Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dance in the rain

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Yesterday was the first day I didn’t post a blog since August 1st. My mom went into the hospital on Thursday, so here is a post from earlier in August. I am living in a storm, but still trying to face that bad weather with a positive attitude.

Polysyllabic Profundities's avatarpolysyllabic profundities

“Life isn’t about avoiding the storm, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” ~ Unknown

We all live pretty comfortable lives and it’s easy to skip through in the sunny times, but it’s what we do in the face of adversity that defines the type of person we are.  We can choose to hide from the bad weather in our lives, or we can choose to embrace the storm and learn to appreciate the gifts that it brings.

You have to want not simply to be alive, but to LIVE the life you have been given.  It is certainly easier to want to shelter yourself until the bad weather passes, but you may be passing up a great opportunity to throw caution to the wind and free yourself in the rain that storm provides.

If you take the risk, that cleansing shower of rain may wash away any negativity…

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Only You – Romantic Monday

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Technically it is still Sunday, but Romantic Monday has captured me again!  Thank you Edward Hotspur for encouraging us to pour our hearts out.

only-you-logosmall

Only you can make my heart skip a beat with one look.  You see me like no other person ever will because you don’t look at me, you look into me.  You see my beauty beyond the boundaries of flesh.  You see my soul.  You see the love and happiness that I hold close, but you also see the pain and heartache that balances me.

Only you can light my skin on fire with a single touch.  A simple gesture, a hand gently tracing my cheek and my body warms to your touch.  Your lips barely graze mine but I feel a slight quiver sensing the emotion of that moment.  I know the passion that lurks behind that kiss.

Only you make me want to dream of the impossible because everything seems attainable with you by my side.  There is no limit to imagination.  There is only you, encouraging my dreams and wanting to be a part of them.  You understand when I hear whispers in the wind.  You enjoy my child-like excitement when I discover new stories in my head and you appreciate that I have to put them to paper as soon as I have them.

Only you know my need to be accepted for who I am and not who people want me to be.  You encourage me to be an individual and embrace the quirks that have created the person I have become.  You appreciate that I feel like a Raggedy-Ann in a Barbie Doll world, but you would rather be Raggedy-Andy than Ken any day of the week.

Only you are the part of me I didn’t know I was missing.  It will always be only you.

If only I knew where to find you.

Opinions are like belly buttons

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I have never had much faith in my ideas.  I used to think my opinion wouldn’t be worth the air used to expel my thoughts.  But I’ve come to realize through blogging that there will always be at least one person who shares my opinion.  Some of my thoughts may go against the grain and rub people the wrong way, but opinions are like belly buttons, everyone has one.  Inevitably the words I put into cyberspace will resonate with someone and that, alone, makes the time it takes to write a post completely worthwhile.

There are days when I receive comments that completely argue the other side of the coin and that, too, makes the effort worth it because it always gives me another way of looking at a subject that perhaps I was viewing in too linear a way.  Those comments may help me to form an alternate opinion and see a point of view that I may have never considered.

my-opinion

(image courtesy of Google)

Sometimes the opinions I express quickly get the most profound reactions.  I could spend hours trying to piece together a meaningful post, one that comes from the depth of my writing soul, and it inspires nothing.  But a collection of sentences that I didn’t over-analyze and spend hours interrogating spurs discussion and controversy and keeps the comments flowing.

It’s difficult to know what will grab the attention of other people, but I can only write with the hope that my opinion matters.  And the most important person it should matter to is me.  I have to give myself permission to stand behind what I believe, whether the masses agree or they differ in that opinion.  Perhaps what urges me to continue in this quest is the love of a healthy debate – being able to hear arguments from both sides to come to a healthy consensus.

That is the true joy of expressing a thought.  Regardless of what thought it is, an opinion will undoubtedly weigh heavily on at least one person and make them think.  Maybe that one person will be me, and maybe it will be you, but whomever that person is, it was worth putting the words on the page.

What’s your opinion?

