Monthly Archives: August 2008

Aug 31 2008

While The Big Easy Waits

Hurricane Gustav has been on my mind all day as it now spins wildly as a category 3 hurricane right in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.  Right about now, it’s in the exact spot where Katrina was 3 years ago (just 2 days earlier from today to be exact) when classified as a Category 5.  Katrina lost a bit of speed just before hitting land.  No matter what, I know the levees are still no where in shape to withstand this again.  No attention has been given like it should have been by now, so I fear the worst tomorrow.

So, I pray Gustav loses even more speed in the night.  Currently, he is moving a bit slower than Katrina, and the winds are just a bit weaker.  But who knows?  Gustav could pick up speed.

I was glad to see controlled evacuation on the news today, instead of pure chaos which I witnessed 3 years ago….when all of us were just sitting and waiting.  It was also nice to see a focus on pets.  People were being provided with carriers for their animals to be able to go with them this time.  Buses were taking people to Mississippi. Amtrak was going to Memphis.

I sit here now though, as I write this, holding my breath and praying like a school child in a tornado drill….anxiously wanting Gustav to someone magically disappear, so that none of us have to go through this all over again.

Aug 31 2008

1984

I mentioned 1984 earlier in my post about Michael Jackson.  Here’s another odd coicidence I discovered today about that year thanks to the internet.  The Witches of Eastwick was written by John Updike that year.  You may remember the movie which came out in 1987 starring Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle, Pfeiffer, and good ole Jack Nicholson.  I mention this because it’s on television right now.  I never knew John Updike wrote it prior to reading the opening credits a few minutes ago.  So, for some strange reason I went to Amazon.com and looked it up.

I discovered he’s written a sequel called The Widows of Eastwick.  It’s due out October 21st, 2008 and picks up 3 decades later.  My immediate thoughts were a sequel to the movie where the 3 powerhouse women will reunite on screen.  One could only hope…

Aug 31 2008

King of Pop Turns 50

Michael Jackson turned 50 two days ago!  FIFTY!

My earliest interest in Michael’s music came during the 1984 Grammy Award ceremony when Thriller took home a ton of awards.  Michael was black back then and 24 years old.  I was 8, just the right age for a chance to sleep in his bed at Neverland Ranch.

In celebration, I looked Michael up today on Wikipedia and revisited his history over the years….from the elephant man’s bones, to Lisa Marie, to Bubbles the chimp and baby dangling.  Ahhh, Michael…I hope the next 50 years are just as entertaining.

Can’t get enough of the King of Pop?  Check out the People v. Jackson page for more bad press.  Did you know that Wade Robson even slept with Michael?  But he claims nothing happened.

Geez….who hasn’t slept with Michael?  Well….I haven’t.

Aug 30 2008

The Children: Part 3

It’s been quite a while since I updated with my next Pet Post, so here we go…

Riley is the oldest of our 3 rat terriers and has been a part of the family the longest out of all 3 dogs.  We bought him the following Spring after J and I met.  We both loved animals and wanted a dog.  You could almost say, Riley chose us.  He was on clearance because he was older and getting bigger.  He was 6 months when we got him.  They took him out of his cage and we went into a small room to play with him.  J and I both went teary eyed over this dog.  He had so much energy and just ran circles around us like a race horse.  He immediately picked up a stuffed toy in the room and wanted to play.  And that’s Riley.

He loves to play.  We often have to warn company not to throw the ball no matter how bad you want to, because Riley will nonchalatantly bring a toy to you.  But when you throw it, it’s a game that never ends.  He will bring it back to you again and again and again even if you’ve just tossed it a few feet away.

Riley loves to sleep later than the other two dogs.  When I get up at 6am through the week to let them out, Riley will jump into bed in my spot and lay there like he wants to stay in bed.  On the weekends, I usually let him sleep in with J.

Riley is the last to eat.  I’ve never seen a dog eat like him.  Most dogs gobble up their food within seconds of being fed.  Not Riley.  He can make a bowl of food last all day.  He’s also very dainty when it comes to treats.  The others grab them out of your hand and almost bite a finger.  Riley will gently take the treat from you and walk away to eat it.

He’s the largest of the three, but the most gentle.  He never growls or gets mad.  He often lets the other 2 take toys away from him or even bite on him, and he never seems to care.  He really is the most gentle dog I’ve ever known, and with so much personality with one floppy ear and the other that stands straight up.

When he cries for a toy, he sounds like a baby or a hyenna.  And if the toy rolls under the sofa, he will lie there and beg for your help.  His favorite game is to chase a tennis ball outside.  Again, he never gets tired of that game.

