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 |   Theses are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call life. |
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These are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call Life. I blog with these groups:     "Blogging Circle of Friends "  [E] 
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Blob Week Birthday Bastion 2024 Prompt 7. Sept 7. Due 11.59 pm today! The last one.  The world is not an ideal place for lots of people. What can YOU do to make it better? I try to be a good person. Kind and smiling. Helpful. Trustworthy. I have a strong sense of Integrity. My patience is not what it used to be, but I try. I have worked in education since graduating from university. I started as an Educational Assistant working with students with special needs. My aunt was a special education teacher and so was my best friend's mother. They are both retired now. But we continue to carry that torch and advocate for kids that need it. Both my friend and I kinda fell into that area, and I absolutely love it. I have worked with children as young as kindergarten age all the way up to the age of 21. Each child is so uniquely different and special in their own way. I can remember every kid and most have a funny story attached to them. I honestly believe my life is better because of my time with each and every one of them. When I went on to teacher's college I expanded my influence to include Primary and Junior students - Kindergarten to grade 6. I've learned so much about these students living in this day and age and I've a lot about myself as well. I have a client who I have been working with for 29 and 1/2 years who is on the autism spectrum. He also has cerebral palsy (but can walk faster that me!) and he is profoundly deaf. When I first began working with him I had to jog on the spot behind him when we went for hikes, now I have to have him walk behind me because he walks a crazy speed regardless of it being -10 degrees Celsius with a wind chill or 30 degrees Celsius with a humidex. I also love that I can sign with him and his mother. Working with these children has enriched my life and made me more grateful for what I do have in my own life. With my writing I want to inspire others. Give them a good story but also give them a chance to root for a character who deserves a better life. My blog posts challenge other creatives to find their own voice and bring them out onto the stage. My poetry also has an inspiring quality. We can all be more than our limitations. We need to challenge ourselves to try and see what we can really do when we take the risks and get out there. We can surprise ourselves in a myriad of ways. I want to wake us up and help us reach our potential. Not just with writing, but also with teaching. I refuse to hide my light under a basket. I want to get it out there and shine and in the process inspire others to do so too. The world is a better place when were all bring our light out into the open. I just feels good when I can cheer others on and help them reach their peak. Word count = 505. |
Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024 Prompt 6. Sept 6. Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets. Paul Tournier Can you share a secret? Small or big, tell us. No? Tell us why not. I don't know if it a secret or not, but things are not discussed. Things like my mother's drinking. She refuses to mention her drinking and I think she has a serious problem. It, combined with her dementia issues are rather stressful and when I keep it inside it rubs at me. Things started to go downhill a year ago when her license was suspended because she was getting confused and taking far too long to find her way home from my aunt's place in Guelph. A forty minute drive was taking her and hour and a half. It surprised me, but it was also made me breath a sigh of relief. She was going to restaurants to have a glass or two of wine before driving home. She is part of that older generation that does see drinking and driving as a huge deal. She's never been a great driver even when sober, though she claims to never have had an accident. (She has caused a few small scrapes and bumps) It became a challenge to get her out and about every couple of days because she was claiming 'cabin fever'. We'd go to the bank, Food Basics and then either the LCBO (liquor store) and/or a restaurant for her to have a few glasses of wine - often on an empty stomach. She will never claim she's drunk and when I ask her how she's feeling the next day she just claims she's feeling 'old'. I have been dropping her off at the restaurant on her own and taking some time for myself (an hour and fifteen minutes is not long enough to do much) as I can't handle being around her when she drinks wine. She sounds fake and disingenuous. Telling her this only gets her all pissy, so I try to use other excuses to avoid eating out with her. Today we were supposed to go get her blood tested. That meant no food or alcohol for 12 hours. She told the doctor "That will be no problem. I don't drink