Writer's blah

You know how some writers sit at their computer or notebook and the words don't come? They read everything and anything and surf the Internet for inspiration while quietly glomming down pizza slices in an effort to break through their writer's block but to no avail. Yeah, that's not me.

I've been suffering from Writer's Blah. I have half written posts and pages in a notepad filled with blog topics but every time I attempted to post something I felt so meh and gave up. It's like when you're wearing your shabbiest undies and least favorite t-shirt and those jeans you spilled nail polish on because you haven't done laundry in a long-ass time so instead you plop down on the couch and play Candy Crush. Because doing laundry is so ugh.

Since I've been absent a lot has happened. My car has been given a bleak prognosis. Sleepy Hollow ended its season, which now leaves Monday nights open and boring. And Spock died. Christ, no wonder I've been laying low around here. No one wants to read depressive schlock.

On that note let's switch gears and talk about some happy, superficial, funny stuff.  Last week while driving around I came upon some cars with really cool bumper/window stickers. I followed one such car and snapped a quick pic with my phone. It's okay, we were both stopped at a traffic light.

We need 1.21 gigawatts and the flux capacitor!

I also saw a sticker on the back of another car that said: Fight the dead, Fear the living. Ya know, there's some truth to that one. Unfortunately I couldn't get a pic because the traffic lights and other drivers wouldn't cooperate.

Here's hoping that March is a better month filled with more snarky posts and less snow for those back East. And Shamrock Shakes for everyone!

I gave a drink company some nice feedback

I've been drinking regular unsweetened ice tea for months now. Why? Because I like it. No, really, I do. But recently I discovered a new flavored ice tea drink and because I was so wowed by them I thought, why not leave them a nice comment on their feedback. This is what I wrote:

Dear (Name Withheld So I Don't Get Sued) Tea Makers,

I tried your drink for the first time this week, specifically the Not Too Sweet Peach. It was DELICIOUS! Usually I'm skeptical about drinking flavored teas because they're too sweet or the flavor over-powers the tea itself. I was pleasantly surprised with your drink. I am now a fan and looking forward to drinking more and maybe trying your other flavors, too. Except for the diet ones, I'm not big on diet drinks. Anyway, I know most people usually take the time to send complaints but I thought you would appreciate hearing some positive news regarding your product. 
 

Thanks for the great drink!

I wanted to add the following post scripts at the bottom but I thought it might seem too pushy and could perhaps land me in jail on bribery or extortion charges, even though I would have added the PPS to seem more light-hearted and less of a shyster.

PS: I accept bribes in the form of free bottles of tea in exchange for a review on my blog.
PPS: If this seems unacceptable or unprofessional I at least hope whoever reads your company feedback gets a chuckle out of this reply. Or, at the very least a smile. 

 
In the end I left it out because with my luck they wouldn't have gotten my attempt at humor. As yet, I haven't received a reply. I'm guessing my kind words left them speechless. You're welcome, Tea People.

I answer my own Liebster nomination questions

Remember how I mentioned being nominated for a Liebster Award? Well, I thought to myself, Self, why not answer the same questions I asked the bloggers I nominated for the award. Meh, I thought it would be cool.

1- How did you come by your blog's name?

Oy. The Fearless Scribe came after weeks of endless thought and doodling and word play. Ok, not really. It was a few days of me throwing some ideas around.  I wanted a variation of the word 'writer' so hey, Scribe. The Fearless is because I think all people who create whether it be writing or drawing or painting are fearless. We put our work out there to be read or ignored. Appreciated or hated. We might say that we write for ourselves but deep down I think we all want our work to be noticed.

2- If money were no object and you could leave tomorrow, where would you go?

Europe, specifically Germany, France, and Italy.

3- What is the best meal you've ever eaten?

Our wedding dinner at The Plank restaurant in the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino right here in Las Vegas. The seafood, the prime rib- so good! Sadly, the restaurant is no more but all these years later, our friends still talk about it.

4- Name 1 TV show you are currently addicted to that you would growl and bare teeth if someone interrupted you while you were watching?

Justified, without a doubt. And also, Sleepy Hollow.

5- What is your dream car and what do you drive in reality?

I want to own a yellow camaro so I can call it Bumblebee. What?  He's my favorite Transformer autobot. In reality I drive a Mom-car.

6- One thing you can't possibly live without?

My family because they make me laugh and smile. Despite the occasional head-shaking moments.

7- Coffee or tea?

Tea. Little milk and two sugars.

