Monthly Archives: October 2008

Hurricane Dots ~ Economy Plots

Those benign looking little hurricane dots on the map, are named Norbet and Odile they could just as well be named Obama and McCain.  Those little map dots are having a good old time up there in the sky, dancing and whipping along.  Those of us who live on the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula are waiting to see what those hurricanes are going to do, where they will land, who they will toss around.   Should we put our hurricane protections into place? Should we stock up on bottled water, canned goods, drag out old towels to sop up rain water that will pound through the windows horizontally?  This past week and it’s only been a week has been difficult watching and wondering if the hurricane is going to strike our town.  Unlike the length of the political uncertainty that has dragged on for years.

What good can I find to write about hurricanes.  Let’s see…  They strike fear into those of us who have experienced them.  Nope, that’s not good.  We breathe a sigh of relief when the storm decides to move a little to the left or right, missing us.   But, what about our neighbour who gets thrashed?   Can’t feel good about that.  Hurricanes tend to distract our days.  That’s not necessarily bad. Focusing on weather has taken me away from negative thoughts about the economy.  But, I don’t think replacing thoughts of one disaster trumps another.   

Those little dots don’t have to mean impending doom but watching their path does play havoc with our lives.

As of tonight’s weather update there is a good possibility the strength of Norbet will downsize, like the economy, and Odile might fizzle out, like our pessimism will hopefully do in the near future. It’s a humbling experience, watching a force of nature.  All we can do is hunker down and ride them out.  Unless those dots are Obama and McCain, in which case you can vote.  I can’t because I’m not a U.S. citizen but I would if I could.   It will be good when all the storms have passed.

“Never, never, never give up”. ~Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill also said “We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.”   Melissa Etheridge did just that with her song ~ I Run For Life.   It came out in 2005 so you have probably heard it, but anyway I’ve copied it into today’s post because it’s encouraging and I never tire of hearing it.  

When my dad died of cancer, in my grief and a mindless fit of anger, I lashed out to a doctor friend.  I told him I believed with all the money spent to find a cure there had to be one but no one was revealing this because it had become big business and “they” would lose all the funding and their jobs.  Quite rightly, he looked at me like I had lost my mind and said, “Don’t you think doctors and scientists lose loved ones to cancer too?”

October is breast cancer month.  Every day, thousands of dedicated professionals around the world are grappling to find cures for all forms of cancers.  There have been some great advancements in prevention knowledge, early detection education and technology and more effective treatments.  We need to work harder and faster.   This is a war worth supporting.  

 

Some Dr. Seuss Wisdom

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I’ve bought a big bat.  I’m all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
~Dr. Seuss

(Theodore Seuss Geisel 1904-1991


“Everyone smiles in the same language.” ~ author unknown

You’re smiling, aren’t you?  It’s an automatic reaction when you see a beautiful smile, you reflect it back. Test it out when you’re walking down the street, smile at a stranger, I’m 99.9 % sure you’ll see that smile come back at you.

This photo was taken when we traveled to Chiapas, a southern state in Mexico and the poorest one. There’s a superstition that if you look into a camera it will steal your soul.  This belief, we discovered was common in a lot of the small villages we visited and it was important to ask if it was okay before snapping a photo. These kids teetered with liking the attention and fearing the repercussions.  They wanted to be daring, they wanted to be able to brag to their friends that they had tested the boundaries set by their parents. But what about their soul?  They chose the adventure.  In the first couple of photos they squeezed their eyes shut so tight their faces were scrunched like apple head dolls.   When no lightening bolts came crashing down, they did what kids do well, they relaxed and clowned around.  

This snap shot doesn’t show the poverty they are living with.   It shows how easy it is to smile.

‘When people, women included, hear that you are writing, they assume that it is simply a hobby to fill in the time between doing the washing-up and the ironing. It couldn’t possibly be a profession.’ ~ rachel billington

I understand and have felt what Rachel Billington, a British author was talking about.   Except, she published her first book in 1969 when she was only twenty-seven and she has gone on to  write sixteen more adult books and seven books for children.   She has already proven that writing for her is more than a hobby. But, what about writers like myself who have yet to see their novel published?  What do we say when someone asks what it is we do, when we have nothing so far to show and it’s been a few years?