every day." (Well, she does.) And last night I moved her bottle of wine and her bottle of rum into the cupboard before I went to bed at 10:30 pm. This was 12 hours before her appointment. I considered putting a Post It on the cupboard door to remind her not to indulge, but I thought that was a little extreme. I also considered putting the booze in the basement, but that would also be extreme. Now I'm wishing I had. When I got up this morning I heard the rattle of a bottle and a glass coming from her room. When I asked her about it she said she 'just had a little' - there was one glass left in the 1.5 liter bottle. So I had to cancel her blood test and rebook it again for next week. Now I hope she won't let me down again because I don't want to lose a supply teaching day - for a ten minute blood test - But I feel need to be here to make sure she doesn't forget and eat beforehand. And I need to spend another evening monitoring her drinking and being the 'meanie'. Talk about stress. I also don't have anyone else to carry the issues of my mother. I am an only child and she doesn't remember a lot of her friends or want to be embarrassed in front of them. So she keeps to herself. I love my mother but her current issues have changed who she is and others don't understand. Word Count = 601. |
Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024 Prompt 5. Sept 5. The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go. -- Dr. Seuss Tell us more about the writer in you. Plans/Aspirations/Fears/Status etc? I love Dr. Seuss. I have written for as long as I can remember. I remember writing stories, albeit not very good ones, about perfect children in perfect families. I was trying to deal with my own family and the breakup of my parents. Writing helped me deal with the issues that were coming up for me. In high school I wrote a lot of poetry. It helped me make sense of the big emotions that were swirling in my adolescent self. In University I found the magazine Writer's Digest and used to devour it each Tuesday at the beginning of the month when it came in to the pharmacy in the University Center. I still have my first issue. It has been a regular companion since then and that was 1986. I wrote off and on over the years since then. My stories took on more of the structure of a real story. It was not until November of 2012 that I started to become more serious about my writing aspirations and joined NaNoWriMo for the first time. Writing for myself was all well and good, but I wanted to share my stories. Doing NaNoWriMo proved to me that I could do it and there were other people around me willing to take the creative dive too. Finding like minded creative souls had me searching for stuff online and that is where I found Wriitng.com. In March of 2013 I joined with a free account. I was too overwhelmed to do much and I tended to poke in and quickly leave. It was not until just before the birthday celebration that year (2013) that I started to get more involved. I have logged in everyday since. I've seen my writing skill grow and my stories flourish. I've learned so much here at Writing.com. After several years, I started to branch out. I found in person writing groups in my area that would get together and write together. I also joined the Ninja Writers - another online website that teaching classes online. I have not published anything yet, I hit a little snag with my identity being stolen and I am still working on fixing that, but I found it was a punch to the gut. A lot of my writing was on OneDrive and that account was stolen. I'm still working on getting it back and finding my way back into those stories. I also have blogs I wanted to compile into a book, but they are on Medium and I don't have access to that account right now either. It's a work in process. The stress of the situation has thrown a wrench into my progression, but it has not stopped me. I am taking on challenges like writing a poem and a short story a month with another website Deadlines for Writers. Once I get my Amazon account back, I may look into self publishing some of my work there and see how it fares in a wider audience. For now, while I heal from the experience and gain back some of the confidence I had I will enjoy Writing.com knowing this in my original online home and it will always have a special, important place in my heart. Onward and upward is my progress. One step at a time. Having like minded creative souls in my corner also helps me take the risks my writing needs. Thanks for being part of that Writing.com. Word Count = 576. |