Unfortunately, Riley suffers from a strange summer allergy.  He scratches his snout and chews on his legs quite a bit, so in the extreme part of summer going into fall (right now) he’s face and legs often look a mess.  But to watch him play and run around the house with his two brothers, or roll around on the floor to scratch his back on one of his toys just brings a smile to my face.  He’s definitely a fun bit of happy in my life.

That’s our Riley.

Aug 30 2008

To-Do List

J left after work yesterday to go to Springfield to visit his family.  There’s a new baby cousin whose just a few weeks old!  So, with a three day weekend at home with just the dogs and the cats, I decided to make a laundry list of things to accomplish.  Mind you, there’s nothing out of the ordinary from some things I’d normally be doing over the weekend anyway, laundry included.  But there’s something about writing it all down and checking it off when completed.  Ahhh, what a sense of accomplishment, eh?

What’s funnier is how my list has changed over the years.  I was thinking about that as I crawled out of bed at 6:30am this morning…only 30 minutes later than the time I usually get up on a work day.  But with three rat terriers in bed with you, it’s difficult to sleep in.  Ten years ago I’d be sleeping till 11.  I’d probably have to work on a Saturday back then, so I’d shower and get dressed for work and have to be at work by 1.  I’d go out after work with a friend and stay out till 3am or sometimes 6am.  Geez….6am was when I’d just be going to bed, not getting up.  I was in bed at 9:30 last night!

On a day off, my list usually included a $5.00 matinee.  I used to love to go to the movies by myself in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon.  Just me and some old folks sitting there watching Titanic.  Then, I’d go to the mall or get something to eat.  I’d come home and read, or watch TV, or play on the computer, or go out with friends again.

Here’s my list for the 3 day weekend…

Take out trash.
Do the dishes.
Laundry.
Vaccum.
Change bedsheets.
Blog. (guess I can check this off now)
Paintings. (I’m doing 3 paintings for a coworker)
Book Cover. (I’m designing a book cover for someone else)
Write book review. (finished this last night)
Watch movie 1. (I chose 2 Netflix movies for myself.  See…I’m still going to the movies these days.)
Watch movie 2.
Clean off the dining table.
Buy flower pots. (did this yesterday)
Finish author bio for marketing kits.
Finish press release for marketing kits.
Work on mailing list.
Oh, and reach 40,000 words on my writing (does writing out this list here count?)

So, there we go.  But right now, it’s time for coffee.  I didn’t put it on the list because that’s a given!

Aug 25 2008

You’re Beating My Heart

Despite hearing him on the radio and thinking he was a middle aged black man, new comer John McLaughlin’s  song BEATING MY HEART, from his new album due out in October, has definitely stole my heart this week.

Click here to watch the video.

Here’s the lyrics…

There are times every now and then
I forget why I’m breathing out
and why I’m breathing in
and I get so sick with the little things
I can’t relax when it’s happening
to know what it means
and then I open my eyes
and i know you’re beating my heart, beating my heart
look at the sky
I know you’re beating my heart, beating my heart
I go extra miles to show
that you are the one thing that I’ve got
look at the sky
I know you’re beating my heart, beating my heart
There’s a sun coming over the horizon
I wanna know where it’s coming from
but doesn’t everyone
It’s like who am I and why am I here
This whole world will take me down
without you standing by my side
my side
you’re holding onto me
you’re making everything inside
come alive

WOW! What he said….I can totally relate!

Oh, did I mention he’s cute…and he plays the piano.  *sigh*

Aug 24 2008

When All Our Stories Had Happy Endings

One year ago on this very Sunday I began a writing project which was to be called “For The Most Part.”  You, my loyal reader, may recall me writing about it in previous posts.  It was to be a tragic Christmas family saga, and well, actually, it still is.  In checking last year’s calendar, I wrote 20,000 words the first month.  I finished it at just over 80,000 words on New Year’s Eve.  In January of this year, I printed out the whole manuscript and read it all the way through.  A first draft edit.  I decided to write out one of the siblings (there are five in the story) because his story line was weak.  And besides changing the title of the novel and working on a prologue, that’s about as far as I’ve gotten this year…until a few weeks ago.

