Day: May 24, 2021

Memorial Day Adventure

Several months ago, while cleaning out my file cabinet, I came across of paper work from a long ago Memorial Day weekend.

Several co-workers and I were sitting in a bar Friday night and decided to drive to Virginia Beach for the weekend. No, we weren’t drunk. But we were young and optimistic. Surely Virginia Beach would be warmer than upstate New York at the end of May.

Three of us decided to go. My friend Dave had another friend who had moved to Washington DC earlier in the year, and somehow (this was pre-cell phones) got hold of his friend. We agreed to pick him up enroute to our holiday weekend.

We drove all night. At one point, I remember jerking myself awake–I was behind the wheel. That scared me. Dave took over driving duties so I could catch a nap. Our friend Char was in the back seat of my car, sleeping.

We got to Washington, DC and my first encounter with the beltway. In comparison,  traffic doesn’t exist in upstate New York.  But I managed.

Dave’s friend, Ron, it turned out, was living in a pup tent in Burke Lake Park. He had tossed his motorcycle and camping gear into the back of his pick up truck and moved.

As you can see by the shadowy photos, we actually found Burke Lake Park in northern Virginia. And we eventually found Ron. He said he would ride his bike to Virginia Beach and catch up with us there.

We eventually arrived at our destination and actually found a place to stay right on the beach. Probably due to a cancellation. The weather was overcast and cold. I had to buy a jacket. Char flew home the next day. Dave and I tried sitting on the beach but we turned blue instead of tanning. We spent the rest of the weekend looking for Ron.  We never did find him.

The highlight of the weekend was on the first night when we went out to dinner and found ourselves being entertained by the Drifters.

The funny thing is, I flew back to Virginia Beach by myself in mid-July and spent a week in the same beachfront motel. And you’ll never guess who I ran into one night. Yep. Ron. Turns out he moved there, with his camping gear, motorcycle, and pickup truck.

 

First World “Problem”

Maybe this isn’t a problem, but rather an annoyance. And in the grand scheme of the COVID-era, it’s downright ridiculous.

At my day job, I wear a headset to talk on the phone.

I wear eyeglasses, too, but I’ve never developed the habit of wearing them all the time. On and off, depending on what I’m doing. Yes, I have bifocals. Can’t see the computer screen with either “setting”.  Plus I have a habit of wearing my glasses on top of my head, too.

Since COVID, I also wear a face mask when not sitting in my cubicle.

Three things on my head.

So when I get up to speak to my manager or use the restroom or refill my water container, I need to put on my mask. Sometimes, though, I put on my glasses instead. Or my headset. Because the brain is thinking, “your head needs something on it” and I grab the first thing at hand. I laugh about putting on my mask to read papers. Or my glasses to answer the phone. Or, and I did this just yesterday) my phone rang, so I put on my mask.

I am not saying I run around without my mask. I always catch myself before leaving my workspace.

Maybe old age is setting in.

 

Thursday Thoughts: Planners

It’s that time of hear again! Thinking about next year and what I’m going to use as a planner.

For the past three years, I used one company, and I loved the planner. The cover said, “She Designed A Life She Loved,” and that meant so much to me.

A few weeks ago I learned something about the company I can’t overlook or forgive. I come from a generation where we put our money where our mouths are. I don’t eat at one chain, I don’t shop at a particular craft store, and now I needed to find another planner to meet my needs the way the aforementioned one did.

A class I took back in January mentioned different kinds of planners for different kinds of people. I checked this out. I did a lot of research to find what I wanted.  My Meyers Briggs type is INFJ, and although the class instructor though N-J would like a particular planner, I did not. Maybe because I didn’t like their website–it wasn’t yet set up for 2021, and I didn’t find it intuitively user friendly.

But another planner the instructor suggested struck a chord with me. I could customize almost every aspect. I don’t need coloring book pages. I don’t need . . . a lot of things my previous planner included. I went to town. I found a more-than-acceptable cover (I wish it was a different color, but it is what it is). I picked out what extra pages I wanted and where I wanted them placed in the book. Even after adding things, I was paying $15 – $20 less than I was for the 2018, 2019, 2020 planners.

The planner arrived a week or so after I placed the order. I love it. It is a better version of the one I loved.

Since Positivity is one of my strengths and also one of my goals, I thought this cover was appropriate.

MJ Monday-Manuscript: Confession Time

No excerpt this month. I’ve been struggling with the final book of the Service for Sanctuary trilogy. I like the hero. I like the heroine, although I still don’t know her as well as I need to. I took time off around the holidays to open my mind to her. That’s why my publisher graciously agreed to push back the publication date.

I want the book to be the best one I can write for my readers.

It will be worth the wait. I promise.