Blogging Birthday Bastion 2024 Prompt 4. Sept 4. Photo prompts. (Choose 1,2,3 or 4 and write fiction or non-fiction) >> click on the name Photo prompt 1  I am torn between 1 and 2, but 1 has a story so I will go with that. In August of 2017 I took a seniors tour as a companion with my mother and my aunt to Scotland. The first night we stayed in Edinburgh as a hotel that prided itself in leaving little ducks in the bathtub area. They were meant to be taken and our little duck friend came with us for the rest of the journey. That trip was fabulous, but terribly quick. We only had a day and a half in which to explore. There is only so much ground you can cover in that little amount of time - especially which tours and dinners. Before our first dinner I walked out and crossed the bridge over to the other side of the tracks. We were very close to the main rail station which was crazy to look down on. After dinner mom, auntie Kay and I went off to a wee pub for some spirits. Not being a huge drinker I sampled a Cider... or what we in North America call hard cider. It was pretty good. The pub was nothing special, but it was nice to get out. The next day we had a tour of Edinburgh Castle, but before we got there we got a wee tour of the city. We drove right by the place where the International Book Festival was being held.... and so after the tour I walked my way back. And bought oodles of books which I had to lug around the whole of Scotland. I was lucky they didn't weigh my backpack on the flight home or I would have been paying way more than 80 Pounds to get my bags home. I managed to enjoy a good two hours there before walking back to the hotel for dinner. On the way back I passed the Oxford pub where Ian Rankin spent time writing his mystery series. I popped in, but only to the front section of the place. I was nervous to go in alone - I can do cafes no problem, but pubs make me a little uncomfortable. I wish I had gone in to the back and sat down for a cider and maybe done a little scribbling of my own... but alas, I needed to get back to the hotel for dinner. When we packed up to go that wee duckie got in my bag and off we went. The tour took us up through the Fourth of Fife and Inverness. We went all that way around the 500 miles taking a wee detour to the Oakley Islands. It was a marvelous trip. I got to see so much of the place. Though one day I would love to return and take more time exploring. Glasgow and Edinburgh alone could have a week. The literary aspects of both of those places inspired me. Each so different in personality and Scottish brogue and only about an hour apart. I also enjoyed the wilds of the Highlands. Being of Scottish descent I got to experience my roots on the ground level and that was deeply rewarding. Somewhere in my house that wee duckling sits... so long as my mother has not thrown him out. Either way he's had quite the travels. Word Count = 553. |
Blogging Birthday Bastion 2024: Prompt 3. Sept 3. You can achieve all the things you want to do, but it's much better to do it with loved ones around you; family and friends, people that you care about that can help you on the way and can celebrate you, and you can enjoy the journey. ~John Lasseter Your most significant other(s) is/are....! Write about your loved ones (furry or not). I do think it is important to celebrate the journey and having friends and family around to appreciate your accomplishments make them that much sweeter. I have several groups of friends that hold me accountable to my writing and other various goals I have set for myself. I get to cheer them on and they cheer me on. They also talk me off the ledge when I am feeling overwhelmed and I offer the same safety net. Some groups are online,; one is in person. All have there merits. Covid has changed a lot of our ways of connection. Zoom has pulled in friends from around the world. I think this concept is rather wonderful. One of my accountability groups has one woman in Singapore and one in North Carolina. I also have writing friends in Paris, France and Wales, Scotland and England. I joined this particular group through Meetup thinking that they wrote in a small town half an hour away from me in Paris, Ontario. Well, when I realized it was in Paris, France I emailed to say it was too far for me to go... then Covid changed all that and I found myself getting up at 4 and 5 am to write with them for three hours every Saturday and Sunday mornings. it was interesting to see how Covid rolled as they would have another outbreak and within a month we were dealing with the same thing. We also saw the reverse - when it eased up over there we were assured it would soon ease for us in time. But the best connection is still in person. Sometimes you just need a hug or a high five.... or someone to do a happy dance with! After so much time online I was almost desperate to see people in person. Being someone who prefers my own company... this was big, even for me. Having writing friends has helped me grow as a writer and as a person. I find the encouragement to keep going is almost , if not, more important than having them around to celebrate the triumphs. We grow, stretch and learn more from our foibles and sharing those vulnerabilities with people we trust helps to bond us further. It's easier to take the risks when you know you have people in your corner believing in you. This is where Writing.com comes in. I have made some amazing friends here on this site. So many. The Paper Doll Gang introduced me to 🌑 Darleen - QoD   - my sister from another mister. That group also helped me learn the ropes here on the site and take risks. Lyn's