I hit 22,222 words this evening. Not bad for a month where I still worked pretty darn hard doing my day job. My goal is now a whole book by 1/1/12, (or at least a whole draft). Maybe I'll actually get to cross something cool off of my New Year's resolutions for 2011!
At some point in my life, it is now my goal to be a full-time writer, (and not one that writes economic reports...been there, done that!). I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
It's fun to dream and even more fun to take real steps toward achieving that dream.
Thank you for the inspiration nanowrimo.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Perspective
This morning I woke up excited to go back to school on Monday. Instead of a dream where nothing was going right in my classroom, I dreamed that I had a fabulous day where everything was coming together and I felt like an effective teacher. Dreams are very powerful in setting the tone during my waking hours. Now, I am sitting here re-energized to go back to school, excited to see my students, eager to try some new tricks and to be consistent with my old ones.
It sure beats the dreams I have where everything is going wrong and I wake up a stress-case! It's funny too, just yesterday I was telling a friend how the end of breaks are always so hard for me, how I start to stress about time slipping away from me, about how quickly I'll be back absorbed in the challenges of my classroom. However, with a shift in perspective brought on by a restful week and an encouraging dream, I'm now sitting here excited to go back.
Realizing how easily my perspective can shift from a stressful one to an excited one causes me to wonder whether there is an easy trick for always remembering to reframe my thinking. I feel like it is trickier than it sounds, but I also think it is funny how often something seemingly little can help me change how I see things. In this case, I'd like to find a way to always remember to step back and look at my job as an exciting and rewarding challenge when I start to become stressed, overwhelmed, or nervous. I'm determined that it is possible. If you have any tricks, I'd love to hear them.
So, happy Saturday. I am determined not to look at today as two days before I have to go back to work or as "Oh no, time is running out." Instead, I am determined to embrace today as its own, completely independent entity full of events and activities that I have been looking forward to, as well as a chance to get caught up on little tasks before everything gets busy again. May you have an equally enjoyable and productive day and remember that how you look at everything around you matters too.
It sure beats the dreams I have where everything is going wrong and I wake up a stress-case! It's funny too, just yesterday I was telling a friend how the end of breaks are always so hard for me, how I start to stress about time slipping away from me, about how quickly I'll be back absorbed in the challenges of my classroom. However, with a shift in perspective brought on by a restful week and an encouraging dream, I'm now sitting here excited to go back.
Realizing how easily my perspective can shift from a stressful one to an excited one causes me to wonder whether there is an easy trick for always remembering to reframe my thinking. I feel like it is trickier than it sounds, but I also think it is funny how often something seemingly little can help me change how I see things. In this case, I'd like to find a way to always remember to step back and look at my job as an exciting and rewarding challenge when I start to become stressed, overwhelmed, or nervous. I'm determined that it is possible. If you have any tricks, I'd love to hear them.
So, happy Saturday. I am determined not to look at today as two days before I have to go back to work or as "Oh no, time is running out." Instead, I am determined to embrace today as its own, completely independent entity full of events and activities that I have been looking forward to, as well as a chance to get caught up on little tasks before everything gets busy again. May you have an equally enjoyable and productive day and remember that how you look at everything around you matters too.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Abandoned Blogs
When I started blogging back in July, I had trouble finding a blog url that was not taken. I eventually settled on a truncated version of today is the best day of my life, todaybestlife. Adequate, but not my first choice, it reminds me more of a segment on Good Morning America than the place where I keep my musings on life.
Tempted to find myself a different url, I tried typing in some of the prefixes that I like and discovered a veritable graveyard of abandoned blogs. I find this irritating to discover that so many good blog names are wasted, but also fascinating, like stumbling across forgotten time capsules. The first one I tried had been abandoned for nearly ten years! I did not even know what a blog was in 2002. I was a senior in high school.
http://luckylife.blogspot.com/
Amused, I tried two more, which also proved abandoned. It makes me wonder how many are out there. Millions, I suspect. I invite you to try your own favorite prefixes and see what you get. I was hoping to stumble across like-minded blogs that maybe I'd like to follow. Instead, I found abandoned blog after abandoned blog, reminding me of how often we start projects and quickly lose interest.
