Hello Beaches!

Happy Friday! I lift my cuppa to you.

You might think that I am trying to be super clever with a play on the word,  for all of my B**** friends. Sorry, no. Although, I lift my cup to you as well.

I recently had a major run in with a mean girl B that was callous, insensitive, and absolutely rude. Not inclined to humor those who think it’s funny to be an absolute B to others and think it’s all good because it isn’t. I think more of someone who takes the time to be kind than blast another person. Alas, it seems kindness is a dying art.

But, since I went there I guess I can tie in my vent with the theme for today. Let me refill my cup, while I think of just how to do that.

Ah! That’s better. Today is the 52-week MFRW blog challenge, Week 33 – What I Do to Recharge. 

Coffee is what I do to charge in the morning,  not necessarily recharge. By late afternoon after you’ve dealt with horrible people and want to strangle someone, I really don’t need more coffee or else I’d be wearing an orange jumpsuit. Not a good look for me and I’m not interested in being Beulah’s latest girlfriend.

Ah, but we’ve hit part of the topic there, for the reason we need to recharge. Honestly, if we just did our work day in and day out, it does tend to be a bit of a grind, but it gives you a feeling of satisfaction to know that you’ve been working.  It’s kind of like going to the gym.

At first, your muscles are sore and protest. ‘We don’t want to exercise. We like being soft. Don’t make me do that.’ It’s your job to be drill seargent and whip those saggy wing flaps into shape, get that bounteous backside in tight formation, and push the thunder thigh twins to peak performance. “Ugh! But it hurts. I don’t wanna”

Shut up and give me ten more.

“Wah!” 

Just for that let’s make it fifteen more. 

By the end of the third week, however,  things are beginning to take shape, and show signs of improvement. Another couple months of this and the troops may just thank you for it. Or not, by nature we are lazy.

The point is though, that if it were just doing the work,  it would be a cake walk. After a few weeks of disciplined work, we’d feel great about ourselves, our abilities, our strengh. . . . but it isn’t just that.  We have to deal with people.  It’s people that create the stress.

No, it isn’t it’s deadlines and demanding schedules. 

Who makes the deadlines? Who gives us the demanding schedules? Who creates the stress in our day? PEOPLE!

The difficult client that refuses to listen to what you are telling them.  The customer that is rude in the checkout line simply because they don’t want to have to wait in line like everyone else. The person who nearly runs you over with their cart in the grocery store because they are in a hurry.

THIS is what causes the stress. OK, let’s be honest, it can be our own dearly beloved family members as well.

“Mo -mmmm, where’s the scissors?”

“Why?”
“I need them for a school project.”

ten minutes later. “Since when is cutting your sister’s hair a school project????”

Take me away Calgon. Maybe forget the Calgon and go for Captain Morgan. However, since I can no longer imbibe anything stronger than Welch’s . . . . Oh right, Cancer! Health issues can be another stressor.

So now we have a list:

• rude and impatient people
• kids
• demanding schedules
• health issues
• self or other imposed deadlines
• add your own personal pet peeve here

I may as well as add that last line because we all know we have them. When people violate them, we get all sorts of bent out of shape. Whether it’s dropping the towel on the floor in front of the towel rack, ( “Come on! It’s 3 seconds to hang it up!”) OR the dirty clothes on the floor. . . five inches from the hamper. OR dirty dishes in the sink. (Where did these come from? I JUST washed all of the dishes!) See what I mean?  Most of our stress comes from other people! SIGH

But then again, our lives would be pretty boring if we were in isolation. Isolation is one of the forms of punishment in prisons and concentration camps.  It’s said to be one of the cruelest punishments.  There are days I wonder if it really is punishment, though. How long do you think you would last in true isolation?

So, back to the top.  My little run in with the mean girl who has ruined it for me for those “Friends” who delight in being B****es.  I started taking part in this program offered at the YMCA for Cancer survivors. It’s a free, 12 week program designed to get you back into shape after treatment.

OH man, do I need it!  Radiation treatments themselves don’t hurt,  but the cumulative effect causes fatigue. . . and burns.  We won’t talk about the burns. Shudders – thank GOD they have healed!  I thought I knew what fatigue was before going through this. NOPE. Got a whole new appreciation for it first hand.  My stamina is nonexistent, and my muscles are weak. It’s like learning to walk all over again. OK, so maybe not quite that bad, but having been able to do 45 minutes of cardio a year ago, to struggling to do ten minutes without stopping. . . it’s frustrating and emotionally draining.

