Shake It Off / Happenings In The Outhouse 28-April-2023

You find yourself tossed into the bottom of a well.  Then, shovelful after shovelful of dirt is thrown in.  You are trapped.  What do you do?  Let yourself be buried?  Or use the dirt to rise yourself out of the hole?

In other words, shake it off.

From time to time, things will happen that will throw you off your game.  It happens to everyone.  Shake it off and move on.  Figure out a solution instead of just complaining that nothing can be done.  I heard someone say once, "If you bring me a dead cat, you better bring me a shovel."  In other words, bring a plan for your situation.

When my late wife was diagnosed with leukemia back in April 2011, it would've been easy for me to throw in the towel and say I quit!  But I didn't.  I double-downed on my writing.  When her illness progressed over the years from the side effects of her transplant, I will admit that I had some dark days.  Then, in early 2018, I turned everything over to God.

I did put things in God's hands many times over the years, but for whatever reason that was a turning point for me.  When her illness took a massive turn for the worst in May 2019, leading to eventual passing in January 2020, I did take a step back a bit.  I still wrote, but not as much as before.  I took small steps.  I knew when my head wasn't in the right place.  So I'd take a small break and either watch a show or read.  When I was able to join the local gym, I took solace in improving my overall health.

I looked for solutions.

I shook off things, and moved onward.

Life is never easy.  But it's how you react to it that matters.

Something New / Happenings In The Outhouse 21-April-2023

Once my current work-in-progress is complete, I am going to do something completely different.  I don't know if I'll follow this for the remainder of the year or just for a few months.

For the longest time, I have written nothing but novels, with the occasional novelette/novella sprinkled in.  Now, I am going to write short stories.

My goal: write one short story a week.

Even with my hectic schedule, I am still going to try this daunting task.

Currently, I am at the 80,000 word mark and it seems to be coming closer to done.  I'm crossing my fingers that I share more on this project in the upcoming weeks.

Trash Talk / Happenings In The Outhouse 14-April-2023

What do others say about you when you're not around?

You may answer this with, "I'm sure they think I'm a good person" or "Oh, I don't know, but I'm sure it's good."

No matter what the true answer is, how are people speaking about others when you are around?  Do they trash talk others?  If they do, chances are, they do it to you too.

There is an old adage that says, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it."  Maybe instead of speaking trash about someone you may disagree with, let's try remaining silent.  Let's try stepping in their shoes and seeing what life is like.

What would you like others to say about you?  Start with you and place the rest in God's hands.

Princess/Prince Mentality (AKA I Want It Now!) / Happenings In The Outhouse 07-April-2023

 We've all seen the meme, from the Gene Wilder movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: 

Funny how this movie came out in 1971 yet there is so much in our society now in 2023 that reflects with the character Veruca Salt.  With the advent of the internet and technology as a whole, things are moving faster and faster.  Movies go from the theaters to the digital platforms/DVDs/Blue Ray in a matter of weeks and days.

Even information can be had by quickly searching your favorite search engine.

My current work-in-progress is set in the mid-1980's, and it's funny to think about how children today could never survive during the 80's, despite the many shows/movies set during that time.  Even the mentality many have today seems so out of whack when I reflect on my own childhood.  Never did I ask my Mom what was for supper, and, if it wasn't something I liked, I never told her as such--rarely did she make something I didn't like, as she is a fantastic cook.

So many things are given to people today without thinking.  The starting wage on many jobs in the area are around $15 or so an hour.  The starting wage at the grocery store where I worked at when I was sixteen was around $3-4 an hour.  When I started at my current job at $7 an hour, back in 1997, I thought I was rich!

I don't mean to pick on kids either.  I meet many adults who have this mentality that they are a princess or a prince, and that everyone has to kneel before them, to always do their bidding or else they'll whine and moan.

In the words of W. Axl Rose, we need a little "patience."

Take a deep breath.  Pause.  Reflect.  Pray.