The Most Creative People I've Known

Today's prompt from my writing book was to think of the most creative person I've ever known and write about them. I've been thinking all day and although I've known a number of creative people, I don't think I could put one above the others. They are all creative in different ways but one thing they have in common is they notice things around them, think about those things and then act on them in some creative fashion. I'm not talking about fantastic big things either. I'm talking about people who find art in the most simple little things...they find humor in the small, mundane things in life and blow them into noticeable proportions.

This first person that came to mind was a girl who lived next door while I was growing up, two years my junior. Her name was Jill and although she was a handful for her parents she would see things others didn't see and make something of them. She had a giant cork board in her bedroom and when she'd get an idea, it would go up on this cork board. She once introduced me to a guy named Ray Campbell and when we went on more than one date she made me a collage to put up in my room with magazine ads cut out from Royal Crown Cola Ads proclaiming "Me and My RC". She loved playing word games like giving other people names that were a play on their given name. When she grew up, while the rest of us went to school or went to work in offices, she got herself a got as a baker in a bakery. Later on she became a renovator of old houses, starting an organization for other home renovators, teaching them the renovate and rent business. The point being, she didn't just settle for a mundane existence. She created a life.

My daughter is a creative sort in a way. While not an artist in the traditional sense, she has always been attracted to shapes. When she was little we took her to Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History. With the giant dinosaur bones and mummies and shrunken heads, we found that her greatest thrill was the gem exhibit they had. She just loved all those colors and shapes. When she was three and drew stick figures of women in triangular dresses, she never failed to draw circles on the chest of the figures....a three year old's observation of breasts. She determined when our pet cockatiel was happy because he was displaying his "happy shape". It is not surprising that she became a hair stylist as hair styles are all about shape.

When I think of other people I know who write, I am envious of our pals Poolie and Art. Poolie never fails to take an observation that might otherwise go unnoticed and make something hilarious out of it. Art, lives a hard life and in his blog he writes about it with such character and good humor you can almost feel his pain, yet that pain is diffused through his folksy use of the language and his blog is a readable narrative of homelessness. Without his folksy good humor it would be too painful to read.

I just can't believe that either one of these people havn't been picked up by some publisher yet. Perhaps someday their time will come.

I've Created A Monster

Men and their toys.

It all started when I decided that I needed to lower costs where I could. That means looking at things that are NOT necessities, like the cable bill. Since I do not watch much TV and could really live without the TV I do watch and since my favorite, The Home and Garden Channel has become The House Hunting Channel, frankly, I could do with out it. My husband however, fearful that he would lose the only link he has to the outside world convinced me that we either needed some kind of cable or satellite feed or we would have to incur the cost (and the eyesore) of a giant antennae on the roof of my cute little cottage, which would be subject to the elements and cost us in maintenance and reception just when we wanted it the most.

Once convinced of that, I started shopping. Dish Network and Direct TV were offering some nice little bargains but they were only bargains for a year. Armed with that knowledge, I decided to base my decision on what their regular price would be, not their introductory price. It would indeed save money and we would get a DVR and all digital channels, but there would be a sacrifice in channels Mike liked to watch.

“Tough” I said (thinking…my heart would just bleed if you had to watch less TV). The idea here is to save money, not have more TV to watch.

I called my cable company and told them of my intentions to take my business elsewhere. Inside of 5 minutes, they had reduced my cable bill by $30, gave me 100 more channels, a digital box for the 2 extra TVs and a free DVR….SWEET!!!!

They installed yesterday and I haven’t had any peace since.

My husband is usually very quiet and that’s the way I like him. He’s probably quiet because he has nothing happening in his little world to talk about. That has all changed with the introduction of new electronic toys and 100 more channels to watch and…..be still my heart…..a new set of remote controls to play with.

Last night he prattled on non stop about the new features he found and the new buttons to push, the new shows to watch and the things the installation tech taught him….it was non-stop blather and continued on non-stop even after I had gone to bed. When I was in bed, I’d hear, “Paula, you still awake”….then whether I answered him or not, he would go on about yet another new discovery in his button pushing journey into new electronic toy land. He finally went to bed around 3PM and we got some rest.

Now, my mornings are mine and mine alone. He rarely gets up in the morning, even to pee and I am left in my quiet little space where I can pretend he doesn’t exist. In the off chance he should need to use the washroom while I am getting ready for work, he does so silently and if I don’t look at him, I can still pretend he doesn’t exist.

This morning I was in the shower when he came into the bathroom. Because there is a curtain, I can ignore him….then I heard.

“Paula?”

“Yeah?”

“You should see all the stuff I recorded on the DVR last night, there was…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”

And it went on and on and on.

I was glad to HAVE to come to work this morning. Perhaps I’ll start spending evenings at the Library.

