The Old Switcheroo

I’ve been trying to switch from my “new” blog (my currently active one) back to my “old” one, which hasn’t had any new activity on it for over two years.  The first step was to eliminate all the old posts on my old blog so I could start fresh.  I then needed to write two posts, a “good-bye” one and a “hello, again” one.  Once those two were posted, I could stop using the “new” blog and start posting to the “old” one again.  I also needed to figure out both the process and appropriate timing to change the two feeds I have for my blog.

After several months of “working” on it, all I had accomplished was to delete most of the old posts on my old blog and stop posting to my current blog.  For some reason I couldn’t decide on an appropriate post to make a new start on my old blog.  Nor had I figured out the correct order of all the steps I needed to take to make the transition work smoothly.  My dithering has resulted in no posts on either blog for almost two months. 

Apparently, a two-month lull is sufficient motivation to finally get me to move forward again.  Therefore, this will be my last post on this blog, unless this switch proves less than satisfactory.  In which case, I’ll be back.  But I’m feeling optimistic and invite you to join me in my move “back to the future.”  My first post on my newly revived blog introduces my “Boomer Bits” idea, which I confess to having already mentioned on my Facebook page.  But it seems appropriate—a slightly used idea for a slightly used blog.

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

I can’t believe I haven’t made any preparations to celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day.  It’s a great holiday, one that I actually want to celebrate.  Most holidays now revolve around gift-giving, and since I am in a losing battle to control my clutter, I don’t want more stuff.  And most people really don’t need more stuff either.  But some people still insist on giving gifts for gift-giving holidays.  So I try not to celebrate those kinds of holidays.

But National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day has yet to be tainted by the gift-givers of the world.  Not that I blame the gift-givers.  It’s a generous impulse, which has unfortunately been manipulated by commercial interests.  Of course, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day is a result of those who are commercially interested in chocolate chip cookies.  Not only that, if someone wants to give me a chocolate chip cookie today, I confess I would graciously accept the gift.  But at least it would be a consumable gift which doesn’t create more clutter.  It only leaves a small trace of its existence around my waistline.

So have a lovely National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day.  I’m off to hunt down one of them for my own celebrations.

An April Fool

April Fools’ Day is one of the odder holidays we celebrate.  That could be why I like it, being a little odd myself.  It’s exact origins are unclear, although possible precursors to it include the Ancient Roman festival of Hilaria and the Medieval Festival of Fools.  I would actually prefer having a festival of Hilaria, which is more about rejoicing, instead of the traditional April Fools’ Day.  I’ve never been too keen on playing pranks on other people, though I’ve done so in the past and also had some good ones played on me.  But why can’t April Fools’ Day be a holiday where we celebrate being a fool, rather than trying to make fools of other people?

Of course, I’m not just a fool for one day.  I’m a fool for the entire month.  In fact, I make a fool of myself on a regular basis during the rest of the year, as well, although I usually save some of my prime foolishness for April.  It’s a good month for foolishness.  Spring is in the air.  All sorts of animals are getting randy.  Taxes are due on April 1st, or at least they should be.  (Hey, if you have to pay taxes, you may as well make a joke of it.)  And days are becoming longer, giving you more time for getting out there and being foolish.

The normal reaction to making a fool of oneself is to feel bad or embarrassed.  But we really should change our perceptions about it, because if you’re not making a fool of yourself on a regular basis, that means you’re probably in a rut.  You’re only doing things you already know how to do, playing it safe and closing the door on new experiences.  And even if your life is absolutely perfect right now, do you really want to be living the exact same day, over and over and over again?  Well, maybe for a year or two, but after that, dissatisfaction with the status quo will start to creep in.  I guarantee it will, no matter how perfect the status of your quo is.

So please, dust off your whimsy and curiosity, drag out that slightly crushed fools’ cap from way in the back of your closet, and join me for a day or even a month of merrymaking.  Because, the truth is, I don’t want to be the only April Fool out there, dancing in the street, tripping over the curb, and landing face-first in a mud puddle.

Read an E-Book Week

Hopefully, you’re not already overwhelmed by free e-books, like I am.  (I blogged about that on our group blog—Favorite Titles.)  But whether you are or not, prepare yourself for a brand new onslaught.  There will be hundreds of great books available from March 4 – 10 to celebrate “Read an E-Book Week.”  The official REBW website is a great place to get more information about the event.  Then there’s Smashwords, which will probably have hundreds of free and discounted e-books available throughout the week.

Or you can get a jumpstart on REBW by grabbing Book of Blognots, Not Blogs, which will be free tomorrow (March 3).  For procrastinators or those who want to first check out all the other freebies to see if there are better ones available, my book will also be free on Tuesday, March 6.  Actually, I’m sure there will be better ones than mine, but you still might want to pick it up while it’s free.