This one was actually the most interesting to me:
http://luckyday.blogspot.com/
Someone started a luckiness experiment involving a crucifix and disappeared from the blog world after merely four days. Outcome unlucky, perhaps? I know, I know, my insinuation is creepy and unwarranted, I apologize.
At any rate, peeking into other people's abandoned blog projects is an interesting reflection on human nature and life in general. May we all find projects that keep us happy and engaged!
Happy Sunday!
PS. I think this is becoming an obsession, almost every blog prefix I try is abandoned...
olivia.blogspot.com
(my last name).blogspot.com (trying to protect my identity a little bit ;)
oliviaelizabeth.blogspot.com
wanderlust.blogspot.com
happylife.blogspot.com
happynow.blogspot.com
luckyheart.blogspot.com
The
List
Goes
On
And
On
So far, of all the prefixes I've tried, only one has led to an active blog. Maybe dead blogs should have a shelf life and then be thrown out so that others may claim their names?!
Tempted to find myself a different url, I tried typing in some of the prefixes that I like and discovered a veritable graveyard of abandoned blogs. I find this irritating to discover that so many good blog names are wasted, but also fascinating, like stumbling across forgotten time capsules. The first one I tried had been abandoned for nearly ten years! I did not even know what a blog was in 2002. I was a senior in high school.
http://luckylife.blogspot.com/
Amused, I tried two more, which also proved abandoned. It makes me wonder how many are out there. Millions, I suspect. I invite you to try your own favorite prefixes and see what you get. I was hoping to stumble across like-minded blogs that maybe I'd like to follow. Instead, I found abandoned blog after abandoned blog, reminding me of how often we start projects and quickly lose interest.
This one was actually the most interesting to me:
http://luckyday.blogspot.com/
Someone started a luckiness experiment involving a crucifix and disappeared from the blog world after merely four days. Outcome unlucky, perhaps? I know, I know, my insinuation is creepy and unwarranted, I apologize.
At any rate, peeking into other people's abandoned blog projects is an interesting reflection on human nature and life in general. May we all find projects that keep us happy and engaged!
Happy Sunday!
PS. I think this is becoming an obsession, almost every blog prefix I try is abandoned...
olivia.blogspot.com
(my last name).blogspot.com (trying to protect my identity a little bit ;)
oliviaelizabeth.blogspot.com
wanderlust.blogspot.com
happylife.blogspot.com
happynow.blogspot.com
luckyheart.blogspot.com
The
List
Goes
On
And
On
So far, of all the prefixes I've tried, only one has led to an active blog. Maybe dead blogs should have a shelf life and then be thrown out so that others may claim their names?!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Fall Colors
Yesterday I remembered why fall is my favorite season. Driving home from work at dusk, the sun shone through the brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows of the leaves on the trees. The green belt behind my school is alive with color. In fact, it's hardly green at all right now! Today I was determined to capture its magnificence in a photograph but missed my window, leaving just a few minutes too late to capture the light. It is so easy to forget to stop and look at the beauty around us, even in as unlikely a place as an older suburban neighborhood in Sacramento. This weekend I am determined to bask in all of fall's blazing colors before they slip away into the messy piles of rotting leaves that December brings.
I think that is the hardest thing about life, if you do not consciously stop to appreciate something, it will slip away before you realize it. I guess that is the truth to the saying in my family of this too shall pass. I think that we should add to the end that this too shall pass, whether you like it or not.
I know that I have said it before, but sometimes I wish that I could put life on pause and just stop and take it all in. Fleeting, but beautiful, but hard, but worth it. I know that each passing experience leads to another that has its own worth. I just want to remember to actually stop and appreciate what is around me before it is gone. A worthwhile sentiment for a month focused on gratitude, I suppose.
I know that I have said it before, but sometimes I wish that I could put life on pause and just stop and take it all in. Fleeting, but beautiful, but hard, but worth it. I know that each passing experience leads to another that has its own worth. I just want to remember to actually stop and appreciate what is around me before it is gone. A worthwhile sentiment for a month focused on gratitude, I suppose.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Ugly Face
This is probably going to sound really cliche, but today I was thinking about beauty and it really hit me that what makes someone memorably beautiful is not just how they look but who they are. We all grow up hearing that true beauty is on the inside, and while I have always agreed, I have never stopped to think about what this means to me.
