A GUT REACTION

6:30 A.M.—yesterday

Ring Ring.

Trust me…

There are no good calls that come at this hour.

“Hello?” I answer, my heart pounding.

“Mom?

 “Hi. Is everythin–”

“Yeah, we’re fine… well not exactly.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Mom, what are you doing today?”

Oh, just sitting around picking my nose (Is what I wanted to say).

“Why?” 

“The girls are throwing up.”

“Oh, that’s awful.”

“I can’t take anymore time off work.”

I held my breath. I knew what was coming next.

“Can you watch them today?”

A simple request, right?

NOT!

Because…

With two kids puking…

My daughter’s house Is ripe with germs, viruses, bacteria…

Or some flu bug that’s making them puke!

And so what my daughter really was asking…

Was not “Can you watch them today?”

But rather…

“Mom, are you willing to come into contact…

With two infected kids…

Who have God only knows what sickness…

And by coming here today…

There’s a 100% likelihood that…

You’ll catch what they have…

And by tomorrow…

You’ll be throwing up too.

So the question she was really asking me was…

“Mom, are you willing to puke for your grandkids?”

What kind of grandma says no?

6:20 A.M.—today…

So far so good.

But I got the bucket out just in case.

I’ll keep you posted.

Always, Em-Musing

THE VAPOR EFFECT

I've altered my brain!

Seriously!

While in bed last night, trying to fall asleep…

A great idea for a blog post popped into my mind.

The thought was clear—brilliant, actually.

Yet this morning…

All I have is a vague recollection…

Not of the idea…

Only that I had an idea.

So, for heaven’s sake?

Where did the idea go?

Yeah, I know—keep a pad by the bed…

But it wasn’t like I woke up in the middle of the night in a dreamy stupor…

Then fell back asleep…

I had been wide awake.

So, this morning, curious…

I Googled: thoughts, ideas, matter…

Wondering if thoughts and ideas have matter in a metaphysical way.

I learned “matter” is anything that has mass and takes up space.

And everything around us and in the entire universe…

Can be classified as either matter or energy.

Well, my thought took up space in my brain…

And it took energy to think it.

I also learned that temperature can change matter into another form.

Suddenly I realized…

I’ve been using a new “cool mist” humidifier in my bedroom…

And so you see?

The cool mist could very well have vaporized my thought!

And if it did—what form did my thought take and where did it go?

Hmm?

Sitting here now…

Drinking my coffee with the hot steam wafting up my nose…

I wonder how the temperature of this vapor will effect my brain…

And if my brilliant thought from last night will materialize.

Hmm?

Maybe it isn't the caffeine in coffee in tea that effects us as much as…

The vapors.

I think I might be on to something.

Always, Em-Musing

IT'S WRITTEN IN THE CARBS

YESTURDAY

Mmmm!

Yumm!

Gobble, gobble…

Slurp…

BURP!

AH!

TODAY

Feel…

Fat…

Weigh…

Waaaaah!

TOMORROW

Focus…

Make a plan…

Determination…

Yeah!

Always, Em-Musing

A GRAND SCHEME

It’s been said that there are no coincidences…

Carl Jung even called coincidences “synchronicities”…

"An apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two

or more similar or identical events that are casually related."

And that’s true even for Thanksgiving.

You may ask…

What the heck kind of synchronicity…

Can possibly be related to Thanksgiving?

Well, think about it…

A turkey goes, gobble gobble…

And when we eat a Thanksgiving turkey…

We gobble gobble.

A turkey gets stuffed…

And when we eat a Thanksgiving turkey…

We get stuffed.

See?

Synchronicity!

So the only conclusion I can draw from this is…

The universe is giving us permission…

To gobble till we're stuffed!

Therefore I say…

Stuff yourself on Thanksgiving…

And don't worry about calories because…

It's all part of the grand scheme of things.

HAVE A HAPPY GUILT FREE THANKSGIVING

Always, Em –Musing

P.S. I’m taking a blogging break till next week.

        I need to catch up on NaNoWriMo.

CRAZY, YA SEE

Help!

I’m think I’m insane!

It’s true!

Ya see…

M head feels altered…

Like it’s in another stratosphere.

Yeah, yeah, my nose is stuffed…

My ears are plugged…

Because of my cold.

And yes, I’m taking mass OTC drugs…

But I still think I’m insane…

Ya see…

Saturday, I got another rejection from an agent.

But wait!

That’s still not why I know I’m insane…

Ya see…

The agent who rejected me…

Sent back my query with her rejection form…

(So tres green, passing the trash back for me to throw out)

But that’s still not why I think I’m insane…

Ya see…

When I looked at my query–

A@H#$C%&?

It’s the stupidest, dumbest, most idiotic query I’ve ever written.

And probably the stupidest, dumbest, most idiotic query…

The agent ever read too.

So ya see…

As I sit in my office today…

Reworking my query…

I can actually see the psychiatrist…

In the nut house sitting across from me…

Telling me…

“You’ve been in here a year and this repetitive behavior

of yours is not getting any better. I think it’s time to re-evaluate

what you’re doing. Don’t you know doing the same thing over

and over and expecting different results if the height of insanity?”

