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Author Archives: dreaminofobx

Eicke’s game

02 Nov

dachau-pistol-range-61.3Photo copyright 1999 by Philip Greenspun 

“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”

Bound and blindfolded, all hold their breath. Few hold their bowels.

“Anlegen, zielen, Feuer!”

Pistols crack.

Eicke’s words are an empty promise. Again.

Dignity is the only victim in this SS game. Today.

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Thirty-three words (not including the bold prompt, which comes from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater) for Trifextra: Week Ninety-Two. For me, the words brought to mind the horrific mental torture endured by prisoners in Dachau, marched repeatedly to stand before SS firing squads. Sometimes the guns were loaded…sometimes they weren’t.

NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2013 in Challenges, Fiction

 

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Gratitude Photo Day 2: Love

02 Nov

loveMy true love and me exiting the theater into this afternoon’s sunshine.
I’m grateful that he still holds my hand everywhere we go.

Lessons learned from this quick snapshot:

  1. The middle of a busy parking lot may not be the best place for photography.
  2. Even a spontaneous shot could benefit from a little composition (I just spent 10 minutes retouching a yellow parking line out of the hubby’s shadow).
  3. Consider the perspective–neither of us is 12 feet tall, although you’d never know it from this photo.

30day photo challenge

 
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Posted by on November 2, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 

Spend it, spend it all!

01 Nov

time and moneyPhoto by Joe Belanger

NaBloPoMo Friday, November 1, 2013
If you found one million dollars in the morning and had to spend it by nightfall, what would you do with the money?

If I had a million dollars
Well, I’d buy you a monkey
Haven’t you always wanted a monkey?

Oh, no, wait. That’s what the Barenaked Ladies would do if they had a million dollars. If I had a million dollars, I’d start out predictably, paying off the mortgage and my student loan, then writing checks to help family and friends realize some of their dreams. I’d rip up the carpet upstairs and put down hardwood floors, then go on a whirlwind curtain shopping expedition. I’d pay someone to design and build a deck and landscape the yard. I’d book the hubby and me on the Queen Mary 2 for our dreamed-of round-the-world cruise. I’d find a pair of jeans, a pair of boots, and a swimsuit that truly fit and wouldn’t bat an eye at the price tags. I’d buy the most expensive steak from Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Gordon Ramsay Steak, and Food Lion and do a side-by-side taste test to determine once and for all if the price really does affect flavor (I’m guessing not as much as they’d like me to believe). I’d show up at my local Habitat for Humanity build with my hammer and a big fat check to fund their next project. I’d buy boatloads of books and oodles of school supplies to donate to kids in the local shelters. I’d make the day (year) of the guy panhandling on the corner. Lastly, I’d head to the neighborhood gas station and spend the rest of my million to fill up the tanks of anyone who could get there before nightfall.

I’m not sure I have a really good concept of just how far a million dollars will (or won’t) go these days, but it sure would be fun to find out!

NaBloPoMo November 2013

 
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Posted by on November 1, 2013 in Challenges

 

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Gratitude Photo Day 1: Color

01 Nov

photo 2

The fall colors have become much more intense in the local area over the past couple of days. The blazing red of this burning bush (actually a whole row of them) could not be ignored! I’m grateful that the strong winds that blew through over the last 24-hours didn’t tear them away before I could capture them (although they’d certainly make a brilliant carpet)!

30day photo challenge

 
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Posted by on November 1, 2013 in Challenges, Photography

 

Have you seen my muse?

31 Oct

grrrMy muse has been AWOL for a few weeks now. I hope that she’s on a beach somewhere knocking back margaritas and is not lying in a shallow grave in the woods. I hope that she’ll return forthwith, tanned and inspired and not too hungover. In her absence though, I’m being forced to turn elsewhere for blogging inspiration in order to uphold my commitment to post every day in 2013.

First, I’ve been feeling out of sorts lately. I’m normally pretty even-keeled, not one to sweat the small stuff, able to let the nonsense of life just flow around me. But recently I’ve been kind of snarky, quick to criticize, and slow to let things go. I don’t like being inside my own head when I’m like that, so I’m sure those around me are about over it, too. I need to refocus. Get my zen back. I think if I concentrate on all that is good around me, and consciously show a little gratitude for my blessings, it’ll go a long way toward restoring my natural balance. So I’ve found a 30-day gratitude photo challenge that’ll fit perfectly into November (it is the month of Thanksgiving, after all). I plan to tackle the challenge using only my new iPhone’s camera, instead of my trusty Kodak, so there’ll be a bit of a learning curve that will hopefully prove to be valuable experience.

30day photo challenge

I don’t want to abandon writing in November, despite my muse’s desertion, so I’m looking to NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) to get me through. Blogher.com actually hosts NaBloPoMo every month during the year, but November has come to be the month in which to participate, because of its close association with NaNoWriMo, the novel-in-a-month challenge. For anyone who joins the challenge, Blogher.com provides 21 prompts for the weekdays, then it’s every blogger’s responsibility to free-write on the weekends. The main benefits of joining the blogroll are public accountability for sticking to the schedule, support and feedback from fellow bloggers, and the chance to stumble upon some awesome new blogs with which to waste away hours I should have spent working, cooking, cleaning, bathing…

NaBloPoMo November 2013

So, I’ll be here tomorrow, with a new commitment to both writing and photography. If all goes well, by the end of the month I’ll have an improved attitude firmly in place. Meanwhile, if you see my muse in your travels, please tell her to drop the tequila and report for work.

 
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Posted by on October 31, 2013 in How It Is, On Me

 

This is no fun

30 Oct

job-ad-multitasker_300Photo credit Burcu Avsar

As I was sitting in front of the computer screen today, following ethereal job leads willy-nilly all over the internet, two things dawned on me:

  1. I have never really had to conduct a legitimate job search before.
  2. I really, really don’t know what I’m doing.

Not even counting high school babysitting jobs, where neighbors literally came knocking on my door, every single job I’ve ever had in my life came easy. From summer jobs as a teenager to certified teacher positions as a professional, the process was always the same. I looked for a position I wanted. I filled out the application. I went in for an interview. I was hired. I showed up for my first day of work. That’s it. Simple.

I’ve never used job search engines (holy crap, they are a nightmare for someone with even a whisper of ADD tendencies). I’ve never sent out résumés (I have one, but I’m pretty sure it sucks). I’ve never applied to more than one job at a time (I’m not good at saying no, so what do I do if they all call for an interview and all want to hire me?).

I’ve never not been called for an interview. Until now. It’s demoralizing. It’s confusing. It’s disheartening. It’s stressful. I’m not having fun.

It’s still early days, and my head knows that. I assume that the more time I spend searching and applying, the better my skills will become. I’ll be better at finding truly suitable positions and better at talking up my skills so that a prospective employer feels compelled to call me for an interview. I don’t need my phone to be ringing off the hook. I just need one call. Please.

Then I’m working at that job till I retire.

 
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Posted by on October 30, 2013 in On Me, True Life, What's She On About?

 

On fall

29 Oct

IMG_0019_2-001

gold and azure flirt
on a dazzling mask that hides
winter’s yawning maw
 
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Posted by on October 29, 2013 in Poetry, Tuesday Tales

 

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