An Opportunity Presents Itself

This years journey (I prefer to call the goals I set on the new year a journey as opposed to a resolution as resolutions always sound so tight assed)...is to start planning for retirement which will mean that I will have to become a saver extraordinaire and find a additional source of income. The idea here is to live withing a strict budget in order to keep from hitting the retirement money we already have (paltry sum as that may be) and to add to my 401K, invest in stocks outside of 401K, establish a savings account for troubled times and pay down my debt.

Retirement will mean that I have a paid off mortgage, paid off credit cards and at least 300,000.00 in savings to supplement my social security. I need to do all of this in 17 years if I stand a chance on retiring by 70. I know it sounds depressing to think I can't retire until 70 but seeing as how my old motto was "I'll never get to retire", retirement at 70 sounds like a dream and I can do 17 years standing on my head.

One opportunity that just arose arrived with the opening of a Share Builder account I opened with ING. Right now I am only committing to 50.00 per month but it is 50.00 saved (that I hope will grow) that was not committed to before. I am hoping to add to that as I pay down debt and find ways to save.

The opportunity is to contribute the Share Builder's "We The Savers" blog. If they choose me, they will deposit 200.00 per month into my Share Builder account in exchange for a years savings commitment and 1 blog post per month. Sounds like a pretty good gig if I can get it.

I have applied...let's hope they choose me. This will not only be extra money for my goal but a chance to actually get paid for writing. This fulfills steps on both my selected journeys for this year. To start my retirement goals and get paid for writing.

Wish me luck.

The Procrastinators Power

Todays writing prompt is designed to break down the procrastinators power. I am the queen of procrastinators. My Mother once gave me a post card that said "Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow." I think it may have been a quote from Mark Twain, although Mark Twain obviously didn't put off writing. He might have put off many other things. Let me resolve right now to be like Mark Twain.

The prompt says the next time I skip a writing session to list 5 reasons, 3 of them very good reasons as to why I skipped, then write a sentence or two explaining why none of the reasons are good enough. Since I skipped yesterday, this is a good one for me.

Reason 1 - It's extremely cold in the rooms my computers are and it's January in Chicago.

Why it isn't a good enough excuse: I can put on a sweat shirt and turn on a space heater. This is a really lame excuse.

Reason 2 - I am currently working 50 hours per week.

Why it isn't a good enough excuse: No one said this exercise in the discipline of writing had to be long winded. No one likes to read a long winded blog anyway....take 15 minutes and bang something out. This also is a lame excuse.

OK, now I have to come up with 3 really really good excuses.

Reason 3 - I am trying to lose weight and I have a huge appetite. For 40 years I have been trying to lose weight by not feeding myself only to cave in. I found the secret is massive quantities of vegetables. This calls for 3 half our chopping sessions per week. Combine that with the 50 hour work week and I really am short on time.

Why it isn't a good enough excuse: Do I want to write or not??? Do I want a chance to develop a skill I know I have into something rewarding or not. See reason #2's "not good enough" explanation....just do it stupid!!!!! Just sit down and write something.

Reason #4 - My job sucks up all my brain cells...there is nary a one left in me by the time I get home to come up with anything remotely creative.

Why it isn't a good enough excuse: Try writing a lunchtime Einstein...perhaps you can come up with something when you have half your brain cells still functioning.

Reason #5 - There was a really good TV show on and the couch and my warm blankey my nephew Joe made me felt so good.

Why it isn't a good enough excuse: There is no good excuse for being a potato. Turn off the tube and get your creative mind flowing.

I hope you enjoyed this journey into the procrastination corner of my mind...actually, it's more than a corner, it seems to be where I spend all my free time that I COULD BE WRITING!!!!!!

The Best Thinkg I Ever Ate

How quickly my resolves go. Merely one day and two prompts into announcing a daily post, I fell off the wagon and did not post last night. I worked until 7PM and then 24 was on....then a re-run of Criminal Minds I had not seen before and POOF...before I knew it, it was time for bed....and all I did last night was sit on my couch like a hypnotized potato.

So, here I am at work without my prompt book...guess I'll have to use my imagination.

While being a potato on some other recent night, I was channel surfing and came across a Food Network show called The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Top US Chef's talked about their favorite restaurant food cooked by some other restaurant. The local entry (local to me) was Anne Sather's Cinnamon Rolls in Chicago. If I ever actually get to Chicago, I may try one....That's the thing about suburban living....I'm 45 minutes from a world class city like Chicago and I never go there. Mike and I have made a plan to do so when it warms up.

Another entry was from a restaurant somewhere in California and I don't remember the name of the restaurant but I do remember the name of the dish. It was called Pasta Mamma and it was a simple concoction of eggs scrambled with fresh linguini.

Sunday, I made a cheap o version of Pasta Mamma and bought a cheap box of spaghetti, cooked it, then scrambled one serving of spaghetti with 3 eggs.......GAH!!!!!

IT WAS TO DIE FOR!!!! I wonder how much extra flavor the fresh linguni adds to it.