“But!” I interject. “This new query will really be different! I swear!”

And so, ya see…

I need your help…

I’m going to revise my query, yet again…

And hope for different results.

Am I crazy?

Always, Em-Musing

LONG NIGHT'S JOURNEY BACK TO BED

1:00 A.M.

throb

2:45 A.M.

Throb Throb Throb 

Ugh!

4:00 A.M.
THROB 
Agh!
4:35 A.M.
BOOM THROB BOOM BOOM BOOM
Dear GOD!
Head ready to explode…

Can't breath through nose…

Eyes teary, bleary…

Must get up…

Must get:
Coffee…

Aleve Sinus & Cold…

Hot pack on neck.

Eh…
No sense going back to bed…
Will try to write…

Something—anything…

Not happening.

5:00 A.M.

Stumbled back to bed.

10:20 A.M.

Somewhat better, but no blog of substance today…

Due to much substance going on in head…

But did manage to upload a few pics…

From my journey to the ruins of Tulum…

Just a short distance from Akumal...

Where my dreams for a spiritual/writer retreat…
Will hopefully come true.
Always, Em-Musing

…

THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND VOICES

Last week…

On the plane heading to Mexico…

I was reading The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz.

However, before Mexico came Ft. Lauderdale…

Where I changed planes…

And got a phone call.

A situation had occurred back home…

And I might have to make important decisions.

I struggled with my conscience, I didn't want to go back…

But I should, shouldn't I?

After all, this is what responsible people do—right?

Because if I continued on…

What would everyone think about me? Say about me?

Selfish, is what I’d be considered, wouldn’t I?

But darn it!

I so wanted to go to Mexico on this spiritual journey.

A few more phone calls later…

My confliction was even more intense…

I sat there almost frozen, not knowing what to do.

To clear my mind, I picked up The Four Agreements again…

And came upon the chapter about the mitote…

Which is described as the chaos of a thousand different voices…

All talking in our minds…

And these voices are other people’s feelings, words and desires…

That shape our lives…

And how we unknowingly yet willingly…

Pick up those same feelings, words and desires…

And make them our own voice in our head…

Creating within us the “judge” and the “critic”…

And when we do this, we live our life in a dishonest way…

Behaving to please others…

Rather than being true to what would make ourselves happy.

And so I was faced with a choice:

Turn around, go back home and please everyone else?

Or proceed and do what pleases me and makes me happy?

It then suddenly occurred to me…

That I possess no special magic…

That to be physically in Toledo wouldn’t change anything…

And all decisions could be made via phone.

And so I overcame the “judge” and “critic” in my mind…

And continued on…

But it was not easy…

A lifetime of the mitote is hard to shake.

As the plane took off I realized something else…

I wasn’t heading to Mexico for my spiritual journey…

My spiritual journey had already begun.

And so…

Do you ever wonder…

Whose journey are you on? 

Always, Em-Musing

P.S. I had to make no decision while I was gone

BUENO

I have been re-reading a book by don Miguel Ruiz entitled:

The Four Agreements.

I read it a few years ago and felt a shift in my psyche.

(or it could have been bad gas as I’m prone to have)

And ever since I read this book…

I’ve been drawn to the turquoise waters…

The green cenotes and ancient ruins of the Rivera Maya…

Specifically Akumal and Tulum…

Both towns south of Cancun.

If you are on a search for inner truth…

I highly recommend The Four Agreements.

It’s a quick read, only 138 pages.

And to entice you a bit more…

Here is the copy from the back cover:

“In The Four Agreements, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source

of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless

suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, the Four Agreements

offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our

lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness and love.”

I don’t know how may of you reading this post today…

Remember my posts from several months back…

When I traveled to Mexico in search of a place…

To have a writer/spiritual retreat.

Well, I am traveling back today on that same journey.

I am also going to be meeting with a new friend who has just returned…

From a don Miguel Ruiz retreat. I can’t wait to hear all about it…

For myself personally, and also for research for my own retreat.

Yeah, yeah, I can hear you now, “What about NaNoWrMo?"

I will be writing when I’m gone, but not at breakneck speed.

My word count to date is 22,000.

I’ll just have to play catch-up when I get back.

So until later next week amigos…

Adios.

Always, Em-Musing
P.S.  Thanks and welcome to all my new followers and
         thanks to all those who comment. I appreciate it. :)

VAIN ATTEMPT

Finally, it was my turn…

I had been standing, waiting for 15 minutes…

At the BMV…

To renew my driver’s license.

I stepped up to the counter…

Handed the woman my current license…

“You sure waited till the last minute.”

“Really? It’s only 9 o’clock. Do you close early on Wednesdays?”

“No. Your license expires this Sunday.”

“Well, it wasn’t possible for me to get here sooner.”

Now, this is the part I’ve never learned to…

SHUT UP!

Why do I babble on to people I don’t know?

But babble I did.

Now, if I had stuck to the topic of the weather…

I’d have been in that “fine” zone…

Where all conversations…

Are “fine” no matter who you’re talking to.

