Pondering the world

maybe now I can become a writer

I was astounded the other day to see that I had 162 posts on my blog.  That means essentially I have 162 short stories, essays, journal entries--call them what you will.  Somehow by writing a blog entry practically every day, I have finally become a writer.

Everything I've ever read or been taught about writers is that the good ones write religiously every day.  Maybe it's the first thing they do in the morning.  Anyway, good writers do this without fail.

However, I fail.  I don't write well longhand any more because my hands cramp up.  I can type until the cows come home, but don't ask me to write much more in longhand than an address on an envelope or jot down a phone number.  I also have a tendency to jump out of bed in the morning and get started on my day.  Patience is no longer my strong suit. I’m already thinking about the two dozen things I need to get done before 8:00 a.m., so getting up and writing in a journal just isn’t going to happen.

But here I sit with 162 posts and counting. I would never have thought I would have this many entries in one year.  Maybe it’s because I focus on one thought or event at a time instead of looking at the big picture.  Sometimes it’s good not to see the forest.

How do you eat an elephant?  One piece at a time.

How do you become a writer?  One entry at a time.

reverse of plateaus

So far I've done several entries on the plateau concept--that you go along at a certain pace where things remain the same, then you make a major improvement, make a connection that has a positive connection or impact on your business or life, or learn something that significantly changes things for the better. 

I realized that all of them have been about positive plateaus.  For us so far, fortunately, the plateaus have always been positive.  We've been climbing up and up, each time gaining a little more experience, knowledge or increase in our business position.  At first the effort on that plateau can be hard, but once we have everything established as a new part of our procedure or routine, it gets easier.  Then we chug and chug until we hit a new stride and reach another plateau.

However, some people fall into canyons or right off the cliff. 

I'm not talking about bad luck.  Bad luck, whether it's a serious health issue, a catastrophic event, or just being in the wrong business at the wrong time (or even the right business at the wrong time), can happen to anyone.  Then it's a matter of how you handle it, whether you have a positive or negative attitude about it. 

No, I'm talking about those people--and we all know some--who go through life in a series of missteps.  They're the ones who don't or won't take advantage of an opportunity, even an easy one that's handed to them.  They won't invest in their own education to get even a little farther up the ladder.  They use poor judgment in friends and activities and won't change, even when they know those are getting them into trouble.  They mouth off at the boss or a customer and get fired, then aren't smart enough to learn from that incident and do it again at the next job.  Each successive job is a little worse than the last.  Instead of getting better and better as they go through life, they start sliding down.  They can't get or keep a good job, lose relationships, move from one bad apartment to an even worse one.  Sound like anyone you know?

I figure as long as I feel like I'm hitting some of those plateaus or even just chugging along, I'm probably doing all right.  However, if I ever feel like I've just stepped off a cliff or fallen down the mesa, then I'll start to worry.

now I can start to panic

As long as it was July, I was moderately okay and feeling like I had time to do things before Becky's wedding on August 24th.

However--now it's August 1st!  That means that I have missed our oldest nephew's 18th birthday, although I plan to call this afternoon and get something in the mail to him by tomorrow.  It also means that Becky's wedding is now only a little over three weeks away and I have much to do. 

Forget about "I work better under pressure" or "I do better with a hard deadline."  Even with those attitudes and the ability to pull some all-nighters--which I don't do so well any more--there comes a point at which you just flat run out of time.  And if you hit an unanticipated snag or something takes you way longer than you thought, you're completely hosed.

So, just so you get an idea of what I'm in for, here's my short list (at least of the things I can remember.  Never mind that there will inevitably be things I hadn't even thought about.):  Finish the ring pillow.  Hand-sew crystal beads on Becky's veil, which I just got back in the mail today.  Make my dress (no pattern.  That could be one of those unanticipated items.).   Call Sandy and make sure we can stay with her again.  Get my hair cut now so it can grow out a little by then.  Schedule a hair appointment for the morning of the wedding.  Write down a bunch of directions, basically an instruction manual, for the innsitters so we don't come back to things quite as messed up this time.  (Last time she charged people's credit cards but didn't close any of the transactions, so the money was in limbo, not in our bank account!  If Steve hadn't spent the following week tracking every single transaction, that money would have just disappeared.)  Clean up the office.  Get someone to water my plants at home so they don't all die. 

And, of course, all of this must be done before we leave.  Once we get there, Becky will have her own crisis to-do list.  This too shall pass.

Did I mention that  I have to be able to find all of my sewing equipment and supplies after the move and set everything up?