Blogger Random Question: My Cat? Scared?

Foxes are clever and tigers are cunning. So, what's your cat's safety school?

My cat is bored by a question so obviously simplistic. BratCat would shred them both into tiny, bloody bits and then eat them with some cheese melted on top for breakfast. My cat would then eat the writer of such a question for lunch. And then hack it all up in a hairball.

My cat is my safety school.

My Drabblecast forum avatar (this is not my cat, but funny nevertheless):

Death Writer by Inky Girl

Inky Girl: Daily Diversions for Writers

The Trick to Living Life as Usual Even When it's Not

There is a trick to all of this, waking up every day and attempting to carry on carrying on. Right now, I'm trying to figure out just what that magical trick might be.

Recently deceased job. Puttering about trying to determine "what next?" Considering how to edit the resumé. Tentative web searches of job engine sites like Monster, Career Builder and such. Nothing much out there.

I'm seeing lots of ads that say "Obama Wants You To Get A Degree." Good. I hope he can help me pay for my rent and my car while he's at it. I'd like nothing more than to use this time to retrain myself. Maybe as an English teacher who teaches the language to new Americans. Something that would allow me to stretch my wings and be more of a social advocate. Maybe as a Technical Writer who collaborates on projects involving training materials. I did not realize this until I researched the job description, but I have already done technical writing in the past. I helped collaborate and did the writing for a training manual of the software at the answering service I worked for many, many years ago. That was my first computer job and my very first writing assignment, now that I think on it. Too bad I did not save any copies of that. I get zero points for the naiveté of my youth.

Today, I'm carrying on. Have to go make a car payment. Don't feel much like flirting with the loan associate (the mild mannered guy who has sung "I Just Met a Girl Named Maria" to me in the past). Perhaps, I'll bat an eyelash or two at him, though. I'm not dead, just unemployed. 8-)

I need to go get a little gas in the car. Then, I've decided to go to Office Depot and invest in wrist rests for both the keyboard and mouse. I anticipate doing a lot of typing in the future, while working on both my resumé and filling out forms for unemployment and FAFSA. I have decided to try and get a PEL grant. I may finally have to take those God awful entrance exams somewhere, Geez, oh well. If I can manage to have Uncle Sam help me to jump start a new career, I will do whatever it takes to get it done. I didn't know until now but the folks that have those English degrees have a diverse range of job opportunities, from Marketing and Communication Consultants to Public Relations. Very interesting, that.

Many years ago, I wanted to go to school for Journalism. A tragic circumstance in my life prevented that from happening.  Now....

Now I consider with mind opened wide, "what next?"

And learn to carry on carrying on.

Voice of Truth: A Little Inspiration

Reinventing the Wheel...Again

In my last post I lamented that I did not take any time during the holidays to do much writing or even any research on my various projects.

Be careful what you groan about.

I joined the ranks of the unemployed yesterday.  I was laid off from my job after working there for nearly six years.

As you might imagine, I am not too pleased by this sudden increase in free time, particularly since I have not hit the lottery yet. I hold no grudges, of course, these things happen to everyone. I am always grateful for any opportunity to learn something. I learned more about two of my favorite sciences, the sciences of the mind (psychology and psychiatry) that will no doubt be a great benefit to my writing and I made some friendships and acquaintances that I hope will stand the test of time.

This is going to be a very scary time for me. Going "on the dole" is hard, but I've been there before and I'll be joining the hundreds of thousands of others who are already there. I wish I could say that I find a little comfort in that. But, I am becoming increasingly aware that this could be an opportunity for me to reinvent myself again. Perhaps I could go to school and take classes in something I really like, maybe creative writing? I've also thought of the skills I have amassed over the years and I've wondered if teaching others (adult education?) might be a rewarding experience, mentally, spiritually and (most importantly) financially. I have tentatively looked into freelance writing. Maybe I can do that while I wait for something more permanent to come along.

Another thing I will be doing is incorporating the Adsense feature on my blogs. I will make a few cents with every click of someone's mouse and over time it will add up. It will be a nice $20 addition to the bank account every six months or so, maybe. I didn't really want to put ads on my blogs, but I need to rid myself of this dislike and look at the fiscal side of things.

I am scared, but I'm also aware that God has a plan for me and that as of right now the plan has changed. Here is a trial, He says. It will make you a stronger and better person. I must have faith.

I went to Walmart after I left work yesterday. I was in a daze, in shock from the news. There is a church on one of the streets I drive down that has a marquee in front. The sign said, "Be confident in chaos." I believe that was God sending me a message to hang in there: The world will always let you down, but I never will. Trust in Me. Everything will be all right.  

On the plus side, I have some time to write.

Lazy Days and Holidays

I had the perfect opportunity to do lots of writerly things for the past 3 1/2 days.

I could have written. That would have been ideal. Lots of time with no bedtime curfews for a couple of days. I could have pounded out another couple thousand words on "The Coffee Wars" to prepare me for the upcoming NaNoWriMo, but I thought to myself: That's all still many months away, I don't have to worry about that now. 

Research. I still have a ton of it to do. Some to print and file in my story notebook for "Tiny Dragon" and some stuff to Google and Wikipedia about exoplanets and terraforming for "Into the Glow, Aborning." Again, the excuses began running rampant.

I hate to say it, but the excuses won out over every good inclination I had to actually use this time off from the stress of the workaday world to accomplish something toward my goal of getting published in 2010. I must have caught a holiday meme that got into my head and screamed: "Everyone else is lazing about and relaxing for the New Year, so should you."

Excuses, excuses.

It's been so damned cold I haven't felt like typing much. My fingers are frozen to the keyboard. Yet, it's colder now as I am typing this. Excuses are like opinions, everyone's got at least one. I have found several to keep me from the tasks at hand, namely the writer's acronyms: BIC - HOK - TAM;

• BIC = Butt In Chair
• HOK = Hands on Keyboard
• TAM = Typing Away Madly 

So, maybe it was time for me to relax and chill a little. Maybe once I get back to work, I'll settle into a comfortable rhythm of really looking forward to coming home from the stress of work to the relaxation of character fleshing and world building.

I have to. November will be here before I know it and I want nothing to keep me from the beautiful and fulfilling goal of writing and finishing a novel.

No excuses.

Alien SASE Comic by Inky Girl

Inky Girl: Daily Diversions for Writers