But no, I babbled…

"You see, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo…

And have been writing two thousand words a day…

And with all the other things I've got to do…

Plus I had to dye my hair because the roots were--"

Well, her eyes started to roll in their sockets so I shut up.

After my eyes were done with the eye exam…

I sat in front of the camera for my new picture.

“OK, ready?”

“Wait, is there a mirror?”

“Right next to you.”

I stood up and finger combed my hair…

Then threw my head down and whipped it back up…

To fluff it you know, give it volume.

My make-up looked fine, but I did touch-up my lip gloss.

I then sat down and–

CLICK

“Wait! I wasn’t ready.”

And of course, my eyes were shut in the photo.

“Can I redo it.”

“OK, one, two–

CLICK

“Wait! I didn’t smile.”

“You can only have one more chance,” she harrumphed.

So I put my hand up like a traffic cop while I gained my composure…

Widened my eyes trying to make them sparkle…

Smiled, then put down my hand. “OK, ready.”

CLICK

“Yeesh! Can I–”

“No, three times is all you get. And, there’re others waiting."

I looked over to a long line of people glaring at me.

What? I thought…

Is it vain to care what I look like…

In a photo that’s going to last 4 years?

Hmm?

Is it?

Always, Em-Musing

CHOICE WORDS

I don’t mean to be rude…
Or make fun of anyone's writing…

Especially regarding Igor Stravinsky but…

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

You see, I used to write radio spots…

And so I listen intently when I hear them…

And when I heard the radio spot for The Rake’s Progress…

An opera by Stravinsky that will be performed in my town I…

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Sorry!

But here’s the synopsis used in the radio commercial:

A man of means is tempted by the devil…

Runs away and marries a bearded lady…

Loses all his money then commits suicide.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Sorry, but that synopsis just struck me as funny.

I then Googled The Rakes Progess and here’s a synopsis I found:

Tom Rakewell is a young ne’er-do-well whose fiance’s father does

Not approve of him because he doesn’t work. When a mysterious man,

Nick Shadow, a.k.a. the devil, arrives and tells Rakewell that he has

Inherited a fortune from an unknown uncle but must travel to London

to claim it, Rakewell is enticed into a life of gluttony and sloth for which

a day of reckoning must finally come.

See? Now this sounds like an opera…

Not a comedy.

Quite a difference…
In the two writing styles…

I guess the devil really is in the details.

Sorry…

Please excuse me…

I guess at this point…
NaNoWriMo is making me a bit delirious…

And I’ll find anything amusing.

But then…
Which synopsis would make you go see the opera?
(assuming you would ever go to an opera)

Always, Em-Musing

TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK --TOCK!

I have an inner clock in my fingers…

That when I get to say around 326 words…

My mind shuts down…

Only for a few seconds though…

I’ll stretch my back, adjust my butt…

Then get back to the NaNoWriMO assignment.

Now mind you…

Even though I’m a pantser…

I usually have a clue what my story is…

And who the characters are.

But when writing for NaNoWriMo…

Lord!

My brain is in free-fall…

And I’ll grasp all thoughts…

That fly out of my head…

Like bats out of a belfry.

See?

I’m now using outdated, worn out clichés!

This is what I'm resorting to…

Because I need words…

Words, words, words!

And …

I have a confession…

I am now using adjectives…

AHHH!

And those loathsome adverbs…

YEEESSHH!

Oh, the horror! The horror!

Oh, to hell with the horror…

I’ve got a 2K word a day goal…

And damn it…

I’m gonna use every word I can…

I’m gonna run with every run-on sentence…

I’m gonna have my characters talk about…

Every stupid thing they want…

And I'm going to describe every scene…

In the utmost detail because…

This is NaNoWriMo…

And I’ll edit later.

Always, Em-Musing

I'VE GOT PMS

Pre-mental suffering!

I know every day…

For the remainder of November…

I have to write 2K a day. 

It's agonizing!

So?

I wonder how all the other NaNoWriMo writers are doing.

I’m keeping up with my daily word count.

My goal is 50K by the end of November.

I’m amazed with myself for several reasons.

Especially the discipline…

Because…

I now officially know I have AADD.

I"ll write about 300 words…

When suddenly…

I get an itchy urge…

(which has nothing to do with dry skin)

To find something to distract me…

Like cleaning my keyboard…

Obsessing with my cuticles…

Or researching the Kymaro body shaper.

But I stay seated…

I plow through all the naggy thoughts…

By envisioning hundreds…

Probably even thousands…

Of other writers forcing themselves to write too.

Take this morning for instance…

I sooo wanted to blog first thing…

But I scolded myself and said…

“You can’t blog until you write your 2K words.”

Oh the pain! Oh the anguish! The suffering!

But I did it.

Hmm?

I wonder if the guy who came up with NaNoWriMo…

Actually does this writing exercise himself?

I’ll have to research that and–

OMG!

His name is Dr. Wicked! Dr. Wicked?

What kind of sick writing game am I participating in?

Always, Em-Musing