I found out last week that part of the reason that my fatigue was so bad, is that during the course of tests and all, they also discovered that I have diabetes. OH JOY! So, I’m trying real hard to follow the guidelines for this new diet.  My doctor told me that I should aim for 15 grams of carbs or less. So that was what I was doing. For the day. He didn’t specify that was for each meal, that my daily total should be 45,  I’ve been making sure I only had 15 for the day!~ So yeah, I have been exhausted. No carbs, no energy. Part of the hair loss is probably because I haven’t been eating. Part of the fatigue from radiation is probably due to no carbs.  So a little self-induced stress to add to the mix.

Anyway, the mean girl . . . a fellow Pink sister (Can you believe that? Wait, it gets better!) comes up to me after the class to inform me that they were talking about me, and they noticed that I am lopsided and I should really refrain from wearing sports bras.

 

Really?  REALLY??  OH, let me get right on that! Heaven forbid my less than perfect physique should interfere with your rose colored glasses outlook on life where everything is picture perfect. This from a fellow survivor who just the week before admitted that she had been admitted to the stress unit for suicide watch because of depression post-surgery before she got implants. REALLY ? And you think it’s OK to point out someone else’s flaws?????

Mean B****es can suck it!

AAARRRRGGHH!

Yeah,  I’m stressed. I need some down time that isn’t medically induced.  I need some refreshing. I’ve been pushing myself hard to get this book out in time for Penned Con. In the past week, I’ve added 11,000 words. I’ve wrapped an editing job for an author, and I have to say this second book is better than the first in the series. I don’t say that very often.  My life has been a scary rollercoaster ride since April. (Jane! Stop this crazy thing!) My eldest daughter left for college on Monday – yet another change to adapt to.

It’s about time for some refreshing.

My husband scheduled vacation time to take me to my favorite place – the beach.

There is just something calming, relaxing, and refreshing about the salt wind, and the constant sounds of waves crashing on the sand. I could do without the seagulls, but since they are a package deal I suppose I will have to deal with them.

“That’s great and all,  but stress happens every single day.

What do you do to refresh on a daily basis?”

I play Sudoku puzzles.  I play match three games on Facebook. It’s addictive. There’s this Fishdom game, and I run out of lives nearly every day. I often play those games on my tablet when my husband is watching funny cat videos.

I read. I read my morning devotional, and take a few minutes to pray. I’m  doing my cleansing breaths in the morning,  mid afternoon, and sometimes right before bed.

I would very much like to get back to crafting, but I will need more energy in order to tackle that.

I sometimes crochet, but honestly, it’s been too hot to have yarn lay over my lap. I’ve been having a cup of chamomile tea in the evenings before bedtime. I’ll be glad when the weather is cooler, we can sit by the firepit and enjoy some cocoa and watch the sunset. As Ferris said so long ago:

 

So, welcome to my  stress/chaos/ ADD world. Yeah, I know. I covered about four topics there, but really they are all tied together. Don’t argue with me, they are. Don’t stress me out man! LOL

Thanks for stopping by. Find what other authors in this blog hop have to say their dreams are for ten years from now here:

Ellie Mack – Hello Beaches! 2. Robin MIchaela – Recharge? What is That? 3. Raine Balkera – Rejuvenating My Weary Soul 4. Linda McLaughlin – Taking Time to Recharge 5. Maureen Bonatch – Struggling to Decompress with the Overwhelm 6. Meka James – Batteries On Low 7. Kenzie Michaels – Karaoke, Anyone? 8. Gemma Snow – Not the Energizer Bunny 9. Ed Hoornaert – Jumper Cables for the Mind 10. Alina K. Field – Conquering Burnout: Napping is Nice 11. Valerie Ullmer – Relaxing. . . or Trying To 12. Sherry Lewis – You Can’t Pour From an Empty Jar 13. Helen Henderson – Batteries Dead-Recharge Needed Henderson 14. Peggy Jaeger – Did you know I’m crafty. . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some other posts in this series from yours truly:

1. Raindrops on Roses
2. They’ll Survive – I Guess
3. Binge Watching #MFRWauthor
4. Thank God for Grace in Editing!
5. #MFRW Best Friends
6. Crafty Author #MFRWauthor
7. Musical Mayhem #MFRWauthor
8. A Rose by Any Other Name . . . #MFRWauthor
9. I’ll take What is Purple Prose for 50 Alex #MFRWauthor
10. Ellie’s Guilty Pleasures #MFRWauthor
11. How Do You Do That? #MFRW

There are more but I don’t have the links done yet. I will eventually when I get to it. I’ve been working on Roxy! Don’t pressure me!

Write on my friends, write on!

 

Bad Behaviour

Prepare to be shocked!