a Witchy Woman   has hosted blogging virtual vacations that have been a blast. Not only have I gotten to know these people I have laughed at all the antics we have gotten into. There is no way I could write out or acknowledge everyone I consider a friend here at WDC - I'd been writing this blog all day... but you probably know who you are. I appreciate each and everyone of you! And then of course, I have my cat. He stays close. His presence is enough to let me know I'm not in this alone. His purr sooths me when I am stressed and he's willing to dance with me if I succeed. Right now he is outside laying on the back mat so that he can hear me... and maybe get a pet if I open the screen. What he'd really like is for me to go outside with him, but it is not overly warm today. Word Count = 595. |
Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024 Prompt 2. Sept 2. Tell us about an earthshaking Life-or-Death situation in your life. What happened, how did it change you, if at all? I live a pretty sedate life. Nothing really earthshattering or Life-or Death situations in my life. I could make one up, but that wouldn't seem authentic. I do worry though. One thing that did happen earlier this year that changed my ability to trust is having my car broken into while on a hike with my client on January 4 of this year. They broke my driver's side window and got into the trunk to take my backpack. My life was in that backpack. I didn't want to take it on the talk because it was far too heavy. In that backpack was my laptop and my book of passwords. Yes, I was stupid enough to have them with me. And from this identity theft was rampant. Not right away, of course. I had a couple of weeks to think all was okay and then BAM! I had to scramble to secure my financial accounts, my cell phone and change any passwords before I lost them. Getting my cell phone back was paramount as some of my accounts have multi-authentication. Apparently the people who stole my stuff were able to walk into a TELUS store and put a new Sim card into another phone - that simple. It took me all weekend - From Friday to Sunday to re-secure my account and get my cell phone back into my name. They did not even have my actual cell phone. They didn't get my wallet either. but I had to cancel cards and get new ones issues to make sure all was secure. I had to do my Mastercard twice. The Bank of Montreal was not helpful at first because I was not able to cancel my card due to them doing some servicing of there own. I got the call back in a couple of hours.... it was already after 1 am when I called and get through the first time! It is September now and I am still trying to get my Microsoft account, Google Accounts and Amazon account back. My Microsoft account has been seen on the Dark Web and without that account I am finding it difficult to secure many of my accounts. I can get Facebook and Instagram on my phone but I don't know the passwords to get access on any other device. I also have found proving who you are is far more difficult that I realized. Finding the phone numbers to reach the right people who can help has been a huge stressor. The thing is, you think you got a handle on things and then you realize you really don't. Earlier this winter I was lucky enough to have an LTO so my school board organized to pay my teaching membership. I still need to secure that account so I can pay my membership dues for the upcoming year. Losing my One Drive and all my things in there has been hard. Not having Word has made it impossible to upload an updated resume to my Apply to Education account - which thankfully is attached to my work stuff that didn't get affected - once I got my new pass card and other devise to get logged into my work accounts. Yes, they got stolen, too. So is this life-or-death? Not really, but it has thrown a wrench into my life. One I don't need when I am also dealing with an aging parent who is now dealing with dementia and alcohol issues. All of this has been a blow to my writing. My novel was on my One Drive. I still have Scrivener, but so does the stolen computer. So I am wary of using it. I don't have my Medium account which had blogs I wanted to compile into a book. I don't have Plottr which I have a lifetime membership to... the whole thing is frustrating and draining. So often I just want to escape and bury my head in the sand. But I can't. It's my identity and I need to get it back and secured. If I don't I feel vulnerable like never before. Word Count = 683. |