Like most women, I have spent too much time worrying about how I look, but I have never stopped to think about how who I am affects this perception. The women that are most beautiful to me are the ones whose inner beauty shines. Likewise, the men that are least attractive to me are the ones that have "ugly souls," regardless of outer appearance.
As silly as it may sound, thinking about what I see as beauty in others is changing how I strive to cultivate beauty in myself. I would much rather be remembered for my inner beauty than my outer appearance. Moreover, it seems that the truer your inner beauty, the less you care at all about how others perceive you, inside or out. I want to get there. I'm trying to get there, but I still find myself critical of my outward appearance in most pictures that cross my path.
Maybe the first step to letting go of the importance of how people perceive you is by broadcasting to the world your ugliest face?
An old friend of mine recently began doing temporary street installations in LA called Ugly Face, where she projects "ugly" faces onto the walls of buildings in public spaces (http://uglyfacewednesdays.tumblr.com/). I admire her for challenging our cultural obsession with outer beauty. Seeing her facebook posts tonight got me thinking about all of this. So in honor of an old friend, here is my ugly face. I will admit, it took effort to try and not find a way to be cute while being ugly. I found myself trying to pick the cutest of my ugly faces, which made me realize that I wasn't doing it right.
So here are my ugliest. Stephanie you have my permission to have my ugly faces. Thanks for reminding me to laugh at myself and not take how others might perceive me so seriously. You rock.
Like most women, I have spent too much time worrying about how I look, but I have never stopped to think about how who I am affects this perception. The women that are most beautiful to me are the ones whose inner beauty shines. Likewise, the men that are least attractive to me are the ones that have "ugly souls," regardless of outer appearance.
As silly as it may sound, thinking about what I see as beauty in others is changing how I strive to cultivate beauty in myself. I would much rather be remembered for my inner beauty than my outer appearance. Moreover, it seems that the truer your inner beauty, the less you care at all about how others perceive you, inside or out. I want to get there. I'm trying to get there, but I still find myself critical of my outward appearance in most pictures that cross my path.
Maybe the first step to letting go of the importance of how people perceive you is by broadcasting to the world your ugliest face?
An old friend of mine recently began doing temporary street installations in LA called Ugly Face, where she projects "ugly" faces onto the walls of buildings in public spaces (http://uglyfacewednesdays.tumblr.com/). I admire her for challenging our cultural obsession with outer beauty. Seeing her facebook posts tonight got me thinking about all of this. So in honor of an old friend, here is my ugly face. I will admit, it took effort to try and not find a way to be cute while being ugly. I found myself trying to pick the cutest of my ugly faces, which made me realize that I wasn't doing it right.
So here are my ugliest. Stephanie you have my permission to have my ugly faces. Thanks for reminding me to laugh at myself and not take how others might perceive me so seriously. You rock.
 |
| Yes, I'm still wearing my jacket and scarf as I blog on my couch. I may be too tired to change clothes, my initial excuse was that it was cold when I got home, but the heater has been on for an hour and I haven't moved... |
Saturday, November 5, 2011
5,827 words...
Wow. I wish I had more time to write. This week has forced out more writing than my six weeks of summer vacation. I really think that the difference is writing without looking back instead of losing my energy worrying about word choice and reviewing each small piece over and over. Maybe the writing is better that way, but it does not matter if it keeps me from ever finishing. I'm excited that I'm actually making slow but steady progress forward.
Since I know that you're enthralled by my progress, you can track me here:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/todaybestlife
If nothing else, holding myself publicly accountable is just one more step toward finishing a whole book. I may not make it to 50,000 words in a month, but if I make it to 30,000 words, I'll be more than pleased!
Happy Saturday!
Since I know that you're enthralled by my progress, you can track me here:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/todaybestlife
If nothing else, holding myself publicly accountable is just one more step toward finishing a whole book. I may not make it to 50,000 words in a month, but if I make it to 30,000 words, I'll be more than pleased!
Happy Saturday!
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