8- I write because I have lots of words and ideas floating around in my head. That and all the running commentary needs a place to come out or else my brain would implode and my head would cave in.

9- What is your go-to song when you need cheering up?

Hoku's Perfect Day or Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten.

10-  What is your favorite season?

Back in NJ it was Summer hands-down. But living out here in the desert, Summer lasts 9 months out of the year so I actually miss the other seasons. My fave season is now a default. This question sucks!

11-   Will you bake me cookies and overnight them? Pretty please?

 Oh alright, since you asked so nicely.

Come along on a fearless virtual blog tour

I love when readers leave comments.  It's like when you're out somewhere and someone tells you hey, I like your shoes and you're all thanks and they're so comfy, too and then you smile and feel good because of the compliment.

This is how I felt when I logged on here one day last week and saw this monster comment someone left me. The long and short of it is that the commenter found my blog, gave me some compliments and offered some advice. When I hopped over to her blog I knew I had to feature her on a Fearless Friday post.

source

Meet Meg Evans from megevans.com where she writes stories and essays about life. Meg is on a mission to travel the Interwebz on what she calls a Random Kindness Blog Tour. (Rock and Roll! sorry.) Her plan is to visit a different blog (those with a positive focus) every day for a year. I'm honored to be the April 20th stop on her tour.

What makes her fearless is her resolve to find a new, positive blog every single day and then leave a sweet comment for the author. That's a mighty tall order considering many of us (a few of us? okay, just me) can't even post every day in their own blog.

Meg told me her main fear was the commitment and not being able to keep up with it but so far she's been fearlessly on track and has enjoyed making new friends along the way.

Visiting many different blogs and leaving a comment is a fearless act because you never know if what you say to another blogger will be read, let alone received well or, ignored altogether. I, on the other hand, find it easiest to just offer bribes. (Leave a comment, get a cookie!)


Check out her on-going tour here. Leave her some love and maybe do a blog crawl (similar to a pub crawl only with less booze and no hangover) of the blogs she's discovered.

Adventures in coffee-making: More of my unpublished stuff

This is another story I wrote a while back and figured I would throw it on here to give it a home and maybe amuse a few people along the way. 
--------------------------------

                                                                                          

I make lousy coffee.  I do, just ask my mom. She knows her coffee and she’s been drinking several cups of it a day since she was a little girl. I don’t have the coffee gene because I’m more of a tea drinker and not much of a coffee drinker. I either add too many grounds and not enough water so it’s too strong or I add too much water and not enough grounds, which make my concoction too weak. So you can imagine my horror one morning at work when my boss said, “Make some coffee” for clients who were coming in for a morning meeting.

I must admit, my first thought was, What is this the 1950s where the secretary makes the office coffee? The boss is older and what I call “old school” so he probably expected such tasks to be “woman’s work”. If there had been a barn behind the office building I’m sure he might have asked me to get some fresh milk while I was at it.

I don't think so.

I went into the conference room and stood staring at the coffee machine, which looked nothing like what I was used to. In hindsight I should have high-tailed it over to the nearest Dunkin Donuts and filled the pot with their brew. Instead, I resolved to make a pot of fresh, hot coffee. I found the filters with no problem. But when I went searching for coffee grounds I found beans instead. Oh crap! I have to grind them? At this point I had to refer to the machine’s directions for use. Perhaps I suppose I should have stopped while I was ahead at this point.

It seemed easy enough. First, add the beans and push the button to grind them.  Then, add water and brew. The first part I had no trouble with. The second part is where things got a bit messy, as it was unclear exactly where to pour the water into. After a few moments I noticed a leak coming from under the blasted contraption. I grabbed some paper towels but the leak was growing so I grabbed a nearby saucer.  When the saucer filled up I walked as quickly and nonchalantly past the boss’s office to the kitchen to empty it.

After my third trip back from the kitchen, my boss came to see what was going on. He surveyed the situation and smirked at me while shaking his head, the way a mother looks at a cute but mischievous child. I felt like Lucy Ricardo after Ricky caught her doing something silly and I half expected him to say, “Sandy, you got some ‘splaining to do” in a Cuban accent.

I finished cleaning the mess and the boss did what he probably should have done from the beginning; he made the coffee himself. I made sure our guests had milk – from the refrigerator not a cow out back. Luckily for our future office guests, and me, he never asked me to brew a pot again. Instead, he asked the other girl in the office.

