Monthly Archives: September 2013

Oz never did give nothin’ to the Tin Man…..Trifextra challenge

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The most unlikely friends.  Each of them thought they needed something they already had.  We always seek the things we are afraid to see in ourselves.  Be brave, be clever, have a heart.

Annex - Haley, Jack (Wizard of Oz, The)_02

(image credit: doctormacro.com)

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Written for this weekend’s Trifextra Challenge:

This weekend we’re asking for 33 of your own words about a famous trio. The trio could be from literature, from history or from pop culture. Just make it yours and have fun with it. Good luck! – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.y3vJUsW9.dpuf

Just one of the guys

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The last time I checked, I still have all of the parts of the female anatomy I was blessed with at birth but being a woman never guaranteed that I would be feminine.  Sure, there are moments when I can fool people into believing I am a lady but, thankfully for me, those needed moments are few and far between.

tomboy-1

(photo credit: frumanista.blogspot.com)

I grew up a tomboy and it is a trait I never outgrew.   I enjoy hanging out with the boys – it’s my comfort zone because I don’t ever feel like I’m trying to fit in, to be something I’m not.  Somehow, I just belong and I like it that way.

My rounds of golf usually include 3 guys – and me, poker nights are usually 7 guys – and me.  During dinners or parties I generally gravitate towards the cloud of testosterone in the room and don’t ever feel like I stick out like a sore thumb.  It’s just my nature to be one of the boys.

I also enjoy time with my girlfriends, but those girlfriends, like me, are not as concerned with fashion and make up.  Not one in the bunch of us are girly-girls.  While we appreciate those Über-feminine women for their stylish and fashion-forward choices, we are not wired to think the same way.  If I had to wear any sort of spiked heel I would resemble the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0eINGyJHz8

I will never regret being the way I am.  I embrace my tomboyish charm and the fact that I can blend in so easily with my guy friends.  If you can’t reach me on a Sunday it’s because I’m in front of an NFL game releasing expletives similar to a missile-like battalion of bees shooting out from an angry hive.

Ask me to put on make-up and high heels and I will break out in a cold sweat – ask me to grab the pigskin and throw a perfect spiral, I’m in!!

Carpe Diem

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Yesterday was my first day off in a couple of weeks.  My house is covered in dog hair, my laundry is slowly crawling across my bedroom floor looking for a means of escape and the collection dirty dishes is beginning to outweigh the number of clean dishes, but yesterday I didn’t care.

Being able to leave those chores behind is something I am unaccustomed to – I like having a clean, orderly house and it bothers me when things go unattended.  After having worked a copious amount of hours over the last two weeks I wanted nothing more than to restore some order under my roof, but that didn’t happen.

I hit the driving range in the morning and soaked up some sunshine in the process.  And then something even better happened.  I was invited out for a boat ride, something I haven’t done in over a decade even though my town is surrounded by three lakes!  It was glorious and possibly the best thing about being in the open air and catching some more rays is the fact that I didn’t let my mind become consumed by thoughts of the jobs that were waiting for me at home.

The boat ride was fantastic.  We cruised around the lake, had a few cocktails (if the police are reading this, they were actually Ginger Ale) and pushed the throttle forward to make the last few minutes of the ride home a little quicker.  I was like a dog holding its head out the car window, minus the tongue hanging out.  My feet were firmly planted on the floor, two hands clutching the windshield and air rushing towards my face at great speed.

The boat ride turned into a great dinner with lots of laughs and when I returned home I didn’t even notice the dishes that await my attention.  Instead of being lost in mundane tasks, I allowed myself the opportunity to seize the day, to make great memories and enjoy life rather than letting my life control me.

Today I am playing my first round of golf in two years.  The dishes will still be here when I return and the laundry will continue to tie itself together to create an escape ladder, but I have given myself the nod of approval to seize yet another day.  I’m going to add a little more life to my life and enjoy every minute of it.  Perhaps the dish fairy will arrive in the interim and surprise me with clean dishes but even if they are still in the same place on the counter, I don’t care.  This day is mine!

carpe_diem_by_markfellows

Carpe diem – seize the day!!

5/26/2003 – Things left unsaid

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“Leave your message after the beep.”

*Beep*

“We never get to say goodbye.  You still come to see me every now and then.  It warms my heart that our friendship will never end.”

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Written for the Trifextra Weekend Challenge.  My friend passed away suddenly, but I know she is still with me.

This weekend’s Trifextra comes to us courtesy of MOV, who often emails us with suggestions for site improvement or potential prompts.  Most recently, she told us about Travel and Leisure magazine’s “Super Short Travel Stories” competition, thinking that we could recreate the same challenge on our site.  We love the idea, but borrowing it outright feels a bit shady, so we’re going to add our own twist to it.  This weekend, we want you to give us a 33-word time travel story.  We don’t usually tell you what to title your piece, but we’d love it if you could title it with the year/date that you choose.

