Summertime and I'm Feeling Lazy

As you've probably gathered from my last several posts, this blogger has been a little lazy and lax about posting. I wish I could say my laziness was limited to blogging, but the truth is I've been slacking off on just about everything but reading a good book under the apple tree, puttering in the yard and hanging out. Instead of feeling guilty about it, which is what I normally do if I'm not going a million miles an hour at all times, I've decided to just enjoy it while it lasts and do what I feel like doing it, when I feel like it.

I will contradict myself a little to say that I got some writing done this weekend and with a little help from my friends, I may have worked through some issues I've been having that have been giving me problems with The Foundling Wheel. I've been struggling with the direction of the story for weeks, struggling with how to structure the time shifts, and struggling with some of the early choices I made that appeared to limit things going forward.

This weeks epiphany has been that whether you plot and outline up front or take off with no direction, the pound of flesh is due eventually. I suspect that a more seasoned writer could handle a complete seat of the pants approach a little more easily than I've done it. Most of you have heard this a dozen times already, but I'll recap anyway. When I started the Dickens Challenge in December and decided to commit to drafting a chapter a week, I began without a plot, a premise or much of anything but the inspiration for an event. That got me through eleven chapters and about a hundred pages. At that point, there were things I'd done early on that I wished I hadn't and I had no idea how to move forward and end the story. I've since gotten most of this figured out and thanks to some great feedback and advice from my beautiful friend Kristin, I was excited and happy when I was writing today.

Vesper tagged me for this meme last week and although this is probably more information about me than anybody would ever want to know, it does give me something to post about that doesn't require any research or heavy thought and I'm into that the last couple of weeks. So here goes.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I was thirty-six, getting ready to turn thirty-seven and I was living in Colorado Springs in the first house I owned (I'm on number four now). I was married to my former husband and my stepson was living with us and getting ready to start his senior year in high school. I had a civil service job and I worked about ten miles east of Colorado Springs at Schriever Air Force Base. I think my job title was commercial communications manager. We had a little sixteen foot fish and ski boat with an outboard motor. Back then on most weekends we went camping and boating and we dragged the boat out on a lot of weeknights too. Back then I started and kept journals every now and then, but I wasn’t doing much writing at all.

Five things on your to-do list for today

These are really five things for tomorrow’s to-do list. It’s a work day, so that will keep me busy until sometime between five and six. I’ll be optimistic and add a few other things I’ll probably manage to do:

1. Get Scott to help me take down the oversized painting in the living room so we can put something else up

2. Call the sprinkler repair man to replace a couple of bad heads in the back yard

3. Send Larissa a check for the beautiful necklace I just ordered from her at Unravelled

4. Keep working on Chapter 12 of The Foundling Wheel

5. Email Lighthouse Writers Workshop with my workshop choices for the retreat next month (woohoo)

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Who among us hasn’t spent lots of time having this fantasy? Of course I’d make sure that all of my and Scott’s loved ones were set up with whatever they needed to be happy and secure for the rest of their lives. For the younger ones, this would be more along the lines of taking care of college and setting them up to find their own way in the world. I wouldn’t arbitrarily toss money at anybody under forty because I don’t think they recognize the value of it yet and I don’t think having an endless supply of cash is necessarily a good gift unless you’re old enough to use it wisely.

Since a billionaire has more money than she can possibly use or spend, figuring out philanthropic ways to spend it effectively would be important. I’d like to contribute to or start organizations that would help abused and neglected animals and children, to provide medical care to those who can’t afford it, to provide the opportunity for college and job training for people who can’t afford it, which would include single mothers and the homeless. So many worthy causes!

I’d love to award grants to writers and painters so that they could take the time to write or paint full time. I’d maybe want to create one or two retreat locations that artists and writers could use to do their things. I’d love to own two or three places to live so I could go there anytime . The houses would be nice, but reasonably sized and green and I’d create a program so that when we’re not living in the houses, writers could act as caretakers and earn a small income so they could write and not have to work.

Candidate locations for the houses would be places like northern California, Martha’s Vinyard or Nantucket, Mexico and probably someplace here in Colorado.

Needless to say, I would primarily spend my time writing and hanging out with Scott and enjoying life. Billions would be somewhat wasted on me because there isn’t anything in particular that I want that you need to be wealthy to have. As long as I could travel, write and have someplace comfortable to come home to with Scott, I’d be very happy.

I liked Bernita’s idea. I’d give each of you $100,000 (you being the people who comment on this post of course).

At least once or twice a week I'd like to head out and find ways to anonymously slip strangers cash, pay for their groceries or meals or just do surprise cool things like that.

What are three of your bad habits?

1. Occasional morning crankiness

2. Procrastination about work and writing

3. Outright laziness when it comes to exercise


What are some snacks you enjoy?

1. Kettle chips, especially salt and vinegar or salt and ground black pepper

2. Milk Duds

3. Fresh fruit

What were the last five books you read?

I’ll write more on these when I do my “Books I Read in June 2008” post, but the last five I finished were:

1. The Eleventh Draft, edited by Frank Conroy, which was a great recommendation from Tim Hallinan.

2. Rose’s Garden, by Carrie Brown, which was a great recommendation and gift from the lovely and talented Jennifer Duncan.

3. The House on Fortune Street, by Margot Livesey. This one is a brand new release and Margot Livesey’s essay in The Eleventh Draft motivated me to read her. She is wonderful.

4. Simon Says, by Kathryn Eastburn. I read this one because it’s the tragic true account of a triple murder that was planned and carried out by four Colorado Springs teenagers. My interest in juveniles serving long or life sentences led me to this one.

5. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was one I reluctantly read after so many people had recommended it. I say reluctantly because I admit I am a total ass and since so many people loved it I figured it couldn’t possibly be anything I’d like. I was wrong. I consumed this fairly long book over the weekend and was captivated the entire time. Maybe I need to finally break down and read Water for Elephants too.

What are five jobs you have had?

These all go back a very long way, but they are the five most unconventional jobs I’ve had.

1. Vacuum cleaner salesman for Kirby

2. Factory worker in a metal stamping plant

3. Short order cook in a bowling alley

4. Bank teller

5. Cashier in a mom and pop grocery store

What are five places where you have lived?

1. Massachusetts

2. New Hampshire

3. Connecticut

4. New Jersey

5. England

6. California

7. Germany

8. Colorado

I know that’s more than five, but it only took eight to list all states and countries. I did attend a total of 13 different schools by the time I graduated from high school – and I went back and forth between some of them more than once.

I always have mixed emotions about tagging people since I’m never sure who has already done which meme and who likes doing them and who doesn’t. I’m going to try something different and tag five male bloggers. I think we (women bloggers) assume they don’t want to do these, but I suspect that’s not always the case. So gentlemen, you’re tagged if you feel like doing this and if you don’t feel like it, that’s totally cool.

Steve Wylder

Steve Malley

Charles Gramlich

Tim Hallinan

Billy Hammett