As you may recall, I devoted most of this year to STEALING WISHES instead.  I changed its title, went through a vigorous edit three times, designed the cover, and formatted the entire manuscript for publication.  The final product was released into the literary world back on June 9th.  Since then, I’ve concentrated more on reading than I have writing.  I tried to go back to an old historical fiction novel of mine that’s been lingering, but those characters were pissed off and just wouldn’t talk to me.  You see, I’m a fictional medium.  That’s right.  Characters, inside my head, speak to me and dictate their stories through my fingers.  I’m a literary pianist of words, if you will.  No, I’m not crazy so don’t call the doctors.  I’m just a writer. And somewhere between January and July, those characters in “For The Most Part” stopped talking as well.  So here we are now…

The 9 to 5 will be slowing down again as Autumn approaches and we grow closer and closer to admiring colored bulbs on a fake spruce, surrounded by metallic wrapped boxes and shiny ornaments.  I can already smell the cinammon spice in the air and my mouth waters for hot tea or boiled custard.  And then I think about that family I left behind on the stack of crisp white pages, lying there on my desk until a fit of Spring cleaning sent the manuscript into the bottom of my closet.  And there it sits.  I don’t want to touch it.

That prologue from months ago got finished just last week.  Like I said, I changed its title too (which also happens to be the same name of this post).  Do you like it?

J and I just watched The Holiday with Cameran Diaz and Jude Law, so I find myself reading this post in my mind in an English accent as I type it, but that’s not the point.  Not now, it isn’t.  Although I think the Xmas theme of that movie is what got me started.

The point is that I need to get back to that family Christmas.  I need to finish it.  I don’t know if it will be “the novel” that my readers can walk into a bookstore and find already there waiting for them on a table up front labeled “new fiction” or “40% off bestseller.”  I don’t know if it will be my claim to fame, and will be made into a movie, and have every publishing house vying for my attention to get their hands on the next book.  I don’t even know if there will be a next book.  But I hope it is.  I hope there is.  I hope…

So, it’s been a year.  I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

Aug 16 2008

Happy Place

I know. I know.  It’s been awfully quiet here on the blog for a while.  What’s up with Shannon, you are probably wondering?  Well, as you know by night, I am a painter, poet, and author scowering the globe for ways to promote my latest book.  I’m busy writing the next NYT bestseller.  I’m reading other books and studying this art form of words.  I’m painting a masterpiece worth thousands of dollars on Ebay.  Well, not really…

By day, I’m a customer service representative for a medical wholesale distributing company who sells and ships medical books and supplies all over the country.  With August and September being back to school month for nursing and medical schools and programs, it’s like Christmas for us right now.  So, outside of the numbing sensation of nursing students emailing, calling, faxing, and mailing in orders to be processed or inquiring about books on backorder, by the time I get home in the evening I don’t really feel like doing anything.  So, if I’m on the computer I’m paying a bill or surfing the web.  Or I’m in front of the television.  Or I’m reading a page before bedtime.

I’m waking up and drinking coffee.

I’m watching the days slip by quicker than they ever did the older I get.  I’m waiting to celebrate my Mom’s next birthday in September.  I’m watching my niece and nephew grow up.  She’s a junior in high school.  He’s in eighth grade.  I’m clipping silver hairs from my temples and wishing my back didn’t ache.  I’m finding joy in plants and flowers, a joy I loathed growing up at home although that gene must be planted deep within me from two parents who always had a garden.  I guess it’s just now bloomed inside me.

I’m playing my new Van Morrison CD over and over and over again, and relating to every song.  They are songs I would have rolled my eyes at ten years ago, and now I can’t hear enough.

I’m dreaming about all the books I want to write, the stories I feel I need to tell.  I’m wondering if I’ll ever finish all those books I want to read.  I keep buying more books to add to the pile.

I’m drinking a second cup.

I’m anticipating Nachos night with J because it means Friday is finally here.  I’m setting my sights on the next Pay day so I can shop for fruit at the farmer’s market.  I love seedless grapes.

I’m biding my time till 5:30pm Monday through Friday so I can go home to J and Riley, and Bailey, and Zander, Bon Jour, and Avery, because they are the love that makes our house a home.  They make me smile.  They make me laugh.

I’m rushing out to feed the birds in my back yard, smiling at the sparrows and finches that land on my deck watching and waiting for me at the window.

I’ve given up searching for that happy place that fueled my desire for all the things I wanted growing up.  Why? Those are the things so far out of reach, because I wasn’t meant to have them. I know what it means to not want what you haven’t got. Because I’ve arrived at that happy place.  And the older I get, the more I appreciate the things I do have.  They are far more important.  I’ve stopped looking around and waiting on a better tomorrow.  It’s here, and I only regret all the yesterdays I missed out on when wanting and looking for something else.  Today is my happy place.

I want another cup of coffee.