Pity party….table for one

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We all have those moments where life’s proverbial bullies gang up on us and we shrivel into a ball and feel sorry for ourselves. We become so overwhelmed with negative things that our mechanism for coping pops a few springs and lays useless at our feet.  But self pity is like a rocking chair…..it gives you something to do, but it really gets you nowhere.  (Thank you, Van Wilder, for that gem of wisdom)

Still, sometimes it is difficult to pull ourselves out of that funk and move into a more positive realm.  Self pity can be all-encompassing.  Once we let it into our mind, it takes root and wraps itself deeply into the soil of our emotions.  When something comes along to crush our spirit, every bad thing that follows seems to compound that helpless feeling and we begin to lose our buoyancy in a churning sea of despair.

We tend to be pessimistic and convince ourselves that more bad karma will follow when instead we should be sending out positive thoughts to get back that affirming energy.  We need to rethink the whole picture and realize that the small obstacles that have presented themselves do not define the rest of our lives. Our emotions become exaggerated and self-indulgent and we tend to ignore the rest of the world still revolving around us.

We need to make a pact with ourselves to not indulge in that obsessive behaviour.  Gratitude and self-pity are bitter enemies.  If we take time from our “pity party” to think about all the things we should be grateful for, eventually the affirmations of all the good in our lives will counter-balance the scales.

Every negative occurrence in our lives can be seen as an opportunity to learn from that experience.  Instead of wallowing in a mire of self-pity, step back for a moment and realize that the positive things in your life far outweigh the negative aspects.  Put an end to that pity party, get a good night’s sleep, and start the next day with a new outlook.  You’ll be amazed what a new attitude will bring.

Your butt just called….

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For reasons unbeknownst to me, I have been receiving a number of butt-dials and butt-texts lately.  Morse code messages appear on my phone and I am challenged to decipher the hidden meaning.  I almost wish I had a decoder ring to help figure out what your butt is trying to text to me.

The butt-dials are always more interesting.  Conversations I should not be privy to are carried on by the owner of the butt and one or more people who are completely unaware that an extra set of ears is following their banter.  Usually I feel guilty and hang up fairly quickly, but on some occasions I linger to see if anything ground-breaking is being discussed.

ace-ventura-butt

(image credit: Ace Ventura, Pet Detective)

We are all familiar with the phrase “talking out of your ass”, but your butt is taking this to a whole new level.  I should feel flattered that I am the one your butt chose to call, however your gluteal region is not making any clear statement when it calls.  It merely teases me with a conversation bubble and doesn’t allow me to participate.

If you could have a cheeks-to-cheeks discussion with your butt and find out why your booty is so anxious to talk to me, I would appreciate it.  And if you do find out what your butt is trying to say, please leave it in the comments below.

Now leaving your comfort zone…please fasten your seatbelt

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This post was inspired by this post.  Thanks Guap for getting the wheels turning again!

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” ~ Neale Donald Walsch

Risk and reward.  Two words that represent how life really begins when you take that chance and step off the ledge of your comfort zone.  Life in a safety bubble is just that, safe.   No adventure tale every begins with the lead character being stuck in the confines of their comfort zone.   With risk comes adventure and the potential for really harnessing an energy that you never knew existed.

We create and shape our comfort zone for a reason.  It brings us the solace that we crave.  But frequent trips outside of that comfort zone can open up a world of possibilities and give us a sense of freedom.  It can allow us the opportunity to perceive things about ourselves that we never would have otherwise discovered.  And it doesn’t have to begin with a great leap of faith.  Small changes in our routine can lead to a monumental swing in our level of acceptance and can eventually increase the size of our comfort zone.

It is a given that stepping out of that comfort zone will lead to some anxiety and discomfort but the small pains we face to grow our experience will be well worth the gains we appreciate on the other side of the journey.  We need to re-wire the built-in mechanism that regulates our level of apprehension when it comes to trying something new.

Change is frightening but change is also cathartic.  Real personal growth can only occur if we allow ourselves the opportunity to expand our horizons, to go beyond the constraints with which we bind ourselves.  Reaching beyond that level of comfort will allow us the chance to gain more confidence and gain a sense of power from our attempt to evolve.

Take that first step towards the ledge, and then take another.  Slowly you will gain the confidence and know that the precipice that faces you is not as daunting as you first thought.  The fear that you embrace can only hold you back from finding out what awaits you once you take that plunge.  Perhaps the thing that scared you the most will hold the key to you truly feeling like you can conquer the world.

