Friday Flashes

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. “Interesting” as in the Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.”

I am finally moved in, after much clusterfarkery and blood, sweat and tears, with a generous dollop of body pain. I hate moving; the older I get the more of a production it is. However, I’m in a happier place and that’s what counts.

Unfortunately, over two weeks of intermittent or no internet access means I am way behind on everything. It’s amazing to me how much we depend on technology, and scary, also. So, it will take me a bit of time to catch up on the regular routine — email, comments, blog reading, card dropping, meandering, and of course, writing.

I did manage to fit in some offline work, such as editing some material and going over some notes of Momma’s that I found in an old box of photos. It was an emotional experience, finding these notes, and like a greedy daughter, wished there were more. Going through the photos was not a great idea. I am still too raw for that. I have learned I must be patient with myself and to not push anything just because I think other people think I should. The hard truth is I have been in Intense Survival Mode since Momma passed, and I haven’t exactly dealt with all the fallout from her loss. Putting it off hasn’t done me any favors; I know I’ll have to deal with it, but it’s a process.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Pass the salt, please.

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Here are my Friday Flashes, in lieu of fiction this week:

- Celebrities piss me off. It’s not bad enough we have to deal with Britney’s twat or Paris’s excesses, but now celebrities are invading my beloved Twitter. The reason this irritates me so is these celebrities already have platforms — why, oh why, do they need Twitter? So that they appear trendy to the masses? Because they don’t have enough minions? Granted, I may be jealous because I don’t have minions, but Twitter is about more than a race to a million followers or bringing your happy ass into the 21st century. It’s about community, can you dig it, it’s about networking, building businesses and interacting with other people. I fail to see the point of having a million followers when you yourself only follow nine. Or seventy-nine out of the million. Not to mention once the newness wears off, the celebrities will most likely hand off their Twittering to paid help.

Explain that to me, if you can.

- Without an internet connection or TV, you may wonder what kind of activities are available. I know I wondered, but my curiosity was satisfied. I read books (a couple of James Rollins, a Stephen King, a third reading of “The Warded Man”, and a collection of short stories) which I haven’t had time to do in ages. I can’t help reading as an editor, and that sucks. However, it was wonderful to lose myself in story again, and I must make that more of a habit no matter the workload.

I also rediscovered the radio, and that was cool. St. Louis has a fabulous array of radio stations, and even though I now have a TV and cable, I am not turning it on as much as I used to in favor of the radio.

Without TV, I utilized Blockbuster to watch a few DVDs of shows I hadn’t caught before – “Rescue Me” (who knew Denis Leary could be so brilliant?! Certainly not moi) and “The Office” (the British version.) The former reminds me of my childhood growing up right across the street from a firehouse, although the guys I knew as a child were my heroes and some of the most wonderful people I’ve known. I don’t remember any drug addiction, talking to dead people, or shagging close relatives, and if that kind of stuff went on I was blissfully unaware. Still, it’s a great series and I’ll be following it from here on out.

“The Office” is hysterical. Ricky Gervais is so damned funny. Either you “get” British humor or you don’t; if you’re a fan, this is a must-see.

- Quiet is good. Quiet is very good, and I enjoyed that, as well. Weird, at first, but it felt like just basking in the absence of continual media bombardage was very cleansing. A period of a slow pace is quite rejuvenating and I must remember that.

- Taking time to appreciate the little things I so take for granted was also a side-effect of the last couple of weeks, and I have come to the conclusion that simple appreciation for the little things is what leaches the bitterness from the trials. That’s a good lesson.

I’m taking the weekend to ruminate, rest the weary body parts, and enjoying my new place. Figuring out which drawer is best for silverware, where I should position the couch, and how the light switches and furnace works. Analyzing the strange noises and convincing myself that racket in the middle of the night is probably a squirrel and not some mutant alien waiting for me to fall asleep before taking over my body and replacing it with a pod person. Heh.

But I’m back, and glad to be back.

Tags: friday flash, lessons, moving