Freelance Work

A few years ago I retired from the corporate workplace. What's that you say? I look too young to be retired? Well, that's mighty kind of you, thanks.

Ahhh, flattery. It always makes my day. Where was I? Oh yeah, work. So I retired from a big job that required lots of hard work and responsibility and decided to be a freelancer - although I had no idea what that really meant. I set about researching freelance opportunities and started a fledgling writing career. I'd hack out corporate communications copy, sales brochures and annual reports all day long; mostly for companies I had relationships with from my previous jobs. Hey, it's a living. But I still didn't know how to develop a 'real' freelance writing career.

In the meantime, I started blogging. Now I'm old school (another age reference? really?!) and didn't know nuthin about no blogging. I jumped in anyway and wrote some pitiful posts. Wavering somewhere between online journaling and mindless drivel, I chugged along. I needed a place to be creative so I kept at it.

Feeling a little more confident and realizing I needed a niche, I began a blog about my pets. People started to read it. I started to like it. I'm a crazy, diehard animal lover so it fit. Then an editor at a corporate dog food blog started reading, one thing led to another, and now I blog for them. Real work as a freelancer! A few more goodies have come my way and I am eternally grateful. I plan to work harder and keep growing.

I'll finish this post with yet another age reference. If you take anything away from this post, it should be this:

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This post is in participation with the Group Blogging Experience, and this week’s topic is work. If you want to blog with us, visit the GBE2 Facebook page and request to join the group. Everyone is welcome.
 

Have You Abandoned Me?

Dear Langley,

I can’t help but notice that the last time you posted here was Halloween. It’s now past Thanksgiving. I try not to be needy or desperate but I’ve got to ask… are you spending time on other blogs? Prettier blogs? More exciting blogs?

What do you want from me? I can be pretty. I can be exciting. I’ll be anything you want me to be.

Don’t forget, you made me what I am. If you’ve lost interest, that’s on you. I won’t take responsibility. In fact, you need to get your act together and come back to me. I am a good and decent blog. You can look all you want but you won’t find a more upstanding, responsible and loving blog. You’re no picnic yourself. Everything’s always about you, you, you, with no consideration for my needs.

If you want to come back, you better be prepared to beg. I will not lower my standards to accommodate you, I have too much self-respect. Things have got to change between us. I coolly await your response. 

Signed, Lonely blog

Dear Blog,

I’ll come back, I promise. This isn’t about you, it’s about me. I’m spending my time writing for paying clients, trying to save money for the holidays. You’re still my number one blog. I have not forgotten all the good times we’ve had; all the fun topics we’ve covered and the nice followers we’ve met. Please accept my sincerest apologies.

Will you take me back if I promise to give you more attention? I can commit to posting at least twice per month through the holidays. If you’ll give me a chance, I’m sure I can be a better and more prolific writer for you. After we get through the busy season, I can even do better. I will try my hardest to post once per week after the New Year.

What do you say? Please don’t throw away all our good times. I’m begging. You’re worth it. Thanks for holding me accountable, it’s one of the many things I love about you. Let’s make this work.

Yours always, Over-committed writer

An Acrostic Poem that Creates an Atmosphere

A damp heaviness hangs in the air,

The witching hour is near.

My eyes are tired from squinting into the darkness and

Owls are hooting, I think.

Scary sounds seem to be growing louder or

Perhaps it's my imagination running wild.

How did I get in this situation?

Even I don’t remember what prompted me to get in the car and

Ride with reckless abandon, aimlessly. Then suddenly...

Everything goes black.

 
Happy Halloween!

For another scary Halloween acrostic poem, check out Exploring Superstitions, in an Acrostic Poem.

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This post was written for The Writers' Post group on Facebook. This week’s challenge is to create an atmosphere in your writing. I approached the challenge by trying to create an atmosphere within an acrostic poem.  If you want to connect with other bloggers and join the fun, go to The Writers' Post Facebook page and request to join the group. Everyone is welcome.

Am I Really a Writer?

Can you call yourself a writer if you’re not writing? I know writers who claim they must write every day, it’s like oxygen to them. I am not that person. I can go for long periods of time without writing anything. Even if I need to write for financial reasons - if it’s not happening it’s just not happening.

I am in this very slump right now. I’m distracted. Other things seem more pressing. I don’t feel like writing. I wouldn’t call it writers block because I have plenty of ideas.


If I could make myself sit down and put my fingers on the keyboard I’m sure the words would come.

Words don’t fail me. If anything, I fail them.

I wrote a silly poem about writer’s block last year, primarily to get over the hump. Here it is: Overcoming Writer's Block - a Poem. But even then, I questioned the difference between writer’s block and lack of motivation. Are they the same thing? Are they different?

To me, they are different.

I’m supposed to be writing about balance and I am. Are you following? If you’re reading between the lines you’ll gather that I have none. You are correct. I’m either in a writing frenzy or a writing drought. (Maybe writing slack-off would be a more precise description but I’m scared of the word slack-off).

My hope is that this forced post makes me climb back in the saddle. My pocketbook hopes so too.

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This post is in participation with the Group Blogging Experience, and this week’s prompt is balance. If you want to blog with us, go to the GBE2 Facebook page and request to join the group. Everyone is welcome.

