Topic: WC - Daily Practice
Friday 6:49pm 15Dec06
I don't know why I bother to make plans on Fridays when all I really want to do is come home and veg out after a busy work week. But wanting to be sociable I say Yes before I think. Sigh! So I've got plans tonight.
Had a bath and put some Castor Oil on my feet and am just relaxing before I leave again. Speaking of Castor Oil, I haven't said much about my poor arthritic toes in awhile. People have asked me about them. My daily juices and smoothies have fallen by the wayside for the time being. But I'll be back to them again soon enough. I still take my daily herbal mixes and although I often feel like they don't do much I really notice the pain when I don't take them. After a bad few days I finally pulled out the Castor Oil to give it a whirl. I don't do the proper Castor oil paks cuz I don't have all the stuff but what I have been doing has been relieving my toes tremendously. I put the oil in a double boiler and fill the bottom with water. I put it on the stove until the water boils and heats up the oil. I dunk a paper towel into the warm Castor oil and rub it on my toes.
I've hardly had the constant pain and find that I'm able to walk to and from work at a quicker pace. So it's all good. Plus the oil moisturizes my feet quite nicely, which is always a plus.
My boys at work, never ones to be too helpful when it comes to my will power, have been asking me everyday, "Have you adopted that other kitten yet?" Bastards!
Of course I walked by the vet and she was still there. I almost went in to ask about her but stopped myself. She's roughly the same size as Zelda.
"But four cats Shelley?" I constantly ask myself.
When I said to the boys yesterday, "What's the difference between three cats and four? I still have to change the kitty litter every day."
Talk Show Host said, " the difference is a can of cat food."
Bastards!
The energy of the dinner I had to attend last night was so taut with tension and a level of uncomfortableness that it made me physically ill. I left in the most abrupt of manners, which isn't my norm, and walked home so fast, I scared myself. I took side streets positive that I was going to vomit everything I'd just eaten. It was bizarre. If I was melodramatic enough I'd have kissed my floor when I got in my apartment. Instead, I had the biggest (sorry folks) shit in history and I know it was about my nerves. I used to have that kind of reaction when I suffered with a nervous stomach. Ain't it funny how our bodies will reject tension?
In my EY Page blog awhile back, I wrote up this quote about the hours it takes to master a skill. It takes 1000 hours to become competent; 5000 hours to Master; and 25,000 to 35,000 hours to become World Class. So in keeping with my rant about a month ago about how I was going to do a 10 year writing apprenticeship, I prepared a chart to fill out weekly to complete a thousand hours of writing next year. I did say that I was wiping the slate clean and starting from scratch as if I'd never done any writing. So basically my goal is to write 21 hours a week. I'd like to keep up to 3 hours of writing a day, 7 days a week, but knowing that I have my weekends to either top up the hours or catch up on the days that I miss.
The 3 hours will include my blog entries, work on my novel and other writing (short stories, personal essays, poems, etc). I started to write up some ideas for my comic last week. I still need to work on creating a character drawing. You all know that I'm a crazy quote collector. I collect inspiring quotes from people that I'd like to apply to my life or that give me ideas for my writing and the like. I have one, if you can believe it about Hugh Hefner...
As Hefner reflects on his life and career, he recalls that he first reinvented himself at 16, when he was rejected by a girl he had a crush on. He began referring to himself as Hef instead of Hugh, learned the jitterbug and began drawing a comic book, "a kind of autobiography that put myself center stage in a life I created for myself."
I've always wanted to create a comic book and Hef gave me the idea of what type of comic I want to create for now any way. No matter what you think about Hugh Hefner, didn't he create a fantabulous life? As a woman I think his life is cool. I wouldn't be one of the many women that have slept with him, but I ain't mad at him.
Anyways, I've titled my personal comic book, "Misadventures of the girl trying to reinvent herself." We all know that I do get myself into some misadventures. ha ha! I say personal comic book because I have no plans on sharing it. It's just another creative outlet. Also I can put to use all my books on drawing. Have I mentioned lately that my apartment is over run with books?
My date from Saturday night, sat in my apartment scanning the shelves looking overwhelmed. "I have a lot of stuff huh?"
"Yeah! Books, I'm trying to check out all your books!"
Yeah buddy, so am I!
So my Mastering a Skill chart keeps track of all the hours I will write each day and each week and the bottom half keeps track of how many words I write. It's good for me to know the specifics. Plus I can set realistic goals based on my findings. If I can find another counter that keeps track as I progress (like my handy dandy writertopia picture), I'll add it to my blog. If not, I'll mention it periodically.
I still have an hour before I have to leave. I know I'll most likely have a great time. There's always a story for sure. Speaking of story, I ran into a guy that I used to work with at the Science Centre years ago. One of those super funny guys who is damn witty and totally zany. We caught up as much as you can in ten minutes and got onto the topic of relationships. He called himself an FS. He said it a couple times before he said Free Spirit. Yeah Mark, I'm starting to discover that I too am a Free Spirit. Really I'm rediscovering that fact. I love to be around people and be included but I thrive when I don't have to answer to anyone. Perhaps that will be the theme of the weekend, embracing my Free Spiritedness!
Tonight, I'll stay as long as I can but will say yes to my needs when I feel it's time to go. I have three invitations for tomorrow night that I haven't committed to, I'll decide tomorrow what my free spirit wants me to do.
EY