Me Or The Universe?

The Universe has a quirky sense of humor that can be capricious at times.  Other times, it can verge on the downright contrary.  This makes life interesting, to say the least, because you never know what to expect.  And sometimes the Universe seems to go out of its way to embarrass you.  If you foolishly announce something out loud, it’ll step in to contradict you.  Not every time, of course, because that would be too predictable.

The latest example occurred when I decided to set aside Sundays this year as “no computer” days.  Everything went well for the first month and a half, probably because I only told one person about it.  But then I made the mistake of writing up a short piece for my blog about my decision and how well things were going so far.  The article was ready to post when I made an additional mistake of emailing someone to explain why I wouldn’t be emailing him on Sunday.  The combination was just too much for the Universe to resist.

A week ago Saturday night when I did my last internet/email check for the weekend, I received information that I wanted to research further as soon as possible.  However, I had already spent way too much time on my computer during the day and really couldn’t face spending my evening on the internet.  Besides, the whole idea behind “no computer” days was to eventually wean myself from spending long hours sitting at the computer until screen was blurry and I felt exhausted.

I decided to wait until Sunday to research it—just this one time.  After all, one slip-up doesn’t matter that much, as long as you’re committed to your goal.  This was nothing more than a little “oops.”  Of course, this meant rewriting my blog post to account for it (aka explain/justify it).  And because apparently I’m a slow learner, I went ahead and told more people about my “no computer” Sundays.  Yes, you guessed it.  This past Saturday, once again I received information that I really, really wanted to research as soon as possible.

So that makes two Sundays in a row spending many, many hours on the internet.  Although I can no longer claim it’s going well, it doesn’t necessarily mean I failed.  I haven’t given up on the idea of spending less time on the computer and do hope to continue to have “no computer” Sundays.  As often as possible, anyway.  But I may need to find other ways to reduce my computer time.  And here’s the most worrisome part—the Universe basically reflects back who you are.  So I have to wonder why the Universe seems to have such a capricious sense of humor.  Is it just the Universe or am I really that contrary?

Harmony

If you live in harmony with your spiritual essence, life becomes easier.  This harmony is like the difference between absorbing your native tongue as a child and studying a foreign language as an adult.  It’s like floating gently downstream, letting the current carry you along, instead of paddling madly upstream against the rapids.  Harmony can even move an immense boulder to the very top of a mountain peak as if it was merely guiding the boulder downward to the valley below.

Demoted

The other day, while contemplating my brand new Facebook page, I almost demoted myself to writer because, to be honest, I don’t really consider myself an author.  In fact, I’ve actually been accused of not being an author, although that person was unaware that I had published a book.  But there are plenty of others who don’t think Indie authors are “real authors.”  Of course, I’d be willing to bet that those people have never written a book themselves, much less published one.

But I don’t think how you’re published matters as much as your attitude and goals.  If you approach your writing with a professional attitude and your goal is to publish and sell your work, then you’re probably an author.  Writers, on the other hand, simply write.  And everything is considered part of their writing.  Letters, emails, posted comments, and even status updates are revised and edited with as much dedication as stories, articles, and blog posts.  By that definition, most authors are writers, but there are a lot of writers who are not “real authors.”  Like me.

My book was written and published by a writer.  As such, it’s a five star book.  But if it had been an author’s book, it would need more work before it was ready to be published.  There are a whole bunch of little things I put in it just to amuse myself.  Some are hidden; others are obvious and would’ve been viciously edited out by a real author. 

Then there’s the “big” problem with it.  Toward the end, the “story” suddenly veers off into the absurd, which bothered some readers.  An author would take that to mean it needed to be heavily revised or eliminated altogether.  But the writer in me thinks the ending is hysterical and refuses to give it up.  I am willing to admit that perhaps I should’ve set up that bit of absurdity better so readers were prepared for it.  But there was a purpose to it—two, in fact—so even an author would’ve tried to save it.

For a little while, I thought I might feel more like an author if I published more books.  That delusion did not last long.  The truth is, there’s nothing professional about my attitude or goals.  I write for myself.  That’s the only way I can do it.  I do enjoy sharing it with others and hope they find it half as entertaining as I do.  I’m not going to say that I’ll never be an author, but I think it’s extremely unlikely. 

Nevertheless, I decided against officially demoting myself.  My Facebook page will continue to be called “Lee Sinclair – Author” because it looks better.  Or perhaps because it’s just more socially acceptable.  But it doesn’t really matter.  A title is not going to change who I am.  On the other hand, HRH The Duchess of Writing does have a certain ring to it, don’t you think?