Writing Status & Killing Time

The title of the post should actually be - Writing Status: Holding and Waiting, Not Procrastinating. By the way, excuse any rambling. I'm dealing with some brain fog today. However, to make up for it, I am including links at the bottom of the post. Have fun.


When I posted about getting settled in the apartment, a casual online friend asked if I was now back to working on the book(s).

Well, let's see...

This is my chair and desk.

All. Those. Pieces. Yikes!

As you can see, the chair is assembled - because it was a "Look Ma, no tools required" kind of thing. That desk... I broke down in tears of frustration just trying to identify all the parts and pieces.

Yeah, so, this is my current writing station:

Makeshift desk & my busted computer

At least I put on part of the un-assembled desk to good use.

When I said that I had gotten things in the apartment put together. I meant that I had managed to get myself to put things together enough so that I have somewhere to sit and sleep. For now, I am concentrating on recovering from the move. My energy was at rock-bottom levels for the past couple of weeks. I'm hoping that I'll be feeling better now that I've finally had my (overdue) infusion.
This
Not only do I still need the desk assembled, I have to hunt around for an affordable bedroom dresser. And there are still my unpacked boxes to deal with...

While I'm waiting for my energy to power back up, I have been checking out some great websites.

"Wrote a song about it. Like t'hear it? Here it goes."
In Living Color (David Alan Grier)

• Lifehacker is just fun. It's a nice resource (sometimes) for writers
• WonderHowTo is for when you wonder how to. See what I did there?
• This video/GIF just because it nausates and fascinates me. 
• Unsplash for free photos. I actually just like looking at them, but you are free to use them.
• This is for when I need to let my brain just breathe. Good for when you feel overwhelmed and hyper.
• AlternativeTo is for when you are either broke or cheap and need an alternative to paid apps/programs. Maybe, like me you are both broke and cheap!
• Text Faces is just that. (ᵔᴥᵔ) See?
• Lifewire has the name that makes me think of Motley Crue, but a motto I like: Tech Untangled. 
• CamelCamelCamel is for Amazon addicts (me!) who like to price track (me!)
• WhichBook helps you choose a book to read.
• Have not checked out Instaread yet. Not sure if it will make me happy or sad...
• So, GeoCron is an interactive history atlas.

So, I'm not back working on the writing projects yet. There is no procrastination involved though. Trust me, I can't wait to get back into my writing. When I do, you will hear my whoops of joy!

Peace
--Free

Moving Means More Than Goodbye

                                                         
As I get ready to leave Alaska (no, really, this time I mean it!), I have been thinking what that means. 

I'm not just moving away from a place. I'm moving away from a routine. I am shedding and leaving behind places that evoke strong memories. I still can't drive past Lucky Wishbone Restaraunt without thinking of both my mother and sister. One day, I drove past a certain park and remembered a long-ago birthday party we threw there for one of the kids and I had to pull over because I started sobbing.

Leaving Anchorage means that I won't wake up and see myself surrounded by the mountain ranges. It means no more summers with 18 hours of sunlight. I'm not going to see moose just randomly strolling through the front yard. Leaving here means leaving behind the doctors and staff who saved my life and got me through these years of this disease. I'll miss those people so much. I will even miss the familiar faces of the clerks at the local Walmart and Carrs-Safeway. I will miss the way the air smells on a cool morning.


It's not just the people either. Leaving here means leaving sights and sounds and landmarks that I've known from the time I was about 7 years old.

Today, I sold my little travel trailer and, silly as it sounds, I was just so happy that the lady who bought it really appreciates it. Her face was lit up with joy like mine was when I got the trailer. I could see that she was making plans for how to use it and decorate it and fix it up. Although selling the trailer makes me so very sad, I was happy that it went to this wonderful person.

I'm going to be selling my car. I'll miss that car! It's going to be another familiar thing that I'm leaving behind. It's the last car that I will remember driving with my sister in the passenger seat.

The other day, my niece and I were talking and I told her that I hate change. It's true, too. I like having a familiar routine. I like knowing where my favorite places are to shop. I like knowing at least three different routes to get to the store or hospital or to a restaurant. I like knowing the weather patterns and the best and worst roads to travel on when it's snowing or raining.

So, yeah, leaving a place means more than saying goodbye to people you love. Leaving means starting over.

And yet...

                                            

I'm looking forward to being close to new people and places. Before long, I will have a new favorite place to get my clothes and food. I will learn the faces and names of my doctors and their staff.

                                                              

Before long, I won't just be familiar with a new place and new routines. I'll be calling another place "home".

Peace
--Free

Right Reasons, Right Actions

When I began telling friends that I was thinking of relocating, a lot of them understood my initial reason: cost of living. It's too high here and it's more affordable "there".

Lots of people relocated for lots of reasons. Some people move for a job or for a lover; to regroup and refresh, or get their life back on track; or just because they can't stand being in one place for too long. Some people move even when they don't want to or without knowing why. Now that I have pretty much made up my mind to relocate, I want to point out the reason that will seal the decision: my faith.

The first thing that I heard about my potential new home was how sincerely nice the people are. Out of the conversation I had with my family (who lives there), the part that sticks in my mind is when my brother said: "People don't just pray for you, they actually care for you. They don't just say 'Have a nice day', they mean it."

I can't tell you how many times I've had someone say to me (and I to them), "I'll be praying for you", only to have them say the prayer and move on with their life. Did they, or I, follow up on the prayer by checking back to see how things are going? Probably not. Unless they are very close and dear to me, I know that I often felt my duty as a person ended with the "Amen" of the prayer.

There have been times when I have followed up prayers for others with a letter or phone call. I've sincerely cared what happens to the other person. There have been times when people have done more than pray for me.

I think that, as Christians, we sometimes forget that we are brothers and sisters. Instead of asking God in our prayers to bless one another, we could be doing a little blessing of our own. We could be helping that single mother with the kids by offering to babysit or provide a meal. We could be giving our cast-off furniture to the family next door instead of dropping it off at a donation center for the write-off receipt.

For years, whenever my mother saw someone inebriated or homeless, standing on the street corner with signs asking for a handout, I never once heard her say that she'd be praying for them. Instead, Mom would go somewhere and buy a hot meal and coffee and take it back to that person. Then she would pray that they were going to be nourished and blessed by that offering.

I truly believe that a lot of time, when we say that we are going to be praying for someone, we are just speaking out loud that we are Christians. I'd much rather have - and do - the action of Christianity. After all, we will even pray for our enemies. Why aren't we also doing for our brothers and sisters?

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Matthew 25:35-36

After that conversation with my brother, I decided that I want to be more of a Christian in action that one who just prays for people. Whether or not this new place turns out to be all that my brother says it is, I can be all that I promised to be as a Christian.

I've been the one who, either in body or spirit, was thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and in prison. Thank God for brothers and sisters who didn't just stop at "praying" for me.

Peace
--Free