An Alternative Look at David Bowie's song, Changes

This post was going to be about David Bowie’s song, Changes. I love the song. It’s brilliant how the lyrics are just vague enough to be open to individual interpretation, of which there are many.

Some believe that the Changes lyrics focus on the obsessive nature of artistic reinvention, which Bowie mastered. More common interpretations include taking a hard look at the process of aging and how you’ll handle the changes that go along with it. Even deeper, the lyrics examine a young man's attempt to figure out how he'll react to moving from the ‘cool, hip’ side of the generation divide to the ‘old, outdated’ side.

My plan was to take an excerpt of the Bowie lyrics and wax academic about the primary text and sub texts, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah.  

BUT…

…this is so much more fun. As I was researching the lyrics I noticed some word discrepancies—especially after the Ch-ch-ch-changes hook. I always thought the lyrics were:

> Turn and face the strain
Ch-ch-changes

It turns out, I may not be correct. Here are some of the alternative suggestions:

> Turn and face the strange
As in - move out and face the unknown.

> Turn and face the change
Which is an obvious repeat of the hook

> Turn and chase the grain
Guessing that Bowie drinks whiskey with a beer chaser

> Turn and get my cane
The refrain Bowie will sing when he gets older

Other notable interpretations:

> Turn and take the train
> Turn and face the stain
> Churn your face in Spain
> Turn and face Loraine
> Time to eat chow mein

Okay, I’m easily amused but these are laugh out loud funny to me. Here, take a listen and tell me what you think the mystery lyrics in David Bowie’s song, Changes are.

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This post was written for The Writers' Post group on Facebook, and this week’s topic is changes.  If you want to connect with other bloggers and join the fun, go to The Writers' Post Facebook page and request to join the group. Everyone is welcome.

Winnie the Pooh on Loyalty

The word loyalty means different things to different people. That may sound harsh and you may disagree but that’s the way it has played out in my life. One could argue: then the person wasn’t really loyal. That’s true, and there’s the rub. There are times when you believe someone is loyal and you find out otherwise. There are other times when someone’s loyalty surprises you, in a good way. 

The word itself is not hard to define:  

Loyal is an adjective. Marriam Webster defines the word as an unswerving allegiance; faithful to a person to whom fidelity is due; faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution or product. Showing loyalty.

Loyalty is a noun, defined as the quality or state or an instance of being loyal.

There are many examples of true loyalty and mistaken loyalty in literature. One of my favorite examples of true loyalty in literature is the relationship between Winnie the Pooh and Piglet in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” books.    

Many authors have used Milne’s characters to illustrate a point (for example: “The Tao of Pooh,” “The Te of Piglet”). That’s because his genius is multilayered in its simplicity.

One of the messages that resonate with me is the way Milne’s characters—living in The Hundred Acre Wood—demonstrate the power and importance of loyal friends. Here are a few of my favorite “Winnie the Pooh” quotes that get right to the heart of what loyal friendship is all about:

~If ever there is a tomorrow when we're not together, there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you.

~Promise you won't forget me, because if I thought you would, I'd never leave. 

~If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever.

~If you live to be one-hundred, I hope I live to be one-hundred minus one day, so I never have to live a day without you. 

~We'll be friends forever, won't we, Pooh? asked Piglet. Even longer, Pooh answered.

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This post is in participation with the Group Blogging Experience, and this week’s prompt is loyalty.  If you want to blog with us, go to the GBE2 Facebook page and request to join the group. Everyone is welcome.

Classic Pooh image courtesy of justpooh.com. The pictures are free to use for educational purposes and personal use.

French Words That Americans Use

I've noticed many of my friends peppering their daily conversations with French words and phrases, sometimes unknowingly. I'm sure I do it too. C'est la vie.*

Hors D'oeuvres

Though often mocked and intentionally mispronounced, the French phrase hors d'oeuvre is commonly used by Americans. Translated, hors d'oeuvres means small portions of food served as an appetizer or offered at a cocktail party. If an invitation says 'heavy hors d'oeuvres' you know the party will have plenty to eat but you won't get a sit-down meal. 

Bon Voyage

Before leaving on a long trip you may hear the words bon voyage. Literally translated into the English language, this French phrase means 'good journey.' Bon voyage has been borrowed from the French and is often used by Americans to mean 'have a good trip'.

Déjà Vu

Déjà vu is the feeling of reliving a prior experience. It's a peculiar feeling of familiarity, though you are likely experiencing the event or circumstance for the first time. Déjà vu has become such a common term in the English language that it's hard to describe what it means without using the phrase déjà vu itself. Can you do it? Give it a try in the comments section.

Merci Beaucoup

Americans often use the French word merci or the French phrase merci beaucoup as a substitute for thank you. Merci translates to English as 'thank you' and the translation for merci beaucou' is 'thank you very much.'

Bon Appétit

The French phrase bon appétit is often said to one another before a meal. Bon appétit literally translates to 'good appetite' or 'hearty appetite'. Americans say bon appétit before eating as a way of saying 'enjoy your meal' or 'have a nice meal.'

*The literal translation for C'est la vie is 'it is life.' Many Americans use c'est la vie to mean 'that's life' or—if you want to use the Urban Dictionary as a reference—'oh well, $hit happens'.

For example-

Me: I can't believe I gained 3 pounds!

You: C'est la vie. Get over it.

Speaking of food (weren't we?!), I like my pie a la mode, s'il vous plait.