Blog Week Birthday Bastion 2024 Day 1: Prompt 1. Sept 1. It's the site's 24th Anniversary. Tell us about your love or fondness of Writing.com. What makes this a wonderful place for writers? Why are you (still) here? After last night's scare - I forgot to renew before noon yesterday. I was scrambling to pay my membership and get back on track. Nobody wants to miss the birthday celebration! I have been with Writing.com since March of 2013. I joined and was overwhelmed at first. So much so I didn't do much on site until just before birthday week that same year. By then I was ready. I was hungry to be part of something that could inspire and rocket me forward in my writing aspirations. I learned so much that first month! The challenges I took on focused me to try my hand at things I had never considered. My confidence grew. I was impressed that I was able to come up with descent stories with 24 hour deadlines - something I needed. I was able to stretch and grow. And with that, I was able to meet like-minded people with creative dreams. Making friends allowed me to be both encouraged and a cheerleader. It was everything I needed and more. I look forward to the various challenges over the course of the year. I really love prepping for NaNoWriMo and have taken on the challenge of becoming one of the writing coaches. I love the monthly contests and really enjoy the push from challenges like I Write and the monthly Contest Challenge. I have even taken on the challenge of being a judge for some of the contests. I like that I can go at my own pace. I look forward to signing on to Writing.com each day. I am able to keep track of my writing goals and be held accountable. I learn a lot from the feedback on my stories and have learned just a much by being able to review others. There is something for everyone here at Writng.com. I love the comradery and fun. I consider Writing.com my online home and each of you are part of my family. Thank you so much for being here and accepting me into the fold. Word count = 338. |
Blog City - DAY 3167 July 27, 2024 Which one of these cliche comments annoys you the most and why-- 1.“Back in my day…” 2, “You’re so lucky you don’t have to work.” 3, “Oh, you’re still doing that?” 4, “We never did things that way.” 5, “Are you sure you want to eat that?” 6. “That’s not how we raised our children.” 7. “I just want what’s best for you.” 8, “I was just joking!” These all tend to annoy me, especially the ones that judge. It's none of their business. The worse one for me is number 8 - "I was just joking!" This is usually said when the Joke was uncalled for or viewed as actually hurtful and not funny at all. The person who said the offending 'joke' is usually an insensitive idiot who doesn't even realize they were being an asshole. I don't like these kind of people. I follow this gentleman on Instagram and he has great ways to call someone out on this: https://www.tiktok.com/@justaskjefferson/video/7311500045625363755?lang=en Blogging Circle of Friends - Day 3562 July 27th, 2024 A Great Big World by Christina Aquilera if you would rather go to YouTube yourself. Let this music video inspire your entry today. What did you think of the harmonies? The images chosen? This song came out around the same time my marriage broke up. I was the one unable to speak. Unable to speak my truth for fear of hurting my partner's feelings and raising his ire. He was honest enough to hurt mine, but I could not get the words out. I could only leave - turn tail and run. My ex husband was not a bad person, he was just not good for me and I was not good for him. So this song haunts me. Love the images. Another song that came out around the same time... or it resonated with me because of the place I was in was this song: |
Blog City: DAY 3156--July 16, 2024 Prompt: Scammers and Hackers What do you think of today's scammers and hackers? As species, are we losing our moral hold on life? And/or write about a time you or someone you love was scammed. Does identity theft count? I had my car broken into and my backpack stolen out of my trunk on January 4 of this year. It was the first sunny day all Christmas Break and I took my client out for a nice walk along the river. We were gone all of 50 minutes. In that time they did a snatch and grab. It cost me $350 to fix my driver's side window but the worse thing was my backpack being stolen. I had decided to go writing in a cafe after I finished working with my client. This meant I had my laptop, my writing stuff and my book of passwords in my backpack. I lost it all in the blink of an eye and I am still fighting to get everything back. The book of passwords gave them access to my online life... I did have my wallet and my phone with me, but the fact that they got that book of passwords - it gave them full access to my life. One of the first things they did was get access to my phone number. They did this by somehow managing to convince Telus that they had a damaged sim card in their phone. So they were able to get access to that... I spent the first weekend of the 19th of January getting my phone number back into my possession and then securing all my financial accounts with backups to my phone number. I could have lost everything because I did not know what to do. I filed a police report for the theft and later for the identity theft stuff. I didn't realize they had to be separate. I also set up accounts with Equifax and Transunion to monitor any fraudulent behaviour. I am still trying to get my main Microsoft account back and my first Google account back. I have no access to my gmail stuff from that Google Account or my One Drive with Microsoft. I also have no access to my Amazon account or