chocolate covered edamame (and counting).
12. About 8 ounces of organic lemonade tea.

I've also had quite a bit of water today, and that's why I have to pee. Right now.

The Seven Deadly Sins

I can't get with the crazy religious thing, even a little bit. My sister told me yesterday that she has personally been attacked by demons, and that she believes that homosexuality is caused by an evil spirit that's attacking the world. Presumably the individuals, both human and animal, who manifest symptoms of this affliction (i.e. gays) are those who weren't able to resist the influence of the evil spirit. Where exactly do you go in a conversation like that? I just can't follow her in to this fundamentalist zealotry and live in the spiritually perilous world she lives in. I also don't want to be a Christian rapper.

I firmly believe that when I get to Heaven, there will be a little coffee house with amazing mochas (full fat, and whipped cream, please, this IS heaven), and St. Peter will be referring to a gorgeously eclectic scrapbooky thing with all kind of my life's memorabilia pasted in it (my baby pictures, movie tickets, mother's day cards from the kids, the notes I passed in 9th grade French class, and dozens of things that I've forgotten about), and every once in a while he’ll get to some dumb thing I did, show it to me and say “what was THAT about?” And then we’ll both shake our heads and laugh, then take a sip of coffee, and keep going. And when we reach the end of the story, I get to decide whether to retire to my personal version of heaven, or try another round on earth in hopes of doing it better next time. (Of course I’ve taken Bodhisattva vows so I’ll be saying, “send me back, there’s always more to do!”) In any case, I don’t believe in hell, it’s like saying ‘she’s the perfect mother…well, except for all that child abuse.’ Hey since this IS a list blog, we need a list. How about this?

The Seven Deadly Sins and Their Demons:

Pride - Lucifer
Avarice/Greed - Mammon
Lechery/Lust - Asmodeus
Anger/Wrath - Satan
Gluttony - Beelzebub
Envy - Leviathan
Sloth - Belphegor

Titles of Stories I'll Eventually Write

So in keeping with the making myself promises I don't keep, I haven't been writing as much as I should have, but I've been thinking a lot about things to write about. Unfortunately that doesn't count. But this counts as writing, yay!, so here are some story titles that may eventually become actual full-fledged stories.

1. A Visit From A Lady
   
2. Genevieve's Angels
   
3. Olivia's Hair
   
4. Remembering Philip
   
5. The Night Belongs to the Maintenance Men (is this the title or the first line of the story? I can't tell.
   
6. Another Senseless Killing on the Six O'Clock News

I have another story cycle in mind, 15 stories about death and dying, but I don't have 15 story ideas yet. And I need to finish writing Olivia's Hair, which was started as an exercise in writing group, but not finished yet.

What I Ate Today

Because you've been waiting BREATHLESSLY for me to resume this mindless catalog of my excesses:

1. Banana
   
2. Celery
   
3. One pancake with syrup
   
4. One piece of bacon
   
5. Pear
   
6. Most of a bratwurst
   
7. Diet Coke with Lime
   

I don't know if I'll eat dinner or not. Of course I took the anti-crazy pills and drank a boatload of water. Can one poison oneself by eating too much celery?

In case you're interested, yesterday I had lemon yogurt, delicious Vietnamese noodles, and three fudge bars, among other things. I know, I know, don't even start with me.

Reason I Can't Make Writing a Priority

So honestly, recording what I eat is AT LEAST as boring as I would imagine reading it is. And I looked at my calendar and realized that I have not made it to a Writer's Study Hall in over six months AND I missed the open mic night at Hugo House last night.

1. I'm too emotionally drained by my relationship to be creative.
2. Fear of success.
3. Lack of confidence in my talent.
4. Laziness.
5. Lapse of mental discipline.
6. Distractions (TV, reading, kids, scheduled activities) are given more importance.
7. Loss of faith.
8. Inability to find a compatible community.
9. Guilt

I think I'm going to start scheduling writing time. That's all there is to it.

Stuff I Plan To Do In June

So I've decided to be more productive for the rest of the year, and I will accomplish this by making lists of things I'm going to do, and then doing half the things on the list and then mentally berating myself for being such an underachiever. Let's start with:

1. Read a life-changing book and let it change my life.


2. Start re-learning to play the piano.


3. Plan and execute a garage sale with the kids.


4. Make a pair of jeans that fit me.


5. Upgrade my computer.


6. Take all of the 'donate' items leftover from the gararge sale somewhere, and DONATE them.


7. Go to open mic night at Hugo House and read something, out loud, to the crowd.


8. Try to get something published.


9. Clean both bathrooms, top to bottom, including the corners.


10. Lose 10 pounds.

Ok, that should be enough for one month. Or completely impossible to accomplish in ten. Updates will follow.