A home for my unpublished writing

Where do rejected articles and stories go? Probably the trash. Where do my rejected articles and stories go? On my blog, to die a slow, painful death. With that fabulous thought in mind I've decided to start posting pieces that I wrote in years past, shopped around, but had no takers (in other words was rejected). This first one I wrote way back when I was working for a company in New Jersey.

                Tattooed Women Need Not Apply

Tattoos have come a long way from the days of being seen on the skins of outlaw bikers, sailors, and criminals. These days everyone from high school kids, grandmothers, corporate executives and celebrities ink their bodies. Getting a tattoo has become trendy and fashionable. But for every person who proudly marks their body with colorful, permanent images, there are those who still frown upon them. The stigma related to having a tattoo remains and could be the difference between landing a job and being shown the door. It happened to a young woman I once interviewed.

Janie came in to meet with me one spring morning when my company was in need of a receptionist.  Her resume was impressive and showed no spelling or grammatical errors, which usually put me off.  Her past experience included being a receptionist for a veterinarian office. She sounded pleasant enough on the phone when I called to schedule our appointment. Nice speaking voice and polite.  So far, so good, I thought.

The morning of her interview was warm and sunny but still required a light jacket.  Janie was dressed in neat office attire topped by a nice denim jacket. I met her out front and led her to our conference room in back that doubled as a break room. We discussed the usual job interview topics. If she was nervous it didn’t show; she answered my questions easily. I liked her. But I needed her to meet my boss, the owner of the company. He was the deciding factor.

I had her wait while I went to get him. After making introductions, he sat quiet for a moment across from her and studied her resume. Then he began asking her the same routine questions.

“It says here you were a receptionist for a veterinarian office. Tell me about that.”

“I answered a multi line phone and made appointments. I transferred calls to the proper person and I took information and processed it into the computer,” Janie answered.

“Why did you leave?”

“I went back to school at nights and the hours weren’t flexible for me.”

“What are you studying?”

“Forensic Science.”

It was going very well. I felt certain this was a done deal and we had found our new receptionist.  Then, the other shoe dropped.

“What does that tattoo on your right hand stand for?” asked my boss.

Janie looked down at her hand as if someone had pricked it with a pin and instinctively started covering it with the sleeve of her jacket. I looked over at her. I was stunned. I had not noticed her tattoo of three blue stars in the area of her index and thumb fingers. I think I was as embarrassed as she was.

“I got it when I was younger,” Janie started to explain. “It stands for omnipotence. I plan to get it removed when I have some more money.”

“The impulsiveness of youth,” my boss said in a smug manner. “At least you recognize you made an error in judgment and plan to rectify it.”

 

Silence.

 “Alright, well I have no other questions,” my boss said as he rose from his chair.

Then he thanked her for coming in and said we had other candidates still to see before a decision could be made. He left the room and I walked her out. I returned to his office already knowing his thoughts and decision regarding Janie.

“So,” he began. “What was your impression?”

“She definitely has the qualifications for the job,” I replied, hoping that would change his already made up mind.

“Yes, there’s no doubt about that. But, I don’t think we want that element here.”

 I sat silent in the chair opposite from him as he continued.

“I don’t care much for people with tattoos, even though she regrets getting it and plans to have it removed.”

                       

I stayed sitting and added nothing to the conversation. I could not believe I was hearing such discrimination in this day and age. He looked at me curiously.

“What are your thoughts on tattoos?” he asked.

“Don’t ask and I won’t tell,” I replied. I looked down at my lap to where my own tattoo had been permanently inked a few weeks earlier.

“Let’s get back to finding a suitable candidate for the position,” he said.

I nodded and went back to my desk where a pile of resumes lay on top. 

-------------------------------------

This is a true story, except for the woman's name which wasn't Janie. In fact I can't remember her name and now it's going to drive me crazy. Maybe it was Julie. Then again I don't think it started with a "J" at all. Maybe it was a "D" name like, Diana. Or maybe it was Sara?

About me

For school last week, Little Man's teacher had them do an assignment in which they create a "brochure" titled, About Me. It's a classroom ice-breaker that helps the classmates learn a little something about one another.

So, I figured I'd post something of the same here. Just in case you'd like to know more about me. If not, run far and fast away. Or, just stay where you are and disregard this post.

5 of my favorite things:

My favorite color: Pink, although I sometimes gravitate towards blues and greens for some inexplicable reason.

My favorite food: Pizza! Especially if it's from back East, otherwise it's some not-so-close Vegas replica.

My favorite (non-alcoholic) beverage: Pepsi. Sprite is a close second if the eatery only serves Coke.

