Monday 23 July 2012

Half of Me

I only wish I was referring to my weight.  No, not quite, that's still a road I travel sincerely unmotivated, but progress there is at least something you can see, even if it is only on a scale. 

The other day on the news, I saw that there were in some cities in the United States, Police Officers and Firefighters only being paid minimum wage.  This news - as news often does, made me so sad.  A little clump of nerves or maybe fear clumped up in my throat and I thought to myself...at least I have a job to go back to.  I am a teacher...yes, we the favored who receive the longest annual vacation out of all of the jobs our peers do.  It has its ups and downs, but overall, I like my job, I like my students and I like the school. 

Without getting too detail oriented, the school I work for through no fault of its own, is facing possible closure. Our administration assures us that we will have jobs in September, but from the facts we know, it's hard to know if we will have jobs in October, November, December and so on.  So, I have come to a fork in the road.  A true fork, one of the clearest ones I can ever remember facing.  Perhaps the reason I feel it so sharply, is it may be the only time in my life that a fork in the road has not only affected my life, but my children and family as well.  No, I'm not the only provider in the house, but I do carry at least 40% of that burden on my shoulders - and though there are two distinct paths, I find myself sitting at the road sign, unsure of which way to go. Do I stay, or do I go? How do people make these choices? I should probably feel blessed there is a choice, but it feels like I am staring at two doors, and you can't tell what is behind them.  

So, where do we go from here?

Saturday 7 July 2012

The Quest

I've been away...busy you might say. Yes, busy for eight months. I know  that sounds impossible, but between being a wife, a mom, a friend, a sister, a teacher and a tutor, I feel like my time gets swallowed up.  Time for what, you might ask, what time does a person need? Well...I have this spark...I want to write, to be a writer, I've got these stories bubbling up that want to get out, characters that invade my waking thoughts begging to be released on paper.  THE PROBLEM...well, the first is time...and that is completely up to me.  It's about making time.  But, I also wonder if I suffer from an extraordinary form of writers block.  I currently have two stories that I feel are original, unique, interesting...and imbedded with poor grammar..that I get stuck in the middle of and don't know where to go!

So, how does one break through writer's block? How do these writers come up with gripping story lines and endings that hold readers to the very last word.  I mean seriously, every time I read a good book, like recently the Hunger Games, I come out of it thinking...how do they DO that? I want to be like those authors, who can reach into people's minds and spin tales that they dream about at night.  What talent! That's what I want to do. SO...top ten methods to obliterate writers block...anyone?

all the sins we see

He raped me. My friend, sweet and gentle, said it straight out like she was talking about the movie we'd seen not too long ago toget...