I remember the day, not so long ago,  when the novel I am writing reached a pinnacle, and I lost the anxiety that writing could end up just being a hobby.  It’s real and it’s more.  The characters have become trusted friends and I know their story is solid and I’ve learned they can handle all the conflict I write into their lives.  The conflict that drives their story forward and will hopefully one day enthrall you, the reader :) This was also the day, I decided I had to continue writing as a profession, not as a someday dream.  I had to stop throwing scheduling conflict into my daily activities.  I had to put a value to my writing time and institute a routine using the BIC method. (butt in chair)  

It’s so easy to give up when no one is waiting for your novel to show up on their desk. It can be hard to motivate yourself to keep going when it takes a long time to see results. And, there’s a self-doubt demon that you constantly have to swat off your shoulder. But, when you turn off the computer at the end of the day and know you’ve made progress, even if you’re the only one who knows it, you can smile. 

Somedays I think, I’m nuts for choosing a writer’s life, most days it feels really good.

Ay, the teenage years

I touched on the angst of being a teenager in my last post and then I remembered about Corey in Australia. This interview is real and it’s very funny and I’m happy Corey is not my teenager.  The news-woman interviewing him went overboard, I think.  What do you think?

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. ~e.e. cummings

 

For many years the little blonde boy in the photo was relentless in his requests for me to let him dye his hair black.  When I didn’t cave in he tried negotiating a half black / half blonde compromise.  His quest was to blend in, not stand out in a country not known for being multi-cultural.  In kindergarden when he first started with this desire, the reasons behind it was surprising to me, having grown up in Canada where racial differences are taken for granted.  When he was taunted in the schoolyard about being a gringo (even if he’s not) I was surprised by the narrowness of the attitude amongst the educated and felt sorry for the child who was being taught this by his parents.

But, J’s sunny disposition prevailed and now he’s an adolescent who has learned some valuable lessons that he can take into adulthood.  He learned graciousness, when a passerby would reach a hand out and touch his hair, an act considered to bring good luck.  He acquired the confidence that he could make solid, good friends because of how he is.  He has built empathy for others knowing what it feels like to be stared at for something as small as a different hair colour.  He attained an insider’s view on how to handle a bully. He learned his mother was right when she told him that someday he would enjoy his differences without having to work at it with piercing and tattooing.   He learned teenage girls like boys with blonde curly hair.  

Now he just has to learn the teenage angst of pimples and awkwardness will pass and that each courageous step he takes into life, is a good one.

Communing With Nature


We’re lucky, most of the year we can live with our sliding doors and windows wide open,  I’m accustom to walking into the living room and seeing a bird sitting on the back of a chair or the same birds pulling pieces from our rugs to line their nests.  I’ve enjoyed  having a home that blends with the outside.  That is, until bats decided to take up residence.

I saw the first one when pouring my coffee one morning last week.  I guess, it had been sleeping hanging on the ceiling above me.  I startled it, it flew around the kitchen, I ran screaming to the bedroom and slammed the door…  Brave J, saved me and got it out of the house.  But this is not the end of the story.  This bat told a bunch of it’s friends and that evening at dusk, I walked into the living room and four of them were flying around. I ran screaming to the bedroom… It happened again the next night…  So we started closing the screens at dusk and after a few days, they got the message and moved on.

I’ve never characterized myself as irrational, yet this little flying rat like mammal was capable of derailing my senses.  I figured I should find out if there were any grounds to my fears. 

I discovered that in many cultures bats are considered to be lucky.  Better yet, their visit can be a warning that change will soon occur and not to be afraid, surrender to the change and enjoy the transformation of self because bats are also toted to hold the power of adaptability.  

I am so ready and up for changes that to date, have remained elusive.  Being a mildly superstitious person, I decided, what the heck, let them visit and stop worrying about them flying into my hair, which I also learned during my research is a bogus assumption. 

With just a little trepidation, the windows and doors are open again.  No bats to be seen.  I’m wavering on whether this is good or not.