Category: Life

Veterans’ Day and NaNoWriMo

Why is it NaNoWriMo schedules never work as planned? My ideas for scheduled posts never made it off the page, I’ve only written 300 words of NaNoWriMo, and – to top it off – I’m feeling under the weather.

 

National Cemetery

 

But today is Veterans’ Day. Last week, the school put on its biannual Veterans’ Day Program – this particular one held special significance for two reasons: I wrote the program and the school chose to honor Mr. Tom, a 97-year old WWII veteran who just so happens to be my grandfather (who isn’t really my grandfather – you know how those family friends work). This was the first time in years he felt well enough to get out of the house for an extended period of time – he still lives at home in the house he built with his own hands back in the 40s and 50s – and stayed for the entire program. You can watch the program here:

 

 

As usual, I’ve also selected a poem for Veterans’ Day:


                       Grass
                 by Carl Sandburg

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
     I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers 
  ask the conductor:
     What place is this?
     Where are we now?

     I am the grass.
     Let me work.

 

And now, since school is out today, it’s time to play catch up on NaNoWriMo. Will I be able to write 16,500 words in one day? Probably not, but I’m sure going to try.

October has Ended and NaNoWriMo has Begun

Iron and MossWhere did October go? My favorite month has passed; we will not see it again for many months. Taken so soon by conferences, conventions, and programs – I barely knew ye, October 2015. I resolve to do better by you in 2016, including the tweeting of all Martin Luther’s 95 Theses.

November has begun, bringing with it the accursed time change and a host of other activities. Activities like NaNoWriMo – the National Novel Writing Month. Thirty days @ 1500 words per day = 45000 words minimum. Last year I faltered right out of the gate; this year I have a plan.

Part of that plan includes scheduling posts, so while you may not see me much for the next thirty days, my presence will still be felt.

What are you doing in November?

Monday Morning Grievance: Unexpected Library Fines

It’s Monday and I haven’t had my coffee.

Monday Morning Grievances Logo 1

Last Tuesday I went to the Library; Tuesday is my normal Library day. I returned my books and browsed the New Nonfiction shelf, where I found not one, not two, but three books on my TBR – needless to say, I added them to my stack. As it turned out, these were the only three books I desired to check out. Then, I went to the counter, handed the Librarian my card, and heard:

I’m sorry – you have an 80¢ fine on your card.

What? What book was over a week late? It’s impossible for several reasons:

I checked out all my books on the same day

I returned three books, and

the late fee is 10¢ per day, so

either one book was eight days late or

two books were four days late, but . . .

I checked the library cards that morning and they were stamped “Oct. 20”

So I asked the Librarian which book was late; she could not tell me. When I began to plead my case, she said

Sir, I don’t have the authority to clear your fine, but I can let you check out these books and you can pay your fine next time you come in.

I suppose at some point one has to take what one gets, but I’m still miffed about that 80¢.

I know I wasn’t late.

 

 

What annoys you?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Sunday Snapshots

With midterm grades due Friday and our Veterans’ Day program only days away, I didn’t have much time for taking pictures this week. However, I purposefully took a few hours out of my Saturday to spend some time walking and enjoying the fall weather.

Yesterday, Tryon Palace celebrated All Hallows’ Eve. Since the event is geared for children 12 and under, I simply bought a Gardens Pass – I could enjoy the grounds, see neat costumes, and interact with unique characters. I could not participate in any of the games, make any of the crafts, or partake of any of the “free” refreshments. Ostensibly they were free, but were included in the price of the All Hallows Ticket, so were – in actuality – paid for.

Krystal portrayed a witch:

click to embiggen and scroll through the gallery

Coworker Eliot styled himself “Lord Fall” but I called him Tom Bombadil:

Eliot Lord Fall Tom Bombadil

I may have mentioned once or twice before that I simply love the fall. I took advantage of my time at the palace to wander the trails and vegetable gardens largely ignored this time of year. Why they are ignored I have no idea – there is sublime beauty in the temporary death fall brings with it.

click to embiggen and scroll through the gallery

 

 

What did you do this week?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Monday Morning Grievance: Convention Edition

It’s Monday and I haven’t had my coffee.

Monday Morning Grievances Logo 1

 

You might recall I spent a few days last week at a teacher’s convention. I kept a list of grievances:
 

  • I forgot my toiletries bag at home; luckily, the front desk provided me with toothbrush, toothpaste, and comb.

    •  

  • Water pressure from the shower head left so much to be desired.

    •  

  • Vendors: thank you for the free stuff, but I have absolutely zero influence over the school’s budget and even less of my own money to spend. So, just give me your freebies and your handouts and let’s not waste our mutual time.

    •  

  • Conference Center: no free wifi unless we’re registered guests of the attached hotel? Seriously, I checked your website out before leaving town and you claimed to provide a group access account for conventions/conferences. So, who’s lying – the organizers or you? My money is on you.

    •  

  • Clickbait Workshops. At least two workshops I attended were nothing like the course description. One ostensibly covering the administrative side of our new standardized testing company could be summed up in one sentence: “Check the website and experiment for yourself.” Another touting an overview of “modern views” used information over ten years old. Modern my foot.

    •  

  • Bad coffee. Seriously, you’re serving lukewarm brownish water at a teacher’s convention? You do realize we live on coffee, right? This is tantamount to depriving us of oxygen.

 
Given the list, you might think I had an awful time at the convention, but the opposite is true: I actually had quite an enjoyable time – in fact, taken as a whole, this may have been one of the most enjoyable conventions I’ve ever attended. However, it’s hard to overlook terrible coffee and abysmal wifi.

 

What annoys you?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

Sunday Snapshots

What did I do this week?

Well, I went to a three-day teacher’s convention, where I managed to take pictures of my breakfasts:

Coffe Cup with Bow Tie

Convention Breakfast 2

Coffee Cup with Headphones

I came back Friday; on Saturday a ran a 5k – my first official race in 2 years.

 

My head even made it into our local paper’s coverage of the event:

 
My Head in the Sun Journal Bridge Run 5k

 

What did you do this week?

 

 

Have a suggestion for a poem, photograph, or future post?

Drop a note in the prompt box!

 

Don’t forget to follow me on:

Facebook – where I share news stories, articles from other blogs, and various and sundry miscellany that happens to catch my eye. It’s stuff you won’t see here! Well, mostly.

Instagram – where I show you my Life in Motion and share quotes and such. The widget only shows my last three photographs – don’t you want to see them all?

Twitter – where you can see my thoughts in 140 characters or less. Also, funny retweets.

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