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This is reblogged from an early September post. It has been picking up some traffic since the movie has gained popularity, so I thought I would share it with those that may not have seen it when it was originally posted.

Polysyllabic Profundities's avatarpolysyllabic profundities

I love when I have a post idea in my head when I’m drifting off to sleep and it is there, anxiously waiting to burst from my fingertips onto the page the next morning.  Here is the result of my musing and somewhat dream-filled night.

I  watched Oprah on a fairly regular basis.  I, like most women, will admit that wholeheartedly and proudly.  She would delve into a lot of topics that simply resonated with people but they were perhaps too afraid to broach the subject without some cajoling.

Oprah used to talk about the “a-ha moment”.   The moment when the outside world ceased to invade our conscious thought and the epiphany that presented itself was so overwhelming that it struck a giant chord deep within us.  I had my a-ha moment last night watching Anderson Cooper.  Members of the cast of the new movie “The Perks of being…

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Happy Hotspur Day

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birthday-bacon

In the short time I’ve been on the site, I’ve been lucky enough to create some relationships with some awesome bloggers…..and Edward Hotspur is awesomesauce….and it’s his birthday….and he loves bacon.  He is funny as shit, and we all know how funny shit can be – in a paper bag, on fire on a front porch.  He’s enigmatic, brilliant and did I mention he loves bacon?

Since our friendship is relatively new, I will simply wish him a very happy birthday and hope if you are reading this, you will make your way to his blog if you have not done so already on a therapy-worthy basis.  Happy birthday Edward!!  I baked you a cake.  🙂

Bacon-Birthday-Cake

The circle of a relationship, not the chain of command

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The family resort at which I have been employed for many years has just closed again after another successful season.  If I were to describe it, I would tell you to picture Kellerman’s from Dirty Dancing,  and that is where I work (sans Patrick Swayze and the watermelons!)

I began working there in 1986 and after leaving and coming back, and leaving and coming back, I have been there consistently for the last 10 years.  A lot has changed in the economy and much has changed in terms of the expectations of guests, but the relationship between staff and management remains the one constant that you can take to the bank.

Creating a work environment that everyone can thrive in is the key to a successful business.  Not only do we put great pride in creating a summer experience for our guests that they will cherish for years to come, but we put the same effort into making the staff experience a summer that they will never forget.  The chain of command still exists, but we are focused on harnessing the positive energy and feedback we get from creating that circle of a relationship and leaving the hierarchy of those chains of command to less fortunate businesses that just don’t get it.

It’s like living a continual episode of Undercover Boss, but we are never under cover.  We embrace our employees and engage them in dialogue. We value their input from a perspective that we may never be fortunate enough to have and make them feel like they are part of the progression. And in turn, we gain the true respect of those summer employees because they not only feel like a part of the process, but they are able to have their own experience within that ever-moving mechanism.

The true value of any business is its employees, and the more energized and interactive they are, the more true success you will obtain from both sides of the work experience.  I truly appreciate everyone I have had the pleasure to have had work with me, not for me, and look forward to many more years of our staff and guest experiences being unparalleled.

Tame the drive, not the driver

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I need to put the “drive” back in my drive.   Since the tender age of 17 when I first tested the waters of being behind the wheel of a vehicle, I always had a manual transmission – it has defined my driving experience. Although it was a rocky beginning, we made our way through the rough patches and have forged a bond that is unparalleled.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not going to go beyond my comfort zone and hop into the driver’s seat of a Formula 1 race car yet (although I do know someone who has just done that and loved it!!), but I need to feel like I am in control when I am commanding the power of a vehicle, and shifting gears gives me that sense of efficacy that I lack when putting an automatic transmission into drive and mundanely steering through the back roads.  These roads are meant for driving, and to me, and others who have voiced their opinion, driving an automatic transmission is just aiming.  If you want to really know your vehicle, know how it loves to hug curves, drop from fifth gear to third to pass the chump  law abiding citizen in front of you, that manual transmission is the way to your best driving experience.