My favorite Vegas hotel: The Palazzo. It's gorgeous.

My favorite author: Anne Rice. Enough said.

What you might be surprised to know:

I once learned how to speak conversational Klingon. What? So I'm a SciFi geek. Sadly, I had no one else to converse with so I forgot most of what I learned except for a few phrases I retained from Star Trek movies or episodes. Oh, and "Qapla'" which of course translates into "Success".

 I don't own a lot of clothes or shoes. I know this calls into question my whole female being, it's just that I don't like shopping all that much, at least not for myself. And now, all of womandom is a little less brighter because of this admission. Anyway, I can shop and buy for anyone else. And by the way, why is it when I'm on a mission to buy for someone else I can usually find things I like but when I'm there specifically for me I come up empty-handed? The Shopping Gods mock me!

Anything else is not a surprise because I've probably already mentioned it here somewhere. Or at least I will at some point in the future. Feel free to add your own 5 things or what I don't know about you.

So....I wrote a little book

Yes, I did. And I published it myself because finding someone to publish it for me is a useless exercise in futility, much like finding an ice cold glass of water in Hell. It's more of a novella because well, it's not long enough to be a novel. But it is based on real life events. I haven't done much (at all) in the way of advertising because I'm way too lazy and secretly hoping my book will garner lots of readers and take off and make me a wealthy and well-known author. Or, more realistically, I'll have one reader. I hope my mom likes it.

Here's a link to my book:

Divorce: A Family Affair


If you're so inclined, thanks for buying and reading it. Hope you like what I wrote.

Crazy, busy work week

Hello readers! Hello? Hello...hello.  Echo...echo echo.

crickets chirping...

Hello crickets!

silence........

Oh great, now even the crickets are ignoring me.

Okay, so I have been crazy, busy lately. And here's why: I got this temporary gig.  No, not singing. Or playing guitar. I do play drums sometimes with whatever pens, pencils or sticks are in my hand at that moment. Oh and they do call me a rock star at the office but, I digress.

I'm doing some in-house work but I can't say where. You know, if I tell you then I have to kill you and all that. But since you haven't annoyed me or cut me off in traffic you don't deserve to die so let's leave it all a mystery. So, I've been doing this short stint for this company, which ends Friday. Then it's back to the same ol' same ol.

I've missed my computer time. Which loosely translates to writing and researching topics and in no way includes pinning things on Pinterest, chatting with people or playing games. Nooo! I'm a serious worker bee when I'm in my home office. Why the husband finds that last part so funny is beyond me.

In all seriousness, I should have more frequent posts once I get back to my normal routine. I did write one the other night but I need to clean it up before publishing it on here because apparently I make even less sense than usual when I'm really tired. Who knew?

Until next time, friends...

Las Vegas Woman

Over the summer I submitted an article to a local magazine on tips for helping parents adjust to life with a newly diagnosed diabetic child.

Guess what??

They published it!!  My article, "Caring for Your Child's Diabetes is a family affair" appears in the Fall issue of Las Vegas Woman.  Read it here.

And now you'll have to excuse me, I'm very excited. (Does the Snoopy happy dance).

Stop pretending to write

The other night Billy and I were watching TV. A commercial for the new movie, "Hunger Games" came on. (I had never read the books but knew enough that the movie is based on them.) So I was all wow, another author writes a book (series) and not only gets published but has a movie made about them. I just want to get published and settle for mediocre fame.

So Billy looks at me and says, "Maybe when you stop pretending to write you'll actually get published."

I'm taken aback, not in anger but more in a hmmm, go on way. "Explain," I reply and now he has my undivided attention.

And he says: "You write all these things, these articles and other stories that are good, but when you write like you do on your blog, that's great."

Okay. Wait a sec, he thinks my blog posts are great? Cool. Very cool.

"But the articles I write, some need just facts and they don't want the author's PoV," I said.

"All I know is that those posts are interesting. They come from inside your head, they're real," he further explained.

Then he left the room to do whatever man-business he needed to do and I sat there. Thinking.

Who was it that said, "When you write, be real." I think it was Stephen King. It could have been Mark Twain. Shakespeare?
Anyway, Bill doesn't sugar-coat things. He's a great 'first-reader' like that. If it's good, he says so and if it isn't he'll say that, too. And 9 times out of 10 his advice is sound. And who would've thought he'd give the same sage advice as some of the great authors? Especially considering he doesn't like to read? Except when he's pretending to.