Kindle. I have also lost access to Facebook and Instagram as they have changed my passwords... I can still see stuff on my phone, but I am not posting. It is a clusterf**k to say the least. I dealt with the worst of it - my phone and financial stuff first, then took it slow as I find the stress of this can be overwhelming at times. I have been avoiding doing stuff lately and I am starting to lose sleep over it... so I know I need to take care of things one step at a time. As for the people who did this... I hope they rot in H*ll. I doubt they will ever be found and charged, but what goes around comes around and I hope they get their due. As for losing our moral hold on life - I think there has always been this dark side of the human race. A side very self-centered and self-absorbed. With our changing world and our reliance on technology, I believe these people have just found a new way to screw others. It is also good to remember there are good people out there as well. People willing to help, guide and assist. There are also many good-hearted people out there and if you remain positive and upbeat you can attract them to you and help keep the darkness at bay. This situation will be fixed. I will take things one step at a time to keep from being overwhelmed by the process and the situation, but I have found others to help me and I don't feel quite so alone. I refuse to see myself as a victim. I will overcome this situation and I will have others who have helped me along the way. Stay safe and vigilant my friends. Don't take your book of passwords out into public. Protect yourself, but don't become so hyper-vigilant that you forget to live and enjoy yourself. The silver lining in all this is that I am now able to step up and advocate for myself and will be able to do that for my mother as her own dementia issues assail her. |
Blogging Circle of Friends: Day 3509 - Virtual Tripping The gang is going from Georgetown, Guyana to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Even with a virtual trip... I was feeling overwhelmed with the flying so I decided to stay another day in Lisbon and take in the literary scene. Not that I have read any writers from Portugal, but I wanted to soak of the atmosphere in the part of the city they frequented during their life here. To get the full experience, I checked out of my room at the Juniper Lisboa Hotel and moved to the district of Chiado. It is considered 'The Bohemian Heart of Lisbon'. Chiado is located in the historic center of Lisbon. It has long been associated with the city's intellectual and artistic life. This neighbourhood has been the meeting point for writers and poets, including the celebrated Fernando Pessoa. I decided I needed to know more about this part of Portugal. I managed to find a sweet little rental place in the area with a kitchen and eating area, a couch area, a bathroom, King size bed. A studio apartment. I ventured into a grocery shop and picked out a few things to make a home cooked meal which I enjoyed with some lovely Portuguese white wine. And more tarts, of course. https://www.cheese-wine.com/lisbon-is-a-haven-for-literary-enthusiasts#:~:text=C... I even managed a bit of beach time before taking a train the next day. I took a train to Porto, Portugal. It's about 2 1/2 to 3 hours north on the coast. I had heard good things. And since I am a Harry Potter fan and had heard J.K. Rowling started writing her first book of the series here I was excited to take the Porto Harry Potter Private City tour. I got to see Clerigos Tower, Lello Bookstore, Majestic Cafe, and other major monuments and must-sees are among the sights to behold. The Cafe is where she wrote some of her book so I made sure to return later to write and enjoy a bit more to eat. The Lello Bookstore is thought to be the place that inspired Hogwart's library - it isn't, but it is considered one of the most beautiful of bookshops - so I had to go. I even splurged on a book. The Clerigos Tower was a fabulous way to view the whole city. Just beautiful. Our local guide took us to the most important sights in town so you can get a complete picture of what makes Porto so special. We were shown treasures hidden in plain sight that only the locals know about along the trip. We learned about the city from a different perspective, the perspective of a native, and uncovered places and tales that few tourists got to see. Every monument and stop had a story to tell - and you know how I like stories. We got to go to our guides favorite cafes for a bite to eat and a refreshing drink. Read more about Harry Potter and Lello Bookshop Tour : Highlights and Hidden Gems - https://www.viator.com/tours/Porto/Porto-Harry-Potter-Tour-Wizardous-with-Lello-... https://www.awellreadwanderer.com/worlds-most-beautiful-bookstore-livreria-lello...)%3B%20and I stayed at the Torrel 1884 Suites. It was lovely. Right in the heart of things. https://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/torel-1884-suites-amp-apartments.en-us.html?aid... I hope you are are enjoying Argentina. |
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