The decision to shift away from the only driving I’d ever really known was driven by my choice in vehicles.  (please note the puns in that sentence, I worked hard on those).  At the time I was ready to lease my next four-wheeled experience, I was mad for the Honda CR-V.  I loved every thing about it.  But there was one major drawback.  It only came in automatic transmission.  It was decision that weighed heavily on me, and it took every fibre of my being to make the choice to move away from seamlessly shifting those gears by just listening to the advice of my engine to pushing a stick into drive and moving the steering wheel back and forth.  It is a decision I have come to regret.

Although my lease is only at the halfway point, my go-to guy at Honda is busily looking for a buy out for my CR-V so I am able to get back into a car I can actually drive – not just a vehicle that I can steer and get myself from A to B.  I want to be on the highway again and feel that engine cry for me to shift it from fourth to fifth as those tires burn up some asphalt.

Learning how to drive a stick-shift gave me a sense of freedom that I didn’t realize I had until long after I learned how to master the smooth shifting of those gears.  I could drive any motor vehicle built to grace the pavement.  As a teen, I worked for a property maintenance company that relied on an old pick-up truck as they forged their way into a growing business in cottage country.  The truck had a manual transmission – three on the tree – and I was one of the only staff members that had a comfort level with the truck to be able to drive it.  I took great pride in the fact that I could command any vehicle that I was afforded the luxury to drive, and knowing the subtleties of that manual engine gave me a sense of power.

Never again will I make a decision based on looks and my inability to fight for what I truly want.  My ride has to challenge me.  It has to demand that I put forth the same effort as it does so we may both enjoy the ride from first to fifth.

So jump in the driver’s seat and weigh in – automatic or standard?

Look over here

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I just saw a post by diannegray  She is inviting people to play the game Look.

The idea of the game is to locate the word ‘look’ in whatever manuscript you have lying around, then post it with the surrounding paragraphs. Afterwards, invite other authors to do the same.  These paragraphs are from my first attempt at a novel – nowhere near finished yet, but I’d love some comments to see what you think.

Ethan looked at himself in the mirror for the third time.  The deep circles under his eyes and the numerous laugh lines did much to convince him that he had earned each of his 38 years.  Laugh lines he thought,  were the definition of irony.  He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed.  Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled.  Pulling his gaze from the mirror, Ethan glanced around his modest condominium.  The collection of antique and clay figurines certainly looked familiar, but somehow seemed vaguely out of place.  He could not put a finger on it but his trepidation increased.

Shaking off his uneasiness and the frustration of the day, he moved over to the dry sink and poured himself a glass of Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon.  He padded through the plush carpet and sank into his favorite recliner.  Although the condo was tastefully decorated, the recliner stuck out like a sore thumb.  The remainder of the chocolate-brown corduroy on the arms hung in tatters and foam spouted from the gaping holes, but Ethan refused to part with it.  The chair had become as comforting as a warm handshake from an old friend – unfortunately, a subject he could not relate to with great authority.  Ethan had always been a loner.  His parents had been extreme over achievers but had never pushed Ethan to open up.  Before he could rub any more salt in that open wound, he changed his thought pattern to complete nothingness.

The sun gradually lowered itself and began pulling up the blanket of the horizon.  As dusk inched its way to darkness, Ethan remained listless in his chair.  Blackness swept through the apartment and Ethan found himself awash in a cascade of shadows and jagged streaks of moonlight.  Although the solitude did have a serene quality, Ethan could not shake the sense that the darkness held some sort of malice for him.  After a few more glasses of Mondavi, Ethan was feeling the effects of the wine and sleep crept methodically into the corners of his eyes and gently pulled down his eyelids.  As his breathing became heavy and rhythmic, the black canvas of his dreamscape was brushed clean and anxiously awaited a new splash of color.

 

~ Since I’m fairly inept at figuring out how to tag – I hope you will play the game too.  Maybe if I spend less time blogging and more time writing, I could actually get this book finished!!