I know I’ve gone on in length before about how I refuse to act my age.  It’s a numerical designator that lost it’s appeal to me somewhere around 35. Since then I’ve made the decision that I’m not going to be an old fuddy duddy.  However,  I must point out a certain aspect of maturity that apparently eludes apprrximately 70% of our society, and a good 50% of the authors and aspiring authors I’ve observed on facebook.

I love funny posts as much as the next gal.  I’ve posted a few myself.  But there are certain behaviours that are reminiscent to my high school days or even back in junior high.  People behaving badly on social media – it’s rampant!

Remeber the mean girls in school? The ones who had their little cliques, wore the latest designer clothes while your parents made you wear the same jeans they bought you last week?  The ones who felt compelled to tell you that “ew. That outfit is so last season.” Or something like “Well, girls with any sense of fashion would wear a pair of jeans that does NOT emphasize the muffin top.”  Meanwhile they’re sporting the whole muffin! Girls that go through a tube of mascara every month while ridiculing the girl with the extraordinary long lashes for wearing a ton of mascar when she in fact doesn’t wear any!

It’ s not just the girls either. Bad behaviour is not confined to gender, or nationality.  Bad behaviour is a universal truth in our world of social media.  Sad very sad truth that it is.

The overwhelming majority of us weren’t in the cliques. Think about it, five or six girls (I’m using girls becasue that’s my reference but remember not gender specific!) out of the entire high school.  I attended a small high school where the total enrollment was under 500.  I know many who had their senior class larger than 500.  So that leaves the greater majority of us non clique-ers that the “meangirls clique” lashed out at.

It must be difficult to be perfect; to know that nobody else is as good as you,  or can ever hope to achieve that level of perfection. What a sad, lonely, and pathetic existence. So here’s my top   offenses by the recent “meangirl” lashing.

1. Bashing someone elses work that is different from yours.   I don’t read noire fiction but some do.  Don’t bash my stuff because I don’t write like you! Shakespeare isn’t for everyone either but he had his share of critics.  On one hand if you have critics I suppose you must be doing something right.  Score one for me!
2. Snarky comments – really? Really??  Is that the best you can do?  If you’ve got a problem with me bring it sister or mister! Saying little comments to my other facebook friends in chat and telling them lies about me or telling me lies about my friends or posting lies in a group is really tasteless, juvenile behaviour. Do you honestly think the rest of us are so ignorant not to observe this continued behaviour?  Score another one for me.
3. Subtle innuendos thrown my way.  Please, you might as well give it up becasue your efforts are lame at best, pathetic at their worst.  Until you’ve mastered the art of insult I suggest you refrain form them. And sublte?  You might want to look that one up in the dictionary sweetums. Score three for me!
4. Name Calling.  That was what, preschool?  Doodoo head, booger eater, frog face, . . . Granted you have advanced to a few more intelligent names but really, they are just as lame.   Penalty on your for resorting to such juvenile behaviour that’s one point for me, and negative 1 for you.
5.  Resorting to insults when I’m not immediate with a response.  Seriously?  Do you thnk I live my life by Facebook? Maybe that’s how you roll, but I have other things to do than hang on every word that you type into Facebook.  I know it’s difficult to believe, but some of us do have real life contacts in our lives, people that  we care about  and care about them.
6. Blasting in generalities for all the millions of people that don’t recognize your brilliance.  Uh no.  Sorry to say that your bulb is not brilliant, and in fact is quite dim. Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?  OH, sadly apparently you don’t. Again score 1 point for me.
7. Exagerrating an incident to appear greater in your friend’s eyes.  That didn’t work back in fourth grade, it isn’t going to fly here.

Seven to negative one, clear victory here!  Feel free to give a rebuttal. I will give fair warning however, I will counter your rebuttal with the remainder of my lists and then call you out by name.  My blog – my rules – deal with it!

What about you? Ever have to deal with those juvenile “meanies” on the cyber waves?  Have you ever been taken in by their lame attempts to slander others while raising themselves up?

I think my readers are smarter than than. Therefore, I do realize that most of this rant is indeed wasted as the guilty parties would only read this purely to criticize.  It has been one very bad day in Mack land.  Hope your day has been better. I shall return to the usually scheduled program tomorrow.  To counter this rant I shall give you my other links.  this was the highlight of an otherwise very bad day.

http://authoranjieharrte.blogspot.com/2012/09/kiss-of-dragon-tantalizing-excerpt-by.html?showComment=1346957302472#c5480150170366026777  This is a blurb, an excerpt, and a review of Kiss of the Dragon.

http://satinsheet.nowatapress.com/2012/09/06/september-showcase-the-beauty-behind-the-blog-ms-ellie-mack/ An interview with yours truly!

Double blessings!  Would it be really mean to give the  mean people a big rasperry?

Write On my Friends, Write on!