Vicious Malware almost ate my computer

Last night I was really tired and planned to go to bed early, or earlier than I normally do. However, I thought one stop over at Pinterest wouldn't be a big deal. So off I went looking and laughing and pinning when I came upon something I thought particularly witty and clever. I clicked to the linked site hoping for more witty and cleverness but instead a big scary Malware monster attacked my little 'puter.

Suddenly there were scary little pop-up windows declaring that my system had a "Delayed Write Failed Error 32". Another scary looking window said I needed to do a restore and a system scan and sacrifice a goat while burning a ritual candle in the name of the Computer Gods.

I immediately closed all the windows and they Kept Coming Back!!! I logged off. I re-booted. I watched my files just Poof! disappear. Then I did what any other normal person in such a situation would do. I panicked. Fingernails got chewed. Hair was pulled and also chewed. The husband was yelled at even though he was quietly minding his own business playing a game on X-box.

I ran my super-duper virus protection program in its limited capacity because I haven't yet updated it. Yet!  I will! I am! I also said a little prayer to God to please take a moment or two out of his busy schedule to save my computer and not have all my files be lost into the Great Unknown.

At this point it's almost 3 am and my perfect little plan of going to bed at a reasonable hour has been blown to bits. I decided to go to sleep and hope that maybe when I wake up this will all have been some ridiculous nightmare or maybe an episode of  Scare Tactics.

After a light, uneasy sleep of 4 hours I get up and get the Little Man off to school. And then I boot up my PC, fingers crossed the whole time. And....nothing. It wasn't a nightmare and Tracy Morgan didn't jump out of the closet to assure me that my husband set me up for a good fright.

I did some online research and after finding a free down-loadable scanner through Microsoft  that removes these pesky programs and finding out how to bring my file and folder babies out of "hiding" I am happy to report that all is well with my Dell laptop.

Lessons Learned:

Always update your virus protection software! (a little PSA from me to you)
Always backup your files! (another PSA)
Never click a link you are unsure of. (duh!)
Scare Tactics is funny.
Scary malware is not!
Go to bed when you plan to and get off the dang computer!

Hey! Come check out Lovelinks. Read some cool blogs, leave a comment or two or three and then come back Thursday and vote for your fave.  

New Name, New Look

Welcome to the blog formerly known as "Independent Babbling". I'm going to try and be a better blogger. So to commemorate this I revamped the look and changed the name. My goal is to write something or post on here every day. I'm also trying to take my writing more seriously, too by writing an article or story a day (or days, or week) for publication.

Hopefully I can do a better job at keeping this blog current than I have in the past. And hopefully some of my stuff can actually get published.

Of course I may grow bored or tired or restless with this name and layout and might change it again in the future. Until then I am "SINsationally Me" with the pretty colored borders.

Four Months Gone?

Really? It's been 4 whole months since I posted something? How embarrassing! Especially for a writer.

Okay, so here's an update on what's been going on.

The weather has gotten warmer. I'm still unhappily unemployed. I have discovered a new weight loss/health supplement and it's started to make a difference! I still love living in Las Vegas. I still love to read and write and find spelling errors that make me crazy!

If I could find a job that pays me to write from home I would be so happy. Ecstatic! Deliriously over the moon! So far......not happening. I am not abandoning the writing dream, it just moves from forefront t0 backburner a lot.

Las Vegas rocks!!! The weather is amazing. Everyday!! Sunshine and blue skies daily. I've always known I was destined to live in a warm climate. Driving at night, especially on or near the Strip is the best! I love the neon and I still get such a rush driving past all the casinos. I'm such a city girl! A Sin City Girl!

Writing Drought

I'm all revved up to start writing again. Poetry, short stories, articles, you name it and I want to write it. I have been reading up on how to get published and how to be a better writer. Problem is...I have no topic. I have nothing to say. My muse just sits there.

I realize that this blog and this very entry contradicts the problem I stated. Still, I cannot make money selling this blog or my thoughts as an article or story.

I'm in a drought and just need a little rain to get things going again. I won't label this Writer's Block because that's too cliche. And serious sounding.

Funny. My analogy to a drought and rain is funny. I'm not a big fan of rain. Especially when it's cold. It's one thing to be cold but to be cold and wet is just plain miserable. We've been having more rain than I like lately. On the flip side, we are planning to move to Las Vegas next month....a place that hardly sees any rain. Perhaps I should have likened my situation to a desert and rain but then I would only be writing in short spurts that come only a few times a year.

I keep remembering the old adage, "This too shall pass." And the rain shall come and the words will flow.