Reach out and touch someone

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For those of us old enough to remember, this was a slogan for AT&T that was coined in 1979.  It simply encouraged people to pick up the phone and call their friends and family, to reach out to those who meant the most to them.

As I was driving to work this morning I was thinking about all of the great friends I have that I never get to see, or talk to, during the busy summer months.   For me, working in the hospitality business is great.  There is an influx of people with a myriad of personalities that make each and every day a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment.  But at the end of my shift, as I ease my wearied bones into my car, the cacophonous thunder of voices that surrounds me during the day is quieted.  I am soothed by the sounds of silence and the last thing I want to do is go out to a noisy bar or add to the number of hours I have acquired on the phone during the day.

I lose touch with those familiar voices for a few months, but instead of wondering why my list of recent calls never displays their number, I get it. They, like me, see countless people day in and day out and, after a long day at work, want only the dulcet harmonies of nature to fall on their ears and nothing more.

reach-out

(image credit: telephone.com)

The madness of summer is now a distant speck through the rear-view mirror.  As we forge ahead into fall, the friends that I have not seen begin to come out of their hibernation and we slowly assimilate to life as we remember it.   This morning I came out of my cave, yawned and stretched and went in search of the sustenance that my friends provide.  I reached out, touched someone and reconnected with those voices from my not-so-distant past.  Soon the wine will be opened and those soothing voices I have longed to hear will once again infuse themselves into my reality.

Something wicked this way comes

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Intuition is a perplexing thing.  Our body is a natural conduit for energy and that energy has an odd but effective way of giving us warning signs that danger is lurking.   The witches in Macbeth described the feeling as a pricking in their thumbs.  We may feel it when the hair on the nape of our neck stands at attention but the premise is the same.  Our gut is sending a message that our brain cannot ignore.

Usually we can’t understand the visceral reaction to a certain circumstance but we have to put our faith in its validity.  That little voice gets very vocal when it feels imminent danger and usually that voice is spot on.  Everyone is born with the gift of intuition but it is how we heed the wisdom of that instinctive feeling that is of great benefit to us.

That moment when something wicked does actually come may be completely averted by listening to those nagging doubts in our mind.  Those doubts exist for a reason.  There is a power far beyond some people’s belief or comfort level that aids in our self-preservation.   That terse glance over our shoulder, the quickening of our step while walking in the dark – both may feel cryptic and unnecessary but listening to those pestering whispers may help us avoid an uncomfortable situation.

That intuition may also have altruistic applications.  The stirring in our senses does not always represent peril but could also put us on the path to good fortune.  The Yin and Yang of those intuitive forces can also help us make decisions for our benefit and not just our physical longevity.   Our lives are based on choices and that same power of perception can guide us through those choices and help us discover the best path for our journey.

My thumbs do not become prickly, nor does the hair stand up on my neck.  I get goosebumps, and that chicken skin that was once my flesh has never steered me wrong.  Hopefully when something wicked this way really does come, I will be the human version of Foghorn Leghorn, plucked and covered with a road map of goose-flesh to guide me to safety.

Throwing Rocks at Airplanes

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A good friend of mine posted this line on her Facebook a while ago and, although I thought it odd at the time, it seemed like an interesting title for a post.  I had absolutely no idea where I would go with it but figured something would strike me – and it did.

It seemed like such a bizarre thing to do, throwing rocks at airplanes (and I’m sure she probably did it), but then I realized we all need that crazy outlet – an activity that nobody else would understand, yet would make us revel in that childhood delight that makes us feel silly.  So often we get lost in the grind of day-to-day life, going to work, paying the bills and just being an adult, that we forget that there is a child inside us that still needs to occasionally thrive.

There are moments that you just feel like doing something frivolous and absolutely meaningless. In the chaotic scheme of our existence, spare time is fleeting.  We need to take that moment for ourselves and just – live.  Breathe in the essence of that younger version of ourselves and do something completely inane.

An activity that is profoundly useless allows us that break from reality.  It may not happen on a regular basis but, if given the opportunity, spend that time doing something inconsequential and completely idiotic.  There are many idioms for this very practice – dawdling, killing time, hanging around – but not many people feel that they can give themselves permission to have a moment of lunacy for absolutely no reason at all.  It may be exactly what the doctor ordered.

If you live somewhere that is still engaged in mid-winter, make a snow angel.  If you are in a warmer climate, jump in a puddle of rainwater.  Whatever it is that will satiate that moment of recklessness, grab onto it and don’t let go.  Ride that wave of memories from your youth and hold on for dear life.  When you allow yourself that brief moment of freedom, throwing rocks at airplanes may not seem so silly after all.