Now this could be dressed up all kinds of ways....onions, peppers...cheese, but let me tell you....it is super addicting and super good just plain....eggs and pasta.

Now, if it were only calorie free.....that's just too much to ask.

On Writing

I've done some huge soul searching and decided that it's now too late to keep mulling over what I want to be when I grow up. I remind myself daily that I am truly lucky to have the job I have which pays me well (not well enough but it beats the alternative) and Nano and I get along pretty well for the most part.

I decide it was time to grow up so rather than saying "I'm just never going to get to retire", I have started actually saving for retirement and now say "I'm going to retire at 70". Sounds less depressing. Feels good to have a plan.

I've opened up a share builder account and am taking steps to budget, cut waste, simplify and clean the clutter from my life. I am trying to enjoy life rather than continue to day dream and pipe dream and waste valuable time I could be enjoying.

I am living healthily in an attempt to be in good shape when the magic age of 70 comes and I can tell Nano "ta ta" and really live. For the first time in my life....I know who I am and where I'm going.

Now, what does that have to do with writing? See, I still have one little dream left. I have decided that there is still one vocational dream I can keep active and if I work towards it and it never comes to pass, I can still enjoy the journey. I have always love to write things.

Others tell me I am good at it. I started my Diaryland blog with the handle "yarnsmith" because working at the pallet company, I had so much fodder for yarn spinning and I wanted a place to tell my tales.

I joined up with some others who are still present in my life today. Wonderful friends whom I still keep in contact with. I read them and they read me. My blog became more of a diary than a story telling venue and journaling and the comments received from my online buds helped me make huge changes in my life like getting a better job, doubling my salary, moving to my dream city and dream house, etc.

In the past few years though, I found journaling my life rather depressing. This job I have, although a blessing wears me out. Nothing of note happens there and in my position, I really can't discuss the goings on of Nanoland anymore.

Those of you who have been reading me know of my struggles with this hopeless husband of mine and frankly I'm tired of bitching about him. I obviously don't have the heart to kick him to the curb so here he is and I imagine here he'll stay until the good Lord grants me the favor of removing him from me. (you all can take that to mean whatever you want it to mean.)

So, I stopped writing. Until I realized that this so called talent and passion of mine could very much be the little bitty pipe dream I could hold onto. Something to get me through the next 17 years....heck....perhaps even fame and fortune.

(HERE I GO AGAIN!!!) LOL!!!!

I bought a little book years ago called "The Writers Idea Book" by Jack Heffron. I cracked it open and inside are all kinds of little prompts. I have decided to pick a prompt every day and sit down at this site and let it be the framework for my posts. This way, I don't have to talk about my job or my husband and can get back into the discipline of writing every day and perhaps.....a nice idea may form...something I can run with....perhaps even finish that novel I started and got stuck with.

There is nothing to lose....only the gain of the love of a hobby I lost and an outlet for my soul....and....possible fame and fortune (Gawd Paula...give it up).

Last night I saw the cutest movie called Julie and Julia. It is about a young woman who dreamed of being a writer, working in a dead end job (like me) who decided to cook her way through the Julia Child cookbook and blog about it. In the end she learned things about herself, her marriage and got a book deal and a movie deal.

The history of Julia Child (played expertly by Meryl Streep) was fascinating. I truly enjoyed this little comedy and it inspired me to sit down today and write on of the prompts from the "Writer's Idea Book".

The prompt was to list the positive messages I have received from writing.

I hope I have just done that.

The Wonder of Bleach

Since at least 5000 BC, probably longer, mankind has engaged in a process that is pure vanity.

Bleaching.

The earliest forms of bleaching were simply to lay a garment in the sun. Later on, say 3000 BC a mixture of wood ash and water produced lye which was used in tandem with sun bleaching. A little farther down the road, around 1000 AD, the Dutch started adding sour milk to the mixture to make the solution less harsh enabling people to use it more frequently without damaging the fabric.

Somewhere in the 1700's the idea of adding chlorine gas to potash was invented and a bit later in the same century, another inventor used limestone. Although effective, this solution was extremely expensive and could not be manufactured with any practicality.

Fast forward to 1913 when the Electro-Akaline Company, which later became The Clorox Chemical company created a sodium hypochlorite solution enabled with cheaper electricity to make an inexpensive household product we now call Clorox or chorine bleach.

While this product was created to whiten things, it has become one of the miracle products of modern times. It not only whitens and brightens but sanitizes anything it comes in contact with.

I got to thinking about bleach when our basement became contaminated with shit due to a clogged sewer main outside our home. In the end, our homeowners insurance covered remediation and the products they used were superior to bleach but had we not had that option. Mike and I would have donned rubber gloves and clothespins for our noses and about 15 gallons of bleach and sanitized it ourselves.

I wonder what ancient egyptians would have done if their dwelling had become contamiated with sewage......oh, that's right, they didn't have sewers.