I was just a part of the Blizzard of 2015–which didn’t quite blow into what would even be considered a hearty storm in my area. To be fair, in some parts of the northeast, they got completely walloped. But in my neck of the Hudson Valley, we only got a couple inches. No one’s power was out for a week and I’ve got my fingers crossed that the only injuries have come from a family member grabbing another family member by the neck during a hot headed game of monopoly.
But for today’s blog I’m not actually writing about the storm. I’m here to talk about why I would never want to be a school superintendent, a city or state official, a weather person, first responder in a storm or the driver of a snow plow.
It’s because the rest of the population is batshit crazy.
Don’t be offended. Just learn to laugh at yourself, because honestly, if we don’t laugh, we’re going to be very embarrassed. The poor people who hold the jobs responsible for these decision-making weather calls, have a snowball’s chance in hell of looking like a hero. Even the ones out there, braving the elements and putting in sleepless nights. They can not possibly win in the decision making game. And I repeat, it’s because the rest of us are batshit crazy. Hell, we’ve proven that just by how we play monopoly, right?
If you don’t believe me (but I suspect you know exactly what I’m talking about) I could pull example after example off the news, Facebook and Twitter supporting my theory of batshit craziness. The internet was flooded this morning with all kinds of deep batshit thoughts like…
-we could have had school.
-the roads were unnecessarily closed.
-we could have gone to work.
-our insane need to swarming the grocery store and the home depot could have been avoided.
I can only imagine the conversation that the couple from the Home Depot parking lot must’ve been having this morning, after their huge melt down yesterday, when their newly purchased, unboxed generator (they drove an hour to get) wouldn’t fit in the car AND THEY DIDN’T EVEN GET A FREAKING BLIZZARD.
It’s enough to make a person batshit crazy.
But here’s the thing, I’m pretty sure that if things had gone the other way, we’d all be bitching up a blizzard about our fearless leaders not being safe enough. In fact I heard that two weeks earlier when we were hit with an unexpected ice storm. There were an insane number of accidents on the road and NO ONE PREDICTED IT OR DID ANYTHING TO STOP IT!!! But we can’t have it both ways, my batshit crazy comrades. We can not complain about both sides of the same coin. I mean we can, but as you might suspect–that makes us batshit crazy.
For better of for worse, we’ve created a litigious, judgmental society and it’s unrealistic to expect the decision makers not to cover their own asses. It’s the culture, us batshit crazy people, have created. If you don’t like it, it’s time to change the culture. Or get your ass to college, so you can try your hand at being a meteorologist.
Today, or any day like this, instead of complaining, try thanking the people who stepped up to try to do the right thing. It’s a novel idea–but maybe we should appreciate them for doing their best to try to keep our batshit asses safe. Now go shovel your driveway or strangle whoever bought Park Place and Broadway.
I’ve spent the last couple weeks digging back into my WIP. After the crazy holidays and the introduction of the puppy, I needed to take my printed copy and read it while making notes. I needed to be reminded of where I was going and what I’d been trying to do as I strung words together.
But in typical fashion, every time I curled up on the couch with my pen and highlighter in hand, I felt myself getting nervous. What was I going to find as I sorted through the pages? What would I discover when I read what I had from beginning to end? The truth is that I’m always expecting a hot mess. And why shouldn’t I? It is a rough draft after all. Those are always ugly.
I finished the detailed read through today and got what I expected–something that still needs a ton of work. But I was also pleasantly surprised by what is coming out of my head when I’m not really paying close attention to the big picture. There is great stuff in there and I’m super excited. In fact, it’s giving me the incentive to push forward with the draft because, I know that when I’m done, I’ll have something worth revising. There will be avenues to explore, threads to weave and countless possibilities. I WILL make it to revision with this book LOL! Sure, CHASING ADAPTATION has sent me on a merry chase, but suddenly it feels as if it’s unfolding the way TOUCHING THE SURFACE did when it started to come together in my head. And that makes me very optimistic about the future of this story. It makes my soul flutter.
So, for all of you writers out there in the same position, stop focusing so much on the draft and just write. Think of it like driving in the dark. You can still make the journey even if you can only see as far ahead as your headlights. You’ll get there if you just keep moving forward.
I started reading the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon back in the late 90’s. I was living overseas in Germany as a newlywed. And I know I’m dating myself, but WAY BACK THEN, the internet wasn’t a thing. We didn’t own a computer or a cell phone. Our international phone bills were very expensive so our families called for 30 minutes to talk on Sundays. You should have seen the bill the day my new kitten died. 🙁 But anyway, back on track. My mom sent me the first three Outlander books and since I couldn’t waste time on Facebook, I devoured then and shared them with my best friend Kim. We were nuts about the books. We had silver rings like Claire and matching Fraser Plaid scarves. Okay–I still have them and I may have even ended up with a kid named Jamie. LOL!
But in truth, as much as I loved the books, reading and rereading, it’s been awhile since I was engrossed in my favorite highlander time travel saga. But, with the new series on TV, my love of it all has reignited. And it made me realize I’d pushed the two most recent books to the wayside while reading so much YA. But, hold onto your kilts because I’m BACK and reading…
And *fist pump* I’m loving it.
But the real purpose of this blog post isn’t just to tell you what I’m reading. I had to share my dirty little secret–everything I say now has a Scottish accent when I hear it in my head. Och aye–you understand lass, don’t you? In fact, I bet you do it too. I’m only shocked I didn’t name me wee new pup Rollo.
Yesterday the whole Sabatini clan was spending the day home because of icy rain. At points throughout the day the kids were able to slide down our steep driveway on their butts like they were bobsleds. The pup was not nearly as adventuresome and needed a helping hand every time he stepped out the door and onto the ice. Like his monstrous, completely uncontrollable, feet weren’t already enough of a problem. Once I almost went down with him LOL!
As much as I love my ice skating pup, I did have to stop and take note of how “less than pleasant” it was to venture outside in the freezing rain at pretty regular intervals all day. Even though Riley’s learning fast and is eager to please, he’s still not completely potty trained yet.
So, while I was outside, just passing the time, I started to think about about how people in cities potty train puppies. What the heck happens if you’re on the umpteenth floor of an apartment building and your pooch has to run outside every 20 minutes? Are puppy bladders even capable of waiting for elevators or jiggling down multiple flights of stairs? Sometimes my little guy barely makes it out the door. Suddenly, my situation was looking a lot more desirable than it had 30 seconds earlier.
I know you’re fist pumping the air for me, but I also bet you’re wondering how puppy whiz training relates to writing,
Perspective.
In the world of publishing, everyone has a tendency to compare their journey with someone else’s. Most of us try to put on blinders so we can focus on our own work and our own journey. But as you can imagine, it isn’t always easy. So, today’s bit of advice, for when you’re feeling “crappy” is to adjust your perspective. If you can’t stop peeking at what everyone else is doing, mix it up. Choose to measure yourself against the people who have it harder than you–the ones who have a lot more steps to travel to get to the same place. It won’t actually make your publishing adventure any easier, but it will give you a wonderful sense of perspective and that might just be enough for you to feel okay standing in the rain.
If anyone knows the poop scoop on urban puppy training policy, please feel free to enlighten me. Just don’t mess with my perspective and tell me it’s easier than I think.
